I’ve heard people use the word “Hermeneutics.” What does it mean?

Christian scholars call biblical hermeneutics the science of knowing how to properly interpret the various types of literature found in the Bible. Hermeneutics tries to interpret, understand, and apply the Bible. There are two crucial “laws” of hermeneutics.

First, the Bible should be interpreted literally. Literal interpretation means that we understand the Bible in its normal meaning, and not always trying to read through the lines. It keeps us from symbolizing verses and passages that should be understood literally.

Second, the verse or passage must be interpreted historically, grammatically, and contextually. We must try to understand the culture of the people during the time the Bible was written, all the different rules of grammar in the original languages, and the surrounding verses and chapters of the specific verse we are studying. The point of Biblical hermeneutics is to point us to the correct interpretation that the Holy Spirit has already inspired into the text.