Exegesis
An exegesis (Greek ἐξηγεῖσθαι 'to lead out') is an extensive and critical explanation of an interpretation of a text, especially of a holy scripture, like both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible (and the other chapters of it), the Talmud, the Midrash, the Koran, etc.
Although the most known exegeses are from Christian, Jewish and Islamic books, there are analyses on books of other religions.
In Christianity
There are two different form of exegesis in Christianity: revealed and rational.
The revealed exegesis considers that the authors were inspired by the Holy Ghost and so their words have a divine revelation.
The rational exegesis is based on the idea that the authors have their own inspiration, so their works are conceived by their own intelligence.
The principal centres of biblical exegesis are the School of Jerusalem and the Biblical Institute of Rome.
The word exegesis means to draw the meaning out of a given text. It is sometimes contrasted with eisegesis, which means to read one's own interpretation into a given text. In general, exegesis presumes an attempt to view the text objectively, while eisegesis is more subjective.
In Judaism
Judaism says that the Israelites were the people that invented and developed exegesis, and that the Bible is the production of long years of investigation of Jewish Holy Scriptures. It is true that in Judaism exegesis began before than in Christianity.
The Jewish religious Law derived from the biblical exegesis of the Old Testament's books. The mystic Kabbalah is also considered as derived from biblical exegesis.
Jewish exegesis began when only a part of the Old Testament was written, so it is the most ancient exposition of this study. Ezra is considered the first Jewish exegete, studying the Pentateuch. Later Jewish exegesis extended to other books of the Bible.
The Midrash is an exposition of biblical exegesis of the Pentateuch and its paragraphs related to Law, which is also object of analysis. The Halakah is an exegesis of the written Law. The Haggadah is an exegesis of the parts of the Pentateuch not connected with Law.
The Mikra is the exegetical study of the Pentateuch, the Prophets and the Hagiographa, the three divisions of the Old Testament or Jewish Bible. The Masorah is the exegesis that determined the rules and principles that govern the biblical texts. The Talmud was redacted as a result of exegetic studies, and is also object of study and analysis.
Translations of the Bible like the Septuaginta and Vulgate, based on Jewish exegesis, are also object of exegetic studies.
Jewish exegesis did not finish with the redaction of the Talmud, but continued during ancient times, the Middle Age, the Renaissance, and is still a subject of study. Jews have centres for exegetic studies around the world, in each community, being this considered an important clue for the understanding of the Scriptures.