Narrative Time and Narrated Time

When reading biblical narratives, it's important to consider two key concepts: narrative time and narrated time. These concepts, commonly used in literary theory and analysis, describe the temporal aspects of a narrative.

Narrative Time

Narrative time refers to the chronological order and duration of events in a story. It represents the time the events occur as presented by the author or storyteller. Narrative time can be linear, following a straightforward sequence, or non-linear, with events presented out of order. The pacing and sequencing of events contribute to the overall structure and rhythm of the narrative.

In simpler terms, narrative time refers to the duration of actions and events in the story, measured in units of real time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, centuries, etc.).

Narrated Time

Narrated time, also known as story time or fictional time, refers to the duration that a story or narrative encompasses. It represents the implied or suggested time span of events and actions described in the narrative. Narrated time can be shorter or longer than the actual time it takes to read or listen to the narrative. For instance, a story spanning several years may be condensed into a few pages or minutes.

Put simply, narrated time refers to the material length required to tell the story, measured in words, sentences, lines, verses, paragraphs, pages, or chapters.

Examples:

Only one book, Genesis, narrates 2,500 years of narrative time, while four books, Exodus to Deuteronomy, cover 120 years (the lifetime of Moses) of narrative time. However, Deuteronomy, a single book, covers only one day (the farewell speeches of Moses) of narrative time.

Another example: According to the Talmud (collection of rabbinic teachings), Abraham was born in 1946 Anno Mundi (A.M.). He left Canaan when he was 75 years old according to Gen 12:4b, in 2021 A.M. Another significant event occurred in 2236 A.M. when Jacob went down to Egypt. 

It is interesting to note that the first 2,021 years of the world's existence are covered in chapters 1-11 of Genesis, while chapters 12-50 span a period of 215 years, or 285 years if we consider an additional 70 years. This creates a proportion of approximately 200 years per chapter in Genesis 1-11 and 7.5 years per chapter in Genesis 12-50. From the point of view of narrated time, for the sacred writers of Genesis, it appears that the emphasis was placed more on the story of the ancestors rather than the creation story.