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The Art of Biblical Narrative

Robert Alter

4.25 · Rating details · 1,219 ratings · 129 reviews

In what is both a radical approach to the Bible, and a fundamental return to its narrative prose, Robert Alter reads the Old Testament with new eyes—the eyes of a literary critic. Alter takes the old yet simple step of reading the Bible as a literary creation.

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Paperback, 207 pages

Published 1981 by Basic Books

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Jan 28, 2012 Taylor Rollo rated it it was ok

Shelves: interpretation, narrative, exegesis, kindle

In this short but dense work, Alter presents his case for the Bible, particularly the Old Testament (OT), as a piece of literature that can and should be examined with literary techniques. We found this book both very helpful and incredibly frustrating at times. It is helpful because Alter lays out useful techniques that help one examine the Bible as a piece of literature by paying attention to words, actions, dialogue, and narration. It is, however, frustrating because Alter is apparently unawa In this short but dense work, Alter presents his case for the Bible, particularly the Old Testament (OT), as a piece of literature that can and should be examined with literary techniques. We found this book both very helpful and incredibly frustrating at times. It is helpful because Alter lays out useful techniques that help one examine the Bible as a piece of literature by paying attention to words, actions, dialogue, and narration. It is, however, frustrating because Alter is apparently unaware of how his so-called higher-critical assumptions flatly contradict his goal to show the literary themes and connections that weave throughout the OT. This should become clear as we look at the first two chapters of this work.

In chapter one, Alter lays the groundwork for approaching the Bible as a literary work. He states at the beginning of this chapter that the literary art shaping the Biblical narrative is “finely modulated from moment to moment, determining in most cases the minute choice of words and reported details, the pace of narration, the small movements of dialogue, and a whole network of ramified interconnections in the text.” He, however, does little in this chapter to actually prove his assertion that the Bible should be treated as a literary work. He cites examples in Scripture and other scholarly opinion that is moving his direction, but he does not actually argue that it is literature. Furthermore, he flatly states that the conservative view of the Bible as the “unitary source of divinely revealed truth” is one “obvious reason” that scholars did not look at the Bible as literature sooner. He, again, does not argue this point but assumes that it is axiomatic. It is not at all obvious to us that this is the case, especially considering as far back as Augustine the Bible has been viewed by many Christians as a literary work. In this chapter, his contradictory assumptions are evident. He holds to the higher-critical assumption that the OT is a “patchwork” text put together by redactors and that one cannot assume the redactors are “consummate literary artists,” but, at the same time, he argues for a unity of words, themes, repetitions, and type-scenes through large portions of the OT, like the Torah! One cannot say, on the one hand, that the Torah is a “patchwork” with seams showing evidence of JEDP sources and redactors and, on the other hand, that it shows great literary unity. If it is shows literary unity, then where is the evidence for the four sources of the Torah and redactors? If there are sources and redactors that are not “consummate literary artists,” then how can one assume unifying literary aspects?

In chapter two, Alter addresses the question of what the narrative of the Bible is. Is it history? Is it prose fiction? He boldly asserts that Bible does not characterize its narrative as history and that treating it as such will rule out the ability to use the tools of literary analysis. He basically argues that since the OT shows literary artistry and since the writers would not have had any documentation for the stories they recorded, then it must not be history. However, he neither gives a cogent argument, evidence for this assertion, nor does he tell the reader why literary artistry and history should be seen as mutually exclusive. He then classifies the Bible as “historicized fiction,” which he does not really define but it appears that he believes there to be some kernel of historical fact or folklore behind most of the stories but all details and dialogue are completely “imagined” by the writers. He gives the reader examples of what he believes to be straight fiction and what he believes might have some historical basis. Again, he gives no evidence for why he gives a small amount of historical status to some and none to others. He just says that it is “obvious” and makes a few pejorative remarks about any who disagree with him. He concludes that, since “all fiction, including the Bible, is in some sense a form of play,” then while the Bible may have been written primarily to inform and instruct, rather than delight and entertain, it accomplishes this through a literary medium of story.

If one can get through the higher-critical assumptions that contradict his entire thesis, his de jure statements about the fictional character of the OT, and the various subtle insults leveled at anyone who would hold an orthodox view of Scripture, then from chapter three on (with the exception of chapter seven) he gives some valuable insights into biblical interpretation. Contrary to Alter’s assumptions, one does not need to adopt his presuppositions in order to use his literary techniques. The Bible as history and a piece of literary masterpiece are not mutually exclusive qualities.

In chapter three, Alter gives his first literary category for interpreting large sections of Scripture—the biblical “type-scene.” To his credit, he does not accept all of the higher-critical assumptions, as shown here by his rejection of the conclusion that repetitious stories are recreations of a single, initial story (though this is hardly helpful since he believes they are mostly imagined anyway). The type-scene is one in a “series of recurrent narrative episodes attached to the descriptions of biblical heroes… that… are dependent on the manipulation of a fixed constellation of predetermined motifs.” They occur at crucial junctures in the lives of heroes. He then goes on to list the type-scenes he sees in the OT and give an example of how to track one through the OT and use it as an interpretive tool. His example, “the betrothal,” contradicts, again, his view of a “patchwork” OT because it is a thread that runs from Genesis through the historical books. If the redactors were not “consummate literary artists,” how can he explain the presence of these threaded “type-scenes”? Contradiction aside, the technique is valid and fits nicely into a conservative, orthodox view of Scripture.

In chapter four, Alter discusses the relationship between biblical narrative and dialogue. He shows that dialogue is the most important segment for communication because narrative is generally only a bridge between blocks of dialogue (though narrative sometimes gives helpful “omniscient” information). Character traits, thought, plot, etc. are all almost always rendered as direct speech, which is something unique to Hebrew narrative in its time. He uses a number of examples to show the variety of literary purposes for dialogue and what dialogue can express—importance (generally more important events are rendered with dialogue), critical junctures in the story, delineation of character qualities, contrast between characters, moral stance, social stance, political stance, plot, etc.

In chapter five, Alter takes on the subject of repetition. In this chapter, like in three, Alter does not accept the higher-critical assumption that repetition is excessive. It looks most “primitive” to the modern reader but is actually “quite purposeful.” He believes it to be a literary technique: “In biblical prose, the reiteration… formalized into a prominent convention that is made to play a much more central role in the development of thematic argument than does the repetition of such key words in other narrative traditions.” He categorizes several types of repetition that authors used to make connections and theological points: leitwort, motif, theme, sequence of actions, and type-scene. Then he gives a number of examples of how to follow repetition and use it as another literary tool.

In chapter six, Alter examines the topic of characterization. The key to a good story that draws readers in emotionally is characterization. One might think that giving as much description as possible would be ideal, but Alter argues that the key to good characterization is often the wise use of ambiguity with a character that leaves a reader seeking to know more about the person. Here, as in other chapters, his view of the Bible as “historicized fiction” comes out and can be a little frustrating to one who holds an orthodox view of Scripture, but his characterization techniques fit well within orthodox presuppositions. As with the other chapters, most of his teaching regarding characterize is by using examples.

In chapter seven, Alter returns to his higher-critical assumptions and attempts to give an explanation for the contradiction of viewing the Bible as “patchwork” and as a literary unity. Since it would be “naive” to think the Bible is not a “patchwork” of sources, he has to attempt to give an explanation for his presupposition that the Bible has literary unity. His explanation is what he calls “composite artistry.” Basically, he posits that the writers and redactors had certain notions of unity that are different from ours which led “them at times to violate what a later age and culture would be disposed to think of as canons of unity and logical coherence,” so we cannot force our notions on them. While I agree that they may not have had the same notions of unity that we have, this is hardly a solution. If it is true, he is trying to argue for unity from diversity that makes his evidence for diversity moot. If they did have notions of unity as distinct from ours as his examples try to present, then why are the seams between sources even considered seams? On this assumption, the texts could just have easily been written that way as redacted to that form. It is our opinion that he still has not satisfactorily resolved his contradictions. Perhaps if one accepted his higher-criticism presuppositions this would seem reasonable, but we do not and see it as contradicting them.

In chapter eight, Alter turns to the subject of the narrator. Since he acknowledges the theological purpose of the writers, he points out that in narrative the only way to write good dialogue and give the reader theological insights is to have the narrator be omniscient and able to give insight where necessary. This narrator omniscience is the forerunner of third-person omniscience in Western literature. He, of course, sees revelation as impossible de jure, so the narrator omniscience is his own imagination and opinion. Despite this, he gives some good examples of how to use attention to the details of the narrator’s omniscience to gain further insights into the story. We would, however, say that the narrator's omniscience comes from the revelation given by God's omniscient perspective.

In the final chapter, Alter boils his points of literary study down to four things the Bible reader must pay attention to: words, actions, dialogue, and narration. By noticing continuity and discontinuities in these areas the reader can get deeper insight into the stories. This chapter is a good summary of the techniques he puts forward and is actually the best part of the book. We would recommend the reader read chapter nine first, then move back to one and forward. This will help the reader, at least readers that do not agree with his presuppositions, get a grasp on what he is trying to do without being bogged down by his higher-critical banter and assumptions.

In the final analysis, we believe this book can be very helpful to the biblical exegete. Despite disagreeing with his presuppositions in many areas and his contradictory assumptions, we believe his general thesis that the Bible can be studied through literary techniques is correct and his techniques are helpful. As stated above, it is difficult for someone with an orthodox view of Scripture to get past the higher-critical presuppositions and the derogatory remarks he makes about those who disagree with what is “obvious” from them. It is only “obvious” because he has first ruled out revelation de jure and then attempted to interpret the Bible. However, if one can get past those frustrations, one can gain several helpful techniques and insights that will give him literary tools to use in biblical interpretation. We would not recommend this book to a reader who is not at least familiar with higher-criticism, documentary hypothesis, and their failings, otherwise Alter’s view of the orthodox view of Scripture as “naïve” may damage their confidence in God’s Word. If, however, one is set firmly in the authority of Scripture and can mentally debate Alter’s critical presuppositions, then one can gain insight into biblical interpretation from this book. ...more

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Oct 25, 2012 ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos)(RK) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: judaism, criticism-reading-writing

The Art of Biblical Narrative is the best critical work I have read. It does more than just explain. It teaches. It encourages. It makes the reader want to read the [Hebrew] Bible for the pure pleasure of practicing what has been learned, to discover the literary secrets of the Bible and to enjoy anew the art of reading.

I read the Bible, not as revelation nor as history, although I suppose that there is some history there. I read the Bible as literature and as a literary source of Western cultur The Art of Biblical Narrative is the best critical work I have read. It does more than just explain. It teaches. It encourages. It makes the reader want to read the [Hebrew] Bible for the pure pleasure of practicing what has been learned, to discover the literary secrets of the Bible and to enjoy anew the art of reading.

I read the Bible, not as revelation nor as history, although I suppose that there is some history there. I read the Bible as literature and as a literary source of Western culture. Robert Alter, with an obvious passion for language, literature and the Hebrew Bible, takes the reader through a number of steps to recognize the literary richness of the text(s). Impressively, he takes us through uses of convention, repetition, narrative vs dialogue, characterization and more. Each topic is superbly exemplified, often with various examples to show different ways of doing the same thing. The reader cannot help but learn how to read with greater understanding and clarity. Indeed, this is not just learning how to read the Bible. These skills will assist the reader to better understand how to read with depth and understanding.

The only weakness I found in the book was in the chapter called “Composite Artistry”. Here he attempts to explain those parts of the Bible where the same story is told twice but with different developments. Examples include: the creation of man and woman simultaneously in Genesis 1 by god simply with the power of his words while in Genesis 2 Adam is created from the soil and god blows life into him and then later creates woman from Adam’s rib. The two stories of creation are very different in many ways. Alter wants to give a literary gloss to such inconsistencies and, indeed, I would agree with him that these are not just slip ups on the part of the priestly redactors who brought the various stories together. Alter’s explanations remain weak here and he admits to it. I expect that these types of inconsistencies are more likely the result of editorial disputes that were resolved by keeping both stories. Woman was created twice (thus opening the door for Lilith); David was working as a shepherd for his father while moonlighting as court musician for the stressed out Saul who just didn't recognize David as his musician when David slew Goliath. These types of things occur with committees where some form of concession is needed to bring about agreement.

The book is otherwise excellent and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to understand with greater depth the meaning of the biblical stories or just wanting to read better. I would also recommend it to would be writers. As I have noted elsewhere in Goodreads, I see the influence of the Hebrew Bible in the works of Hemingway and McCarthy. I am certain to be seeing much more in the future. There is much to be learned here. Five big stars…and now on to reading Alter’s translation of “The Five Books of Moses” in order to try out all of these new skills.
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Jan 13, 2018 Jeff rated it really liked it

The author is a professor of Hebrew and comparative literature, not a theologian or “biblical scholar.” This is the basis for a perspective on the Old Testament to which most Christian readers do not have access. Consider, for example, the talking snake of Genesis 3; fictionalized prose or historically accurate? Most conservative Christians don’t want to go there. Might there be something to be gained by doing so?

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Sep 06, 2020 Jacob Aitken rated it it was amazing

Shelves: hermeneutics, old-testament

Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 1981.

Within a few pages I knew I was in the presence of a master. Not only is Robert Alter in complete command of the Hebrew language, but he is second to none in English literature as well. Both are obvious in this work.

I am perfectly willing to grant an editorial process to the Hebrew text. I think that is common sense. That, however, does not justify the multiple sub-authorships that critical scholars have posited. And while ...more

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Jul 15, 2014 Bill rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: commentary-bible

Alter's description of the intricate details of OT narratives that usually escape modern readers is fantastic. His defence of the literary integrity of the OT narratives against the claims of source criticism is refreshing. He's ambivalent about the historicity of the events of the OT narratives. Alter writes from a Jewish viewpoint. ...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Mike rated it it was amazing

So why are there two separate creation myths in Genesis? The story of God creating Adam and Eve simultaneously and the story of God creating Eve out of Adam’s rib? Source criticism would have us believe that the redactor was simply stitching together stories from two distinct oral traditions. Robert Alter would have us look at the Bible through the lens of literary criticism, to recognize and consider how and why the author (s) employed such literary devices as narration, dialogue, characterizat ...more

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Feb 19, 2019 Nick rated it really liked it

Shelves: own, biblical-studies

I was a bit torn on how to rate this book. It dragged on a bit for me, but it was very rich with insights into Scripture. I love getting a Jewish perspective on Old Testament passages, because even if I don’t agree with the final outcome, it still makes me see things from a different perspective. I frequently had to stop reading this book and open my Bible to make notes and look at things for myself. That’s always a good thing. I can’t wait to dip into his second volume, The Art of Biblical Poet ...more

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Nov 22, 2020 Parker rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Alter's impressive sense for literary detail is immensely helpful for dense readers like myself. I picked this book up in the hopes of gaining some insights that would help me to write an exegetical paper on a narrative passage, and I wasn't disappointed. While I can't agree with every conclusion at which he arrived, this book has equipped me with a framework that will assist me in finding meaning in Old Testament narrative. ...more

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Nov 28, 2011 Nelson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: old-testament, masculinity

This is the first major book-length treatment of the Bible as literature, and was published in the 1980s. I especially enjoyed the chapter, "Composite Artistry." In that chapter Alter showed that contradictions in the Bible were due not to sloppiness by the unsophisticated ancients, was often assumed, but the deliberate thrust of a literary genius.

Most memorable was the section on the 2 different creation accounts in Genesis. The (P) account (Gen. 1-2:4) presents an orderly narrative of the crea ...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Christopher rated it liked it

Definitely a mixed bag, but Alter makes his point well: the Bible is not a poorly written, sketchy book. It is, in fact, the most carefully written, well-thought out, systematic book you will ever read.

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Jul 08, 2011 Mike rated it it was amazing

A pleasure to read. Demonstrates very simply how masterful (even crafty!) the Scriptures are, with many practical tips on reading between the lines in the Bible.

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Feb 28, 2021 Taylor Swift Scholar rated it it was amazing

Shelves: christmas-list

Oh my goodness I love this book. Alter's essential argument is that a literary approach to the Bible is valid and can yield worthwhile insight. In order to achieve this, he provides examples of his own analysis, some of which are so well done that they made me want to cry. Offering a masterclass in close-reading, Alter insists that the reader takes the Bible on its own terms rather than assuming that the text we have now is the error of a redactor or the product of archaic minds (or, on the othe ...more

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Feb 10, 2021 Cheyanne Welch rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biblical-literature, theology-i-can-get-behind, recommendable

“Subsequent religious tradition has by and large encouraged us to take the Bible seriously rather than to enjoy it, but the paradoxical truth of the matter may well be that by learning to enjoy the biblical stories more fully as stories, we shall also come to see more clearly what they mean to tell us about God, man, and the perilously momentous realm of history” (235).

I thoroughly enjoyed this critical analysis of literary techniques used by biblical writers and how understanding these techniqu ...more

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Apr 24, 2018 Katie Stahl rated it it was amazing

Brilliant. Robert Alter has changed the way I read the Bible. In this book he shows how the biblical stories are not crude and simple, but woven together with great literary imagination. To quote him, “The human figures that move through this landscape thus seem livelier, more complicated and various, than one’s preconceptions might have allowed.”

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Jan 12, 2020 Jesse Rice rated it really liked it

Religious tradition pushes us to treat the Bible seriously, but the paradox may be that learning to enjoy the Bible as story May help us more clearly understand what it says about God, man, and existence. (189, paraphrase)

Very good book. Should reread someday.

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Apr 04, 2019 Justin rated it it was amazing

Brilliant. As a former English Lit student who loves the Bible, an utter delight.

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Feb 03, 2020 B. P. C. rated it really liked it

Shelves: ihs-old-testament-understanding, ihs-biblical-theology

A pleasure to read. Despite his general acceptance of the psychotic consensus of source criticism, he is a very attentive reader and provides great insights. Christian readers would do well to follow his "method", which he summarizes in the Conclusion. ...more

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May 25, 2020 Aaron rated it really liked it

Not a casual read—each page weighs about twenty pounds. That being said, I loved Alter's breakdowns of biblical stories, especially his frequent reference to Joseph in Egypt. ...more

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Jan 20, 2019 Laurent Dv rated it really liked it

Shelves: hermeneutics, biblical-books, theology

Good book that gives insights for interpreting biblical narratives (through repetition, narration, speechs, revelations, type-scenes etc), with a lot of examples (David's story, Joseph's). But written by (I think ?) a jewish scholar so it doesn't take Jesus and redemptive-history into account. ...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Mary Overton added it

"The biblical tale, through the most rigorous economy of means, leads us again and again to ponder complexities of motive and ambiguities of character because these are essential aspects of its vision of man, created by God, enjoying or suffering all the consequences of human freedom.... Almost the whole range of biblical narrative ... embodies the basic perception that man must live before God, in the transforming medium of time, incessantly and perplexingly in relation with others." loc 473

"It ...more

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Mar 15, 2014 Koen Crolla rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Alter is deeply, almost aggressively ignorant of the history of both the Hebrew Bible itself and the region in which its stories take place, but doesn't let that stop him from delineating historical fact and fancy, and projecting, evidence-free, scores of motives onto both the writers of the Bible and their original target audience, usually in exactly the smug and self-indulgent way his stereotype as a literary analyst demands.
If his point is that Hebrew Bible's legendary dullness is mostly a co ...more

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Aug 21, 2014 Graham Heslop rated it really liked it

“Religious tradition has by and large encouraged us to take the Bible seriously rather than enjoy it, but the paradoxical truth of the matter may well be that by learning to enjoy the biblical stories more fully as stories, we shall also come to see more clearly what they mean to tell us about God, man, and the perilously momentous realm of history”. So ends Robert Alter’s seminal contribution to biblical literary criticism. I am convinced that any serious biblical scholar, and not only Old Test ...more

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Jan 09, 2009 James rated it it was amazing

Shelves: old-testament

I really enjoyed this book. Alter walks through the literary features of the Hebrew Bible (within the narrative accounts). There are so many great insights in this book.

While Alter identifies the historical impulse behind the biblical text, he doesn't hold up the historicity of everything in the biblical account which I would. However his attention to the literary artistry and examination of the Hebrew idiom and literary conventions (i.e. repetition of key words, variations in repeated words, ec ...more

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Oct 29, 2011 Peter rated it it was amazing

"The monotheistic revolution of biblical Israel was a continuing and disquieting one. It left little margin for neat and confident views about God, the created world, history, and man as a political animal or moral agent, for it repeatedly had to make sense of the intersection of incompatibles--the relative and the absolute, human imperfection and divine perfection, the brawling chaos of historical experience and God's promise to fulfill a design in history. The biblical outlook is informed, I t ...more

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Jan 25, 2008 Sue rated it did not like it

Shelves: christian, abandoned

I did try with this. It's written from a Jewish perspective, supposedly showing how the Old Testament is written with various literary styles, and the significance of them. It sounded interesting, and was one of the required books for a theology course my son took.

Unfortunately, it was verbose and rather tedious, at least in the first couple of chapters. Worse, it spent far too long criticising many other writers who had written on similar topics. Perhaps the criticisms were valid, but they didn ...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Andy Oram rated it it was amazing

Shelves: religion, literature

Alter turns the gem we've inherited in the form of the Jewish Bible to a new facet and shows that the unknown authors of these texts used considerable skill--perhaps inventing a narrative style that never before existed--to leave the reader with philosophical and moral complexities as sophisticated as anything we'll find in modern literature. I don't believe that reading this book is enough to turn the average American into a literary analyst of the Bible, because a sense of narrative has to be ...more

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Dec 16, 2011 Steve rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-of-2012, bible

This is a very insightful piece on how to read the Bible as narrative. So 4+ stars for moments of insight but dips here and there due to the secular Jewish perspective of Alter. However, really worthwhile all the way through.

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Nov 11, 2012 Daniel Wright rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bible, old-testament, literary-studies, religion

If you read this book, you may well get bogged down in the dryness of the prose several times. On the other hand, if you read this book, you will certainly never read the Old Testament in the same way again.

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Aug 09, 2015 John Sims rated it it was amazing

Fantastic analysis of the Hebrew text from a secular literary perspective. Alter is a genius at bringing the stories of the bible into beautiful detail, and he gives the reader the tools to do the same. I would recommend this to anyone who has ever seen the bible as being "crudely written". ...more

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Jul 14, 2014 Sung Min rated it it was amazing

Watershed of literary criticism of the Scripture. Classic. Read over and over again.

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About Robert Alter

Robert Alter

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Robert Bernard Alter is an American professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967, and has published many acclaimed works on the Bible, literary modernism, and contemporary Hebrew literature.

Books by Robert Alter

The Book of Psalms: A Translation with Commentary

The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel

The Wisdom Books: Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes

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“Balaam in his wrath hardly seems to notice the miraculous gift of speech but responds as though he were accustomed to having daily domestic wrangles with his asses” — 7 likes

“Judah and Jacob-Israel are not simple eponymous counters in an etiological tale (this is the flattening effect of some historical scholarship) but are individual characters surrounded by multiple ironies, artfully etched in their imperfections as well as in their strengths. A histrionic Jacob blinded by excessive love and perhaps loving the excess; an impetuous, sometimes callous Judah, who is yet capable of candor when confronted with hard facts; a fiercely resolved, steel-nerved Tamar—all such subtly indicated achievements of fictional characterization suggest the endlessly complicated ramifications and contradictions of a principle of divine election intervening in the accepted orders of society and nature.” — 2 likes

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