Swahili Old Bible (NT and OT Portions)

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Biblia Takatifu (Swahili 1850, Krapf)
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Swahili Old Bible (NT and OT Portions) (SWHPOR)

Overview

Portions of the New Testament in the Swahili Language of Kenya, Mozambique, Somalia, and Tanzania, translation by Dr. Johann Ludwig Krapf completed in 1850. Krapf (1810-1881) was a German Lutheran missionary serving with the Anglican Church Missionary Society (CMS) in East Africa. [1] He arrived in Mombasa in 1844 and established a mission station at Rabai, near the coast, where he undertook pioneering linguistic work in the Swahili language. [1] Working with local collaborators, Krapf translated portions of Genesis as early as 1847, and went on to translate New Testament books into Swahili. [2] His linguistic contributions extended beyond Scripture: he compiled the first Swahili grammar (1850) and dictionary (1882), as well as a comparative vocabulary of six Bantu languages. [1] These early Scripture portions represent some of the earliest Christian texts in the Swahili language and laid the groundwork for subsequent Swahili Bible translations. [2]

Language and People

Swahili (Coastal) (ISO 639-3: swh) is spoken by approximately 16,335,000 people in Kenya. [Glottolog: swah1253]

References