hermeneutics (ἑρμηνευτική in Greek, hermēneutikē).
🔹 What It Means
Hermeneutics is the discipline of interpreting texts, especially Scripture, in context. It asks,
“What did this mean to the original hearers, and what does it mean for us today?”
🔹 How It’s Used in Bible Study
It includes:
- Historical context — the geography, culture, customs, and political setting.
- Literary context — how a verse fits within a paragraph, book, and canon.
- Linguistic study — original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words.
- Theological context — how the passage fits within God’s redemptive plan. What does this show of God's nature?
- Authorial intent & audience — what the author meant and what the readers understood.
🔹 Related Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Exegesis | Drawing meaning out of the text by careful study. Let the words speak for themselves. What do they say? NOT What do I want them to say? |
| Eisegesis | Reading one’s own ideas into the text. This is a dangerous practice where most false teaching and practices come from. It takes things out of context and twists them into what we want them to say. There are several warnings aboit this practice in the Bible. |
| Textual criticism | Comparing manuscripts to determine the most accurate original wording. Comparing scripture with other scripture. |
| Biblical theology | Tracing a theme (like covenant or Sabbath) through Scripture. |
So your “reading the Bible in context, critical text analysis, etc.” all fall under hermeneutics and its tools (especially exegesis and textual criticism).
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