Hermeneutics is the rules for
interpreting the Bible. It is the principles upon which the message of the
Bible can be arrived at. Hermeneutics is the science and art of Biblical
Interpretation, this definition is from Dr. Percer in his video.[1]
“It is a science because it is guided by rules within a system; and it is an
art because the application of the rules is by skill, and not by mechanical
imitation."[2] "Hermeneutics
is a science in that it can determine certain principles for discovering the
meaning of a document. . . . It is also an art . . . because principles or
rules can never be applied mechanically but involve the skill of the
interpreter.”[3]
Hermeneutics provides the backbone
in which people can interpret the Bible. The only proper control for
hermeneutics is to be found in the original intent of the biblical text.[4]
When a book is written and read, information is transferred from author to
reader. Both the reader and author have an important role in the defining
process. Things become more complex when the reader is not the reader that the
author was writing to, as is the case with the Bible. The role of the author is
to bring together his thoughts coherently and then decide how to communicate
those ideas to his intended audience. The author may use different languages,
different genres, different words, and different stories to illustrate his
points.
Properly interpreting a text is
crucial to better understand the author’s mind and intention writing the book.
As Kaiser and Silva mentioned, “we need principles of interpretation to
understand trivial conversations and even nonlinguistic events.”[5]
When talking about texts written a very long time ago, by a variety of people
from different cultures, the task is even more significant. Final authority
rest neither in the church nor in the Bible, but in the gospel message of Jesus
Christ.
In conclusion, hermeneutics refers
to deriving meaning from content, such as speech or literature. Biblical
hermeneutics deals with correctly interpreting the Bible. It is harder than it
seems, with culture, geography, time, and language forming high barriers to
understanding, much less applying the Bible to the modern-day. It is not
subjective; the Biblical authors put meaning into their words just as authors of
the modern era do today (2 Peter 1:21). Interpreting the Bible is one of the
highest callings anyone can embark on. The Bible reveals the person and work of
Jesus Christ our Lord and God. A text cannot mean what it could never have
meant for its original readers/hearers…the true meaning of the biblical text
for us is what God originally intended it to mean when it was first spoken or
written. [6]
[1] Leo Percer, The History of
Hermeneutics, online video presentation for NBST 610--Hermeneutics,
accessed on May 19, 2021.
[2] Bernard L. Ramm, Protestant
Biblical Interpretation: A Textbook of Hermeneutics 3d rev. ed. Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 1970.
[3] Ibid 11
[4]
Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, 3rd
ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), 34.
[5] Walter C. Kaiser Jr, and Moisés
Silva. Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics. The search for meaning. (Grand
Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2007), 17.
[6] Fee and Stuart, 34-36.
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