Allegorical interpretation of the Bible

Allegorical interpretation of the Bible is an interpretive method (exegesis) that assumes that the Bible has various levels of meaning and tends to focus on the spiritual sense, which includes the allegorical sense, the moral (or tropological) sense, and the anagogical sense, as opposed to the literal sense. It is sometimes referred to as the quadriga, a reference to the Roman chariot that was drawn by four horses.

Some argue that Jacob's wrestling with an angel in Hosea 12:4 references an allegorical interpretation. In the Middle Ages, allegorical interpretation was used by several Bible commentators of Christianity.