FOCUS AND STRUCTURE IN THE ABRAHAM NARRATIVES

Studies in conformation have contributed a great deal to our understanding of the meaning of true copys John Breck writes, "[Many contemporary scholars] have rightly sens the intimate connection that exists between rhetorical form and thematic satisfied between the structure of a literary unit and its theological meaning."1 The literary insights of Alter, Fishbane, Fokkelmann,2 and others have exemplified the use and demonstrated the significance of form for meaning. Many of these insights have approach through the analysis of the literature ground in Genesis. While there looks to be a voluminous amount of material already written upon the structure and style of the work of Genesis, this study hazards to propose a new nuance in its composition.

In light of the recognized contribution that manner of making has to meaning, it would be useful to examine the story of Abraham for its constitution as one way of probing for the meaning.

I. THE SHAPING OF STORIES

Victor Wilson has described more [i]or[/i] less of the characteristic ways the ancient world shaped its oral and literary traditions.3 He reiterates what earlier scholars maintained, that tillages do have characteristic ways of expressing themselves.4 For the ancient Hebrews, that entailed stating things in an episodic and repetitive fashion.5 Moreover, since the ancients were part of an oral world, they were conscious of what was pleasing to the ear and what could easily be remembered.6 In reflecting the way they cogitation and in achieving effective communication, the ancient world shaped the couple its oral and literary works upon the basis of two main principles: "These are order and repetition, each depending on the other like the weave of a fabric."7 Wilson elaborates upon these two principles by pointing on the outside that symmetry "is the expression of sum of two units things, the notion of center and the principle of balance"8 while repetition provides order and affirms stability.9 These notions were part of the worldview of ancient tribes and found expression in the forms they used to relate their oral and written traditions.

Repetition, as single of these two components, has been observ at the horizontal of the sentence, at the horizontal of a single episode or discourse, and at the horizontal of a collection of episodes. Miscall metes these repetitive patterns "parallels" which, he says,

relate to the repetition that is characteristic of elderly Testament narrative, repetition that ranges from the "same story" being told sum of two units or more times, to similar stories being told, to material that repeats a articulate utterance a description or such, or that shares a certain number of pattern, themes, characters, vocabulary and phraseology, etc10

In addition to formal parallels, there are also thematic links that tie a story or story period together.

These parallels or repetitions function in different ways. They can affect meaning through bringing to the reader's mind previous occurrences linking the present scene to what has gone before. That previous story Sien helps to provide necessary connected thought [i]or[/i] thoughts for understanding the current account. The repetition may work for as emphasis to highlight the central point of the story or the story round of years and it may serve as a formal device to frame a main point. In addition, repetition may subserve to provide cohesiveness to the account. Parallels at the discourse horizontal can similarly structure an episode or smooth a whole series of episodes.

When repetitive patterns are used at the discourse horizontal to structure the account or accounts, the formats they use may vary. Wilson identifies a number of different patterns that are set in the OT.11 These include: 1) a "series episodes" structuring (A B C D A' B' C D') which consist of a series of independent episodes that are set together to create a narrative flow; 2) a "yok episodes" format (AA'; B-B'; C-C1; D-D') which is paired episodes whose mutual correspondence enhances each story; 3) a simple "chiasm" (A B C D C' B' A') where each part of a story is paired with another part that make go rounds about a center; 4) or an "episodic chiasm" (A B C D D' C' B' A') where each episode has its repercussion of sound again folded about a center Parallelisms may be thematically antithetical or complementary.12

Parallels at the decision level are fairly easy to recognize. on the other hand parallels at a discourse horizontal require a greater degree of sensitivity to the material of the discourse. woodlands has pointed this out and has endeavored to provide a rigorous methodology for identifying legitimate parallels.13 While his focus is the chiasm or inverted parallel, the methodology he evolves for identifying parallels is also applicable to paralleling units in ways other than "mirror" images. He suggests the following approach:

1) Divide the narratives being treated into legitimately marked episodes by the agency of paying attention to both dramatic markers (scene change, geographical change, time change, thematic change, or bring under rule change) and to discourse markers similar as circumstantial clauses or particles that indicate story breaks.

2) Find the true copy indicated theme or idea that stands on the outside for each episode, observing by what means it functions in the overall story.