Hermeneutics is the theory and practice of interpreting where interpretation comprises of understanding, which is justifiable. It is both a science and art of interpretation. The methodology does not only interpret texts but human experience as well. It includes different ways of interpreting texts or concepts to gain understanding. Therefore, hermeneutics aims to make the intelligible texts, theories of concepts intelligible and communicable. 1 From a theological perspective, Biblical hermeneutics studies the principles of Bible interpretation. It involves following specific processes that result in an understanding of scripture. Through such a systematic process, consistency in understanding the Bible is gained. The main purpose and aim of Biblical hermeneutics are to gain an understanding of what the Word communicated to that original audience, identify the timeless principles, and how the text applies to the current audience. Hermeneutics, as a text interpretation framework, can give guidance needed to solve issues related to interpretation texts and other important things by giving tools that are founded on empirical evidence. 2 The methodology deals with particular issues of interpretation that arise in different fields, among them theology. It describes how existence in totality works in that it is an undulating relationship between concealing and revealing.
The interpreter has an important and central role in text interpretation. An interpreter engages the text author in an empathic way in a 1-You relationship. 3 The role of the interpreter is to relive and reenact the encounter empathically, in cognitive and trans-cognitive ways, of the individual who wrote the text 4 . It, therefore, means that in interpretation, there exists a continuing relationship between the person who wrote the text and the one interpreting it. In addition, there exists a two-way influence seen between the scripture/text and its interpreter. The influence involves a dialogue instead of a monologue. Consequently, the process of interpretation involves a type of association between the text author and interpreter moving in synchrony with one another with the final goal of identifying the writer’s intended meaning. Therefore, the primary purpose of the interpreter is to construe what the text means. Interpreting texts is a goal-inclined action that can take various types but is different from identifying a text’s significance. It is a process that involves reconstruction of nexus of what a text means while focusing on the context both from a social and historical perspective that led to the writing of the text. Therefore, the interpreter’s role is beyond mere interpretation of sentences because it involves various essential inferences needed to understand the meaning of scriptures or text.
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Cultural distance is the most difficult challenge to overcome in Biblical interpretation. Culture, in most cases, determines how people perceive things and behave. All people come to the Bible with their cultural habits with deeply entrenched ways of interpreting the things around them. This to a large extent, may influence the understanding of text/scriptures. Culture cause human beings to see the Bible through some cracked and blurred lens. It blinds people to the intended meaning because of cultural pre-assumptions related to the reality of nature and existence. According to Klien, 5 “West individualism is so pervaded our thinking that even in the Church, we encounter interpretations that focus on individuals and never think about testing whether the text may have more corporate intentions.” When people start to understand the cultural context of the Bible, the appropriate meaning of words used in the scriptures is gained hence proper interpretation.
The Bible speaks to people from different cultural backgrounds. People cannot stop being Americans, Africans, or Asians because culture, although surrounded by sin, is an important gift given by God. The differences in our cultures as human beings and how it influences us to see the world around us is what makes cultural distance the most challenging in Biblical interpretation. The Bible was written in a culture different from many others; hence interpretation becomes difficult for people from diverse cultural backgrounds. To overcome this challenge requires increased cultural awareness and how one’s culture may hinder Bible interpretation and understanding. The easiest challenge to overcome in Biblical interpretation is geographical distance. Geography influences history. The more a person has an understanding of the land of the Bible, the more the person understands the Bible. The Bible is mainly centered on Israel, and understanding of the country’s geography is essential in understanding and interpreting the scriptures. 6 For example, one would be able to understand why Jonah opted to travel to Tarshish and not any other place when he was sent by God to deliver a message to Nineveh.
Learning the geography of a place is the easiest of all the challenges. Most people understand where Israel and other countries in the Middle East mentioned in the Bible are located and, to some extent, some details of their specific geographical factors. As a result, these countries do not appear far away from Bible readers, especially today, where the world has become a global village. Globalization is making people feel close to one another than ever before hence making geography less of a challenge. In addition, in an age where people value visiting different places, many are able to visit some of the places mentioned in the Bible, although some of the sites may not have a look they had during the Bible times. However, visiting the places provides some mental and visual idea of the geography of such places. Learning and understanding language can be difficult, but visiting a place or even studying it through other means is the easiest of all.
Bibliography
Beville, Kieran. How to Interpret the Bible: An Introduction to Hermeneutics . Christian Publishing House, 2016.
Chipao, Lawrence. Basics for Bible Interpretation: Biblical Hermeneutics . Luviri Press, 2017.
Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for all it’s Worth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.
Klien, WIlliam W., and Craig L. and Robert L. Hubbard Jr. Blomberg. Introduction to Biblical Interpretatioin. Nahsville: Thomas Nelson, 2004.
Noll, Mark A. “The Bible and Scriptural Interpretation.” Oxford Scholarship Online , 2017. doi:10.1093/oso/9780199683710.003.0014.
Oeming, Manfred. “A Foray into the History of Philosophical Hermeneutics with a Focus on Biblical Hermeneutics.” Contemporary Biblical Hermeneutics , 2017, 9-27. doi:10.4324/9781315259499-3.
1 Manfred Oeming. "A Foray into the History of Philosophical Hermeneutics with a Focus on Biblical Hermeneutics." Contemporary Biblical Hermeneutics , 2017, 9-27. doi:10.4324/9781315259499-3.
2 Lawrence Chipao. Basics for Bible Interpretation: Biblical Hermeneutics . Luviri Press, 2017.
3 Kieran Beville. How to interpret the Bible: An Introduction to Hermeneutics . Christian Publishing House, 2016.
4 Kieran Beville. H ow to interpret the Bible: An Introduction to Hermeneutics . Christian Publishing House, 2016.
5 WIlliam Klien, W., and Craig L. and Robert L. Hubbard Jr. Blomberg. Introduction to Biblical Interpretatioin. Nahsville: Thomas Nelson, 2004.
6 Mark Noll, A. "The Bible and Scriptural Interpretation." Oxford Scholarship Online , 2017. doi:10.1093/oso/9780199683710.003.0014.
