"By patience, labour and prayer. The voice of the Unseen God in the language of the Bechuana nation." A reflection on the history of Robert Moffat's Setswana Bible (1857)

 

 

J.J. Lubbe

Research Fellow in the Department of Church History, University of the Free State

 

 

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ABSTRACT

The translation of the Bible into Setswana by Robert Moffat in 1857 was the first in an African language in sub-Sahara Africa and also the first Bible to be printed here - at the mission station at Kuruman, 150 years ago. This Bible translation had an enormous influence, reaching the Batswana people in different countries in Southern Africa and is still held in high esteem by them. The question should be asked why? What made Moffat's Setswana Bible so popular? The relevant primary sources - collected and studied as the focus of this article - suggest that it might have been the daily life and work of this missionary and his wife for nearly half a century amongst the Batswana. Robert and Mary Moffat convinced "the Bechuana nation" to accept and read the Gospel in their own language, by living "the voice of the Unseen God".

Keywords: Setswana Bible, Robert Moffat, Kuruman

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Trefwoorde: Setswana Bybel, Robert Moffat, Kuruman

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Bradlow, F.R. 1987. Printing for Africa. The story of Robert Moffat and the Kuruman press. Kuruman: Moffat Mission Trust.         [ Links ]

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Butler, A. 1999. Kuruman: The work of the LMS in Bechuanaland. In: S. de Gruchy (ed.), Forty days in the desert. Biblical meditations from Moffat Mission on the edge of the Kalahari (Gaborone: Pula Press), pp. 38-48.         [ Links ]

Campbell, J. 1815. Travels in South Africa. Undertaken at the request of the Missionary Society. London: Black and Parry.         [ Links ]

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De Gruchy, S. 2002. Dissenting Calvinism. Reflections on the congregational witness in South Africa as part of the wider Reformed tradition. In: P. Coertzen (ed.), 350 Years Reformed (1652-2002) (Bloemfontein: CLF), pp. 67-177.         [ Links ]

Dickson, M. 1989. Beloved partner. Mary Moffat of Kuruman. A biography based on her letters. Kuruman: Moffat Mission Trust.         [ Links ]

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1 Paper presented at a Theological Conference, "Is the Bible still relevant for the Southern African Society", at the Bible Society of South Africa, Bloemfontein, 26 October 2007.