exegesis

Exegesis is the critical interpretation and explanation of a text, especially a religious scripture. The term derives from the Greek exēgeisthai, meaning to lead out or to explain. In scholarly use, exegesis seeks to uncover the original meaning the author intended and the audience understood, drawing on language study, historical context, and literary form. It is distinct from eisegesis, which is the reading of personal or contemporary meanings into the text.

In religious studies, exegesis encompasses a range of methods. Textual criticism aims to establish the most accurate wording of the text; historical criticism situates the work in its historical setting; form criticism analyzes units of oral or literary form; redaction criticism examines how editors shaped sources. Literary and rhetorical analysis may treat metaphor, narrative structure, and genre as part of interpretive meaning. Some traditions also rely on philology, source criticism, or theological reflection. The principal goal is to explain what the text would have meant to its original readers and how that meaning can inform present understanding.

Outside scripture, exegesis can refer to careful interpretation of any text, including classical literature or philosophical writings. Limitations include gaps in manuscripts, translation choices, cultural distance, and the interpreter’s own assumptions. In a broader sense, exegesis informs hermeneutics, the theory of interpretation, by detailing procedures for deriving meaning from texts.