When we come to the Scriptures, we come not to have our ideas confirmed, but to have our ideas aligned with God and His Kingdom.
The Bible is what provides us with the framework for how to see the world. It’s the lens through which we view human nature and what it means to be human.
It not only informs, it transforms.
As the writer of Hebrews says:
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 NIV)
Since God’s Word is alive and active, it’s important that we honor and interpret it properly.
It’s important we come to the Scriptures with hearts that are pure and cultivated and ready to receive what the Bible has to say. Whether the Bible supports your ideas or challenges them, the Bible is the framework for how we are called to live and think.
And to view Scripture in this way, we must interpret it correctly.
Yet to interpret the Bible correctly, we must know what methods to use.
Understanding the proper methods of interpreting Scripture is referred to as hermeneutics.
Jared Jeter defines hermeneutics in his article What is Hermeneutics? for Ligonier Ministries as:
…the science and the art of biblical interpretation.
Jeter goes on to write:
It is a science because there are rules for interpreting Scripture, just as there are rules for driving a car. If you do not know the rules, you will not know how to drive properly. Beyond knowing the principles, however, you must also know when to apply them. Because of this, hermeneutics can also rightly be called an art.
Hermeneutics are the various methods and systems we use to properly interpret the Bible and understand its meaning.
Without a proper hermeneutic, our understanding of God’s Word can suffer. Worse, we run the risk of misinterpreting the Scriptures altogether.
As Anna Wishart wisely states in her article Biblical Hermeneutics: Is It Important? for Ethnos 360 Bible Institute:
Knowing how to study the bible with a proper hermeneutic will not only give us a greater confidence in our walk with God and protect us from danger, but it is a responsibility we have been given. God has given us wills to choose Him, bodies to serve Him, hearts to love Him and – most appropriate to this topic – minds to know Him.
Key Considerations for Proper Hermeneutics
When it comes to hermeneutics, there are 5 primary considerations to be made:
Context
Understanding the broader context of a passage—historical, literary, and theological—is important for accurate interpretation.
This includes looking at the surrounding verses, the book as a whole, and the overarching Biblical narrative to make sure you’re not misinterpreting isolated passages.
Grammar
Analyzing the grammar and syntax of the original language helps clarify the intended meaning of the text.
Sentence structure, verb tenses, and language patterns play a crucial role in uncovering the author’s specific message and distinguishing between literal and figurative passages.
Word Meanings
Diving into the original meanings of words reveals nuances that may be lost in translation.
By studying the Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic terms, you gain a deeper understanding of key concepts and avoid misinterpretation based on modern language assumptions.
Word Relationships
Examining how words relate to one another in a passage brings clarity to the author’s intended message. Grammatical structures such as how the subject-verb relationships are conducted in the primary Biblical languages can yield insights that are sometimes obscured when they are translated into languages such as English.
Understanding these connections—such as subjects, predicates, and modifiers—helps to clarify what is emphasized and what might be implied, allowing for a better understanding of the text.
Cultural Insights
Recognizing the cultural background of the Biblical text illuminates practices and perspectives that inform its meaning. Words do not exist in isolation to one another, and often are part of a matrix of ideas and thoughts that were intuitive to the Biblical writers’ and original audience’s culture and times.
By understanding the historical, social, and religious context in which the text was written, you can better grasp the message as the original audience would have understood it, leading to a more faithful application today.
What are the Main Hermeneutical Questions?
Proper hermeneutics ask the right questions of the text. Here are three starting questions to ask when reading the Bible:
Who was it written to?
In his book Toward an Exegetical Theology: Biblical Exegesis for Preaching and Teaching, Walter C. Kaiser writes:
To interpret Scripture correctly means to bring out the full and exact meaning of a passage as it would have been understood by its original audience.
To properly interpret Scripture, you first must ask: who was the original audience?
Who a passage of Scripture was written to has a profound effect on the meaning of the text. Was the audience enslaved or free? Were they awaiting a word from the Lord or walking in rebellion against Him? Was there tension between groups of people within the community?
When you know who a passage of Scripture was written to, you can better understand and interpret the meaning of the text.
What was the author’s intent?
Another key aspect of proper hermeneutics is understanding the author’s intent for the passage.
In their book How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth, Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stewart write:
The aim of good interpretation is simple: to get at the ‘plain meaning of the text’—the author’s intended meaning.
It’s important to understand what the author intended with a specific passage of Scripture.
Was the passage written descriptively or prescriptively?
What can the historical and cultural background of this passage teach us today?
When you understand the author’s intent for the passage, you can better interpret the passage.
How does that inform us today?
While the Bible wasn’t written to us, it was still written for us.
With proper hermeneutics, we have a responsibility to understand, not only what the Scriptures meant originally, but also what that means for us today.
In his book Truth and Method, Hans-Georg Gadamer writes:
Biblical hermeneutics, therefore, requires of us a double task: to hear the word they heard; to hear that same word in the ‘now’ in our world.
While there was an original audience and an intended meaning, the Scriptures are still relevant for us today.
Proper hermeneutics allow us to understand the original meaning, while also receiving what the Scriptures mean for us today.
Learn to Ask the Right Questions with AWKNG
A.W. Tozer wrote in his profound book, The Pursuit of God:
The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.
God desires that we would not just properly interpret His Word, but that we would be transformed by His Word.
At AWKNG, we are committed to growing deeper in our understanding of God’s Word.
In our free online course, Jewish and Greco-Roman Backgrounds of the New Testament, Dr. Matthew Halsted places the New Testament and early Christianity in its original context, so you can gain a solid foundation for understanding and interpreting the New Testament.
This course is full of insight and wisdom to help you better understand and exegete the books and letters of the New Testament.
To take this free course, click here.
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