Most simply put, exegesis is an exposition or an explanation of a text. You are assigned to present a critical interpretation of a passage from Scripture. The root of the word is from the Greek exēgeisthai to explain (via Merriam-Webster). Exegesis involves a process of examination by which one comes to understand a particular passage of the text. A passage from the Bible that captures a full event or narrative is called a pericope. Your professor’s specific instructions and your own research interests will of course dictate what pericope you choose to perform exegesis on or the specific materials needed for your work. You can always ask a librarian to assist you in finding the perfect resource, too!
First, you will want to explore the context of the passage. This involves imagining yourself as part of the story. What is the date? What is going on in history? What are the societal forces at work?
Second, you will dive into the text. Explore the word choice, grammar, and perceived intent of the author, and engage with others who have written on the subject before you.
Finally, analyze the text theologically. What do you believe is the point of the pericope you analyzed, and how do you apply it to your daily life?
From Wikimedia Commons, this picture of artwork at Chora Church in Istanbul shows the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph going to Bethlehem for the Census of Quirinius (photo by Meister der Kahriye-Cami-Kirche).
After you have chosen a pericope from scripture (or one has been assigned to you by your Professor), the first goal is to explore the context of the passage. Read the text using several translations of the Bible, while noting variations (some of our selection is below, but do note we have many bible translations in many languages, including Greek and Hebrew), and scan your chosen passage for any hint of date, time, historical events, social roles of characters, key phrases, and important theological concepts (for example, in the story of Jesus's birth in the Gospel of Luke, Luke 2:2 mentions the census when "Quirinius was governor of Syria"). Think of all the interesting historical and cultural things of note here! Who was Quirinius? What was the Jewish people's reaction to the census? How did this exhibit the place of the Jewish people in that society? How does Luke use the Census to make a point in his story? How does this timeline of Jesus's birth compare to the other Gospels?
Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias are great ways to explore context.
Listed below is a couple of great bible dictionary and encyclopedia resources available at the School of Theology Library. Look around these call numbers for similar titles, and use bibliographies in what you find to extend your search! The School of Theology Library also has access to BibleWorks and Accordance, computer programs that are great for comparing translations, learning about the geography of areas in the bible, exploring and learning the original languages, and more!
Finally, search our library's online catalog. Biblical commentaries are usually listed under the subject heading "Bible. Criticism, interpretation, etc." It is usually better to search for the entire book your passage is from ("Bible Criticism Interpretation Luke" for the above example).
After exploring the context of the text, next up is to go line by line, verse by verse, through your pericope, exploring its terms, idioms, and structures. Read the passage as deliberately as possible, and highlight things that stand out to you, whether it be use of words, repetition, argument, or the like. Have dictionaries near by and consult them to discover the original meaning (for example, the meaning of New Testament Greek may have a slight nuance that is missing in English). Make note of words and start to formulate what you think the text is saying.
The School of Theology Library has many resources to consult during this process, including Interlinear Bibles (bibles that show the original language with an English translation below), concordances (an index that shows you where particular words show up in the Bible), and Commentaries.
Information on available Biblical Commentaries can be found on the left hand side of this guide. Remember, along with Interlinear Bibles and Concordances, we have access to BibleWorks and Accordance software inside the library!
Note, when searching the ATLA Religion Database, you can search by scripture citation as well, for find the perfect resource within the database for your paper!
The final step in writing exegesis is to sum up your findings of what the text is trying to say, and offer modern-day application.
Consult biblical commentaries like the ones below and books in our catalog to see what other scholars have said about your chosen pericope. Delve into essays by once again consulting journal articles and essays, like those in the ATLA Religion Database. Consult bibliographies in the dictionary and encyclopedia articles you consult. Search subject headings of books you find useful, or search the area around that call number in our open stacks.
The following are Biblical Commentaries available online through BU Libraries.
Expositors Bible Commentary by 
The International Bible commentary with the New International Version by 
The New Interpreter's Bible by 
The New Jerome Biblical Commentary by 
Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible by 
The Navarre Bible in the Revised Standard Version with a commentary by 
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha by 
The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha : New Revised Standard Version by 
Tanakh, the Holy Scriptures by 
The Harpercollins Study Bible Standard Version with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books by 
The New Interpreter's Study Bible by 
The Catholic Study Bible by 
The Jewish Study Bible by 
The Jewish Annotated New Testament by The Holy Bible : New international version, containing the Old Testament and the New Testament. Ref. BS 195 .N37 1978
The NIV study Bible, New International Version. General editor, Kenneth Barker ; associate editors, Donald Burdick … [et al.]
Ref. BS 195 .N37 1985
The New English Bible, with the Apocrypha. Ref. BS 191 .A1 1976 N48
Good news Bible : the Bible in Today’s English version. Ref. BS 195 .T63 1976
The New Jerusalem Bible by
Oxford Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation by 
The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Books of the Bible by 
Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception by 
The Anchor Bible Dictionary by 
The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible by 
The Cambridge Companion to the Bible by 
Expository Dictionary of Bible Words : word studies for key English Bible words based on the Hebrew and Greek texts by 
Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible by 
Dictionary of the Bible and Western Culture by 
Harpercollins Bible Dictionary by 
Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible by Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible by 
The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era by 
The Oxford Guide to Ideas and Issues of the Bible by 
The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible by 
True to Our Native Land by 
Women's Bible Commentary by 
Africa Bible Commentary by 
Global Bible Commentary by 
Searching the Scriptures by 
Feminist Biblical Interpretation by 
The Queer Bible Commentary by 
The Bible and the Hermeneutics of Liberation by Searching the Scriptures by 
The Macmillan Bible atlas by 
HarperCollins Concise Atlas of the Bible by 
Zondervan NIV atlas of the Bible by 
Bible History Atlas by 
Historical Atlas of the Middle East by 
The Parallel New Testament in Greek and English with Interlinear Translation by 
The NIV Interlinear Hebrew-English Old Testament by 
The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament by 
Literature and the Bible : a reader by 
The Art of Biblical Narrative by 
Canon and Creativity : modern writing and the authority of scripture by 
The Literary Guide to the Bible by 
The Literary Guide to the Bible by 
The Book and the Text : the Bible and literary theory by 
Literary Forms in the New Testament by Once you have found background resources on your paper, start looking for books and other library material in our library's catalog, available on our home page (www.bu.edu/sthlibrary). If you have an idea of what you want (a title, author, or relevant subject heading, perhaps information from background articles you read) begin your search there!
However, there's a chance you may not know where to start. Don't worry! Start with a keyword search of your topic. Let's start with the term "Elijah." There are over 13,000 entries for Elijah in our catalog. That's very overwhelming! To limit your search, add another word to your search (for example, "fire.). Now, the catalog will search for records that contain both the words "Elijah" and "fire." There's a lot less results now (under 1,000). You're on the right track!
You can use filters to limit results to exactly what you're looking for! Prefer books? Limit resource type to books on the right side. Do the same for date of creation, library, language, etc. as you prefer! On the top, you can limit books to available in library or available online. BU has 10 books or e-books to browse that contain both "Elijah" and "fire" in the record. That's a little more manageable.
Your search may have missed others on your subject, though. Did you find the perfect source in your search? Use the "subject headings" under the More Information tab; here, librarians group together books under the same heading- making it easier for you to find alike resources! If a book is available on shelf, always browse around the area, too. We use Library of Congress Classification, and books are shelved according to subject, meaning other useful resources may be really close by!
Always check the footnotes, references, and bibliographies from resources you found useful! This footnote hoping may find you the perfect resource for your paper!
Finding journal articles isn't difficult, either! Applying the sleuthing techniques you learned by finding books, you can also find the perfect journal article for your research!
Our library's catalog includes full-text journal articles from many of the e-journals and databases BU owns. Start your search there, limiting your search to "articles" on the left side. That said, not every e-journal and database article that we have access to appears in a keyword search. Note that you should directly search our databases (for example, you should get very familiar with the ATLA Religion Database. Learn more about it on our box just to the left!) Check Boston University's complete list of databases to determine which is most helpful to you and your paper writing needs. When searching databases, you may find the perfect journal article, but BU doesn't have access to it online. Search for the journal title in our online catalog- we may have it in print format! If we don't, you may want to request the article as an interlibrary loan- see the tab "What if BU Doesn't Own What I Need" for more information!
