INTERMISSION

WINDOW VS. PAINTING

We began this journey staring at a painting of a Narnian ship. I told you that Lewis was on to something—that reading the Bible is like looking at a moving painting that draws us in until we’re part of the story. Wouldn’t it be more accurate, then, to say that reading the Bible is like looking through a window? Through glass we see things as they really are. The Bible shows us what really happened, right?

Not exactly. As with any form of art, the Bible is selective. We don’t know everything about Israel’s time at Sinai. In fact, we know relatively little. Did they do business with Nabatean traders? Did they camp together as extended families? Did the women swap manna recipes? Did the elders sing around campfires? Did the men go on hunting expeditions? What games did the children play? We just don’t know. The Bible doesn’t say. Exodus is selective in its telling of the events at Sinai. We’re told only what is necessary to the larger storyline. If we were watching through a window, we’d be able to see a whole lot more.

Paintings are not just selective; they also depict reality from a particular perspective. The same is true of narrative in the Bible. We don’t experience Sinai through the eyes of Moses’ wife or his kids. We don’t know how Joshua feels about joining Moses on the mountain. We don’t hear the fighting men spin stories about the battle with the Amalekites. We’re on top of the mountain with Moses, engaging with Yahweh in private conversation (see Exodus 33:12-23). Later, we’re at the bottom of the mountain, looking up: “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the LORD” (Exodus 34:29). This verse is written from the perspective of the Israelites watching Moses descend.

Paintings and narratives are also interpretive. They convey the way an artist feels about the subject. They persuade us to see things the artist’s way. Biblical narratives do not just report events as they can be observed with the naked eye. They often evaluate these events or give the reasons behind them. Here are a few examples:

“Then the LORD relented and did not bring on his people the disaster he had threatened” (Exodus 32:14, emphasis added).

“When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, ‘If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt’ ” (Exodus 13:17, emphasis added).

“Moses heard the people of every family wailing at the entrance to their tents. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled” (Numbers 11:10, emphasis added).

To say that reading biblical narrative is like viewing a painting is not to suggest that it is unhistorical. A painting has the potential to accurately and powerfully depict a historical event, inspiring generations of viewers to reflect upon and remember what was most significant about that event. Take, for example, the painting by Jacques-Louis David titled The Death of Socrates (see figure I.1).1

David depicts Socrates surrounded by his disciples, on the verge of drinking his death sentence of poison. He uses the final moments of his life as another teachable moment, remaining stoic in the face of death. Plato, from whom we learn the story of Socrates’s death, was not present in these final moments of Socrates’ life, yet David paints him slouching at the foot of the bed, his back to his friend. Why include such an inaccuracy in this painting?

Figure I.1. Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates

Because David was a genius. He knew Plato’s deep grief over Socrates’s death. By depicting him in the room, but looking away, the artist accurately captured Plato’s disposition toward the death of his esteemed colleague without making the spurious claim that Plato witnessed it. If Plato had been missing from the painting, we would lose this central point the artist was trying to make—a point that creatively conveys the truth of history.

Authors of the biblical text have also expressed the truth using their own creative artistry. We saw this when we noted that the Sinai narratives are framed on either side with a symmetrical set of stories. The author is selective, not feeling constrained to describe each of the forty-two campsites listed in Numbers 33. The stories are told from a particular perspective, interpreting what happened rather than simply reporting events.

Authors of the biblical text have also expressed the truth using their own creative artistry.

To say that the Bible is a painting does not make it static. Something marvelous happens when we immerse ourselves in its artistry. It becomes our own story, and we become a participant. If it hasn’t happened to you yet, stay tuned for Part Two. Things are gonna get personal.

DIGGING DEEPER

*V. Philips Long. The Art of Biblical History. FOCI, Vol. 5. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994.

 

Related videos from The Bible Project:

“Literary Styles” and “The Bible as Jewish Meditation Literature.”