Definitely!
But just as important, at least as important, is, in my mind, letting the Scriptures speak for themselves. By that I mean that the Scriptures reflect what God wants them to say and He's not confused or contradictory of himself. If I find what is hard to understand or seems contradictory I know I need to dig further because I know the message and understanding of the Bible was meant foe everyone, educated or not.
That is what everyone should do constantly!
An example: Luke 22:19, reads in the AV,
“And he took bread, and gave thanks and brake it, and gave unto them, saying This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.”
So was it bread they ate and “this MEANS my body”, or human flesh and “this IS my body”?
So hermeneutics? Fine so long as the process doesn't overshadow the purpose.
Please expound on this a little further - it could prove interesting.
Most will go for in between since bringing the meaning to the reader is more important than the exact words used but to avoid taking undue libertiies with the sense of the original there has to be real justification for the words chosen.
Lexicons, etc. are useful reference materials but no writer of the Scriptures had them to consult or is bound by them. Even today we don't know the full range of meanings of Greek words and usages.
So at Luke 22:19 the Greek word “estin” is represented by the English “is”. And despite the equivocation's of a certain well known person, we all know what “is” means, don't we?
But “is” is the English word the translator chose to use in place of another, another that might just as well, or even more accurately, reflect what Jesus’ words meant since it's possible/likely he was not speaking koine’ Greek here.
Were they going to eat human flesh or bread? From the wording of the verse alone it can't be answered.