The Bible is not just one book. It is a collection of books, and those books are different kinds of literature, different genres. Each has its own characteristics, its own rules, and if we don't pay attention to them, we can confuse ourselves and misunderstand the scriptures.
We don't think about it much, but we are familiar with the concept of genre. In the news, we don't read the front page the same way we read the opinion page or the sports page. Books and movies can come in several different genres and sub-genres. You have certain expectations of a rom-com. We read science fiction differently than we do biographies. Genre isn't a foreign concept, but we often forget to apply it to the Bible.
Let's look at some of the major genres found in the scriptures and the complications that can arise.
Historical narrative
A large chunk of the Bible is just straight history. It tells us what actually happened; it doesn't tell us what should have happened. It's descriptive, not prescriptive. The historical narratives describe many terrible things. You're supposed to be appalled.
People can sin or make mistakes. In Genesis we find incest, rape, mass murder, and human trafficking. And lots of lying. Judges makes Genesis look tame. Neither the author nor God approved of these things; it's just what happened.
Law
Unlike historical narrative, in law, God is speaking. There is no error, and it is prescriptive. We're supposed to judge the narratives by the Law. One problem is that it can be mixed with narrative passages, so it can be easy to miss when one changes to the other.
Another is there are different kinds of laws. Some laws are basic principles, timeless commands, eg, "do not commit adultery". Other laws expect you to be able to extrapolate. "If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help them with it" (Ex 23:5). Here, we apply the command as an example, not a principle; it doesn't matter if it's his donkey, his camel, or his Ford, you should help him. The types of laws are not labeled; it's up to us to figure out which is which.
Poetry
There's more poetry in the Bible than just the Psalms, but some of the issues come up especially in the Psalms. Poetry uses figurative language, and it can be tempting to treat it literally. Some are pretty clear — we understand God is not literally a rock or a fortress. But people are sometimes confused when one passage describes God as surrounded by darkness (Psalm 97:2) while another says he dwells in unapproachable light (1Tim 6:16). Different metaphors for different occasions.
Poetry is very emotional. The Psalms especially can express raw emotion. When people are hurt and angry they cry out to God for justice. Sometimes what they say shocks us. That's true in our lives and in the Psalms. This language is not prescribed by the scriptures; this is just their experience.
Proverbs
Proverbs are pithy rules of thumb, not universal principles. They can seem to contradict because what works on one occasion doesn't on another. Do you want to "look before you leap" or just go because "he who hesitates is lost"? It depends.
So they are not promises. Many people cling to the proverb, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Prov 22:6). But it's not a promise. One pastor suggested Proverbs tells us what's true two thirds of the time, and Ecclesiastes covers the other third.
Prophecy
Not just restricted to the "prophetic" books, prophecy is direct messages from God to the people of that day, often expressed through figures of speech or acted parables. We can misunderstand those figures of speech if we're not careful. Learning the historical context can go a long way in helping us to understand the prophets.
Gospel
The gospels aren't straight historical narratives; they're biographies. Whether it's Plutarch's Lives or Piper's Servants, we tell about the lives of notable people so we can draw lessons from them. And different people can present the same life honestly in different ways. So Matthew can tell the story of Jesus' life one way and Luke another. That's not a contradiction; it's a different emphasis.
However, they are still historical narratives. The only person in the gospels you can trust implicitly is Jesus.
Epistles
The letters from the apostles are like the law in the OT, straightforward and binding instructions. When properly understood. Many of them were written to address specific issues in those churches, issues that we're not entirely clear on. (cough, Corinthians)
Overall, though, they're relatively easy to understand. We just don't like what they say, so we still try to weasel out of it, often pretending clear language is obscure.
Apocalyptic
When the biblical authors talk about the end of the world, they use apocalyptic imagery. Apocalyptic literature is highly symbolic. Revelation is almost all apocalyptic, but so are sections of the prophets, and some believe Jesus uses apocalyptic language in the Olivet Discourse.
If we read this imagery literally we will miss what the author is trying to say. Revelation in particular tends to refer back to the imagery the prophets used, so it's necessary to see what a particular symbol meant to that prophet. If a commentary on Revelation doesn't make frequent reference to the Old Testament prophets, you need a new commentary.
These are the major genres we find in the Bible. They have different rules and different pitfalls, but they are all inspired by the same Holy Spirit who worked through human authors to tell us what he wanted us to know. Sometimes it takes a little effort to understand his message, but it is worth it 100% of the time.
Part of Bible 101
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