Hermeneutics

HERMENEUTICS:
the science and art of biblical interpretation

EXEGESIS:
to "draw out"
from the text

EISEGESIS:
to "read into"
the text

Why is there a need for hermeneutics?

"So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”...Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus."
- Acts 8:30,35

"And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people... the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading."
- Nehemiah 8:5,7b-8

"Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for[c] the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem."
- Luke 24:44-47

Study the Bible according to its literal, historical, grammatical meaning.

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures."
- 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Untitled Slide

"You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life."
- John 5:39-40

"And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself."
- Luke 24:25-27

"Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for[c] the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem."
- Luke 24:44-47

Jesus is the "Bread of Life"

Jesus is the "Door"

The sun
"rises over the mountains"

5 Questions to Ask

• What does this text teach about God and His character and ways?
• What does this text teach about fallen humanity?
• How does this text point to Christ?
• What does God want me to know?
• What does God want me to do?

Bible Study Strategies

• Pronounce it!
• Picture it!
• Probe it!
• Paraphrase it!
• Personalize it, pray it!

Discussion Questions

• Can you define the following terms? Hermeneutics, exegesis, & eisegesis.
• What is the literal, historical, grammatical approach to biblical interpretation?
• What are 5 questions to ask when interpreting any Scripture passage?
• What are some of your favorite Bible study methods?
• Who is the hero of the Bible?

Sources/Recommended Reading

• Moody Handbook of Theology - Dr Paul Enns
• Basic Bible Interpretation - Dr Roy B Zuck
• Bible Study Methods - Dr Rick Warren