In the halakhic as well as in the haggadic exegesis the endeavored not so much to seek the original meaning of the text as to find authority in some Bible passage for concepts and ideas, rules of conduct and teachings, for which he wished to have a biblical foundation. The talmudical hermeneutics form "asmachta" is defined as finding hints for a given law rather than basing on the bible text. To this were added, on the one hand, the belief that the words of the Bible had many meanings, and, on the other, the importance attached to the smallest portion, the slightest of the text. Because of this move towards particularities the exegesis of the Midrash strayed further and further away from a natural and common-sense interpretation.