Principles of Biblical Interpretation

by Louis Berkhof

This textbook covers the history of hermeneutical principles, the proper conception of the Bible, grammatical interpretation, and historical and theological interpretation.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Biblical Studies, Christianity, School, Reference, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Louis Berkhof (1873–1957) was a Reformed theologian best known for his Systematic Theology (1932). He taught for almost four decades at Calvin Theological Seminary and served as its president from 1931–1944. In his work on systematic theology Berkhof followed in the line of John Calvin and embraced the development of Reformed theology by the Dutch theologians Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck.

Selected publications:

Systematic Theology. Eerdmans, 1932; New Combined Edition, 1996.

The History of Christian Doctrines. Baker, 1978; Banner of Truth, revised, 1996.

Principles of Biblical Interpretation. Baker Academic, 1981; republished, 1994.

A Summary of Christian Doctrine. Eerdmans, 1939; Banner of Truth, 1960.

Reviews

[Ligia Rus]

"Mare parte din confuzia din zilele noastre din domeniul religiei și din aplicarea principiilor biblice provine din interpretarrea răstălmăcită și greșită a Cuvântului lui Dumnezeu."

Cartea lui Berkhof e un mic manual care cuprinde foarte succint istoria principiilor hermeneutice și explicarea acestor principii, alături de multe ilustrații și exerciții practice. Materialul e deosebit de util în înțelegerea modului în care textul biblic ar trebui interpretat.

Pentru doritori, cartea în limba română se poate descărca gratuit la urmărorul link:

https://www.magnagratia.org/228-herme...

[Ashley Bacon]

Read this for school. It was so well outlined that it took a tedious topic and made it very nicely bite sized for me. I enjoyed it!

[Julio Padilla Mozo]

Como todo libro de libro de interpretación bíblica, habrán capítulos densos que leer, y esto se vuelve un poco más duro cuando se utilizan tecnisismos al que el lector temprano de la Biblia no llega a comprender. Sin embargo, pasado esos capítulos, la enseñanza de Berkhof con respecto a las pautas para una correcta interpretación es de gran provecho.

La lectura comienza a fluir fuera de las palabras técnicas en un lenguaje muy claro y preciso.

Es de gran ayuda tener una Biblia junto a este libro, debido a que hay varios ejemplos con versículos bíblicos por revisar, que aclararán los argumentos que el autor quiere expresar.

Lo recomiendo como segundo libro para introducción a la hermeneútica.

[Andy Littleton]

A very succinct yet rich little book on the practice of sound hermeneutics.

[Joshua Bethay]

This was a 4 or 5 star book in its day (1950s) that is largely bound to that era due to the vernacular and articulation/response to the issues of the time it was written.

The structure of the book is very good and would be a great template for an author to take up today and write upon in light of the issues the church faces on hermeneutics in the 2020s in contrast to those the church faced in the 1950s.

[John Weis]

Finished 2023. Excellent. Especially his demonstration of Paul's grammatical precision in OT engagement.

[Andrew]

Although a concise book (176 pages), it covers a plethora of topics for biblical interpretation including:

Interpreting biblical narrative, poetry, typology, New Testament use of the Old Testament, principles for conducting word studies of Greek and Hebrew, syntax and relationships of clauses, sentences, and paragraphs.

I was surprised by how much information was contained in such a brief book. It serves as a very useful reference to learn how to read, teach, and preach Scripture.

[Connor Longaphie]

Probably the safest hermeneutics book I've seen so far. Historical grammatical < historical grammatical theological

[Alexander Young]

This book is a great overview of Biblical hermeneutics. Well laid out, to the point, and catching both the technical and spiritual aspects of interpretation.

[Jonah Stricklin]

DNF

[Kevin Carroll]

Fairly good introduction to Reformed hermeneutics, though I was a little surprised by his seeming antipathy towards the confessions.

[Paul Vawter]

Good basic overview of biblical hermeneutics. Unfortunately, Berkhof makes the same mistake as so many others contradicting himself by arguing for the univocality of Scripture and the grammatical-historical approach, then embracing the spiritual and symbolic view of predictive typology. In short, Berkhof is generally solid until he gets into the final chapter on theological interpretation.

[Tim Murphy]

Louis Berkhof is a Presbyterian theologian who lived from the late 1800s to early 1900s, a period of great upheaval in American Christianity. Then, as now, hermeneutics was at the core of major disagreements. Berkhof wrote this short book into that culture (though I have no idea whether it compelled him to write on the subject.)

The book is well-organized with chapter and sub-chapter headings in actual outline form so a reader knows precisely where Berkhof is headed and what his main arguments are simply by reading the table of contents. He begins with two chapters of the history of hermeneutics--in Jewish and church settings--then, after a chapter on the overall conception of the Bible, he writes longer chapters on grammatical interpretation, historical interpretation and theological interpretation. These three form the core of his argument on how properly to interpret the Bible.

These three chapters are helpful and seem sound enough, though I admit to being not widely read on the subject. For this reader, the chapters on the history of hermeneutics were fascinating and very helpful.

It should be no surprise that interpretational errors we see creeping into the church in our era have a long history. It did surprise me. Modern-day Christians who are serious about rightly understanding Scripture would do well to develop basic interpretational skills and would do very well to read what authors of antiquity have written on the subject. Though the turn of the 19th to 20th century can hardly be called "antiquity" it sometimes seems modern culture and academics treat anything written in a millennium starting with zero or one as "antiquity" and hardly worth our attention.

Berkhof surely is worth our attention, even 100 years hence.

[Josiah Cook]

This book sets such a great foundation for Reformed hermeneutics. The biggest thing I found unhelpful was that there were times in every chapter that necessary depth seemed to be sacrificed for the sake of brevity.

[Cilas Menezes]

Orthodox, basic and straightforward (too much sometimes). Chapter V (Grammatical Interpretation) May present a challenge for those who do not possess any knowledge of the biblical languages.

Chapter VII is particularly helpful. Some categories might scare the average Reformed reader, e.g. his assertion of a mystical sense in the Bible. Calm down! By this, he was referring to the fact that some texts have not only literal significance but also symbolic and typical. Speaking about types and antitypes, he sets forth a helpful set of safeguards as one interprets the types which are spread throughout God’s revealed Word.

Keep in mind the book was published in 1950, so have a proper and fair expectation about it!

One last word... If you want to skip chapters 2 and 3 you'd not have profit less from the rest of the content. 😉

Recommended for every Christian!

[Wilson]

Dedicated to my goodreads friend Parker,

I actually found this more helpful than most books on the topic. He went beyond teaching me how to read in general, to specific rules for interpreting the Bible. I felt at times I wanted him to go deeper in explaining his examples for the principle he was drawing out (like the section on typology). At other points I wanted him to not go as deep for the sake of wanting a book to hand to a church member. He got into some of the original languages but it didn’t make up enough of the book to make it inaccessible for someone without a background in that.

I would say RC Sproul’s Knowing Scripture has a better explanation of the doctrine and other apologetic questions one might have. Berkhof gave me the mechanics and for that I am thankful for this resource. Taking the two together makes a good starter pack for a church member.

[Micah Perry]

A standard work on hermeneutics. Teaches the grammatical-historical approach clearly, with a great section on interpreting, types, metaphors, allegory, etc. There are a few sections where Berkhof’s paedobaptist-hermeneutic shows however, like when Berkhof writes “The Old Testament offers the key to the right interpretation of the New,” (pg. 137). This, of course, is not at all true. The NT is the fuller revelation, which comments on, and explains the OT. To follow Berkhof here is to do systematic theology backwards.

[Joshua]

A wonderfully useful introduction and guide to the science of interpreting Scripture. In depth, but not gruellingly so, the subject is handled with great care. A brief history of various methods of interpretation (and their shortcomings) is provided, along with a tremendous study of proper hermeneutical principles. These principles are laid out for the grammatico-historical and theological interpretations of Scripture, which will benefit any Christian who seeks to have a stronger handle on the holy Word of God.

[Oliver Preston]

In terms of brevity, clarity, and perception, Berkhof has completed something notable. The result is a cohesive Reformed grid for hermeneutics that treats the Bible for what it is, God's very word to mankind.

In our current context, Berkhof lacks the necessary apologetic for his particular view upon the mystical sense of scripture. With fourfold interpretation growing in popularity, a peculiarly Reformed paradigm is being called for. Berkhof doesn't offer a convincing argument that would halt this recovery of patristic interpretation.

[Ethan McCarter]

Great introductory material for hermeneutics. Could've focused more on the different genres found in Scripture, especially difficult ones like prophecy, but there's only so much one can do inside an introduction. Great for Reformed readers.

[Ben Garrett]

Pretty great.
Disagree with some of Berkhof’s principles of interpreting prophecy, seems to ignore genre at times.
Last two pages on analogy of faith are wonderful and give some nice fodder against the dispys and historic premils.

[John Houston]

Berkhof is quite dry at times, but altogether necessary. He’s a little weird on interpretation of prophecy, but proficient in explaining the theological, historical, and grammatical aspects of interpretation.

[Tengxiang]

3.5/5 too much Latin. But I would probably put aside Commentaries for a while.

[Winnie Thornton]

Clear, logical, easy to read.

[Faleti Racheal]

Good

[Dane Jöhannsson]

Great overview of the topic. Clear and concise.

[Timothy Dehne]

Great introduction.

[Kaycie Clemans]

Good as an overview.

[Ian Hall]

This was a reread. Not an easy read if you are unfamiliar with the science of biblical hermeneutics but very helpful for those who teach the scriptures at whatever level.

[Timothy]

This is written more as a reference book of manual.
It doesn't go into great depth but would be handy as a quick reference for looking at specific principles of interpretation.