Elements of Literature in the Bible

Although I have been reading the Bible for going on a month, I am always surprised to find elements of oral literature. The repetition, the inconsistencies in logic, the poetic nature of it; all point to these stories being, at one time, part of the oral tradition. And not just that, but they were also part of the same story. The repetition of seven and forty, tricking Abimelech thrice with the use of "she's my sister," the repetition of lines, etc., just gets to me. Not to mention, the etiological elements, such as rainbows and painful childbirths, irk me because it's obvious that no one actually tried to find a real cause for them; or, if they did, they were called heretics. Like Copernicus. Or Galileo.

Now, perhaps Bibles were always to be spoken aloud and recited, but if not, then why does it sound so much like someone just sat down and wrote the oral version, without editing it? You would think that after three thousand years, one of the editors (J, P, D, E, or R) would have thought, Hey, let's make this a little more readable, and change the narrative to one that sounds as if it should be read, not spoken. Though I guess that's just wishful thinking. The repetitive nature is simply becoming annoying, I guess.

I've started into the Exodus' Thou shalt not's, and I think I've come across an idea for reading it. I put some sort of beat behind it, and read it as a rap. It helped with the "generations" parts too. Seeing as how most of it is in pentameter, it's working rather well. I might try putting on some Kid Cudi on behind it, and see how much easier it is to read. I'll probably just end up turning up the Kid Cudi and listening to that, but perhaps I'll become engrossed in the repetitive lines of  the Bible. Hopefully.

Something that interested me was the beginning of Genesis chapter 4: "This is the book of the generations of Adam..." Why is that single chapter being referred to as a book? Or is it referring to all of Genesis? I do believe that it is referring simply to that chapter. So why do we not refer to each chapter as a "book", and each book as a "tome" or "volume" or some such equivalent? It just made me think.

To add to the list of things the Bible is obsessed with:
1. Anthropomorphism (or the reverse of that: ascribing animalistic traits to a human)
2. Revenge: karma always comes back and bites you in the ass, even if it's a generation removed.
3. Whine a little to someone with more influence than you, and you'll get whatever you want.
4. Business transactions.


Good life lessons.