Women and Words: Why Are There So Many Bible Translations? With Dr. Jeffrey Miller

Have you ever wondered why there are so many different Bible translations? And which Bible translation is the “best” translation to use? On this episode of Mutuality Matters, Dr. Mimi Haddad and Dr. Jeffrey Miller answer these questions and discuss the two major theories of Bible translation: formal equivalence (word-for-word) and functional equivalence (phrase-for-phrase). Jeff also gives some fascinating insights into which theory they used and when in CBE’s Bible translation project! 

Resources Cited 

Journals 

• Priscilla Papers 
• The Bible Translator 

Books: 

• God’s Word to Women, by Katharine Bushnell 
• New Testament for Everyone: Complete Eighteen-Volume Set, by N.T. Wright 

• Bible Translations cited during the Show: 

• The King James Bible 
• The Wycliffe Bible 
• The Tyndale Bible 
• Common English Bible: (CEB) 
• Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
• The NET Bible (NET)
• New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 
• The New International Bible (NIV) 
• The New American Standard Bible (NASB) 

Bible Passages Cited 

• Matthew 4:17: “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’” CEB 
• Proverbs 31:23: “Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.” NASB 
• Proverbs 31:31: “Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.” NASB 

• Luke 13:18-21: “So He was saying, “What is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden; and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the sky nested in its branches.” And again He said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three sata of flour until it was all leavened.” CEB 

Other Resources 

E-learning Courses: 

• Beyond Bias: Aligning Toward God’s Vision for Women and Men in Bible Translation 

Videos 

• Gender Language in Bible Translation: From KJV to NIV 
• Video: Gender-Accurate Bible Translation Panel 

Mutuality Matters Podcast 

• Intersectionality: Words Matter! Freedom through Lectionary and Bible Translation with Rev. Dr. Wilda C. Gafney 

Mutuality Magazine 

• “Presumption and Bias in Bible Translation” 
• “Gender Accuracy in Bible Translation” 
• “The New NIV 2011” 

Mutuality Blog: 

• Correcting Caricatures: Women and Bible Translation 

Resources on Formal vs. Functional Equivalence: 

•  “What Are the Major Theories of Bible Translation?”