Hermeneutics
The Science of Interpretation
Hermeneutics is the science of biblical interpretation.
Hermes was the Greek god who served as the messenger for the gods.
Hermes was responsible for interpreting the will of the gods.
Hermeneuein is the Greek verb that means “to express,” “to explain,” “to translate,” “to interpret”
J. C. Dannhaur used the term first in the 1600’s when he used it in reference to Bible interpretation.
The purpose of hermeneutics is to establish guidelines & rules for interpretation of written documents
The goal of Hermeneutics is to discover the thoughts and meaning of the writers when they
communicated through the medium of the written document.
Any written document is subject to misinterpretation. This includes the Bible.
The written documents we base our faith on present a special problem for us because they were
written between 2,000-3,500 years
ago because they were communicated to people in societies, cultures and
languages very different from ours.
Hermeneutics in any field should consider:
a) word definitions
b) contextual analysis – or, the analysis of the context of the writing
c) literary types and forms – poetry, parable, historical narrative, dialogue, prophecy, etc.
d) historical analogy – the comparing of points of recorded history
e) syntactical distinctives – considering meaning arrangement of the words in a sentence
Hermeneutics in the area of scriptural interpretation also must consider:
f) the doctrine of inspiration
g) the theological significance of scripture that comes by revelation of God and is found in
no other written document.
The books of the Bible are recorded in human speech and so they must be handled in regard to
interpretation as any other book.
In 1860 Benjamin Jowett wrote in his “Essays and Reviews” “Interpret the Bible like any other book.”
His point was towards word meanings, correct text readings, etc. but not meaning there was nothing special about the Holy Scriptures.
In the
They are to interpret the Constitution following the grammatico-historical method.
The grammatico-historical method meant to interpret the words in light of what the words meant when
they were used at the formation of the document.
Ezra (450 BC) made an early attempt to establish a systematic interpretation of the law.
Ezra emphasized observance of the law that ultimately led away from the meaning of the law.
Ezra founded a Jewish class called scribes who were devoted to the exposition of the scriptures.
(Definition: Exposition – a setting forth of facts, ideas, etc; detailed explanation;
writing or speaking that sets forth or explains. Exposition is not the same and is distinguished from these: description, narration, argumentation.”)
Ezra’s Scribes developed a systematic way of
reducing the law to a formula that was both
legalistic and fanciful (imaginative).
The scribes system of interpretation made it impossible to correctly interpret OT by Jesus day.
1) Jewish Literalism –
a)
OT was dissected into separate words and phrases, which were given meanings
completely void of history, spirit, and context of the material.
b) Three influential rabbis from first century BC:
Hillel
– born in
Talmudic system to organize the mass of regulations that made up the oral law. He had seven laws of interpretation:
1) Rule of “light and heavy” or “from the lesser to the greater” (Num.12:14)
2) Inferred relation between two subjects from identical expressions. Example:
the daily sacrifice must be offered on a Sabbath, then the Passover sacrifice may also be offered on a Sabbath.
3) The extension from the special to the general. Example: Necessary work on
a Sabbath accepted also on a holy day.
4) The explanation of two passages by a third.
5) Drew guidance from a general situation that was applied to a special situation
6) The explanation of a passage from the analogy of other passages. (Mt.12:5)
7) An application of inferences from passages that were self-evident.
These rules allowed the scribes after Hillel to make a multitude of false interpretations.
Shammai – a rival of Hillel and a formalist in the extreme school of Jewish legalism.
Their disregard for the purpose of the law led to blind slavery of pointless obedience.
Shammai made his infant grandson fast nearly to death on the Day of Atonement and
had a booth (for the Feast of Tabernacles) built over his daughter who was in labor.
Gamaliel – Hillel’s grandson (and Paul’s teacher) was broadminded in his
interpretation. He studied and taught Greek literature
and advocated the rights and privileges of the Gentiles.
(Ishmael (150 AD) set forth
13 rules of interpretation. Eliezerben Yose (150 AD) had 32.)
2) Jewish Allegorism –
(Definition: Allegory – a story in which people, things, and
happenings
have another
meaning, as in a fable or parable.)
Aristobulus, the earliest allegorical teacher, taught that the Greek philosophers and poets derived their ideas from an early Greek translation of the OT.
Philo made the major
contribution to harmonize the institutions and ideas of Judaism with Greek
culture and philosophy. He taught
that all Scripture contained a twofold meaning. They were the literal and the allegorical
meanings, which were like the body and soul.
Did not Psalm 62:11 say, “One thing God has spoken, two things have I
heard.” This was the basis for
Philo’s assumptions and allegorical teaching.
Like the soul is more important than the body, likewise the allegorical
meaning was more important than the actual literal meaning. An example:
The four rivers of Genesis 2:10, Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and
Jesus as Interpreter
Apostle’s Interpretation
· Problems in interpretation were arising even at the point of Peter’s death as is seen in 2 Pt.:
o 3:15 – “(Paul’s) letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures.”
o
3:4 – “They will say, ‘Where is this coming
he promised? Ever since our fathers died
everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’”
o 1:20 – “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation.”
Peter makes the need for proper interpretation clear when he says:
o 2 Peter 1:21 – That “Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” So man can not correctly interpret it with out that same Spirit.
o 2 Peter 3:16 – That “ignorant and unstable people distort” the scriptures because the scriptures “contain some things that are hard to understand.”
o
1 Peter 1:10 – Even the prophets who originally
wrote the scriptures did not fully understand all the revelation and meaning of
the words they wrote because, “the prophets who spoke of the grace that was
to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find
out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was
pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would
follow.” The prophets who wrote the
scripture had to apply hermeneutics as they tried to find the full message.
The Epistle of Barnabas (which is not considered part of the canon of scripture):
¨ 119 quotes from the OT and 5 from the apocrypha and 21 from the NT.
¨ In this book history is meaningless. For example, God’s covenant had always been with Christians.
¨ OT only has meaning if understood in terms of the Gospel. So here we have an extreme method of interpreting Christ into everything for it to have value.
¨ Typology was his basic principle of interpretation. For example: Abraham’s 318 servants represent the numerical value of the letters TIH. The “T” stood for the cross and the “IH” (the first two Greek letters for Jesus name) stood for Jesus. This was the mystery of Abraham’s servants.
¨ He was the first to base the age of the world on the six days of creation & Psalms 90:4.
¨ He rejected the OT and most of the NT. The church developed the canon due to him.
¨ Dualistic view of the OT and NT. The OT God of justice vs. the NT God of mercy.
¨ To justify the fact that the OT and NT could not be reconciled he insisted on a literal interpretation of the OT.
¨ He kept part of the NT that he agreed with but rejected the parts he did not agree with by saying they had been added later to the original writings.
¨ He read the remains of the NT literally but rejected the continuity of the NT with the OT message.
Irenaeus, Bishop in
¨ Established Christian thought for the next several centuries
¨ Approached scripture exclusively by exposition of the Bible.
¨ He used no philosophy.
¨ First to quote from almost entire NT and extensively from the OT
¨ Concerning Bible interpretation he is said to have preserved the best that came before him and anticipate nearly all that would follow from Origen and Augustine and even Luther and Calvin.
¨ His method of interpretation was governed by the principle of inspiration.
¨
He then understood that since scripture was
inspired by God then God wrote both the OT and NT. From this doctrine of the unity of
scripture he concluded that scripture must then interpret scripture.
¨ He then urged that obscure passages be clarified by being compared with passages that were understood.
¨ The foundation of interpretation was that Christ was the center of the scripture.
¨ The only way to understand the OT is in light of the Savior’s coming.
¨ He believed every part of scripture had its own place and purpose.
¨ Some feel that Iranaeus let tradition be the final judge of interpretation, but this can not be demonstrated.
¨ The first systematic theologian because he employed the entire Bible as the basis for his teaching.
¨ His interest in exegesis grew out of his concern for the text. He did more exegetical work than anyone before the reformation.
¨
His Greek philosophical background led him to
express orthodox doctrines in extreme allegories. (The Greeks had to develop a system of
philosophical reasoning to draw the divine truth out of Homer’s writings. They did this by allegorizing Homer’s works.)
¨
Origen was a student and then the successor to
Clement in the Alexandrian Bible School.
From Clement he acquired the theory of the threefold meaning of
scripture. The body = literal
meaning, soul = moral teaching, spirit = spiritual meaning.
¨ Origen desired to draw out the more important meaning of scripture by developing the allegorical meaning. His influence on the future interpretation was great, but both positive and negative.
¨ Medieval allegorists who followed centuries later were influenced by him and the Greek church Basil the Great and Gregory continued his views.
¨
The Exegetical school at
¨ Paid close attention to the historical sense of the text.
¨ Men like Jerome attached supreme importance to the grammatical sense,
Augustine (354-430)
¨ Augustine dominated Christian theology in the West for a millennium
¨ Augustine was more of a theologian like Irenaeus and not interested in the means and methods of interpretation like Origen.
¨ Augustine said, “The Bible was a narrative of the past, a prophecy of the future, and a description of the present.”
¨ Augustine’s contribution to hermeneutics was his emphasis upon faith as a necessity for understanding. Understanding and insight into scripture came as a result of faith. He embraced the teaching that the tradition of the Church interpreted the scripture.
¨ The scriptures provided a foundation for the creed of the Church.
Medieval Interpretation (from Augustine until the Reformation)
Ø Bible study was restricted almost entirely to monasteries and consisted of recitation of texts and copying manuscripts.
Ø Illiteracy was rampant.
Ø
Ø Any development of Hermeneutics had only one purpose – to strengthen and advance the teachings of the Roman Church.
Ø All interpretation had to conform to tradition and that was the writings of the church fathers.
Ø
The main writings they used were the Latin and
the interpreter’s job was to harmonize all the writings of the Latin-writing
Fathers to form a foundation under the
Ø Like the rabbis of NT times these interpreters were confined to collecting and organizing already written teachings.
Ø The literal meaning of the Bible was completely insignificant and unstudied.
Ø Around 1000 AD an intellectual awakening in the church occurred.
Ø The movement depended upon the principles of Greek philosophy produced a deductive religious philosophy (Meaning: Deductive – the act of process of deducing or reasoning form a known principle to an unknown, from the general to the specific or from a premise to a logical conclusion.) within the confines of traditional teachings of the Roman Church.
Ø Scholasticism depended almost exclusively upon the allegorical method of interpretation, which further perverted the truth of Scripture.
Ø There was no regard for the original languages of Biblical texts.
Ø The interpreters job was to support the teachings of the Roman Church
Ø Thomas Aquinas was a leader in this movement
Ø In reaction to the bondage and scholasticism of the day the hunger for a relationship with God surfaced.
Ø But, since the written revelation was not available to feed and guide people in their pursuit of God extreme mysticism developed.
Ø Mysticism taught that an individual could get all they needed from God by direct communion with him and did not need the traditions or historical revelation (scriptures).
Ø Of course, Devotional study of scripture was emphasized with allegory as the main method of interpretation.
Ø Bernard of Clairvaux was a leader.
Ø Up until the days of Martin Luther the method of interpretation through the medieval times was the Quadriga.
Ø The Quadriga was a fourfold method of interpretation that had began in the early church (Clement and Origen of Alexandria) and was completely developed by the Middle Ages.
Ø This method examined the text for four meanings: literal, moral, allegorical, anagogical.
Ø
Literal – the plain and evident meaning.
(
Ø
Moral – instructed people on how to
behave (
Ø
Allegorical – revealed the doctrinal
content (
Ø
Anagogical – expressed future hope (
Ø
For example,
Ø
With this method the biblical exegetes can
develop all types of strange discoveries in scripture
Ø
Ø
This often occurred under the influence of the
Rabbis who studied Hebrew in the tradition of Jerome.
Ø Nicolas of Lyra (1100’s AD), a great Christian Hebrew scholar stressed the primacy of the literal sense.
Ø Martin Luther was highly influenced by Nicolas and called him “a fine soul, a good Hebraist and a true Christian.”
v A rebellion against the Roman Church’s method of interpretation
v A movement to enthrone the Scriptures in the thought and life of Christianity.
v Three men established the pattern of hermeneutics that continues until today: Luther, Melancthon, Calvin.
v Luther broke with Roman traditionalism but remained under the influence of the Early Church Fathers like Augustine.
v Luther did not establish the significance of the historical setting of the text for interpretation but he moved interpretation in that direction.
v
The literal sense of Scripture was important
to Luther and he did escape the trap of the allegory.
v Luther rejected the Quadriga (fourfold interpretation), but this did not restrict his application of scripture to many levels. One interpretation, many applications.
v A student of Luther
v He failed, as did Luther, to distinguish the doctrinal distinction of the OT from the NT and freely used OT material as support for Christian doctrine.
v He did say that NT revelation was complete and final and went beyond the OT revelation.
v Humanism’s view of reason was placed along side revelation in his study of scriptural interpretation.
Calvin
v John Calvin influence Protestantism more than any other Reformer.
v He left the allegorical method completely
v He used extreme literalism.
v He escaped completely the writings of the Early Church Fathers
v The importance of history was obvious to Calvin although his resources were limited
v He was too dogmatic and disregarded all other interpreters and so limited his own insight and progress.
v He gave no place for progressive revelation (even from the OT into the NT) and tried to find a complete systematic theology in the teachings of the apostles.
q Protestantism developed its own traditionalism based on the principle of verbal inspiration of Scripture and the original confessions of faith of the Reformers.
q Challenged the inspiration of the Bible
q Began
in
q Taught the gospels contained only a hint of the original Jesus.
q Leader in this was Albert Schweitzer
q Challenged Historical Criticism purely scientific approach to scripture.
q He said Historical Criticism was simply useful in establishing the facts to be interpreted, not to give the final explanation.
q He returned to the Reformers idea of scripture interpreting scripture.
q He said Historical Criticism had the first word for the interpreter but revelation had the last word.
The Reformers primary rule of Hermeneutics:
1) Scripture is to interpret Scripture
“Sacra Scriptura sui interpres” (“Sacred Scripture is its own interpreter.”)
a) No point of Scripture can be interpreted to bring it in conflict with any other part of
scripture.
b) If there are two possible interpretations for a scripture and one of those conflicts with other
scriptures, the conflicting scripture has proven itself to be the wrong interpretation.
c) The presupposition for this rule is that the Bible is inspired and God is the author.
d) Some modern liberal interpreters go out of their way to interpret scripture against scripture
in hopes of proving it to be un-inspired.
e) Use the clearly understood passages of
scripture to shed light on the less obvious scriptures.
Martin Luther was a militant advocate of the second rule
of Hermeneutics:
2)
The Bible should be interpreted according to its literal sense.
“sensus literalis” (“literal sense”)
a) Even though the
Bible is inspired and written by the Holy Spirit it is still literature.
b) The natural meaning of a passage is to be interpreted according to
the normal rules of
grammar, speech, syntax and
context.
c) The letters, words, and sentences do not take on a new
meaning. They are the vehicles used
by the Holy Spirit to communicate.
d) Nouns remain
nouns; verbs are still verbs; questions do not become exclamations; historical
narratives do not become
allegories.
e)
Literal interpretation then calls for detailed literary scrutiny of the
text.
f)
The interpreter must know the rules of grammar
3) Genre
Analysis is very important.
a) “Genre” means
“kind, sort, species.”
b) Genre analysis is
the study of the style of writing, literary form, or the figure of speech.
c) For example we
know there is a difference between a newspaper article, a legal document,
an elementary reading book, a restaurant menu, an owners
manual, the president’s state of the union address, and the lyrics to a pop song.
Example
#1: Is the book of Jonah historical?
This question is a matter of genre analysis. Chapter 2 of Jonah is clearly poetry. If this
speaks for the whole book there is no need to hold to a
historical swallowing of Jonah by a fish.
Genre analysis can address this issue. But, if someone rejects the book of Jonah as
historical because they do not believe in miracles, this becomes a
philosophical question and genre analysis can not directly help resolve the
issue.
Example
#2: Is the mustard seed a hyperbole or
a mistake?
The etymology of hyperbole shows it to mean “an
overshooting.” The dictionary meaning
for hyperbole is, “exaggeration for effect, not meant to be taken
literally.” Newspapers, verbal
communication, and historical reports all use hyperboles to make their point
with out violating the historical accuracy of the reporter. “The story is as
old as time.” “Everyone has heard what
happened yesterday.” The Bible uses this
type of hyperbole in Mt. 9:35 in reference to Jesus going to “all the
cities.” Jesus also calls the mustard
seed the smallest of seeds when there are smaller seeds. The use of hyperboles is not inconsistent
with inspiration nor should it be taken literally in your teaching.
Example
#3: Is Balaam’s donkey a personification or a miracle?
A personification is a poetic device which inanimate
objects or animals are given human characteristics. The Bible describes hills dancing and trees
clapping. But, what about Balaam’s
donkey talking? Was that a
personification or a miracle? To
analyze this objectively is to ask what literary style is being used? Is there room for a personification in the
narrative?
To call something personification that is literally
historical because it does not agree with what we believe is not exegesis (here the interpreter is taking the meaning out of what is
in the literature), but eisogesis (here the interpreter is putting
meaning into the literature). Is the
creation account historical or is it symbolic literature? Adam is placed in a real geographical
location with a real genealogy that is inappropriate for a mythical
character. But, there is reference to
the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
What kind of tree is this and what do these leaves look like? This image is symbolic even in the book of
Revelation. Before you begin to teach this you have to
decide what form of literature you are teaching. Is it historical or symbolic?
Example
#4: Which ones are metaphors? a) “I
am the door.” b) “This is my body.”
A metaphor is a word or a phrase that uses one kind of
object or idea in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between
them. John 10:9, “I am the door; if
anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved” is clearly a metaphor. Jesus did not really swing on hinges and have
a door knob. Difficulty begins with verses
like Luke 22:19. Jesus took the bread
and said, “This is My body.” Was this a
metaphor? Was the bread representing
Jesus body or did it become his body in a real fashion? The modern Catholic and Protestant views
of this scripture are based on this hermeneutic issue. The two great reformers, Luther and Calvin, never could agree on the proper interpretation of this verse.
They agreed on inspiration and the authority of the scriptures. But, they could not agree on the
interpretation of this verse. When
Calvin sent representatives to negotiate with Luther, Luther simply kept
repeating the words, “This is my body. . . this is my body. . .”
Rules
of Hermeneutics
Tim
LaHaye’s Five Rules of Hermeneutics:
1) Take the Bible
Literally. . . . . . . . do not
spiritualize the Bible
2) Keep it in
Context. . . . . . . . . . . . . do
not lift a verse out of context to use it as a prooftext
because text out of context is a
pretext.
3) Watch Out for Idioms. . . . . . .
. . . idioms change from
generation to generation even in their own
language; imagine how they change
after 2,000 years from a
ancient language.
4)
Be Alert to the Figurative use of Language. . .authors use figures of
speeches that can not be taken
literally. The Context is the key; it will tell you when
to take a
word
literally or to find the figurative meaning.
5)
Treat Parables Differently. . . . . . .An earthly story with a heavenly
meaning. Parables have one
central truth. Every
illustration can be distorted when every detail of a parable forced to take on
an unintended meaning.
R.
C. Sproul’s Ten Rules of Hermeneutics:
1)
The Bible is to be Read Like Any
Other Book
The Bible is special,
but it communicates through the medium of literature.
2)
Read the Bible Existentially
In other words, put
yourself in the story. What were the
characters hearing? What were they
thinking when they heard or saw this event? Why did Abraham get up early in the morning
to leave to sacrifice Issaac? And, why
does the Bible record this bit of information?
3) Historical Narratives are to be Interpreted by the Didactic
“Didactic” comes from
the Greek word that means to teach or to instruct. Much of Paul’s
writing is Didactic literature. For example, the gospels are often historical
narratives (even recording some Didactic messages of Jesus), but the Epistles
are more concerned with interpreting the significance of those events recorded
in the Gospels. So, the Didactic style
of the Epistles gives us doctrine, exhortation and application that is
interpreted from the Historical Narratives in the Gospels.
4)
The Implicit is to Be Interpreted
by the Explicit
Explicit means “clearly stated.” Implicit means “to indicate without saying
openly; to hint, or suggest.”
Example: Concerning angels being
compared to us? Mark 12:25 says we will
be like the angels and not be married in heaven. Does this imply we will become
angels? No. Does this imply that angels are sexless?
No. This implies that angels are not
married. This explicitly says we will
not marry in heaven. Example: 1 Corinthians 14:4-5 says that the one who
prophecies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless it is
interpreted. Both sides of the tongues
debate skip the explicit to grab at the implicit. One side says prophecy is good and so tongues
are bad. The other side says tongues and
interpretation make you greater. If the
student focused on the explicit then neither of these two implied “truthes”
would stand. In fact, the explicit
eliminates the possibility of either of these implications being true.
5) Determine Carefully the Meaning of Words
a)
Defining Words:
Accurate communication
and clear understanding are difficult when words are used imprecisely
or ambiguously. There are two basic methods of defining
words:
1) etymology – the science of word origins
Hipopotamus
– Greek word “hippos” means “horse,” “potamos” means “river”
Glory
– in Hebrew originally meant “heavy” or “weighty”
2) customary usage –
words must be studied in the context of its usage. Words undergo changes in meaning. The meaning of a word in a dictionary is
written to identify the way people have started using the word.
Cute – in Elizabethan period meant
“bowlegged.”
Scan
– defined in English dictionary meant “to read carefully, in close detail”
b) Words with
Multiple Meanings:
There are many words in
the original languages that have two or more meaning. For example
the “will of God.” There are six different ways to use this word
“will.” Three are:
1) Will – the precepts God has revealed to his
people
2) Will – God’s sovereign action by which God
brings to pass what he wants.
3) Will – that which is pleasing to God, that
which he delights in.
Now apply it to “God is
not willing that any should perish.” (2 Peter 3:9 KJ). Is it:
a) God has legislated a precept that no one is
allowed to perish. It is against the
law.
b) God has decreed and he will make it happen
that no one will ever perish.
c) God is not pleased and is not delighted when
people perish.
To resolve these
potential multiple meanings you must allow scripture to interpret scripture.
The NIV does this when
it makes the translation into English.
But, are they right?
Now the word “Justify:”
Romans
3:28, “a man is justified by faith apart from works.”
James 2:24,
“a man is justified by works.”
And then, Paul and James
add:
Romans 4:
Abraham was justified when he believed God before circumcision. (Gn.15)
James 2:21:
where Abraham was justified by works when he offered Isaac. (Gn. 22)
“Justify” may mean:
1) to restore to a state of reconciliation with
God those who stand under the judgment
of his law
2) to demonstrate or to vindicate.
Jesus said, “Wisdom is justified of all her children.”
(Lk.7:35) Does Jesus mean wisdom was
restored to fellowship or does he mean that a decision is demonstrated to be
wise by what it produces?
c) Words Whose
Meanings Have Become Doctrinal Concepts
The word “save” and “salvation.” The ultimate salvation is the escape of God’s
wrath. This theological concept is
captured in the doctrine of salvation.
The problem comes when we do not realize that this was a word used to
express the deliverance from any kind of trouble or calamity including military
defeat, bodily injury, disease, and defamation of character, etc. But we tend to
extrapolate the full theological meaning back into the word
every time we read it including 1 Tim.2:15: women will be “saved in
childbearing.” Here “saved” does not
carry our doctrine of
salvation with it.
6) Note
the Presence of Parallelisms in the Bible
Hebrew poetry is often structured with a particular
meter. A rhythm of words and
vowels. This meter is lost in
translation. Parallelism is not so
easily lost because it is a rhythm of thoughts.
Three types:
Synonymous Parallelism occurs when different lines or parts
of a passage present the same thought in a altered manner:
“A false
witness will not go unpunished,
and
he who pours out lies will not go free.”
(Proverbs 19:5)
Antithetic Parallelism occurs when the two parts are set in
contrast to each other:
“A wise
son heeds his father’s instruction,
but
a mocker does not listen to rebuke.”
(Proverbs 13:1)
Synthetic Parallelism is more complex. The first part of a passage creates a sense
of expectation, which is completed by the second part. It can then move in a progressive, staircase
movement to a conclusion in a third line:
“For
surely your enemies, O Lord,
surely
your enemies will perish;
all
evildoers will be scattered.” (Psalm
92:9)
7) Note
the Difference between Proverb and Law
A proverb is not an absolute but an application of
wisdom. Which proverb to use will be
dictated by the circumstance. “Look
before you leap.” or “He who hesitates
is lost.” Both are true, but they are
not always the absolute law of action.
Matthew 12:30, “He who is not with Me is against Me.”
Luke 9:50, “He who is not against you is for you.”
-both are
true depending on the situation
Proverbs 26: 4-5- another example of when to answer a fool
and when not to.
There are also two types of Law
a) The apodictic law expresses absolutes:
“Thou shalt . . .” or “Thou shalt
not. . .”
b) The casuistic law expresses case law and begins with “if. . .then. . .”
Example: Exodus 23:4, “If you meet your enemy’s ox or
donkey. . .you shall return them.”
This is
explicit for an ox and a donkey, but it is an example of many other things
implicitly.
Casuistic
law gives the principle of the law by example.
In otherwords, you should also return
your
enemies chicken, dog, car, snowmobile, etc.
8) Observe the Difference between the Spirit and the
Letter of the Law
A Sabbath day journey was established from the point of
residence. But, if a “legalist” wanted
to establish a residence at different location he could then according to the
letter of the law travel from one residence to another during the entire
Sabbath. You could establish a residence
by placing a personal item such as a comb, mirror, or coat at the location. This was not the spirit of the law.
9) Be
Careful with Parables
10) Be Careful with
Predictive Prophecy
Drew
Freeman’s Four Rules and Fifteen Principles of Hermeneutics
Rule
One:
Seek to Acquire Facts About God and Christ Jesus By Searching All of
Scripture
Principle
One: Study the Essence of God
-sovereignty,
righteousness, justice, love, eternal life, omnipotent, omnipresent,
omniscient,
immutable (unchanging), truthful
Principle Two: Seek the Way Christ
is Revealed
-Realize that all of history is focused around Jesus. He is the creator, the alpha and omega, the
only true God who became man. The OT was
a shadow of the reality found in Christ.
Rule
Two:
Seek to Understand the Facts by Using the Clear Passage as Your Guide
-look for the scriptures that are easiest to understand and
let those passages guide our
understanding of the less clear scriptures.
Principle Three: Realize that
Revelation is Progressive
-God reveals information over a period of time. Revelation are introduced, even in the
garden, and then expanded on over time.
It is important to study the first occurrence of a subject in the
scriptures to begin your understanding on the right course.
Principle Four: Interpret Literally
-God says what he means
and means what he says
Principle Five: Consider the
Specifics
-We must ask, “Who said this?” “Who did they say it to?”
“What circumstances?” “Who was given the promise or the prophecy?”
Principle Six: Study the Primary Passages
-Certain passages are to
be read as the primary declaration of God’s attitude on a subject
§
The
Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15
§
The
Human Tongue. James
3
§
The
Restoration of
§
Triumphs
of the Faith. Hebrews
11
§
God’s
Discipline of His Children Hebrews
12
§
The
Church Ephesians
1-3
§
Righteousness
by Faith Romans
3:10-21
§
Full
Armor of God Ephesians
6:10-17
§
Love 1
Corinthians 13
Principle Seven: Recognize Human
Volition
-Consider the freedom
that God gave mankind to make decisions and the responsibility that goes
along with it. The
Bible records both good and bad decisions made by men. God did not cause all of the results of these
decisions.
Principle Eight: Remember the
Covenants
-Recognize the agreements (or contracts) made between God
and a man or a group. There are
conditional covenants that depend upon man’s obedience and there are
unconditional covenants that depend solely upon the truthfulness of God’s
promise in the covenant.
§
The
Edenic Covenant
§
The
Adamic Covenant
§
The
Noahic Covenant
§
The
Abrahamic Covenant
§
The
Mosaic Covenant
§
The
Davidic Covenant
§
The
Palestinian Covenant
§
The
New Covenant to
§
The
New Covenant to the Church
Rule
Three: Seek to be Wise by Comparing Scripture with Scripture
Any confusion comes from our inability or lack of
study. God intended to communicate.
Principle Nine: Look for the
Differences
-There are different
concepts that work together: faith –
works: salvation – sin: law - grace.
Principle Ten: Consider the Context
-Consider types of
context to consider for every passage:
§
Near
Context – compare it to the verses within the same paragraph
The slavery of Gal.5:1 is then clearly “spiritual slavery.”
§
Intermediate
Context – the verses within the same book.
Matthew 24:40 must be compared to Matthew 13:49 before it
is compared to 1 Thessalonians 4:17
§
Remote
Context – recognize the internal consistency if the Word of God
This is used when studying selected words such as “grace”
or “faith.” Also used in advanced
principles such as interpretation of prophecy or understanding types and
symbols.
Principle Eleven: Interpret Comparatively
-Focuses on the internal
consistency of the Word of God
Principle Twelve: Seek the Harmony
-There are no real
contradictions in the Bible.
Disagreements are in the human scope.
Contradictory verses
will actually complement one another and we gain understanding
Principle Thirteen: Consider the
Dispensation
-Dispensations are periods of history in which God
establishes different responsibilities for his people. Hebrew 7:12 refers to the change of
priesthood and a change of law. This is
in reference to a change in dispensations
Principle Fourteen: Be Careful with
Prophecy
-There is no room for unique attempts at interpretation of
prophecy. The interpreter of prophecy
actually puts together a large picture that has been cut into many thousands of
pieces (some 10,000 verses of prophecy.)
§
Determine
if the Prophet makes the interpretation
§
Determine
if the Prophecy has been historically fulfilled
§
Recognize
the Language of Prophecy
Rule
Four: Seek to Live the Christian Life by Properly Applying God’s Word
There are many applications but only one interpretation of
all scripture.
Principle Fifteen: Proper
Application is Built on Proper Interpretation
Step One: Pray for
understanding, recollection, and proper application or spiritual principles
James 1:5
Step Two: Seek to
correctly and fully understand the passage:
Study
2 Timothy
2:15
Step Three: Determine
the spiritual principle
Romans
13:8-10
Step Four: Examine your
life to see if you are in violation of scripture and submit God
1 John 1:9
Step Five: Walk in grace
and faith. We began in grace and faith
now we produce it.
Colossians
2:6, Ephesians 2:8-10
Six
Hindrances to Proper Interpretation:
1)
Carnality
Living in sin will have a tendency
to distort scriptural interpretation.
Since the Holy Spirit reveals truth
we must be in fellowship with him.
2) Vanity
Vanity is the quest for fame or
recognition. This can lead to improper
interpretation.
“Handling” the Word “accurately” (2
Timothy 2:15) includes being guided by the right motivation.
3) Partiality
Partiality is a prejudice based on
individual preferences and it basically distorts the text by thinking:
“I don’t want something
to be this way.”
4) Lack of Consistency
a) Practice of Consistent
Self-Evaluation and Confession of Sin
b) The Practice of Consistent Prayer
c) The Practice of consistent Study
5) Faulty Methodology
Our method of interpretation can hinder of accuracy. There are some who believe that only certain
Christians have been given the gift of interpreting God’s Word. We have all been given the word and are all
priests.
6) Faulty Reasoning
We cannot rely solely on our ability to reason out the
scriptures. We must be empowered by the
Holy Spirit.
.