Hey, this is John at the Bible Project. And today on the podcast, Tim and I continue a conversation

about how to read the Bible. In the next two episodes, we'll discuss the Bible's design

as a unique type of literature that we'll refer to as meditation literature.

The Hebrew Bible has been designed as a very unique kind of literature, kind of poetry

and narrative discourse that really sets it apart.

So we're all used to modern forms of storytelling. Whether it's on TV or Netflix,

in modern novels or movies, modern stories typically have a lot of detail.

We get to learn what people look like where they came from, the way they act and why they act that way.

But when we read stories in the Bible, you'll notice that a lot of detail is left out,

which makes Bible stories often confusing. But what if that's actually the way the ancient Hebrew authors design these stories?

It's a glaring lack of detail in the story, and it's not even on our radar to think maybe it's put there on purpose.

And intentionally placing a gap or an ambiguity in the story to force me to think through why,

and to sort out options, and then to read the rest of the story, looking for clarification

or playing off different possibilities.

So today on the show, we'll talk about the difference between ancient literature and modern literature,

and why lots of details in the Bible stories are often left out, and we'll use the story of Cane Enable as an example.

Thanks for joining us. Here we go.

All right, so what we want to do is talk about the Bible as meditation literature.

As ancient Jewish meditation literature.

We have a video coming out. So the basic premise of the video is that all literature is produced by specific people who live in specific times, places and cultures.

And that every culture and author will therefore produce a unique and different kind of literature, different practices, different communication techniques.

And we take that for granted, whatever culture you live in, you just take it for granted.

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