The Bible as Transformation of Literature...
An investigation of the phenomenon whereby the biblical writers, while thoroughly inspired, deliberately absorbed the great writings of their world and guided also by their own historical/social experiences, blended literature and history into the biblical books. (The idea of the Bible absorbing human literature fits broadly with the idea of God taking on humanity in the Incarnation).
One of the basic ideas of the Dominican Biblical Institute is that The Bible is an integral part of the world's great literature.
On the one hand it has absorbed the content and form of older writings. It drew, for instance, on the writings of:
Mesopotamia:The picture of human beginnings (Genesis 1-9) distills very ancient Mesopotamian epics, and the narrative concerning the birth of Moses (Exodus 2) reflects the very old account of the birth of the great Mesopotamian ruler Sargon. (Note; Vanessa Rebecca Sasson - "The Birth of Moses and The Buddha". A Paradigm for the Comparative Study of Religions. Sheffield Phoenix Press; forthcoming)
Egypt: Various parts of The Bible, for instance The Book of Proverbs, reflect the literature of Egypt.
The Greeks: The accounts of wanderings (Genesis 11-50), especially the wandering of the patriarchs, i.e. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, absorbs and transforms Homer's famous epic of the wanderings of Odysseus. And so on, section after section of The Bible reflects and transforms the changing face of much world literature.
On the other hand, the development of much world literature is linked to the influence of The Bible. For instance:
*Early Christians contributed to the emergence of books (codices, as opposed to scrolls).
*Literacy in Ireland was closely linked to the reading and copying of The Bible.
*The King James translation contributed significantly to English writing.
This close link to literature has not always been clear. The early twentieth century clouded it, particularly Gunkel's commentary on Genesis (1901). The idea developed that The Bible , including the gospels, comes from oral tradition/transmission. The biblical books do indeed reflect oral ways of composing, but so does all great books until the eighteenth century. Ancient authors composed primarily to be heard, to be remembered. They wrote for the ear, rather than the eye (as today). So having oral rhythms, as The Bible has, proves nothing whatever about indebtedness to oral tradition.
The Bible's way of reflecting and distilling so much world literature is not something trivial or specialised. Good literature reflects all of life, and so in absorbing literature, The Bible absorbs all of life. The combination of that richness with the writers' historical and experience, and especially their encounters with God and with men and women of God, leads to books that are extraordinarily insightful.