What is "peshat"

Peshat (also P'shat, פשט) is one of four classical methods of Jewish biblical exegesis used by rabbis and Jewish bible scholars in reading the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Tanakh. It is the first of the four exegetical methods known together as PaRDeS. While Peshat is commonly defined as referring to the surface or literal (direct) meaning of a text, numerous scholars and rabbis have debated this for centuries, giving Peshat many uses and definitions.