What does exegeses mean?
Exegeses are critical, systematic explanations of a text — careful scholarly interpretations that draw out what a passage means and why. The word is the plural of exegesis and appears most often in theology and biblical studies, where centuries of exegeses have accumulated around scripture, but it also serves in literary criticism, philosophy, and law for any rigorous interpretive analysis. Unlike casual summary or paraphrase, an exegesis implies close attention to language, historical context, and structure, aiming to uncover the author's intended sense rather than impose new meanings. The register is formal and academic, so the term rarely surfaces in everyday speech. Its Greek root, meaning "to lead out," captures the discipline's ideal: leading the reader out of confusion into understanding. Anyone studying sacred texts or difficult literature will meet this word constantly, along with its relatives exegete and exegetical.
noun (plural)Plural of exegesis: critical explanations or scholarly interpretations of a text, especially of scripture or other difficult works.
- Critical explanations or interpretations of a text, especially scripture.
- Scholarly commentary that draws out the intended meaning of any difficult work.
"The seminar devoted an entire semester to medieval exegeses of the Book of Revelation."
"Her exegeses of Paul's letters are required reading for students of early Christianity."
"The volume collects the critic's finest exegeses of modernist poetry."
Exegeses is already the standard plural of exegesis; the singular ends in /-sɪs/ while the plural ends in /-siːz/, mirroring thesis/theses.
"Several conflicting exegeses of the same verse coexist within the tradition."
From Greek 'to lead out,' exegesis literally means drawing meaning OUT of a text — the opposite of eisegesis, reading your own ideas INTO it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of exegeses
Exegeses comes from the Greek verb exēgēisthai, "to lead out" or "to interpret," formed from ex- ("out") and hēgeîsthai ("to lead"). The singular exegesis entered English in the early 17th century, borrowed via Latin from Greek, and the plural simply follows Greek-style -is to -es inflection, as with thesis and synthesis. It shares its root with exegete, meaning a skilled interpreter of texts.
Related word forms
How exegeses is actually used
Formal and academic register, used chiefly in theology, biblical studies, literary criticism, and law. The plural is pronounced differently from the singular: the ending shifts to /-siːz/.
Easily confused with exegeses
Execrable means utterly detestable, while exegeses are scholarly interpretations of texts — they share only a similar spelling.
Exegesis is the singular form; exegeses refers to more than one such interpretation.