CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION TO HERMENEUTICS
Hermeneutics:
The study of principles for interpreting the bible.
Concerning interpretation especially of the bible or literary texts.
Hermeneutics comes from the Greek word hermeneuo that means to
interpret, translate or explain
Hermeneuo is related to Hermes. In ancient times, the Greek thought
Hermes was a messenger of their gods. His job was to deliver and
interpret divine messages.

FOUR REASONS TO STUDY HERMENEUTICS:

1.
2.
3.
4.

To
To
To
To

learn principles for interpreting scriptures.

develop skills for answering difficult questions.
correctly handle the word of truth.
relate biblical times to our times.

To Develop Skills For Answering Difficult Questions:

Phillip asked the Ethiopian, Do you understand what you are reading? The
Ethiopian replied, How can I, unless someone explains it to me? (Acts 8:3031) The principles in this course will guide us in understanding what we read
in the Bible.

To Correctly Handle the Word of Truth:

Have you ever been misquoted? Perhaps you spoke to someone about a
personal matter. Then, that person falsely interpreted what you said, and
told it to another person. The results was that someone blamed you for
something you never said.
The people of Jesus day used His words to accuse Him. But they did not
interpret His words correctly. They accused Him of planning to destroy
Herods temple and rebuilding it in three days (Mark 14:58). They did not
discern that Jesus was talking about the temple of His body. So we see that it
was the interpreter who erred, not Jesus. Gods Word is always true, but we
must be careful to interpret it correctly. Otherwise, we may base our beliefs
on the instability of human interpretation rather than the rock of Gods word.

To relate biblical times to our times:

Consider these great gaps between Scripture and us.
1. The time gap: Almost two thousand years are between any book of
the New Testament and us. We are therefore interpreting the book that
was written about two millennia ago. Thus, we need principles to guide
us.
2. The culture gap: The people of the bible had different values,
traditions, customs, and practices than we do. Old Testament writers
wrote in Hebrews from right to left. Sometimes they worshiped in
temples and synagogues, washed feet, greeted each other with a kiss,
or sacrificed animals. They ate different food than ours and lived by
different rules. We need principles to interpret what God said to them.
3. The language gap: The people of the bible spoke Hebrew, Aramaic,
and Greek so the Bible was written in these languages. There is
always a need for principles as we translate languages.
4. The historical gap: Each book of the Bible was written at a specific
time in history. Sometimes God spoke to slaves, masters, warriors, or
prisoners. He sent His Word to Jews and to Gentiles. Principles will
guide us to understand the historical settings of the first readers

The Qualification of Biblical Interpreter:

Examining six qualities a person needs to interpret the Bible correctly.
1. Accept the Bible as the Inspired Word of God.
2. Be born again.
3. Depend on the Holy Spirit.
4. Obey what you understand.
5. Have an open mind and a teachable spirit.
6. Study to be approved by God.

Accepting the Bible as the Inspired Word of God:

Definition of inspiration.
We believe that God gave the bible to us through a process called inspiration.
The word inspire means breathe into. The scriptures are inspired God
breathed Scripture into the biblical writers. All Scripture is God-breathed and it
is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that
the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:
16)
Inspiration is the process God used to breathe His message into the original
writers and carry them along by the Holy Spirit, so that they wrote what He
wanted, free from error.

Six words that explain the nature and level of inspiration in the
Bible:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Verbal.
Plenary.
Revelation.
Infallible.
Inerrant.
Authoritative.

Verbal: The Scriptures are verbally inspired in the original writings called
autographs. This means that God inspired every word in the Old and New
Testament.
Plenary: We believe in the plenary inspiration of Scriptures. The word Plenary
comes from a Latin word meaning full or complete. We say our needs are met
fully or completely when we have plenty. When we speak of plenary inspiration,
we mean that the entire Bible is fully inspired.
Revelation: Through Scripture God revealed himself to us. The Bible clearly
reveals God: His person, character, will, deeds, demands, and decrees. Through
the Scriptures, God gives us the revelation of himself and teaches us how to
relate to Him.
Infallible: The Bible is infallible it cannot fail. This means that Scripture cannot
be wrong about faith and morals. Gods Word cannot deceive, mislead, or
disappoint us.
Inerrant: The Bible is infallible on matters of doctrine and morals; and it is
inerrant (without error) on matters of history and science.
Authoritative: The Bible is the highest authority on religious matters. Some
wrongly placed the church on the same level as the Bible.

We believe that all scriptures are

inspired by God in a verbal, plenary way;

the revelation of God to us;
infallible and inerrant and;
the authority over our faith and living.