A genre is a category of composition that categorized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter. Many of life's pleasures are categorized into genres. Movies, television shows, music, and even food has been placed into a variety of genres. The word of God is no different and is categorized into different literary genres. Categorizing scripture into genres allows the readers to see the similarities in the different books of the bible and helps put together the pieces of God's plan for redeeming man. The Bible has several different genres and some sections of the Bible are classified into multiple genres such as The Pentateuch. The dominant genres within The Pentateuch are the law and narrative genres. Both the law and narrative genres are unique in their own right and exploring these genres in more detail will shed more light on each genre's importance to the Word of God.

The Law

The Law genre is frequently discussed today because there is some who believe that the law is still applicable today. When reading any genre of the Bible it is important to always read to find out the original intent of the author and to find out more about the audience that the scripture was intended. When reading the law genre, a mistake that is often made is that people approach the law and derive preconceived notions of the purpose and function of the law in that era (Vogt, 2009). In modern Western Civilization the law carries a negative connotation because it focuses on criminal and civil actions of society. In ancient Hebrew civilization the word law is translated to the word Torah which means instruction or teaching. Once God delivered the nation of Israel from Egypt God established the law to give His people standards of living. The law genre has several key elements that make it distinct from other genres. For starters the law was designed and given to the nation of Israel thus making the law a direct command for us today. On the contrary, we can take the law and use it to influence our actions and how we govern ourselves. The Law also falls under the Mosaic covenant that God abolished in favor of a New Covenant that he spoke of through the prophet Isaiah. Lastly, the law is referred to by multiple key New Testament figures, to include Jesus but not cited as direct quotes. Even today many preachers take principals from the law and apply them to today's society even though we are under the grace dispensation period.

Narrative

A narrative is a series of events that are recorded and shared to an audience to communicate the author 's objectives. A good narrative can take the reader to another world and make the reader feel like they are in the middle of the narrative. The Bible's narrative is written in a manner that is engaging to the reader to captivate the readers mind in hopes to put the reader in the respective subject's shoes. The features of a biblical narrative       do not deviate from the features of a secular narrative. The aim of a spiritual narrative and secular narrative is to draw the reader in, but the diff erence is the biblical narrative attempts to draw the reader closer to God. A biblical narrative sets a scene that allows the reader to vision where the events took place. The scene also tells the readers of the subjects involved and what is happening at that time. There is also a plot that has an origin and end point. Most narratives build to an apex and once settled should answer some of the readers unanswered questions. A narrative also contains dialogue and points of view which displays an author's life within the text. The narrative genre makes up approximately 40% of the Old Testament and lays the foundation for God's plan for His people in the past, present, and future.

Conclusion

While each genre is important to the Word of God the law is important because it displays the nature of God and establishes core values that every belier can draw from past or present. The narrative genre gives us a glimpse of what God has planned for us. While no man will ever understand the depths of god to the fullest extent, we can look at the narrative genre and get a small frame view of God's big plan. In taking the time to dissect each genre the reader can gain insight on how we should live lives as Christians on earth to impact others for the Kingdom of God.