EXEGESIS BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION PART I

Exegesis : biblical interpretation
Exegesis, the critical interpretation of the biblical text to discover its intended meaning. Both Jews and Christians have used various exegetical methods throughout their history, and doctrinal and polemical intentions have often influenced interpretive results; a given text may yield a number of very different interpretations according to the exegetical presuppositions and techniques applied to it. The study of these methodological principles themselves constitutes the field of hermeneutics.
A brief treatment of exegesis follows. For full treatment, see biblical literature: The critical study of biblical literature: exegesis and hermeneutics.
Interpretation of the Bible has always been considered a prerequisite for Jewish and Christian theological doctrine, since both faiths claim to be based upon the “sacred history” that makes up a major portion of the Bible. The other portions of the Bible—prophecy, poetry, proverbs, wisdom writings, epistles—are primarily reflections upon this sacred history and its meaning for the religious communities that grew out of that history. To that extent the non historical writings of the Bible are themselves critical interpretations of the sacred history, and in large measure they form the basis for all other biblical exegesis.