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Basil Rebera | |
---|---|
Born | Basil Arthur Rebera 1935 |
Died | 2021 (aged 85–86) |
Occupation | Translation scholar |
Years active | 1973–2021 (48 years) |
Known for | Worldwide translations of United Bible Societies |
Title | Dr. |
Parent(s) | Ms. Felicia and Mr. Allan |
Academic background | |
Education | |
Alma mater |
|
Thesis | The Book of Ruth: Dialogue and Narrative, the Function and Integration of the Two Modes in an Ancient Hebrew Story (1981) |
Doctoral advisor | Frank Anderson |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Semiotics |
Sub-discipline | Old Testament Translation |
Institutions |
|
Basil A. Rebera (1935–2021) was an Old Testament Scholar and a Translation Consultant [1] with the United Bible Societies focusing on translations of the Bible the world over. As a contributor to scholarly research, Rebera's writings have been reviewed in Journal of Biblical Literature [2] and The Bible Translator.
In 1975, Rebera took part in the second All-India Biblical Meeting [3] held under the aegis of the National Biblical, Catechetical and Liturgical Centre in Bangalore led by Rev. Fr D. S. Amalorpavadass where Rebera presented a report on the Inter-Confessional translations of the Bible Society of India.
Rebera is an authority on Ruth and his linguistic analysis has caught the attention of many Translation scholars. Kristin Moen Saxegaard in Character Complexity in the Book of Ruth [4] writes that
Basil A. Rebera raises another theological question in his arguments. Normally in Ruth (Ruth 1:8; 2:12, 19; 3:10; 4:11), it is the "beneficiary that merits the invocation" which is the focus, not the benefactor. When Ruth tells Naomi that it was at Boaz' field, Naomi "immediately invokes a second blessing in Ruth 2:20.". I find Rebera's arguments convincing.
Further, Robert B. Chisholm of the Dallas Theological Seminary in Interpreting the Historical Books: An Exegetical Handbook [5] writes that
Collation analysis can be the key to correct interpretation. A fine example of this is Basil Rebera's study of Naomi's blessing in Ruth 2:20.
Joy Sisley of the Staffordshire University in her work, Power and Interpretive Authority in Multimedia Translation [6] writes,
Basil Rebera argues that any discussion of faithfulness should recognize that "Christians and people of other faiths alike recognize only a written text as the Christian Scriptural source of revelation and authority". Rebera links the issue of faithfulness to the original Word with a problem of authenticity. He discusses the problem of fidelity in fairly narrow terms by pointing to a distinction between the specific nature of images and the generic nature of language. He applies the same criteria of equivalence as the linguistic model by assuming that the meaning of the image is intentional in that it stands for the object it represents in a one-to-one relationship.
Rebera pursued graduate studies in theology from 1967 to 1971 [7] at the United Theological College, Bangalore, the only autonomous College under the nation's first University, [8] the Senate of Serampore College (University) [7] where he obtained a Bachelor of Divinity (B. D.) during the Principalship of Joshua Russell Chandran. Incidentally, when the Old Testament Scholar and an alma mater of the college, Victor Premasagar happened to proceed to St. Andrew's University for research studies, he happened to stop over at the college and taught introductory Biblical Hebrew to the graduate students. As a student of Victor Premasagar, Rebera took interest in learning the ancient Biblical languages and went on to enroll for postgraduate studies in Biblical Studies specializing in Old Testament.
During his collegiate studies, Rebera took an active part in literary pursuits and was made Assistant Editor of the UTC College Magazine during 1969–1970. [9]
Soon after Rebera completed his graduate studies, the Bible Society of India led by the clergy consisting of A. E. Inbanathan and C. Arangaden, then General Secretary [3] and Associate General Secretary (Translations) [3] respectively, chose Rebera to pursue post-graduate studies in Biblical Studies so that he would be an asset to the Bible Society of India. Rebera then continued his studies at the Seminary by enrolling into Master of Theology, specializing in Old Testament under E. C. John from 1971 to 1973 working out a dissertation entitled The meaning of mispat and sedeq/sedaqah in the pre-exilic prophetic literature and their translation in the Sinhalese Bible. [10] Rebera was part the pioneer group of postgraduate students who specialised in Old Testament comprising A. P. Chacko, G. Babu Rao, Nitoy Achümi, S. J. Theodore and Timotheas Hembrom. The university awarded graduate and postgraduate degrees in the ensuing convocations during the Registrarship of C. Devasahayam.
Rebera and his erstwhile companions at the United Theological College, Bangalore comprising G. Babu Rao, S. J. Theodore, N. K. Achumi, A. P. Chacko, and Timotheas Hembrom were notable for their contribution to the Bible Society in translation and revision of the scriptures into other languages. While Timotheas Hembrom was involved in Santali language translation, N. K. Achumi [11] was involved in translation/revision of the Bible in Naga language. Similarly, G. Babu Rao joined the Bible Society of India in 1973 as Translator [12] of the Telugu Old Testament and a decade later, in 1984, became Coordinator of the Telugu Old Testament Common Language Translation (Telugu OT-CL) Project of the Bible Society of India which also took along S. J. Theodore on the panel of the Telugu OT-CL Project Team.
E. C. John, the Professor of Rebera and his study companions was instrumental in infusing scholarly enthusiasm among his students. Known for his scholarship [13] and administration, [14] E. C. John was also involved in Malayalam [15] translation of the Bible.
For research studies, Rebera studied at the Macquarie University and at the Australian National University and was awarded a doctorate by the Macquarie University in 1981 in Biblical Studies [16] based on his dissertation entitled, The Book of Ruth: Dialogue and Narrative, the Function and Integration of the Two Modes in an Ancient Hebrew Story. [17]
The confidence reposed in Rebera by the clergy consisting of the rural Pastor, A. E. Inbanathan and C. Arangaden remained for posterity as Rebera metamorphosed himself into a Translation scholar.
Rebera began his career as a Translator with the Bible Society of India [3] right from 1973 onwards.
In 1974, Rebera was appointed Translation [16] Consultant by the United Bible Societies for the Asia-Pacific Region Region and was based in India, [16] Thailand [16] and Singapore, [16] a position which he held until 1988 till he moved to the Bible Society Australia.
In his second stint starting in 1993 at the United Bible Societies, Rebera became Coordinator [16] for the Global Translation Services at the United Bible Societies and was based [16] in New York at the American Bible Society. Rebera was appointed in 1993–1994 [1] and oversaw translations of the Bible into many languages and also the revision of the existing versions. [18] Rebera worked closely with the Asia-Pacific Regional Translations Coordinator, Graham S. Ogden. [19]
In 1988, Rebera took up the position of Director, [16] Translation and Text Division of the Bible Society Australia. After a 6-year stint with the Bible Society Australia, Rebera again moved to the United Bible Societies in 1993.
Victor Premasagar (1927–2005) was the fourth successor of Frank Whittaker as Bishop in Medak. He was an Indian churchman and Old Testament scholar who made major contributions to research on the Old Testament and to the field of theology. Premasagar's articles appeared in the Expository Times (1966), the Vetus Testamentum (1966), the International Review of Mission (1972), and the Indian Journal of Theology (1974) and cited in major works relating to the theme of Promise in the Bible and critical works on Psalms LXXX and the Hebrew word HOQ in the Tanakh.
The Bible Society of India is a Christian body that is authorized to translate, produce, distribute and market the Bible and is a member of the United Bible Societies.
D. S. Satyaranjan was a Silver Jubilee Pastor, a New Testament Scholar, and an Administrator who served as the Registrar of the Senate of Serampore College (University), the nation's first University {a University under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956} with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the Government of West Bengal.
E. C. John was an Indian Old Testament scholar and a member of the Society for Biblical Studies in India. He was also a member of the George Bell Institute at the University of Chichester, Chichester and the Society for Old Testament Study, England.
Bishop T. B. D. Prakasa Rao was the fourth CSI-Bishop - in - Krishna-Godavari of the Protestant Church of South India who occupied the Cathedra placed at CSI-St. Paul's Cathedral, Vijayawada. The Bishopric of Prakasa Rao lasted for two decades from 1981 through 2001, one of the longest in the history of the Church of South India Society. Prakasa Rao led the bishopric of Krishna-Godavari that comprised the Christian missions established by the London Missionary Society (LMS) and the Church Missionary Society (CMS) which merged its South India Christian missions in India into the Church of South India Society which was inaugurated in 1947 at the CSI-St. George's Cathedral, Madras.
The Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary is located in Guntur.
Ch. Victor Moses is President Emeritus of the Protestant Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church Society headquartered in Guntur. Victor Moses is an Old Testament Scholar and a member of the Society for Biblical Studies, India, an august body of learning having members well versed in Hebrew and Greek languages hailing from the Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox and Pentecostal traditions.
L. Prakasam was a pastor of the Convention of Baptist Churches of Northern Circars who served as the auxiliary secretary of the Bible Society of India Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary during the period 1982–1998, the longest in the history of the auxiliary.
Bishop Emeritus John S. Sadananda was the Master of Serampore College (University), the nation's first University {a University under Section 2 (f) of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956}) with degree-granting authority validated by a Danish Charter and ratified by the Government of West Bengal.
Timotheas Hembrom was an ordained Minister of the Church of North India and an Old Testament Scholar who taught at the Bishop's College, Kolkata, affiliated to the nation's first University, the Senate of Serampore College (University). As a Biblical scholar, Hembrom was a member of the scholarly Society for Biblical Studies in India, with members from the Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic and Charismatic Church societies. He researched on Santali creation traditions and his work was first published in 1996 was simultaneously reviewed in the Indian Journal of Theology and the Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies.
D. I. Hans is a Religions Scholar who researched on Vijayanagara literature in Kannada, especially the Veerashaiva writings with special reference to Basavanna. Hans used Historical criticism to study Basavanna's ethical teachings. As a Veerashaiva Scholar, Hans also prepared a bibliography on the existing Veerashaiva literature available in some of the Languages of India, namely, Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, Urdu, Telugu and Tamil.
N. K. Achümi was a Bible Translator who was Translations Advisor with the United Bible Societies and was based in Nagaland.
Graham Sydney Ogden is an Old Testament scholar who served as Translations Consultant with the United Bible Societies. Ogden contributed to the scholarly journals through his research and his writings began appearing in The Bible Translator, Journal of Biblical Literature, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Vetus Testamentum and other journals.
John Philipose is a New Testament Scholar who served as the Director of Translations at the Bible Society of India, Bangalore during 1984-1991 succeeding M. P. John. Philipose was involved in various translations and revisions of the Bible into the many Indian languages and used to contribute to scholarly journals like The Bible Translator.
G. D. V. Prasad is an Old Testament scholar and translator who was the Director of Translations at the Bible Society of India, Bangalore, from 1991 to 2010. Prasad is from the Diocese of Krishna-Godavari of the Church of South India.
The Bible Society of India Telangana Auxiliary is located in Secunderabad which was bifurcated from the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh Auxiliary on 2 February 2016.
A. C. Solomon Raj is the seventh successor of Frank Whittaker and eighth Bishop in Medak of the Protestant Church of South India Society and shepherds the Diocese from the Cathedra of the Bishop housed in the CSI-Medak Cathedral in Medak Town, Telangana, India. On 12 October 2016, the Church of South India Synod headquartered in Chennai, appointed Solomon Raj to assume the ecclesiastical Office of the Bishopric of Medak and was consecrated the next day on 13 October 2016 at the CSI-St. George's Cathedral, Chennai, ending four years of sede vacante in the Diocese of Medak which was without a bishop during the intervening period of 2012–2016.
G. M. Butterworth is an Old Testament scholar who taught at the United Theological College, Bangalore from 1972 through 1978 and later on moved to TAFTEE in Bangalore and finally to England where he continued to bring out the message of the Old Testament.
Devadasan Nithya Premnath, known as D. N. Premnath, is an Indian pastor and Old Testament scholar, who has been teaching since 1988 at the St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry, a Roman Catholic seminary, in Rochester, New York. In 1981, Premnath participated in an archaeological dig at Tell el-Hesi in southern Israel.
G. Solomon was an Old Testament Scholar and a Baptist Patriarch hailing from the Protestant Samavesam of Telugu Baptist Churches Society (an affiliate member of the Baptist World Alliance and the National Council of Churches in India) and led it as its President during the years 1978-1982 overseeing the spiritual affairs of the Church Society whose ecclesiastical jurisdiction comprises the three states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana with 873 Churches comprising nearly a million members per present statistics.