The task of biblical interpretation may be divided into two steps of which exegesis is the first. It asks the fundamental question, "What did this text mean to the audience to whom it was originally addressed?" Only when the task of exegesis has been completed may we begin to ask, "What does this text mean to us today? That is, what is its significance or message and claim on us now in our particular historical-cultural context?" This latter step is often termed 'exposition,' or (esp. within the North American context) 'hermeneutics.'
Exegesis pays particular attention to such questions as 1) historical context; when and why—under what circumstances, both general and specific—was it written? 2) socio-political & cultural contexts; how did the customs and culture of the writer and original audience shape the way they understood what was said? 3) philological context; what range of meanings were attached to the words used at the time the text was written, and how were meanings conveyed with those words?
Eisegesis, on the other hand, refers to the reading of our ideas into the text. Eisegesis is the first nail hammered into the coffin of sound doctrine and preaching.
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