Theologizing Dreams in Genesis 41 in Komba (Likɔɔnl)

Problems occur when translators are faced with multiple cultures in a text and a portion of the text itself is a translation. Pharaoh’s dream texts in Genesis 41 are one example. Translators must also consider their cultural framework and that of the receptive language of the text as a translation is produced into a modern language. This paper utilizes principles of literary functional equivalence theory and skopos theory to approach this concern. It shows the importance of listening to the voices of ancient Egypt, ancient Hebrews, and the receptive community of a translation today when considering dream texts. This is applied to the Komba (xon) translation in Northern Ghana. The Komba translation brief guides the translational process of the text. The research is based on a recently published master’s thesis that applies these principles to the Komba translation of Genesis 41. Several examples demonstrating the application of these theories to a dream text are presented—showing the importance of analyzing dream texts in each culture and upholding the translation brief as the guiding principle. Additionally, these processes show that room is made for people to theologize in their own language, and this adds to the depth of meaning for the text locally and globally.