The Art of Persuasion: A Sociocultural and Literary Comparison of Two Speeches of Reuben and Judah in Genesis, with Suggestions for Translating for Africans

Abstract

Two speeches in the book of Genesis, one by Reuben and the other by Judah, are made to secure the release of Benjamin from their father Jacob in Canaan. The first speech fails while the second succeeds. The aim of this article is to identify the sociocultural and literary reasons behind these outcomes. It also aims to suggest ways of translating these texts into African languages and for African audiences that do justice to the realities in the texts. Careful analysis of the words and rhetorical features of the speeches is conducted in the light of other narratives of Jacob, his wives, concubines, and offspring in the Hebrew Bible. This analysis informs the conclusions of the paper: Judah succeeded where Reuben had failed because of his personal standing in the clan and because of his precise use of facts and the persuasive power of his speeches.