Gender in Bible Translation: A Crucial Issue Still Mired in Misunderstanding (Brunn 2024)

Brunn, David. 2024. “Gender in Bible Translation: A Crucial Issue Still Mired in Misunderstanding.” Themelios 49 (1): 12–31. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/gender-in-bible-translation-a-crucial-issue-still-mired-in-misunderstanding/.

This article argues that much of the controversy surrounding gender in Bible translation is unnecessary. One reason is that many of the discussions about this issue have focused almost exclusively on the way nonliteral versions translate gender, giving insufficient attention to the way gender is handled in versions that identify as literal.  A careful, objective examination of both kinds of versions together will show that the two sides of this discussion are not as far apart as some have supposed. While there are differences between the various versions, this article will demonstrate that the most significant distinction between the way literal and nonliteral versions handle gender in translation lies in the frequency rather than the nature of the adjustments.