Choosing the Right Words for The Word: Lessons in Translation

More than 2,000 years have passed since the biblical books were first composed and compiled. During that time, the Bible has been translated and disseminated throughout the world—new places, new contexts, new languages. Translation is not merely about substitution, or replacing one word with another in a new language, it is about communicating an idea to a new time, place, and culture. According to Dutch theologian Sijbolt Noorda, “Translation doesn’t take place in vacuo, but in a specific cultural environment. This is precisely why translation must be done again and again.” In this forum, we will explore the main components of translation and highlight some important places in the Gospel of Matthew where translation really matters!

Rev. Dr. Megan Fullerton Strollo is Assistant Professor of Biblical Languages at Union Presbyterian Seminary. There, she teaches courses in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic as well as courses in biblical interpretation and translation. Her research interests focus on post-exilic literature of the Bible, including the books of Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Esther. When it comes to both interpretation and translation, she always says, “Context matters!”