Lockman - Bible questions and answers

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Results		Verse	Author	ID#
1	Creation: Written as Prose or Poetry?	Gen 2:1	Lionstrong	29170
	I know the liberal theologians view Gen 1 and following as poetry, in order to deny it as true history, but are there conservative theologians who view chapter one as poetry and not prose? (Not that poetry makes the account any less historical) In my translation the curse in chapter 3 is translated as poetry, as well as Adam naming Eve in chapter 2, but chapter 1 is not translated in a poetic format in my translation (NASB). I see the creation account as brief prose, not poetic verse. Are there any Hebrew scholars out there? Peace, Lionstrong
2	Creation: Written as Prose or Poetry?	Gen 2:1	Emmaus	29179
	Lionstrong, I don't dispute your point about liberal theologians. But they do the same things with passages that are not poetic, but prose. They just deny the factual basis or accuracy of prose passages. As you note, the poetic translation of Genesis 2 in your bible does not undermine the truth of Genesis 2. On the other hand poety is a very effective and concise way of packing a lot of truth into a few words. There are conservative theologians who see Genesis 1 as poetry. Again keep in mind there were originally no chapter and verse divisions. Genesis 1 is so familiar to us, we tend not to read it carefully. If we read the whole chapter a out loud, we will noticing its poetic structure and rhythm even in English. Try going back and underlining phrases that are repeated throughout the chapter. There is a poetic beauty there. Repetition to make a point is a characteristic of Hebrew poetry. Just look at the Psalms. However, I am not holding myself out as a Hebrew scholar. Emmaus
3	Creation: Written as Prose or Poetry?	Gen 2:1	Lionstrong	30725
	I see the repetitions, Emmaus, but I see it as prosaic repetitions, not poetic. You're Catholic (Roman Catholic?). So, I probably won't know your conservative authors who view Gen 1 as poetic, but who are they? Peace, Lionstrong
4	Creation: Written as Prose or Poetry?	Gen 2:1	Emmaus	30778
	Lionstrong, In your initial post and a follow up to me you state: "I see the creation account as brief prose, not poetic verse." "I see the repetitions, ...but I see it as prosaic repetitions, not poetic." My response would be that I see Genesis 1 as poetic narrative or poetic prose, if that is not an oxymoron. Technically you may be correct. But I have difficulty seeing scripture as "prosaic" in the "matter of fact, commonplace, un-poetic" dictionary description of the word. I am sure you did not mean it in that sense, but rather simply as not poetry. As I said in my first post I do not hold myself out as a Hebrew Scholar. I hope Jethro responds to you question. Perhaps he is better acquainted with the Hebrew forms. In at least two Catholic commentaries that I possess Genesis 1 is described as "hymn like" or a "highly structured, hymn like account of creation." That would fall into a broad definition of poetry or poetic, but perhaps not a technical definition of Hebrew poetry. One Catholic biblical theologian who I believe would subscribe to that broader concept of Genesis 1 is Scott Hahn. I would not consider him "liberal." On the other hand I do not know what your definition of conservative is. Our exchange has caused me to reread a variety of sources about narrative and poetic writing and how they are related. My first real poetry textbook, An Introduction to Poetry by X. J. Kennedy, published 1966 by Little Brown and Co. says this on page 332: “It is doubtful that anyone can draw an immoveable boundary between poetry and prose, nor does such an attempt seem necessary. Certain prose needs only to be arranged in lines to be seen as poetry—especially prose that conveys strong emotion in vivid, physical imagery and in terse, figurative rhythmical language.” Another book by Robert Alter, a Jewish scholar, titled The Art of Biblical Narrative, published by Basic Books in 1981 has this to say on page 97: “Perhaps the conceptual matrix for this way of using repetition is to be sought in biblical poetry, which, as in most cultures, antedates prose as a vehicle of literary expression.” This in an interesting topic but may be off the point you are trying to make about Genesis 1. How exactly do you see it beyond the narrative prose construction? Emmaus
5	Creation: Written as Prose or Poetry?	Gen 2:1	Lionstrong	30808
	Hello Emmaus Moses was a top notch writer! Gen 1 is true history, written in non-figurative prose language, yet, to the credit of Moses and the One who inspired him, it is very well and powerfully written. That's how I see it, Emmaus. Thank you for you thorough response. Peace, Lionstrong

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