Style Sheet for Old Testament Short Papers and
Exegesis Papers
GENERAL FORM. The format of the paper should generally follow the style presented in
Kate Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed.
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). Students are encouraged to consult Turabian
for specific answers to questions not covered by this style sheet. This sheet will provide
basic information and should cover most cases that the student will encounter.
Papers should be typewritten. Bond paper of standard size (8 1/2 x 11) should be used,
with left-hand, top, right-hand and bottom margins of one inch wide all around. The
text should be double-spaced; the footnotes or endnotes, single-spaced. The font should be
one of the standard types and should be set at 12 points. The paper’s length should not
exceed the limit assigned; a coversheet, biblical passage sheet (for exegesis papers),
footnotes/endnotes, and bibliography (for exegesis papers) are not counted in the required
number of pages. The pages should be numbered (except for the first page of the paper)
with the number placed either in the header or the footer of the page; the number may
appear either in the top right corner or centered at the bottom. The paper should be
stapled in the upper, left-hand corner; it should not be placed in any sort of folder.
COVERSHEET. The coversheet should conform to the example provided on the website.
BIBLICAL PASSAGE (For exegesis papers only). The biblical passage under
consideration should be typed out, single-spaced, on a separate sheet and placed after the
coversheet. It may or may not include verse enumeration. The form of the biblical passage
may come from any known translation, from a combination of translations, or, for those
who know the biblical languages, be the student's own translation. The biblical passage
sheet should not be counted in the total number of pages of the paper.
BASIC ORGANIZATION
For short papers, the organization should closely conform to that provided by
the assignment.
For exegesis papers, the organization should be carefully crafted so that none of its
parts becomes overly repetitious of other parts. The body of the paper itself will consist of
seven sections. Each section (with the exception of the first, "Survey") should be
explicitly headed with its title, in boldface, placed along the left margin. (See the
example of the first page.) The seven sections of the paper (along with general page
length guides) are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
(Survey - not headed) (<1 page)
Historical Context (1-2 pages)
Literary Context (1-2 pages)
Formal Analysis (2-3 pages)
Detailed Analysis (7-9 pages)
Synthesis (1-2 pages)
Reflection (1 page or less)
The student should follow Gorman's basic guidelines for what should and should not appear
in each section. (Note particularly Chapter 10, pp. 141-45.)
QUOTATIONS should be brief, pertinent, and copied exactly from the original. A quotation
of approximately three lines or less should be included within the paragraph of the text; if
longer it must be indented and single-spaced (Turabian, 5.30-34).
FOOTNOTES are used to (1) inform the reader of the source of statements in the paper,
(2) explain and amplify statements, and (3) protect the writer from charges of plagiarism
and improper use of materials. Reference should be given for all quotations,
important statements of fact requiring proof, as well as even inferences or
interpretations borrowed from other writers. Each footnote should be listed in the text
by a raised Arabic number (placed on a level with apostrophes) at the end of the passage to
which it refers. The font of footnotes should be one or two points smaller than that of the
text. (i.e., a 12 point text should have a 10 point footnote. Most computers do this
automatically.) Notes may be placed at the end of the paper or at the bottom of the same
page on which its reference number occurs. If the latter, a horizontal line extending eight
spaces from the left-hand margin should separate the text from the footnotes. The first
line of a footnote should be indented the same number of spaces as the first line of
a paragraph, while additional lines should be brought out to the margin. Footnotes
should be numbered consecutively throughout the paper, typed single-spaced.
The first citation of books should include complete bibliographical information, given in the
following order:
1. The author's or editor's name (if known) in normal order as it is on the title page.
2. The title of the book, italicized, and the edition, if not the first.
3. The facts of publication (place: publisher, date) in parentheses.
4. Refer to volumes (in Roman numerals) and pages (in Arabic numerals) by
numbers alone. The modern practice is not to use vol. or p./pp. Note these examples:
• The first citation of books:
1 J. P. Fokkelman, Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide (Louisville: Westminster John
Knox Press, 2001), 73-76.
2 Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book (New York: Simon & Schuster,
1972), 3-4.
3 James L. Mays, ed., HarperCollins Bible Commentary, rev. ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 2000),
xxiii-xxvi. (Since Mays, as the editor, wrote the introduction, he is listed here.)
• The first citation of articles (either in journals or in dictionaries/encyclopedias):
Journal article:
5 Frank Moore Cross, "A Reconstruction of the Judean Restoration," Journal of Biblical Literature 94
(1975): 4-18.
Dictionary/Encyclopedia articles:
Richard D. Nelson, "Deuteronomy," in The HarperCollins Bible Commentary, ed. James L. Mays
(New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2000), 189-90.
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6 W. L. Reed, "Asherah," in The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, ed. George A. Buttrick (New
York: Abingdon Press, 1962), 1:250-52. (Note the volume citation with the page number.)
7 Carol Meyers, "Canopy," in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York:
Doubleday, 1992), 1:866.
• The first citation of notes (in study Bibles):
8 K. Lawson Younger, "Note for Judg 3:21-22," The New Oxford Annotated Bible, ed. Michael D.
Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), 359-60.
The name for the note should be the author of the note, not the general editor of the study Bible.
• The first citation of internet websites:
9 Barry Bandstra, "Yahwist Narrative (J)," on Reading the Old Testament (9 Nov. 2005)
<http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/RTOT/PART1/PT1_1B1.HTM>.
10 "Covenant," on The Easton's Bible Dictionary (9 Nov. 2005)
<http://www.biblestudytools.net/Dictionaries/EastonBibleDictionary/ebd.cgi>.
The date when the webpage was read should appear in the parentheses.
• The first citation of a CD-ROM Reference:
Duane F. Watson, "False Apostles," The Anchor Bible Dictionary on CD-ROM. Logos Library
System Version 2.0c. 1995, 1996.
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• Secondary Footnotes. If the complete citation has previously been given, a shortened
form should be used for later references. It includes only the author's surname, the title
(if long, it may be shortened to key word or phrase), and (volume and) page numbers. If
the immediately preceding reference is the same as that being cited, "ibid." may be used.
Note that ibid. has a period after it because it is an abbreviation; it is not underlined or
italicized.
Examples:
12
Bright, History, 79.
13
Ibid., 198-201.
14
Cross, "Reconstruction," 15, 18.
15
Meyers, "Canopy," 1:866.
16
Younger, "Note to Judg 11:12," 389.
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THE BIBLIOGRAPHY (for exegesis papers only), placed at the end of the paper, should list
all books, articles, or documents used in research or explicitly cited in the paper,
alphabetized by author or editor, or if these are unknown, by title. Authors' surnames are
given first. The various elements of the citation are separated by periods. No parentheses
surround the publication data. All but the first line of each reference should be
indented. Articles in dictionaries and encyclopedias should generally follow the style of the
last entry below. Examples:
Adler, Mortimer J. and Charles Van Doren. How to Read a Book. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1972.
Bandstra, Barry "Yahwist Narrative (J)." Reading the Old Testament. 9 Nov. 2001.
<http://www.hope.edu/academic/religion/bandstra/RTOT/PART1/PT1_1B1.HTM>.
Cross, Frank Moore. "A Reconstruction of the Judean Restoration." Journal of Biblical
Literature 94 (1975): 4-18.
Fokkelman, J. P. Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide. Louisville: Westminster
John Knox Press, 2001.
Meyers, Carol. "Canopy." The Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by David Noel Freedman. New
York: Doubleday, 1992: 1:866.
Younger, K. Lawson. "Notes for the Book of Judges." New Oxford Annotated Bible. Edited by
Michael D. Coogan. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
• Miscellaneous Points.
The noun "Bible" is always capitalized; the adjective "biblical" is never capitalized.
Except in quotations, second person pronouns ("you") should never appear; except for
quotations, first person pronouns ("I", "We") should not appear in the short papers and
should only appear in the "Reflection" section of the exegesis paper. Contractions (e.g., isn’t,
wasn’t, etc.) should not appear in the paper.
When discussing a biblical passage, the discussion should be in the present tense, since
the biblical passage itself may be read and reread. When discussing the historical events
behind the text or circumstances behind its being written or edited, the discussion should be
in the past tense, since those events or circumstances do not recur. Examples:
…In Genesis 22, Abraham attempts to sacrifice his son, Isaac. Child sacrifice in the
ancient world was a widespread phenomenon, even among the Israelites. Children were
often sacrificed in an attempt to appease a deity. This fact may explain why the author
wrote the story in such a way that it takes an angel to stop Abraham in his deed.
Citations of biblical references that appear in the text of the paper outside
parentheses should always include the name of the book (never italicized or underlined),
the chapter and the verse(s). The chapter and verse(s) should be separated with a colon.
The first mention of a book should spell its name out; subsequent citations should
abbreviate it. If the name of the book stands alone (without chapter and/or verse
references), it should always be spelled out.
 If an extended passage is cited, the first and last verses should be separated by a
dash: Genesis 1:1-3.
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



Note
If separate verses within a chapter are cited, the verses should be separated by a
comma and a space: Gen 1:5, 13, 19, 23, 31.
If individual verses from different chapters are cited, the chapter and verses
should be separated by a semicolon and a space: Gen 1:1; 2:4.
If the book and chapter are unambiguous the reference to individual verses may
be noted without a full citation: see example from Joshua below.
If part of a verse is noted, the lowercase letters "a" or "b" may be placed with the
verse citation to differentiate the different parts: Gen 2:4b.
these examples of textual citations:
…Leviticus 19:18 is, in many ways, the center of the Torah….
[From the beginning of a paper:] Genesis 11:1-9 is commonly called the "Tower of
Babel Story" although the tower plays little part in the narrative. The passage is introduced
by the "Table of Nations" in Gen 10:2-31 and is concluded with the "Genealogy of Seth" in
Gen 11:10-26.
…Genealogical notices occur in Genesis 2:4a; 5:1; 10:1, 32; 11:10, 27; and 25:12….
…Throughout Genesis 1:1–Exodus 2:25, the biblical authors, in a sense, prepare the
reader for the exodus from Egypt in several ways….
[In the context of discussing Joshua 24] …The covenant speech is presented in verses 215. Verses 16-24 outline a conversation between Joshua and the people. Verses 25-28
provide the conclusion of the ceremony.
In general, five or fewer biblical citations occurring together should appear in
parentheses in the body of the paper. Multiple citations that take up a half-line of
text or more should appear in end- or footnotes. In all cases, first citations
appearing either in parentheses or in notes should include the name of the book
(abbreviated and not italicized, with no period), the chapter and the verse(s). The chapter
and verse(s) should be separated with a colon. In subsequent citations, if the book is
unambiguous, the name of the book can be deleted from the citation; if the chapter is
unambiguous, the citation may simply note the verse numbers, preceded by "v." or "vv.":
(v. 3) or (vv. 12-23). If a parenthetical citation ends a sentence, the period goes
after the final parenthesis. Note these examples of parenthetical citations:
…The Tower of Babel story (Gen 11:1-9) also illustrates the results of human pride….
…The Joseph Novella (Gen 37:1–47:28) is a continuous narrative….
…Genesis is organized by a series of genealogical notices (2:4a; 5:1; 10:1, 32; etc.).
…as it says, "he believed the LORD" (Gen 15:6).
Note these examples of footnote citation forms:
____________
1
Exo 13:8, 12; 15:2, 5, 7-12, 15. <Multiple separate verses in different chapters>
Ruth 3:1-18; 2 Kgs 11:1–12:5. <Passages shorter and longer than a single chapter. In this case,
even though there are only two citations, because of their length, they may be placed in a footnote,
instead of parenthetically in the text.>
2
3
1 Sam 10; 2 Sam 12; 1 Kings 4; Ezek 9; 1 Cor 1. <Passages encompassing single chapters in
their entirety>
Other examples of this type of narrative include the anointing of Saul (1 Sam 10:1-8), the
"double-portion" given to Elisha (2 Kings 2:1-14), and the baptism of Jesus in Mark (1:9-11). <A
content footnote with parenthetical citations>
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