Die intentio auctoris als hermeneutisches Problem

Abstract The fundamental aim of academic biblical interpretation is generally understood to be the reconstruction of the intentio auctoris , that is, the historical intention of the author. Ecclesiastical biblical interpretation, by contrast, is largely oriented toward the contemporary reader and his or her lifeworld. Both approaches can be justified hermeneutically: the former with reference to Spinoza and Schleiermacher, the latter with reference to Barthes and Foucault. Yet if the two approaches are not to be entirely decoupled from one another, a hermeneutical model capable of mediating between them is required. Drawing on Gadamer’s hermeneutics, this article seeks to demonstrate the fundamental compatibility of reader-oriented biblical interpretation and historical thinking.