And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:4, The Bible
Yes, the Good Book. We all think of it as the moral code of God, the standards to follow to live a righteous life. But what if I told you it's so much more? In this blog post, we would be taking a look at what makes the Bible lit.
The Bible is lit, like light
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
Psalm 119:105, The Bible
The Bible provides direction for us to use in our everyday lives to inch towards true freedom. The stories narrated in the Bible have helped to be a light in this dark life we live in. It tells us what is right and what is wrong, but does so without judging the reader directly. It exposes the stories of others and allows you to learn from those stories.
The Bible is lit(-erature)
How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalm 119:103, The Bible
Yes, the Bible is literature. It wasn't until I read books like A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible by Leland Ryken that I came to this conclusion. The Bible is full of literary devices; this shows how important their roles are in communication, particularly communication of truth. We often take literature for granted and falsely equate it to fiction, but literature is deeper than that. Language in the Bible (like every other thing in the cosmos) is expressed through both function and form.
Recently, I also discovered that the Bible uses literary devices like chiasmi and concentric structures much more extensively than I once imagined. Literary structure may not be at the foundation of the Bible, but it definitely adds the icing on the cake that makes an otherwise bland cake sweet.
The bottom line
If you are looking for a beautifully written piece of literature that is intriguing, enlightening, and mind-opening all at the same time, look no further than the Bible. You'll be surprised at what you'll find.