Literary Genres, Form Criticism, and Old Testament Studies

I.    Genre research in general literary study

Combe, D., Les genres littéraires (Contours littéraires; Paris: Hachette, 1992).

Dubrow, H., Genre (The Critical Idiom, 42; London: Methuen, 1982).

Fix, U., "Überdisziplinäres Textsortenwissen. Voraussetzung für die Arbeit von 'Textfächern'", in R. Heckl (ed.), Methodik im Diskurs: Neue Perspektiven für die Alttestamentliche Exegese (BThSt 156; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Theologie, 2015) 1-31.

Fowler, A., Kinds of Literature. An Introduction to the Theory of Genres and Modes (Oxford: Clarendon, 1982).

Frow, J., Genre (New Critical Idiom; London – New York: Routledge, 2006).

Genette, G. – H.-R. Jauss – T. Todorov, Théorie des genres (Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1986).

Hempfer, K. W., Gattungstheorie. Information und Synthese (UTB 133; München: Fink, 1973).

Hernadi, P., Beyond Genre (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1972).

Jolles, A., Einfache Formen: Legende, Sage, Mythe, Rätsel, Spruch, Kasus, Memorabile, Märchen, Witz (Forschungsinstitut für neuere Philologie // Sächsische Forschungsinstitute in Leipzig, Heft 2; Halle [Saale]: Max Niemeyer, 1930) [with many subsequent unchanged reprints]; = Formes simples (Poétique 5; Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1972) [reprint 1991]; = Forme semplici: leggende sacre e profane – mito – enigma – sentenza – caso memorabile – fiaba – scherzo. Premessa di Giorgio Dolfini (Studi di linguistica e teoria letteraria, 6; Milano: Ugo Mursia, 1980); = Eenvoudige vormen: legende, sage, mythe, raadsel, spreuk, casus, memorabile, sprookje, grap (Delft: Eburon, 2009).

Knapp, G. P., "Textarten – Typen – Gattungen – Formen", in H. L. Arnold – V. Sinemus (eds.), Grundzüge der Literatur- und Sprachwissenschaft, I: Literaturwissenschaft (München: Deutscher Taschenbuch-Verlag, 1973) 258-269.

Roest, B. – H. L. Vanstiphout (eds.), Aspects of Genre and Type in Pre-Modern Literary Cultures (COMERS Communications, 1; Groningen: STYX, 1999).

Todorov, T., Les genres du discours (Collection Poétique; Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1978); = Genres in Discourse (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990).

II.    General studies on form criticism of the Old Testament

Barton, J., "Form Criticism (Old Testament)", ABD II (1992) 838-841.

Blum, E., "Formgeschichte – a misleading category? Some critical remarks", in M. A. Sweeney – E. Ben-Zvi (eds.), The Changing Face of Form Criticism for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003) 32-45. [see the following item]

Blum, E., "'Formgeschichte' – ein irreführender Begriff?", in H. Utzschneider – E. Blum (eds.), Lesarten der Bibel. Untersuchungen zu einer Theorie der Exegese des Alten Testaments (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2006) 85-96. Reprinted [same title] in E. Blum, Grundfragen der historischen Exegese: methodologische, philologische und hermeneutische Beiträge zum Alten Testament. Herausgegeben von W. Oswald und K. Weingart (FAT 95; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2015) 69-82.

Boer, R. (ed.), Bakhtin and Genre Theory in Biblical Studies (Semeia Studies, 63; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007).

Breitkopf, A. W., "Hermann Gunkel: The Father of Form Criticism", in S. E. Porter – Z. K. Dawson (eds.), Pillars in the History of Biblical Interpretation, Volume 3: Further Essays on Prevailing Methods (McMaster Biblical Studies Series, 6; Eugene, OR: Pickwick – Wipf & Stock, 2021) 43-65.

Buss, M. J., "The Study of Forms", in J. H. Hayes (ed.), Old Testament Form Criticism (Trinity University Monograph Series in Religion, 2; San Antonio, TX: Trinity University Press, 1974) 1-56.

Buss, M. J., "The Idea of Sitz im Leben – History and Critique", ZAW 90 (1978) 157-170.

Buss, M. J., "Form Criticism", in S. L. McKenzie – S. R. Haynes (eds.), To Each Its Own Meaning. An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and their Application (Louisville, KY: Westminster / John Knox, 1993) 69-85.

Buss, M. J., Biblical Form Criticism in Its Context (JSOTSup 274; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999).

Buss, M. J., "Gunkel in His Context", in M. J. Buss, Biblical Form Criticism in Its Context (JSOTSup 274; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999) 209-262.

Buss, M. J., "Toward Form Criticism as an Explication of Human Life: Divine Speech as a Form of Self-Transcendence", in M. A. Sweeney – E. Ben-Zvi (eds.), The Changing Face of Form Criticism for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003) 312-325.

Buss, M. J., The Concept of Form in the Twentieth Century (Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2008).

Campbell, A. F., "Form Criticism's Future", in M. A. Sweeney – E. Ben-Zvi (eds.), The Changing Face of Form Criticism for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003) 15-31.

Collins, J. J., "Changing Perceptions of Genre in Biblical Studies", RivB 69 (2021) 335-351.

Fohrer, G. – H. W. Hoffmann – F. Huber – L. Markert – G. Wanke, Exegese des Alten Testaments. Einführung in die Methodik. 6., durchgesehene Auflage (UTB 267; Heidelberg: Quelle & Meyer, ⁶1993), §7 ["Formen- und Gattungskritik"].

García-Jalón de la Lama, S., "Género literario y actos de habla", EstBib 69 (2011) 137-168.

Gerstenberger, E. S., "Social Sciences and Form-Criticism: Towards the Generative Force of Life-Settings", in T. J. Sandoval – C. Mandolfo (eds.), Relating to the Text. Interdisciplinary and Form-Critical Insights on the Bible (JSOTSup 384; London: T & T Clark International, 2003) 84-99. Unchanged reprint in E. S. Gerstenberger, Die Hebräische Bibel als Buch der Befreiung. Ausgewählte Aufsätze. Herausgegeben von Ute E. Eisen und Christl M. Maier (Gießener Elektronische Bibliothek; Gießen 2012) 415-431. Free access to the volume here.

Green, B., "Pigeonholes, Pigeon Choices, Pigeon Handlers: Form, Rhetoric, and Genre in Biblical Studies", in M. L. Chaney – U. Y. Kim – A. Schellenberg (eds.), Reading a Tendentious Bible: Essays in Honor of Robert B. Coote (Hebrew Bible Monographs, 66; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2014) 76-86.

Heckl, R. – T. Wagner (eds.), Methodik im Diskurs 2: der Zusammenhang von Gattungs- und Traditionskritik (BThSt 180; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2019).

House, P. R., "The Rise and Current Status of Literary Criticism of the Old Testament", in P. R. House (ed.), Beyond Form Criticism. Essays in Old Testament Literary Criticism (Sources for Biblical and Theological Study, 2; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1992) 3-22.

Kim, H. C. P., "Form Criticism in Dialogue with Other Criticisms: Building the Multidimensional Structures of Texts and Concepts", in M. A. Sweeney – E. Ben-Zvi (eds.), The Changing Face of Form Criticism for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003) 85-104.

Klatt, W., Hermann Gunkel. Zu seiner Theologie der Religionsgeschichte und zur Entstehung der formgeschichtlichen Methode (FRLANT 100; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1969).

Knierim, R., "Old Testament Form Criticism Reconsidered", Int 27 (1973) 435-468.

Koch, K., Was ist Formgeschichte? Methoden der Bibelexegese (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, ⁴1981 [¹1964]). The second ed. of 1967 was translated as The Growth of the Biblical Tradition. The Form Critical Method (New York: Scribners's, 1969).

Kuhl, C., "Formen und Gattungen, I: Im AT", RGG³ II (1958) 996-999.

Kurtz, P. M., "Axes of Inquiry: The Problem of Form and Time in Wellhausen and Gunkel", SJOT 29 (2015) 247-295.

Kurtz, P. M., Kaiser, Christ, and Canaan: The Religion of Israel in Protestant Germany, 1871-1918 (FAT 122; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2018).

Lapointe, R., "Les genres littéraires après l'ère gunkélienne", Église et Théologie 1 (1970) 9-38.

Lapointe, R., "La valeur linguistique du Sitz im Leben", Bib 52 (1971) 469-487.

Ljungberg, B.-K., "Genre and Form Criticism in Old Testament Exegesis", in R. D. Bergen (ed.), Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns / Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1994) 415-433.

Lohfink, G., Jetzt verstehe ich die Bibel. Ein Sachbuch zur Formkritik (Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1974); = Ahora entiendo la Biblia: Crítica de la formas (Dabar 11; Madrid: San Pablo, 1977); = The Bible: Now I Get It! A Form-Criticism Handbook. Translated by Daniel Coogan. Illustrations by Bill Woodman (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979); = Enfin je comprends la Bible: un livre sur la critique des formes (Essais bibliques, 14; Genève: Labor et Fides, 1988).

Long, B. O., "Recent Field Studies in Oral Literature and the Question of Sitz im Leben", Semeia 5 (1976) 35-50.

Longman III, T., "Israelite Genres in their Ancient Near Eastern Context", in M. A. Sweeney – E. Ben-Zvi (eds.), The Changing Face of Form Criticism for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003) 177-195.

Melugin, R. F., "Recent Form Criticism Revisited in an Age of Reader Response", in M. A. Sweeney – E. Ben-Zvi (eds.), The Changing Face of Form Criticism for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003) 46-64.

Müller, H.-P., "Formgeschichte/Formenkritik, I: AT", TRE 11 (1983) 271-285.

Muilenburg, J., "Form Criticism and Beyond", JBL 88 (1969) 1-18. Reprinted in P. R. House (ed.), Beyond Form Criticism. Essays in Old Testament Literary Criticism (Sources for Biblical and Theological Study, 2; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1992) 49-69.

Newsom, C. A., "Spying Out the Land: A Report from Genology", in R. Troxel – K. Friebel – D. Magary (eds.), Seeking Out the Wisdom of the Ancients: Essays Offered to Honor Michael V. Fox on the Occasion of His Sixty-Fifth Birthday (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2005) 437-450. Reprinted [same title] in R. Boer (ed.), Bakhtin and Genre Theory in Biblical Studies (Semeia Studies, 63; Atlanta, GA: Society of Biblical Literature, 2007) 19-30. Reprinted again in C. A. Newsom, Rhetoric and Hermeneutics: Approaches to Text, Tradition and Social Construction in Biblical and Second Temple Literature (FAT 130; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019) 55-66.

Ohler, A., Gattungen im AT. Ein biblisches Arbeitsbuch. 2 Bände (Religionspädagogik; Düsseldorf: Patmos, 1972-1973); = Studying the Old Testament from Tradition to Canon (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1985).

Richter, W., "Formgeschichte und Sprachwissenschaft", ZAW 82 (1970) 216-225.

Richter, W., Exegese als Literaturwissenschaft. Entwurf einer alttestamentlichen Literaturtheorie und Methodologie (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1971).

Ska, J. L., "Le «Sitz-im-Leben» de Julius Wellhausen, Hermann Gunkel et Gerhard von Rad", in P. Abadie (ed.), Mémoires d'Écriture. Hommage à Pierre Gibert (Le livre et le rouleau, 25; Bruxelles: Lessius, 2006) 187-206.

Spieckermann, H., "Gunkel, Hermann", EBR 10 (2015) 1019-1021.

Sweeney, M. A. – E. Ben-Zvi (eds.), The Changing Face of Form Criticism for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003).

Tétaz, J.-M., "Hermann Gunkel: l'histoire littéraire de l'ancien Israël entre genres littéraires et pathos de la personnalité", ETR 90 (2015) 107-129.

Tucker, G. M., Form Criticism of the Old Testament (Guides to Biblical Scholarship, OT Series; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971).

Verdini, L. A., "El método de la crítica del género en el Antiguo Testamento: Historia de su desarrollo", Revista Bíblica 79 (2017) 43-58.

Villiers, P. G. R. de, "Hermann Gunkel as Innovator", OTE 20 (2007) 333-351.

Westermann, C., "Skizze einer Formgeschichte des Alten Testaments", in C. Westermann, Das mündliche Wort. Erkundungen im Alten Testament. Herausgegeben von Rudolf Landau (Arbeiten zur Theologie, 82; Stuttgart: Calwer Verlag, 1996) 9-49.