Ernst R. Wendland

Theology and Ministry in Africa through Bible Translation: “How Firm a Foundation”?

I trust that most readers would agree with that affirmation, especially those involved in translating God’s Word. And, when we look at the numbers, it does seem that Bible translation is receiving a great deal of attention throughout the African continent. A recent statistical summary of the United Bible Societies, for example, indicates that by the end of 2004, the Africa Region led the world in Scripture production, with 292 New Testaments and 158 complete Bibles having been published in different African languages, including 29 editions with the Deuterocanon, plus some 223 portions of Scripture (United Bible Societies, World Report 391 [March 2005]: 3-5). In spite of these impressive statistics, we (both individuals and church bodies) need to ask ourselves: How firm a foundation have we laid with regard to our own participation in building upon this long-standing tradition, by actively engaging ourselves in the corporate work of Bible translation that is being carried out in our home countries? Are we honestly doing enough, in the light of our available talents and resources, to support the efforts of the regional and national Bible Societies (e.g., the Bible Society of Zambia) which are operating in virtually every country of this continent? We cannot claim to be our Society’s “supporters” merely because we happen to purchase from them the Bibles that we use in our homes and churches, for where else could we readily obtain copies? Besides, these Scriptures are normally offered at a considerably subsidized rate (for a full Bible, from between 30 and 40 percent of the actual publication cost), so in effect somebody else in the world is funding the purchase of our Holy Scriptures. Why have I raised this issue? It is simply because in my years of involvement in the ministry of Bible translation in Africa, I have generally seen far too little home-grown support for so pressing a task, so urgent a mission. In fact, I would have to say that in my experience (mainly in Zambia and Malawi), 206 THE BIBLE TRANSLATOR (VOL. 57, NO. 4

A Discourse Structural Overview of the Prophecy of Micah

After a short introduction, the methodology underlying this study is explained in terms of the so-called breaks, bonds, bounds, and bumps of discourse organization, as revealed by five principal literary-structural markers: aperture, closure, bonding, juncture, and peak. These diagnostic features are then applied to present a sequential summary of the compositional arrangement (cycles, stanzas, strophes) of the entire prophetic book of Micah. The significance of this type of detailed discourse analysis for both understanding the biblical text and translating it is briefly pointed out and illustrated.

How Wide are ‘The Gates of Zion’ (שַׁעֲרֵ֣י צִיֹּ֑ון)? — A Textual, Translational, and Performative Study of Psalm 87

Psalm 87, a joyous “Song of Zion,” presents us with a rather controversial religious poem that scholars and commentators roundly debate, with respect to the Hebrew text itself, its interpretation, and its overall strophic organisation. This study explores some of the salient hermeneutical issues, which revolve around an identification of the presumed divinely begotten inhabitants of “the City of Zion,” and comes to a new conclusion with regard to the structure of this psalm that relates in turn to its apparent intended meaning. These observations form the basis for evaluating several recent translations—first, a traditional “formal correspondence” liturgical version, and secondly, more “functionally equivalent” renditions, one in English, another one in Chichewa, a Bantu language of south-central Africa. The primary aim of these latter versions is to express the translated text in a more dynamic manner that highlights the psalm’s oral-aural features, as well as its potential for contemporary performance.

Where was Korah killed and what difference does it make? a brief structural thematic analysis of numbers 16:1-40

Careful readers often become confused when trying to follow the graphic account of Korah’s rebellion against Moses recorded in Numbers 16:1–40. Bible commentators do not help very much because either they avoid discussing the apparent narrative inconsistencies, or they are divided on how to construe the Hebrew text. Furthermore, Korah is not the only rebel involved, and his dramatic downfall is just one of two uprisings that are reported, which subsequently spark an even greater insurrection that involves all the people (16:41–50). One also wonders: is this the main message of the chapter — namely, that the Lord will punish, most severely, all those who rise with impunity against his authority and the leaders whom he has chosen as well as the religious rules that he has instituted? This study reflects upon certain aspects of the elaborate structural organisation that characterises the book of Numbers as a whole in order to suggest a way of explaining the intricate arrangement that we find in the text of Chapter 16, one which serves to highlight important themes that constitute its main paraenetic message for the people of God. After an overview of some pertinent background information that provides a frame of reference for understanding this pivotal chapter, the pericope covering verses 1–40 is outlined and explained in sections, including several important intertextual references to Korah. Finally, the significance of this investigation for interpreting as well as formatting the biblical text is summarised and illustrated.

Re-telling the Word Rhetorically: The Example of Shadreck Wame, a Chewa Itinerant Evangelist

Abstract This study presents a rhetorical analysis of Shadreck Wame, a popular Malawian revival preacher. After an overview of the “rhetorical setting” in which these vernacular sermons were preached in the 1990s, ten “oral-rhetorical techniques” that characterize Wame’s preaching style are identified, based on a corpus of nearly 50 of his Chewa-language sermons that I recorded from radio broadcasts in the 1990s. These features are then illustrated in selections from a specific sermon that Evangelist Wame preached in 1997 in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi. In particular, his situationally-influenced “re-tellings,” or paraphrases, of a familiar biblical text, Christ’s Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Luke 20:9-18), are identified and elaborated upon in footnotes. I conclude this description of a popular preacher’s dynamic, contextualized homiletical style with a number of applications to contemporary communicators in Africa. Both the content and the methodology of this analysis may be significant for comparative purposes when teaching sermonic technique in different, especially non-Western, sociocultural settings.

Poeticizing the Psalter in an African Language

Abstract This study illustrates the application of a literary methodology to the analysis and translation of biblical poetry. The aim is twofold: first and foundational, to reveal salient aspects of the beauty and power of Psalm 13 in the original Hebrew; and second, to experiment with different methods of communicating the original meaning of the psalmist’s passionate prayer with respect to lyric form, content, and function in Chichewa, a major Bantu language. After a thorough examination of the principal structural and stylistic features of the biblical text, a typical lament psalm, several published and unpublished Chewa translations are critically discussed. The ultimate purpose is, as the title of this paper suggests, to produce an acceptable, functionally equivalent, poetic version of the Hebrew text in the vernacular. In conclusion, the main principles illustrated in this study are summarized in an effort to encourage more dynamic, idiomatic, indeed melodic translations of the Scriptures in local languages, where circumstances allow. “How long” must so many reader-hearers suffer under the burden of a less than communicative version of the Psalter in their mother tongue?

One Thing I Know: How the Blind Man of John 9 Leads an Audience toward Belief by Britt Leslie (review)

This book is the reformatted version of the author’s dissertation (PhD, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago), written under the direction of Prof. David Rhoads. Dr Britt currently serves as Adjunct Professor at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and as Adjunct Professor at South University’s online Doctor of Ministry Program. The book consists of an “Introduction” to the study, its “Conclusions” from the viewpoint of the original text’s likely “performance,” and four methodological chapters, each of which explores the story of Jesus’s healing of the man born blind (John 9) from distinct, but interrelated perspectives: linguistic patterns (2), narrative structure (3), social-science criticism (4), and the text’s ironic, occasionally humorous implications (5). These narrative strategies are shown to have a clearly defined rhetorical purpose—one that coincides with the larger aim of the Gospel of John, as stated in 20:31: “So that you may trust that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and through trusting you may have life in his name.”

Bible translation - a lighthouse and a library for the promotion and preservation of language and 'literature' in Africa : the example of Chinyanja

In this article I explore several implications of the thematic metaphorical terms “lighthouse” and “library” with reference to three translations of the complete Scriptures that have been made in the Chinyanja language of Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique. How did these translations, one begun over a century ago, serve both to promote (enlighten, show the way, reveal the rocks) and also to preserve (act as a reservoir and repository for) the language and culture of the Chinyanja-speaking peoples of this south-central African region? My survey describes some of the major challenges, difficulties, and setbacks encountered along the way in contrast to certain outstanding successes that were achieved and new initiatives undertaken during this long history, which continues to be written in the new millennium. Several linguistic aspects of this progressive development are briefly examined in a comparative manner with reference to a number of Scripture passages as they appear in the most literal and most idiomatic Chinyanja versions. I conclude by summarizing the potential of mother-tongue Bible translation for enlarging, by way of preservation and promotion, the overall communication resources of any given language-culture, especially one that does not have a great corpus of published literature.

Whose side are you on? Structure and rhetoric in Christ's parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46), with special reference to Bible translation.

This well-known eschatological passage from Matthew is examined from two complementary discourse perspectives. First, the elaborate structural organization of the text is presented in terms of its salient compositional parallels and main points of internal divergence within the principal pattern of development. Secondly, I will summarize some of the chief aspects of rhetorical significance that are manifested by the masterful blending of form and content in relation to the wider discourse context of this parabolic pericope. In conclusion, I will offer a few suggestions as to the practical relevance of this sort of analysis for translators who wish to convey a greater measure of its considerable communicative impact and persuasive appeal for a contemporary audience in another language and culture. The aim and approach of this short paper has been both stimulated and informed by similar studies that have appeared among the many scholarly writings of Bernard Combrink, to whom I gratefully dedicate the present effort.

Review: Bible Translation Basics: Communicating Scripture in a Relevant WayHillHarriet, GuttErnst-August, HillMargaret, UngerChristoph, and FloydRick. Bible Translation Basics: Communicating Scripture in a Relevant Way.Dallas: SIL International, 2011. xii + 291 pages.

Harriet Hill, Ernst-August Gutt, Margaret Hill, Christoph Unger, and Rick Floyd. Bible Translation Basics: Communicating Scripture in a Relevant Way. Dallas: SIL International, 2011. xii + 291 pages.