Context
Of all of the principles of hermeneutics, this one is the most important. Simply stated, meaning is generated from the top down, or from the larger units to the smaller units. When someone says “That’s A+ work” in a classroom, they probably mean, “That work deserves a grade of A+.” But if someone says the same phrase in a business meeting, they probably mean, “That work is excellent.” The surrounding context tells us which meaning is intended.
In a text, we begin by first grasping the genre, then interpreting the main idea of the passage we’re dealing with (multiple paragraphs/chapters), moving on to the main idea of a specific paragraph. This gives us a framework to help grasp the meaning of individual sentences and words.
Once we get into genres you will get a feel for how this actually works. For how, another illustration about genres should help. Walt Russell uses this story in his book “Playing With Fire: How the Bible Ignites Change in Your Soul.” He asks us to imagine him working on his computer when his wife comes into the room. She asks what he wants for dinner and gives him several options. He is distracted and says, “I’ll eat anything.” He then asks the reader to interpret the meaning of his statement in this situation. “Am I declaring that I’ll eat wood, concrete, nails, carpet, and so on? Of course not,” he says. He goes on to explain that his use of the word “anything” is limited by the context of the conversation he was having with his wife. He says, “This is the way language works. Words are contoured, shaped, or limited by the immediate context (by the unit of thought) in which they are embedded.”
Now let’s take a closer look at genres and then dig into some concrete examples.