Expositor Skill — Overview Synthesis
Given a compiled exegetical draft (title, scripture blockquote, and the six ## analysis sections), write the document's ## Overview: the thesis the sections support, where the passage sits in its book, and the key verse and movements a reader or teacher should carry away.
The six seats write blind and in parallel; none of them sees the whole. The expositor is the one seat that reads the entire draft before the critic does, and its job is exposition, not discovery — it sets forth what the sections have already found. It never researches, never adds a claim the sections do not make, and never edits any section but its own.
Division of Labor
The expositor is the counterpart of the critic, not a duplicate of it:
|
expositor |
critic |
| Asks |
"What do these sections, taken together, say?" |
"Does each conclusion follow?" |
| Reads |
the whole draft, before the critic |
the whole draft, after the Overview exists |
| Writes |
one new section: ## Overview |
surgical edits inside existing sections |
| Never |
edits other sections; adds new claims |
composes new argument; rewrites the Overview wholesale |
The Overview gives the critic a stated main point to test the sections against; the critic tests the Overview's traceability in return.
Output Format
Produce content under the heading ## Overview, placed immediately after the scripture blockquote and before ## Historical & Cultural Analysis.
Length: 250–450 words; hard cap 500, measured on what you write (the critic's later hedges do not count against it). This is a thesis, a map, and a key — not a seventh essay and not a summary of each section.
Exactly three ### subsections:
1. Big Idea
One bold sentence stating what the passage says and does, followed on the same line by its (see …) pointer — the thesis is not exempt from the traceability rule — then at most one short paragraph unpacking it. If the sections disagree on the main point, say so here in one sentence and prefer the better-evidenced reading; list the disagreement in your returned report.
2. In Context
What immediately precedes the passage, what follows it, and what this unit does for the book's argument at this point. Close with one sentence on the canonical horizon, pointing to Hermeneutic §1 rather than re-tracing it.
3. Key Verse and Movements
- One key verse, quoted byte-for-byte from the draft's scripture blockquote as a
> **N** … line — the verse the sections treat as the hinge (centre of the chiasm or turn, the verse Theological builds on, the verse Hermeneutic names as the interpretive key). Not the most famous verse; the one the argument turns on. Then one line, **Why this verse:**, citing which section makes it central.
- Then 2–4 numbered movements, one line each:
**Label** (vv.a-b) — one sentence stating what the passage says there (see Literary §2; Theological §3). Let the passage's shape decide the divisions: structural units from Literary when it shows them; otherwise the passage's main ideas with the verses where each surfaces. For cross-chapter passages write ranges as (6:13-7:1). Never pad; a single movement is legal when the sections support only one.
Rules
- No fresh exegesis. Every sentence must be supported by a section below. Every claim carries a pointer in the form
(see Literary §3) using the six section names: Historical, Linguistic, Literary, Theological, Hermeneutic, Application.
- Every scripture reference and every original-language term you use must already appear in a section below; do not introduce a citation, form, date, or Strong's number the draft does not contain.
- No tables, no diagrams, no
--- inside the section.
- Never edit any other section, the title, or the scripture blockquote.
- Write only the
## Overview section to the path you are given.
Output
- The Overview section — written to the path given, starting with
## Overview.
- Report (returned, not written into the document): the path, a one-line status, and a bullet list of cross-section tensions you noticed while reading — places where two sections disagree on a term's meaning, a referent, the setting, or the passage's main point — or "none". The orchestrator forwards this list to the critic.
Formatting
Follow the Formatting section of CLAUDE.md:
- Original-language terms:
**term** (Hebrew/Greek/Aramaic: script, *transliteration*)
- Biblical citations:
Book Chapter:Verses; verses inside the passage: (v.1), (vv.1-5)
- Never emit
--- inside a ## section
1---2name: expositor-23description: Write the `## Overview` of a compiled exegetical analysis — big idea, place in the book, key verse and movements — by synthesizing the six analysis sections already in the draft. Performs no fresh exegesis. Use when a compiled draft needs a thesis and orientation before the critic and bibliographer passes.4---56# Expositor Skill — Overview Synthesis78Given a compiled exegetical draft (title, scripture blockquote, and the six `## ` analysis sections), write the document's `## Overview`: the thesis the sections support, where the passage sits in its book, and the key verse and movements a reader or teacher should carry away.910The six seats write blind and in parallel; none of them sees the whole. The expositor is the one seat that reads the entire draft before the critic does, and its job is **exposition, not discovery** — it *sets forth* what the sections have already found. It never researches, never adds a claim the sections do not make, and never edits any section but its own.1112## Division of Labor1314The expositor is the counterpart of the `critic`, not a duplicate of it:1516| | expositor | critic |17|---|---|---|18| Asks | "What do these sections, taken together, say?" | "Does each conclusion follow?" |19| Reads | the whole draft, before the critic | the whole draft, after the Overview exists |20| Writes | one new section: `## Overview` | surgical edits inside existing sections |21| Never | edits other sections; adds new claims | composes new argument; rewrites the Overview wholesale |2223The Overview gives the critic a stated main point to test the sections against; the critic tests the Overview's traceability in return.2425## Output Format2627Produce content under the heading `## Overview`, placed immediately after the scripture blockquote and before `## Historical & Cultural Analysis`.2829Length: 250–450 words; hard cap 500, measured on what you write (the critic's later hedges do not count against it). This is a thesis, a map, and a key — not a seventh essay and not a summary of each section.3031Exactly three `### ` subsections:3233### 1. Big Idea34One **bold** sentence stating what the passage says and does, followed on the same line by its `(see …)` pointer — the thesis is not exempt from the traceability rule — then at most one short paragraph unpacking it. If the sections disagree on the main point, say so here in one sentence and prefer the better-evidenced reading; list the disagreement in your returned report.3536### 2. In Context37What immediately precedes the passage, what follows it, and what this unit does for the book's argument at this point. Close with one sentence on the canonical horizon, pointing to Hermeneutic §1 rather than re-tracing it.3839### 3. Key Verse and Movements40- One key verse, quoted **byte-for-byte from the draft's scripture blockquote** as a `> **N** …` line — the verse the sections treat as the hinge (centre of the chiasm or turn, the verse Theological builds on, the verse Hermeneutic names as the interpretive key). Not the most famous verse; the one the argument turns on. Then one line, `**Why this verse:**`, citing which section makes it central.41- Then 2–4 numbered movements, one line each: `**Label** (vv.a-b) — one sentence stating what the passage says there (see Literary §2; Theological §3)`. Let the passage's shape decide the divisions: structural units from Literary when it shows them; otherwise the passage's main ideas with the verses where each surfaces. For cross-chapter passages write ranges as `(6:13-7:1)`. Never pad; a single movement is legal when the sections support only one.4243### Rules44- **No fresh exegesis.** Every sentence must be supported by a section below. Every claim carries a pointer in the form `(see Literary §3)` using the six section names: Historical, Linguistic, Literary, Theological, Hermeneutic, Application.45- Every scripture reference and every original-language term you use must already appear in a section below; do not introduce a citation, form, date, or Strong's number the draft does not contain.46- No tables, no diagrams, no `---` inside the section.47- Never edit any other section, the title, or the scripture blockquote.48- Write only the `## Overview` section to the path you are given.4950## Output51521. **The Overview section** — written to the path given, starting with `## Overview`.532. **Report** (returned, not written into the document): the path, a one-line status, and a bullet list of **cross-section tensions** you noticed while reading — places where two sections disagree on a term's meaning, a referent, the setting, or the passage's main point — or "none". The orchestrator forwards this list to the critic.5455## Formatting5657Follow the Formatting section of `CLAUDE.md`:5859- Original-language terms: `**term** (Hebrew/Greek/Aramaic: script, *transliteration*)`60- Biblical citations: `Book Chapter:Verses`; verses inside the passage: `(v.1)`, `(vv.1-5)`61- Never emit `---` inside a `## ` section
theonize