Category: Hermeneutics

The framework for these notes was based on a course taught by Dr. J. V. Fesko at the Reformed Theological Seminary and Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Woodstock, GA, USA around 2004. The content has been adapted, expanded, and updated for our use in Sunday school. What Does Hermeneutics Mean? Hermeneutics is the science and […]

Basic Concepts As we delve into our study, we need to lay out some key terms and definitions. Interpretative models In the history of interpretation, there have been many different interpretative models proposed. This approach was confusing because people were able to construe four possible meanings from a single passage. For example, using to this […]

We need to recognize that the Bible is made up of many different literary genres. This is an important consideration when we try to read the Bible. For example, some people try to apply a literal interpretation to every section of the Bible (e.g., taking the “thousand years” in Revelation 20:1-6 as a literal millennium on earth). […]

Literary Genres and Features: Wisdom and Poetry Wisdom and poetry make up one-third of the Bible (i.e., bigger than the entire New Testament itself), and includes Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. This is called wisdom literature because it presents knowledge gained from experience reflective of God’s way. One of the chief characteristics of wisdom literature is parallelism (see below). Another […]

Literary Genres and Features: Prophecy Prophecy is another literary genre that makes up more than a quarter of the Bible. Prophecy is not simply foretelling the future. More often than not, it involves forth-telling, that is, applying God’s word to specific situations to the immediate audience (e.g., calling Israel to repentance, to cast down her idols, and to seek the […]