thebibleisart

In this video I look at how Jesus reverse the first two sins in the Bible in the last scene in John 21. Article on Matthew 13: The Secret of the Middle of Matthew (https://theopolisinstitute.com/the-se...) Audio Resource: https://www.thebibleisart.com/audio Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)

In this video I look at some weird and wonderful details in the narrative of Genesis 1 and show how they resolve into a beautifully designed foreshadowing. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart #bible #genesis #art #literature website: https://www.thebibleisart.com music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)

In this video I explore the two main ways biblical authors structure their stories. We look at some fascinating examples in the whole Joseph and Abraham narratives as well as the book of Jonah. These structures come from the great work "The Literary Structure of the Old Testament" by David Dorsey (https://www.amazon.com/Literary-Structure-Old-Testament-Genesis-Malachi/dp/0801027934) The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart Music: Kai Engel - coelum (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kai_Engel). website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins #bible #genesis | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)

In this video I look at the distinctive features of day #3 of the creation week. We will discover how God's characterization on this day unfolds how he works in other biblical stories including the Abraham narrative and the story of Jesus. #Bible #Genesis The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart #bible #genesis #art #literature website: https://www.thebibleisart.com music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)

In this week's video we look the literary art in Day 2 of the creation week. We explore the characterization of God and how his action on Day 2 is the theme for fascinating variations in the rest of Genesis and Exodus. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart #bible #genesis #art #literature website: https://www.thebibleisart.com music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)

In this video we'll look at the cool things the author of Daniel does with bodies and body parts. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | Daniel frequently talks about bodies and particular body parts: hair, head, nails, knees, feet, bowels. There are dreams of bodies, bodies thrown in furnaces and lions dens and bodies being resurrected. And the more you read about these bodies the more you realize that the author is trying to do something. He is doing something similar to Plato in the Republic where Socrates is trying to understand justice in a city and to do that he says we must undersand justice in a person, in a soul. Justice in the soul happens when the three parts, the rational, the spirited, and the appetitive, are all in harmony. But the important part for us is that there’s a connection between the person and the city. You see, Daniel was written to encourage the Israelites who were exiled in a foreign country. So Daniel presents images of two bodies: the good and the evil body. The righteous body and the Worldly body. Daniel unfolds their characters and destinies of these corporate bodies. Is a beautiful literary construction, everytime there is a body or body parts those are putting together an image of the corporate bodies of a righteous and wicked nation. And these two bodies are contrasted providing the Israelites in exile with two options. Let me show you how. The first picture of a body is Daniel’s body, the good body, in chapter 1. Daniel and his friends refuse to eat the kings’s food but their bodies become strong. Unlike Adam in the garden who ate, Daniel refuses to eat, refusing to receive his life from the Worldly kingdom and becomes stronger for it. The next body is the Worldly body and we see this in Chapter 2. King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a huge body made of four different materials, and the author describes this body from head to toe in seven parts, it’s like the perfect worldly body. And Daniel tells Nebuchadnezzar that these four material parts symbolize four successive kingdoms, and that Nebuchadnezzar is the first, he’s head of gold. Now the destiny of this body is that it is smashed to pieces by a stone that’s cut out of a mountain. So the picture is that in contrast to Daniel’s strong body, The Worldy body even though it’s larger and more impressive, is destined for destruction. In the next chapter, the worldly body continues. Nebuchadnezzar misinterprets the vision and makes a statue of himself, his body, made of gold and requires everyone to bow down to the statue of his body. Notice, he is requiring everyone else’s body to do something, to bow down. And if they don’t, their bodies will be thrown into a firey furnace. Well, Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meschach, and Abendego, don’t do it and their bodies are thrown into the firey furnace. Then, the narrator tells us that “the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed and their cloaks were not harmed.” Remember this, we are told about their hair and their clothing, we will see this again.

In this video we explore a two step technique for understanding all biblical genealogies. We also explore the fascinating literary things the author does with Enoch and Lamech in Genesis 4 and 5. | The Bible is Art | The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart #bible #genesis #art #literature website: https://www.thebibleisart.com music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)

John is a literary genius and has arranged Jesus' 7 miracles/signs into a chiasm. John organized Jesus' signs around the feeding of the 5,000 and the bread of life discourse to unfold something central about Jesus. Divine Symmetries: The Art of Biblical Rhetoric (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0761806636/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thebibleisa09-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0761806636&linkId=ec5a773bf0771efacb514424d7d073ab) FYI, this is an affiliate link. | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | The Bible is Art | The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart #bible #genesis #art #literature website: https://www.thebibleisart.com music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video I look at the art of genealogies in the Bible. More specifically, we'll look at the genealogies in Genesis 4 and 5 and discover how they are not lists of names but artfully designed literature. We look at why the names are similar or identical in the two first genealogies in the Bible. | The Bible is Art | The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart #bible #genesis #art #literature website: https://www.thebibleisart.com music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)

The Book of Proverbs is often thought to be a collection of wise sayings. While not less than that, it was designed as story of the development, training of a son. Walking through the seven stages from beginning to advanced wisdom, the author of Proverbs composes a skillful and sophisticated story with surprises from beginning to end. | The Bible is Art | The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart #bible #genesis #art #literature website: https://www.thebibleisart.com music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)

In this video we explore the fascinating literary reason why there are four Gospels. In the processes we look at the literary organization of the Old Testament. #Bible #Gospels #Literature The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart #bible #genesis #art #literature website: https://www.thebibleisart.com music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins

The most common misunderstanding of proverbs is that they are solely simple moral aphorisms. That is the opposite of what they were designed to be and we discuss precisely how they are works of high literary and moral genius Von Glitschka: www.glitschkastudios.com #Bible #Genesis The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart #bible #genesis #art #literature website: https://www.thebibleisart.com music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins

In this video I explore what Matthew means in Matthew 1:1 when he says that Jesus is the "son of David" and the "son of Abraham." The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | We often think that genealogies are lists of names, just a collection of people without any purpose or perspective. But nothing could be further from the truth. In Jesus’ family tree, there are hundreds, if not thousands of names missing. So when Matthew composed this family tree he very precisely chooses whom he would include and exclude, and he excludes almost everybody in the family. And when figure out why he includes the people he did we will understand the purpose of the genealogy. First, notice how he gives the high points right at the beginning: son of David, Son of Abraham. Now remember, this genealogy is not meant to tell us about the people listed but to tell us about Jesus, to characterize him. The character of his family is the character of him and his kingdom. So Jesus is the son David. That is, Jesus is in the Kingly line. And he is the son of Abraham, that is he is the inheritor of that great covenant God made with Abraham. But think about those statements again, son of David, son of Abraham. Matthew is doing something subtle. He’s not just saying that Jesus is in the family of David and Abraham but that he is their son. So who was the son of David? Solomon. And who was the son of Abraham? Issac. So Jesus is not only like Abraham and David, he’s also like Isaac and Solomon. So how is Jesus like these figures. Well, Isaac’s great act was his self sacrifice and this will be Jesus is great act. So, from the first sentence of Matthew’s gospel there is a hint of its climax. But what about Solomon? Solomon was known for two things, his wisdom and his temple. And it’s interesting that later in Matthew’s gospel Jesus is said to be greater than Solomon and greater than his temple. Furthermore, we saw last week that Matthew structured his whole book around chapter 13, eight parables that explain Jesus and his kingdom. And what’s fascinating is that in chapter 13 when he’s explaining to the disciples why he’s speaking in parables he describes the parables with the same word that opens up the book of Proverbs. In Proverbs chapter 1 verse one says “the Proverbs of Solomon”, the same word as parables in Matthew. So in a sense, in the middle of Matthew's gospel are the proverbs, the wisdom of the new and greater Solomon, Jesus. From the first verse of Matthew's gospel we learned that this Jesus is a wise temple builder who will sacrifice himself. But what we don’t know is what his temple will be like or what his sacrifice or what his wisdom will be like because it’s not going to be like the old temple or the old sacrifice. But to understand the character of this new temple and wisdom and sacrifice we will have to read the rest of Matthew’s work, the rest of his great literary art.

In this video I look at the first verse in Matthew's Gospel, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham." I explore the subtle allusions Matthew chooses to begin his great masterpiece. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | The first sentence in Matthew’s Gospel is this, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ.” Why start this way? By the time we get to Matthew’s Gospel, we’re in the fifth act of a five act play, we’re at the end of the story, so where are we in the story, what’s happening? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And he created man and woman and designed a home for them in the Garden of Eden and gave them jobs to do to expand God’s kingdom of Eden to the whole wild world. And they had 1 rule, but Adam and Eve broke it. So they were kicked out, exiled from the garden. No the interesting thing about the rest of the story in Genesis is that the book of Genesis is organized around 10 genealogies. And these genealogies start with the phrase “The book of the genealogy of” some person. So the first book in the Bible has 10 genealogies and this is very different from every other book in the Old Testament. Well the story goes on and that same story that happened in the garden will happen again with Israel writ large. That is God will make another special place and bring his people Israel into this place and give them rules again. And once again they will disobey and be kicked out, exiled from the land. And this is the grand story of the Old Testament. It starts high and it ends low, we start with God in God’s place and we end up without God out of God’s place. That’s the story until Matthew. Now, what if you were Matthew and you wanted to communicate that something different, something new was going to happen how would you communicate it. Well, Matthew goes back to the first book of the Bible, and uses that same phrase that was used 10 times in the beginning. “The book of the genealogy”, and he uses it as the first thing, the first phrase in the book. Matthew is saying that what’s happening with Jesus is so fundamentally different and new that it’s like having a whole new Genesis. And this whole new thing, this new creation starts with Jesus Christ. Now Matthew has done some subtle things here and it’s easy to miss. But to understand what he’s doing we have to compare this genealogy to the genealogies is in Genesis. Now, the purpose of this genealogy is to tell us about Who Jesus is. For instance, right at the beginning it says Jesus is the son of David which means that he is in the kingly line and he’s the son of Abraham so he’s in the line of the covenant. But the way that Matthew structures this first sentence hints at something even deeper about who Jesus is. Look at this. In the genealogies in Genesis they will say that it is the genealogy of a certain person. For instance Adam and then the rest of the genealogy will tell us all the people Who came from, who were generated from Adam.

I this video I explore Matthew's ingenious structure of his Gospel. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | There are many different ways to organize a story, how to order the scenes into a whole. And if you want more of an explanation of the different ways to structure stories, you can see the video linked in the description and in the upper right of the screen. But we’re going to talk about what Matthew does and it’s extraordinary. Matthew organizes his book into alternating sections of stories and teachings. And we know this not only because we see Jesus doing things and then having long speeches but also because after each of the teaching sections Matthew repeats the same phrase, “when Jesus finished saying these things…” And Matthew does this to indicate the end of each teaching section (7:28, 11:1, 13:53, 19:1, 26:1). In total there are five teachings, five blocks of teachings. And Matthew does this because he’s alluding back to the first section in the Bible, the Pentateuch, the first five books of Moses. And as we saw in the last video the first sentence in Matthew alludes back to the book of Genesis, so also the arrangement as a whole alludes back to the first section in the Bible, the five books of Moses. And this is because Jesus is bringing a whole new order of reality a whole new kingdom a whole new creation. And Matthew wants to highlight that by organizing his work in the similar way to the organization of the first books of the Bible. But wait, there’s more. You see, these teachings of Jesus relate in interesting ways. The first and the fifth teaching both happened on the mountain. The sermon on the mount and what’s traditionally called the Olivet discourse, that is, Jesus was teaching on the Mount of olives. And these teachings contrast. The sermon on the mount opens with eight blessings while the Olivet discourse opens with seven woes. The second and the fourth teaching blocks are on land, in a town and both are about discipleship. In the third teaching, in Matthew chapter 13, the structural center of the book, Jesus teaches on the secrets of the kingdom. Jesus tells eight parables that he says are about the secrets, the character of the kingdom Jesus is bringing. And it’s fascinating because Jesus has told no parables up to chapter 13. Now, when you first see this you might think that this very structure looks like a mountain. And Matthew emphasizes mountains, he actually has seven of them. Because one of the themes in Matthew’s gospel is that Jesus is a new Moses leading his people and giving them a new law from the mountain, the sermon on the mount. And there’s also many other fascinating parallels between Jesus and Moses that will look at another video. But I actually don’t think that that’s what Matthew is trying to communicate with the structure. I think he’s actually doing the opposite. Let me show you what I mean. To understand what Matthew is doing we have to look at the geographical movement in Jesus’ teachings. Remember, there are five blocks of Jesus’ teaching.

Welcome back to the Bible is Art where we explore the literary artistry of the Bible and in this week we’re going to look at the art of the riddle in the movie Inception, Plato’s dialogues, and the book of Jonah. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | Inception ends with a riddle. The movie is about dreams and reality. And each character has an object, called a totem, that works differently in the real world and in dreams. Cobb, played by Leonardo Dicaprio, has a spinning top that works normally in the real world but never stops spinning, never falls over when he’s in a dream. The top tells him what’s real and what’s fake. Through the movie Cobb never sees his children in real life but would see him them in dreams, but only their backs, not their faces. In the last scene, Cobb enters a house and sees his children playing in the yard, they turn around and he sees their faces for the first time in the film. But before he runs to be with them, he spins the top to check that he’s in the real world. But Instead of waiting for the top to fall, he changes his mind and goes to embrace his children. The camera then moves to the top but cuts black, ending the movie, before we see the top fall. There have been many analyses of this scene but the problem with many of them is that they focus on whether the last scene was a dream or not. And while that’s an important question, the more important question is why did Christopher Nolan choose to cut before we saw if the top would fall. First, this is a riddle. That is, an intentionally opaque, narrative tool. Nolan designed something that would take intellectual work to figure out. Whenever you are writing, every word, every sentence and scene can be placed on a spectrum from clarity to opacity. Authors are always choosing what things to make plain and what things to make opaque. And for skilled authors, they make those decision based on reasons, reasons that move forward the story and its main theses and themes. For instance, if you have a man and woman and you want to communicate love between them you could write dialogue where the woman says “I love you”. A super clear communication of that affection. Or, you could write a simple glance across a table at a work lunch. Much more opaque. Or even more opaque, you could use visuals and have her wear light blue, only to find out later that that is her prospective lover’s favorite color. You may have wondered or guessed why she so frequently wore blue, but it wasn’t clear until later. And whether you opt for one or the other for a scene or image or dialogue depends on the purposes of the plot. Riddles are on the side closer to opaqueness, they intentionally hide. But they also invite. Riddles are particularly intriguing because they are often written to stand out, to not fit into the story, to block the regular narrative flow so that the reader or watcher will be jolted into deeper levels of thought. So why the riddle at the end of Inception? Well, before we understand the purpose of the camera’s point of view we must understand the main character’s action. That is, Cobb spins the top but then changes his mind.

In this video I talk about the how action work with great authors. And we look at examples in Plato's Republic, Netflix's "The Bodyguard", and the Gospel of John. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) and Blake Ewing, "Linden" | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | I never really understood what the fuss was about Plato, the philosopher. You’d hear everyone say he was one of the best or the best philosopher whoever lived, or you’d hear that quote that all of western philosophy is footnotes to Plato. But when I read him, and I think I understood him, I didn’t get what the big deal was. That was until one of my professors told me something that made me realize I had been reading Plato all wrong. You see, Plato wrote dialogues, or that’s what they’re commonly referred to as, but they’re are stories where the characters talk a lot, which is why we call them dialogues. They’re not like how most modern philosophy is done with proposition and syllogisms, Plato wrote stories, that had characters, doing things. And I always assumed that putting them in the form of stories was just icing on the cake, a really unnecessary shell around the real philosophy. But then I started listening to Dr. Warren Austin Gage. And Dr. Gage, influenced by the work of Leo Strauss, showed me that the actions in Plato’s Dialogues, the things that the characters do, are just as philosophically important as the words. For instance, The Republic opens with Socrates going down to the Piraeus, a seaside city. Before, I would have thought that this was inconsequential scene setting. But I realized that this action was an allusion or, more precisely, a foreshadowing of another story later in the Republic, the Allegory of the Cave in Book 10. Socrates tells an allegory where men are chained to the wall in a cave, watching shadows of creatures on the wall, thinking that the shadows are the reality, because that’s all they see. As they are chained to the wall they can’t see that the creatures are real and the shadows are not. This is an image of most people in the world. Most people think that the realities of the world, tables, cars, are the ultimate reality, but for Socrates, they’re not. One man is released to leave the cave and go up to the sunlit earth. There, he sees the reality of the world. He then goes back down into the cave and tells the other men. They don’t believe him and kill him. Socrates’ action of going down to the Piraeus at the beginning of the The Republic is an allusion to the man going back down into the cave. Plato is communicating by this simple action that the whole book is Socrates coming down to us, the readers, into the cave, bringing the truth of the real sunlit world. And this gives us a choice, will we listen, or kill him. And all this is communicated with one verb, to go down, with one action. Another great example of the importance and depth of action is in the series The Bodyguard, on Netflix. In the first scene David, an off-duty officer, gets on a train and learns that there is a muslim terrorist onboard who is attempting to bomb it. He finds the man but there is no bomb. He finds instead that his wife, Nadia, has a bomb strapped to her. David tries to calm her and talk her out of blowing up herself and the train.

In this video I look at the fascinating literary technique of moving from a metaphor to reality. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | This week we’re gonna talk about moving from metaphorical things to literal things and from literal things to metaphorical things. So It’s a common literary technique to use physical things for metaphorical reasons. For instance in Dante’s Divine Comedy, Dante is on a physical journey from hell to heaven that is meant to be a metaphor for his spiritual journey or in the Bible, Israel’s physical wilderness wanderings for 40 years are meant to be metaphorical of their spiritual wanderings. So you have some physical object or action that happens in a scene or a character and it is also meant to be a metaphor for some non-physical thing: like a character trait or theme. A messy room symbolizing a messy mind of a character. But you can do the opposite, too. That is where you start with a metaphor and that becomes a physical, literal thing in the story. It’s kind of hard to understand abstractly so let me show you a few examples. I noticed this in two places in the Bible. First in the gospels when Jesus heals a blind man. The strange thing about this is that nowhere in the Old Testament does it say that the Messiah will heal blind people. In Isaiah 35, when God is talking about all the good things that are going to happen when he comes back and it says that the “eyes of the blind will be opened”, but that seems to be a metaphor. Why? Well, earlier in Isaiah, in chapter 6 when God is judging Israel he says that Isaiah is to “Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” That is, the physical faculties of seeing and hearing are metaphors for moral and spiritual faculties. So later in Isaiah, God says that because Israel is spiritually and morally blind and God will give them spiritual moral eyes, cure their blindness. But when Jesus comes, he unexpectedly opens physically blind eyes. The metaphor of blindness came first, then physical blindness. Another example of this is with the metaphor of a furnace. In Isaiah 48, God says that the exile is like being in a furnace (48:10). That is, a fiery furnace is a metaphor for physical exile. But then, in the book of Daniel, when the Israelites are in exile Shadrach, Meschach, and Abendego are literally thrown into a fiery furnace. The metaphor came first, then the literal thing. So why then this literary technique, what does it do? Well, I’m not sure, at least not sure of every reason. But I do know that it tells you something about the author and something about the text. First, it shows you the genius the author is capable of. Bach famously wrote a short phrase that represented his name and would sprinkle it throughout his work. This is the phrase. If you want to learn more about that and the phenomenon of musical cryptograms, you can see a great video linked in the description. This reverse metaphor technique demonstrates the literary virtuosity of God, the ultimate author, that he can take imaginary things and make them real, make worlds with this mind and then his hands.

https://www.thebibleisart.com/audio I recently designed and launched a web tool that curates the best audio lectures/sermons on each book of the Bible that focus on the literary art and beauty of Scripture. It was designed to be able to easily filter according to teacher, book of the Bible, and whether the resources is free or paid. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J)

In this video I explore the strange and wonderful art of John 21 and its allusions to Genesis 1-3. Article on Matthew 13: The Secret of the Middle of Matthew (https://theopolisinstitute.com/the-secret-of-the-middle-of-matthew/) Audio Resource: https://www.thebibleisart.com/audio Support the Channel: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | I love John 21, the last chapter in John’s gospel. And I love it because it’s weird and there’s a lot of things to figure out. So let’s review what John 21 is about. After Jesus’ resurrection seven of his disciples go fishing during the night. They’re unfruitful in the work, not catching any fish, but in the morning, a man calls out to them from the land and gives them instructions how to fish better and then their catch is enormous. Realizing that the man who gave them the instructions is Jesus, Peter puts on his clothes and jumps into the water to swim to him. The disciples then have a meal with Jesus. After the meal Jesus gives Peter work to do, feeding and ruling over animals, sheep. The final episode in the scene is on a path, following Jesus. So that’s John 21. And there are many things that are puzzling about this story. First, the existence of the story itself is puzzling. This is because it seemed like the book of John should have ended at the end of the previous scene. I mean, listen to the last verses of John 20: Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. That sounds like a grand conclusion. But John adds a whole nother scene, why? Another thing that’s puzzling is why this long section about fishing? Or why does Peter put on his clothes to jump in the water, why seven disciples, why don’t they recognize Jesus, why is there 153 fish, and so on. Much like chapter 32 in Moby Dick, where Ishmael catalogs whale species to the boredom of readers throughout history, it’s there for a reason, the author means for it to feel out of place because that encourages the readers to engage with the story more deeply. Now most of the time when you don’t understand something in the Bible, it is because you haven’t understood something that has come before. And to understand what John is doing with this last scene, we have to review some of the story of John’s gospel. John opens his Gospel with the strongest allusion to the first chapter of the Bible, “In the beginning…” And this is because in John’s Gospel, Jesus is bringing in a new creation. There are allusions to Genesis 1-3 all throughout John. For instance, John opens his gospel with seven days. And much like John’s other book, Revelation, where you have seven seals that give way to seven bowls, seven following or opening up to seven more, these first seven days climax with the first of seven signs or miracles in John’s gospel. And these seven signs allude to the seven days of the creation week, by these acts Jesus is making a new creation. But if you remember back to the beginning of the Bible, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the garden and an angel with a firey sword was set outside to protect the garden from intruders. So in order to get back into the garden to be with God and to start over, someone needs to go through that firey sword.

In this video I respond to Alain de Botton's School of Life video entitled "How to Replace the 10 Commandments" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwVJJYfEV1g). In the process we'll look at what makes the 10 commandments literarily and morally sophisticated. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | Some time ago the philosopher Alain de Botton’s School of Life released a video called “How to Replace the 10 Commandments.” He said that they “maintain an extraordinary hold on our imaginations” but the problem is that they sound “peculiar” today. They were for a particular people and thus they are a bit parochial. In their stead he offers his own ten commandments. And before you watch this video you should watch his that I’ve linked in the description. Even though many of his commandments relish Alain’s gentle and careful character, they should not replace the ten commandments in the Bible. And that is because they’re inferior. G.K. Chesterton said that before you tear a fence down, you probably should figure out why it was put there in the first place. So let’s look at the art of the ten commandments and the 10 reasons they are superior: Length - The Biblical Ten Commandments are 172 words compared to Alain’s which have 614. Alain’s are much much longer. Well, why does that matter. Perhaps the ten commandments have such an extraordinary hold on our imagination because of their pithiness. It's difficult to hold something in our imagination if it won't fit. This summary of the moral law was composed not simply to provide moral knowledge but provide it pedagogically. Not just as a list of good things to do but it was designed for consumption and memorization. Moral reasons - Alain’s ten commandments do not give us any reason why we should follow his commandments. The Bible’s ten commandments by contrast begin with “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of slavery.” The reason why they ought to follow these is because God freed them from slavery. It is quite a more anemic motivation to listen to Alain “simply because he said so.” A moral life requires both reasons for obligation as well as robust motivation - a requirement certainly met with manumission from slavery, as in the biblical ten commandments. And when we are faced with grave temptation to evil, cheating on a spouse, extorting money at work, simply having a list of guidelines without any strong account of obligation won’t do any good. A list, even a profound and elegant one may be wonderful, but that doesn't provide a binding or exciting obligation. Moral epistemology - perhaps the strangest part of Alain commandments is that we are never told how we know them. It is as if someone strolls into you office and tells you a list of instructions without sharing with you who they are or on what authority they offer the commands. The Ten Commandments begin with “I am the Lord your God” that is how we know these commandments, by God telling us. Therefore we can expect that deeper insight or clarification on moral knowledge will come from the same source. Should or ought we go to Alain for further insight? Did he get them from somewhere? We’re simply left to wonder.

In this video I look at the literary art of the whole book of Exodus. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | The book of Exodus is organized into 3 sections that follow the Israelites from Egypt through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai. So the literary structure looks like this. Israel in Egypt, Israel in the wilderness, and Israel at Mt. Sinai. Exodus is a journey narrative like many of the great stories from The Odyssey, to the Aeneid, to The Divine Comedy, to Pilgrim’s Progress, to Lord of the Rings. And the central idea is that the physical journey symbolizes a moral, spiritual, intellectual, or theological journey where the travelers begin in one moral or spiritual place and move to another. In Exodus, Israel begins in slavery and journeys to freedom, Sabbath rest at Mount Sinai. And the symbolic structure works both vertically and horizontally. Horizontally they move from Egypt to Mt. Sinai, one location to another miles away. Vertically, they begin low, at sea level at the Nile river and move up to a mountain. The Israelites begin as servants to Pharaoh and end as servants to God. They begin in Pharaoh’s house and end God’s house, the tabernacle. They begin by listening to Pharaoh and his laws and end by listening to God and his laws. They begin by building for Pharaoh, remember the storage cities of Pithom and Ramses, and conclude by building God’s house. So the author has written all of these symmetries that develop throughout the journey, but the structure of the story goes one level deeper. But to understand the symbolism of why the author structured the book into three sections, we have to review some of the details of the book of Exodus. In Egypt, Israel is enslaved and God calls Moses at the burning bush to deliver his people. God then plagues his people with all manner of elements including raining down fire and delivers his people through the sea. In the Wilderness on the way to Mt. Sinai, God leads his people in a pillar of fire and cloud that illumines their way. Israel complains about the food and God provides them with manna, bread from heaven. When they arrive at Mt. Sinai the firey glory-cloud rests on the mountain and the elders travel up into it to have a meal with God. Moses receives the law as well as the instructions for building the tabernacle. Now why have I summarized the book? The climax of the book, and the thing that gets the most space is the tabernacle - the detailed instructions and then the account of the actual construction. The tabernacle occupies 40% of the book of Exodus - 16 out of 40 chapters. But not only did Moses spend a lot of time talking about the tabernacle, he designed the book to be a literary tabernacle. Just like the Book of Exodus is organized into three sections, geographically designed as Israel journeys from Egypt through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai, so the Tabernacle is organized into three sections through which you may journey: the courtyard, the holy place, and the holy of holies. But the numerical connections are only the beginning. The events throughout the book correspond to objects in each section of the tabernacle.

In this video I look at the fascinating things that Matthew is doing when he quotes Jesus in another language than the rest of the gospel, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani", "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | Welcome back to the Bible is art where we explore the literary artistry of the Bible and this week we’re looking at why Matthew has Jesus speak in a foreign language from the cross and then translates it. And I know that doesn’t sound interesting but I promise it is super fascinating. When Jesus is on the cross Matthew tells us that he “cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ey-li, ey-li, lema, sabachth-ani? That is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" That is, Matthew is giving the original words that Jesus spoke. Now this is strange. Matthew’s Gospel was written in Greek and Jesus’ normal everyday language was Aramaic. Nowhere else in his Gospel does Matthew give us the original Aramaic words of Jesus. All the rest of the words of Jesus were originally in Aramaic but Matthew chose to translate them into Greek for the Gospel. So why have them foreign only here? You might think it’s because it’s important, and while that’s certainly true that can’t be the only reason because other places like sermon on the mount or resurrection don’t have a different language. So there has to be something about its differentness, it’s foreignness. Matthew uses a foreign language to the text, a different language from the rest of the Gospel, because what is happening is so foreign. The form matches the content. God’s anointed king is killed, forsaken by his Father. This is the most unknown foreign event conceivable. It is fitting, therefore, that the language used to communicate it equally foreign and strange. But Matthew goes one step further. He interprets it. After he quotes Jesus’ Aramaic, Matthew said, “That is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Why does Matthew translate what he had made foreign? I mean, if he was going to translate it anyway, why go to the trouble to include the original, untranslated language in the first place? Think about what we just saw about Matthew’s reason for making it foreign. He made the language foreign because the content, the thing it was describing, Jesus being forsaken by his Father, was so foreign. So if Matthew translates it, that means that the foreignness won’t remain foreign. And if the language mirrors reality, perhaps the death, the Father abandoning, that is so foreign to Jesus’ life will also be interpreted, translated into something intelligible. Perhaps this capital punishment will become a sacrifice, an entombed carcass a seed.

In this video I look at the three things that Matthew does with women in his genealogy in Matthew chapter 1. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | In a previous video we saw how there are two steps to understanding genealogies. First, find the pattern of the genealogy. And second, look for how the author breaks the pattern. The pattern that Matthew creates is that he follows the family by the male head of the household. So you have a man who fathered another man who fathered another man. That’s the pattern. But in four places Matthew will break that pattern. That is, he will include four women. But the break in the pattern is even more unexpected because he doesn’t include the women we are expecting. Matthew does include many of the males we were expecting from reading the story up to this point in the Bible. So we have David and Judah and Abraham, famous people. And if that pattern continued we would expect all of the great matriarchs to be included when he decides to include women. Like Sarah or Abigail. But none of them are included. Now this is very strange. Imagine if you were reading your family tree and when it came time to list the wives, all the most popular ones were missing and other less popular family members were included instead. You would either think there was a mistake or whoever composed the family tree had a reason, a purpose for doing this. So what is Matthew’s purpose? Who does Matthew include and why? Well, Matthew includes: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. Now, before we talk about why Matthew does this we have to remember what the purpose of this genealogy is. And that is it’s designed to characterize, to teach us who Jesus is and what his kingdom is like that he is bringing. The genealogy is not here to tell us about these people listed in the genealogy. So what is it about these women that tell us about Jesus. There are three important things. First, three of these women were gentiles and one was married to a gentile. Tamar and Rahab were canaanites, Ruth a moabite, and Bathsheba was married to a Hittite. So Jesus is both Jew and Gentile Second, they’re women. Women were not typically included in genealogies. Not because women were unimportant or not included in Israel, but Jesus and his kingdom will somehow reach out and include women in a different or fuller sort of way. And third, and most fascinating, these women are all connected to some sort of sexually questionable behavior. Tamar disguises herself and tricks Judah into sleeping with her, thus impregnating her. Rahab was a prostitute. Ruth snuck into bed with a man and told him to do whatever he liked. And Bathsheba slept with David while she was married.

In this video I explore the literary art of Matthew's genealogy in Matthew chapter 1. We look at the symbolism of numbers and the structure of the genealogy. The Bible is the greatest work of literary genius. And The Bible is Art is a YouTube Channel devoted to explaining this literary art in all its sophistication, elegance, and design. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thebibleisart website: https://www.thebibleisart.com email: thisdivineart@gmail.com twitter: @johnbhiggins music: Kai Engel, "Coelum" (https://www.kai-engel.com) | How to Learn to Read the Bible as Literary Art | Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (https://amzn.to/30LzaRa) Narrative Art in the Bible (https://amzn.to/30RVGIb) The Art of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/3aDrIfk) Old Testament Narrative: A Guide to Interpretation (https://amzn.to/38rcE2C) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative (https://amzn.to/2Gh4cqE) | Literary Structure | Literary Structure of the Old Testament (https://amzn.to/30Jdm8X) Style And Structure In Biblical Hebrew Narrative (https://amzn.to/2RDTTlQ) | Genesis | Creation: The Story of Beginnings - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2GlPwq9) Abram to Abraham: A Literary Analysis of the Abraham Narrative - Grossman (https://amzn.to/2v7id7Z) Narrative Art in Genesis - Fokkelman (https://amzn.to/2ulmd4t) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part I) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2NOAhdt) A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Part II) - Cassuto (https://amzn.to/2Gcuk6d) Genesis: A Commentary - Waltke (https://amzn.to/2vaBvt7) The Gospel of Genesis: Studies in Protology and Eschatology - Gage (https://amzn.to/2RGjRFo) Abraham and All the Families of the Earth: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis 12-50 - Janzen (https://amzn.to/2TVyCqJ) Genesis 1-15, Volume 1 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/2TQnYRO) Genesis 16-50, Volume 2 - Wenham (https://amzn.to/3aDY21J) | Transcription | Genealogies might look boring. But every profession trades in particularities. Biology has cells, programmers have bits of code, and designers have colors and shapes. The particularities here are people, people particularities, the best kind. And particularities make up the language like letters. Of course you won’t appreciate the fullness of Goethe if you don’t know german. So you have to become a practitioner, understanding what you’re looking at when you’re looking at genealogies. All of a genre of music sounds the same only when you haven’t listened to much of it. All code looks the same until you know how to program. We’re all very familiar with stories so stories are immediately interesting, but if we were as familiar with genealogies, we would find them just as fascinating. E = mc2 doesn’t mean much to a child, but those 5 characters, 5 particularities were among the greatest intellectual feats of human history, just five characters. So what are the particularities of this art? Well if you want to understand genealogies there are two steps. First, you have to identify the pattern. Second, you need to identify when the pattern is broken. First, the pattern. Genealogies are a selective retelling of a family, a family tree reduced down to a few people. It’s just picking people out of the family and organizing them in a certain way. But the different ways that you can select people and organize them will tell you different things, they will tell you the idea, the thesis of the author. For instance, if you read a genealogy of your family and only the third child in every family was included you would puzzle over that, you would try to figure out why. What is it about the third child that’s important? Or what is it about the first and the second children that are not important? Matthew designs his genealogy into three sections, three sections of history. And it follows this family from Abraham to Jesus in three parts. From Abraham to David, from David to the exile, and from the exile to Jesus. Notice, even when we are looking at the most general or broad pattern, this breaking the family into three parts, you see a break in the pattern. There are three people and one event. Abraham, David, the exile in Babylon, and Jesus. Which of these things is not like the other. Now Matthew could have easily substituted Babylon for Zedekiah, the king at the time of the exile but he doesn’t why? Matthew chose to do it this way so that it would be absolutely clear to us how Jesus relates to the exile. That is, Jesus ends the exile. But Matthew does more with his ordering of material. He not only orders it chronologically but also numerically. Notice at the end of the genealogy everything is counted. And it’s counted in three sets of 14 generations.