Chapter 9 – Why was the Bible Written?
Why was the Bible Written?
Beyond Documentation: Purpose and Legacy
While the previous chapter examined biblical authority and divine communication through the Bible, a fundamental question remains: Why was the Bible written? When the Lord delivered the Ten Commandments and spoke to the Israelites in the desert, this represented both written law (tablets) and oral communication. Eventually, these narratives became codified in written form – but was this merely to preserve stories, or did it serve a deeper purpose?
The Bible provides a foundational roadmap for societal membership – extending from the civilization concept explored previously to establishing practical guidelines for every organization. This roadmap comprises two essential elements: rules and stories.
The Bible as Organizational Framework
The Rule Book
The Bible functions as a comprehensive rule book developed by the Lord, paralleling corporate policies and procedures. From dietary restrictions and warfare protocols to soldier selection criteria, biblical rules address numerous life aspects. Similarly, organizations develop policies for expense reporting, leave requests, performance evaluations, and countless other procedures.
These rules often provoke divided responses: some consider them trivial while others view them as essential. Employees who resist certain policies frequently become ardent supporters when those same rules benefit them. Rules generally receive support from beneficiaries and resistance from those they constrain – a pattern consistent across biblical times and modern organizations.
The Story Collection
Before the Bible’s codification, civilizations transmitted stories orally across generations, risking detail loss and personality distortion. This oral tradition typically emphasized positive achievements rather than setbacks – Egyptian hieroglyphics famously document military victories while omitting major defeats.
The Bible’s distinctive approach includes both triumphs and failures – providing detailed accounts of human frailty, foibles, and occasional successes without whitewashing significant disasters that befell the Jewish people or divine disappointment. These narratives constitute the first authentic corporate history of the Jewish “company,” raising open-ended questions about leadership qualities, integrity, and roles that invite ongoing discussion rather than providing definitive answers.
Martin Buber (1948, p. 127) described the Bible as “the history of God’s disappointments.” Its endurance may stem from its willingness to document negative aspects of the “chosen people” rather than exclusively celebrating victories. The Israelites appear not as heroes but as formerly enslaved people whose actions provoked Moses to shatter the original commandments, whose faithlessness resulted in forty years of desert wandering, and who complained despite divine protection. These unresolved problems make the Bible more compelling than simple instruction manuals, as Buber noted: the Bible depicts “not characters or individualities… [but] persons in situations” (1948, p. 133).
The Power of Biblical Narratives
Exegesis and Interpretation
Exegesis – derived from Greek terminology for extracting meaning from texts – assumes that implicit significance awaits discovery by readers willing to interpret beyond surface words. This process encourages reading between lines rather than merely processing text.
The Joseph narrative illustrates this principle: while explicitly chronicling his leadership and family salvation, the story implicitly raises questions about why Joseph never contacted his grieving father during seven prosperous Egyptian years despite having sufficient power and freedom to do so. His father suffered for 22 years believing his “favorite” son dead, yet no explicit explanation appears. This unaddressed question represents the larger untold story that requires deeper analysis.
Storytelling as Teaching Method
The Bible exemplifies truth conveyed through narrative rather than systematic rights and wrongs. It distinguishes itself by chronicling ordinary people taking extraordinary actions, using these stories to teach ethical principles. This contrasts with Western regulatory models like traffic codes that explicitly delineate permitted and prohibited behaviors.
The Bible orients toward future possibilities rather than past certainties—focusing on potential greatness rather than merely documenting history. While historical accounts provide context, Judaism values contemporary narratives as equally meaningful as three-thousand-year-old biblical stories.
Corporate boardrooms increasingly recognize storytelling’s value. Del Jones (2004) documented Native American storytelling’s growth as a method for teaching company values, while The Futurist magazine identified corporate historian as an emerging career field (Challenger, 2005). These professionals track and share organizational histories so employees and managers can replicate successful decisions and avoid repeating mistakes. Every workplace develops epic success and failure narratives that transmit across generations long after the original participants depart.
Organizations increasingly use storytelling to convey corporate culture – some display framed narratives on walls while others incorporate stories into policy manuals illustrating appropriate and inappropriate conduct examples (Storytellers, 1994).
Repetition as Pedagogical Device
The Bible employs various teaching approaches, making it particularly valuable as an educational tool rather than merely a historical record. The book of Deuteronomy notably retells laws and statutes previously communicated – raising the question of why repetition was necessary.
Moses conveyed laws differently at different times. Rather than simply prohibiting non-kosher food, he enumerated non-kosher animals in Leviticus before retelling dietary laws with different terminology in Deuteronomy. This repetition provided multiple opportunities for understanding using varied techniques.
These subtle differences represent fundamentally different approaches. The initial communication served informational purposes for newly liberated slaves accustomed to Egyptian taskmaster instructions without requiring independent thought. Like Egyptian slaves who had no choice in following or developing laws, the Israelites initially received divine commands through Moses without participatory input.
In the desert, the nation remained in a slave mentality despite receiving the Bible. Moses transmitted divine laws with the expectation of compliance. Violators (like the Sabbath stick-gatherer in Numbers 15:32-34 or Zimri with Cozbi the Midianite princess, both killed by Pinchas in Numbers 25:7) faced interpretation and enforcement from hierarchical leadership – from the 70-elder Sanhedrin court to tribal structures and supervisors over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens as recommended by Moses’ father-in-law, Yitro.
When Moses later repeated laws in Deuteronomy, he addressed people no longer in slavery, requiring different communication methods. Rather than presenting laws as unquestionable facts, he incorporated desert wandering experiences to provide educational context. This helped formerly enslaved people (and desert-born generations) appreciate laws and follow them from understanding rather than mere obedience.
This dual communication potentially explains why Moses wrote laws before orally conveying them (Exodus 24:4-7) – ensuring accuracy before repeatedly sharing them for internalization and voluntary compliance.
Living the Biblical Narrative
Experiential Learning
The Bible’s situational focus allows readers across time to imagine themselves in similar circumstances and compare their potential actions with biblical precedents. During Passover Seders, participants don’t merely commemorate Moses or biblical figures – they personally experience the Exodus. Some households physically carry meals between rooms, simulating desert wandering. This experiential learning approach emphasizes questioning and exploration rather than personality celebration – notably, Moses remains unmentioned throughout the Passover service.
This reinforces Buber’s observation that the Bible prioritizes situational responses over personality traits. The divine instruction to celebrate Passover specifically to prompt children’s questions about the Exodus, combined with daily prayers recalling this event, continually reinforces biblical narratives – perhaps explaining Jewish survival despite countless attempts at annihilation throughout history.
Biblical narratives celebrate both victories and defeats. Two patriarchs appear as situational liars: Abraham asked Sarah to identify as his sister to prevent his murder (Genesis 12:12-13), and Isaac later employed the same strategy to protect himself (Genesis 26:6-10). These stories suggest that preserving life justifies bending truth rather than maintaining rigid righteousness, while demonstrating that even foundational religious figures made questionable choices. This pattern of documenting ancestral mistakes provides learning opportunities for future generations.
Scripture explicitly commands remembrance: “Remember the days of old, understand the years of generation after generation. Ask your father and he will relate it to you, your elders and they will tell you” (Deuteronomy 32:7) and “Lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons” (Deuteronomy 4:9). These directives establish intergenerational storytelling as fundamental to cultural continuity.
Multisensory Teaching Methods
The Bible acknowledges diverse learning styles through varied teaching approaches:
For auditory learners who best absorb information through hearing, Moses sang at the sea – not alone (excluding Miriam’s separate women’s song in Exodus 15:20), but with all Israelites (Exodus 15:1). This collective singing embedded divine actions in memory.
For visual learners who need to see information to process it, divine communication included visual demonstrations. Israelites witnessed the ten plagues, including the contrast between Egyptian darkness and light in Israelite dwellings during the ninth plague (Exodus 10:23). Even the Ten Commandments delivery incorporated thunder, flames, and a smoking mountain (Exodus 20:15), creating such intense visual-auditory stimulation that people trembled and requested Moses’ mediation for remaining laws.
For kinesthetic learners who learn through physical engagement, the manna in the desert provided taste and visual experiences (Exodus 16:4). Some manna was preserved in the tabernacle as a physical remembrance (Exodus 16:34). Similarly, sacrificial rituals and blood sprinkling created vivid physical memories through dynamic activities.
Effective storytellers engage audiences through multiple sensory channels, adapting narratives based on audience feedback. This adaptability democratizes biblical storytelling – requiring no specialized training, only the desire to share these narratives with others.
Regardless of learning style, stories create social and organizational cohesion. Shared narratives bond people across different circumstances, potentially explaining Jewish survival through millennia. Despite geographical separation, Jews worldwide share biblical characters and situations as common heritage, creating immediate connections. While religious differences exist, all faiths rely on sacred texts and their stories.
The Bible thus serves multiple purposes: rulebook, storybook, and educational tool for future generations. By maintaining relevance across time, these ancient stories adapt to contemporary circumstances, demonstrating that a 3,000-year-old text remains instructive. This concept represents what Wildavsky (2005, p. 173) calls “theological dialectic” where every “generation MUST reinterpret its history in light of the history of the covenant is already evoked by Moses himself in his last speech.”
The Corporate Roadmap
Israelite Inc.: A Biblical Business Plan
The Bible resonates differently with different readers – some identify with ancestral hardships, others feel trapped in lawless environments or enslaved by desires, money, or vices. Regardless of life circumstances, biblical narratives offer relevant meaning for those willing to explore them.
Does the Bible function as a roadmap or organizational manual? Can it be read like a corporate policy document or organizational blueprint? Consider the Bible as the founding document for “Israelite, Inc.” with the following structure:
Mission:
- Create a people unto the Lord
- Develop a covenant-following community in the Promised Land
Goals:
- Extract a nation from Egyptian slavery
- Develop and communicate the Ten Commandments and complete Bible
- Preserve key leaders (Noah, Abraham, Lot, Joseph, Judah, Moses) essential for guiding the people
Objectives:
- Establish leadership structures (patriarchs, Moses, King David) that implement divine commands
- Test the people in Egypt
- Rescue the people from Egypt
- Deliver the Bible to the people
- Test the people in the desert
- Conduct product testing through Canaan exploration
- Bring the people to the Promised Land
- Enable territorial conquest
- Test people’s resolve and dedication
Tactics:
- Provide reproductive opportunities for patriarchs and matriarchs
- Send Joseph’s family to Egypt
- Rescue Israelites through plagues and miracles
- Create opportunities for divine communication and law learning
- Provide food, water, and shelter
- Develop leadership for Promised Land entry
- Create learning opportunities through internal challenges
This corporate framework distinguishes between strategy (long-term approaches) and plans (short-term adaptations). Israelite Inc.’s strategy centered on Egyptian exodus, while plans addressed potential battles, departure logistics, people-gathering, provisions, and similar tactical concerns.
The Lord likely used this roadmap while the Israelites remained unaware of all steps and plans. Nevertheless, from Abraham’s time they knew momentous events awaited them – the Lord promised Abraham descendants more numerous than earth’s sand (Genesis 13:15), and explicitly told the Israelites why he was removing them from Egypt and what rewards and punishments awaited them. Human free will and stubbornness disrupted divine plans, just as organizational strategies frequently derail through poor decisions.
Viewing the Bible as a historical guide for Israelite, Inc. provides contemporary managers with relevant planning, organizing, directing, and controlling examples applicable to modern organizations.
Deliverables
Childhood stories – fairy tales, folklore, Disney narratives – embed themselves in our minds, framing our reference points. Successful stories present problems, introduce key characters, provide solutions and action steps, and potentially offer happy endings when plans, personnel, and performance align.
Organizations should:
- Review Founding Documents: Examine organizational narratives in founding and operational documents, revising stories without positive resolutions.
- Document Organizational Stories: Record enduring but uncodified narratives through writing, film, or audio for future reference and inspiration.
- Embrace Multiple Communication Approaches: Recognize diverse learning styles by communicating organizational values and expectations through various sensory channels.
- Acknowledge Both Successes and Failures: Document organizational missteps alongside achievements to create comprehensive learning opportunities.
- Promote Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer: Establish mechanisms for experienced members to share institutional wisdom with newer participants.
Discussion Questions
- What do you think is the most compelling story in the Bible and why?
- If you were to write a story about your current employer, business, and/or organization what would the story be about? Who would be the key characters? What would be the key issue they face? Would the characters succeed in their quest? What resources would the characters need to succeed?
