(Part 1)

JBTM Paul D. Wegner
91
Guidelines for Biblical Hermeneutics
Grammatical-Historical Method
Hermeneutics is the methodology and guidelines we use to determine what message
the author was conveying to his audience. These guidelines are the foundation for the
exegesis of the passage. John Bright says it well: “The text has but one meaning, the meaning
intended by its author; and there is but one method for discovering that meaning, the
grammatical-historical method.” 5 This method examines the grammatical and syntactical
aspects of the text, the historical background, the literary genre, and theological factors to
determine what the text meant to its original audience.
Progressive Revelation
Remember that the biblical text was revelation the moment it was given to the nation
of Israel and that God progressively revealed himself and his redemptive plan to the nation
of Israel over hundreds of years. The OT laid a foundation for many of the concepts that
would be further explained or modified in the New Testament (hereafter NT). The book of
Hebrews spells out many of these concepts (e.g., the sacrificial system) that were fulfilled
in Jesus Christ (Matt 5:17).
It is often difficult, however, for modern readers to avoid reading the NT back into
the OT. When reading the OT, it is important to keep in mind the vantage point of the
prophet and his audience. The NT was not yet given, so how would the prophet himself
have understood his message? It would be better to read the OT along the lines of a mystery
book. As the story progresses, there is a foreshadowing of coming events and “clues” are
given that later will be brought to light. Reading the conclusion first (or in this case the NT)
may blind the reader to the intended progressive revelation of the book. The Bible, written
as it was, beautifully portrays God progressively revealing his plan of redemption one step
at a time until ultimately he revealed Jesus Christ (Heb 1:1–2a). A good example of a passage
that contains a clue or foreshadowing that will be clarified throughout the rest of the Bible
is Gen 12:3b, “and in you [Abraham] all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” At that
point Abraham most likely had no idea how God would bless all the nations through him,
but over time God revealed more specifics of his plan of redemption (Mic 5:2–5; Isa 11:1–9;
52:13–53:12; etc.), and that Jesus, the Messiah, would come through the line of Abraham and
bring God’s redemption to all nations.
⁵John Bright, The Authority of the Old Testament (Nashville: Abingdon, 1967), 92. There are several
different names for this hermeneutical method, but it is not the same as the historical-critical method
which attempts to find the various sources of specific passages.