Contents

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................2
What is Hermeneutics?................................................................................................................................2
The history of Scripture Interpretation........................................................................................................4
Heroes of the Faith..................................................................................................................................4
What is a Church?...................................................................................................................................4
The Jewish persecution............................................................................................................................6
Persecution under the Roman Empire......................................................................................................7
The Neronian Persecution....................................................................................................................8
Exegesis.......................................................................................................................................................9
Historical Context..................................................................................................................................10
Date...................................................................................................................................................12
Authorship.........................................................................................................................................12
Location.............................................................................................................................................13
Audience............................................................................................................................................13
Genre.................................................................................................................................................14
The importance for interpretation..........................................................................................................14
The Readers as an interpreter.................................................................................................................14
The nature of the scripture.....................................................................................................................15
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................16
Bibliography..............................................................................................................................................17
 Introduction
The source of all our knowledge of God is his active revelation of himself we do not know God
by our own understanding, but He reveals Himself to us by His Word. Hermeneutics is the study
or the science of biblical interpretation based on Biblical text or the branch of knowledge that
deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary texts. Having a proper understanding
of His Word the more knowledgeable we became the more souls can be brought into the
kingdom. “The entrance of your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple” (Ps
119:130 NKJV). According to Dr. Kris God’s word is the final revelation. According to God’s
Word, the Word cannot return to Him void, but must accomplish whatever He has sent to do
derived from Isaiah; However, the context of the topic at hand, scholars from the 1st century
came up with a method of interpreting God’s Word by introducing the roles of interpretation,
principals of Hermeneutics and the five basics of Hermeneutics also God can only disclose
himself and communicate his truth in historical theological context of how is people worshipped
Him. The Old Testament church was a group called assembly, who were called to represent God
so that gentiles may come to worship him while the New testament Church is the body of
believers who have been called out from the world, and who are under the dominion and
authority of Jesus Christ. The role and importance of hermeneutics everybody need to have and
understanding of Biblical history and laterally cultural.
What is Hermeneutics?
According to Professor Kennedy D. Banda, Hermeneutics is the study or the science of biblical
interpretation based on Biblical text or the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation,
especially of the Bible or literary texts. According to Henry A. Virkler, the word hermeneutics is
said to have its origin in the name Hermes, the Greek god who served as messenger for the gods,
transmitting and interpreting their communications to their privilege, or often unfortunate,
recipients. By the first century, the verb form “hermeneuo” was used to mean “explain,”
“interpret,” or “translate.” According to Karelynne Gerber Ayayo Hermeneutics comes from an
ancient Greek word language hermenuein which means to utter, explain or translate.1 These
words are ultimately sourced back to Hermes the Greek mythological god who brought the
messages of the gods to the mortals.2 According to my understanding the word hermeneutics is
the art of the interpretation of the Biblical text. And it is a verb word that appears three times in

1
Jens Zimmermann, HERMENEUTICS; a very short introduction , OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Great Clarendon
street, 2005,Pp.3
2
Dr. Stephen R. Lewis, HERMENEUTICS; THE STUDY OF THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURES, Chafer Theological
Seminary,
the New Testament, each time with the sense of translating from one language to another (John
1:42; 9:7; Heb. 7:2), the word interpretation means an act of translating and explaining of a
language to another language that can be understood. Remembering from the day of Pentecost,
we get an understanding how the disciples where filled with power of the Holy Spirit. An
incident happened when other individuals from different places, who came for the festive, they
heard the disciples speaking in unknown tongues which amused them, and others thought maybe
they are drank with wine, for that reason Peter stood up preached, and three thousands believers
were added to the kingdom. Getting senses from the Pastoral Epistles, Paul’s emphasis was that
everyone should do his best to present himself to God without spot and able to interpret the
scripture correctly and must be influenced by the Holy. However, the scripture below gives us a
big picture on how the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to give the instruction to his son in faith
Timothy, “he should do his best to present himself to God as one approved, a workman who
does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:15 NIV).
Hermeneutics helps one to have an outstanding understanding of the scripture that has been
pressed into is heart by the Holy Spirit so that the word can be correctly applied in people’s lives
without making mistakes. This word is ultimately sourced back to Hermes the Greek
mythological god who brought the messages of the gods to the mortals.”3 The Word of God is
the only primary source for training believers, after so many researches, I have learnt to be fully
equipped as a soldier of Christ. One has to pass through trainings which makes him ready for the
second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Likewise, a civilian cannot be called a soldier if he or
she has not passed through all the military trainings, trainings makes them to become war
experts. From this sense hermeneutics trains a person to become fully equipped as a soldier of
Christ who is capable of understanding the rules of interpretation of biblical texts, “All Scripture
is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17 NIV).

The Bible is the only book that shaped the entire world, and it is the only book that has given us
proof on how everything came to be. Pagans think the world was part of the sun that took
millions of year to cool down but the Word defends itself from genesis, in the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth. Later, He started to create trees and living creatures not just a
big bang theory. A lot of atheists have deceived a lot of people with things just from their

3
Dr. Stephen R. Lewis, HERMENEUTICS; THE STUDY OF THE INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURES, Chafer Theological
Seminary,
minds instead of allowing the word of God to speak to them. ”And the things you have heard
me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to
teach others” (2 Tim 2:2 NIV).
The history of Scripture Interpretation
Heroes of the Faith
We cannot understand the rules of interpretation without first understanding the background of
the history and the persecution of the church in the 1st century and the individual who were
inspired by the Holy Spirit for translating the Bible from its original translating to what we see
today.
What is a Church?
According to Merrill the Greek word for Church is “Ecclesia” which means “Assembly” which
is used by ancient authors for the place of worship; also a church is a group of believers who
have been called out from the world to be under the authority and dominion of our Lord Christ
Jesus. “Church is the term used in the New Testament most frequently to describe a group of
persons professing trust in Jesus Christ, meeting together to worship Him, and seeking to enlist
others to become His followers.”4 In the OT the church was called an assembly because the
church was a mystery to them that’s the reason why all the prophets and the Jews did not
understand anything about the coming of the Lord and savior Jesus Christ who is going to
establish a church of those who believe in Him, so this was a mystery to them. However, what
they were expecting is a political or military Messiah who was to deliver them from the Roman
bondage. ” The emphasis in the New Testament is on the church as a living organism rather than
an organization. It is the presence of the living Lord that authenticates the local church, which in
turn is an expression of the universal church.”
The first church started with the disciples and other believers who came in one accord waiting
for what was promised to the church, that the believers will receive power when the Holy Spirit
will indwell them and they will be witnesses and will be influenced by the Holy Spirit to preach
the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. “They all joined together constantly in prayer,
along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. In those days Peter
stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty)” (Acts 1:14-16
NIV). They experienced the power of the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages
and when other people who came for the festival heard the shouting they thought maybe the
disciples and other believers were drank with wine. But peter stood up and preached with
4
TRENT C. BUTLER, PH.D, HOLMAN BIBLE DICTIONARY, HOLMAN BIBLE PUBLISHERS, NASHVILLE, 1991, Pp.259.
boldness and three thousand believers where added to the kingdom. Persecution arise in (acts 3)
when Peter and John healed a lame man at the gate called beautiful. “The priests, the captain of
the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the
people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and
proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. They seized Peter and John, and because it
was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. But many who heard the message believed,
and the number of men grew to about five thousand” (Acts 4:1-4NIV). It was William Tyndale
who paved the way for translating of the Bible from the original languages into English, and this
ministry cost his life. He experienced shipwreck, his precious manuscript was lost, the
established church hounded and persecuted him, and secret agents were constantly after him.
And the police even raided the print shop where his translation was being published. Some of his
“friends” betrayed him, Tyndale was arrested in 1535 in Belgium, and in 1536 he was strangled
and burned at stake.5
The Jewish persecution
It is practically as painful to read on how the Christians were hated by Jews as it is to learn of
horrible events during the foundation of the Christian faith. The persecution started with Jesus
Christ they persecuted him because He called Himself to be the son of God. However, the Jews
denied the truth that Jesus was truly the son of God also that He is the one who is going to set
them free from sin. The Pharisees understood that Jesus could be the promised Messiah because
of the miracles He performed, but their foolishness laid them, they denied Him and hanged Him
on the cross in order to protect the relationship with the Romans, trying to avoid the further
punishment from the Emperor Caesar who was the ruler of the Roman Empire at that time.
Nevertheless, they never stopped the persecution; they persecuted anyone who preached in the
name of Jesus Christ. In the 1st century after the crucifixion Christ, “The disciples hid themselves
behind locked doors because of the Jews; with the coming of the Holy Spirit at the day of
Pentecost they received boldness to go out and preach the results was persecution.”6
In the early church the persecution started with Peter and John for preaching, after they healed
the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the temple (Act 3) followed by the death of Stephen (chap
7), before long Herod Agrippa executed James and imprisoned Peter (chap 12) . “But since it
involves questions about words and names and your own law settle the matter yourselves; I will
not be a judge of such things” (Acts 18:15 NIV). However, we get an idea of the background of

5
Warren W. Wiersbe, Victorious Christian; you should know, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1984, Pp. 7.
6
Merrill C. Tenney, The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Revised Edition, Grand Rapids, 2009, Pp.796.
harsh treatment given towards Christians in the 1st century church, “Jews sometimes stirred up
trouble, Christian preaching often created wider disturbances (something those in authority
always dis-liked), and Christian teaching threatened pagan society.”7
Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ, before his conversion, he used to persecute Christians; he was the
one involved in the killing of Stephen who was the disciple of Jesus Christ. Paul (Saul) was
trained as a Pharisee under Gamaliel, who had been a leader in the attacks on the Christians
(Acts 9:1–9; Phil. 3:6). Later his transformation was on the road to Damascus when he met
Christ, and became one of the people who lead the missionary of the movement, carrying the
gospel to Asia and other parts of the earth. He became so effective in the winning of souls for
Christ; thereafter, he could occasionally fell under the religious authorities of the Jewish
movement and of the Roman local authorities resulting into beating, imprisonment, and
sometimes, he could find himself fighting with wild animals at Ephesus (1 Cor. 15:32). In
conclusion, “Paul was arrested in a tumult raised by the Jews in Jerusalem; he appealed to Rome
for justice and was sent there in chains. Eventually he was executed, according to tradition, in the
persecution of the Christians that took place at the close of Nero’s reign (A.D. 66).”8
Persecution under the Roman Empire
According to the teachings of Jesus, the Christian was a constant unspoken condemnation of the
pagan way of life; no because they went criticizing and condemning them and disapproving, nor
was he consciously self-righteous and superior, it was simply the Christian the pagan life ethics.
To understand the reasons behind the Roman persecution of the Christian church, we must first
survey the nature of the Roman religions how they observed and what religion meant to them.
Although different scholars have recommended a move toward a single deity (god or goddess)
during the early Empire, observations of the religion that cannot be greatly executed on the
Roman world. Roman religion was a group of beliefs directed at bringing about the co-operation
of other gods, who were themselves intimately, bound up on daily workings of Roman life.
There was no personal relationship with the gods, as there is in Christianity and worship was
very public, rather than a secret. Religion was not seen as fulfilling one’s own spiritual needs,
but rather those of the state. “Other religions, however, were allowed in Rome, and the
authorities tended to implement a peaceful stand with such foreign religions, even turning to
them during times of worry, such as the importation in the 3rd century BC, at the order of the

7
Everett Ferguson, Church History: From Christ to Pre-Reformation, Zondervan, Grand Rapids,2005, Pp68
8
Merrill C. Tenney, The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, (Revised Edition), Grand Rapids, 2009, Pp.796.
senate, of Æsculapius from Greece following a particularly bad plague.”9 Mostly speaking, the
Roman citizens were permitted to experiment with other cults, as long as they remained loyal to
the state religion, and as long as the cult did not pose a threat to the state.
However, Christianity was different; its followers were perceived as lawbreakers and despised
throughout the Empire, though very few really understood why. The movement of Christianity
and the preaching of the message of grace threaten the pagans; for instance, “the presence of
Christians had been the occasion of a disturbance in Rome during the reign of Claudius, who
expelled Jews from the city (Acts 18:2) because of agitation over “Chrestus” Popular turmoil
was also a chief cause of persecution later.”10 As the church advanced beyond the borders of
Judaism, the Jewish hatred to the Christians became too intense; With the Christian church
expansion, however, the church increasingly came into direct conflict with the authorities,
especially those of Rome.
The Neronian Persecution
According to Dr. Steve Anderson the first persecution began with the ruler-ship of Nero the
emperor of Rome who used to deep Christians in oil and burned them to make torch lights for his
palace, “Nero used them to amuse the people. Some were dressed in furs, to be killed by dogs.
Others were crucified. Still others were set on fire early in the night, so that they might illumine
it.”11 However, according to Professor Kennedy Banda, in 64 A.D, a terrible fire broke out in the
grand city of Rome, where it raged for almost six days, and ravaged most of the city. Out of
twelve districts in Rome, only four did not burn. Thousands of people died and quarter of Rome
was leveled. In the aftermath, remorse swirled like flies; some even blamed the emperor of
starting the inferno (which was a true rumor). According to my research, Nero’s plan was to burn
the city and rebuild it, calling it Neropolis. To protect himself, Nero would have to act fast. And
so he did. His type of ruler-ship was called a monarch and he reigned for a period of five years,
with tolerable recognition to himself, but then contributed to the greatest persecution of
Christians. The Emperor permitted other cults as long as long as they remain loyal to him but
Christianity was a very different issue, Christian ethics do not worship other god’s beside to the
one true God, so they rejected other gods, so Nero hated them for that reason, he accused them of
setting up the fire. “Moreover he commanded Rome to be set on fire in twelve places, and soon
continued it six days and nights in burning, while that he, to see the examples how troy burned,
9
Merrill C. Tenney, The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, (Revised Edition), Pp.177.
10
Everett Ferguson, Church History: From Christ to Pre-Reformation, Zondervan, Grand Rapids,2005, Pp68
11
Justo L. Gon’alez, The Story of Christianity; The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, HarperCollins
publishers, (1st Edition) New York, 1985, Pp.35.
sang the of Homer; and to avoid the infamy thereof, he laid the fault upon the Christian men, and
caused them to be persecuted.”12“According to the historian Tacitus, the first Roman persecution
took place when Nero sought to divert public suspicion from him as the originator of the fire that
burned a large part of Rome in A.D.”13 According to Tacitus who lived for 60-120 A.D, “Nero
used his position as emperor to place blame for the fire on the Christians in the city. With the
“culprits” fingered as guilty, there was only one thing left to do to punish them.”
Exegesis
Exegesis is the careful, systematic study of the scripture to determine the original, intended
meaning. According to Bruce Bickel and Stan Jantz the word “Exegete" is from the Greek ek,
meaning "out", and hegeomai, "to lead out or go before." According to my understanding
exegete is to lead or bring out of a passage what is there, also Exegesis refers to the grammatical
study of the Word of God. This means the study of individual words and how words are put
together in sentences and paragraphs.
Because the Bible is inspired by God the Holy Spirit, every word in the Bible is important and
inspiring. In the book of Galatians, Paul builds an entire doctrine of grace on the fact that one
word in a passage in Genesis the seed is singular rather than plural in the text. Exodus 20:13,
another place where the exact word used in the passage matters. Ratsach is one of the 10 Hebrew
words that mean "to kill", it is used only for intentional murder. According to the Hebrew
dictionary to the OT, “Ratsach (raw-tsakh'); a primitive root; properly, to dash in pieces, i.e. kill
(a human being), especially to murder the commandment is, "Thou shalt not commit murder."
Knowing that makes it easier to understand that God did not contradict Himself when He
commanded Israel's leaders to kill their enemies in military situations.
It is important to be able to go back to the original Hebrew and Greek words in Bible study, and
resources are available that make this relatively easy to do. “But, in most cases apparently
obscure words can be clarified by studying the immediate context.”
Probably the most important rule to remember in Bible study is to study the context. To
understand words, study the sentences and verses that surround them. To understand verses,
study them in light of the chapters where they are found. Think about where they fit in the
arrangement of the entire book. Consider whether they are in the Old or the New Testament. An
example of the danger here is found in Matt. 16:28 where the promise is severed from the
continuing context of Matt. 17, where it is fulfilled in the transfiguration of Christ. In the same

12
W. Grinton Berry, FOXE’S BOOK OF THE MARTYRS, Bakers Publishing Group, United States of America, 1998,Pp.5
13
Merrill C. Tenney, The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Revised Edition, Grand Rapids, 2009, Pp.796.
way, many people separate 1 Cor. 2:9 from 2:10, thus removing to an uncertain future time a
promise that God gave us for today.
Historical Context
Historical context consist of Date when the book was written, the author, audience and the
culture of the audience. It can also be defined as the political, social, and cultural related to
historical moment, events, and trended. Historical context answers question like the why, when,
and how, it helps students to differentiate the time, distance, cultural and location barriers. The
difference between the now and then is 2000 years.
Each and every book of the Bible has historical components. For example, the book of John was
written to non-believers so that they may come to the knowledge of believing in Jesus Christ as
the one who gives eternal life. The historical background setting of the book of John it was
written to the non-believers, but these things are recorded in order that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name, (John
20:31, NIV). What problem he was trying to solve and what the cultural background is. Each
book of the Bible was written in a historical setting and contains details about historical events. It
is very important to be knowledgeable about the Old Testament writings to develop a solid grasp
of the consecutive structure of the various books of the Old Testament. The Old Testament
period begins with basic history, though we might not know specific dates for this time, we do
believe that the events recorded in Genesis 1–11 represent not only a literary but also a historical
reality: These were real people living in real places. The rest of Old Testament history moves
from the patriarchal period to the exodus, the united monarchy, the divided monarchy, and the
exile and return.14
Students of the Bible should not ignore what happened next. According to Craig L. Blomberg
Sometimes the 400 years that followed are called the “silent years” because no biblical texts
were written during this time; but this description is misleading because many extra scriptural
documents are available and many noteworthy events took place during this time. According to
my understanding, the Second Temple period started with Babylonian domination. The Medes
and the Persians soon concealed Babylon, followed by the Greeks under Alexander the Great.
Eventually, the Jews revolted and enjoyed a brief period of self-rule known as the Maccabean
period. The next Roman rule, which brings us to the period of the New Testament,

14
Jens Zimmermann, HERMENEUTICS; a very short introduction , OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, Great Clarendon
street, 2005,Pp.8
The Bible’s history can also be understood by the archaeological evidence we see today. Also in
some cases, the Old Testament Scriptures are confirmed by archaeologist. In others, our lack of
information with regard to difficulties becomes illumination, while in still other cases the biblical
data is complemented by the ongoing discoveries”.15 Additional biblical literature can also
provide helpful background information to biblical texts. For example, the Histories of the Greek
historian Herodotus mentions historical characters such as Cyrus; this illustrates that while the
biblical documents must remain primary, extra biblical information can be used in a cycle and
can helpfully lighten aspects of biblical stories that may lie in the background and be assumed by
the biblical writer. Other helpful documents include the Old and New Testament Apocrypha, and
the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Let’s consider the historical and cultural context of Luke 7:36-39:“When one of the Pharisees
invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.
A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s
house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet
weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed
them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to
himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of
woman she is – that she is a sinner.”
This passage is packed full of historical and cultural context that, when understood, makes it
come alive. The Pharisee (a religious leader) who invited Jesus to dinner would have been
viewed as doing a moral thing. The fact that Jesus was reclining indicates that this was no normal
meal; reclining was something typically done at a banquet. This meal would have been
considered an honor to be at – it may even have been put on for Jesus’ sake.
The alabaster jar of perfume that the woman brought with her was a fragile and beautiful piece of
pottery. The ointment or perfume inside was often used at this time in history to anoint the dead
at their burial. The act of anointing someone was a gesture of courtesy and at times high honor,
as in the case of a king being anointed (2 Kings 9:6). The fact that this woman wiped Jesus’ feet
with her hair is significant. It was shameful for married women, as she may well have been, to
have their hair uncovered in public. The woman was a known sinner, and clearly from the
Pharisee’s reaction it was socially inappropriate for Jesus to allow her to touch Him. The woman
risked much public disgrace for her action of worship towards Jesus. These few aspects of this
passage cause us to see it in a deeper way.
15
 Date
The Biblical writing was understood in the cultural setting of the times in which it was written.
Knowing the time period, the time gap when the Messiah was killed and the resurrection is 2000
year so every book of the Bible was written in different time period. Study first the distance time
that exists between the ancient texts and our world.
Authorship
How important is the author in the interpretation of a biblical text, suppose there is without a
known author, how would interpretation proceed? Every book of the Bible was written by
someone, when interpreting the book one has to ask himself some questions, like who is the
writer of this book, what was the situation there and then, when it was written, what audience
was he addressing, what language were they using, who was he writing to. By doing so it will
help the reader understand where we find the purpose of writing the book.
Location
The Biblical writings were written to specific hearers or readers in a specific situation for a
specific purpose. Having the knowledge of the historical background, the location will help the
interpreter or reader to understand the cultural setting. However, dealing with the location we
must consider the historical-cultural setting in which the author wrote in order to understand his
references, and purpose. Background study considers the relationship of a given passage to the
entire passage surrounding it, since a better understanding of an author’s intended meaning
results if it is familiar with the larger context.
Audience
Every book of the Bible was written to a specific audience, the role of interpretation helps the
reader and the hearers to know to whom the book was written too, what was the situation, what is
the background of that particular place. For the example, Galatians deals with the heretics of the
Jews in the churches in Galatia. A group of false teachers came to the up with their own
understanding that circumcision is the requirement for salvation. John F. MacArthur gives us a
clear picture on the theme of chapter 5 of Galatians on the real meaning of the book. Paul says
emphatically that God’s stated purpose for redemption was for freedom of the believers .Christ
set us free from the “guilt-establishing and deadening power of the law,” Through His death and
resurrection.16 Going back into a yoke of slavery is absurd. Keep standing firm is the positive,

16
John MacArthur, the MacArthur Commentary; Galatians, Moody Publishers, LaSalle Boulevard, 1987, Pp.129
and do not be subject again (lit, “do not subject yourselves”).17 The theme of Galatians is
freedom from the law as the way to salvation.
Genre
The Biblical writing takes on the nature of a specific literary form (genre). Theological analysis
studies the level of theological understanding at the time a revelation was given in order to
establish the meaning of the text for its original recipients. It also takes into account related
Scriptures, whether given before or after the passage being studied. In Bible study, as in most of
life, the first sense of this word applies. The plain literal interpretation of anything spoken or
written is what the speaker or writer means by what he says; it is not what the listener or reader
thinks or feels about the message he receives. John Calvin said, "To let his author say what he
does, instead of attributing to him what we think he ought to say." That is not so difficult a task
as most people think.
The importance for interpretation
In a military camp there are different types of roles given to every soldier to accomplish the
given assignments from the commander and every soldier has to respect the commander. The
goal of scripture interpretation is to make the interpreter to understand the goal and of the authors
intended meaning. Communication is the language that conveys a message to others and those
who hear and read that message will seek to understand its meaning.18
The Readers as an interpreter
According Pastor Kennedy Banda every reader is an interpreter but the problem they interpret
using their cultural background. For example, every person coming from different backgrounds,
they read and interpret the Bible using their worldly view. For example, in Africa we deal with a
lot of witchcraft, Satanism and other occults that drinks and eat human flesh every night they
don’t sleep because of such environment, that type of background affects the interpretation of the
scripture when they come across the Bible passage that says, “suffer not a witch live”, they make
sure in their prayers that every witch that come across, they kill because it is written in scripture.
So when a proper interpretation is done, it helps us come up with the author’s intended meaning
of a particular biblical text, good translators, therefore, take the problem of our language
difference in consideration.

17
John MacArthur, the MacArthur Commentary; Galatians, Pp. 129
18
Dr. William W. Klien, Dr. Craig L. Blomberg and Dr. Robert L. Hubbard Jr, Introduction to Biblical interpretation,
(Nashville, Dallas: Thomas Nelson, 2004), Pp. 169.
 The nature of the scripture

The word of God is always authoritative and authentic; the Bible is at the same time human and
heavenly. The God of Bible is the only true God; God’s word is the true and our final authority,
we grow, get cleansed and changed by the word. Salvation comes only through faith in Christ
Jesus as saviour. Saving faith and the Holy Spirit are necessary for us to understand and properly
interpret the scriptures, and the scriptures are without errors. The word of God can be used as the
universe medicine that can heal all form of diseases and also can be used as a universe currency
that allows us to buy anything as long as God allows it. From the scripture you understand,
David listed six special blessings from the hand of the Lord, forgiveness, healing, redemption,
love, fulfillment, and renewal.
David praised the Lord for His many mercies, including forgiveness of sins, healing of
sicknesses, deliverance from death enrichment of his life with loyal love and tender compassion,
satisfaction, and renewal, (Psalms 103:3-5).
The written word of God also rebukes and corrects us when we go astray, the book of Revelation
gives us a clear picture on this matter; “to whom I love, I rebuke and chasten.” In addition, from
the word of God that is where we get instructions from. Daniel understood by reading the book
of Jeremiah were he found out that the children of Israel were supposed to be in captivity for
seventy years but it exceeded more than what was expected. “In the first year of his reign, I,
Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD GIVEN to Jeremiah
the prophet that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.” (Dan 9:2-3) “In our quest
for lasting happiness to succeed, we must seek it in relationship with our creator; we can do that
only by listening to His word.”19
Conclusion
In a nutshell, Hermeneutics is the study or the science of biblical interpretation based on Biblical
text or the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation, especially of the Bible or literary
texts. A good hermeneutics is very important, therefore, it helps the hearer to understand the
mind of God in such a way that the hearer will be able to teach others and apply it in their daily
life. The word of God is without errors and it helps. The doctrine of the word of God is an
inspiration to all the people around us. The Bible was written for all believers to enjoy and use in
their daily lives, to bring salvation to the unbelievers, so that they can come to know Christ as

19
JOHN PIPER, DESRING GOD: MEDITATION OF A CHRISTIAN HEDONIST, Multnomah books, United States of
America ,1986,1996,2003, pp. 143
their personal Lord and savior. It was also written to bring good health to the sick, recovery of
sight to the blind and to put an end to the nonsense of the Devil and his agents. “One of the
noblest pursuits a child of God can embark upon is to get to know and understand God better
through his word.”20

20
Jim George, A Young Man After God’s Own Heart: Turn Your Life Into An Extreme Adventure, HARVEST HOUSE
PUBLISHERS, EUGENE, OREGON, 2005, PP 189
 Bibliography

1. Zimmermann Jens, HERMENEUTICS; a very short introduction, OXFORD

UNIVERSITY PRESS, Great Clarendon street, 2005,
2. Lewis R. Stephen Dr., HERMENEUTICS; THE STUDY OF THE INTERPRETATION
OF SCRIPTURES, Chafer Theological Seminary.
3. BUTLER C. TRENT, PH.D, HOLMAN BIBLE DICTIONARY, HOLMAN BIBLE
PUBLISHERS, NASHVILLE, 1991.
4. Wiersbe W. Warren, Victorious Christian; you should know, Baker Books, Grand
Rapids, 1984.
5. Tenney C. Merrill, The Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, Revised Edition, Grand
Rapids, 2009.
6. Ferguson Everett, Church History: From Christ to Pre-Reformation, Zondervan, Grand
Rapids, 2005.
7. Gon’alez L. Justo, The Story of Christianity; The Early Church to the Dawn of the
Reformation, HarperCollins publishers, (1st Edition) New York, 1985.
8. Berry Grinton W., FOXE’S BOOK OF THE MARTYRS, Bakers Publishing Group,
United States of America, 1998.
9. PIPER JOHN, DESRING GOD: MEDITATION OF A CHRISTIAN HEDONIST,
Multnomah books, United States of America, 1986, 1996, 2003.
10. George Jim, A Young Man after God’s Own Heart: Turn Your Life into an Extreme
Adventure, HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS, EUGENE, OREGON, 2005.