Understanding Hermeneutics

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Understanding Hermeneutics

• A Course Overview

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Learning the Rules of Biblical Interpretation

• Our own first understandings of some passages may
  not be correct interpretations.
• We are accountable for correct interpretations.
• There are well-established rules to guide us in
  arriving at the correct interpretations.
• Hermeneutics is all about these rules.

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Some Typical Hermeneutical Exercises

• Some liberal commentators have claimed that
  Christ was mistaken regarding the time of his
  second coming, because of verses such as Mt.
  2434 which seem to indicate that He would return
  within one generation. Are there other legitimate
  ways of understanding this verse?
• It has been stated that the Bible prophesies the
  use of Christmas trees in Jeremiah 103-4. Is
  this a valid interpretation of this verse? Why or
  why not?
• Some Bible teachers believe that Christians
  should not experience illness and disease, basing
  their arguments on part of John 32. Analyze
  this passage with hermeneutical rules and state
  whether or not it is intended that Christians
  should not experience illness.

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Six Hermeneutical Steps

• Setting Historical Context
• Structure Literary Form
• Syntax Grammatical Analysis
• Semantics Lexical Elements
• Summation Discourse argument
• Significance Application Today

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1. Setting

• Setting deals with the historical, cultural, and
  psychological gap between you and the first
  hearers of this message
• 1. Historical information
• 2. Cultural-societal context
• 3 Mind-sets and world-views

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2. Structure

• Structure deals with the type of literature in
  which the passage is found
• Similes, Metaphors, Proverbs
• Parables and Allegories
• Types
• Prophecy
• Apocalyptic

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3. Syntax

• Syntax works with correctly understanding the
  grammar of the Hebrew or Greek passage.
• Verb Tense
• Subject and Object
• Adverbs and Adjectives

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4. Semantics

• This step is sometimes combined with step 3 and
  is referred to as Lexical-syntactical analysis
• Semantics deals with the meaning of words
• What did the words mean to the first hearers?

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5. Summation

• Summation deals with the main idea running
  through the entire passage. It is called the
  discourse argument.
• This involves study of the larger passage, other
  writings of the same author.

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6. Significance

• Significance applies the intended meaning to a
  situation today.
• It involves the filter of systematic biblical
  theology checking to see if the perceived
  meaning is consistent with the rest of the Bible.
  
• It involves determining the underlying truth
  principle and applying it to our own time and
  culture.

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The Objectives of Hermeneutics

• Preaching the Powerful Truth of Gods Word
  Without Weakening It With Our Ideas
• Discovering Deeper Truth
• Bringing Correction to Erroneous Teaching
• Applying Gods Message to Any Culture

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Hermeneutical Tools

• Hermeneutical Textbooks
• Theological Commentaries
• Exhaustive Concordances
• Bible Dictionaries
• Greek Lexicons
• Hebrew Lexicons
• Theological Wordbooks
• Books on Biblical Imagery and Customs

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Your tools for this course

• 3-ring binder exclusively for this course
  including a vocabulary journal section
• Bible (also helpful to see other versions)
• Textbook
• Access to BHBC library for
• Theological wordbooks
• Lexicons
• Books on Bible Customs
• Bible Dictionaries