Looking at Biblical Literature with Key Stage Two

Our understanding of the Bible is enhanced when we realise that there are many different types of literature contained within it. It is not - and was never intended to be an objective, historical textbook. It is essentially a spiritual work, talking of the nature of God and the relationship of God with man. In this context questions about "truth" are not about historical or scientific truth, but spiritual truth. Children need to be introduced to the different types of literature in the Bible and the questions they are dealing with. This is to enable them to avoid the trap of literalism, so that, for example, they do not reject the whole of the bible because the stories in Genesis 1 & 2 are not the same as our modern scientific accounts of the beginning of the world.

The following are examples of the main types of literature to be found with an introduction to the ideas which lie behind them.

Myths

In the Biblical context a myth is not a story which is untrue, but a story which intends to convey truth, and it is this truth which is the important element of the story. There are many examples of this type of story outside the Bible as well, eg stories about how the robin acquired its red breast, or the giraffe its long neck. The purpose is to explain something about the world as we know it. Many of the Greek myths are more developed forms of these, so that the story of Pandora's box is intended as an analysis of why there is pain and conflict in the world. To discern this the reader must be prepared to look beneath the surface of the story, and it is this willingness and ability which we need to develop in the children. The creation stories in Genesis are stories which require us to look deeply into what they reveal about the purpose of God in creation, and the nature of man, the origin of sin and evil in disobedience etc.

Another example is in Genesis 11:1-9, the story of the Tower of Babel. The story is well-known and its details are simple: mankind unites to build a tower which will reach to the heavens. God decides this is not a good idea and scatters them all over the earth, with a variety of languages so that they do not finish the tower, and, as they can no longer understand one another, will not be able to work together again to try again. The story explains why there are so many languages in the world - God intended to divide mankind so that they could not attempt to combine against Him again. it is also a commentary on the nature of man being proud and ambitious, and the way to prevent this getting out of hand was to make sure they stayed divided. It may well be that the motif of the tower has its origin in the huge ziggurats in Babylon, but this is not its significance, nor are questions about where Shinar is to be found or who is the "us" that God refers to in v7.

Much of the first eleven chapters of Genesis are in this category of myth, and should be treated with care so that children do not take them literally and be in danger, as they grow older, of dismissing them as fairy stories.

Classroom suggestion KS2; Explore the idea of myth as stories conveying truth and look at other examples, which could be taken from your current History topic if appropriate. Set the children to write and tell their own myths in the manner of e.g. the just So Stories; these could explain what they consider to be universal truths or their perception of the world.

Legend

A legend is a story with its basis in historical fact, but which has become exaggerated over the years of telling. Robin Hood's stories are secular examples of this type. Most countries' histories contain such stories, and Israel's is no exception. Stories about Samson are examples, and so is the story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). This is a good story - and often used with children - or the simple shepherd boy with his sling and pebbles triumphing over the enormous Philistine warrior in his armour and with his fearsome weapons. Has Goliath grown in the telling? Has David's simplicity increased over the years? We do not know. We do know, however, that it is attributed to God being on David's side.

Classroom suggestion KS2; Collect legends from your own locality, discuss and analyze the amount of truth these may contain and where the story appears to be exaggerated. Alternatively, look at well known stories such as Robin Hood and consider whether these have been glamorised - you can then ask the same type of questions about stories such as Samson from the OId Testament.

Law

The laws of the Old Testament are contained in the first five books, known to the Jews as the Torah (Hebrew for law). Most are to be found in the four books Exodus to Deuteronomy. They are concerned with what God requires of mankind as part of the covenant relationship which is between them, and which we hear of being made between God and Noah. Abraham and Moses. The Old Testament faith centres on this notion of the covenant, the agreement between God and his chosen people, Israel, with requirements on both sides. God promises to look after Israel as long as they live up to the demands he makes on them, which are set out in the laws, and which includes both worship and their treatment of each other. The summary of these is set out in the Decalogue - the Ten Commandments - to be found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. The other laws put these into greater detail, so that the commandment says "Honour your Father and Mother", while in Deuteronomy 21:18-21 we are told that if a son is so disobedient to his parents that they cannot control him, they can appeal to the elders and he maybe put to death (We do not know how often this law was used!) Within the Torah are also the laws about the type of worship to be carried out and the festivals to be observed. This is referred to as the ritual law.

Classroom Suggestions KS2; Discussion of laws may form a part of your negotiation of rules in your classroom. What new commandments would children wish to add to the original Decalogue in the Iight of twentieth century life?

History

While there are the categories of myth and legend, there is historical narrative in both the Old Testament and the New.

The whole of the Old Testament is set in an historical context, and God is seen as active within that history. Archaeology has contributed to our understanding of the Old Testament background, and at times events involve interaction with other nations in that area and we find mention is made of Israel in their records. An example of this is to be found in 2 Kings 18:13 onwards. The Biblical narrative tells of how, in the reign of Hezekiah of Judah (c715-687BC), the king of Assyria, Sennacherib, invaded Judah and threatened Jerusalem. Hezekiah sued for peace and offered to pay a large sum of money in tribute. He had also set about strengthening Jerusalem's defences, including an improved water supply in case of another siege (2 Kings 20:20). The conduit referred to here is thought to be the one which was discovered beneath that city in 1880. (It is to be noted that the prophet Isaiah was active during the reign of Hezekiah) The Biblical account then goes on to talk about a miraculous deliverance of the nation at the hands of God who sent some type of plague - this does not match Sennacherib's account exactly!

The reference to the campaign in the Assyrian annals has been paraphrased below;

“as for Hezekiah, the Jew, who would not obey me, I besieged and captured forty-six of his strong walled towns and numberless villages. I captured 200,150 prisoners and took all their animals and belongings. I shut him up LIKE A CAGED BIRD in his capital city of Jerusalem, and then gave away all the cities I had captured from him to his enemies. Hezekiah was so frightened of me that he paid me enormous sums in . gold and silver and precious presents and even sent me members of his family and his servants to be my hostages and slaves.”

Other examples can be found of external sources corroborating the biblical narrative. However, external sources are written with their own bias and interpretation of events, as is the Bible. Our Biblical writers interpret events in the light of their faith, so that when events work in Israel's favour it is because God is pleased with them. however, when disaster strikes they look for the reasons for God's displeasure.

In the NT the Gospels (qv) are written within a historical context, but again are interpreting events. The Acts of the Apostles is an account of the sequence of events following the ascension of Jesus. It chronicles the beginnings of the Christian Church, concentrating particularly on the work and travels of the Apostle Paul. Again it is history written with a purpose, in this case illustrating how the church spread from Jerusalem, the centre of the Jewish world, to Rome, the centre of the known world and the all-powerful Roman empire.

Classroom Suggestions KS2; Use the two accounts of the Bible and Sennacherib's annals to set up work on historical bias of sources and cover some history skills thereby.

Prophecy

The prophetic literature is a particular form to be found in the Old Testament. Prophecy is popularly thought of as the ability to foretell the future. While this is to some extent correct, the prophets of the Old Testament were warning their people about what would happen if they did not mend their ways. They were God's spokesmen, reminding people of their obligations to God under their covenant with him, and that if they broke their side of that bargain they could no longer expect God to look after them or favour them.

The story of the prophet Amos illustrates this role of the prophet. He was a herdsman by occupation, from Tekoa, who believed that God had told him to go and speak to the people of Israel. Dating from around 740BC his words tell us that the people had forgotten about their social responsibility. There was a great gulf between the rich and the poor, the rich enjoying a life of great luxury at the expense of the poor whom they exploited to such an extent that the price of a slave was the same as a pair of shoes. They had forgotten all the commandments about charity and justice, and protection for the weaker members of society in their quest for wealth. This Amos tells them is against God's law, and it does not matter how extravagant their arrangements for worship are, God will not accept them. His requirements are fair dealing with each other, and only then is their worship of any value. "Let justice roll down like the waters, and righteousness like and everflowing stream." (Amos 5:24) This verse sums up Amos' message. He also warns the people that, if they do not change their ways, God will punish them. This will result in their being conquered, and if they survive the destruction of their homes and cities they will be taken away as captives and slaves into a foreign land. Amos' words did come true. There was no change in the way of life in the northern kingdom, and in 722 BC their capital Samaria was captured and destroyed by the Assyrian armies. The people were taken away as captives never to return. However, while the accuracy of his message may validate his role as prophet, it could be said that real success would have been to convince the people to change and so avert the disaster.

Although the prophets worked many centuries ago there is much in their work which has something to say to our own day. Human nature does not change even though the years move on. They were also made to suffer for their message, which was often unpopular; it may be that the prophet Jeremiah was killed, he certainly went through some unpleasant experiences.

Modern examples of people who are prepared to speak out against what they believe to be wrong with our society, and suffer as a consequence, or are considered as eccentric, could be seen alongside the Old Testament prophets. Looking at what pupils themselves would like to put right in the world today, and how far they would be prepared to go in a cause would also fit into a study of prophecy and enable them to see its importance.

Classroom Suggestions KS2; Amos spoke out against the corruption of his day - children now have a global vision of world problems, thanks to the TV, what would a modern Amos be preaching about?

Story

There are some books in the Bible which were written for a specific purpose, while they appear to be either historical narratives or books of prophecy. Jonah, Ruth, Esther and Daniel are notable examples of these, while there may be stories of this nature within other books. Each is set firmly within a historical context so that their purpose is not immediately obvious, and to discern the purpose it is necessary to find out about the circumstances in which they were written and the need they were intended to meet.

The book of Daniel was written during the reign of the Seleucid Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes (c175-163BC) although its apparent setting is the Babylonian exile of the Jews. Antiochus Epiphanes attempted to suppress the Jewish faith and impose a Greek way of life in its place. Daniel's story - of one who remained faithful to God and so was protected by him - was to encourage and strengthen those Jews who were resisting Antiochus.

The books of Jonah and Ruth were written to counter the exclusive nature of the Jewish faith after the Babylonian Exile. The story of Jonah is an allegory on the refusal of the Jews to share their knowledge of God with the other nations of the world, and, when forced into it, the reluctance to accept that others can and will respond to God's word. The book of Ruth is an appealing story of a foreign woman who became part of an Israelite family. On the death of her first husband, she chooses to stay with her mother-in-law and they return to Israel where she is taken in by a relative of the family and becomes his wife (this in accordance with the Law) and the great-grandmother of David, the greatest king and hero of the Jewish people. As well as themes of courage, faithfulness, loyalty, compassion etc which can be taken from the story, there is a message that foreign women have played a vital role in Jewish history and should not be dismissed. This counters the law which was at one time put into effect that Jewish men should divorce a foreign wife, and so keep their faith and their race "pure". If this had been God's will, surely he would not have chosen the Moabite

woman to be the ancestress of King David.

Classroom Suggestions KS2; The Book of Daniel was meant to inspire Jews suffering under an hostile occupying force which wished to stamp out their distinctive traditions. Discuss life in enemy held territory, read either the story of the Fiery Furnace in chp 3 or the Lions' den in chp 6 how might these exciting stories fire up resistance at the time? Get the children to write a modern day equivalent.

Poetry, Hymns and Psalms

Written in the Hebrew poetic form, the book of Psalms is the hymn book of the Jewish people, and is still used by Jews and Christians in worship. Although they are all attributed to King David, they were written at various times and in different places, some talking about a particular time in history. eg Psalm 137 comes from the time of the Exile in Babylon, with its deep sadness and longing for Jerusalem. There are different types of psalms, songs of thanksgiving and praise as well as laments, some personal and some from the community.

Psalm 23 is perhaps the best known, and has been put into a variety of songs which use our form of poetry and fit to our style of music. Psalm 150 is a shout of praise, and gives us an indication of the instruments which were used in worship, possibly in the Temple.

There are also songs and poems included in other books in the OT, and much of the books of the prophets are written in Hebrew poetry, even if in some Bibles they are not set out as poetry.

There are three psalms in the NT, all in the early chapters of Luke's Gospel - Mary's Song (Magnificat), Zachariah's Song (Benedictus) and Simeon's Song (Nunc Dimittis).

Classroom Suggestions KS2; Investigate Psalm 150, try making some of the instruments mentioned there and see how they work! Make you own joyful noise! (This could also be linked to the History work on Egyptians.) Learn some of the modern versions of the psalms e.g. Psalm 150 is rewritten as "Praise the Lord in the rhythm of your Music".

Gospel

The name "gospel" is applied to those books which deal with the life of Jesus. It translates the Greek word "euangelion" (from which we get our word evangelist for the gospel writers) meaning "good news". They are then seen not to be objective biographies, but written by believers who wish to spread the good news of Jesus. Luke1:1-4 sets out what Luke wished to do in his gospel - write an account so that his reader "may know the truth". Mark prefaces his gospel with a clear statement of his faith "The beginning of the good news of Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God". Our authors want to convince their readers, if they are not already convinced, of who Jesus was, and to promote belief in him.

Classroom Suggestions KS2; Investigate a story from the newspapers which may be told from several different angles. Attempt the same exercise with a story from the gospels by rewriting it from the point of view of other participants.

Letter (Epistle)

Most of the letters in the NT were written by St Paul to encourage exhort or correct the churches he had founded in Asia Minor, or to those he had sent as his messengers. They tell us a great deal about the early Christian communities, but they were not intended as historical documents. They are concerned with belief and behaviour, but are not systematic accounts of Paul's theology. The only letter which could make that claim is Paul's letter to the Romans, as this was not a church he founded, but written before he intended to visit them setting out his beliefs in preparation for this visit.

Classroom Suggestions KS2; One of the letters is addressed to Philemon. This is a personal appeal from Paul to Philemon to take back Onesimus, a runaway slave. Paul appeals to Philenion's understanding of his Christian faith and. its belief in forgiveness as well as his loyalty to Paul himself. This is a very short and as it is not too full of theology, would be a useful example to look at with pupils; this would allow them to consider the institution of slavery, and also the interesting question of whether Philemon would have freed his slave on Paul's request.