Hermaneutics and the Spanish Bible Issue

by Dr. Carlos Donate

Hermeneutics- “the science of interpretation and termination. The word is derived from the Greek god Hermes, who was the messenger and herald of the gods, and the interpreter of Jupiter. Biblically, hermeneutics is a science of interpreting the Bible.” -From “Principles of Biblical Hermeneutics” by J. Edwin Hartill, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1947. All quotes of Mr. Hartill are from his book IN ENGLISH, which is a standard textbook in most Bible colleges in English-speaking countries. Although Hartill´s book in Spanish is not the focus of this study, it too recommends the same erroneous Bibles as his book in English does, but with much more subtlety, as it only recommends the Reina Valera 1960. “A menos que se indique lo contrario todas las citas bíblicas están tomadas de la versión Reina Valera1960” See https://www.scribd.com/document/488603054/manual-de-interpretacioacuten-biblica-j-edwin-hartill-pdf

In the recent RVG Spanish Bible conference in my home church, Landmark Baptist Church in Haines City, Florida, I mentioned in my PowerPoint presentation that the “Historical-Grammatical Method of Interpretation”, or Hermeneutics, had been redefined by Calvin George, a defender of the Reina-Valera 1960, who is a member of Frontier Baptist Missions, Inc. On their website, he says:

“Scriptures need to be interpreted according to their grammatical-historical significance” and “…the Reina Valera (1960) will be the only version used”

The point I was trying to make is that modern Bible scholarship has used what traditional fundamentalists have always believed, namely, that God inspired all His words. “We believe that the Bible not just contains the Word of God, but that the Bible IS the Word of God”, Hartill, page 8.

I received some comments afterwards, asking that I should clarify this because Bible believers do support the Historical-Grammatical Method, which is true. What is the H-G Method?

“The historical-grammatical method of biblical interpretation seeks to understand the original meaning of a biblical text by examining its historical context and grammatical structure. It aims to uncover what the original author intended to communicate to the original audience. This method emphasizes the importance of understanding the text within its historical setting and through careful analysis of the language used.” –Google AI 

When I attended Bible college, I was given a much simpler definition of the Historical Method, which basically responds the questions: To Whom was the text written? When was it written? What was written? Where did it get written? Why was it written? And how was it written? Regarding the Grammatical Method, we were taught a very simplistic principle, “When the first sense makes sense, seek no other sense”. Furthermore, the H-G Method seeks to solve what the point, purpose and problem is being discussed; Is there a promise? What sin should be avoided? And is there a personal application? This is pretty good, would you agree? Any KJV Bible believer would certainly use this methodology with hesitation.

However, there is a problem. Like Hartill, Mr. George and Frontier Baptist Missions (and others) miss the mark when they recommend and use a modern Bible version to carry out hermeneutics. Consider Hartill´s statements:

“Own a good Bible—American or Revised edition”, page 11. The Spanish version of his book recommends “Una Biblia de la Versión Revisada [RV 1881] con referencias. También son útiles la Versión Moderna y la Versión Hispanoamericana.” Like their counterparts in English, these modern Spanish Bibles are based on the Critical Text of Westcott and Hort!

“Don´t make a god of the 1611 version, or any other”, page 88

“There are apparent discrepancies in the Bible…mistakes were man´s errors in translating the Bible”, page 7

“The Hebrews never spoke of I and II Samuel or I and II Kings until the translation of the Septuagint Bible in 285 B.C….” page 8 (Hartill believed in the LXX).

Hartill, on page 39, quotes A.T. Pierson, which has taught many great truths, except inspiration:

The term verbal ´inspiration´ has been misunderstood. It does mean, of course, that every word we find in the Bible is the Word of God or represents His thought, since some words recount the actions of the mistaken and the wicked, nor are they His sayings, because in some cases, the one speaking is the devil. Any theory that grants equal importance or authority to all the words contained in the Bible is absurd.”  (Quoted by Dr. Jose Flores´book, “Escribiendo La Biblia” page 257)

Simply said, modern hermeneutics admit Westcott and Hort readings. This means that anyone in the Spanish world who follows the teachings of Mr. Calvin George will also follow Westcott and Hort´s underlying text, and Bibles such as the RSV, ASV and the RV1960 with all its additions, and omissions. Someone, however, would say, “Show me where I have wrongly interpreted a verse from the RV60? I would reply, how can a Spanish Bible believer ever interpret what isn´t there on his RV60? How can he interpret what has been added? How can anyone rightly interpret anything produced by the likes of Westcott and Hort?  (For a full list of all the Westcott and Hort readings in the RV60, please visit rvgbiblia.com, youtube.com/@rvgbiblia or facebook.com/ReinaValeraGomez or write to us rvgbiblia.com or donate.carlos@yahoo.com).

How have the RV60 fundamentalists been able to implement the H-G method or any other method of interpretation? Simply stated: by translating meaning, message, or the basic teaching of the text. So, Mr. George, who believes in and uses the H-G Method of Hermeneutics can easily implement the great truths of Scripture even with Westcott and Hort´s text! H-G Methodology doesn´t require that you use the KJV!

Hartill taught preservation, page 8. George and folks like him do too! The question is, preservation of what texts? Anyone can then use the H-G method to teach anything “preserved” in any ole text, including Westcott and Hort.

Conclusion.

Hermeneutics are useful when the right Bible is used! Spanish Bible believers need to use the RVG Bible, not the Westcott and Hort RV60. Nowadays, it behooves Hispanic Bible believers to be careful where they get their information regarding the interpretation of a verse. Hermeneutics has to be 100% based on the right Bible, and the right teacher.

To see Dr. Donate's excellent presentation he delivered in Haines City, FL in June of 2025, click here.