Bible Study Preparation

Servant Leadership School

September 21, 2003

Hermeneutic Methods

Hermeneutics is the science and art of interpreting the Scriptures.

There are different approaches –

1. Symbolic approaches

Many through church history have taken a symbolic approach to the Scriptures.

Augustine taught that every scripture had four levels of understanding: The “letter” which was the literal understanding, the “allegory” which was a symbolic interpretation, the “moral” understanding which gave a sense of what we were to do or not to do, and the “anagogy” which was a kind of deeper, mystical, spiritual understanding.

While Scripture may indeed be very, very deep, and may have many levels of understanding to it, the problem with this approach is that you’ll find that with each teacher, you’ll have a different interpretation as to what the verse means.

I have a hard time thinking that God meant for us to be confused as to what His Word means.

You’ll find these kinds of approaches in the very ancient commentaries.

It is proper to interpret Scripture symbolically, but only when the text is clearly symbolic.

There are different types of writings that require that we interpret things as symbolic, such as parts of Daniel and Revelation. The parables of Jesus also have a symbolic part to them as well.

2. Disconnected

This approach comes in many forms, but the idea is that you take a single verse and make it say whatever you want.

a. Proof Texting

This is where you will find a person taking a text to prove their point, and twisting the meaning of the passage to make it fit their theology.

Example:

The Mormons take the following verse as if it’s referring to Joseph Smith:

(Ezek 37:16-17 KJV) Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: {17} And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

For a person who is not versed in the Bible and not familiar with Ezekiel, this can knock you off guard. Until you study your Bible and come to realize that it’s talking about the split kingdom, the southern kingdom which was known as Judah, and the northern kingdom which was known as Ephraim, or, Joseph (who was the father of Ephraim), and their eventual reunification.

b. Springboarding

This is what many pastors were taught in the old days, to pick a “text” and build your sermon on it.

Usually what it meant was for the pastor to read the text, make a brief comment on it, and then launch into the things he really wanted to say. For many churches it meant that the pastor would talk about staying away from the movies, giving, and being baptized …in every sermon.

3. Grammar and History

This is the approach we take with interpreting Scripture.

We base our interpretation of Scripture upon what the passage is saying grammatically, and upon what the historical circumstances were.

Grammar

This means getting down to finding out what the text is saying (more on this next week)

Historical

Understanding the historical context of the book helps us understand what is happening.

Knowing when Isaiah was written answers a lot of mysteries, once you begin to learn about the Assyrian empire that ruled during Isaiah’s day.

Understanding Paul’s life and when he wrote the various epistles helps you understand the kinds of things he’s dealing with.

Culture

Sometimes it’s important to understand the way Bible cultures worked.

(1 Cor 11:5 KJV) But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

Some churches take this and the following verses to mean that women today must wear head coverings of some kind (either a hat or a veil). But it helps to understand that in Paul’s day in Corinth, only prostitutes that walked around without their heads covered. Could Paul simply be saying that women should be careful about looking like a prostitute when they come to church?

(1 Tim 2:15 KJV) Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

Though this single verse might sound as if Paul is saying that a woman can be saved by giving birth to children – it helps to remember that historically childbearing was a dangerous thing. Many women died in childbirth. It makes more sense to see this verse as Paul comforting women who are afraid of giving birth because after all they will be saved and go to heaven as long as they continue trusting in Jesus.