ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we reflect on the role religious translations by women, especially translations of texts considered sacred by religious communities, play in conceptualising the divine and in exploring divine-human relationships. We also discuss the question of the body in relation to translation, in particular the ways in which passages concerning the female body are translated, and with what effect. Finally, we address the issue of the reception of translations by women. It is our view that the extent to which religions are able to organise themselves into powerful, hierarchical institutions needs to be considered in examining the role women can play, including that of translator. For reasons that have to do with our respective areas of expertise, but also because of the complexity of the phenomena, we focus mainly on the three Abrahamic religions and their scriptures.
