Design Patterns in Biblical Narrative

Summary

Design patterns are one of the main ways the biblical authors unified hundreds of separate stories into a single coordinated storyline. By embedding repeated key words and images, the authors link stories across the Old and New Testaments to emphasize core themes. This video traces two major patterns — the "saw / desired / took" temptation pattern and the "through chaotic waters onto dry land" pattern — showing how the repetition builds anticipation and is ultimately carried forward to its climax in Jesus.

Key Points

What design patterns are

• Biblical narratives use the same basic tools as any story: character, setting, and plot.
• The authors have shaped these elements into repeated patterns that weave through story after story, tying them together and emphasizing key themes.
• The patterns are done subtly; the best way to catch them is to watch for repeated key words and images that link stories.

The temptation pattern ("saw / desired / took")

• In Genesis, God makes a good world — "God saw that it was good" appears seven times. Humans are told everything is good to eat except the tree of knowing good and evil.
• The humans doubt God; they "see that it is good" to take the knowledge, "desire to become wise," then take it, and everything falls apart.
• The same pattern repeats with Abraham and Sarah, who grow impatient, "see their Egyptian slave," and "take her and do what is good in their eyes."
• It recurs with Aaron, who sees and takes the Israelites' gold to make the golden calf; with Achan, who sees, desires, and takes the gold of the Canaanites — showing how one person's temptation can create suffering for many.
• It appears with Saul, whom the Israelites see, desire, and take as king to be like other nations, leading to destruction; and with David, who sees Bathsheba, desires and takes her, and kills her husband, after which his family destroys itself.
• The repetition builds anticipation that someone might finally break the pattern. Faced with His greatest temptation — to avoid dying on the cross — Jesus says, "Not my desire, but your desire be done," flipping the pattern so that one person resists temptation and His suffering brings life for many.

The waters-to-dry-land pattern

• On page one, God separates the dark chaotic waters and dry land emerges as a home for humans to flourish.
• The pattern reappears in the flood: God rescues a remnant, Noah and his family, through the waters onto dry land as "humanity version 2.0."
• It returns in the Exodus, as God saves His people from Egypt through the waters onto dry land while Pharaoh's armies are destroyed, and again when Joshua and the Israelites pass through the waters of the Jordan into the Promised Land.
• Later authors project the pattern forward: Isaiah hoped for a new exodus with a new king leading God's people into a new creation, with the nations as the chaotic waters.
• It culminates in Jesus going into the Jordan River and back out again — His baptism — when God announces Jesus is His son who will rescue the world from the chaos of evil and violence by going into death and out the other side.
• This is why baptism became so significant for Jesus' followers: it is participation in the ancient pattern of going through the waters of death and following Jesus into the new creation.

Why it matters

• Design patterns are the main way the biblical authors unified hundreds of stories.
• Every pattern develops a core theme throughout the whole biblical story that leads to Jesus.
• Biblical narrative makes up over 40 percent of the Bible; another 30 percent is ancient poetry.

Notable Quotes

"The biblical authors have shaped all these elements — character, setting and plot — to create series of repeated patterns that weave through story after story and tie them all together."

"Not my desire, but your desire be done... so the pattern flips and you have one person resisting temptation, and his suffering provides life for many."

"These design patterns... are actually the main way biblical authors have unified these hundreds of stories together. Every pattern develops a core theme throughout the whole biblical story that leads to Jesus."