Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the
books of the Bible. It is part of the broader field of
hermeneutics
Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate ...
, which involves the study of principles of interpretation, both theory and methodology, for all forms of communication, nonverbal and verbal.
While
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
and
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
biblical hermeneutics have some
overlap
Overlap may refer to:
* In set theory, an overlap of elements shared between sets is called an intersection, as in a Venn diagram.
* In music theory, overlap is a synonym for reinterpretation of a chord at the boundary of two musical phrases
* O ...
and
dialogue
Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is c ...
, they have distinctly separate interpretative traditions.
Jewish
Traditional
Talmudical hermeneutics (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: approximately, מידות שהתורה נדרשת בהן) refers to Jewish methods for the investigation and determination of the meaning of the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
, as well as rules by which
Jewish law could be established. One well-known summary of these principles appears in the
Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael
The Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael ( he, ברייתא דרבי ישמעאל) is a baraita which explains the 13 rules of Rabbi Ishmael, and their application, by means of illustrations from the Torah. The name is inaccurately given also to the first p ...
.
Methods by which the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
explores the meaning of scripture:
:*
grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...
and
exegesis
Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...
:* the interpretation of certain words and letters and apparently superfluous and/or missing words or letters, and prefixes and suffixes
:* the interpretation of those letters which, in certain words, are provided with points
:* the interpretation of the letters in a word according to their numerical value (see
Gematria
Gematria (; he, גמטריא or gimatria , plural or , ''gimatriot'') is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word or phrase according to an alphanumerical cipher. A single word can yield several values depending on the cipher ...
)
:* the interpretation of a word by dividing it into two or more words (see
Notarikon
Notarikon ( he, נוטריקון ''Noṭriqōn'') is a Talmudic and Kabbalistic method of deriving a word, by using each of its initial (Hebrew: ) or final letters () to stand for another, to form a sentence or idea out of the words. Another var ...
)
:* the interpretation of a word according to its consonantal form or according to its vocalization
:* the interpretation of a word by transposing its letters or by changing its vowels
:* the logical deduction of a ''
halakah
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
'' from a Scriptural text or from another law
The rabbis of the Talmud considered themselves to be the receivers and transmitters of an
Oral Torah
According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law ( he, , Tōrā šebbəʿal-pe}) are those purported laws, statutes, and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah ( he, , Tōrā šebbīḵ ...
as to the meaning of the scriptures. They considered this
oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...
to set forth the precise, original meanings of the words, revealed at the same time and by the same means as the original scriptures themselves. Interpretive methods listed above such as word play and letter counting were never used as logical proof of the meaning or teaching of a scripture. Instead they were considered to be an ''asmakhta'', a validation of a meaning that was already set by tradition or a
homiletic
In religious studies, homiletics ( grc, ὁμιλητικός ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices o ...
backing for rabbinic rulings.
Biblical source criticism
Among non-Orthodox Jews, there is growing interest in employing
biblical source criticism, such as the
Documentary hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). A vers ...
and the
Supplementary hypothesis, for constructing modern Jewish theology, including the following objectives:
:*Reconciling modern morals with biblical passages that condone morally problematic acts, such as genocide and other collective punishment
:*Rejecting or accepting folkways, social norms, and linguistic trends, picking and choosing as more fully informed Jews
:*Learning lessons in spite of biblical underrepresentation, or outright exclusion, of particular modern phenomena
To at least some extent, this is an application of Talmudical hermeneutics to traditional source criticism of the competing Torah schools:
Priestly,
Deuteronomic
Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
, and
one,
two
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
, or more that are non-Priestly and non-Deuteronomic.
Christian
Until the
Enlightenment, biblical hermeneutics was usually seen as a form of special hermeneutics (like legal hermeneutics); the status of scripture was thought to necessitate a particular form of understanding and interpretation.
In the nineteenth century it became increasingly common to read scripture just like any other writing, although the different interpretations were often disputed.
Friedrich Schleiermacher argued against a distinction between "general" and "special" hermeneutics, and for a general theory of hermeneutics applicable to all
texts, including the Bible. Various methods of
higher criticism sought to understand the Bible purely as a human, historical document.
The concept of hermeneutics has acquired at least two different but related meanings which are in use today. Firstly, in the older sense, biblical hermeneutics may be understood as the theological principles of exegesis which is often virtually synonymous with 'principles of biblical interpretation' or methodology of
biblical exegesis
Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...
. Secondly, the more recent development is to understand the term 'biblical hermeneutics' as the broader
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
and
linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
underpinnings of interpretation. The question is posed: "How is understanding possible?" The rationale of this approach is that, while Scripture is "more than just an ordinary text," it is certainly "no less than an ordinary text." Scripture is in the first analysis "text" which human beings try to understand; in this sense, the principles of understanding any text apply to the Bible as well (regardless of whatever other additional, specifically theological principles are considered).
In this second sense, all aspects of philosophical and linguistic hermeneutics are considered to be applicable to the biblical texts, as well. There are obvious examples of this in the links between
20th-century philosophy
Contemporary philosophy is the present period in the history of Western philosophy beginning at the early 20th century with the increasing professionalization of the discipline and the rise of Analytic philosophy, analytic and continental philosop ...
and Christian
theology
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
. For example,
Rudolf Bultmann
Rudolf Karl Bultmann (; 20 August 1884 – 30 July 1976) was a German Lutheran theologian and professor of the New Testament at the University of Marburg. He was one of the major figures of early-20th-century biblical studies. A prominent criti ...
's hermeneutical approach was strongly influenced by
existentialism
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
, and in particular by the philosophy of
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
; and since the 1970s, the philosophical hermeneutics of
Hans-Georg Gadamer
Hans-Georg Gadamer (; ; February 11, 1900 – March 13, 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition, best known for his 1960 ''magnum opus'', '' Truth and Method'' (''Wahrheit und Methode''), on hermeneutics.
Life
Family ...
have had a wide-ranging influence on biblical hermeneutics as developed by a wide range of Christian theologians. The French-American philosopher
René Girard
René Noël Théophile Girard (; ; 25 December 1923 – 4 November 2015) was a French polymath, historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science whose work belongs to the tradition of philosophical anthropology. Girard was the aut ...
follows a similar trail.
Denominational differences
Biblical scholars have noted the diversity of interpretations by
Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
and to a lesser extent by
Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. In his forward to
R. C. Sproul
Robert Charles Sproul ( ; February 13, 1939 – December 14, 2017) was an American Reformed theologian and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. He was the founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries (named for the Ligonier ...
’s ''Knowing Scripture'',
J. I. Packer
James Innell Packer (22 July 192617 July 2020) was an English-born Canadian evangelical theologian, cleric and writer in the low-church Anglican and Calvinist traditions. He was considered one of the most influential evangelicals in North Amer ...
observes that Protestant theologians are in conflict about biblical interpretation. To illustrate the diversity of biblical interpretations, William Yarchin pictures a shelf full of religious books saying different things, but all claiming to be faithful interpretations of the Bible.
Bernard Ramm
Bernard L. Ramm (1 August 1916 in Butte, Montana – 11 August 1992 in Irvine, California) was a Baptist theologian and apologist within the broad evangelical tradition. He wrote prolifically on topics concerned with biblical hermeneutics, religio ...
observed that such diverse interpretations underlie the doctrinal variations in Christendom. A mid-19th century book on biblical interpretation observed that even those who believe the Bible to be the word of God hold the most discordant views about fundamental doctrines.
The
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
asserts the capital importance of biblical interpretation and Catholic scholars recognize some diversity in the Bible. This allows for an openness of interpretation as long as it stays within the Catholic Church’s theological tradition. So it is that theological factors set the parameters for interpreting the Bible that Catholics believe to be the word of God. According to
Roy B. Zuck, such parameters disallow the widely differing interpretations that make it possible for Protestants to prove almost anything by the Bible.
For Catholics, the Catholic Church is the official custodian and interpreter of the Bible. Therefore, Catholicism's teaching concerning the Sacred Scriptures and their genuine sense must be the supreme guide of the commentator. The Catholic commentator is bound to adhere to the interpretation of texts which the Church has defined either expressly or implicitly. Furthermore, the
Church Fathers
The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...
are of supreme authority whenever they all interpret in one and the same manner any text of the Bible, as pertaining to the doctrine of faith or morals; for their unanimity clearly evinces that such interpretation has come down from the Apostles as a matter of Catholic faith.
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
indicated in ''
Verbum Domini'' that "Christianity
perceives in the words the Word himself, the Logos who displays his mystery through this complexity and the reality of human history." He encourages a "faith-filled interpretation of Sacred Scripture" that has been "practiced from antiquity within the
Church’s Tradition recognizes the historical value of the biblical tradition." It "seeks to discover the living meaning of the Sacred Scriptures for the lives of believers today while not ignoring the human mediation of the inspired text and its literary genres".
Layers of meaning
Christian biblical hermeneutics considers the original medium as well as what language says, supposes, doesn't say, and implies. David L. Barr states there are three obstacles that stand in the way of correctly interpreting the biblical writings: We speak a different language, we live approximately two millennia later, and we bring different expectations to the text. Additionally, Barr suggests that we approach the reading of the Bible with significantly different literary expectations than those in reading other forms of literature and writing.
According to
Vern Poythress
Vern Sheridan Poythress (born 1946) is an American philosopher, theologian, New Testament scholar and mathematician, who is currently the New Testament chair of the ESV Oversight Committee. He is also the Professor of New Testament Interpretation ...
, there are three general concepts to understand about any passage of Scripture. First, the original time and context, which includes the personal perspective of the writer, the normative perspective of the text itself, and the situational perspective of the original audience. Second, it is necessary to understand the transmission of Scripture includes contemplating the message being sent through the text, taking into account the concerns of individual writers/translators as well as its broader role in the unraveling narrative of history. Finally, Poythress instructs interpreters to understand Scripture as "what God is saying now" to the individual as well as to the modern church.
Henry A. Virkler argues that there are several types of analysis needed to identify what the
author intended to communicate in the biblical passage:
:*Lexical-syntactical analysis: This step looks at the words used and the way the words are used. Different order of the sentence, the punctuation, the tense of the verse are all aspects that are looked at in the lexical syntactical method. Here, lexicons and grammar aids can help in extracting meaning from the text.
:*Historical/cultural analysis: The history and culture surrounding the authors is important to understand to aid in interpretation. For instance, understanding the Jewish sects of the Palestine and the government that ruled Palestine in New Testament times increases understanding of Scripture. And, understanding the connotations of positions such as the High Priest and that of the tax collector helps us know what others thought of the people holding these positions.
:*Contextual analysis: A verse out of context can often be taken to mean something completely different from the intention. This method focuses on the importance of looking at the context of a verse in its chapter, book and even biblical context.
:*Theological analysis: It is often said that a single verse usually doesn't make a theology. This is because Scripture often touches on issues in several books. For instance, gifts of the Spirit are spoken about in Romans, Ephesians and 1 Corinthians. To take a verse from Corinthians without taking into account other passages that deal with the same topic can cause a poor interpretation.
:*Special literary analysis: There are several special literary aspects to look at, but the overarching theme is that each genre of Scripture has a different set of rules that applies to it. Of the genres found in Scripture, there are: narratives, histories, prophecies, apocalyptic writings, poetry, psalms and letters. In these, there are differing levels of allegory, figurative language, metaphors, similes and literal language. For instance, the apocalyptic writings and poetry have more figurative and allegorical language than does the narrative or historical writing. These must be addressed, and the genre recognized to gain a full understanding of the intended meaning.
However, Poythress argues that the study of the Bible must acknowledge three dimension: God as the speaker, the Bible as His speech, and the people to whom He speaks. But to do this, biblical hermeneutics needs to unravel the layers of meaning found within the "speaker, discourse, and hearer." For some, such as
Howard Hendricks
Howard George Hendricks (April 5, 1924 – February 20, 2013) was a longtime professor at Dallas Theological Seminary and speaker for Promise Keepers.
Upon his graduation from Dallas, Hendricks accepted the pastorate at Calvary Independent Pre ...
and
Chuck Swindoll
Charles Rozell Swindoll (born October 18, 1934) is an evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher. He founded ''Insight for Living'', headquartered in Frisco, Texas, which airs a radio program of the same name on more t ...
, this can be as simple as taking three steps: observing the text, interpreting the text, and applying the text to one's life.
Reader's context
There is a recognition that the context of the reader has a relationship with one's approach to the Bible. In part, this is related to the presuppositions every reader comes to the Bible, no matter how objective they may try to be.
Scholars such as
Vincent L. Wimbush,
Fernando F. Segovia,
R. S. Sugirtharajah Rasiah S. Sugirtharajah, known as R. S. Sugirtharajah, is a biblical hermeneutics, biblical hermeneuticist and an emeritus professor at the University of Birmingham. He is known for his work in developing the field of Postcolonial theology#Biblical ...
, Mary Ann Tolbert, and
Miguel A. De La Torre
Miguel A. De La Torre (born 6 October 1958) is a professor of Social Ethics and Latino Studies at Iliff School of Theology, author, and an ordained Southern Baptist minister.
Biography
Born in Cuba months before the Castro Revolution, De La ...
have argued that the dominant readings of the Bible are influenced by Eurocentric presuppositions, which have produced racially inflected understandings of Christianity and Christian theology. As a corrective, some have spoken of prioritizing social location, especially in terms of minority populations in the United States, such as in
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
or
Asian American biblical hermeneutics. This often draws on
postcolonial
Postcolonialism is the critical academic study of the cultural, political and economic legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the impact of human control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. More specifically, it is a ...
or
liberative methods for re-readings the Bible.
Other scholars see this as too extreme and based on mainline liberal concerns. In contrast, Asian American evangelicals have established a research group within the
Institute for Biblical Research
The Institute for Biblical Research established in 1973 is "an organization of evangelical Christian scholars with specialties in Old and New Testament and in ancillary disciplines". It describes its vision as "to foster excellence in the pursuit ...
to develop an alternative. Likewise,
Esau McCaulley argues that everyone comes to Scripture with different life experiences and cultures which help to point out the blind spots in each other's reading. Instead of the focus on Black political liberation, McCaulley wants to recover a "Black ecclesial interpretation" coming out of the experience of the African American church.
Trajectory hermeneutics
Trajectory hermeneutics or redemptive-movement hermeneutics (RMH) is a hermeneutical approach that seeks to locate varying 'voices' in the text and to view these voices as a progressive trajectory through history (or at least through the biblical witness); often a trajectory that progresses through to the present day. The contemporary reader of Scripture is in some way envisaged by the biblical text as standing in continuity with a developing theme therein. The reader, then, is left to discern this trajectory and appropriate it accordingly.
William J. Webb
William J. Webb is a theologian, ordained Baptist minister and former professor of New Testament at Heritage Baptist College and Heritage Theological Seminary, Heritage Seminary, Ontario. He is currently adjunct professor at Tyndale Seminary in Tor ...
, employing trajectory hermeneutics, shows how the moral commands of the Old and New Testaments were a significant improvement over the surrounding cultural values and practices. Webb identified 18 different ways in which God dealt with his people moving against the current of popular cultural values. While for Webb the use of this hermeneutic moves to highlight the progressive liberation of women and slaves from oppressive male/bourgeois dominance, the prohibition of
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
acts consistently moves in a more conservative manner than that of the surrounding
Ancient Near East
The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran and northeastern Syria), ancient Egypt, ancient Iran ( Elam, ...
or
Graeco-Roman
The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...
societies. While Paul does not explicitly state that
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
should be abolished, the trajectory seen in Scripture is a progressive liberation of slaves. When this is extended to modern times, it implies that the biblical witness supports the
abolition of slavery
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
. The progressive
liberation of women from oppressive patriarchalism, traced from Genesis and Exodus through to Paul's own acknowledgement of women as 'co-workers' (), sets a precedent that when applied to modern times suggests that women ought to have the same rights and roles afforded to men. Historically, the biblical witness has become progressively more stringent in its views of homosexual practice and the implications of this are not commented upon by Webb.
[
]
See also
*
Quranic hermeneutics
References
Further reading
*
Brown, Raymond E.,
Joseph A. Fitzmyer
Joseph Augustine Fitzmyer (November 4, 1920 – December 24, 2016) was an American Catholic priest and scholar who taught at several American and British universities He was a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
Fitzmyer was considered ...
, and
Roland E. Murphy, eds. (1990). ''The New Jerome Biblical Commentary''. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. . See especially: “Modern Criticism” and “Hermeneutics” (pp. 1113-1165).
* Duvall, J. Scott, and J. Daniel Hays. ''Grasping God's Word: A Hands on Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible.'' Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2001.
* Kaiser, Walter C., and Moises Silva. ''An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning.''Rev. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007.
*
Kim, Yung Suk. ''Biblical Interpretation: Theory, Process, and Criteria'' 2013
* Osborne, Grant R. ''The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation''. Second edition. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2006.
* Tate, W. Randolph. ''Biblical Interpretation: An Integrated Approach.'' Rev. ed. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1997.
* Thistleton, Anthony. ''New Horizons in Hermeneutics''. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1992.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biblical Hermeneutics
Biblical exegesis
Hermeneutics
Christian theology of the Bible