Help with interpretation

OBST 515

Interpretive Commentary: Introduction and Interpretive Outline Assignment Instructions

Overview

The Interpretive Commentary Assignment provides an opportunity for the student to write their own commentary on an assigned passage in the Old Testament. This is essentially an interpretive paper but should be structured as a commentary would be structured, following the literary units within the assigned Old Testament passage, and providing interpretive analysis of each literary unit. The Interpretive Commentary Assignment engages directly with the biblical text so that the student may observe, interpret, and apply the text through an inductive means that also incorporates research into the interpretive issues that surround the historical, literary, and theological elements of Scripture.

Instructions

In this second part of the Interpretive Commentary Assignment the student will produce: 1) An introduction to 2 Chronicles 26 – 29 that discusses under three separate subheadings Historical Setting and Date, Authorship and Audience, and Major Theological Themes, and 2) An interpretive outline that includes every verse of the biblical text organized with descriptive, content-oriented headings and subheadings that reflect an analysis of the larger and smaller literary units within 2 Chronicles 26 – 29. The interpretive outline should include every verse of the biblical text organized with descriptive, content-oriented headings and subheadings that reflect an analysis of the larger and smaller literary units within the Scripture passage. Your outline should demonstrate an understanding of the different focuses within the larger and smaller literary units and communicate the changes of focus with descriptive headings and with the identification of the Scripture verses related to that focus. For example, Donald J. Wiseman (1 & 2 Kings in Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Inter-Varsity Press, 1993) divides 2 Kings 17 as follows:

17:1-41, Hoshea and the fall of Israel.

A. 17:1-6, The occasion of the exile.

B. 17:7-18, The reasons for Israel’s exile.

C. 17:19-20, Sin and retribution in Judah.

D. 17:21-23, A further summary of Israel’s sin.

E. 17:24-28, Samaria resettled.

F. 17:29-41, The colonists’ differing religious practices.

The student will incorporate this introduction and interpretive outline assignment into the final commentary assignment in week 7 to produce a complete Interpretive Commentary of 2 Chronicles 26 - 29.

· Length of assignment: Three pages but no more than 5 pages, excluding title page and bibliography.

· Format of assignment: current Turabian format. The paper must be double-spaced, use appropriate headings, and include page numbers. The student must document Scripture references with parenthetical citations within the paper, but all other sources used must be documented with properly formatted footnotes in current Turabian format.

· Acceptable sources: The Bible (excluding study notes), at least 5 academic sources published within the past 50 years that directly address 2 Chronicles 26 - 29, especially academic biblical commentaries on 2 Chronicles. Internet sources require instructor’s prior approval.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

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