(III) Narrator of God’s stories

Every story that we read or hear has a writer or narrator.

We tend to unconsciously forget about him. But really, to benefit from Bible reading, we need to be keenly aware that he is there and wants to tell us what the meaning of the story in the Bible is all about.

In this part III of God’s stories, let’s discuss a bit about this narrator. Knowing how he presents God’s stories will help us to interpret Bible Narrative as according to what he wants us to understand.

1. He is omniscient & omnipresence
- He knows everything that the characters did in secret (e.g. the rape of Tamar 2Sam 13)
- He knows what is going on in heaven (Job 1:6-12)
- He shifted from one place to another in a flash (e.g. Gen 24 – one moment he is in Canaan with Abraham, the next moment he is in Mesopotamia with Abraham’s servant). He bounds freely to and fro.

2. Information present by him is of special importance
There is no precise, detail description of the physical appearance of the characters in biblical narratives. But when such information is revealed by the narrator, we need to pay special attention to them. They serve to advance the plot of the story. So when we read that Bathsheba is very beautiful (2Sam 11:2), Eli is fat (1Sam 4;18), David is ruddy and handsome (1Sam 16;12); Ehud is left handed (Jg 3:15); such information are all given by the narrator to help the readers understand and interpret the story.

3. He chooses/selects information to reveal
- Sometimes he tells you in advance. (e.g. Job 1 & 2 – the reader knows in advance why Job suffered while Job’s 3 friends do not)
- Sometime he delays information to create suspense. (e.g. Gideon’s story: Judge 6-8. Do you know who Gideon actually is?)
- Sometimes, he just tells the story as it is and leaves you to make your own evaluation. (e.g. Judges 18; 1King 13)

4. Sometimes, he speaks for God!
– Par excellence of narrator’s unlimited knowledge extent even to reporting about God

Gen 6:6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain
Ex 2:25 So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.
2Sam 11:27b But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.
2 Sam 17:14 Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite is better than that of Ahithophel." For the LORD had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom.

The narrator does not often provide us with information about God’s inner feelings. In consequence, we can assume that when such information is given, the matter is of special importance. God is the absolute and supreme authority.

To be continued …

Reference: Shimon Bar-Efrat, Narrative Art in the Bible, Sheffield Academic Press