Exegesis
Exegesis (from the
Greek 'to lead out') involves an extensive and critical
interpretation of a
text, especially of a
holy scripture, such as of the
Old and
New Testaments of the
Bible, the
Talmud, the
Midrash, the
Qur'an, etc. An
exegete is a practitioner of this art, and the adjectival form is
exegetic. The plural of the word
exegesis is
exegeses.
The word
exegesis means "to draw the meaning out of" a given text. Exegesis may be contrasted with
eisegesis, which means to read one's own interpretation
into a given text. In general,
exegesis presumes an attempt to view the text objectively, while
eisegesis implies more subjectivity.
One may encounter the terms exegesis and
hermeneutics used interchangeably; however, there remains a distinction. Exegesis is the practical application of hermeneutics, which is the interpretation and understanding of a text on the basis of the text itself.
Traditional exegesis requires the following: analysis of significant words in the text in regard to translation; examination of the general historical and cultural context, confirmation of the limits of the passage, and lastly, examination of the context within the text. [
1]
Although the most widely-known exegeses concern themselves with
Christian,
Jewish and
Islamic books, analyses also exist of books of other
religions.
According to some forms of Christianity, two different forms of exegesis exist: revealed and rational.
*
Revealed exegesis considers that the
Holy Ghost inspired the authors of the scriptural texts, and so the words of those texts convey a divine
revelation*
Rational exegesis bases its operation on the idea that the authors have their own inspiration, so their works result from human intelligence.
Roman Catholic traditions
Roman Catholic centres of biblical exegesis include:
* the
School of Jerusalem founded in
1890 by the
Dominican order's
Marie-Joseph Lagrange. The school became embroiled in the
modernist crisis, and had to curtail its
New Testament activities until after
Vatican II* the
Biblical Institute of Rome practises exegesis in a more
canonical way
Protestant traditions
For more than a century, German universities such as
Tübingen have had reputations as centres of exegesis; in the USA, the
Divinity Schools in
Chicago,
Harvard and
Yale became famous. Nowadays many secular universities such as EPHE (École pratique des hautes Études) in
France concern themselves with exegesis. See
higher criticism.
Robert A. Traina's book
Methodical Bible Study has become influential in the field of Protestant Christian exegesis. Many regarded it as the standard text describing the
inductive approach to interpreting the English-language Bible.
Translations of the
Hebrew Bible, like the
Septuagint and the
Vulgate, based on Jewish exegesis, have also become the objects of exegetic studies.
Traditional Jewish forms of exegesis appear throughout
rabbinic literature, which includes the
Mishnah, the two
Talmuds, and the
midrash literature.
Jewish exegetes have the title
meforshim (commentators).
The
Midrash forms an exposition of biblical exegesis of the
Pentateuch and its paragraphs related to Law, which also forms an object of analysis. The
Halakhah comprises an exegesis of the written Law. The
Aggadah is an exegesis of the parts of the Pentateuch not connected with Law.
The
Mikra comprises the exegetical study of the Pentateuch, the
Prophets and the
Hagiographa, the three divisions of the Old Testament or Jewish Bible. The
Masorah is the exegesis that determined the rules and principles that govern the biblical texts. The redaction of the
Talmud resulted from exegetic studies, and the Talmud itself has become the object of study and analysis.
Jewish exegesis did not finish with the redaction of the Talmud, but continued during ancient times, the
Middle Ages and the
Renaissance; it remains a subject of study today. Jews have centres for exegetic studies around the world, in each community: they consider exegesis an important tool for the understanding of the Scriptures.
*
Allegory in the Middle Ages*
Archetype*
Biblical studies*
Hermeneutics*
Icon*
Interpretation*
Midrash*
Semiotics*
Symbol*
Typology*
JewishEncyclopedia.com*
Basic Rules for New Testament Exegesis by Brian Knowles*
Inerrancy and New Testament Exegesis by R. T. France*
Prophetic Midrash: Exegetical stories about Biblical prophets*
What does 'exegesis' mean?
