Bible Translation and Theology

[John of Japan]

How important for a Bible translator is it to know theology? Can one be a good translator with just knowing some linguistics and somewhat of the biblical languages?

About the translators with Wycliffe, D. A. Carson wrote:
"I am a huge admirer of their work, some of it undertaken in highly challenging circumstances. Some of [the translators] are linguistically well trained. But I have to say that rather few of them are trained in exegesis, biblical theology, or systematic theology. Very few of them have an MDiv, let alone more advanced training. With rare exceptions, I have not found them to be deep readers of Scripture, with the result that their approaches to translation challenges tend to be axiomatic. No one can be an expert in everything, of course--but if I have any hope for this book [i.e. Jesus: The Son of God], it is that some of these diligent and learned workers will begin to see the importance for Bible translation of the considerations I am advancing here, and that more of them will pursue advanced theological training as part of their preparation for a life in translation." From Jesus the Son of God, 107-108, quoted in Biblical Missions, ed. by Mark Tatlock and Chris Burnett, 580.

 

[John of Japan]

Here's an essay that highlights this issue: “Son of God” Unresolved: Ten Years After a Landmark Petition, Translators Continue to Remove "Son of God" and Insert Islamic Teaching into New Translations - Biblical Missiology

 

[JonC]

I am not sure how important it is (or, more precisely, how much education should be dedicated to theology).

I guess it depends on whether we are talking one person trying to translate the Bible (which would require extensive theology, history, and anthropological studies in addition to being an expert in the source and target languages) or if it is a team.

Generally speaking (me being the General...i.e., from my experience) if you obtain a theology degree you have studied Hebrew, Greek, probably German, exegesis,and Church history at a minimum. But your focus would be theology and you would probably not be an expert in the biblical languages.

I assume (right or wrong) that a translator would have a good theological foundation, but perhaps also benefit from the input of theologians.

I think this true in any field. A neurologist has some training that could help identify a problematic virus but a virologist would probably be better suited for the task.

 

[Deacon]

The end product of the translation of Scripture is a multi-generational process.
The initial translation of Scripture in many languages is rather rough - often without the benefit of a full team of experts.
A time passes and the deficiencies of the early translation come to light, other specialists are there to refine the work and correct the errors.

Evangelism among the Muslims is quite difficult. Lingustic and theological mistakes will be make. You can be sure that the Islamic Mullah's will take advantage of every weakness they can.

D.A. Carson continues after the quote mentioned in the first post, "...considerable literature has arisen from Muslim-convert believers who are aghast at these developments, arguing on both technical and personal grounds that these new translations are the product of Westerners who are imposing their work on local churches. It is difficult to be certain how much of this is grounded in informed criticism and how much is mere cultural conservatism. So far, however, I have not detected much pastoral sensitivity to this point on the part of some new translation theorists. Third, the spread of the gospel in the early church saw the dissemination of Scripture along with the provision of missionaries and pastors. One wonders if at least some of the tensions over Bible translation springs from the commitment on the part of some to provide adequate translations without simultaneously providing missionaries and pastors.​

Carson, D. A. 2012. Jesus the Son of God: A Christological Title Often Overlooked, Sometimes Misunderstood, and Currently Disputed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 108-109.

Carson's book was written to Western readers, the title was meant for Western readers. Many Western Christian's themselves need to learn the lessons about the meaning of Jesus as the Son of God.

Always be a student of God's Word.

Rob

 

[Armchair Apologist]

Seems that you should have a firm understanding of biblical doctrine and (more importantly) a familiarity with the scriptures.

I believe we should exercise caution not to translate the scriptures through the filter of our particular theological bent. Would it therefore be advantageous that one be a linguist first and foremost, that they would approach translation work with objectivity? I have at times caught myself citing scriptures from memory that seem to support a theological argument only to actually read the passage later and find out it says something entirely different (OOPS!)!

I would say that we all have certain areas where we are more skilled and gifted. Translation work takes a very unique skillset as well as those who sort through and analyze the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. I am thankful for those who are gifted in these areas and see the necessity but such is definitely is not my calling nor am I adequately equipped!

 

[John of Japan]

I am not sure how important it is (or, more precisely, how much education should be dedicated to theology).

I guess it depends on whether we are talking one person trying to translate the Bible (which would require extensive theology, history, and anthropological studies in addition to being an expert in the source and target languages) or if it is a team.

Good thoughts. So, along with a lead translator, native linguist, style editor, etc., should a translation team have a dedicated theologian? Caveat: many missionary translations are the effort of a single translator, many times without a national linguist. This is on the surface of it problematic, but occasionally (not often) a missionary is such a good speaker of the target language that he or she can do a good job translating. Errors are then caught in the process of review by the nationals.

Generally speaking (me being the General...i.e., from my experience) if you obtain a theology degree you have studied Hebrew, Greek, probably German, exegesis,and Church history at a minimum. But your focus would be theology and you would probably not be an expert in the biblical languages.

The translator with an MDiv or MA may start out with only the one year of Hebrew and several years of Greek. However, the more he or she translates the better the translator gets at the source languages.

Now note that one complaint about Wycliffe is that many times their translators do not even have training in the original languages! Such training is not required by Wycliffe, to the best of my knowledge.

I assume (right or wrong) that a translator would have a good theological foundation, but perhaps also benefit from the input of theologians.

I think this true in any field. A neurologist has some training that could help identify a problematic virus but a virologist would probably be better suited for the task.

Quite often Bible translators do not have a good theological background, as witness the article by D. A. Carson I linked to. Translation schools rarely have theology courses, which I think is a shame. I believe a translator in training can be sufficiently expert in both theology and linguistics.

 

[John of Japan]

Seems that you should have a firm understanding of biblical doctrine and (more importantly) a familiarity with the scriptures.

I believe we should exercise caution not to translate the scriptures through the filter of our particular theological bent. Would it therefore be advantageous that one be a linguist first and foremost, that they would approach translation work with objectivity? I have at times caught myself citing scriptures from memory that seem to support a theological argument only to actually read the passage later and find out it says something entirely different (OOPS!)!

Good thoughts.

I would say that we all have certain areas where we are more skilled and gifted. Translation work takes a very unique skillset as well as those who sort through and analyze the Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. I am thankful for those who are gifted in these areas and see the necessity but such is definitely is not my calling nor am I adequately equipped!

Good points as long as you realize that textual criticism is a quite different discipline from Bible translation (I'm sure you do), except that they both involve the original languages. I have known of translators who tried to do both, such as Nathan Brown (first Japanese NT translation), but the qualifications are quite different.

 

[John of Japan]

The end product of the translation of Scripture is a multi-generational process.
The initial translation of Scripture in many languages is rather rough - often without the benefit of a full team of experts.
A time passes and the deficiencies of the early translation come to light, other specialists are there to refine the work and correct the errors.

Evangelism among the Muslims is quite difficult. Lingustic and theological mistakes will be make. You can be sure that the Islamic Mullah's will take advantage of every weakness they can.

And the failure to translate "Son of God" for Jesus is a huge weakness. It is capitulation, not faithfulness to the Scriptures. "Son of God" is a crucial theological term.

For that phrase our Japanese NT, we rejected the term used by all others for the Son, Miko (御子), which is the gender neutral term for the children of the Emperor, and went with goshisoku (ご子息), which, while still honorific, does not treat the Lord of the Universe as simply an Emperor's child. We were criticized.

D.A. Carson continues after the quote mentioned in the first post, "...considerable literature has arisen from Muslim-convert believers who are aghast at these developments, arguing on both technical and personal grounds that these new translations are the product of Westerners who are imposing their work on local churches. It is difficult to be certain how much of this is grounded in informed criticism and how much is mere cultural conservatism. So far, however, I have not detected much pastoral sensitivity to this point on the part of some new translation theorists. Third, the spread of the gospel in the early church saw the dissemination of Scripture along with the provision of missionaries and pastors. One wonders if at least some of the tensions over Bible translation springs from the commitment on the part of some to provide adequate translations without simultaneously providing missionaries and pastors.​

Carson, D. A. 2012. Jesus the Son of God: A Christological Title Often Overlooked, Sometimes Misunderstood, and Currently Disputed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway. 108-109.

Thank you for the context for Carson's quote.

Carson's book was written to Western readers, the title was meant for Western readers. Many Western Christian's themselves need to learn the lessons about the meaning of Jesus as the Son of God.

Always be a student of God's Word.

Rob

Amen to this!

 

[John of Japan]

Here are the Bible translation degrees I am aware of, and their curricula:

Baptist Bible Translator's Institute: Baptist Bible Translators Institute, Bowie Texas - Baptist Bible Translators Institute, Bowie Texas. The current website does not list the curriculum any more, but when they did not too long ago, they did not have any theology courses. They don't give an MA, but just a diploma as per Texas law.

Dallas Theological Seminary. Some time ago they joined with Dallas International University (DIU) for the MA. This school was previously about only translation. The MA in Bible translation at DTS now has a robust 66 credit MA with exegesis and Bible languages, with 18 credits required from the Bible translation school. Caveat: I've been told that DIU is embracing a problematic "oral translation" theory.

Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), connected with Wycliffe. Our linguistics prof took their MA, and it was all linguistics.

Biblical School of World Evangelism has a linguistics degree designed to produce Bible translators. It is an excellent program for its type (I've met some of the leaders and grads) but requires no theology: Biblical School of World Evangelism - Concentrations

Baptist Theological Seminary: Baptist Theological Seminary - Doctrinal Precision. Revival Vision.. Their program has theology, linguistics, and Bible translation courses.

I know there are others, but these are the ones I'm familiar with.