TITLE
NAME
Lutheran Brethren Seminary
CLASS
Professor
DATE
Last Name
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Introduction
The introduction is where you present the main thesis of your paper and how you
plan to defend it. Make this an engaging element which causes a reader want to dive into
your paper!
Translation and Notes: [TEXT]
1 Text.1 2 Text.2 3 Text 4 Bold numbers are verse numbers. 3 6 text. 7 text.
Translate your passage into a readable English translation (lean more toward a
literal translation than a paraphrase). Utilizing BDB as well as the standard grammars
(Williams, Joüon, Waltke/O’Conner, Gesenius, etc.), your footnotes (8-12 single-spaced
footnotes) should support and defend your translation. For example, address: a) what you
think are the significant and/or difficult constructions, and (b) any textual variant readings
that are of significance. Do not simply parse verbs! Instead explain and support why you
translated your text the way you did.
When a single Hebrew word requires more than one English word use hyphens that
join the English words. For example, the single word yhyw may be translated with five
connected words, “and-it-came-to-pass.”
M.T.S. (or non-Hebrew language) students should offer an outline of the text in an
English version (e.g., NASB, NIV, or ESV), giving a visual layout of the text’s thought
1
Footnotes should be inserted after the word/phrase/quote they are addressing, and
after/outside all punctuation (periods, commas, question marks, etc.)
2
Footnotes should be 10pt and set up with the following spacing: 6pt space
“following” each footnote; single spaced; first line indentation of 0.3”.
3
Verse numbers in the translation and notes section should be 12pt (not superscript)
and bold, to distinguish them from footnote markers.
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flow. Use footnotes (5-10 at most) to cite alternate readings or key grammatical issues
involving significant portions of the text.
Sitz im Leben
The Sitz im Leben describes the historical, religious and literary context of the text.
Address when the text was written, who wrote it, and the events surrounding this time one
might also consider a text’s genre.
Sitz im Buch
The Sitz im Buch (Sitz im Buch = “situation in the Book,” or the text’s literary
context) considers how the text fits into its biblical book. Your summary should provide a
closer look at your text’s context and should give your reader everything needed to read
the text with understanding.
Thought Flow and Interpretation
This is the main “commentary” section of your paper. In this section describe
the “major movements” or thought flow of the text. Account for as much of the text as
you can, noting how the text fits together as a pericope and within its larger context.
Consider such things as: how the plot develops, how parts fit together, the events
surrounding this text, use of language (literal, figurative, etc.). Be sure to look for both
smaller particulars and larger themes, especially things that are emphasized and repeated.
This section should first emphasize what the text means in its original context
(i.e., its book, the Pentateuch, the OT) and then should bring to light how the text speaks
of or witnesses to Christ. Don’t move too quickly to the NT; but don’t ignore the text’s
Christological meaning either!
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This part of the paper is very much “descriptive” in nature and should present and
defend your understanding of the meaning of the text. Determine what the text means in
its original context and then for the church today.
Conclusion
Summarize your main thesis and argument(s) in a concise and substantive
paragraph.
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Bibliography
Agamben, Giorgio. Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Translated by Daniel
Heller-Roazen. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998.
Dean, Jodi. Democracy and Other Neoliberal Fantasies: Communicative Capitalism and
Left Politics. Durham: Duke University Press, 2009.
DeLanda, Manuel. A New Philosophy of Society: Assemblage Theory and Social
Complexity. London: Continuum, 2006.
Set this part of your paper off with a page break (so it always starts at the top of a page).
See the Chicago Formatting and Style Guide4 for help with formatting footnotes,
citations, and bibliography.
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https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/01/