The Bible as Literature

LITERATURE, THE BIBLE AS. The term “literature” has many aspects. Broadly it means a body of written works such as that of a people or nation in a certain period (e.g., Elizabethan lit.) or throughout their entire history (e.g., English lit.); more narrowly it may refer to writing that relates to some specific field of knowledge or endeavor (e.g., Biblical lit., medical lit.). The word “literature” also has an essential qualitative meaning relating to writing that is notable for excellence. Thus it denotes the written expression of what [[Matthew Arnold]] called “the best that has been known and said in the world.”