The Africa Study Bible–Why?

I’ve got an Africa Study Bible on my desk these days.

I’ve been paging through it, gleaning insight and preparing to send it to a missionary I know in Gambia.

It’s interesting and full of different takes on the Bible from a decidedly African view-point.

Spiritual information with a cultural interpretation different from mine fascinates me.

I’ve written about them here, here,  and here, and even included the concept in my first novella, The Dogtrot Christmas.

Why an African study Bible?

According to Dr. Matthew Elliott, president of Oasis International, Ltd., the idea was first floated at a conference in Ghana.

“They [the participants] had a pastor’s heart and desire for a Bible to deepen faith and build disciples, not just present facts.”

Elliott explained in an interview with Training Leaders International, “if you focus on understanding meaning of a text, it will be very similar to any study Bible in the world. If you focus on discipleship, it is pastoral to Africa.”

Similarly, a survey done in Nigeria revealed that “meanings of words from the United States or the United Kingdom were not always clear for English-speaking Africans.”

While studying the Sermon on the Mount with my own Bible study recently, I gained insight the women found interesting.

“The Sudanese has a proverb that translates: ‘The camel does not know his neck is twisted.’

“This means a certain tribe can view another tribe as thieves, killers and cattle raiders, not recognizing they practice the same sins.

Jesus urges us to deal with our own sins before pointing the blame at others. It is easy to see the sins and mistakes of others without taking note of our own short-comings.

He said we must repent and ask God to give us an honest evaluation of ourselves.”

We don’t have camels where I live. I can see, however, where this proverb might be helpful for people who do. Why not use an example they either might encounter or which is part of their cultural heritage?

Application, not a commentary

Special markings to point out important ideas.

“We are targeting the pastor that maybe has not gone through a full theological education.

In a commentary you comment on the text. In this study Bible, we are doing less interpretation and more application of the text.”

The applications and ideas came from pastors in Africa. By networking through a variety of organizations like Wycliffe Bible Translators, Scripture Union, SIM, CRU and Navigators, for example, Oasis found 350 writers.

People from 30 different African countries provided 30 pages of questions about how to create the study Bible.

“For the most part, they had a pastor’s heart and desire for a Bible to deepen faith and build disciples, not just present facts,” Elliot said.

Input came from seminary presidents, denominational leaders and scholars–with a common goal.

“They were rooted in their belief in the power of God’s Word and the role of a pastor for nurturing the African church.”

Translation, cultural context example

Oasis used the New Living Translation, English, as the basis for the Africa Study Bible. They sought an easy to-understand version and Tyndale’s NLT seemed to work well.

(Tyndale is the publisher of the Africa Study Bible).

According to Oasis, the Africa Study Bible “brings together 350 contributors from over 50 countries, providing a unique African perspective . . . with over 2400 notes.”

Elliott pointed out elements in the African culture were often closer to the Biblical cultures than those westerners think they understand.

“For example, the story of Esther – it’s the politics of marriage.

We {Westerners] want to think it is more about sexual desire, but it is more about political alliances . . .

You can go through lots of illustrations to see how Africans understand the culture of the Bible more intrinsically than others do.

The version currently for sale in the US and the UK costs $39. Oasis sells it for closer to $20 in Africa.

It’s still a large sum for many, but if the pastor has only one translation, why not use one that focuses on his culture?

You can visit a sample here.

History of Christianity in Africa

Interesting to me as well, was a timeline history of Christianity in Africa.

It started with that Ethiopian eunuch, but sections of the Old Testament took place in Egypt.

(And not just Moses’ experiences with Pharoah).

Why wouldn’t it make sense to incorporate that history into a Bible designed for the people who live there?

Update: I happily gave my copy to a missionary currently serving in Gambia.

Tweetables

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Cultural sensitivity, original ideas and a study Bible specifically for Africa. Click to Tweet