Translations and interpretations of baptizontes (Mt 28:19–20) in some Ghanaian mother tongue translations of the Bible

Jesus used the vine in the last of his “I AM” predictions in the gospel of John. In this discourse, Jesus used the vine which was familiar to his audience for better understanding and appreciation of God’s word. Great work has been done on the analogy of the vine by scholars and theologians however, little work has been done on the translation of the Greek words, ᾱμπɛλος (ampelos) and κλῆμᾱ (klema) as used in the Asante-Twi Bible. Using the mother-tongue biblical hermeneutics methodology, this article examines the translation and interpretation of ᾱμπɛλος and κλῆμᾱ in the Asante-Twi Bible in comparison with five Ghanaian mother-tongue Bibles namely, the Akuapem-Twi Bible, the Fante Bible, and the Ga, Ewe and the Frafra Bibles. The findings show that translators used varied approaches to render ᾱμπɛλος and κλῆμᾱ to suit the understanding of the indigenes. Some translators used transliteration or literal approach, others coined their own words having consulted the indigenes about better terminologies that will suit their understanding of some difficult texts. This article makes a contribution to the need to re-translate and re-interpret the words bobe and ban particularly in the Asante-Twi Bible to avoid speculation. KEYWORDS: Mother-tongue, translation, interpretation, Asante-Twi

Examining the Translation and the Interpretation of Ᾱμπɛλος (Ampelos) and κλῆμᾱ(Klema) as Bobe and Ban/Mman in John 15:1-5 of the Asante-Twi Bible

Badu

2021

Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics: A Critical Assessment of the History of an Emerging Approach in African Biblical Studies

Wandusim

2023

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

Structuralism and Deconstruction in Biblical Scholarship: Annotated Bibliographies

Frimpong,

Kuwornu-Adjaottor

2024

Self Cite

Academic referencing, though very significant in scholarship, has not been an easy task for both students and researchers, especially when one is restricted to following a particular referencing style either as instructed by one’s educational institution or by a publishing house through which one seeks a publication. In biblical scholarship, the philosophies of structuralism and deconstruction are very significant, especially as much as textual translation and interpretation are concerned. Several proponents have shared their scholarly views on how they individually appreciate these philosophical concepts. In an attempt to unravel some of such works without neglecting the authors and their central discussions, this paper employed a methodology through the construction of annotated bibliographies of such works. Findings indicated that while structuralism mainly studies the meaning of a text independently of its history and culture, deconstruction considers the world of the audience in line with the author’s intention and how that intention could be relevant to the new audience, taking into account the history of the text and the culture of the audience. Also, some of the key proponents of structuralism and its philosophical development include de Saussure, Levi-Strauss, Sasková and Titchener. Key proponents of deconstruction include Derrida, Norris, Ekem, Kuwornu-Adjaottor, Mugambi, and Nida. Significantly, with a maximum word count of 150 words and not less than 50 words, readers would understand key information contained in the sampled works of the authors through the annotations. Keywords: Referencing, Annotated Bibliography, Structuralism, Deconstruction