HermeneuticsLesson III

Defining Some Terms

Meaning: that pattern of meaning the author willed to convey to the reader by the words

he used.

I hate sweet potatoes!

Implications: those meanings of a text

about which the author was unaware or did not

specifically mention, but nevertheless fall with the pattern of meaning he willed.

Be not drunk with wine...(Eph. 5:18)

LSD

GIN

POT

Corn Mash

Paul's specific prohibition concerning abusing wine certainly goes beyond wine. The implications would include other mind altering substances not specifically mentioned, but nonetheless fit within the pattern of meaning he willed.

Invalid implications would be those that do not fit the broad principle by

Paul concerning wine and drunkenness.

"Don't drive your car too fast."

    

"Don't flush the toilet when some-one is in theshower."

"If you swallow Drano, do not induce vomiting."

"Do not pass 'Go,' do not collect $200."

Significance: How the reader responds to the meaning of the

text.

Subject Matter: The content, or “stuff” talked

about in the text, and the areas of

knowledge alluded to in the text.

Remember! Don’t confuse subject matter

with meaning! The subject matter = the

details used to make the point, the meaning IS the

point.

Understanding: The correct mental grasp of the author’s meaning.”

"Truth" in John 14:6

John 14:6

Gospel of John

John's other writings

(I, II, III John, Revelation)

New Testament

Old Testament Greek (LXX)

Old Testament Hebrew

Early Church Fathers

Interpretation: The verbal or written expression of a reader’s

understanding of a text.

Mental Acts: The inner emotional or mental experiences the author

went through while writing the text.

Norms of Language: The range of meaning allowed by the words

(verbal symbols) of a text:

Hermeneutics according to

Humpty Dumpty "There's glory for you!" "I don't know what you mean by 'glory'," Alice said.

Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't - till I tell you. I meant 'there's a nice knockdown argument for you!" "But glory doesn't mean a 'nice knockdown argument'," Alice objected. "When I use a word, "Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less." "The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things." "The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - that is all."

Norms of Utterance: The specific meaning the author has given to a word, phrase,

sentence, etc. in a text.

pot boil

hit

tank case

blank

rangepole

train

parthead

playshort

Context: The willed meaning that an author

gives to the literary materials surrounding

his text.faoieonsvo aeoa;o joai j;o aij;aijao fd iaodjo a;info;ai hj;adifnanvjcvier ytihdfvjndowhrgaionvannavoia orega For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. nvoiheoaonaoaeia;ajanvboue oanodvinaodivnoaid jvbnaueboa ndgjnaugbaobgaeb aloeuncvaotyha

Literary Genre: The literary form used by the

author and the rules governing that form.

Poetry History

DidacticApocalyptic

Law