Editing Exegesis (section)

{{Short description|Critical investigation of a text}}
{{About}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2022}}
[[File:Open bible isaiah.jpg|thumb|An English-language Bible open to the [[Book of Isaiah]]]]
'''Exegesis''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|ɛ|k|s|ɪ|ˈ|dʒ|iː|s|ɪ|s|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-exegesis.wav}} {{respell|EK|sih|JEE|sis}}; from the [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|ἐξήγησις}}, from {{lang|grc|ἐξηγεῖσθαι}}, "to lead out") is a critical explanation or [[interpretation (philosophy)|interpretation]] of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of [[Bible|Biblical]] works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations of virtually any text, including not just religious texts but also [[philosophy]], [[literature]], or virtually any other genre of writing. The phrase ''Biblical exegesis'' can be used to distinguish studies of the Bible from other critical textual explanations.

[[Textual criticism]] investigates the history and origins of the text, but exegesis may include the study of the historical and cultural backgrounds of the author, text, and original audience. Other analyses include classification of the type of [[literary genre]]s presented in the text and analysis of [[grammar|grammatical]] and [[syntax|syntactical]] features in the text itself.