OVERVIEW
Using Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics by Kaiser and Silva as a reference guide, you write an exegesis research paper submitted in three (3) iterations. Students choose between three (3) biblical passages on which to write the paper. The three passages from which you select one are:
- Psalm 1:1–6
- Mark 4:26–29
- Ephesians 4:7–16
By the time you submit the Meaning portion of the paper, you should have a minimum of ten (10) resources listed in your Bibliography. Your primary resources for this assignment should be commentaries and journal articles retrieved from the ATLA database housed online in the Jerry Falwell Library. Part of the grading criteria for your paper will include proper use of Turabian style in all portions of your paper. Please review the sample paper provided as an example of both the content and form of your paper. Although you are submitting your paper in three sections each previous section must be attached to the currently submitted section. This means that when you submit the Meaning portion of the paper, I should see the Introduction and Context portion. When you submit the Significance and Application portion, I should see the Introduction, Context, and Meaning sections. Each portion of the paper has its own set of assignment instructions provided in the appropriate module/week when it is due.
The Exegesis Research Paper for this course is intentionally spread out over several Modules. This is a developmental approach to paper writing that allows the adult student ample time to construct each portion of the paper, receive feedback, make corrections, and improve the quality of the paper as you continue writing it. This approach is aimed at improving exegesis skills, writing ability, and editing techniques so that the student learns by doing.
INSTRUCTIONS
The context section will run between 3 pages in length, double-spaced in 12 point Times New Roman font type. This portion of your exegesis paper has two sections. The first section is your Introduction that serves as an overview of what you will write concluding with a thesis/purpose statement that alerts the reader as to what you plan to achieve in the writing of the paper. The thesis/purpose statement should be highlighted so that it can be easily located by underlining, bolding, or highlighting in yellow like this.
The second section is the most important and should receive the bulk of your attention. Here you will explore the historical, cultural, and literary contexts of the passage selected. This process zooms out and then zooms in. You zoom out with the historical overview of the time frame in which the passage was written. You start to zoom in with a focus on cultural matters that were current in the society when the passage was written. Finally, zoom in directly on the literary setting paying attention to genre or type of literature, placement in the larger book, and any unique literary features that cause the passage to stand out (like repetition of a particular word, emphasis on a specific location, etc.). The Introduction, Historical, Cultural, and Literary sections will have a separate centered heading following Turabian style.
Be sure the paper reflects a graduate level vocabulary.
For assistance with Turabian formatting, please see the Turabian Format Quick Guide and the Turabian-Based Writing Guide located on the Exegesis Research Paper: Context of the Passage Assignment page under Exegesis Research Paper: Context of the Passage Resources. Your assignment will be checked via the Turnitin plagiarism
