Primary Sources:
- New Living Translation of the Holy Bible (Tyndale House Publishers)
- Genesis
- Psalm
- Exodus
- Proverbs
Secondary Sources:
- Van Hecke, Pierre. Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible. Belgium, University Press, 2005.
- Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. Basic Books, 2011.
- Avis, Paul. God and the Creative Imagination: Metaphor, Symbol and Myth in Religion and Theology. London, Routledge, 1999.
Academic Journal:
- Christianity and Literature
Key Terms:
- Metaphors
- Typology
Essay:
For my thesis, I intend on diving into the Bible or a specific book of the Bible. I am fascinated by how the stories rely on metaphors, symbolism, etc. More particularly, to specify my interests, I think looking at a few instances of God as a metaphor (e.g., a bird, fortress, Father, etc.) throughout the text would be exciting and revealing.
In meeting with Professor Liber and Professor Skalak, they pointed me to Robert Alters’s piece, The Art of Biblical Narrative. Alters’s book has been cited over three thousand times and will give me a strong representation of the Bible as a narrative. Next, Paul Avis’s book engages more specifically with the metaphorical and symbolic aspects of the Bible while drawing on a wide range of literary theories. Metaphors in the Hebrew Bible will also give me a more narrowed look at metaphors in the Old Testament. Another aspect that may be necessary to analyze, which came up in my discussion with Professor Skalak, is how interpretations of the Bible constantly shift and how the meanings of specific images change over centuries. I do not know if this is necessary for what I want to achieve in my thesis, so I will monitor the development of my interests and look for a source on this topic when I deem it appropriate. Finally, the Christianity and Literature journal should give me great insight into the current discussion of the Bible and the faith’s connection with literature.
My interest in writing about the Bible comes from my own unique experiences with religion and faith. I have always wrestled with the idea of God, and I believe that views expressed in the Bible are so woven into our culture that they mustn’t be lost. Moreover, with the rise of the self-help genre, I believe that reinterpreting biblical metaphors can illuminate some universal truths in which every person can find comfort and solace.
Update:
I have added the books of Genesis, Psalm, Exodus, and Proverbs to my primary source list. The books in themselves are composed of many smaller stories, so I plan to break this primary source list down even further at some point. For example, in the book of Genesis, the creation story and the story of Abraham and Issac interest me greatly. In the book of Psalms, the metaphorical language and poetic nature of the book are interesting and full of metaphors that I plan to explore. And in the book of Exodus, the word “God” can be explored as a metaphor in itself.