Course 5: Scriptural Exegesis

This intensive self-pace course equips Christian leaders, ministry students, and serious Bible scholars with the essential skills and methodological frameworks necessary for accurate biblical interpretation. Students will develop a comprehensive exegetical toolkit that integrates scholarly rigor with Spirit-led devotion, enabling them to extract authentic meaning from Scripture and apply it faithfully in diverse ministry contexts.

Building upon foundational hermeneutical principles, this course immerses students in the technical and spiritual disciplines of scriptural exegesis. Participants will explore the original languages of Scripture, Biblical Hebrew and Koine Greek, learning to utilize linguistic tools effectively even without formal language training. The course provides thorough instruction in textual criticism, revealing how the biblical text has been faithfully transmitted across millennia and equipping students to evaluate manuscript evidence and translation decisions with confidence.

Students will master the crucial skill of contextual reading, learning to interpret Scripture through the lens of its historical, cultural, and literary contexts. The course devotes substantial attention to understanding the ancient Near Eastern and Greco-Roman worlds that shaped biblical narratives, enabling students to read Scripture through ancient eyes while building interpretive bridges to contemporary application. Through careful study of literary genres, including narrative, poetry, prophecy, wisdom literature, epistles, and apocalyptic writings, students will develop genre-specific interpretive approaches that honor each text's unique communicative strategies.

The curriculum thoroughly examines historical-critical methodologies, teaching students to employ tools like source criticism, form criticism, and redaction criticism within an evangelical framework that affirms Scripture's divine inspiration and complete trustworthiness. Students will learn to distinguish between methods as neutral investigative tools and the philosophical presuppositions that sometimes accompany them, developing the discernment to benefit from scholarly insights while maintaining theological integrity.