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Biblical interpreters in church, society and academy have always engaged in some form of conversation, implicitly or explicitly, with past and present hermeneutical traditions, developments and debates. The relationship between biblical and philosophical hermeneutics has not necessarily been one-sided in terms of biblical interpretation merely seeking to respond to hermeneutical initiatives emerging from philosophical schools or individual hermeneuts. Friedrich Schleiermacher combined a Pietistic family background with Romantic and Enlightenment concerns, and provoked a revolution in hermeneutical thinking. Once a sub-discipline of theological and literary disciplines, hermeneutics was now presented as an overarching philosophical discipline essential for anybody wishing to understand another person's linguistic communication. Philosophical hermeneutical reflection is necessary for proper biblical interpretation. Martin Heidegger's philosophy gave rise to an explosion in hermeneutical studies. His philosophical analysis of the human person's existential possibility to decide for or against an authentic life motivated Rudolf Bultmann.

During the 1890s Elliott Coues (1842–1899), one of America's greatest ornithologists, edited several exploration narratives about the American Northwest, including Lewis and Clark's Travels. Coues tracked down the manuscript journals of two of Lewis and Clark's contemporaries, fur trader Alexander Henry (1765–1814) and geographer David Thompson (1770–1857), employees of the Northwest Company. Coues' abridged and edited version of Henry's text, accompanied by notes that draw heavily on Thompson's scientific records, appeared in 1897 in three volumes. Despite the deep prejudice evident in Henry's writing, Coues judged it a reliable account of his unscrupulous business dealings, and of the harsh realities he observed among many different First Nations peoples. Volume 2 covers 1808–14, when Henry travelled in Saskatchewan and Alberta, crossed the Great Divide, and traded along the Columbia River. This volume also contains Coues' original Volume 3, a comprehensive index of people and places.