In Part Two, the content of the story will be examined. After the context (STUDY THE CONTEXT: Macro Hermeneutics, Part One) is thoroughly researched, the interpreter moves inside to the content of the text itself. Macro hermeneutics looks at the trees. Micro hermeneutics focuses on the tree. Part two is: EXAMINE THE DETAILS OF THE PASSAGE SELECTED TO PREACH (Micro Hermeneutics, Part Two).
1. STUDY THE CONTEXT (Macro Hermeneutics)
2. EXAMINE THE DETAILS OF THE PASSAGE SELECTED TO PREACH (Micro Hermeneutics)
This step studies what is unique to narratives in contrast to other genres: scenes, plot, scene depiction, characterization, dialogue, repetition (which is not unique to the narrative but is an important literary characteristic), grammatically significant words, and theologically important words.
A. Identify the SCENES in the story
In the New Testament Epistles, the preaching or teaching unit is the paragraph, in Hebrew Poetry it is the stanza, and in narratives, it is the scene or combination of scenes. The following scenes or combination of scenes become the main divisions in the flood story in Genesis 6-8.
1. Scenes are identified by (Genesis 6:1-2) an episode beginning “And it came to pass.”
2. Scenes are identified by a quote or content change (Genesis 6:3). The first dialogue is sometimes important in narratives.
3. Scenes are identified by content changes (Genesis 6:4).
4. Scenes are identified by location change (Genesis 6:5-7). Now sin is worldwide.
5. Scenes are identified by content changes (Genesis 6:8-10). The biography of Noah (תּוֹלֵדוֹת toledot) “generation” or “account” or “genealogy.” Noah’s toledot is the most extensive account of all the toledot in Genesis 1-11.
6. Scenes are identified by location changes to the whole earth (Genesis 6:11-12).
Constable shows the literary convention of the chiasm that Moses used.[1] Allen P. Ross notes the theological significance of the chiasm: “The entire account of the flood was arranged according to a pattern of antithetical parallelism in which the second half of the story reflects the first half in reverse (i.e., in a chiasm) .... [The chiasm] “demonstrates ... the entire reversal centering on the divine remembrance of Noah. Here is the balance between the judgment on sinners and the deliverance of the recipients of grace.[2]
As will be seen under Plot or storyline, narratives are built on the problem/solution basis. The problem in the Flood Narrative is the sinfulness of mankind in 6:1-10. The solution is judgment of sinners and the deliverance of God’s people in 6:11-8:22.
A. God resolves to destroy the corrupt race (6:11-12).
B. Noah builds an ark according to God’s instructions (6:13-22).
C. The Lord commands the remnant to enter the ark (7:1-9).
D. The flood begins (7:10-16).
E. The flood prevails 150 days and the water covers the mountains (7:17-24).
F. God remembers Noah (8:1a)
E’. The flood recedes 150 days, and the mountains are visible (8:1b-5).
D’. The earth dries (8:6-14).
C’. God commands the remnant to leave the ark (8:15-19).
B’. Noah builds an altar (8:20).
A’. The Lord resolves not to destroy humankind (8:21-22).
7. Scenes are identified by content changes (Genesis 6:13-22). The next dialogue. God announces judgment on sinners and instructs how to build the ark.
8. Scenes are identified by content changes (Genesis 7:1-9). The first “come” in Scripture.
9. Scenes are identified by an episode beginning “And it came to pass” and time change (Genesis 7:10-16).
10. Scenes are identified by time changes (Genesis 7:17-24).
11. Scenes are identified by content, time, and location changes (Genesis 8:1b-5).
12. Scenes are identified by content changes (Genesis 8:6-14) and by an episode beginning “And it came to pass.” The earth begins to dry.
13. Scenes are identified by content change. God commands the remnant to leave the ark (8:15-19) and establishes the third dispensation of human government.
14. Scenes are identified by content changes (Genesis 8:20-22). God declares he will not destroy mankind again with a flood.
Scenes or combinations of scenes should next be converted into timeless principles which become the main divisions in sermons or Bible studies as demonstrated in the narrative of the flood in Genesis 6-8.
Main Point of the Sermon: God blesses man because of his faith (Genesis 6-8)
Interrogative statement: Why does God bless man because of his faith?
Transitional sentence: Because of the following reasons
1. Because man is sinful (Genesis 6:1-7)
2. Because God provides an escape from sin (Genesis 6:8-7:9)
3. Because Judgment is coming (Genesis 7:10-8:19)
4. Because God is worthy of our worship (Genesis 8:15-22)
Main Point of the Sermon: God blesses man because of his faith (Genesis 6-8) with more detail
Interrogative statement: Why does God bless man because of his faith?
Transitional sentence: Because of the following reasons
1. Because man is sinful (Genesis 6:1-7)
A. Sinful marriages (6:1-4)
1) The ungodly line of Cain “the daughters of men” (chapter four) intermarried with the godly line of Seth “the sons of God” (chapter five). Even the godly line of Seth became sinful (Matthew 24:36-38).
2) The consequence of the ungodly marriages (6:3). The lengthy lives of the antediluvians are shortened but also there is a period of 120 years of grace.
3) There were violent men called giants. These were similar to the giants that the ten spies said inhabited the Promise Land in Numbers 13:33.
B. Worldwide wickedness (6:5-8)
1) Mankind’s sins (6:5)
2) Mankind’s sin’s effect on God (6:6-7). Does God suffer?
2. Because God provides an escape from sin (Genesis 6:8-7:9)
Though threatened by worldwide sin, God determines to preserve His blessings on mankind and to preserve His “seed” (3:15).
A. Righteous Noah is alone in a wicked world (6:8-10)
B. In a corrupt and violent world which God determines to judge (6:11-12)
C. God provides an escape from the coming judgment (6:13-7:9)
1) God’s first speech (6:13-22).
a. Build an ark of safety (6:13-18)
b. Noah obeyed (6:19-22) and the ark is complete.
2) God’s second speech (7:1-9)
a. God commands Noah and his family to enter the ark because he is righteous (7:1-5). The first “come” in Scripture.
b. Noah obeyed (7:5 and 9)
3. Because Judgment is coming (Genesis 7:10-8:19)
A. God shuts Noah and his family in and protects them from judgment (7:10-16) “and it came to pass” starts a new episode.
B. The judgment falls (7:17-24)
1) The flood continues (7:17-20). Reasons for a universal flood by Constable
a. The purpose of the Flood (6:5-7, 11-13)
b. The need for an ark (6:14)
c. The size of the ark (6:15-16)
d. The universal terms used in the story (6:17-21; 7:19, 21-23) (cf. Luke 2:1; Matt. 28:19-20)
e. The amount of water involved (7:11, 20; 8:2)
f. The duration of the Flood: 371 days (7:11; 8:14)
g. The testimony of Peter (2 Pet. 3:3-7)
h. The faithfulness of God (8:21). There have been many local floods since. Noah’s flood. If God were promising no more local floods, then God has not kept his promise
2) All flesh died (7:21-24)
C. God ends his judgment (8:1-14)
1) God remembered and kept his promise to Noah (8:1a). From this point the waters start to recede and the earth dries out. God intervenes to save Noah.
2) The floodwaters recede (8:1-5)
3) The earth dries (8:6-14)
4. Because God is worthy of our worship (Genesis 8:15-22)
A. God commands Noah and his family to exit the ark (8:15-17) with dialogue.
B. Noah obeyed (8:18-19)
C. Noah worships (8:20). The first mention of “altar” in Scripture.
D. God promises never to curse mankind again (8:21-22) with dialogue.
A sermon or Bible study will be based on the recognition of the scenes as the following outline show. The summary statement from the scenes can be converted into timeless principles which become the main divisions in a sermon or bible study. The main divisions reflects scenes or groups of scenes. In long narratives groups of scenes will be united to form main divisions as seen in the outline below.
The format for your sermon or Bible study
Title
Scripture
Introduction:
Attention step
Interest step
Lead into the subject step
Main Point of the Sermon: God blesses man because of his faith (Genesis 6-8)
Interrogative statement: Why does God bless man because of his faith?
Transitional sentence: Because of the following reasons
1. Because man is sinful (Genesis 6:1-7)
A. Explanation (answers your listener’s question: What do these verses mean?)
B. Illustration (answers your listener’s question: What does this explanation look like? Can you give me a concrete example)
C. Application (answers your listener’s question: What does this have to do with my life?)
2. Because God provides an escape from sin (Genesis 6:8-7:9)
A. Explanation
B. Illustration
C. Application
3. Because Judgment is coming (Genesis 7:10-8:19)
A. Explanation
B. Illustration
C. Application
4. Because God is worthy of our worship (Genesis 8:15-22)
A. Explanation
B. Illustration
C. Application
Conclusion:
Summation of MPS and main divisions
Final exhortation to practice the MPS
B. Identify the PLOT or the storyline.
The plot is the organization of events or scenes in order to inform in an interesting way the author’s message to persuade the listener to respond. Leland Ryken defines a plot as that “taken as a whole, the Bible tells a story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end.”[3]
The plot has a basic pattern (beginning, middle, and end). Narratives are built on the problem/solution basis.
1. The BEGINNING or background
a. Genesis 6:1 begins with an episode beginning “And it came to pass.”
b. Here the main character or characters are introduced: their names, personality traits, position in life, and geographical or historical information. The ungodly line of Cain “the daughters of men” (chapter four) and the godly line of Seth “the sons of God” (chapter five).
2. The MIDDLE of the story provides the crisis or complication and resolution.
a. Sinful marriages (6:2-4) and worldwide wickedness (6:5-8)
b. The resolution to the problem is a worldwide judgment on sinners and escape for the righteous (6:9-8:19)
3. The END of the story which provides the conclusion in 8:20-22 when Noah and his family are delivered and worships God.
Kenneth Mathews shows the entire story of Joseph is based on the problem/solution basis in the form of a chiasmus: “The Joseph narrative exhibits an extensive literary chiasmus ... [which] reflects the book’s theological viewpoint of divine providence superintending the lives of the patriarchs.”[3] The problem is in the first half of the chiasmus (Will God keep his promise of blessing the world through Abraham’s family when they are so sinful in Genesis 37-44?) and solution is in the second half (God providentially blesses Abraham’s family in Genesis 45-50). The problem/solution framework is not only found in smaller narratives such as Genesis 6-8 but also in larger narratives such as the Joseph narrative in Genesis 37-50.
A 37:2-11 Joseph the Dreamer
B 37:12-36 Jacob Mourns the “Death’ of Joseph
C 38:1-30 Judah and Tamar
D 39:1-23 Joseph’s Enslavement in Egypt
E 40:1-41:57 Joseph, Savior of Egypt
F 42:1-43:34 Journeys of Brothers to Egypt
G 44:1-34 Joseph Tests the Brothers
G’ 45:1-28 Joseph Reveals His identity
F’ 46:1-27 Journey of family to Egypt
E’ 46:28-47:12 Joseph, Savior of Family
D’ 47:13-31 Joseph’s Enslavement of the Egyptians
C’ 48:1-49:28 Jacob Favors Joseph and Judah
B’ 49:29-50:14 Joseph Mourns the Death of Jacob
A’ 50:15-26 Joseph the Provide
C. Identify SCENE DEPICTION
In scene depiction the author speeds up and down the action to make his point. In Genesis 22, the actions is slowed in 22:4 concerning the three-day trip to Mount Moriah because the details of the journey do not advance the plot. In 22:9-10, however, Abraham’s stellar act of obedience is slowed to emphasize this act of faith. It took Joseph’s brothers about ten days to travel 200 miles by donkey from Canaan to Egypt in Genesis 42:3. Only one verses mentions this trip. But the first meeting between Joseph’s brothers with Joseph after twenty years slowly depicted in Genesis 4-25 because this advances the plot. Joseph is testing his brothers to see if they have grown or if they are still wicked.
The brothers envious (37:1-11). Envy is tested and corrected in the first meeting with Joseph (Gen 42)
2. The brothers are greedy (37:12-28). Greed is tested and corrected in the second meeting (Gen 43)
3. The brothers lack of love (37:29-36). Lack of love is tested and corrected in the third meeting (Gen 44)
D. Identify CHARACTERIZATION of characters as heroes or villains.
1) Protagonist of the Flood story is the central character who is Noah (usually the hero).
2) Antagonists are the villains who are the ungodly line of Cain “the daughters of men” (chapter four) intermarried with the godly line of Seth “the sons of God.” Also, sinful mankind is also the antagonist.
3) Foils (characters who heighten the central character by providing a contrast occasionally such as the king’s men).
a) These characters are idealized (Joseph) or villainized as the brothers of Joseph. Moses is totally honest in his evaluations, he just doesn’t tell the whole story. The brothers probably did good deeds.
b) These characters are sometimes given designations or titles that can reflex their character (Rahab the Harlot) (Goliath the uncircumcised Philistine) (Nehemiah the cupbearer).
c) These characters are rarely physically described but when they are, the description reflexes their character as in Genesis 6:4 (“giants”) (Golaith in 1 Samuel 17:4-7).[4]
E. Identify the DIALOGUE
In narratives dialogue is more important than the action in a story. Often the narration prepares us for the dialogue.
1) In narrative dialogue is compressed and precise.
2) In narrative dialogue sometimes communicates the theme (Genesis 6:3; Genesis 22:1-2; Joshua 1:2 “land”; 2:1; 1 Samuel 4:3 “ark”; Nehemiah 1:3 “wall of Jerusalem”).
3) In narrative dialogue provides insight into the character of the speaker (Genesis 22:1).
F. Identify REPETITION of key words
Within the story look for repetition of words, phrases, and sentences that create an atmosphere, and announce the theme or structure of the story (In Joshua: “the land” repeated in 1:1, 2, 9, 11). Some key words in Genesis 22 are “Here I am” (22:1, 7, and 11; “your only son” in 22:2 12, and 16; “they went both of them together” in 22:6, 8 and, 19).
G. Identify GRAMMATICALLY significant words
Some grammatically significant words are “and it came to pass” which are episode beginning indicators (sometimes just scene changes) as in Genesis 6:1 Genesis 22:1 and 20 which mark the beginning and end of this narrative.
H. Identify THEOLOGICALLY important words
The following are theologically significant words in Genesis
1. The Abrahamic Covenant
a) The original covenant or promise (12:1-3)
b) The everlasting covenant (13:15)
c) The boundaries of the covenant (15:18)
d) The sign of the covenant (17:11)
e) The expansion of the covenant (22:15)
2. Seed
The Four Seeds of Abraham (from Thomas Constable)
a) The natural seeds are the physical descendants of Abraham (22:17 “seeds” plural).
b) The natural-spiritual seed are believing physical descendants of Abraham (Rom 9:6)
c) The spiritual seed are believing non-physical descendants of Abraham (Gal 3:6)
d) The ultimate seed is Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16; Gen 22:18 “seed” singular)
[1] Thomas Constable, NetBible.org (Genesis 6:9).
[2] Allen P. Ross, Creation & Blessing (Grand Rapids: Baker Book, 1988), 190-191.
[3] Leland Ryken, Words of Delight (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1992), 31.
[4] tn The Hebrew word נְפִילִים (nfilim) is simply transliterated here because the meaning of the term is uncertain. According to the text, the Nephilim became mighty warriors and gained great fame in the antediluvian world. The text may imply they were the offspring of the sexual union of the “sons of God” and the “daughters of humankind” (v. 2), but it stops short of saying this in a direct manner. The Nephilim are mentioned in the OT only here and in Num 13:33, where it is stated that they were giants (thus KJV, TEV, NLT “giants” here). The narrator observes that the Anakites of Canaan were descendants of the Nephilim. Certainly these later Anakite Nephilim could not be descendants of the antediluvian Nephilim (see also the following note on the word “this”).
tn This observation is parenthetical, explaining that there were Nephilim even after the flood. If all humankind, with the exception of Noah and his family, died in the flood, it is difficult to understand how the postdiluvian Nephilim could be related to the antediluvian Nephilim or how the Anakites of Canaan could be their descendants (see Num 13:33). It is likely that the term Nephilim refers generally to “giants” (see HALOT 709 s.v. נְפִילִים) without implying any ethnic connection between the antediluvian and postdiluvian varieties (NetBible on Genesis 6:4).
[5] Kenneth A. Matthews, The New American Commentary: Genesis 1-11:26 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 72, 680.