The Literary Connections in the Scriptures

My senior year of high school in my AP English class, we were asked to read portions of the Bible. This wasn't for religious purposes, but to look at the stories. It never really connected with me that it could be literature. In that class, we did a very surface look at the stories, and didn't really dig too deeply. In my seminary class, though, we were reading the Old Testament, and looking at how all those choices led to the consequences. One I remember was learning about Abraham and Lot. Abraham basically forshadows Lot's demise by giving him the choice on where he wanted to go to live. Another thing that my seminary teacher, my older brother Jared, pointed out was the symbolism where you pitch your tent. He taught our class the idea that where we, as people, pitch our tents will be where our heart will lie. Lot had pitched his towards Sodom, and he and his family were ultimately corrupted by the evil that crept into their hearts there. Abraham pitched his tent in the quieter, less enticing land, but was ultimately blessed all his life for his righteousness.
Being a member of the LDS church, we are blessed to be able to have understandings of books like Isaiah and Revelations which is filled with metaphors and symbolism. I always knew you could analyze the scriptures, but I never really thought of it as being a form of literature, nonetheless a form of nonfiction. I read nonfiction everyday just by opening my scriptures. I learned about the metaphors and the symbols, but I never really thought of the genre of the scriptures. I guess that I have more experience with this genre than I had originally thought.