Biblical Exegesis-Ephesians 6: 17-20
Synthesis Rough Draft Instructions
This module you will begin to see the “fruit” of your study. You will begin to do a synthesis of the detailed analysis you have been working on. However, your synthesis for this module’s rough draft will be slightly different from the final version. At this stage in the exegetical study you will not have expanded and refined your detailed analysis quite yet. So, this synthesis will be more of an “educated guess” than a final product. Your goal in this section of the exegetical paper is to state the main point(s) the author is trying to make to their audience. From your readings and study consider the following:
A. What is the main point in each part of the text, and how do the parts make a whole? Can the main point be located accurately in one word, phrase, image, or verse, or does it come only from the content and/or structure of the text as a whole?
B. Why do you think the passage was included in this biblical book? What might have been the purpose(s) or function(s) of the text for its original authors and hearers/readers?
C. What spiritual claims did the text make upon its original hearers/readers? What response might the author have desired from these hearers/readers?
Remember, this section is only an “educated guess” at this point and should evolve and change with your study. If it does not change at all, you might be in danger of eisegesis (telling the text what it means). Also, remember that this section is not about what the text means to Christians today. You are trying to summarize what the author was trying to say to the audience of their day. The use of first person or explaining what it means to Christians today should not be used.
For this section you will need to turn in one complete page of content. This section must be written as a narrative rough draft. Submitting a paper that lists A-C and includes research will not suffice. The rough draft must be written in a narrative format just like your final paper. The content of this rough draft is not to exceed one page (this section will remain at one full page for your final paper). However, you must include a completed cover page and a bibliography covering the source(s) used for this rough draft. For this section, you must cite the version of the Bible that you have used in Turabian formatting. For those of whom this will be their first attempt at Turabian formatting, there are additional helps in formatting within the “Exegesis Paper Assignment, Tools, and Helps” page.