Was ist Das?

The Nature and Basis of Theological Hermeneutics

Abstract

This essay explores the nature and task of theological hermeneutics by shifting the focus from abstract “rules” of interpretation to the process by which readers encounter Scripture and generate meaning within particular contexts. The catechism’s question Was ist das?—What does this mean?—cannot be reduced to the discovery of a method or an abstract idea but must be understood as a question about how God’s Word forms believers for life in Christ. The essay challenges the common assumption that hermeneutics consists of a set of technical rules that, if properly applied, yield the correct meaning of a biblical text. Such a view misunderstands the nature of hermeneutics and the process of interpretation. Theological hermeneutics, therefore, must attend to both the formation of the reader and the purposes of God revealed in Scripture. The goal is not merely to identify correct interpretations but to cultivate readers who hear the Word with the proper theological orientation—shaped by the gospel and attentive to God’s purposes in Christ. In this way, the task of hermeneutics is ultimately pastoral and formative: to help the church hear Scripture in such a way that God’s Word continues to accomplish its work of killing and making alive, creating faithful hearers who dwell within the new life given in Christ.