What is Hermeneutics and Why Do We Need It

This module provides an introduction to hermeneutics and an overview of its main characteristics and uses.

Learning Objectives

• Define what hermeneutics is
• Describe why proper interpretation is important
• Explain the significant barriers to proper interpretation

Begin this module by viewing the following video

What is Hermeneutics?

The term “hermeneutics” – which derives from the Greek word “to interpret” – describes the process of interpreting the biblical text. That is, to “do” hermeneutics is to employ the various principles of the hermeneutical method in order to understand the meaning and significance of the message of the Bible.[1]

The interpretive process involves multiple components. As we will explore further in the next module, the process involves the text, its author(s), its audience, and the interpreter himself or herself. With so many elements involved, it is important to recognize that the hermeneutical method is, in a sense, both something of an art and a science (see Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard, 2017, pp. 42-43).[2] In saying it is a science, we acknowledge that all communication conveys meaning by encoding messages using certain patterns or cues (e.g. spelling, tone of voice), and that these must be “decoded” according to certain rules if we are to understand the message. However, as an art, we mean to raise the idea that these communicative acts are not encoded in a vacuum, but rather within broader cultural or social contexts that influence their meaning. That is, a message is most often encoded using the patterns or cues of the subculture of the author and audience, and these must be taken into account as well. For example, the word “football” means something quite different to someone from Minneapolis, Minnesota as compared to someone from Manchester, England, or even from Melbourne, Australia.

Why is Hermeneutics Important?

The answer to the question of why hermeneutics is important will vary depending on one’s presuppositions (see below). From a Christian perspective, the Bible contains God’s message to the world; it is his revelation of the truth about himself and his creation. It is his deliberate disclosure of why the world is the way it is, and what the Triune God has done to set it to rights in the future. So in a sense, one answer to the question about the importance of hermeneutics could be very simply stated, “Because we want to understand the truth accurately!”

Barriers that Must Be Overcome

Because the hermeneutical process involves so many elements – a text, the original author(s), the original audience, and the contemporary interpreter – we discover quickly that there are several obstacles standing in the way of accurate interpretation. From the perspective of the interpreter, these obstacles exist both internally and externally.

The internal obstacles arise from the fact that the interpreter does not approach a text with a neutral perspective. That is, all interpreters have been conditioned by their own experiences and bring both presuppositions and preunderstandings to the text.[3] The term “presupposition” simply refers to the assumptions a reader has. These assumptions can positively or negatively sway one’s approach to the text. For example, whether one believes God is real and capable of communicating through human authors represents a presupposition that will have a great influence on how the reader regards and encounters the Bible. Since it is not possible to avoid having presuppositions, it is necessary to identify, analyze, and retain only those that enable responsible interpretation (see Klein et al., 2017, pp. 210-226; Köstenberger and Patterson, 2011, pp. 62-65).

Preunderstandings denote the various beliefs about the world the interpreter maintains, whether knowingly or unknowingly. These beliefs are constructed under the influence of many factors – everything from one’s gender, culture, education, socio-economic status, etc. – and operate as something of a lens through which the reader sees and interacts with the text. Indeed, not all preunderstandings are bad, but since they have the capacity to influence or even determine how one reads a text, they represent a potential obstacle for correct interpretation if they remain unacknowledged and unchallenged where necessary (see Klein et al., 2017, pp. 226-243). 

The external obstacles relate more to the many ways the modern interpreter is separated or “distant/distanced” from the text. For example, when we recognize that the latest document in the New Testament was written nearly two thousand years ago – with some parts of the Old Testament being significantly older – it is not difficult to see that time is one barrier that must be reckoned with. In addition to this, however, from the position and perspective of many of Scripture’s interpreters today, the various books of the Bible were written by someone from a distant land, who wrote from within a different cultural perspective, and who used (and thought in) a different language. Thus, geographical distance, culture, and language represent three additional barriers that the interpreter must account for and “overcome” in the hermeneutical process (see Kaiser and Silva, 2007, pp. 19-22; Klein et al., 2017, pp. 53-59).

References

Vanhoozer, K. (2009). Is there a meaning in this text?: The bible, the reader, and the morality of literary knowledge (sp. ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Fish, S. 1982. Is there a text in this class? The authority of interpretive communities. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 

Thiselton, A.C. (2006). Thiselton on hermeneutics: Collected works with new essays. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Kaiser, W. & Silva, M. (2007). Introduction to biblical hermeneutics: The search for meaning (Rev. ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Klein, W., Blomberg, C., & Hubbard, R. (2017). Introduction to biblical interpretation: Third edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Köstenberger, A. & Patterson, R. (2011). Invitation to biblical interpretation: Exploring the hermeneutical triad of history, literature, and theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel. 

[1] This discussion uses the term Bible with reference to the sixty-six books of the Protestant Canon. See Köstenberger and Patterson, 2011, pp. 151-232.

[2] The discussion that follows throughout this module regularly refers to two recent hermeneutics books, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation by Köstenberger and Patterson (2011), and Introduction to Biblical Interpretation by Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard (2017). The consistent referencing of these particular volumes is intentional, as either (or both) would greatly benefit the interested interpreter who may desire to go deeper beyond what is covered in this module. Köstenberger and Patterson’s volume offers an easier entry point and is particularly well-organized and readable. Klein et al. succeeds in providing a wonderfully comprehensive treatment of the issues and it is particularly helpful in addressing the crucial role of the interpreter in the process.  

[3] As Vanhoozer (1998, p. 151), puts it, “No reading is objective; all reading is theory-laden. There is no innocent eye; there is no innocent “I.” …The reading self is not a detached knowing subject, but is always in the grip of some vocabulary, some value system.” See also Fish, 1980, p. 284; Thiselton, 2006, pp. 441-461.