The next phase in the vernacular bible discourse: Echoes from Hammanskraal

Abstract

At a post-conference of the Society for New Testament Studies (SNTS) in Hammanskraal in 2001 a white South African Bible translator Eric Hermanson read a paper that sharply criticised the view of Dr Musa Dube, a woman theologian from Botswana. The matter at stake is the translation of some Greek words referring to 'demons' in the NT with the Setswana term 'badimo.' Hermanson has defended the translation as a valid contextualisation whereas Dube regards it as alienating colonisation. The article surveys the Dube-Hermanson debate in the context of the Hammanskraal conference and the broader missiological debates about translation and translatability. It analyses Dube's response in some detail, and explores the implications of the debate for ongoing missiological reflection in Africa.