Greenland’s Journey to a Complete Bible
In the icy expanse of Greenland, a land steeped in the history of exploration and faith, the complete Bible has only been available for just over a century. Despite a millennium of Christian influence, it wasn’t until the early 20th century that Greenlanders could read the entire Holy Scripture in their native tongue.
The Land and Its Language
Greenland, the world’s largest island, lies between Canada and Iceland, with its northern reaches touching the Arctic Circle. The native language, Greenlandic or Kalaallisut, is part of the Inuit language family, closely related to other languages spoken across the Arctic regions of North America and Siberia.
Viking Settlements and Christian Beginnings
In 986, Norse settlers, led by Erik the Red, arrived from Iceland and Norway in their longboats, naming the land Greenland to attract more settlers. By around 1000 AD, these settlers had embraced Christianity. They built a cathedral in 1126 and became the first known Christians to set foot in North America. However, over time, contact with the wider Norse world dwindled.
Hans Egede’s Mission
In the early 18th century, Hans Poulsen Egede, a Lutheran pastor from Norway, became intrigued by tales of these Norse settlers. In 1721, with the Danish king’s backing, Egede sailed to Greenland, aiming to reconnect and convert the lost colony to Lutheranism. Though he found no traces of the settlers, he began evangelizing the Inuit population, learning their language and translating parts of the Bible for them.
Advancements in Translation
Hans Egede’s son, Poul Egede, continued his father’s work, producing a Greenlandic New Testament in 1766. The spread of Christianity was further aided by Moravian missions. Later, Danish missionary Otto Fabricius published another New Testament translation in 1794, but the first edition perished in the Great Fire of Copenhagen.
The Kleinschmidt Bible
Johan Conrad Kleinschmidt, a Moravian missionary, made significant contributions by translating the New Testament into Greenlandic, published in 1822. Following his death, the translation efforts were completed, culminating in the publication of the first full Bible in Greenlandic in 1900, known as the “Kleinschmidt Bible.”
Greenland’s Political and Linguistic Changes
Despite gaining independence from Norway in 1814, Greenland remained under Danish rule. In 1979, it achieved home rule and later left the European Economic Community in 1982. In 2009, Greenlandic was declared the sole official language.
Modern Translation Efforts
The late 20th century saw further linguistic reforms, with a new translation of the Bible in Greenlandic completed in 1999 by the Danish Bible Society. This modern translation remains accessible online via the Danish Bible Society website.
Today, the majority of Greenlanders identify as Christians, predominantly part of the Lutheran Church of the Diocese of Greenland, reflecting a long-standing religious heritage interwoven with the island’s cultural identity.
This article was originally written by www.christiantoday.com
