The interpretation of the term "Bani Israel" (Children of Israel) in verse 47 of Surah Al-Baqarah marks one of the most profound hermeneutic rifts in the Islamic exegetical tradition. This study, employing a genealogical approach and qualitative content analysis, dissects the roots of this schism between two rival paradigms:



historical reading and esoteric exegesis (Taʾwīl). The central problem of the research moves beyond a mere report of opinions to analyze the epistemological foundations that have led to the production of two contradictory meanings from a single text.



The findings indicate that the historical paradigm, by relying on principles such as the primacy of the apparent meaning (zahir) and contextual authority (siyāq), regards "Bani Israel" as a concrete and past-oriented referent. This approach, in addition to its narrative function, has also been utilized in theological polemics. In contrast, the



esoteric paradigm shifts the locus of interpretive authority from the text to the infallible Imam, transcending the primary denotation and interpreting "Bani Israel" as Āl Muhammad (the progeny of Muhammad) based on hadith. This approach also redefines the entire history of that nation into an archetype and a trans-historical model for explaining the identity and spiritual stations of its esoteric referent, using a metaphorical logic. Ultimately, this research argues that the root of this rift lies in the fundamental duality concerning the locus of interpretive authority (



text-centrism vs. Imam-centrism) and the philosophy of history (event-based vs. archetypal-based).