Hermeneutics

Often if I'm ill I think of that saying

Feed a cold, starve a fever

The trouble with it is that it is not clear what is being said. Is it two separate pieces of advice - eat if you have a cold, starve yourself if you have a fever, or is it that failure to eat when you have a cold will lead to you having a fever? Without a context it is impossible to tell.

Then, of course, the textual critics will tell you it's really

Feed a cold, stave (off) a fever

That would favour the second meaning. Anyway it is an illustration of how hermeneutics can be difficult. Thankfully in Scripture we also have some sort of context and that is a great help.