MAP — Modular Aggregation of Principles for Bible Translation

https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/tbtd/76/3

At a time when many Bible translation practitioners are focussing on the distinctives of Oral Bible Translation (TBT Special Issue 76.1), Sign Language translation (TBT Special Issue 77.1, forthcoming), and concerns of ethics and AI (BT Conference 2025), this issue presents a range of regular papers on the semantics of Hebrew and Greek terms and expressions, translation principles, and history.

Norman Simon Rodriguez argues that the expression יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, traditionally rendered “the LORD God,” may be better understood as meaning “YHWH, the chief of the heavenly council” or “YHWH God of gods”; his argument is based on older scholarship which has not received the currency which it may deserve. Martin Johnson and Philip Jenson argue that the term תַּנּיִם, traditionally rendered “dragons” and more recently “jackals,” is best understood as referring to crocodiles; their argument reminds us that receptor-language terms such as “dragon” may themselves change in meaning over time, and that translation often requires a truly encyclopaedic approach (philology, art history, geography, zoology, etc.).

Gerald W. Peterman argues that the expression πρόσωπον πρὸς πρόσωπον in 1 Cor 13.12 is a literal rendering of פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים and so should not be understood as referring to a physical encounter (“face to face”), but to a close encounter which might be expressed as “clearly,” “directly,” or “intimately/personally.” Wilbur A. Benware looks at the form and early history of interpretation of the apparently redundant expression λαλεῖν γλώσσῃ, traditionally rendered as “to speak in tongues”; he argues that the concept of Spirit-inspired unintelligible utterance (traditionally “glossolalia”) preceded that of Spirit-inspired use of a natural language that one has not learnt (“xenoglossia”), and that the former in fact died out.

Carsten Ziegert and Maria Behnke argue for a more thorough use of conceptual metaphor theory in Bible translation training and practice; though applied to biblical texts in several recent dissertations, this important perspective deserves a more prominent place at all levels of work. Justino Alfredo surveys the history of Bible translation into Lomwe in northern Mozambique, assessing its impact in churches and society. And Alice T. Reed looks at distinctives of the recent English First Nations Version New Testament, known for its high degree of contextualisation, drawing out implications for issues of ethics and loyalty.

Book reviews address a similar range of topics: Misheck Nyirenda on Park’s The Fundamentals of Hebrew Accents: Divisions and Exegetical Roles Beyond Syntax, Matthijs de Jong on Felber’s Kommunikative Bibelübersetzung: Eugene A. Nida und sein Modell der dynamischen Äquivalenz, Riikka Halme-Berneking on Mojola’s God Speaks My Language: A History of Bible Translation in East Africa, Gerrit J. van Steenbergen on Nyirenda’s Vernacular Bibles in Africa through European Eyes: Case Studies in Nineteenth Century Translation, and Lady Paula R. Mandalika on Lattu’s Rethinking Interreligious Dialogue: Orality, Collective Memory, and Christian–Muslim Engagements in Indonesia.

Exceptionally, most of the papers in this issue address translation into English. We trust that other colleagues may be able to draw benefit for their own languages and contexts, and that these scholarly contributions will result in better translation resources, training, and practice.

Andy Warren-Rothlin
Marijke de Lang