BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS: ORIGIN, TYPES, INTERPRETATION, BOOKS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The biblical hermeneutics is a science that focuses on the interpretation of the Bible and related writings. It is a technique that offers the guidelines on which the analysis of the texts should be based.

This science is in charge of elaborating the principles on which the exegetes or biblical interpreters should be governed for an effective study of the sacred books of the Old and New Testaments.

Sacred text. Via Free-Photos. Source: pixabay.com

Hermeneutics holds that biblical exegesis should not be taken lightly, which could lead to misinterpretations and cause a bias in the meaning of scripture.

With respect to the methods of interpreting the Bible, in the past there were great differences between philosophers, theologians and scholars interested in the teachings embodied in the books. For some, the most recommended procedure for biblical exegesis was the so-called literal, the first method of interpretation that was introduced by the Hebrews.

The first known hermeneut was Ezra, who dedicated himself to interpreting the Bible literally in order to spread his teachings to the people of Israel.

The literal method proposes an analysis of the sacred books based on the study of words, passages and literary resources according to the historical and cultural context of the time in which they were written.

Another position that became quite strong was the allegorical one that, unlike the literal one, supposed a background in the words embodied in the Bible that was related to the spiritual or religious aspect.

The allegorical interpretation gained many adherents and stopped the evolution of biblical exegesis until the period known as the Protestant Reformation, in which the literal method was retaken as the main procedure for the analysis of the sacred writings.

Origin and history

The origin of biblical hermeneutics was revealed by Esdras (480–440 BC), who was in charge of making the first interpretations of the sacred books.

Esdras focused on the deep study of biblical texts in order to decipher the meaning of the words, as well as the passages that had been embodied in the Bible.

The method he used for the analysis was literal, which consists of an interpretation that aims not to alter the meaning of what is written and to seek explanations based on the historical and cultural contexts that were part of the time.

The method of literal interpretation was applied by the rabbis until the 1st century and was used to carry out the exegesis of the Old and New Testaments.

From the 1st century on, a new methodology for the interpretation of the scriptures known as allegorical was introduced, which included the spiritual part or religion in the analyzes.

The forerunner of allegorical hermeneutics was the Alexandrian Origen (184 - 253). It should be noted that from this time until the 16th century with the reform, no advances were experienced in biblical interpretation.

During the reform, great contributions were produced that laid the foundations for the evolution of hermeneutics, such as those of Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466 - 1536), who was in charge of elaborating the principles for the grammatical interpretation of sacred writings.

The reform contributed to establishing the principles of biblical hermeneutics with the literal method for analysis, which must be rigorously followed.

Background

The antecedents of biblical hermeneutics date back to 537 BC. C., when the Jews were released from their exile in Babylon and allowed to return to Israel.

After a long period in exile, many of the Hebrews on returning to their homeland had forgotten the language and instead replaced it with Aramaic.

In this sense, it was impossible for them to access the readings of the sacred texts since, regardless of whether they had been written in their native language, they could not understand them.

The aforementioned Ezra led a group of Hebrews from exile to Israel and dedicated himself to instructing them about the teachings of the holy books. Therefore, scribe can be considered as one of the forerunners of the science of interpreting biblical teachings known as hermeneutics.

For the analysis and interpretation of the sacred scriptures, Esdras adhered to the literal method that consists of taking the words or passages and studying them according to the historical and cultural context of the time.

Hermeneutics was carried out based on the content without altering its meaning and, to achieve a greater degree of understanding, the literary figures used and the meaning of the scriptures for the language of the period under study had to be analyzed.

Etymology

The term hermeneutics refers to the exercise of interpreting or explaining texts or writings. As it relates specifically to the Bible, it is also associated with the term exegesis, which is its synonym.

The word hermeneutics comes from the Greek hermeneutikos, which is a composition between the terms hermeneuo whose meaning is I decipher, tekhné that is associated with the word art and the suffix tikos that is interpreted as related to.

Therefore, hermeneutics refers to the art based on the interpretation of, in this case, the scriptures or sacred books. On the other hand, the meaning of the term is related to Hermes, a god in Greek mythology who was in charge of helping the gods in transmitting messages.

Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics

The interpretation must be attached to the words

The study of biblical texts must be carried out in such a way that there is no change in the meaning of the words contained therein. For this, the writers used a simple language adapted to their time.

Hermeneuts must base their work on an analysis of the words and take into consideration the language corresponding to the time in which they were written.

Exegetes must deepen their knowledge of the grammatical figures that were used to write the texts and illustrate the teachings such as similes, prose, parables, among others.

Take into consideration the whole context

Several of the passages included in the sacred books lack the possibility of being interpreted on their own since they are interconnected with others that give them meaning.

Give importance to the historical and cultural context

The sacred books partly expose aspects related to the historical events and the cultural characteristics of the time in which they were written. This is what the interpreter should pay special attention to.

The teachings are exposed in several sections

Some of the topics that were included in the sacred books as a teaching are exposed in different passages, which the hermeneut must bear in mind.

Types of hermeneutics

Literal

The literal interpretation holds that the words or passages should be taken according to their meaning, which is a true reflection of the historical context, cultural aspects and, on many occasions, the stories were captured with the use of grammatical figures.

Source: pixabay.com. Many theologians, philosophers and scholars were interested in the interpretation of the content of the Bible.

Moral

It focuses on that the interpretations must take into account that in the Bible there are various teachings related to ethics, which must be extracted.

Allegorical

Allegorical exegesis refers to the fact that the analysis must emphasize the information that is hidden between the lines, which is generally related to the religious character of the Bible.

Mysticism

Mystical exegesis is based on an interpretation of the sacred books that gives it a predictive quality with respect to the narration of future events that are hidden in the middle of the scriptures.

Featured Books of Biblical Hermeneutics

There are many works that have been prepared in order to facilitate the interpretation of the sacred scriptures, of some passages, verses, principles or methods of exegesis.

Among the most outstanding in regard to the development of hermeneutics as a science is the most important work of the representative of the Antioch school, Theodore of Mopsuestia (350 - 428) called Adversus Allegoricos.

The author in this work carried out a literal exegesis of the Old Testament characterized by an interpretation adapted to the historical context of the time in which it was written.

Diodorus of Tarso, belonging to the Antioch school, carried out a historical exegesis of the Bible through his most relevant work Ti s diaphorà theorias kaí allegorias.

On the other hand, Juan Augusto Ernesti during the 18th century was the forerunner, so to speak, of a biblical exegesis that relies on rigorous analytical methods. His most outstanding work, which has long served as a reference for biblical hermeneuts, is called the Institutio Interpretis Novi Testamenti ad usus lectionum (1761).

The relevance of this work, whose translation is "Principles of Interpretation of the New Testament", focuses on the literal and exact exegesis that the author of the sacred scriptures carried out.

References

1. Etymological Dictionary- de Chile. Hermeneutics. Taken from etimilogias.dechile.net
2. Hermeneutics. Taken from ecured.cu
3. Encyclopedia Britannica. Hermeneutics. Principles of Biblical Interpretation. Taken from britannica.com
4. Inductive Study of the Bible. General rules of Interpretation. Taken from indubiblia.org
5. Ferraris, M, History of Hermeneutics. Taken from books.google.com
6. Hermeneutics. (2012). Hermeneutics-How to study the Bible. Taken from comoestudiarlabiblia.blogspot
7. Sánchez, CJM, Biblical Hermeneutics and Theology. University of Navarra. Taken from unav.edu
8. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2016). Hermeneutics. Taken from Stanford.edu
9. Hermeneutics. Taken from en.wikipedia.org