Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics in African Biblical Scholarship: Contributions of J.E.T. Kuwornu-Adjaottor

The pattern of biblical hermeneutics in Africa was built on Euro-American philosophies, cultures and methodologies until the early 1960s. This necessitated a scholarly call for re-interpretation of the inherited interpretations and translations, as some scholars blamed colonial influence. Consequently, some of the newly developed methods of biblical interpretations in Africa include: neo-prophetic hermeneutics in Africa, postcolonial biblical interpretation, postcolonial perspectives in African biblical interpretations, intercultural exegesis, and mother-tongue biblical hermeneutics (MTBH). This study focused on the methodology of mother-tongue biblical hermeneutics, commending its key proponents, namely, Aloo Mojola, John D.K. Ekem, Jonathan E.T. Kuwornu-Adjaottor, and others. Using literature and interviews, this paper assessed the contributions of Kuwornu-Adjaottor in the promotion of MTBH in African biblical scholarship. Findings revealed Kuwornu-Adjaottor’s “nine-step methodology” for doing MTBH academically and practically, which is being adopted in many universities, seminaries and Bible translation societies in Africa, including Ghana. In addition to raising many student-disciples as well as taking a philosophical position for deconstruction and dynamic equivalence in biblical scholarship, the scholar advocates that Bible translation involves interpretation in order to produce a meaning that considers the contexts of the receptor or local audience. This paper contributes to the promotion of mother-tongue Bible translation and mother-tongue theologizing in Africa. Keywords: African Biblical Scholarship; Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics; Bible Translation and Interpretation; Kuwornu-Adjaottor’s Methodology