Yacouba Sanon grew up in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and now lives and works in Côte d’Ivoire. He serves at the Alliance Theological Seminary and teaches Old Testament theology. Yacouba is a Langham Scholar, and is also the General Editor of the second revision of the Africa Bible Commentary, published by Langham Literature.
Understanding the history
West Africa and Central Africa are known as Francophone Africa, as they were colonised by France. There are similarities between the countries because of this, but also challenges. Yacouba shares, “There are many things that tie Francophone Africa together. First, you have colonial history. They have all been colonised by France, most of them got their formal independence in the 1960s. And then after that, you also have some kind of cooperation between France and these countries; economic cooperation, military cooperation. So, you have all these elements that give a certain sense of community to Francophone Africa.”
“All these elements bring them together. And in terms of finances, these countries share the same currency in West Africa and in Central Africa… We have inherited the French language. We have inherited the French economic system, administrative system. So, from one country to another, you can see the same kind of dynamics going on.”
“The effects of colonisation on people’s lives can be seen. On the political level, you have the same way of governing, but in people’s lives, one of the effects would be the mentality or sense of being inferior.. In my mind, this is probably one devastating effect of colonisation. The issue of identity is a serious one…[some people feel] The culture has been dismissed, the languages have been dismissed… speaking French is being a modern person, being western, dressing like a westerner.”
Shining God’s light
“People have found themselves in a place that even nowadays, they will think the gospel was tied to colonialism, and they would say, ‘The gospel Christianity is the white man’s religion and it has been imposed on them.’ That’s not the truth, but that’s what some people think. And it’s important for us as pastors, as leaders, to make that clear that the gospel is not the message from the West, it’s God’s message to Africans. And that’s what we are trying to do, even with the Africa Bible Commentary. We want to make the separation clear.”
Due to the history of Francophone Africa and the complexities of the impact of colonialisation, there is a great need for the Gospel to be shared faithfully. Yacouba shares, “In the same way that people have been sort of brainwashed about their culture, about their way of life, some parts of the gospel have not been clearly transmitted or interpreted. In that sense, people will take the gospel or interpret the gospel in a way that dismisses people’s identity, people’s cultures.”
“Our task in the Africa Bible Commentary is to try to correct that and to interpret the Bible in light of the context of the reality of [these] people created in the image of God and to whom God speaks. So, that’s what we want to do with the Africa Bible Commentary: bring God’s light to people, in people’s lives, in their economic, cultural, political and historical contexts, and to show how the Word of God can redeem their lives and give them back their identity and their freedom.”
Importance of contextually relevant resources
Western literature isn’t always received well, which is why Langham Literature sees the importance of African scholars publishing resources that can help people build their faith in ways that are relevant to their context. Yacouba says, “The Africa Bible Commentary has been written by Africans, for Africans; and it speaks to Africans in their languages, in their everyday life. It speaks to their way of thinking, their worldview. So, when African pastors take the Africa Bible Commentary and read it, they see themselves in the stories, and it’s much more efficient than many other resources that speak to their own context.”
“As a Langham Scholar, I’m grateful that I’ve had the tools, I’ve been trained, I’ve been equipped to give back to the church that sent me abroad to study God’s Word. And it’s a privilege to do my best to work and explain and put the Word of God in context for the church, for Christians in Africa to understand it.”
The first African Bible Commentary was published in 2006, and involved 70 people, including many Langham Scholars, contributing over a period of seven years to produce a complete Bible commentary. They have recently completed a second revision to be released early 2026, with updated commentary to remain culturally relevant and applicable to future generations and current global challenges.
Yacouba explains, “The role of this type of contextual commentary is to speak to the various aspects in the life of the church in Africa. We have the needs of the church, there are economical needs, social needs, spiritual needs; the needs are everywhere. So a contextual commentary is meant to address all these areas of the life of the church. That’s why it was important to have a commentary that is different from other commentaries, but that is for Africans, because first, it uses the language that Africans understand. It takes into account the life experience, the historical issues of Africans, the social situation, the political and economic situation of the church in Africa.”
Building the faith of the Church
“When a tool like this is available in the hands of pastors and they can understand how to relate God’s word from 2,000 years ago to today and to the lives of their congregation, connections are made. People understand that the promises offered in the Bible are relevant today and lives are changed.
Today there are many preachers in Africa, in many places who still don’t have proper training to oversee, to run, or to lead a church, let alone to preach the Word of God. They use whatever is available to them, but they use their own experiences as templates to what God should or must do in the lives of the church or others. So the result is we have Christians who are not really solidly anchored in the Scripture, and the Africa Bible Commentary is an answer to this lack of training.”
Yacouba shares, “This resource is good for not only pastors who have gone through formal training, but it is also good for pastors or preachers who have never been into a Bible School. It’s also good for lay leaders who sometimes are called to help the pastor to feed the people of God…About 265,000 Africa Bible Commentaries are out there in the hands of preachers and students and in libraries, being used to help build the faith of the church in Africa.”
“My prayer for the church, and my vision, is really to see the people of God being fully and plainly nourished by the Word of God whenever they meet. It’s like John Stott’s vision to see preachers preaching the Word of God faithfully and strengthening the people of God…My prayer is that people will use the Africa Bible Commentary as a resource to help them and guide them how to preach contextually, in a way that is relevant to African believers.”
“The Africa Bible Commentary is a vision that fits in all the ministries of Langham: training scholars, helping them, helping pastors to preach the Word of God in a faithful manner, and also publishing relevant books for Christians in the Majority world…We are thankful to God for that.”
Prayer Points
- Thank God for Yacouba and his heart for God and to see his region and continent know the hope we have in the Gospel.
- Thank God for Langham being able to support scholars, train pastors, and publish contextually relevant literature to equip leaders.
- Pray that the revised Africa Bible Commentary will be a blessing to churches and leaders as they seek to teach the Word faithfully.