Theses
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Item Translating Tzedek in the Old Testament(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Dyer, Josh; Domeris, William R.; Domeris, William R.צדקה and צדק, both usually translated righteousness, are key words found throughout the Old Testament. This research project analyses each appearance of these words from the Hebrew scriptures and gives recommendations for translation into English based on a study of relevant resources and several existing Bible versions. Consideration will also be given to δικαιοσύνη in the Greek scriptures as those authors were writing from a Hebrew or Aramaic mindset. Other concepts besides righteousness are often intended by the author, especially prominent among these is justice. It will be argued that righteousness is rarely the best choice of terms even when that concept is required.Item Translating נֶֶ֫פֶשׁ in the Psalms into Chinese--an exercise in intergenerational, literary Bible translation(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg, South Africa) Yu, Hui-Er; Malherbe, Johannes S.This dissertation explores the translation of the Hebrew term נֶפֶש (nephesh), traditionally rendered as "soul," in the Psalms into contemporary Chinese. The research focuses on how the misinterpretation and mistranslation of this word have impacted both Chinese and Western Christian communities, particularly within the framework of Watchman Nee’s theological views, which have had a significant influence on Chinese Christians. The study proposes an intergenerational approach to Bible translation, where children and adults work together to produce a Chinese version of the Psalms that is both theologically accurate and linguistically accessible to readers of all ages. By employing Wendland’s Literary Functional Equivalence (LiFE) approach, the research analyzes the possible meanings of נֶפֶש and evaluates its translation across prominent Chinese and English Bible versions. Through an extensive training process and collaborative translation effort, the study tests the hypothesis that an intergenerational Bible translation team can produce a readable and theologically sound Chinese version of the Psalms. The research provides new insights into how intergenerational ministry and child participation in Bible translation can foster greater engagement with Scripture while addressing longstanding translation challenges.Item Bible Translation as Mission: Towards an Assessment of the Use of Translated Scriptures and their Missional Impact in Bakossi, South West Cameroon(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Ngole, David Some 1970; Kipimo, Jesse F.; Kipimo, Jesse F.This thesis entitled, Bible Translation as Mission: Towards an Assessment of the Use of Translated Scriptures and their Missional Impact in Bakossi, South West Cameroon, researches the impact of the mother tongue scriptures as an evangelistic tool for missions amongst the Bakossi people in the South West Region of Cameroon. This study attempts to ascertain the impact the Bakossi Bible Translation Project (BBTP) of the Cameroon Association for Bible Translation and Literacy (CABTAL) has had on the socio-cultural and spiritual lives of the Bakossi people. It tries to emphasize the importance of the local language and how it shapes people’s world views, as well as how it is a tool for Bakossi churches in carrying out the mission of God. This thesis traces the historical aspects that led to the translation of the Word of God into the Akoose language. The missionaries identified the local language as an adequate medium for gospel communication. The emergence of the churches and the Bakossi Bible Translation Project is a realisation of the dream to bring the Word of God to the Bakossi people in their heart language. Since the time missionaries brought Christianity in 1896 and promoted the use of the local language for gospel communication to the recent translation of scriptures in the Akoose language, great strides had been made towards this goal. The Bakossi Bible Translation Project has been operational in Bakossi since 1996, leading to the translation of the book of Ruth, 1 Samuel chapter 1 and 2, the New Testament (Melle Mekoole), Parables, the Jesus Film, an audio form of the New Testament and posters for scripture exhibition. Moreover, a literacy program is put in place to teach people how to read and write the mother tongue and a program to promote the use of the translated scriptures called “Scripture Engagement.” 7The author consulted other literary or academic works in order to decipher what others have written towards the importance of mother tongue scriptures for missions. An empirical study was done by distributing questionnaires to the clergy, lay preachers, Christians, and scripture engagement personel. This study analysed the contextual engagement of the mother-tongue Scriptures with its socio-cultural and spiritual impact within the Bakossi churches. To buttress this, the author looked at the theological relevance and significance of Bible translation as a tool for effective missions. He developed theological models for the promotion of the Akoose scriptures in the Bakossi churches and studied its implications for evangelism, discipleship, and church growth. The results showed that despite the presence of the local scriptures, there is an absence of proper strategies and a need for more work promoting their use for evangelism and discipleship. Thus, the author sought to devise strategies for the effective use and promotion of the mother tongue scriptures to fulfil the missional goal of effective evangelism and discipleship. Finally, the author offered recommendations and action plans to be implemented by church leaders, lay preachers, literacy teachers, scripture engagement promoters, and Christians to promote the translated scriptures in the effective transformation of lives and church growth.Item Biblical Hebrew Verbal System in Poetry: Examining the Constellation, Functions, and Semantics of Biblical Hebrew Finite Conjugations in Elements of the Psalms of Lament(South African Theological Seminary Johannesburg) Banda, Maxwell Chiwoko 1992-; Domeris, William R.; Pelletier, MathieuThe Biblical Hebrew verbal system in the poetry of Psalms poses a challenge for Bible translators and interpreters. This has resulted in variations and inconsistencies in the rendering of finite verbal conjugations in Bible translations and commentaries. Some scholars of the Hebrew Bible wonder whether the Biblical Hebrew verbal system in the book of Psalms follows any linguistic principles. This research investigates the constellation, functions, and semantics of the Biblical Hebrew finite conjugations in elements of the Psalms of Lament in an attempt to find linguistic principles that the writers of Psalms might have used in their selection of verbal conjugations. After introducing the research concept in the first chapter the researcher studies the characteristics of Biblical Hebrew poetry to understand the dichotomy between prose and poetic texts. The research goes further in studying different theories on the Biblical Hebrew verbal system. The textlinguistic theories of Alviero Niccacci and Robert E Longacre are singled out as promising because of their insistence on the importance of studying verbal conjugations in the text and not in isolation. The textlinguistic theory is blended with the genre analysis theory of Hermann Gunkel who proposes that the book of Psalms can be studied reasonably if only the Psalms are classified in their different genres.Upon studying the constituent parts of the Psalms of Lament under genre analysis the researcher examines how finite verbal conjugations are constellated indifferent genre-elements of the Psalms of Lament. The research discovers that some verbal forms dominate in specific genre-elements while other verbal conjugations dominate in other elements. The analysis of the findings reveals that the writers of the Psalms of Lament did not select Biblical Hebrew finite conjugations randomly but that they were guided by the genre principle whereby a specific verbal conjugation was selected in a specific element to fulfil a specific linguistic function. Therefore, this research proposes that a genre analysis approach gives new hopes in the future of studying Biblical Hebrew verbal conjugations in the poetic corpus.Item Translating Biblical Hebrew poetry into Tanzanian Sign Language: a study of BILAT’s work on Jonah 2:1–10(Johannesburg South African Theological Seminary) Cuceuan, Ioan Alin