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One cannot compare the traditional Koranic disciplines of tafsir or tawil – commentary of the Koran or the esoteric interpretation of Islam’s sacred Book – with modern exegesis. However, in the writings of Western and Muslim researchers over the last few decades, the Koran has been approached using both synchronic and diachronic critical methods, producing more detailed scientific knowledge of its editorial history or, at least, of its assembly. After underlining the stakes of this research and its innovatory nature in Islamic tradition, our article presents and examines the virtues of some of its findings.