Exegesisbased

Exegesisbased is an adjective used in scholarly and theological contexts to describe approaches, analyses, or conclusions that are grounded in exegesis—the critical interpretation and explanation of a text, especially sacred scripture. The term signals that findings are derived primarily from close reading, linguistic examination, and historical-contextual study of the text itself, rather than from authorial intention, tradition, or reception history alone. While related to hermeneutics, exegesisbased work emphasizes deriving meaning directly from the text through established critical methods.

The word combines exegesis with the suffix -based, and is sometimes written exegesis-based; the form exegesisbased appears in academic writing as a compact descriptor.

Applications span biblical studies, Qur'anic studies, and literary criticism, where researchers describe their approach as exegesisbased to signal methodological commitment to text-centered interpretation. In practice, this may entail textual criticism, linguistic analysis, source criticism, historical-contextual analysis, and philology.

Benefits include transparency of method and interpretive traceability, enabling others to follow how conclusions were anchored in the text. Critics argue that an exclusive focus on exegesisbased analysis can overlook authorial intention, reception history, or broader interpretive communities; in response, some scholars combine exegesisbased analysis with wider hermeneutical perspectives.

See also exegesis, hermeneutics, and textual criticism.