Hermeneutic

A hermeneutic refers to the interpretive framework a reader brings to a text. It includes basic assumptions and rules about how meaning works, what the text is doing, and how it should be read. A hermeneutic influences whether a reader focuses on authorial intent, historical setting, literary structure, later interpretation, or present application. It does not replace close reading but directs it, shaping how evidence is weighed and how conclusions are drawn. Different hermeneutics can lead to different readings of the same text, making the interpretive approach itself an important part of analysis.