Hermeneutics (/hɛrməˈnuːtɪks/ or /hɛrməˈnjuːtɪks/) is the theory and methodology of text interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts.Hermeneutics was initially applied to the interpretation, or exegesis, of scripture. It emerged as a theory of human understanding in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries through the work of Friedrich Schleiermacher and Wilhelm Dilthey.