George Mutuku

Communication requires more than a lexical understanding of words. Language relies on the background understanding of the speaker and hearer – an understanding that cannot be taken for granted when communicating cross-culturally.

In this study, Dr. George Mbithi Mutuku brings to life a deeper understanding of emotion, specifically anger, in the Hebrew Bible. Utilizing frame semantics and undertaking a comparative study of קצף and ngoò as conceptualized in Hebrew and Akamba cultures, respectively, Mutuku argues that ngoò would have been the best rendering for the Hebrew concept קצף in the Kĩkamba Bible. So doing, he demonstrates the value of exploring words and meanings in their cultural contexts and offers a powerful warning against the assumption that any word – even the word of God – carries universal meaning divorced from that context. He reminds us that God’s word is communicated to us cross-culturally, so we must take seriously the responsibility of transferring its meaning across languages.

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