Learning Goal: I’m working on a religion writing question and need the explanation and answer to help me learn.
(Original Content Only) (3,500 words) (Kate Turabian format) (Footnotes in Kate Turabian style are a must) (References are a must)
Students will prepare a 3,500-word paper. After the selection of one of the assigned Biblical passages (see below), the student is to identify the message of the biblical author in consultation with Biblical commentaries, dictionaries, and journal articles (see further below). After the completion of your research, make a claim (a thesis statement) in the first brief paragraph (do not merely describe your passage). Construct the body of paper so that your claim (thesis statement) above is proven or demonstrated. Consider using the two or three big ideas of the claim above to structure the body of the paper logically, using transition and summary statements between effectively. In a brief concluding paragraph, the student should then suggest how the message of the biblical author is to be applied today.
Possible chapters from the Old Testament from which to select a passage of approximately four to six verses:
- Gen 22:1-8, 9-19
- Exod 19:1-8
- Deut 30:1-10
- Joshua 2; 6:17-25
- 1 Samuel 1
- 2 Samuel 7
- 1 Kings 8
- Job 28
- Pss 1; 2
- Ps 73
- Prov 8
- Eccl 1-2
- Isa 11:1-9
- Ezek 34:1-10, 11-24
- Hosea 4:1-5
- Amos 5:4-15
- Mal 4:1-6
Double-space your paper with footnotes and page numbers according to the conventions of The Chicago Manual of Style (abbreviated by Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers, 9th ed. [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018]) and SBL Handbook of Style for issues related to biblical studies. Neither a title page or a bibliography are required.
Use three peer-reviewed resources of the last generation of scholarship (25-30 years) exclusively. The textbooks of this course may be used but they do not count toward the three resources mentioned above.
- For commentary series and monographs, see some of the top recommendations of . Do not use contemporary devotional books or the works of Matthew Henry, John Wesley, John Calvin or other important figures of Church History (they are treated in your courses in Church History).
- For scholarly journals, use ATLA Religion Database, which can be navigated to via RU Library Database Some of the leading scholarly journals in Old Testament//Hebrew Bible scholarship are the following: Biblica, Biblical Interpretation, Bulletin for Biblical Research, Biblische Zeitschrift, Journal of Biblical Literature, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Oudtestamentische studien, Tyndale Bulletin, Vetus Testamentum, and Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft.
- For word/concept studies and related lexical matters, consult the following:
- Willem VanGemeren, ed., New International Dictionary of OT Theology and Exegesis, 5 vols. (Zondervan, 1997)
- Ernst Jenni et al. eds., Theological Lexicon of the OT, 3 vols. (Hendrickson, 1997)
- G. Johannes Botterweck, eds. et al., Theological Dictionary of the OT, 15 vols. (Eerdmans, 1974-2006)
Strong’s Concordance (1890) and Vine’s Dictionary (1940) are neither contemporary nor peer-reviewed resources. Do not use Hebrew or Greek unless you are trained in them.
Remember the famous adage of Strunk and White: Make every word tell.
