John Hobbins offers a nice primer for telling the three apart in his post, “There are (no) myths in the Bible.” As I strive in explain to my students, these three terms refer to particular literary genres, and it is both possible and necessary to discuss whether there are examples of such genres in the Bible. John’s penultimate paragraph:

I know, I know. Some people will get their knickers in a knot at the thought that the Bible contains examples of myth and epic in the senses discussed. To them I can only say: use other words to describe the same things if you wish. The important thing is to read the texts on their own terms.

Do read it all.