Choose one of the following passages (or an alternative passage assigned or approved by your professor) and follow the steps of the exegetical process to complete a full exegesis that uses the feedback your instructor provided to you in the previous course assignments

Choose one of the following passages (or an alternative passage assigned or approved by your professor) and follow the steps of the exegetical process to complete a full exegesis that uses the feedback your instructor provided to you in the previous course assignments:
* Epistle: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 or Romans 3:21-26
* Gospel: John 11 or Matthew 19:1-12
* Gospel Parable: Luke 16:1-13 or Matthew 21:33-46
* New Testament Narrative: Acts 2:42-47 or Acts 17:16-34
* New Testament Apocalyptic: Revelation 2:1-7 or Revelation 22:1-5
* Old Testament Law: Deuteronomy 17:14-20 or Leviticus 4:1-12
* Old Testament Narrative: 2 Chronicles 23-24 or Genesis 12
* Old Testament Wisdom: Job 28 or Proverbs 26:4-5
* Old Testament Poetry: Psalm 23 or Psalm 72
* Old Testament Prophecy: Isaiah 6 or Ezekiel 8
The entire paper will be 1,500-2000 words. Along with an introduction and a conclusion, be sure to accomplish the following:
Text Analysis:
1. Examine the features of the text that you have selected within its genre.
* Examine the historical and social setting of the text.
* Examine the text within its genre.
2. Perform a word study of two or three important words within the text.
Steps of the Interpretive Journey:
1. Examine what the text meant to the original biblical audience.
2. Examine the differences between the biblical audience and Christians today.
3. Examine the theological principle(s) in this text.
4. Examine how the theological principle(s) fit with the rest of the Bible.
5. Examine how individual Christians today live out the principle(s).
Along with the use of the Bible and textbook, use a minimum of four academic sources from the GCU Library.
Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the LopesWrite Technical Support articles for assistance.
Benchmark Information
This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:
BA Christian Studies, Biblical Studies
1.3: Analyze, interpret, and apply the Bible to ministry
BIB-355 Topic 8 Overview
The Task of Exegesis
Introduction
In this topic, the goal is to put everything together. The written assignment for Topic 8 is to write a full exegesis on a passage from the list. The step-by-step guidelines for doing the exegesis are given in more detail within this overview, but can be found in short form in the assignment instructions. Follow them carefully and fully. The student will notice that these steps have been discussed, practiced, and explained throughout the entire course. Refer to the textbook and previous overviews for a refresher on this material.
In an exegetical paper, the student may find that as he or she moves through the steps, the need to go back to a previous step to clarify an idea may arise. This occurs when a point has become clearer as he or she has moved through the exegesis. This is the way it should work. The student should feel free to do that. Interpretation is very much a back and forth—or spiral—movement. The remainder of the overview will assist the student by affording a diagrammed representation of an exegesis, similar to the various rungs of a ladder to go up and down, to aid in understanding the larger context and smaller components of the process.
The Interpretive Journey
The Duvall and Hays (2012) textbook takes the reader through the five steps of the interpretive process, which they refer to as “The Interpretive Journey.” These are the steps that you will follow that are outlined both in the textbook and in the Topic 1 Overview. The steps of the interpretive journey are as follows:
• Step 1 is about “Grasping the Text in Their Town.” This is simply understanding what the text meant in its original historical and literary contexts to its original readers.
• Step 2 is about “Measuring the Width of the River to Cross.” This is simply seeking to understand the difference(s) between the original audience and their context, and the modern reader and our context.
• Step 3 focuses on “Crossing the Principlizing Bridge.” This focuses on the main ideas of the text and the theological message that the text is trying to communicate to the reader.
• Step 4 encourages the reader to “Consult the Biblical Map.” This step takes Steps 1-3 and helps the reader move from the theological message communicated to the original audience to how that theological message should be understood today.
• Step 5 is the final step and focuses on “Grasping the Text in Our Town.” This focuses
on how the text applies to the modern audience.
In the steps above, be sure to follow the example and pattern established in the textbook.
One thing has been added to this within the final exegesis: a word study. In completing the word study, be sure to complete the following:
• Pick out two or three of the important words to study.
• Do a word study on each word:
– Determine the original language word (Greek or Hebrew).
– Uncover the range of meanings of the word by examining the word in a theological dictionary, lexicon, and its uses in the Bible.
– Determine the meaning of the word within the passage being exegeted.
Conclusion
After finishing this careful exegesis, the student should stop to ask if he or she has allowed the text (the original author) to say what it has to say, and not just what he or she would like it to say. If the previous insights about the passage have changed, consider that it might be the fruit of exegesis, and that the understanding of the text is more accurate. Remember that the goal is to let the word of God speak its true message.
Reference
Duvall, J. S., & Hays, J. D. (2012). Grasping God’s Word: A hands-on approach to reading,
interpreting, and applying the Bible (3rd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. © 2020. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.