What we're going to do now is we're going to analyze different types of Biblical characters according to categorizations that have been offered in general literature, and then we will adapt it for the Biblical contexts. So, here we start with the distinction between main characters and minor characters. A main character is somebody who really takes front stage. A main character is somebody whom we really know all about, and that the focal point is really in order to help us understand the meaning of the story. A minor character is somebody who appears on the scene in order to help us understand better the motives, the behavior, and the thoughts and feelings of the main characters. You have a plethora of both main characters as well as minor characters in the Bible. For instance, generally a main character would be Abraham, Abraham in terms of being the focal point of everything that takes place in the first part of the book of Genesis. An example of a minor character would really be his servant. His servant who goes to find for instance that a wife for Isaac. That servant appears in order to help us understand in a greater and more nuanced way, what Abraham is trying to accomplish. In that sense, the servant is really a minor character. These categories of main and minor help us gain a deeper understanding about the ways in which the Bible tries to present these various characters. Then if we move on, a different categorization is the distinction between what we call flat characters, round characters, and agents. So, let's go. A flat character is basically a character that is monolithic. The flat character does not develop over time. The flat character provides us with no surprises. We can always anticipate how flat character will respond in certain types of situation. An example of a flat character is for instance Haman in the story of the book of Esther. We can generally predict What Haman will do because we are told in very explicit ways that Haman, his full intent is to wipe out the Jewish people, to try and destroy Esther and Mordecai's plans, and therefore there are no surprises here. That's an example of a flat character. A round character, is the majority of characters in the Bible. These are the round characters that have ups and downs, that do things in unexpected ways. Obvious and clear cut examples are Sarah. Sarah behaves in very different ways in different types of contexts. So to Marsha. Marsha is not consistent. We see multiple sides of Marsha, and that's what makes him into a round character. Finally, an agent is a character that appears for one specific purpose, and that purpose is to move the plot ahead. We don't know anything about this character, we have very limited information about this character. But, we do know that this character appears in order to move the plot ahead. An example of an agent in the Bible is in fact, the messenger who comes and tells David that his son of Absalom has been killed. The sole purpose of that messenger appearing on the scene is to help us move the pot along, and help us gain a deeper understanding of the impact of this event on the history of the Israelites, and in addition, to help us understand in greater depth David's response to this tragic event. So, we have here the distinction between main character, minor characters, flat characters, round characters, and agents. Take a moment to reflect on these distinctions. One of the assignments that we will invite you to do at the end of this lesson is really to think of additional examples of main characters, minor characters, flat characters, round ones, and agents, and try to share with your fellow students. Why you label the various characters as you do. As we move on now, we're going to now look at different types of tools that we have available to understand the Biblical characters. So, we have one characterization that we call a direct characterization. That is when the text tells us very explicit terms that this character had positive impact or positive motives. We see this in various ways, and it's very direct, and it's very explicit in terms of when we hear about in the beginning of Exodus, we hear about the nursemaids who tried to save Moses. We're told very clearly what their motives are. That's a direct characterization. But, perhaps even more interesting in the sense that it picks our curiosity, we have indirect characterization, and that really invites us to explore in different ways to help us stimulate our curiosity, to understand in greater form how do we understand these characters? Some of the ways that the Bible provides us with glimpses into this world is through the looks of the characters. For instance, we are told that David was a very handsome individual. What does that mean? How is that related to the story? Very clearly it is related to the story. We are told about Goliath, as in terms of his dimensions, in terms of his strength. That is purposeful. That is very goal-oriented. That's one indirect characterization. Speech, what types of words are used? What is the tone of the speech? We're told for instance that Moses is not the great speechmaker. But rather, he gives that task, that role over to his brother Aaron, who is really the speaker to Pharaoh. What is all that about? Well, that teaches us an enormous amount about Moses as a leader, and also teaches us about his brother Aaron and his role in this whole episode. Relationships. Well, here we have many different types of examples. For instance, one of the examples that we've looked at is the relationship between Jacob and Esau. Another one that we've looked at is the relationship between Abraham and Sarah, his wife. We will continue to explore other ones. If you like, take a look at the relationship that develops in Chapter 30 in Genesis between Jacob and his wife Rachel. What is going on here? What's their relationship all about? We learn also up through the actions of these characters. What are they doing? How do they fulfill their responsibilities? Those are their actions. Their thoughts. Sometimes we are privy to their thoughts. As we saw in a previous story in Genesis 18, we are brought into Sarah's inner thoughts. What's going on in her mind? Why does she laugh to herself? Why doesn't she laugh out loud? Those are part of our inner thoughts. Or he Isiah in that context. Why does he think to himself, I don't need this because I'm going to die therefore, that gives us insight into what he's thinking. Gestures. If you think of the importance of anger of expressing anger through the tearing of the garment in the stories of Shahul. The feelings that we are conveyed in very explicit ways unless explicit ways. By Eves Esau, that he hated the birthright. That carries a very clear message and provides us with understanding more deeply about what his motives are and what his ideas are. Finally, the narrator's voice and the narrator's agenda. The narrator always has a voice, narrator always has an agenda. That voice and that agenda clearly focuses our attention as readers on certain points, and provides us with a certain understanding. But at the same time, I believe it's our educational responsibility to think about what is part of that agenda? What does that leave out at certain points? What of that agenda do we want to emphasize. What of that agenda do we want to leave on the side in order for our students to really understand more deeply the meaning of the text?
