Writing of

Exegetical
Paper
Dictionary: Definitions from Oxford
Languages

ex·e·ge·sis
“Critical explanation or
interpretation of a text, especially
of scripture”
According to the Anchor Bible Dictionary,
" exegesis is the process of careful,
analytical study of biblical passages
undertaken in order to produce useful
interpretations of those passages.
Ideally, exegesis involves the analysis of
the biblical text in the language of its
original or earliest available form."
 The writing of an exegetical paper typically entails the following
phases:
1.Preparation – choose a text.
2.Exegesis – Explore and interact with the text itself. This stage involves your interaction with
the text, not with secondary sources (e.g., commentaries, articles, etc.). Observe before
interpreting and responding. Always let the text speak to you as you prayerfully yield to it.
3.Research – Explore secondary sources on your text. Create and explore your bibliography of
sources – reference works (Bible dictionaries, theological dictionaries, etc.), commentaries,
articles, essays from collected volumes (polygraphs), other books that deal with your
passage, genre, form, or topics raised by the passage and identified in your exegesis.
4.Consolidation – Correct, refine, and confirm your exegesis based upon your research.
Finalize your thoughts, claims, and conclusions regarding the passage. Develop the outline
for your paper as the final step of consolidation – bring your thoughts to paper and begin to
think about how it all fits together.
5.Writing – Write your paper following all the steps of good writing. Make sure to leave time to
edit your paper and to have someone else to look at it.
 Design for an exegetical study

Whether it is a 10-page term paper, a 100-

page thesis or a 300-page dissertation, an
exegetical study has five main parts: (1)
introduction, (2) context, (3) meaning, (4)
significance and (5) conclusion. In a term
paper, these would be sections of the paper.
In a thesis, each might be one chapter. In a
dissertation, each part could require several
Section 1: The introduction
The opening section provides framework for the study. It covers such
elements as the boundaries of the passage, the reason for selecting it,
problems in the text, scholarly views (short literature review) on the
passage and its problems, a brief description of the research approach
and an overview of the remainder of the study.
● The passage. Explain your reasons for choosing the text and how
you delimited its boundaries.
● The objectives. The general objective of exegesis is to expose the
meaning and significance of the biblical text. If your exegesis will focus
on particular exegetical problems in the text, describe them; your
objective will be to solve these problems.
● The perspectives. Summarise the major scholarly perspectives on
text, especially vastly different approaches and alternate solutions to
 Section 2: The context

This part deals with all aspects relevant to the

historical and the literary contexts of the book in which
the selected passage is located. Most exegetical
studies require a section devoted to the book in which
the passage is located. This section should cover
whichever of these elements are relevant to the
research:
● The general background of the book. The general
background encompasses issues related to the
authorship, date and audience (recipients) of the book.
● The historical context of the book. The historical context relates
primarily to the quest for the occasion and purpose of the book. A
secondary aspect of this section is to explain any aspects of the
historical setting (milieu) of the book that are crucial to
understanding its message.
● The literary context of the book. At this level, the literary context
has to do with the book’s structure and argument (i.e., flow of
thought). How an interpreter understands the overall structure and
argument of the book has an influence on how he understands the
meaning of the passage.
● The theological themes of the book. For some studies, a survey of
the major themes and motifs of the book is necessary. In particular,
this section should analyse what the whole book teaches about
themes relevant to the focal point of the selected passage
 Section 3: The meaning
This section is the heart of the exegetical study, consisting of an in-depth
analysis of the text.
1. Preliminary analysis. The preliminary exegetical work entails two main
tasks: analyse textual variants and translate the passage.
● Textual criticism. Examine textual variants and discuss any meaningful
ones.
● Translation. If you are familiar with the original language, it is valuable
to produce your own translation of the passage. Where difficult translation
decisions have to be made, the translation should include notes explaining
the problem, listing translation options and motivating the choice. If you are
unable to produce your own translation, you may substitute by comparing
various good translations. Write out the text of the translation you will be
using as your main text together with notes discussing significant alternate
renderings.
2. Contextual analysis. Study the immediate
historical and literary context of your pericope. You
should give due attention to whichever of these
aspects of the pericope context are relevant:
● Historical setting. Determine the underlying
historical occasion the author was addressing and
analyse any historical or cultural allusions in the text.
● Literary context. Examine attention to the
literary context of the passage, which includes the
immediate context, the book context and the
canonical context.
3. Verbal analysis. Investigate the actual words
in the passage, their meaning (lexical analysis)
and relationships (grammatical analysis).
● Lexical. Analyse the meaning of key words
and phrases to discover their significance in the
text.
● Grammatical. Examine any significant
grammatical features in the passage (e.g., verb
tenses, genitive phrases, conditional clauses,
etc.).
4. Literary analysis. Examine the literary features of the passage to
determine their influence on the meaning of the passage. Under the
banner of “literary features” we include:
● Genre. Identify the general and specific genre of the passage and
how it impacts upon the interpretation of the text; for example, if the
text is Matthew 8:18-22, the general genre is “gospel”, while the specific
genre is “pronouncement story”.
● Structure. Analyse the relationship between parts of the passage;
techniques such as sentence diagrams or semantic structure analyses
are helpful.
● Composition. For some texts and some studies, matters relating to
traditions, sources, redaction and life-settings require investigation.
● Rhetoric. Examine the stylistic features of the text that may influence
its meaning; these include compositional techniques such as figures of
speech, repeated words, catch phrases and markers of emphasis.
Exegetical synthesis.
In this section, you should begin to pull together your exegetical
findings. The primary question you want to answer here is this:
What was the author trying to communicate to his readers through
the text? To answer this question, you might need to answer such
questions as these:
● What are the major concerns or issues being addressed in the
passage?
● What is the impact of the combination of genre, literary devices
and structure on the meaning of the passage?
● What is the relationship between the motifs and the concerns of
the passage?
● What is the relation of these motifs and concerns to the
historical setting of the book?
Section 4: The Significance
No exegetical thesis is complete until it addresses the
contemporary significance of the passage, answering the
question: What difference does it make? This section may
explore two kinds of significance: (a) theology and/or (b)
application.
1.Theology: the doctrinal significance of the passage. Here the
thesis should expound what the passage teaches us (a) about
God, (b) about creation (especially ourselves) and (c) the
relationship between God and creation.
● What universal truths (principles) does the passage teach?
● How does it harmonize with the whole teaching of Scripture?
2. Application: the practical significance of the passage.
The study should make at least one application of the
passage to contemporary Christianity. The application
should focus on the central idea in the exposition of the
passage.
● Identify the target group at which your application is
aimed. Then give attention to how (a) the original
meaning of the text can be explained to them and (b) you
can help them connect with the truths of the text.
● Identify how the text applies to today’s situation. The
focus may be upon (a) the life of the individual Christian
and/or (b) the life and ministry of the church
 Section 5: The conclusion

The conclusion may or may not be a separate section

of the study. In some exegetical studies, the
significance section is the conclusion. It briefly
summarises the exegetical findings, then closes with a
discussion of the significance (doctrinal and/or
practical) of those findings. In other studies, the
conclusion is a separate, short section summarising
the problem, process and findings of the study and
possibly proposing further research.
 Section 1:

Section 2: Context

The book of the

Bible
General background
Historical context
Literary context
Theological themes
Section 3: Biblical Evidence

Preliminary Literary Verbal Literary

Analysis Analysis Analysis Analysis
Textual Genre Lexical Genre
criticism Structure Grammatical Structure
Translation Rhetoric Rhetoric
Exegetical Synthesis
What the author was trying to communicate
Section 4: Contemporary
Significance
Theology: Application
doctrinal :
significance practical
significance

Section 5: Conclusion

Bibliograph
y
 An exegetical study can be organised
under the following categories:
1. Introduction
1.1. The passage
1.2. The problems
1.3. The perspectives
2. Context of the book
2.1. General background: author, date and audience
2.2. Historical context: occasion, purpose and milieu
2.3. Literary structure: structure and argument
3. Exegesis of the passage
3.1. Text and translation
■ Present the working translation of the text (your own or
an
existing one) followed by notes discussing relevant textual
variants and translation alternatives.
3.2. Meaning for the original readers
■ Move through the text verse-by-verse discussing all the
points relevant to its meaning, such as key words, grammar,
customs, geography, rhetoric, redaction, etc.
4. Significance for today's readers
5. Conclusion
6. Bibliography