Primary Authors & Sources
HERM-101 builds its reading list from required primary and classical sources in biblical exegesis and textual critical methods. The authors below are read as teachers across the centuries, not as entries in a bibliography. Milton Spenser Terry contributes Biblical Hermeneutics, offering firsthand access to the arguments, methods, and assumptions that shaped this period of study. Patrick Fairbairn contributes Hermeneutical Manual, offering firsthand access to the arguments, methods, and assumptions that shaped this period of study. Johann August Ernesti contributes Principles of Biblical Interpretation and Principles of Biblical Interpretation, offering firsthand access to the arguments, methods, and assumptions that shaped this period of study. Samuel Davidson contributes Sacred Hermeneutics Developed and Applied, offering firsthand access to the arguments, methods, and assumptions that shaped this period of study.
Taken together, these readings form a coherent conversation across centuries — students encounter real arguments, not flattened summaries. Jacobus Izaak Doedes contributes Manual of Hermeneutics for the Writings of the New Testament, offering firsthand access to the arguments, methods, and assumptions that shaped this period of study. E. P. Barrows contributes Companion to the Bible, offering firsthand access to the arguments, methods, and assumptions that shaped this period of study. Brooke Foss Westcott contributes A General View of the History of the English Bible, offering firsthand access to the arguments, methods, and assumptions that shaped this period of study. Frederic George Kenyon contributes Handbook to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament, offering firsthand access to the arguments, methods, and assumptions that shaped this period of study.
What You Will Study
Students study Reformed hermeneutical principles for interpreting Scripture according to its literary genre, historical context, and canonical unity in Christ. The course covers grammatical-historical exegesis, the analogy of faith, the distinction between Law and Gospel, and responsible application from text to contemporary church life. Readings include classic hermeneutics from Augustine through Calvin, Owen, and modern Reformed scholars, alongside introductions to textual criticism and biblical theology. Students practice exegetical method on assigned passages from Old and New Testaments, documenting observations, interpretation, and theological application in structured papers. The course rejects allegorical excess, reader-response subjectivism, and speculative eisegesis while affirming the Spirit's illumination through the church's grammatical and confessional discipline.
Course Objectives
Objectives include applying a consistent exegetical method to diverse biblical genres, distinguishing exegesis from eisegesis in sample interpretations, evaluating popular Bible study approaches against Reformed hermeneutical standards, and writing exegesis papers with observation, interpretation, and application sections. Students will explain the role of textual criticism without treating it as undermining providential preservation of Scripture. The course cultivates humility before the text and resistance to imposing modern agendas on ancient authors. Students will articulate how Christ-centered reading honors the Old Testament's own intent while recognizing fulfillment in the New. Assessments require students to critique flawed interpretations and propose sound alternatives with grammatical and theological support.
Ministry & Life Application
Sound hermeneutics protects congregations from error and equips teachers to divide the Word of truth rightly in house church and pastoral settings. Ministers trained in Reformed exegesis preach with confidence that their applications arise from Scripture's own meaning rather than personal preference or cultural fashion. Across the Florida Keys, where believers encounter diverse teaching online and in person, hermeneutical discipline provides a tested standard for evaluating claims about what the Bible teaches. This course undergirds every biblical and theological subject at Bible College of the Florida Keys. Pastoral ministry flourishes when elders can open any passage with method, reverence, and Christ-centered fidelity to the text.