Translating “Messiah,” “Christ,” and “Lamb of God”

Abstract

The terms translated “Messiah,” “Christ,” and “Lamb of God” in English versions of the Bible would have created significant contextual effects in the minds of the original hearers when applied to Jesus. This paper investigates the use of these terms in their original context through a semantic analysis based on logical and encyclopedic entries and then considers some implications for translation. The approach to translation is based on Relevance Theory and in particular the notion of Direct Translation.