The Student Will Craft A Brief Three-Page Essay That Summari

The Student Will Craft A Brief Three Page Essay That Summarizes And Ex

The student will craft a brief three page essay that summarizes and explains the message of the Torah. The three pages do not include the cover page (nor bibliography if you include one). In this essay, you are not to list what happened in that part of the Bible. Instead, you are to define the author’s message to the reader: what is the author telling the reader about what happened? As such, your goal is to explain the author’s message by describing most of the book and its most important parts.

Each essay must not be any shorter or longer than three double-spaced pages and must be written in Times New Roman 12 Point font with appropriate 1 inch margins. Each essay will have a proper introduction and conclusion that will state and restate your thesis of that section’s message. In addition, each body paragraph will provide evidence from the biblical text and, if needed, additional sources to defend your thesis. The student must employ an academic writing style with appropriate citation according to the Turabian manual. Please submit your papers in Blackboard as .doc or .docx files.

As you consider your topic, please remember that the assignment is not to tell me the setting of the Torah. Its setting is clearly the Old Covenant. Instead, your task is to define what he is telling his readers about the Old Covenant. That is, what message (lesson, instruction, insight) and hope does he give to the reader as he examines life under the Old Covenant in the Torah? As such, you will advance a thesis that claims what the author intends to communicate with the shape of his book.

That is, you are now asked to argue what the author is offering as the book’s hope. How does the author answer his dilemma? What hope does he offer? Is his hope for the reader the law codes themselves? Or, is his hope based upon something or someone other than the law codes?

If so, what does the author have to say about the law codes? Therefore, there are the two main approaches to the message of the Torah that most of your papers will follow: 1) the law codes themselves and the necessity of obedience are the book’s hope (the law codes solve the book’s problems) or 2) the law codes are part of a larger strategy to point to a hope that will only come in the end of the days through the seed of Abraham. The first approach essentially contends that the book is written to persuade the reader that the Mosaic Covenant is an everlasting covenant that will eventually overcome the book’s dilemma. On the other hand, the second approach presents the law codes as something that is good for the reader but does not solve the book’s dilemma.

That solution will come in the end of the days through the arrival of the One promised to Abraham. The key to deciding between these approaches is to think though what the book presents as its primary dilemma and its primary (or exclusive) solution. You need to consider what prompted the author to actually sit down and write this book. Why is it significant that he tell his grand story from Adam and his land all the way to Israel and Moses waiting outside of the land?

Essay Outline

Introductory Paragraph

After an introductory sentence or two that provides a brief explanation of the importance of the question that your essay answers, you will write a final sentence that clearly declares your thesis.

This thesis statement should be the final sentence of this paragraph and is also your claim. Your purpose in crafting this paper is to prove your claim about the message of that part of the Bible. Body Paragraphs In each body paragraph you should begin by stating a warrant (reason, defense) that helps to prove your claim (thesis). The rest of each paragraph should clarify, explain, develop and deepen this warrant and (if needed) refute one or more opposing theses by this same reasoning. Concluding Paragraph Restate your thesis (claim) and its warrants in one or two sentences. The final sentence(s) should draw to a close by providing one final application or implication of your thesis being correct.

Step One

Determine the message of the book. What is its dilemma, and what is its hope? The message should highlight the book’s hope (solution) in light of its dilemma (problem). Your goal in crafting a thesis statement is to explain most of the book and its most important parts.

How do you define these most important parts? a. Consider the beginning and the ending of the book. b. Consider the book’s major patterns—how do the parts fit together? c. Consider the different types of literature in the book and how they relate to each other: i. Narrative ii. Poetry iii. Law Codes iv. Genealogies d. Consider key repetitions throughout the whole Torah. What does the author repeat a lot? Why does he repeat these items? e. Consider what Deuteronomy as a whole does to explain the rest of the Torah, especially the law codes and Mt Sinai. f. Consider what Deuteronomy’s final eight chapters (27-34) say about the rest of Deuteronomy and the outcome of Joshua’s conquest. What will happen after Moses’ days, and what will happen even later in the end of the days?

Step Two

Craft a thesis statement that makes a defensible claim about the message of the book that the rest of your paper can defend. Your thesis statement needs to make a claim that is specific enough to defend and yet broad enough to explain most of the book and its most important parts. You are asked to reduce all of the words of the Torah into one really well-designed sentence a. Key ideas to crafting a good thesis statement: i. Begin your thesis with the phrase “The message of the Torah is that …” What follows after that is your claim. ii. Only use one complete sentence for your thesis. Do not use two. Also, please note that your thesis sentence should be the last sentence of your introduction. iii. Only use an active verb for the claim. iv. The sentence parts must be connected into one claim. b. Samples: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Not good: The message of the Torah is that God is good. What are the problems with this thesis? --Passive “is.” The claim is a state of being not an action: “God is good.” --Too vague. What does it mean that God is good? You have no idea what you need to defend with this thesis. Better (but not good enough): The message of the Torah is that God saves man. What are the improvements from the first try? --No passive in the actual thesis! What are the problems with this one? --Too vague. Better (but not good enough): The message of the Torah is that God’s goodness to Adam points to His care for the reader. What are the improvements from the prior tries? --No passive in the actual thesis! --More specific What are the problems with this one? --“Points” is a very weak verb. What does it mean in this sentence? Too vague. --It does not seem to offer an explanation of most of the book and its most important parts. Better (but not good enough): The message of the Torah is that God is good by promising to restore man to His presence, by sending a seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and giving laws to Israel. What are the improvements from the prior tries? --More specific. You can clearly see the ideas. --Clearly covers many of the book’s parts What are the problems with this one? --The ideas are not coordinated into one idea. There is no claim to hold all the parts of the thesis together. The book, in essence, has three messages not one with this approach. --Passive voice! Your thesis should not be a state of being but an action. Better (but not good enough): The message of the Torah is that God promises to restore man to His presence in the end of the days through the work of the coming seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and provides laws to hold Israel in place until He comes. What are the improvements from the first try? --Very specific. You can clearly see the ideas. What are the problems? The “and” (“Jacob and provides”) actually divides the one sentence into two distinct claims. The two parts can be better related to each other. Better (may be good enough but can still be improved): The message of the Torah is that God’s Word provides man with His immediate presence and promise of its perfect completion in the end of the days as man waits for the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to return man to God and His kingdom. Step Three

Form your argument to defend this thesis. a. Review your thesis statement, and isolate the ideas in your thesis statement that must be defended. For example, in the possible thesis statement above the ideas might be isolated as follows: i. The message of the Torah is that God’s Word provides man with His immediate presence and promise of its perfect completion in the end of the days as man waits for the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to return man to God and His kingdom. 1. God’s Word provides man with His immediate presence 2. (God’s Word provides man with)… [a] promise of its perfect completion in the end of the days 3. … as man waits for the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to return man to god and His kingdom. ii. Thus, I would divide such a thesis into a three part argument. Each part of the argument needs a body paragraph that begins with a topic sentence and advances the defense of this thesis. b. For each part of your argument, you will have to design a body paragraph, which should contain 1) a topic sentence, 2) evidence and analysis to advance this part of the argument and 3) a clincher that ties this part of the argument to the topic sentence and the next paragraph. i. Craft a topic sentence. A topic sentence will connect each body paragraph to the thesis statement. It declares 1) what the paragraph will cover and 2) how this information will help defend your thesis statement. ii. Determine the primary evidence that advances this part of your argument. Consult your analysis from step 1 for the best reasons. iii. Craft a clincher sentence that ties this part of the argument to the topic sentence and to the next paragraph. c. Repeat for each body paragraph/ portion of your argument. Step Four Craft your introduction and conclusion. Please note that your introduction and conclusion need to be designed after you know what your argument is. They will come first and last in the paper, but you need to what you are saying before you can design a quality introduction and conclusion. a. Your introduction should begin broadly and move to your thesis statement. The thesis statement must be the final sentence of your introduction. b. Your conclusion should begin with the exact same thesis statement as was found in your introduction. It should be followed by a quick summary of your argument (consider your topic sentences) that leads to a final application or implication of your thesis being correct. Step Five Add your cover page and (if needed) a Bibliography. Your cover page must be a Turabian cover page. Please see the Turabian example located online in the class’ resources. Step Six Read your paper out loud and with a friend. This easily skipped step may be the most important. You may have no idea what your paper actually says until you let someone else interact with it. Step Seven Rewrite your paper. The key to good writing is re-writing. Nobody writes a good first draft. It always take time and thought to write well. Step Eight Repeat steps 6 and 7 until you have a polished paper. Writing Assignment for BIO4818 Spring 2016 Instruction Choose 4 from the following topics. For each topic you choose, write a summary of what you know about that topic.

The summary should include both the textbook material we covered as well as the in-class discussion we had on the topic. You are also encouraged to pull from other sources, provided you cite them properly. Each student should work independently. This is not a group project. Topics: 1. What is the scope of “environmental microbiology?†How is it defined and what does it include? What are the core features of this area of microbiology? 2. Compare and contrast archaea with bacteria – what are their similarities and differences? 3. Explain why the biochemical capacities of microbes are important to understanding their ecological roles. Give 2 specific examples where the biochemical functions of a microbe (or groups of microbe) impact significantly the environment. Be sure to give details and explain each example. 4. Compare and contrast culture dependent and culture-independent methods of studying environmental microbiology. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each approach? Give examples of each type of method and explain the examples. 5. In what ways does the density of microorganisms in an environment impact the experimental design to study them? Provide some considerations, and explain their importance, about sample density in the context of microbial studies. 6. How are microbial species defined? What are the criteria used and why these specific criteria? How is the definition different from the one commonly used for plants and animals?

Paper For Above instruction

The message of the Torah is that it presents a divine covenant between God and His people, emphasizing the importance of obedience, faith, and relationship. The Torah addresses the primary dilemma of human disobedience and the consequent separation from God, proposing that adherence to God's law is the pathway to maintaining and restoring this relationship. However, it also hints of a future hope — that ultimate redemption and reconciliation will be realized through divine promise, culminating in the coming of the Messiah.

The Torah begins with the narrative of creation, establishing God's sovereignty and the goodness of His design, which points to the inherent order and purpose in the divine plan. As the story progresses through Adam and Eve, the Flood, and the patriarchs, the primary message remains consistent: human beings are called to obey God's commandments to preserve relationship and order. The provision of laws, especially in the Sinai covenant, underscores obedience as vital to maintaining God's favor. Additionally, the repeated themes of covenant, obedience, blessing, and curse reveal the importance of a faithful response to divine instruction.

Deuteronomy serves as a theological summary and a concluding reflection on Israel's journey. It underscores that obedience to the law is crucial, and stipulates that blessings follow faithfulness, while disobedience leads to curses and exile. However, within this framework, the book also introduces a prophetic element — that the ultimate hope lies beyond the immediate law codes, in a future renewal (Deuteronomy 30:1-10). The law codes are thus presented not merely as static rules but as part of a divine strategy that points towards a future hope through the seed of Abraham, ultimately fulfilled in the messianic promise.

This approach suggests that the Torah’s message is not solely focused on legal obedience but also reveals a broader plan of salvation that culminates in divine grace and redemption. While obeying the law maintains an essential relationship with God, the primary hope extends beyond the law codes themselves, towards an anticipated Messianic deliverance that will bring full reconciliation. The repeated emphasis on exile and future restoration indicates that the law's purpose is to prepare God's people for that future, trusting that divine promises will be fulfilled.

References

• Brueggemann, Walter. "The Torah and the Promise: The Heart of Biblical Theology." Westminster John Knox Press, 2011.
• Dillard, R. J., and T. C. Longman III. An Introduction to the Old Testament. 2nd ed., Zondervan, 1994.
• Fretheim, Terence E. "The Suffering of God: An Old Testament Perspective." Fortress Press, 1984.
• Levenson, Jon D. "The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity." Yale University Press, 1993.
• Metzger, Bruce M. "The Bible: An Introductory Overview." Oxford University Press, 2007.
• Matthews, Kenneth A. "The Old Testament: Text and Context." Baker Academic, 2014.
• Rendsburg, Gary A. "The Hebrew Bible and Its Interpreters." Brill Academic Publishers, 2008.
• Sarna, Nahum M. "Exploring the Bible." Jewish Publication Society, 1996.
• Wenham, Gordon J. "The Book of Genesis, Chapters 1-18." Eerdmans, 1987.
• Wright, N. T. "God and the Faithfulness of Scripture." Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2010.