Exegetical Worksheet

Passage: _______________

Tentative Translation:
This may be your own translation or one of the standard versions which you think best
reflects the meaning (you will need to revise this translation after you finish the
exegesis).

Naïve Reading:
Based on your initial impressions, what do you think the passage is all about?

Major Issues
In question form, write down 3-5 major issues of this passage which needs to be resolved
in order for you to understand it better. (This can be revised as you study the passage).

Survey
Put your initial observations here, including questions, things to investigate further,
interesting features of the text, etc.

Make an educated guess about the meaning of the passage, using this as a working thesis
(one paragraph only). Further study may confirm, modify, or contradict your initial
thesis.

Bibliography
Give a tentative bibliography of resources you will use for the study, including
commentaries, articles from EBSCO, dictionary articles, specialized works and studies,
etc.

Literary Context
Show how this passage fits into the immediate context and the book context. Make
structural outline of the book or the immediate section in order to show how this passage
fits into the context.

What insights does the literary context give you about the meaning of this passage?

Genre/Structure
Broad Genre – Narrative, Law, Prophecy, Psalm, Gospel, Epistle, Proverb, etc.

Specific Form- what type of narrative or prophecy or psalm is this?

Over-all structure or Structural Diagram

Historical/Geographical/Theological

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If possible, determine when, where, who, why, this was written. This includes authorship,
historical period and place, the audience, the socio-historical-political-religious situation at that
time.

Give an explanation of any institutions, practices, beliefs, customs that may be a puzzle
to modern readers.

Give a description of significant places mentioned, including their symbolic meaning, if

any.

Give an explanation of theological concepts that were held by people at that time, if this
is significant (e.g., Day of the Lord, the concept of herem, etc.).

How does the above information help you in understanding the passage?

Detailed Analysis
Give a word study of the most significant words or phrases, especially the ones that can
have several meanings or whose meanings are unclear.

Show the relationship of the different parts of the structure (phrases and words and
sentences) to each other. Take note of repetitions, cause and effect relationships,
parallels, inclusion, etc. How does this shed light on the meaning of the passage?

Synthesis

Revise your initial thesis to reflect the results of your study. Provide a one paragraph summary
of the point of the passage, addressing the major issues you have raised up at the beginning.

*After doing the initial worksheet with your own observations, do some reading of
commentaries and articles. Then supplement, revise, expand your work based on your
readings. But you need to do your own work first.