What is Bible Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics is the science of biblical interpretation. The word hermeneutics comes from the Greek word hermeneuĊ means to translate or interpret the message. A derivative of this word is also in Greek mythology. One of the Greek gods was named Hermes the messenger of the gods with the winged feet. In Roman mythology the god is Mercury. The DC comic book character "The Flash" was birthed through these two gods.
When applying hermeneutics certain laws have to be followed in order to come to the correct meaning of the biblical text.
The first method of interpretation is the literal method. The Bible is like any other book. When reading it, we are to read it literally. We should never spiritualize or allegorize any text thinking there is some hidden meaning.[1] Of course the Bible deals with symbolism that is representative of something or someone else, but by in large we are to take the Bible literally. It means what it says, and says what it means.
The second method is the historical, grammatical, and contextual method of interpretation.
To get to the meaning of text often times require knowing the history of the time in which we read in scripture. We should never interpret scripture to fit modern times. The Bible is an ancient collection of books so we have to transport ourselves back in Bibles times. If we can discover what was happening during the particular time in which we are reading, it will aid us in coming to a right conclusion regarding a book and the matter(s) under discussion. Some resources that will support us in our efforts would be like a Bible Almanac and/or a Bible dictionary that gives us insight into the culture and background of ancient Biblical times.
To better understand the grammar of the Bible it is good to have a Hebrew and Greek expository dictionary and lexicons to give us meaning of words. What a word means in English may not mean the same thing in the Hebrew and Greek. It is also important to know the different tenses, moods, participles and proper voice modes when reading a text.
Context is absolutely critical to understanding God’s word. Often times to understand one verse, we need to read the verses before it which leads to reading the chapter and ultimately reading the entire book to get the flow of thought the writer is conveying to his audience.
A third method of interpretation I would suggest to use would be the synthesis method or the internal method.
What I mean is that the whole of scripture is a parallelism. The best interpreter of scripture is scripture. The scripture is its own internal witness. Since the Holy Spirit is the invisible author of all of it (2 Peter 1:21), He saw fit to record numerous OT prophecies with NT fulfillments showing a beautiful woven synergism between the two testaments and their authors. One would be in Zechariah 13:7 which say, “Strike the Shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.” This prophecy was fulfilled in Matt 26:31 and Mark 14:27 when the disciples forsook the Lord in the Garden of Gethsemane upon His arrest.
The passage of scripture that perfectly describes hermeneutics is 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study [be diligent] to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
In summation here are the three steps to proper hermeneutics:
Read the text
Explain the text (i.e. Exegesis)
Apply the text
A failure to practice these methods in your approach to scripture will leave you lacking, and will have you ashamed because you failed to rightly handle God’s holy word.
[1] When someone divorces a verse or thought from its proper meaning
and inserts a foreign meaning it is called Eisegesis
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