Exegeting and Translating Ethical Terms in the Bible: A Comprehensive Approach

Whether it involves translating terms like justice/righteousness, forgiveness, reconciliation, blasphemy, repentance, love, submission, or self-control, and so on, many of what are commonly known as Key Biblical Terms in Bible translation are ethical terms to the extent that they relate directly or indirectly to people’s behavior, values, virtues, vices, and their sense of right and wrong. Translating such terms and concepts in ways that are accurate, clear, natural, and acceptable requires both exegetical and cultural analytical skills. Observing that many exegetes and Bible translators lack adequate knowledge of cultural analysis, this paper proposes and applies a comprehensive methodology for interpreting, applying, and translating ethical terms, concepts, and maxims in the New Testament. This comprehensive methodology involves analytical, performative, and transformative tasks involved in the enterprise of interpreting, appropriating, translating, and applying biblical ethical terms in ways that are relevant for today’s context. In this comprehensive methodology, attention is also given to how such interpreted and translated biblical ethical terms can be preached, taught, or distributed via social media. The unique contribution of this article is that it brings a novel but clear methodology for cultural analysis of Key Biblical ethical terms, to enable Bible translators and exegetes to reflect thoroughly on such ethical terms, translate them, and apply them accordingly.