Definition: Hermeneutics

Reading books about biblical interpretation, one often comes across the word “hermeneutics.”  The word comes from the Greek word ἑρμηνεύω (ermeneuō, "translate", or "interpret").  Hermeneutics is the science of the interpretation of written texts and theories about how this should be done.

Some writers think that the word derives from the name of Hermes, the messenger of the Greek gods.  Hermes, in ancient Greek mythology, was the inventor of language and speech.

A specialized subset of the science is Biblical Hermeneutics, the study of the interpretation of the text of the books of the Bible.  Obviously for believers, the scriptures are more than just “text,” but a reverent study of the scriptures should include a study of everything about the scriptures.  An attempt must be made to understand the books of the Bible as one would other texts.

When was the text written? Where was it written?  By whom was it written?  To whom was it written?  What was the historical situation in which it was written?  Is it poetry, history, allegory, a song, a sermon, an expository treatise, or something else?  What was the original language and what special characteristics does that impart to the meaning of the text?