Peshat
Peshat (also P'shat, פשט) is one of the two classic methods of Jewish biblical exegesis, the other being Derash. While Peshat is commonly defined as referring to the surface or literal (direct) meaning of a text, or "the plain literal meaning of the verse, the meaning which its author intended to convey", numerous scholars and rabbis have debated this for centuries, giving Peshat many uses and definitions.