Hermeneutics and the Limit of Interpretation: The Necessary Horizon of the Infinite in the Judeo-Christian Tradition

Abstract

This article explores the limits of theological hermeneutics by confronting the notion of infinity within the Judeo-Christian tradition. Drawing on authors such as Paul Ricoeur, Emmanuel Lévinas, Joseph Edelheit, Jean-Luc Marion, Jean-Luc Nancy, and Mark C. Taylor, it argues that theological interpretation cannot be reduced to the search for textual meaning but must instead open itself to what exceeds, silences, and ethically calls the subject. Infinity is approached not as an abstract concept, but as foundational absence, as a face that destabilizes knowledge and summons responsibility. A theology of listening is proposed—one that acknowledges failure, fragmentation, and withdrawal as legitimate modes of divine revelation.

Keywords: Theological Hermeneutics. Infinity. Otherness. Silence. Theology of Listening.