Alster B. Narrative Surprise in Biblical Parallels

Biblical Interpretation 14, 456-485, 2006.Surprising the reader is a common narrative technique. So common, that it has been called ‘one of the universals of narrative’, along with suspense and curiosity. 'Narrative surprise’, also has its drawbacks. As it is based on ‘false impressions’, it may undermine the reliability of the narrator, as readers wonder whether there have not been other false impressions given to them. In religious texts such as the Bible, this can be a grave consequence. Therefore, I will assume that in cases where surprise is used in biblical narratives, it is used because there is more to gain from it than to lose.