Hermeneutics Midterm 2026

The Law: 1) Self-Interpretation

The Principle: Interpret the Bible by the Bible

The Tool: The Foundation Stone

The Law: 2) Doctrine

The Principle: Establish truth by the agreement of Scripture

The Tool: The Witness Test

The Law 3) Comparison

The Principle: Collate Related Scriptures to clarify meaning

The Tool: The Light Table

The Law 4) Harmony

The Principle: Interpret every passage in harmony with the whole

The Tool: The Turning Fork

The Law 5) Literal Construction

The Principle: Read the Bible literally first. Then, if the language is figurative, find the literal meaning

The Tool: The Blueprint

The Law 6) Context

The Principle: Interpret Scripture within its setting

The Tool: The guardrail

The Law 7) Definitions

The Principle: Define every word according to the meaning it carries in its biblical setting

The Tool: The microscope

Nehemiah 8:8 (MEV)

"They read from the book, from the Law of God, with interpretation, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading."

The Divine Pattern Throughout Scripture:

God's Word must be _______

God's Word must be ______

God's Word must be ________

God's Word must be ________

read, explained, understood, & obeyed

Hermeneutics simply means:

Rightly interpreting the Bible

Hermeneutics exist to make...

The Bible clearer

D.L. Moody said

"I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible."

John Wesley said:

"Read, or get out of the ministry.'

Ecclesiastes 8:1 (MEV)

"Who is like a wise man? And who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man's wisdom makes his face shin, and the harshness of his face is softened."

Twisted Scripture doesn't just confuse

it destroys

2 Timothy 2:15 (MEV)

"Study to show yourself approved by God, a workman who need not be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth."

Psalm 119:130 (AMPC)

"The entrance and unfolding of Your words give light; their unfolding gives understanding (discernment and comprehension) to the simple."

Interpretation comes through

translation and explanation

Science - Because the Bible has

grammar, context, history, and structure

Art - Because the Bible is

living and active (Hebrews 4:12)

Kenneth E. Hagin: "The Word alone, you'll ______ up. The Spirit alone, you'll ______ up. But with both the Word and the Spirit, you'll ______ up."

dry, blow, grow

You cannot accurately interpret Scripture without the

Holy Spirit

"The Bible was written to them in ___________ and __________, but it speaks to me by _____________ - therefore it is for me in ________________"

history and context

covenant

application

Acts 17:11 (MEV)

"Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."

dumb people don't

investigate

the wise

investigate

The Bible was written to be

understood

7 ways to come to the Bible

1. Prayfully - With the ______ ________ Help

2. As the Actual Word of _________

3. With Humility and _________________

4. Consistently

5. Expectantly

6. Desperately

7. With Simplicity

1. Holy Spirit's

2. GOD

3. Reverence

Psalm 82:5 (MEV)

"They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are unstable."

Ignorance is not

innocence

Ignorance -

Knowledge -

Destruction

Deliverance

The Root of Ignorance

1) Neglecting the ________

2) Rejecting ____________

3) Over-complicating the _______

4) Distance from God _______________

WORD

CORRECTION

TRUTH

HIMSELF

Ignorance is not only _______________

Ignorance is __________________

informational

relational

Ignorance dies in the disciple of

study

Read the ______________. Get the knowledge. Destroy _____________.

- Instruction

- Ignorance

Narratives are descriptive, not automatically

prescriptive

Matthew 22:29 (MEV)

"You err, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God."

Most error is heart problem disguised as a

Bible problem

Two Guardrails Against Error:

Guardrail #1 - Never Build Doctrine on a __________

Guardrail #2 - Never Build belief on ____________

Story

Silence

Nine Characteristics of Error

1. Unsaved/Unbelieving

2. Unlearned

3. Inflexible

4. Unstable/Unfixed

5. Unteachable

6. Inexperienced

7. Insulted / Offended

8. Insensitive

9. Insurgent

Ignorance can produce

error

Error can produce

deception

The laws of interpretations help us:

1) Understand what the text means

2) Avoid common ______

3) Apply __________ correctly

errors

Scripture

Laws are guides not

shackles

1 Corinthians 10:11 (MEV)

"Now all these things happened to them as examples. They were written as an admonition to us, upon whom the ends of the ages have come."

(Law 1)

The safest interpreter of Scripture is

Scripture itself

(Law 1)

The first interpreter of the Word was

the devil.

Right interpretation leads to right action, and right action...

releases power.

Exegesis - Drawing the meaning

out of the text.

Eisegesis - Reading (your) meaning

into the text.

We don't create meaning;

we discover it.

The Holy Spirit's teaching often comes through Scripture's ______________- comparisons.

internal

Narrative must be __________ in light of didactic, not the other way around.

interpreted

Doctrine is confirmed by

witnesses

How to Confirm Doctrine

Step 1: Gather the __________

Step 2: Confirm Agreement

Step 3: Draw the _____________

Step 4: Contrast with Errors

Witness, Doctrine

2 Corinthians 13:1 (MEV)

This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

The Principle of Proportion:

The amount of attention Scripture gives a subject reveals its

importance.

Meaning comes by comparison, not by

novelty

Comparison is the Bible talking to

the Bible.

Repetition brings

recognition.

Five Keys for Comparison

1) Let the Passages You Understand Interpret the Ones You Do Not

2) Compare Ideas, Not Only Matching Verses

3) Let the Clear Govern the Obscure

4) Expect the Spirit to Teach This Way

5) Let Scripture Define Its Own Terms

Comparison is not only technical. It is

spiritual.

Spirit-led includes being

Spirit-taught.

Psalm 119:130 (AMPC)

"The giving of Your words gives light; it grants understanding to the simple."

Psalm 119:160 (NKJV)

"The entirety of Your word is truth."

2 Corinthians 1:13 (NLT)

"Our letters have been straightforward, and there is nothing written between the lines and nothing you can't understand..."

Let the simple settle the

complex.

Dake: The Bible has a way of confusing its enemies and blessing

its friends.

51) Literal Construction

Part 1 - Literal ________________

Part 2 - Literal ________________

Reading

Meaning

Literal Reading - How this part functions: Read Scripture according to its

plain meaning.

Three Marks of Literal Reading

Respect the plain meaning of the words.

Treat historical accounts as history.

Honor genre without using genre as an escape hatch.

When Scripture presents something as fact, receive it as

fact.

"The Bible has a way of blessing its friends and

confusing its enemies."

Literal Meaning -

How this part functions: If the language is figurative, find the

literal meaning.

Six Types of Common Figurative Language

Similes and Metaphors

Hyperbole

Personification

Symbolic and Poetic Language

Parables

Prophetic Imagery

Six Levels of Context

Verse - The words right around the line.

Passage - The paragraph or section.

Book - The purpose and flow of that book.

Author - How this writer uses the same idea elsewhere.

Testament - Old Covenant or New.

Whole Bible - How it fits the story that ends in Christ.

Rule: The Surrounding Text Defines the ...

Meaning.

Context is the guardrail. It does not steer the car. It keeps you

on the road.

A _________ tells you what a word can mean.

dictionary

______________ tells you what a word does mean.

Context

ever let a dictionary overrule a .......

paragraph.

Amos 7:7-8 (NLT)

Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight. 8 And the Lord said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" I answered, "A plumb line." And the Lord replied, "I will test my people with this plumb line..."

How to Define a Word

Start with the sentence.

See how the same author uses it in the book.

Look across the whole Bible.

Check the original language.

Notice if the English word has changed

Definition is the microscope or scalpel of context. Any single word used out of context can be used to change the

whole meaning of a verse, paragraph, or more.