To be able to make the distinction between narrative, poetic, prophetic, and instructional, a good grounding in Hebrew language and literature would be an asset. However, some knowledge of basic literary styles is always a help. Much of the Bible is basic narrative, and so can be taken literally. Either we believe that the narrative parts of the Bible are true or not. Then there is the poetic which contains metaphor, simile, irony, word pictures, descriptions, emotional utterances, and so on. The prophetic books can contain a mixture of poetic and narrative, as well as prediction. The instructional is found in the law sections, and the letters of the Apostles.
So, there are parts of the Bible that are history, and are just as valid historical accounts as any other history. The OT historical narratives show how Israel came into being, how it developed over time, and how it ultimately failed because of idolatry. There is no subtext in any of the narratives. What you see is what you get.
But the poetic and prophetic are different, they take a bit of study and digging in to find out what these sections are really saying.
Of course the instructional is written directly to those to whom it applies. We just need to work out whether the instructions actually apply to us or not.
