Exegesis is an explanation or interpretation of the text.
The process by which texts are explained or interpreted is a central issue for thinkers of the hermeneutic tradition. For example, for Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768 – 1834), Wilhelm Dilthey (1833 – 1911), Hans Georg Gadamer (b. 1900) and Paul Rior (b. 1913).
These processes are obviously of interest to the semioticians as well.