Hermeneutics and Exegesis – Defined
For a friend
Hermeneutics and exegesis is used by theologians, but is used as well by any literary critic (say, someone critically looking into Homer, or Plato), as the non-theological dictionary definitions show. It has been used for 2,500 years.
Muslim
Hermeneutics - Defined
her·me·neu·tics
1. the science of interpretation, esp. of the Scriptures.
2. the branch of theology that deals with the principles of Biblical exegesis.
(Random House Webster CD-Rom Dictionary, 1999)
her·me·neu·tics – (Gk., hermeneuo, to explain, interpret) Branch of theology dealing with the principles governing Biblical exegesis and interpretation. It is concerned with various types of interpretation, as allegorical and literal, multiple meanings and senses, and the role of historical criticism. The four principle hermeneutical approaches are romanticist, existential, ontological, and socio-critical. in the romanticist tradition, the goal of the interpreter is to reach behind the text to the mind of its author. Existential hermeneutics interprets the Bible in terms of the interpreter’s own life situation. Ontological hermeneutics interprets the meaning of the Bible in the light of the reality it is attempting to create. Socio-critical hermeneutics examines the social traditions and assumptions underpinning Biblical narratives.
(Nelson’e New Christian Dictionary 2001)
her·me·neu·tics – Traditionally the sub-discipline of theology concerned with the proper interpretation of scriptural texts. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the term widened to include the discipline that seeks to understand the interpretation of text in general, including the proper roles and relationships among author, reader, and text. Still, more broadly, the term has been used by philosophers such as Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Riceur to refer to the attempt to articulate the nature of understanding itself, with an emphasis on the role of interpretation as a key component in all human knowing.
(Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion, 2002)
her·me·neu·tics – From the Greek hermeneutikos, “interpretation.” Hermeneutics is the science of the study and interpretation of Scripture, the branch of theology that prescribes rules by which the Bible should be interpreted. Biblical hermeneutics strives to formulate guidelines for studying Scripture that help recover the meaning a Biblical text had for its original hearers.
(The Compact Dictionary of Doctrinal Words, 1988)
Exegesis - Defined
ex·e·ge·sis – From the Greek meaning “interpretation,” from ex, “out,” and hegeisthai, “to guide.” Exegesis is a method of attempting to understand a Bible passage. The reader of Scripture studies the word meanings and grammar of the text to discern what… was communicated, drawing the meaning out of the text rather than reading what he wants into the text (isegesis).
(The Compact Dictionary of Doctrinal Words, 1988)
ex·e·ge·sis – (Gk., explanation) Critical exposition or explanation of the meaning of a scriptural passage in the context of the whole Bible.
(Nelson’e New Christian Dictionary 2001)
ex·e·ge·sis – critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of a text, esp. of the Bible.
(Random House Webster CD-Rom Dictionary, 1999)
ex·e·ge·sis – critical explanation of the meaning of words and passages in a literary or Biblical work.
(Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary, 1986)
ex·e·ge·sis – interpretation of a word, passage, esp., in the Bible.
(Webster’s New World Dictionary, 1994)
Theology Defined
Theology has been various defined as the “science of God,” or “the study of the nature of God and religious truth.” It presents man's knowledge of God in an organized body, including revealed (divine) and human knowledge. Theology has been referred to as “fides quaerens intellectum” or “faith seeking understanding.”
Christian Theology
Christian theology is based on God's revealed truth and employs the tools of various academic disciplines to enrich it, from history and logic, to hermeneutics (methodology of interpreting the Bible to discover its meaning) and philosophy. In Catholic teaching, the Magisterium of the Church (its teaching authority) guides the believer in understanding revealed truth. In the Protestant traditions, the individual believer is often encouraged to discover the meaning of Scripture based on their own study. Sound Christian theology requires sound Biblical exegesis (process of bringing the meaning of a text to light). Theology is subdivided in to categories such as moral theology, Christology (the study of the person of Christ), ecclesiology (the study of the Church), sacramentology (the study of the sacraments), etc. In the first four hundred years of the early Christian community, the Church, which came to be referred to as catholic (the Greek word katholickos means “universal”) after the usage of church fathers like Ignatius of Antioch, struggled to find vocabulary to explain who the person of Christ is and to define the Holy Trinity. This was necessary because of heretical challenges that led the Church to develop a new vocabulary (e.g., the hypostatic union).
Christian
Eight Rules of Interpretation
"...the Eight Rules of Interpretation used by legal experts for more than 2500 years.
Rule of Definition.
Define the term or words being considered and then adhere to the defined meanings.
Rule of Usage.
Don't add meaning to established words and terms. What was the common usage in the cultural and time period
when the passage was written?
Rule of Context.
Avoid using words out of context. Context must define terms and how words are used.
Rule of Historical background.
Don't separate interpretation and historical investigation.
Rule of Logic.
Be certain that words as interpreted agree with the overall premise.
Rule of Precedent.
Use the known and commonly accepted meanings of words, not obscure meanings for which their is no precedent.
Rule of Unity.
Even though many documents may be used there must be a general unity among them.
Rule of Inference.
Base conclusions on what is already known and proven or can be reasonably implied from all known facts.
Quote
"It will be worth your time to acquaint yourself with these rules and commit them to memory or jot them in the flyleaf of your Bible. Using them will keep you free from cultism and false teachings. All the early Church Fathers used them. Irenaeus used them when he wrote Against Heresies, which dealt with Gnosticism and other untruths. Every law court religiously follows them and honest theologians dare not violate them. Much false teaching is the result of violating one or more of these universal rules of interpretation."
http://www.gospelcom.net/apologeticsindex/...1.html#articles
