Exegeomai means report, explain, describe: the interpreter follows the text out to its conclusion. John 1:18 uses the verb for making the Father known, exegesato, faithful drawing-out as the model for all later commentary. The classical procedure: observation, what does the passage say; interpretation, what did it mean; correlation, how does it sit with the whole; application, what does it require. F.F. Bruce's dictum frames the stakes: no true theology without sound exegesis, no sound exegesis without a firm textual and grammatical foundation.
Exegesis became the seminary's counterspell against eisegesis: name the error, formalize the steps, and the reading is certified. The history is less tidy: every major church split claims exegetical warrant, every heresy arrived with footnotes, and the method that was supposed to end arguments became the standard equipment for prosecuting them. Bruce's own community produced as many exegetical factions as any other. The armor does not prevent the wars. It standardizes the weapons.
The claim: exegesis's self-image, passively following the text, conceals that every step of the method is a choice, which text, which grammar, which correlation, and the exegete leads the expedition while claiming to be led; the most sophisticated eisegesis is exegesis with good citations. Verdict: Gadamer and the circle literature agree the neutrality is impossible; the honest exegete declares the horizon. But the method still beats its alternative: a reader who declares their agenda and follows the steps can be checked. A reader who claims to merely listen cannot. The text leads. The question is always who chose the road.
If the text leads the interpreter, who leads when the interpreter disagrees with the text?