The “One-Finger Bible”

PARALYZED after being stricken by illness, Joseph Schereschewsky could write only by typing, using one finger. Yet he reached his goal—to translate the Bible into Chinese, one of the most difficult languages for a foreigner to master.

A Jew by birth, Schereschewsky investigated and accepted Christianity as an adult. He eventually became a missionary in China. There, he participated in many translation projects, beginning as early as 1866 and continuing into the first years of the 20th century. Because of his Jewish background, Schereschewsky was much more familiar with Hebrew than his fellow scholars. Thus, he was entrusted with the translation of the entire Hebrew Scriptures. Toward the end of his long career, he also produced a Chinese translation of the whole Bible with references.

As a Bible translator, Joseph Schereschewsky was an ardent advocate of versions in the common language. But his task was not an easy one. His contribution to the Chinese Bible is unique, states The Book of a Thousand Tongues, “because it was so comprehensive and was accomplished against so many handicaps.”

After Schereschewsky’s hands became paralyzed, he still forged ahead with his work. Typing required great effort, since he had lost normal use of his hands. He therefore called this translation his one-finger Bible. To produce it despite his handicaps, Schereschewsky persevered for 25 years. By not giving up, he shared in making God’s Word understandable in Chinese—the language spoken by more people than any other.

[Picture Credit Line on page 11]

Both images: Courtesy of American Bible Society Archives