What Is Biblical Exegesis?

Most English words for interpretation have Latin roots: interpretation itself, also explanation, explication, exposition and commentary. Only two words have Greek roots. The first, hermeneutics, means, in Greek, either translation or interpretation, and was used in both senses in classical, biblical and patristic texts. In English, however, it refers to the science of interpretation, and is distinguished from the second English word derived from Greek, exegesis, the subject of this article.*

In classical Greek, exegesis has two meanings: 1. statement, narrative, and 2. explanation, interpretation, commentary. At Athens in classical times, an exegete was someone who interpreted oracles, the religious and ceremonial laws, and the heavenly signs. Exegetes also acted as local guides at temples, recounting traditional tales. In the Greek OT, only the first of the two meanings is found (the word does not occur in the NT), but in patristic texts, it is also used for commentary or the exposition of Scripture.

One of the places in which to find examples of biblical exegesis is in a verse-by-verse commentary. All critical commentaries included exegesis, although many also discuss other interpretation issues, like form, genre, or significance for the modern reader. Some even separate exegesis from the running commentary, and place it in the notes, since it deals with matters of translation and the explanation of technical detail.

The art of exegesis lies in elucidating expressions in their appropriate historical context. It attempts to establish the most original reading of the text and to explain variants (Textual Criticism); it draws on present knowledge about histories of languages and cultures to explore the nuance of particular words and phrases; and it makes use of archaeological evidence to help locate sites and establish chronologies. In other words, it explores three dimensions of meaning: intra-textual, extra-textual, and inter-textual. Intra-textual meaning is determined by the exact wording, and by immediate literary context of words and sentences. It answers questions like: What is the original reading? Does this word or phrase occur elsewhere in this text with a similar or different meaning? What is the grammatical structure of this sentence and what is its relationship to what precedes and follows? Extra-textual meaning is determined by the historical, cultural and geographical context in which the text was produced, which it presupposes, and to which it refers. Inter-textual meaning is determined by the references or allusions one text makes to another, as in the Gospels’ use of passages from their scripture. These matters must be decided before an adequate translation can be made from the Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek.

* This brief description of biblical exegesis is extracted from a longer article of Margaret Davies (Exegesis, in A Dictionary in Biblical Interpretation; ed. R. J. Coggins and J. L. Houlden; London: SCM Press, 1990, pp. 220-22).