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

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

Ernest Jnr Frimpong , Emmanuel Misiame , Samuel Zuul Bayeti , Ebenezer Tetteh Fiorgbor , Peter Adams and Emmanuel Twumasi-Ankrah

Issue: Vol.7 No.5 2025 Article 1 pp. 114 – 127
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/motbit.2025751 | Published online 11th November, 2025
© 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

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

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AUTHOR(S)

Ernest Jnr Frimpong, MPhil, is a Religious Scholar and Research Associate at the Department of Religious Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana.

Emmanuel Mesiame, MPhil, is a Research Associate at the Department of Religious Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana.

Samuel Zuul Bayeti, PhD, is a Lecturer at the Department of Theology, Apostolic Church Theological Seminary (ACTS), Kumasi-Ghana.

Ebenezer Tetteh Fiorgbor, PhD, Department of Religious Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana.

Peter Adams, MPhil, is a Research Associate at the Department of Religious Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana.

Emmanuel Twumasi-Ankrah, PhD, is a Lecturer at the Department of Theology, Christian Service University, Kumasi-Ghana.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Frimpong, Ernest Jnr, Emmanuel Misiame, Samuel Zuul Bayeti, Ebenezer Tetteh Fiorgbor, Peter Adams and Emmanuel Twumasi-Ankrah.“Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics in African Biblical Scholarship: Contributions of J.E.T. Kuwornu-Adjaottor.” Journal of Mother-Tongue Biblical Hermeneutics and Theology (MOTBIT), 7 , no. 5 (2025): 114 – 127. https://doi.org/10.38159/motbit.2025751.