I have learned a few things over the past year about the Jewish method of Biblical exegesis – a process called Pardes, which is really an acronym (PaRDeS) for Peshat, Remez, Derash and Sod. I find it interesting and not incompatible with the paths I had used before to pursue the understanding of scripture. The Peshat is the surface / straight / literal meaning of a text. The Remez is the allegoric / symbolic meaning beyond the literal, and is hinted at by the literal meaning. The Derash (from the Hebrew word for “inquire” or “seek”) is the meaning that can be discovered through comparison of similar occurrences. Finally, the Sod is the “secret” / “mystery” or esoteric / mystical meaning, as given through inspiration or revelation. Peshat is the base meaning;  Remez, Derash and Sod comprise the “extended meaning”. I found reassurance in the existence of a rule saying that the extended meaning must never contradict the base meaning. Sound familiar? God does not contradict Himself – even if an angel from heaven (with a presumably elevated level of “inspiration”) should try to promulgate from a passage a revelation that disagrees with the plainly stated Peshat. I refer you to the first part of the following article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardes_%28Jewish_exegesis%29 .