• Today's Word

Exegesis

🔊 Listen to the word Exegesis

ek-suh-JEE-sis

Definition

(noun) A critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious or literary one

Example

The rabbi’s exegesis of the passage revealed layers of meaning that the congregation had never considered in decades of reading the same words.

Word Origin

Exegesis comes directly from the Greek exegesis, meaning “explanation” or “narrative,” from exegeisthai — from ex (“out”) + hegeisthai (“to guide” or “to lead”). The literal sense is “to lead out” — to draw meaning out from within a text. It entered English in the 17th century primarily as a theological term for biblical interpretation before broadening to literary and legal analysis.

Fun Fact

Exegesis has shaped civilizations. The great medieval Jewish scholar Rashi produced line-by-line exegesis of the Torah and Talmud so comprehensive and precise that it is still printed alongside the original texts in traditional editions today — nearly a thousand years after he wrote it. Christian, Islamic, and Jewish traditions all developed rich exegetical traditions independently, and the methods they pioneered — close reading, contextual analysis, attention to original language — form the backbone of modern literary criticism and legal interpretation, whether scholars acknowledge the debt or not.