Exegesis of The Gospel according Mark 10: 1-12
Steps from Michael Gorman’s Elements of Biblical Exegesis.
1. Survey (1 page / c. 250 words)
a. Introduction or Overview of the paper.
2. Contextual Analysis (2-3 pages / c. 500-800 words)
a. Historical Context
i. Discuss “Everything that affects how a person experiences life,” in terms of the ancient environment of the text, (e.g., political structure, legal system, social relationships, religious background, resource distribution, family organization, food, entertainment, etc.)
ii. Focus on items that are specific to your text.
b. Literary Context. (Outline, Far Context, Near Context)
i. Outline the book in which your text is found. ii. Far Context: Summarize what came before your passage, what comes after the passage, and how your passage contributes to the book as a whole
iii. Near Context: Discuss the specific section of the book in which your passage occurs, and how your passage contributes specifically to this section.
iv. This whole section focuses more on what the text says.
v. You can read the passage yourself and do this step on your own.
3. Formal Analysis (1-2 pages / c. 250-600 words) (Form, Structure, Movement)
a. This is a more detailed discussion of the Literary Context (above).
b. Discuss the implications of:
i. Genre
ii. Technical “form/s” that comprise your passage,
iii. Literary techniques &/or Rhetorical devices employed in your passage.
1. Cicero & Quintilian are 2 important ancient authors who wrote about rhetoric.
iv. This whole section focuses more on how the text says it. Not content, but the structures or patterns it employs.
v. At first, you will need to rely on your sources to alert you to the different forms present in your passage.
4. Detailed Analysis 8-10 pages / c.2,000 – 2,700 words)
a. Use the outline, (above), to structure your discussion (below).
b. Discuss, in detail, the key ideas germane to your passage.
c. Often a verse by verse analysis.
i. Carefully consider the following: Words (Vocabulary) – Sentence
Segments (Clauses) – Sentences – Text Segments (Units of Thought, Chapters or Sub-headings) – Major text divisions (Groups of Chapters, Sections) – Text as whole.
5. Synthesis (1 page / c.250 words)
a. Bring all the ideas together to discuss the impact of the text as a whole.
6. Reflection (0-3 pages / c. 0-750 words)
a. On what the text may say to us today.
7. Expansion and Refinement
a. Refine the essay, in light of everything you’ve researched and reconsidered.
b. This will produce your second, third, or final draft of the paper.
All sources must be year 1960 or newer and 3 of the 12 sources must journal articles.