Interpretation limited to then or now?

Interpretation limited to then or now?

Is interpretation primarily designed to understand the meaning of a text in its original context, or to understand its meaning for us in the present?

My answer would be that it is a combination of both. Let’s take the Bible for example. The Bible was written hundreds and hundreds of years ago, the world today is not the world it was when the Bible was written. Therefore, it is important to realize and understand the world in the times in which the Bible was written. One must understand the context before applying it to modern day times such as the present. But just because the Bible is an ancient text does not mean that the principles and stories do not apply anymore. There is something universal in the meaning, something that is still applicable hundreds of years later even if we are now driving cars instead of riding donkeys. So it is a combination of both for any text, even if it is a novel written 50 years ago. One must know where the author is coming from at the time, but also say, “Okay, now what I can get from this today, right here and now?” Looking into the past can help explain things today. And just because a piece of literature is written generations ago doesn’t mean that it isn’t applicable today or that we can only interpret it within the era in which it was written. Great works of literature have a universal meaning and truth that can be interpreted generations and years later.