PENTECOST UNIVERSITY ELDERS’ TRAINING PROGRAMME BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS COURSE LEADER: APS DR BEN ALI COURSE DESCRIPTION AND BIBLIOGRAPHIES BTBS 115 HermeneuticsPART ONE LECTURE ONE INTRODUCTION TO HERMENEUTICS > DEFINITION: The word hermeneutics, is derived from 2 Hellenic god called Hermes. In Acts 14:2, when Paul and Barnabas visited Lystra, the cys inhabitant believed that they were Hermes (Mercury, the Roman equivalent) and Zeus Gupiter, the Roman equivalent) respectively who had come to them in the likeness ‘of human beings. Paul, being the chief speaker was associated with Hermes, the ‘god of rhetoric (public speaking) or interpreter of the gods. Traditionally, hermeneutics had been limited to the study of rules or principle forthe’ interpretation of particular texts or documents, However, this definition is too narrow. Hermeneutics covers the complete process of explanation or interpretation, which involves written, verbal, and nonverbal forms of ‘communication, The word hermeneutics therefore is derived from the Greek word ‘hermaneo meaning to interpret of to explain. Hermeneutics isthe science and art of interpretation, an art because it has to do with patience, humility, hard work, prayer and reliance on the Holy Spirit Its a science because it deals with ‘observation, collation of material, analysis ofthe data, interpretation ofthe material and drawing conclusions, thus providing a logical, orderly dassiication (of the laws of interpretation, DEFINITION OF EXEGESIS But similar area of study called exegesis has to do only with the written text. To find out what the original text meant tothe biblical author and his hearers has to do with a task called exegesis. Exegesis isthe attempt to hear the message as the original recevers of the message were to have heard it, and to find out the original idea the receivers of the message were to hear it, and to find out the original idea of the writers of the Bible, A good knowledge ofthe biblical languages is very helpful in this direction, but one does not have to be a Hebrew or Greek scholar to be able to do this. Jewish rabbis have a term for exegesis called micrash which was derived from the Hebrew word darash mening to seek out’ or ‘to find out. Thus, exegesis ‘means finding out ~ a strategy for reading a biblical text and reconciling it with the rest of the writen Scriptures ‘Two most common views of Christian exegesis are revealed and rational. Revealed ‘exegesis holds that the biblical authors were inspired by the Holy Spr in the writing ofthe Bible. Its therefore believed that the texts contain divine revelation, and for that reason the Bible has a "fuller meaning” than its human writers intended. Rational exegesis on the other hand has its basis in the fact that the texts result from human inteligence, and therefore the authors had their own interpretation, As tecostals, we prefer revealed to rational exegesisTHE HERMENEUTICAL TASK The aim of the hermeneutical task is to study the word of God and to present it to another. The hermeneutical task has three aspects: 1, What the text meant to the writer and his audience at the time of writing - exegesis (that is the third person approach), 2.What the Scriptures means to me devotional (that is the first- person approach), 3, How to share with another what the text means to me — sermonic (that is the second person approach), The levels are however interdependent and are essential to a full scale method of study. EISEGESIS > This is the act by preachers or students of the word of God trying to read meaning into a text. It is the process of interpreting a text or portion of a text in such a way that the process introduces one’s own presuppositions, agendas or biases into a text. This is contrary to exegesis that has to do with reading meaning out of a text.LECTURE TWO REASONS FOR INTERPRETATION Itis sometimes asserted, ‘you do not have to interpret the Bible, just read it and do what it says. This is one way of saying that the Bible is not an obscure book for any person can read it and understand it. Itis worth noting from the outset that the inspiration of the Bible does not guarantee infalible interpretations, What it says and what people interpret it to say are not always the same, The reasons assigned for Bible interpretation is therefore the subject of this section, > (2.4) ALL DOCUMENTS NEED INTERPRETATION ‘Any document, ancient or modern, needs to be interpreted if itis to be understood. Whatever the documents, the interpreter must be careful not to distort the meaning, for example, a country’s constitution, the Bible and even a church's circular letters. > (2.2) HISTORICAL DISTANCE The second reason why we need to interpret is that, from the first century AD, through the Middle Ages, the gulf between the New Testament world and the later generations were not great. From the renaissance to the present century, the gulf has widened, and today the modern person can scarcely appreciate many features of the ancient world and its outlook that are simply assumed by the authors of the Bible. For example how do we Interpret the word lamp as used in the Bible for the contemporary reader?> 2.3 HUMAN BEINGS DIFFER Interpretation is necessary because human beings differ from one another in intellect, aesthetic taste, morals, nationality and culture. These make them differ in their understanding of Issues that naturally cause them to drift apart mentally. > (2.4) WHAT GOES ON ARROUND US Another reason for interpretation is to be found in what goes on around Us. Many passages are usually not applied in the same way they were applied the time they were written. When a passage is applied, it mus be in keeping with a correct interpretation. The rise of cults are often result of wrong interpretations of the biblical texts. Examples include the use of anointing oll, the observance of the Sabbath LECTURE THREE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE INTERPRETER/PREACHER It is the wish of God to be able to communicate with every human being, yet not just anyone can understand Scripture. The prerequisite for truly understanding the word of God is faith ‘An unbeliever may understand some revealed truth, but that person cannot expect to fully comprehend any truth revealed in God’s word. The conditions for or the qualifications needed for one to be able to understand and interpret scripture are:+ Regeneratio {An unregenerate person cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:6-16 and 2 Corinthians 2:15-18). To qualify to properly interpret the scriptures, initial faith is necessary. The Holy Spirit is the author and great interpreter of the Holy Scriptures (John 16:13) Without the Holy Spirit, all efforts at fully understanding the word of God are doomed to failure. + Fullness of the Spirit: Itis also a necessity that the student of the Scriptures be Spirit - filled. This is so because if one does not walk in the Spirit, that one is likely to be motivated by the flesh and blare one’s spiritual vision (Galatians 5:16 - 21) + Prayer Diale Ones Spiritual VISION (walatially 9.10 21. + Prayer The scriptures teach, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5). It is not enough to experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; faith in the author of the Word of God must be expressed. True faith is evidenced in prayer. One must ask, seek, and knock in order to gain the knowledge of the Scriptures. If one is to understand the Bible, there must be an active dependence on the Spirit of God, our interpreter. Human beings are fallible, while the Holy Spirit is infallible. Since the Holy Spirit is the author of the Bible, we need His illumination through the word in order to understand the Bible. It is through prayer that this help from the Spirit can be met. Martin Luther said, ‘To pray well isto study well."+ Commitment Prayer and regeneration alone cannot qualify a person to understand Scripture. Faith in God means commitment, yielding to the Bible; its message, its meaning, and God, its author. The one ‘who has full confidence in Scripture will make the commitment that is necessary in order to fully understand the Bible. It is only ‘one who is determined to obey the word of God who can understand it. Commitment to obedience entails hard work to study to show oneself approved unto God (2 Timothy 2:15) - ‘Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” A good Bible student is one who will use all the resources that God has made available to enable him / her to understand scripture with a view to obeying it + Humility James 1:21 reads, ‘Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.” It is very appropriate for us to be humble since we are dealing with God’s word, and also because of our nature. ‘Furthermore, we are fallen and see reality only indirectly, veiled by sin.’ In order to come to the knowledge of the truth, humility is very essential. Again, we need to be humble enough to come back to accept our wrong interpretations of scripture and to correct them. It was the practice of the Church to pray for a corps before file past, but humbly, our fathers, after rightfully interpreting Scripture from 2 Corinthians 5:8, put a stop to the practice.+ Deep reverence for God The biblical interpreter must have a deep reverence for God and his word (Colossians 4:16; Revelation 3:14-22). + Relevant Academic Qualifications One with a fair amount of education is an aid to interpretation, It is even more advantageous if the biblical interpreter has knowledge of the biblical languages, namely, Biblical Greek and Biblical Hebrew (and perhaps Aramaic). The use of relevant tools, for example the biblical languages and certain books such as, Bible dictionaries, concordances, commentaries, and other equipment will aid in interpretation of the Scriptures.