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UBBL230 (Luke/Acts): About the Assignment

This guide includes print and electronic resources and instruction that will aid students in the study of Luke and Acts. Rev. May 2022 by Steve Jung, contributions by Sharon Ralston

Exegetical Assignment

Each Luke /Acts class is supposed to require some sort of exegetical assignment. Some faculty break it up into parts, so that it is done over time or to make it more manageable to grade -- I mean, for the student to work on it. Exegesis is the art /science of explaining the meaning of the text. Yes, it is part science, and that is what your professor is teaching you, but it is also an art, something that takes practice. Below is an outline of the exegetical process and books on how to do exegesis. In looking at those, you will see that there is variance even in the science of it. For several years the SOT had all the Luke/ Acts courses follow the same exegetical method. Those four steps are the four sub-tabs under this "About this Assignment" tab.  Your instructor will likely provide his/her specific instructions for "doing an exegetical paper" for a particular class here at APU.  This LibGuide is meant as a complement to UBBL230, providing a curated collection of print and electronic resources and tools as well as instruction.  This is intended to help you discover suitable material to help you start and then also refine your research in interpreting Luke/Acts.

Resources for How to Do an Exegetical Assignment

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Welcome to the Research Guide for Luke/Acts!

Luke 13:29–35 and 14:1–10. From the Four Gospels and Acts of the Apostles (Papyrus 45, manuscript). Egypt,  c. A.D. 200–250. Chester Beatty Library

Gordon Fee's Steps to Exegesis

  1. Survey context - historically similar writings surveyed
  2. Establish limits of pericope (fancy word meaning a self-contained passage) 
  3. Translation (if you know the language)
  4. Flow / Discourse Analysis
  5. Establish text (if you can work with text criticism with the original languages)
  6. Analyze grammar (original language work and/or critical commentaries can help)
  7. Word studies
  8. Historical cultural work - ancient setting, authorship, and locations
  9. Literary type - Genre and forms of literature analyzed
  10. Historical context / synoptics 
  11. Literary context - immediate literary context of the passage
  12. Biblical / theological context 
  13. Bibliography
  14. Final translation 
  15. Write paper

Biblical Interpretation Resources

Also see the mini guide Modern/Postmodern Biblical Hermeneutics and Perspectives under the Biblical Studies tab on the Stamps Virtual Theological Library guide.  For more resources employing the application of such specialized and emerging interpretative ("hermeneutical") approaches brought to a particular book of the Bible, see the "Specialized Lens" commentaries on sub-tabbed pages for each book of the Bible on this guide under the Commentaries tab.

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