Repetition in a Biblical Narrative: Genesis 6-9

Abstract

The objectives of this thesis are concerned with the peculiar feature of repetitions in the so-called 'Flood-Narrative', Genesis 6-9. The presence of these repetitions has provoked many arguments amongst twentieth century biblical critics as to their origin, their function and even their form. The first objective of the thesis is to review critically a wide spectrum of research done on the repetitive phenomenon, outline the resultant opinions and to weigh the merits or weaknesses of any particular methodology as it relates to how the function of repetitive features is to be understood. The first chapter presents this critical view and finds that up to now, most research done on the text has not been free of methodological bias, with the result that only those repetitions useful to an approach are dealt with, to the exclusion of other repetitive features. The second objective is to catalog and describe the repetitive features of the text in an objective manner, free from methodological or exegetical bias. Chapter II arranges and classifies the repetitions that are evident in Gen. 6-9 and comments on possible patterns or forms suggested by the repetitions. The last objective of the thesis is to look at the repetitions from some perspectives of modern narrative theory to find if this viewpoint can shed any light on the function of repetitive forms. The last chapter of the thesis concludes that explanatory devices from narrative theory which rely on pre-established criteria apart from the text itself, are as well too short-sighted to be useful in corning to grips with repetitive function. However, those approaches which stress certain subjective, exegetical endeavors, or which emphasize a reader's response are found to provide useful insights for the perception of repetitive function.