exegesis

American  

[ek-si-jee-sis] / ˌɛk sɪˈdʒi sɪs /

noun

• exegeses
  plural

1. critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of a text, especially of the Bible.

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exegesis British  

/ ˌɛksɪˈdʒiːsɪs /

noun

1. explanation or critical interpretation of a text, esp of the Bible Compare eisegesis

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• exegeses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of exegesis

1610–20; < Greek exḗgēsis an interpretation, explanation, equivalent to ex- ex- ³ + ( h ) ēgē- (verbid stem of hēgeîsthai to guide) + -sis -sis

Compare meaning

How does exegesis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• exegesis vs. eisegesis
• hermeneutics vs. exegesis

Explanation

If your teacher gives an explanation of a difficult text you are reading, she is giving you an exegesis on it. An exegesis is a critical look at a text. Exegesis comes from the Greek word for interpret and it's often used in connection with the Bible. Often times, religious rules are based on an exegesis of a text. For instance, some Jewish people do not eat meat and dairy in the same meal based on an exegesis of a law in the Torah that says you should not eat a calf cooked in its mother's milk.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

exegesis exegeses

In all this exegesis, there are at least four myths and one important truth.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 5, 2026

One of the inescapable conclusions that came from diving deep into the allure of originalism was the profound and uniquely American connection between theories of constitutional interpretation and methodologies of religious exegesis.

From Slate ● May 8, 2024

First came Joel Thompson’s “To See the Sky,” obscurely subtitled “an exegesis for orchestra.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2024

Compactness is a hallmark of her writing, made possible by both hard graft and her gifts for exposition and exegesis, which enabled her to digest and repackage huge quantities of material.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2024

As Martin J. S. Rudwick puts it, "No geologist of any nationality whose work was taken seriously by other geologists advocated a timescale confined within the limits of a literalistic exegesis of Genesis."

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

Bradford provides similarly interesting exegeses of autobiographical echoes in other Highsmith novels, but this generally valuable material gets lost in an endless parade of lovers and equally endless litany of Highsmith’s appalling personal conduct.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 19, 2021

You’ll find it in Mad Men exegeses, literary criticism in the New Yorker, all sorts of movie reviews, theater criticism, and music reviews.

From Slate ● Nov. 1, 2015

The President was eager to put out the message that if people had questions he had answers—and, as the exegeses on the technical aspects of inspection regimes demonstrated, he pretty much did.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 15, 2015

Perhaps acclaim of the kind he describes in “My Prizes” would smother the idiosyncrasies of his texts with bland, universalizing exegeses.

From New York Times ● Dec. 25, 2010

We have heard ministers whose educational qualifications were all that could be desired, whose exegeses were faultless, who in their perorations would depart from all standards.

From Sparkling Gems of Race Knowledge Worth Reading A compendium of valuable information and wise suggestions that will inspire noble effort at the hands of every race-loving man, woman, and child. by Various