BEEKMAN LECTURE 1: Sacred Text, Human Choices: An Ethics of Difference for Bible Translation

This paper explores an ethics of difference for Bible translation, drawing on Lawrence Venuti's translation theory. Two paradigms are contrasted: the instrumental view, which conceptualizes translation as a transfer of meaning, and the contextual view, which recognizes translation as an interpretative, culturally-embedded process involving both representation and transformation. Through examples from Hebrew and Greek texts (including emunah/pistis terminology), the paper demonstrates how translation choices reflect operative cultural and theological frames. The contextual view reveals that translators become co-responsible for how texts present themselves in new contexts, particularly regarding sensitive passages with potential for harmful misinterpretation. The paper proposes viewing Bible translations as cultural testimonies—unique articulations of divine revelation within specific cultural frameworks. This perspective challenges the dominance of European Bibles and calls for greater appreciation of global translation diversity. Ethics of difference requires transparency about operative frames, accountability for translation choices, and recognition of power dynamics.