Balancing Literal and Figurative Interpretation in Biblical Hermeneutics
Biblical hermeneutics involves discerning the intended meaning of scripture, which often requires balancing literal and figurative interpretations. This balance is crucial because the Bible employs various literary forms, from historical narratives and legal codes to poetry, prophecy, and parables, each demanding a nuanced approach to interpretation [2].
A literal interpretation generally understands the text in its plain, ordinary sense, assuming that the words mean what they typically convey in everyday language. However, even a "literal" reading must account for figures of speech, metaphors, and other literary devices that are part of normal human communication. For instance, when Jesus speaks in parables, a purely literal reading of the story elements would miss the deeper spiritual truth being conveyed [2]. The parable of the sower, for example, is not primarily about a farmer and seeds in a literal sense, but rather about the reception of God's message, as explicitly interpreted by Jesus himself in Matthew 13:18-23 [2]. To understand such passages, one must identify the central analogy and interpret it within its historical and textual context, avoiding speculative allegorical meanings not intended by the author [2].
Figurative interpretation recognizes that some biblical texts use symbolic language, metaphors, similes, allegories, or other non-literal expressions to communicate truth. John Calvin, a prominent Reformed theologian, frequently engaged with both literal and figurative aspects of scripture. In his commentary on Genesis, for example, he discusses the "image of God" in humanity. While acknowledging that the image was destroyed by the Fall, he interprets its restoration through the Gospel as a spiritual regeneration, equating it with righteousness and true holiness [3]. one tradition notes that Paul's description of this image as consisting in righteousness and holiness is a figure of speech, specifically a synecdoche, where a part (righteousness and holiness) stands for the whole of the restored image [3]. Calvin's approach here demonstrates an awareness of rhetorical figures within theological concepts.
The early Church Fathers also grappled with this balance. John Chrysostom, an Eastern Orthodox Father, often compared spiritual things with spiritual things, illustrating Gospel mysteries by comparing them with Old Testament types [10]. This method inherently involves a figurative understanding of the Old Testament, seeing its events and figures as foreshadowing or symbolizing New Testament realities. Chrysostom's homilies on John and Hebrews, for instance, demonstrate a careful attention to the nuances of language and literary style, noting differences in Greek usage among New Testament authors [1, 6]. His work, like that of other patristic writers, shows an engagement with the text that moves beyond a simplistic literalism to grasp deeper theological connections [7, 8, 9].
The challenge lies in determining when a text should be read literally and when figuratively. Over-allegorizing can lead to interpretations detached from the author's original intent, while an overly rigid literalism can miss the rich symbolic meaning inherent in many biblical passages. Calvin, for instance, while not shying away from verbal criticisms and detailed textual analysis, prioritized systematizing biblical doctrines over a mere chronological arrangement of facts [4, 5]. This indicates a hermeneutical approach that seeks the theological truths conveyed through the text, which may involve both literal and figurative elements.
The use of parables is a prime example where figurative interpretation is essential. Jesus' parables are stories that draw an analogy between a common aspect of life and a spiritual truth [2]. The key to understanding them is to locate the central analogy and interpret it within its historical and textual context [2]. Without this contextual and analogical understanding, the spiritual message would be lost. For example, the "seed" in the parable of the sower is not just a literal seed but represents the "word of the kingdom" (Matthew 13:19).
Moreover, certain genres inherently lean towards figurative interpretation. Prophetic literature, apocalyptic writings, and poetic books like Psalms often employ highly symbolic language. For example, the "four beasts" in Daniel 7 are not literal animals but represent kingdoms (Daniel 7:17). Interpreting such passages strictly literally would lead to nonsensical conclusions. Conversely, historical narratives, genealogies, and legal texts are generally understood literally unless there is a clear indication within the text or its context that a figurative meaning is intended.
The balance between literal and figurative interpretation is not about choosing one over the other, but about applying the appropriate hermeneutical lens to different types of biblical literature. Recognizing the literary genre, the immediate context, the broader biblical context, and the author's apparent intent are all crucial steps. The goal is to arrive at the meaning the original author intended to convey to the original audience, which may be straightforwardly literal or richly symbolic. This careful discernment prevents misinterpretations that either flatten the text into mere historical reporting or inflate it with subjective allegories.
Sources
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on John & Hebrews: particular words and constructions, as of the general cast, both of the phraseology and the structure of the sentences; but that this similarity arises, not from the identity of the writers, but from the fact that both wrote in somewhat better Greek than is found in the rest of the New Testament. The grammars of the New Testament Greek continually refer to the fact, that certain classical constructions are found only, or at least more frequently, in these writers than elsewhere. But this does not prove more than that the author of this Epistle, as m”
- Matthew (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Matthew 13:3: 13:3-9 This parable (interpreted in 13:18-23) addresses the mostly negative responses of the Jewish nation to Jesus and his message. • Parables (Greek parabolē) are stories that usually express an analogy between a common aspect of life and a spiritual truth. To understand a parable, it is necessary to locate the central analogy and understand it in its historical context and in the context of the Gospel text; then the central message can be understood. Speculative allegorical meanings that were not intended should not be found in every element of a parable.”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 5.32: of the image of God. Since the image of God had been destroyed in us by the fall, we may judge from its restoration what it originally had been. Paul says that we are transformed into the image of God by the gospel. And, according to him, spiritual regeneration is nothing else than the restoration of the same image. ( Colossians 3:10 , and Ephesians 4:23 .) That he made this image to consist in righteousness and true holiness, is by the figure synecdochee ; 88 88 Synecdoche is the figure which puts a part for the whole, or the who”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Harmony of the Law, Vol. 1, section 1.4: there was still a considerable difference in the mode of its performance. The object which Calvin had in view, and which he has so efficiently executed, was not so much to present the narrative of each of the four last books of the Pentateuch in its regular order of occurrence, though it necessarily happens that, with respect to a great part of them, this must incidentally be the case. His aim was a far higher one than that of a mere Chronologist. He sought not mainly to arrange the facts of Scripture, but rather to systematize its doctrines, an”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 1.5: more recently been subjected. Still his verbal criticisms are neither few nor unimportant, though he lays comparatively little stress upon them himself. 5 5 The reader is referred, for full information on this subject, to a small volume entitled, “The Merits of Calvin as an Interpreter of the Holy Scriptures,” by Professor Tholuck of Halle. To which are added, “Opinions and Testimonies of Foreign and British Divines and Scholars as to the Importance of the Writings of John Calvin.” With a Preface by the Revelation William Pringle. ”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on John & Hebrews: of authorship. It has often been noticed that the number of words peculiar to any New Testament writer is an index of the number freely at his command. Peculiar words, it is true, are often required by peculiarity of subject, and may sometimes be what is called accidental. Still, when the number of them in any writer is unusually large, the fact has its value, and such words do abound in the writings of St. Luke and in the Epistle to the Hebrews above all others. 2656 2656 See Thayer ’s Grimm’s N.T. Lexicon , Appendix iv. pp. 698–710, for lists of w”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on John & Hebrews: or introductory thanksgiving,” by which St. Paul always takes pains to conciliate his readers, and of which there was especial need if he were writing to Hebrews disposed to prejudice against him. On the contrary, after the manner of St. Mark in his Gospel, the writer strikes directly into his subject, without any sort of preface. Another striking feature of difference is, that St. Paul always keeps close to his argument until it is complete, and then adds practical exhortations founded upon it, while in our Epistle each short division of the argume”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on John & Hebrews: Table of Contents Title Page. Preface. Comparative Table of the Works of St. Chrysostom in the American and Migne’s Editions. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on the Gospel of St. John. Title Page. Preface to the Homilies on the Gospel of St. John. Preface. John 1.1 John 1.1 John 1.1 John 1.3 John 1.6 John 1.9 John 1.9 John 1.11 John 1.11 John 1.14 John 1.14 John 1.15 John 1.16 John 1.18 John 1.19 John 1.28,29 John 1.35—37 John 1.41,42 John 1.43,44 John 1.49,50 John 2.4 John 2.11 John 2.23 John 3.5 John 3.6 John 3.12,13 John 3.17 John 3.22 John 3”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Acts & Romans: iii Preface to the American Edition. ———————————— In the preparation of this volume of Chrysostom’s Homilies on Acts and Romans, the effort has been to improve the Oxford edition by some changes and corrections, and by the addition of critical and explanatory notes. The translation remains substantially unchanged. Frequent minor changes have, however, been made in phraseology, where it has seemed to me that the sense could thereby be made plainer. Archaic and obsolescent words or expressions have often been replaced by more idiomatic modern language.”
- 1 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Corinthians 2:13: also--We not only know by the Holy Ghost, but we also speak the "things freely given to us of God" (Co1 2:12). which the Holy Ghost teacheth--The old manuscripts read "the Spirit" simply, without "Holy." comparing spiritual things with spiritual--expounding the Spirit-inspired Old Testament Scripture, by comparison with the Gospel which Jesus by the same Spirit revealed [GROTIUS]; and conversely illustrating the Gospel mysteries by comparing them with the Old Testament types [CHRYSOSTOM]. So the Greek word is translated, "comparing" (Co2 10:”