Sometimes detractors of the literal interpretation method are actually discussing “Letterism”, which is the hyper-literal interpretation method that developed in Judaism [1]. This is the method of interpretation that puts much focus on the individual letters or words in a passage of scripture at the expense of the context.
This approach began with the right belief that scripture is given by God, and therefore there is nothing superfluous in the entirety of scripture. However, this led both to a great deal of the fantastical interpretation and also to the minute focus of the rabbis, and much of what the Lord Jesus spoke against (see for example Matthew 23:23-24).
In letterism figures of speech are largely ignored, and the true meaning of a passage is often lost. Judaism is by no means the only place where hyper-literal interpretation has developed, but the rabbinical system has in the past taken this method to extremes.
[1] B. Ramm, 1970. Protestant Biblical Interpretation. Baker Book House Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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