Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The exposition or interpretation of any literary production or passage; more particularly, the exposition or interpretation of Scripture. See exegetical theology, under exegetical.
  • noun A discourse intended to explain or illustrate a subject; specifically, an exercise in Biblical interpretation sometimes prescribed to students of theology when on examination preliminary to licensure or ordination.
  • noun In mathematics, in the language of Vieta and other early algebraists, the numerical or geometrical solution of an equation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Exposition; explanation; especially, a critical explanation of a text or portion of Scripture.
  • noun (Math.), obsolete The process of finding the roots of an equation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An exposition or explanation of a text, especially a religious one.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an explanation or critical interpretation (especially of the Bible)

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek exēgēsis, from exēgeisthai, to interpret : ex-, ex- + hēgeisthai, to lead; see sāg- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek ἐξήγησις (eksēgēsis, "interpretation"), from ἐξηγέομαι (eksēgeomai, "I explain, interpret"), from ἐξ (eks, "out") + ἡγέομαι (hēgeomai, "I lead, guide").

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Examples

  • Dick had already written more than a million words of personal notes on this topic, he said, notes he referred to as his "exegesis" - a word that traditionally means an explanation or interpretation of Scripture.

    NYT > Home Page By CHARLES PLATT 2011

  • I think that biblical exegesis is done the same way.

    Creative jacket blurbing getting politician in trouble 2010

  • His exegesis is not based on disregard for tradition, let alone ignorance of it.

    Balkinization 2007

  • His exegesis is not based on disregard for tradition, let alone ignorance of it.

    Balkinization 2007

  • His exegesis is not based on disregard for tradition, let alone ignorance of it.

    Balkinization 2007

  • His exegesis is not based on disregard for tradition, let alone ignorance of it.

    Balkinization 2007

  • His exegesis is not based on disregard for tradition, let alone ignorance of it.

    Balkinization 2007

  • His exegesis is not based on disregard for tradition, let alone ignorance of it.

    Balkinization 2007

  • His exegesis is not based on disregard for tradition, let alone ignorance of it.

    Balkinization 2007

  • His exegesis is not based on disregard for tradition, let alone ignorance of it.

    Balkinization 2007

Comments

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  • "critical explanation or interpretation of a text"

    -OED

    November 13, 2008

  • Clement (c. 150-216) had run a school in Alexandria but was forced to leave. After a gap of some years, his school was reopened by Origen (c. 185-254), teaching pagan subject (rhetoric, geometry, astronomy, philosophy) alongside Hebrew. He produced many books, two of which were the first work of Christian exegesis, known as the "Hexapla" and the 'earliest systematic presentation of Christian theology', "The Principles of Things." Origen's most famous innovation was that everthing in the Bible has three meanings - the literal, the moral, and the allegorical and only the last of these is the revealed truth.

    from "Ideas" by Peter Watson, p229-230.

    May 10, 2009

  • "In mathematics, in the language of Vieta and other early algebraists, the numerical or geometrical solution of an equation." --Cent. Dict.

    August 12, 2012