Abstract
As relevance theory shows, the success of communication crucially depends on the right contextual information being highly accessible at the right time. Thus it is not sufficient that this information is physically available somewhere in the receptor language; to become effective for comprehension it must be highly accessible mentally to the reader or hearer at the time when it is needed. Thus while it is true in a general way that the translation of Old Testament portions is important because they provide background information necessary for understanding the New Testament, for it to be profitable for the comprehension of a particular New Testament passage, readers must be able to access in their minds just those pieces of information from the Old Testament that are relevant to this specific passage.
Highlights
Note that this requires more than just familiarity with those portions; it requires the readers’ ability to select the particular pieces of information needed for the NT passage in question out of a sizeable body of information
Information from the Old Testament can lead to all sorts of interpretations, some of which may be valid but not part of the intended meaning of the passage, some of which will be quite wrong, and only some of which will lead to its intended interpretation [1][2]
In the original communication situation the “synchronisation” of context selection was controlled by the accessibility structure of the mutual cognitive environment of author and audience
Summary
Note that this requires more than just familiarity with those portions; it requires the readers’ ability to select the particular pieces of information needed for the NT passage in question out of a sizeable body of information. Information from the Old Testament can lead to all sorts of interpretations, some of which may be valid but not part of the intended meaning of the passage, some of which will be quite wrong, and only some of which will lead to its intended interpretation [1][2]. In the original communication situation the “synchronisation” of context selection was controlled by the accessibility structure of the mutual cognitive environment of author and audience. In cross-cultural, secondary communication situations this common accessibility structure rarely exists naturally, but most often must be created by appropriate means. This, is another essential part of an adequate strategy for biblical literacy [3]
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