This study investigates the history, proponents, constituting elements, challenges, methodology, and future directions of Mother-tongue Biblical Hermeneutics (MTBH) as an emerging hermeneutical approach in African biblical studies. It observes that the translation of the Bible into African mother -tongues has influenced the emergence of MTBH. Based on this observation it posits that MTBH will continue to dominate Ghanaian biblical studies in the years ahead as the Bible gets translated into many more Ghanaian languages. After an overview of African biblical studies, the study establishes a correlation between the production of mother-tongue Bibles and the emergence of MTBH. It charts the course of MTBH by looking at its Ghanaian pioneers. Through an analytic assessment of selected works of currently established practitioners of MTBH, the study presents the constituting elements, challenges, methodology, and future directions of the approach. Moreover, it presents some selected institutions in which MTBH is practised and its practical results. The study finds that a dominant focus of MTBH has been resolving translation-related problems using advanced exegetical and hermeneutical tools. Consequently, less has been done in the area of mother-tongue Bible commentaries and innovative and creative mother-tongue hermeneutical reflections. Keywords: Mother-tongue Biblical Hermeneutics, African Biblical Studies, Mother-tongue Bibles, African Christianity, Ghanaian Biblical Studies

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The liturgical reception of the Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9–13 par. Luke 11:2b–4) is well attested and still evident in Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox circles. For instance, in a reformed worship it is usual to hear varied versions of the statement: “And now as our saviour Christ has taught us, we humbly pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven (…)’.” It is striking, however, that such a liturgical use of the text is scarce in Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity worship. Such is the case in Ghanaian Christianity, where Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity forms the largest and most appealing stream of Christianity in Ghana. It only takes a visit to a Ghanaian Pentecostal-Charismatic Church during a worship session, to ascertain this fact. This article investigates this liturgical phenomenon in Pentecostal-Charismatic worship by analyzing a selection of popular literature written by Pentecostal-Charismatic Church leaders on the text of the Lord’s Prayer and through personal interviews with some of the leaders of Pentecostal-Charismatic churches. Before engaging in reception analysis, a brief exegetical analysis of the text is undertaken. The article concludes that the Lord’s Prayer does not appear in Pentecostal-Charismatic liturgy because it does not meet the Pentecostal-Charismatic understanding of prayer and it is conceived there as a pattern or format of prayer and hence it is chiefly employed as a means of instruction on effective prayers, rather than for recitation each Sunday, as found in Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox circles.

The book has nine chapters plus an introduction and concluding remarks with a foreword by Daniel Nii Aboagye Aryeh (PhD). Its content can be divided into two thematic parts. The first part, covering chs. 1–5 (pp. 1–42) is described variously as “elements of biblical interpretation” (p. xv), “foundational principles” (p. xv), and “basic elements of Biblical Exegesis” (p. 41). The authors signal this division by indicating in the “Introduction” (pp. xv-xvi) that “Most of the chapters examine elements of biblical interpretation …. Some of them include textual analysis, socio-rhetorical interpretation, contextual analysis, and others. We believe that these elements serve as foundational principles upon which African biblical interpretation can be built” (p. xv). This is further specified in the conclusion of ch. 5 “Literary Analysis” where the authors conclude that “This chapter has brought to an end our discussions on the basic elements of Biblical Exegesis. Most of the things discussed in the chapters that follow are applications of these elements” (p. 41). Accordingly, it is to be taken that chs. 6–9 (pp. 43–108) form the second thematic part of the book dealing with African biblical interpretation. Yet the place of ch. 6 “Socio-Rhetorical Biblical Interpretation” (pp. 43–58) is initially confusing because, while it is considered as part of the “elements of biblical interpretation” (p. xv) in the introduction and in the concluding remarks (p. 109), the ending of ch. 5 quoted shortly above indicates that those basic exegetical elements end with literary analysis and the subsequent chapters starting with ch. 5 are the application of these elements. The needed structural clarity here is missing and the reader is left to figure it out by him/herself in light of the remarks in the introduction and conclusion.