An Exegetical Method

by Joe Sawatzky
1. Find the text. Punctuation and formatting exist in our English Bibles, but none such
existed in the early Greek manuscripts. Keeping this in mind, you may use the paragraph
divisions in your Bible as a starting point for identifying distinct units of meaning in a
larger narrative or argument. Even so, only following the paragraphs in your Bible can
prevent you from seeing word segments either before or after the text that may be part of
the same immediate field of meaning. As a result, it is important to recognize a literary
device known as an inclusio, a word or phrase or construction that occurs in one place
and recurs a few lines later in the flow of a text. An inclusio is like a “frame” enclosing a
“picture” of text, marking it as a coherent unit of meaning.
2. Read the text. Now that you have identified a distinct textual unit, familiarize yourself
with the text by reading it. Reading the text slowly, out loud, and repeatedly can help you
to absorb it.
3. Divide the text. Print or copy the text and then begin to divide it into smaller units. Here,
as in step 1, you may use the punctuation to guide you. Separate phrases where commas
and periods appear, placing them on different lines. In some cases, like in a list of names,
you may choose to keep items separated by commas on the same line. Keep in mind that
this method is not an exact science. The purpose of dividing the text is to see the distinct
parts of the text more clearly.
4. Mark the text. If working from an electronic device, use highlights, underlines, boldface
types, italics, or other tools to mark the repeated words and phrases in the text. If working
from a paper printout, use colored pencils or pens, or draw shapes around words, to mark
different sets of repetitions. For example, if you see a word or a string of words that
occurs in one place and recurs a few lines later, mark both the first and second occurrence
with the same color. Use another color for another set of repetitions. Repeat this process
for as many sets as you notice. Do not mark every repeated word (e.g., conjunctions like
“and” and “but”) but nouns and verbs or combinations of these that seem to be
prominent.
5. Arrange the text. You may notice that the sets of repetitions you marked form a pattern.
Two common patterns in biblical Hebrew and Greek are parallelism and chiasm. A
parallelism shows an A-B-C-D-A-B-C pattern, whereas a chiasm is an inverted
parallelism, showing an A-B-C-D-C-B-A pattern. In such a structure, the main point, or
the climax of the story or argument, lies at the center. The center lies in the break
between the two halves of the pattern. The central statement is like a summary of the text,
while the parts of the surrounding pattern shed light on or add depth to the central point.
If you do not see a pattern, it may be a sign that your marked up text is too detailed.
Perhaps some features that you had marked as separate belong together, and marking
them with the same color may help the pattern come into focus. At this point you may
want to make a clean copy of the text and remark it with fewer features. Or, draw a
diagram of the text below the text, showing your pattern and identifying each part with a
key word or phrase from the text or a concept related to those words. Play with the text.
 Arrange and rearrange the text (Note: “Playing with the text,” however, must preserve the
basic sequential flow of the words and phrases in the biblical text itself. For example,
your diagram should not include information from verse 2 before verse 1, or features
found in verse 6 before verse 5, or any other verse that precedes verse 6, or whatever the
case may be.)
6. Situate the text. Now that you have done your own work with the text, test your findings
with a wider community of biblical texts, scholarship, and interpretation. Read the text
within the context of the book in which it appears, noticing how this part of the story fits
with the parts that surround it and the whole. Now expand this process beyond its part in
a book (e.g., a text from Mark in the context of the whole Gospel of Mark) to its relation
to the whole canon. What other biblical texts, themes, and images come to your mind as
you have engaged in this study? What allusions to or quotations of other biblical texts are
present in the text? Finally, consult, if possible, at least 2-3 reputable books,
commentaries, or articles on your text. See if your observations on the structure and
meaning of the text stand up to what other able interpreters have said. The purpose of this
process is to expose weaker parts of your argument, which you may choose to discard,
while substantiating other parts, increasing your confidence as an interpreter and
proclaimer of the text.
7. Apply the text. Throughout this whole process, you are likely to realize many ways that
the text is speaking to you about your own life and ministry context. Take some time now
to write out these thoughts in detail, showing how the main points of the text that you
have identified through its structure may relate to your current realities. This may be a
first draft of a sermon, paper, or teaching session. Continue to refine your thinking in
successive drafts, until you reach a final manuscript or have internalized your message to
the extent that you are able to preach it efficiently with only a few notes or completely by
heart.
8. Proclaim the text. The testimony of God is meant to be shared. “The Word became flesh
and lived among us” (John 1:14). Our mission as Christian leaders is to proclaim the
message through our words and good works, so that the world may glorify God!
(Matthew 5:16).