During the students’ first semester at NTBI, they are enrolled in a class that teaches them how to study the Bible, called Hermeneutics. This class desires to give students the tools to study the Bible so they can feed themselves through the Word. Students learn that “context is king,” how to make observations, and how to interpret.
Claire took Hermeneutics last fall and wrote about that experience,
“I think Hermeneutics just might kill me. The homework is so exhausting! I knew that I didn’t have a very good grasp on grammar and prior to coming I didn’t think it was very important to know or that I would have much use for it. But when it comes to Hermeneutics and desiring an accurate understanding of scripture, grammar is critical and I’m learning how much I have yet to learn! The teacher has mentioned a couple of times that if any of us are planning on going to a tribe and learning their language and translating it then we’re going to need to know how grammar works! Ugh, I’ve got a lot of work to do….. However! Even though I am struggling with the grammatical aspect of hermeneutics I am learning a lot! We are getting deeper into Philippians 2:14-16 and last week we identified all the clauses and predicates and then we dug deep into phrasing and now we’re doing word studies. Everything is rather foggy right now, but that’s expected since this is all new to me.”
Claire successfully finished Hermeneutics and is enjoying studying the Old Testament. I’ve gotten some time with her the last few weeks and am thankful to be on the sidelines, cheering for her as she continues wrestling with God’s Word.
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