However, when you are reading the passage, there are three separate things you need to do. You need to recite your passage like a prayer. This passage is written by a divine author; so look for what they are trying to tell you as you recite the verse. Then look at the passages before and after your passage. When you look at these verses they will give you the literary context that you need in the context section. The third step in reading the history at the time of your passage. As an example, Paul wrote Ephesians in 62 AD, while under house arrest. This is an important note to tell your readers, so this would be part of your Historical context. Another fact is that Paul wrote Ephesians to the church in Ephesus, which was part of Greek. Due to the placement of Ephesus, Greek religion was a big problem in Ephesus. This is an example of cultural context. The final step is to compile the historical and cultural context, and make a section for historical-cultural context, and separate the literary context. Once you have your context complete it should be two pages long, and should tell the reader enough about history that they understand what was going on during the author’s writing …show more content…
This is the bulk of the exegetical. This part of your paper should be between six and nine pages. The content section is structured differently than the rest of the paper. You need to have an outline made of what you feel are the important parts of the passage. It does not matter if it is verse by verse, or two or three verses together. You need to make names for each important part. You will use these names as subheadings in your paper. Underneath your subheadings you will first have your verse in whatever version you prefer. Then it is recommended, but not mandatory, that you have the verse or verses in the original text. In the Old testament that would be Hebrew, and in the New Testament that would be Greek. After you have your verses you need to use commentaries, bible dictionaries, and Greek or Hebrew lexicons to explain what the passage is trying to tell its reader. You may do word studies, research historical events, or any other research that could help your reader understand the passage better. The purpose of this section is to explain to the reader the biblical principle of the passage that you have decided to