genre

This French noun (e.g. le genre comique = comedy) is used for categories of literature, and by biblical critics to differentiate the various kinds of narrative in OT and NT. It is important for exegesis not to confuse, say, history with myth or poetry, though the form of a particular writing may not be a correct indication of its genre; for example, the fact that Rev. opens with letters to seven Churches belies its true genre, which is a piece of apocalyptic writing. Thus, in biblical studies, the identification of the genre of a major unit of material (such as a book of the Pentateuch or a NT epistle) will precede the analysis of smaller sections, or pericopae [[➝ pericope]], within the whole.