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February 28, 2018

Word of the Day: Exegesis

1 CQ

Word of the Day : February 28, 2018

exegesis \ek-suh-JEE-sis\ noun

Definition

: exposition, explanation; especially : an explanation or critical interpretation of a text

Did You Know?

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 exēgeisthai, 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.

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Aired February 28, 2018

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