HERMENEUTICS Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation

Abstract

In the study of any subject there are four identifiable but overlapping developmental stages. The first stage involves the recognition of an area that is important and relevant but unexplored. Initial exploration involves identifying what is there. In the area of hermeneutics the primary question is, How do we understand the meaning of someone else’s words? In the second stage attempts are made to articulate certain broad principles characterizing the area of investigation. One set of conceptual categories is advanced, then others, as investigators try to develop conceptual systems that organize or explain the data cogently and coherently. For example, is the meaning of a text solely what the author intended it to mean, or does the meaning of a text change depending on what it means to each reader or hearer? During the third stage the focus shifts from elucidation of broad principles to the investigation of more specific principles. Investigators with various theoretical orientations pursue the study of specific principles, although they may start with different presuppositions and may disagree about which set of broad principles yields the most accurate conceptual system.