What’s the difference between EXEGESIS and EISEGESIS?

Описание: #Eisegesis #BibleStudy #TheBible

There is something that we all do subconsciously while reading the bible. Eisegesis.

What is Eisegesis?

Let me illustrate:

In Matthew’s infancy narrative, if you think that there are three kings that visit baby, you are doing Eisegesis!

In Genesis 3, if you view the forbidden fruit that exiles humanity from the garden as an apple -- you’re doing Eisegesis!

In Luke, if the identity of the woman who anoints Jesus’ feet using her hair is Mary Magdalene, who in turn is a prostitute. Again… you’re doing Eisegesis.

What is Eisegesis?

Well, if Exegesis means to “Draw the meaning out” of the text, Eisegesis is to put meaning into the text.

In other words, rather than letting the original author tell us what he means in Scripture, we are applying our own meaning.

I mention that we do this subconsciously all the time -- the reason, we are surrounded by Tradition and traditional interpretations that make it VERY DIFFICULT for us to critical.

We are so used to hearing these stories and what they mean that we often passively read them. Exegesis requires active reading!

When I taught high school on occasion I would have a concerned parent tell me at the beginning of the semester that they were concerned that their child wouldn’t do well in my scripture class because they have no background in the Bible. I reassured the parent that when doing exegesis, a clean slate can actually be an advantage -- because you’re not going to bring your own preconceived notions to the text. You’re not going to fall into the trap of eisegesis.

To give you some perspective on how easy it is for us to fall into this approach to Scripture, last week when I was recording an audio dub on the story of Nicodemus , although the verse clearly said “Kingdom of God”, my mind kept telling me to say "Kingdom of Heaven." This happened four times even though I was trying to be an active reader! How often do we make these mistakes without even thinking about it?

Eisegesis is not only unfair to the original authors, but it can also be detrimental -- just look at poor Mary Magdalene who gained a reputation beginning in the Middle Ages of being a prostitute. Nowhere in the Bible is that ever referenced, yet how many of us view her that way while reading the Gospel stories?

Whether we believe that the Bible is God’s literal words or God’s inspired words, it is essential that we let the author tell us meaning, rather than impose our own meaning onto the author.

Today’s discussion topic: What are some other stories that people tend to impose their own meaning onto? Please comment below.