HERMENEUTICS
Definition
General hermeneutics is that set of rules employed in all
materials which stand in need of interpretation. It is used, with
proper adaption to the subject matter, in art, history, literature,
archaeology and translation. Something stands in need of
interpretation when something hinders its spontaneous understanding.
To put it another way a gap exists between the interpreter and the
materials to be interpreted, and rules must be set up to bridge this
gap. In that the interpreter is separated from his materials in time
there is a historical gap; in that his culture is different from that
of his text there is a cultural gap; in that the text is usually in a
different language there is the linguistic gap; in that the document
originates in another country there is the geographical gap and the
biological gap (the flora and fauna). In that usually a totally
different attitude towards life and the universe exists in the text it
can be said that there is a philosophical gap.
Biblical hermenteutics is the study of those principles which
pertain to the interpretation of Holy Scripture. Here, we will
briefly consider the following hermeneutics:
Understanding the Purpose of the Book
Understanding the Historical Background
Understanding the Culture
Understanding the Context
Understanding the Meaning of the Words
Understanding the Parallel Passages
Understanding the Literary Styles
Understanding How to Make an Application
PURPOSE OF THE BOOK
There are 66 books in the Bible. Each one has a specific purpose
which relates in the revelation of Jesus Christ. Leviticus has an
entirely different purpose from say, Romans. When you read something
in Leviticus, you would not apply it in the same way as you would
Romans. Understanding the purpose of the Thessalonian letters greatly
helps in trying to understand some of Paul's comments there. Each of
the four gospels has a different purpose, which explains why they are
not identical biographical sketches.
To aid us in understanding the purpose of a book, we use a Bible
Handbook, or a Survey of the Bible. Commentaries will also contain
information on the purpose of the book. Some Study Bibles also
contain this information.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
One of the more critical principles in understanding the Bible is
to understand the Historical Background of a passage. For instance,
in Luke 4:25-30, we find the Jews trying to throw Jesus off a cliff
because of what He said. We can only understand why they wanted to do
this by understanding the historical background of the two people
Jesus spoke of. In John 10:22, if we knew the historical background,
we would have very interesting information about why the Holy Spirit
saw it as important to add that the feast of the dedication was in
winter. Understanding the historical background of, say Ezekiel 26 in
how the prophecy against Tyre was fulfilled gives us an example of how
God intends us to interpret prophecy, and with what precision it is
carried out. In Revelation 3:18 we read of the things of which the
Lord counsels the church at Laodicea to buy of Him. If we understood
the historical background of the passage, we'd understand the irony
here.
To aid us in understanding the historical background of books and
passages in the Bible, we could look at a Bible Survey, a Bible
Handbook, or a Bible Dictionary. There are also many books available
devoted to the history of specific times during the Bible. Alfred
Edersheim is the classic work on THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS THE
MESSIAH. He also wrote a very interesting work on The Temple.
Josephus was a historian who wrote during the time of Jesus and
discusses some of the verbal traditions of the Jews at the time as
well as a 'secular' view of Jewish history. Charles Ludwig wrote a
book on the Rulers of New Testament Times which is quite inexpensive,
very interesting, and quite helpful. Commentaries, and some really
good Study Bibles will also contain some historical background.
UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURE
Again, a critical subject. Not understanding the culture in a
passage sometimes may lead to a false interpretation of what is read.
In Romans 12:20, for example, if we knew the culture, or customs of
the land, we'd know that Paul is not showing us a way of "Christian
vengeance." In Matthew 13, Jesus draws heavily on the customs of the
day in giving His kingdom parables. Not understanding the customs
has lead many liberal scholars down completely false paths in trying
to understand the purpose of the church.
To aid us in understanding the cultural background of various
passages in the Bible, we use books on manners and customs in the
Bible. Again, some commentaries may contain some of this information.
UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT
Misinterpreting Scripture, and wrenching things out of the text
that were never there goes on all the time. It is not difficult to
pull a Scripture out of its context, and give it a completely
different meaning. When interpreting Scripture, it is critical to
keep the text in context. By context, we mean the parts of a sentence
or paragraph, immediately next to or surrounding a passage. Some
passages that seem very difficult clear up nicely when we carefully
examine the context.
The whole prosperity doctrine and presumptuous faith movements
largely build their doctrines on taking scripture out of context and
making the Bible say things that it never said.
There is no book really that can help us learn to study the
context of a passage. Our resources here are limited to possibly
using a commentary as a helpful guide in reinforcing, or contradicting
our interpretation.
UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF THE WORDS
One of the obstacles we face in understanding the text is finding
out exactly what the author meant when he wrote the words. We must
not impose our definition on the words, but find out what they meant
when they were written. This is a particularly difficult, or at least
tedious task, since this problem is compounded by understanding the
english word in our translation, understanding the Greek, Hebrew, or
Aramaic word in the original, and understanding what that word meant
when it was written. Words change in meaning even in our own
generation. Words are not static. They are constantly changing in
their use and meaning. There are many ways we can attack this
problem. On the first level, a good english dictionary should not be
overlooked. You might be surprised at how often this will serve as a
valuable tool. On the next level, it begins to get difficult if you
are not familiar with Greek or Hebrew. Strong's Exhaustive
Concordance proves to be the easiest way to do a complete, original
study of a particular word. However, this is only the beginning! In
conjunction with Strong's, we use a set of four books published by
Baker Book House. These include a Greek Concordance, a Hebrew
Concordance, a Greek Lexicon, and a Hebrew Lexicon. These books will
be discussed later in this text.
Another way to study the meaning of a word is to use a book
called Vine's Expository Dictionary. This book lists the english
word, gives the passages which are relevant and discusses the meaning
of that word. The only real shortcoming in using this approach is
that it is not exhaustive. There are words that are not discussed.
However, this is an easy short-cut if your particular word is listed.
Other approaches are to purchase word studies. Wilson's Word
Studies are very popular. Wuest's Word Studies are also popular and
inexpensive.
UNDERSTANDING THE PARALLEL PASSAGES
When studying the Word, one must take into consideration all the
Scriptural passages that shed light on a particular subject. Let the
Bible speak for itself. The Bible in many cases is its own best
commentary. Practice comparing Scripture with Scripture.
Whenever you come across some new amazing discovery in the Bible
relating to a spiritual principle, there is a nice little rule of
thumb I like to use from the Bible itself. That is, 'by two or three
witnesses shall a thing be established.' What I mean here is that if
this new discovery is an important spiritual principle, I should be
able to find it reiterated somewhere else in the Bible.
The book that really helps in this area is a good Study Bible. I
prefer to use Scofield, but there are others as well.
UNDERSTANDING THE LITERARY STYLES
Throughout the Bible, you will encounter various literary styles,
such as history, poetry, prophecy, proverbs, and parables. We cannot
interpret these differing styles in the same way. History passages
should be interpreted literally, while poetry passages are often
written in figurative language. The greatest help we have in these
circumstances is our common sense. We also have the context of the
passage we are dealing with. If we understand the background of what
we are reading, we should rarely have a problem with literary styles.
Being careful not to jump to conclusions will serve us well.
Let's look at a few figures of speech used in the Bible.
The Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech, in which a word or phrase that
ordinarily means one thing is applied to another thing, in order to
suggest a likeness between the two. Examples of metaphors are, "a
copper sky" and "a heart of stone."
The Simile
A simile is also a comparison between two things, like a
metaphor; only, the comparison is indicated by, "like," or "as."
Examples of this are, "a face like stone," "as hard as nails," and
"his eyes were like fire."
The Analogy
An analogy is a likeness in some ways between things that are
otherwise unlike. There is an analogy between the human heart and a
pump, the Lord and a shepherd, and the saints and sheep.
The Hyperbole
The hyperbole is an exaggerated statement, used for effect, and
not meant to be taken literally. An example is in Matthew 7, where
Jesus talks about the person looking for the specks in his brother's
eye, while having beams in his own eye.
The Personification
The poetic device which takes inanimate objects, and gives them
human characteristics is called a personification. An example is
saying that the mountains sing, or clap their hands.
The Idiom
Every language has certain peculiar phrases, which cannot be
analyzed by the usual grammatical process. Idioms are a mode of
expression that defies the rules, and depends on the society to supply
the definition. The dictionary defines idioms as, "a small group or
collection of words expressing a single notion." We often say that
"we're in a pickle," or "it's raining cats and dogs," or "he's dead
from the neck up." These are all idioms, and we depend on everyone
"getting the picture" because they live in our society.
MAKING THE APPLICATION
How do we apply the truths found in the Word? There are some
passages of Scripture that are obviously not to be applied in the same
way they were applied at the time of their writing. Yet, if there was
no application for us today, the passage would never have been in the
Bible for "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Often, in the Bible there are multiple levels of application.
Let's briefly look at a few of these levels:
The Practical Application
Easily seen and most obvious level of application, this is when
the bible hits you right between the eyes - "..this is His
commandment, that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus
Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment." There is no
problem in figuring out how to apply this passage. It is practical,
and applicable to our lives right now, this instant, and also next
Tuesday when we are wronged by a brother.
The Secondary Application
A Secondary Application is often needed when we see commandments
or teachings that primarily apply to the culture during the time of
the writing. For example, in 1 Corinthians 11, Paul instructs
Christian women to cover their heads. At that time, an uncovered
female head was either an unfaithful wife, or a prostitute. Paul was
instructing the women of the day not to exercise their freedom in this
regard in violating the standards of their culture, thus bringing a
scandalous appearance and a reproach to the Gospel.
One of my favorite illustrations of this secondary application
came from a Christian musician who spoke during a concert. He
recalled the story of Peter walking on water. Here, there are TWO
secondary applications. We all know the story, Peter jumps out of the
boat and begins to walk on water then he takes his eyes off of Jesus
and begins to sink. Our application is to keep our eyes on Jesus and
not look at our circumstances. The other application is that there
were 12 people on the boat. The only one who had enough faith to even
jump out of the boat was Peter. The application is that it is better
to at least make mistakes for the Lord than to sit in a nice
comfortable "boat."
The Prophetic Application
In this application, we are not so much considering the end times
as much as we look at God's plan for man. There are scads of places
in the Bible where we use this application, mostly in the Old
Testament. This is easily seen in all of the laws and regulations
laid out in the Torah, or the five books of Moses. There are
fantastic discoveries awaiting you by studying each and every detail
in these tedious laws. The many sacrifices all look forward to Jesus
Christ as the final, ultimate sacrifice. Daniel's prophecies tell of
the last days, Isaiah 53 tells of the coming Messiah, Ezekiel 28 tells
of Satan. Almost every chapter in the Old Testament has a prophetic
application.
The Mystical Application
What I mean here is applying the text in order to understand the
Lord more. All over the Bible, we are commanded to know the Lord.
The Lord often says, "And they will know that I am the Lord." We can
learn of the ways in which God deals with people, points that the Lord
tries to make, get an insight into eternity, we can gain insight into
understanding how God thinks, and why He does certain things. In this
case, the question we seek to answer is, "Why did God put that there?"
One of the most dramatic and consistent insights we get from making
the Mystical application is the evidence of design in the Bible. We
can see Jesus Christ on every page. We see the fingerprint of the Holy
Spirit throughout the Bible. This strengthens your faith, and gives
you a respect for the authority of the Word in every situation.
Contributed by The Manna System
(714)-532-6310
300/1200 Baud
Index of Preacher's Help and Notes
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 80 | 81 | 82 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 103 | 104 | 105 | 106 | 107 | 108 | 109 | 110 | 111 | 112 | 113 | 114 | 115 | 116 | 117 | 118 | 119 | 120 | 121 | 122 | 123 | 124 | 125 | 126 | 127 | 128 | 129 | 130 | 131 | 132 | 133 | 135 | 136 | 137 | 138 | 139 | 140 | 141 | 142 | 143 | 144 | 145 | 146 | 147 | 148 | 149 | 150 | 151 | 152 | 153 | 154 | 155 | 156 | 157 | 158 | 159 | 160 | 161 | 162 | 163 | 164 | 165 | 166 | 167 | 168 | 169 | 170 | 171 | 172 | 173 | 174 | 175 | 176 | 177 | 178 | 179 | 180 | 181 | 182 | 183 | 184 | 185 | 186 | 187 | 188 | 189 | 190 | 191 | 192 | 193 | 194 | 195 | 196 | 197 | 198 | 199 | 200 | 201 | 202 | 203 | 204 | 205 | 206 | 207 | 208 | 209 | 210 | 211 | 212 | 213 | 214 | 215 | 217 | 218 | 219 | 220 | 221 | 222 | 223 | 224 | 225 | 226 | 227 | 228 | 229 | 230 | 231 | 232 | 233 | 235 | 236 | 237 | 238 | 239 | 240 | 241 | 242 | 243 | 244 | 245 | 246 | 247 | 248 | 249 | 250 | 251 | 252 | 253 | 254 | 255 | 256 | 257 | 258 | 259 | 260 | 261 | 262 | 263 | 264 | 265 | 266
These documents are free from BelieversCafe.com, the complete christian resource site with more than 5000 webpages.