Author Guidelines

Thank you for considering the Journal of Divine Message Research (JDMR) for your work. JDMR is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal dedicated exclusively to Common Message Studies: the rigorous, source-based study of the messages that the divine scriptures share. Please read the guidelines below carefully before you submit.

1. Focus and Acceptance Criteria

To be accepted, a manuscript must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Relevance to Common Message Studies: the central argument concerns a message shared by two or more scriptural corpora (the Qur’an, the Torah and the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, the Dead Sea Scrolls and related texts), or how such a shared message was understood in the exegetical traditions built around them.
  • Primary-source grounding: claims rest on direct evidence from the primary texts, not on generalities.
  • Originality: the work presents original research that contributes new knowledge to the field.
  • Interest to readers: the paper holds broad interest for scholars, students and practitioners of comparative scripture.
  • Quality: the paper is well written, textually accurate and adheres to ethical standards.

Studies confined to a single tradition, or to the sociology, history or politics of religion, that do not address a common message fall outside the journal’s scope and may be declined at the editorial stage.

All submissions that pass the editorial assessment undergo double-blind peer review. See the Peer Review Process.

2. Content Categories

  • Original Research Articles: full-length analytical essays advancing a novel thesis based on primary-source analysis (6,000–10,000 words).
  • Critical Translations & Editions: annotated translations or critical examinations of previously untranslated or rarely digitized classical texts that bear on a common message.
  • Methodological Notes: shorter papers on methods for comparing scriptural texts and their commentaries, including grounded, citation-checked use of digital tools.
  • Book Reviews: critical evaluations of recent monographs in comparative scripture and common-message research.

3. Subject Areas

Submissions should fall within one or more of the following areas of Common Message Studies:

  • Shared themes of revelation: the oneness and attributes of God, prophethood and revelation, worship and prayer, moral and ethical teaching, and the messages the scriptures address to humanity in common.
  • The hereafter: life after death, resurrection, judgment, paradise and hell across the scriptural corpora.
  • Shared narratives and figures: prophets, communities and events that appear in more than one scripture, read against one another in their original languages.
  • Reception and exegesis: how classical commentators of each tradition understood the shared message, and where their readings converge or diverge.
  • Text and transmission: the philological, manuscript and translation questions on which a sound comparison of a common message depends (Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic).

For the full statement of focus, see About the Journal.

4. Manuscript Preparation

  • Textual accuracy: every quotation, verse reference and translation must be accurate and verifiable against a named edition.
  • Originality: the manuscript must not have been published elsewhere or be under consideration by another journal.
  • Referencing: cite secondary literature in APA style (7th edition). Cite primary sources by their standard reference (for example Qur’an 2:255; Genesis 1:1; Matthew 5:3) and name the edition or translation used.
  • Original languages: give Arabic, Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic passages in the original script where the argument depends on the wording, with a translation, and state the transliteration system you use.
  • Structure: the manuscript should be well organized and include:
    • Title
    • Abstract (150–250 words)
    • Keywords (5–7)
    • Introduction
    • Sources and Method
    • Analysis
    • Discussion
    • Conclusion
    • References
  • Language: manuscripts are submitted in clear, concise English. Authors who are not native English speakers are encouraged to have the text proofread before submission.
  • Length: Original Research Articles should be 6,000–10,000 words.
  • File format: Microsoft Word (.docx) is preferred.

5. How to Submit

There are two equally valid routes; both lead to the same editorial and peer-review process.

A. From your notes, through the Divine Message Research platform

  1. Research and record your findings in the closed-circuit Divine Message Research platform, working against primary sources.
  2. Use the “Make This a Scholarly Article” tool. It formats and prepares the paper from only your own notes; nothing is invented and nothing is added from outside the circuit.
  3. Review the draft yourself. Nothing moves forward until you confirm it.
  4. Submit it to the journal.

B. Directly through the journal

Register or log in on this site and follow the submission steps. Use of the platform is optional.

6. Fees

There is no submission fee and no article processing charge. Every stage, from submission to publication, is free of charge for authors.

7. Open Access Policy

The journal provides immediate Open Access to all published content. The full text of every article is freely available to read, download, share and cite, provided proper attribution is given to the author(s) and the journal. The Creative Commons license that applies to each article is stated on its page.

8. Review Procedure

Every submission is first assessed by an editor for fit with the journal’s focus and for minimum quality, and is then sent for double-blind peer review. Reviews are shared with the author. Details, including reviewer criteria and recommendations, are on the Peer Review Process page.

9. Publication Schedule

The journal publishes continuously. Accepted articles are published as soon as they are ready, and there are no submission deadlines.

10. Ethical Considerations

  • Permissions: authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any third-party material in their submission (for example images of manuscripts, documents or datasets).
  • Authorship: all authors listed on the submission must consent to be identified as authors and approve the final version.
  • Ethical approval: research involving human subjects must be approved by an appropriate ethics committee and comply with the legal requirements of the study’s country.
  • Use of tools: authors remain fully responsible for every claim, quotation and translation in their paper. If AI tools were used beyond the platform’s notes-only formatting, this must be disclosed to the editors.

See the full Publication Ethics statement.

11. Checklist for Submission

  • The paper addresses a common message across scriptural corpora, or its reception.
  • The title is concise and descriptive, and the abstract is self-contained.
  • All quotations, references and translations have been checked against named editions.
  • Secondary sources are cited in APA style (7th edition).
  • The manuscript is free of plagiarism and has not been published elsewhere or submitted to another journal.
  • Permission has been obtained for any third-party material.

12. Registration and Submission

To submit, register or log in and then start a new submission.

13. Contact

For any inquiries or assistance, please contact the editorial office at [email protected].