From the introduction of Everett Fox’s translation of Genesis:
A word should also be said here about hero traditions. In the great epics of the ancient world the hero often stands as a lonely figure. He must overcome obstacles, fight monsters, acquire helpers (whether women, “sidekicks,” or magic objects); and his triumph in the end signals man’s triumph over his archenemy, Death. Every battle won, every obstacle hurdled, is psychologically a victory for us, the audience, a cathartic release from our own frustrating battle against death.
The Bible sees things rather differently. Death is also overcome, but not only by the individual’s struggle. It is rather through the covenant community, bound together by God’s laws and his promises, that the heroic vision is lived out. Despite the triumphs of the characters in Genesis, it is really in the book of Exodus that the great battle scenes (the plagues in Egypt, the Red Sea) and meetings with the divine (Mount Sinai) take place. And it is therefore God himself who is most properly the “hero” of these stories. No major character in Genesis achieves success without depending fully on God, and the standards that are held up to them are ultimately seen as God’s own, to be imitated by imperfect humankind.
