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What
Is Biblical Eisegesis And What Is Exegesis?
.
by
JACK WELLMAN
What is biblical exegesis and what is
biblical eisegesis?
And why is the latter so dangerous when
reading and studying the Bible?
Eisegesis
Eisegesis is, in short, the exact opposite of
hermeneutics.
Where hermeneutics is concerned with
extracting the meaning out of biblical text, eisegesis (sometimes called
“isogesis”) attempts to insert one’s own interpretation or meaning into the
text.
Concerns about eisegesis are that it uses
human interpretation methods and human reasoning to reach conclusions about
Scripture.
You can see why eisegesis has created a lot
of cults because they interpret the text in such a way as to introduce their
own presuppositions, agendas or biases.
That means their conclusions are subjective,
rather than the objective truth found or extrapolated (hermeneutics) from the
Word of God.
What is subjective is subject to error, but
what is objective truth cannot be wrong.
At one Bible study
the teacher asked, “What does this verse mean to you,” opening the door
for eisegesis of the text.
One problem is when only one text is used it
takes the text out of the context the whole paragraph or chapter, so exegesis
is not recommended in any Bible study or private reading.
We all know that Scripture has one meaning
and one meaning alone, and it’s not for us to tamper with the meaning.
Some use Mark 16:16 as proof that you must be
baptized or you will not be saved.
But that’s not what the verse actually says,
so obviously, eisegesis is a dangerous practice for reading and studying
Scripture because it can lead so many into error.
To take a text out of context is to create a
pretext, and likely a false one! Again, that’s where most of the cult came from
and it’s easy to see why.
Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and
unless you know Hebrew well enough, you’ll need a different translation of it,
and indeed, there are hundreds.
Some of the best when using all three of the
languages in the Bible (Hebrew, Greek, and small portions of Aramaic) are the
North American Standard Bible (NASB).
The ESV, New King James, and others are fine
too, but the more you know about the original language and original words used
in your version, the better off you’ll be in understanding Scripture, and
you’ll get more meaning out of the Bible.
Remember, the goal of hermeneutics is to
extract as much of the original meaning of the original language that we
possibly can.
Hermeneutics
Here is one of the best descriptions I’ve
heard about what hermeneutics really is: it is attempting to connect the Bible
reader’s mind with the mind of the original author.
Of course, all Scripture is inspired by God
when it comes down to it (2
Timothy 3:16),
but each writer has a unique style and presents a distinct perspective.
It’s like having four people watch a car
accident.
Essentially, each witness will say the same
thing about the accident, but each person will have their own perspective of
the incident.
In this way, we’re getting a fuller portrait
of the work of Christ on earth.
When we read the Bible, hermeneutics can help
us unfold a new meaning or reveal something that’s been hidden from us.
It can make obscure words clearer, and this
is basically what exegesis is.
All Bible translators use hermeneutics when
they are translating Scripture from one language to another.
Exegesis at Work
A good example of how
exegesis works is in Acts 2 verses 4 and 11, where we read, “All of them
were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the
Spirit enabled them. (Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs —
we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”
If we apply
hermeneutics (good translations) and translate the word “tongues” from
the original Koine Greek (using exegesis), it should read “All
of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages
as the Spirit enabled them. (Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and
Arabs — we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own languages!”
Another example is 1
Corinthians 14:2 where it says, “For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not
to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the
Spirit.”
Some translators not only didn’t apply
biblical hermeneutics to this verse, but they inserted the word “unknown”
as the King James Version does, and that’s eisegesis, and that’s why eisegesis
is not recommended when reading the Bible.
The King James
translators inserted a word that they thought should be there, but wasn’t in
the original manuscripts.
And thus, the King
James Version wrongly says, “For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue
speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in
the spirit he speaketh mysteries,” so the word “unknown” is not in
the original manuscripts.
Conclusion
In short, eisegesis
is inserting a meaning we or someone else thinks should be there, while
hermeneutics does just the opposite; it extracts meaning from the original
texts or the Bible version one is reading from what was the author’s original
ideas, thoughts, or beliefs.
Of course, the true
Author of all Scripture is God Himself, but God truly did use these men as a
means of accurately translating the very words of God… and not the words of
man… which can happen when people attempt eisegesis and not good exegesis of
the Bible.
Jack
Wellman is
a father and grandfather and a Christian author, freelance writer, and pastor
of Central Christian Church in Lincoln, KS & also a Prison Minister. He did
his graduate work at Moody Theological Seminary. His books are inexpensive
paperbacks that are theological in nature: “Teaching Children The Gospel/How to
Raise Godly Children,“ “Do Babies Go To Heaven?/Why Does God Allow Suffering?,“
"The Great Omission; Reaching the Lost for Christ," and “Blind Chance
or Intelligent Design?, Empirical Methodologies & the Bible."
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