WordWealth: exegesis

ex·e·ge·sis , n., pl. -ses .

This biography of Augustine is compounded in equal measure of fact and exegesis, all of it offered up in elegant prose. —— The Los Angeles Times, Dec 5, 1999

Despite the rigours of monastic life, Dryburgh established an international intellectual reputation through Adam Scot, Abbot of Dryburgh, and his works on the nature of God and Biblical exegesis. —— Scottish History: Impact of the Monk; BBC

Schroeder's book is less about science and faith generally than about science and the Bible, and especially its first five books, the Torah. What he says about Scriptural interpretation is generally wise. He wittily suggests that we should ``give unto Einstein what is Einstein's and unto the Bible what is the Bible's.'' Much of his exegesis, which often depends on the analysis of particular Hebrew words, is illuminating and profound. Even his less convincing efforts are quite ingenious. However, his determination to find a scientific explanation for every period of time mentioned in the Bible, from the Six Days of creation to antediluvian lifespans, leads to some rather curious results. He attempts to show that the Six Days are really the same as the 15 billion years of modern cosmology, using a strange blend of medieval cabala and the ``time-dilation effect'' of relativity theory. He violates his own maxim here, giving unto Einstein what really belongs to the mystical numerology of the rabbi Nahmanides. —— Stephen M. Barr; The Scientific Case of God; The National Review; Jan 26, 1998

It is a masterpiece. At once wide-ranging and tightly woven, The Power of Place is as profound an intellectual history of Victorian Britain as has ever been written; an incisive consideration of Darwin's mind, personality, marriage, and tragic family life; and an elegant exegesis of his ideas, influence, and literary style and technique. Browne took on an enormously ambitious project, and only an astonishingly skillful writer and a masterly historian could have pulled it off. —— Benjamin Schwarz; New & Noteworthy; The Atlantic; Oct 2002

So war now belongs to the realm of postmodern thinking, a world where a grim Pericles must convince not the Athenian assembly, but the slouching guests at Trimalchio's banquet. There is no absolute good or bad, only the suspiciously powerful and the nobly impotent. Intention and exegesis are everything, action nothing. Meeting and defeating evil is considered judgmental and arbitrary — and thus hopelessly simplistic; soldiers must be social workers who feed and nurture victims, rather than those caricatured, retrograde avengers from our more primitive past. The beneficence of peace means twelve years and 300,000 air sorties over two-thirds of the airspace of a country enslaved in tyranny; the evil of war means the liberation of millions from a psychopath hoarding frightful weapons. —— Victor Davis Hanson on 'Postmodern War on National'; The National Review; March 7, 2003

Did you know? (Merriam-Webster)
Theological scholars have long been preoccupied with interpreting the meanings of various passages in the Bible. In fact, because of the sacred status of the Bible in both Judaism and Christianity, biblical interpretation has played a crucial role in both of those religions throughout their histories. English speakers have used the word "exegesis"—a descendant of the Greek term "exegeisthai," meaning "to explain" or "to interpret"—to refer to explanations of Scripture since the early 17th century. Nowadays, however, academic writers interpret all sorts of texts, and "exegesis" is no longer associated mainly with the Bible.

Look at Thesaurus in depth

Back index, 'E'

Back index, 'D' | Next index, 'F'

> WordWealth, HOME

iNTERNET - The Atlantic-Michael Quinion's coverage

> Language and Issues

> Word Court; Debate your word

> Word Watch

> Word Improvisation

> Words: English from a British viewpoint