Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Deuteronomy
English → Arabic Language Package | Full-Book Term Reference
Generated: Phase 1, Step 1
Companion document: analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md
Usage Notes
- “Baseline Reuse” = Yes means the Arabic rendering is copied exactly from the existing Romans
translation_memory.json; no deviation permitted. - “Baseline Reuse” = No (New) means this term has no prior entry in the Romans Language Package and is a genuine new addition proposed by this analysis, using the same methodology and register.
- Risk tiers and review routing follow the same definitions as the Romans
doctrine_risk_registry.json: Critical/High → human theologian review required; Medium → native speaker review recommended; Low → automated review sufficient. - All entries are cited to their first (or doctrinally clearest) occurrence; most recur throughout the book as noted in
07_semantic_analysis.md.
Glossary Table
| English Gloss | Original (Hebrew) | Transliteration | Arabic Rendering | Arabic Translit. | Risk | Doctrine | First Occurrence | Baseline Reuse | Key Risk Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| commandment | מִצְוָה | mitzvah | الوصية | al-waṣiyyah | Low | Covenant Renewal | 6:1 | No (New) | Standard, safe term. |
| statutes | חֻקִּים | chuqqim | فرائض | farā’iḍ | High | Covenant Renewal | 4:1; 6:1 | No (New) | Core Islamic fiqh vocabulary (obligatory religious duty); must be framed as covenant-response, not merit-earning. |
| judgments/ordinances | מִשְׁפָּטִים | mishpatim | أحكام | aḥkām | High | Covenant Renewal | 4:1; 6:1 | No (New) | Standard term for rulings of Islamic sharia; risk of implying a parallel legal-religious system. |
| land / promised land | אֶרֶץ | eretz | الأرض (أرض الميعاد) | al-arḍ (arḍ al-mī’ād) | Medium | Covenant Renewal | 1:8 | No (New) | Contemporary political sensitivity parallel to baseline “israel” caution. |
| possess/inherit | יָרַשׁ | yarash | يرث / يمتلك | yarith / yamtalik | Medium | Covenant Renewal | 1:8 | No (New) | Land-grant theology; pastoral care needed re: political overtones. |
| fear (dread) | יָרֵא | yare | يخاف | yakhāf | Medium | — | 1:21 | No (New) | Distinguish from reverential “fear of the LORD” (6:2, 13). |
| fear (reverential) | יָרֵא | yare | مخافة الرب | makhāfat al-Rabb | High | Obedience Motivated by Love | 6:2 | No (New) | Established Arabic idiom; must not be confused with dread-sense. |
| keep/observe | שָׁמַר | shamar | يحفظ | yaḥfaẓ | Medium | Covenant Renewal | 4:2; 6:2 | No (New) | Watchful covenant fidelity, not legal box-ticking. |
| other gods | אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים | elohim acherim | آلهة أخرى | ālihah ukhrā | High | Warnings against Idolatry | 4:28 | No (New) | Positive shirk-rejection bridge, but risks being turned back polemically onto the Trinity. |
| jealous (God) | קַנָּא | qanna | غيور | ghayūr | Medium | Warnings against Idolatry | 4:24 | No (New) | Overlaps with hadith concept of Allah’s ghayrah; frame as righteous, not sinful, jealousy. |
| idol / carved image | פֶּסֶל | pesel | صنم / تمثال منحوت | ṣanam / timthāl manḥūt | Low-Medium | Warnings against Idolatry | 4:16 | No (New) | Good overlap with Quranic aṣnām rejection. |
| covenant | בְּרִית | berit | العهد | al-‘ahd | Medium | Covenant Renewal | 4:13; 5:2 | Yes | Reuse baseline exactly. |
| Ten Commandments | עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים | asereth ha-devarim | الوصايا العشر | al-waṣāyā al-‘ashr | Low | Covenant Renewal | 5:6-21 | No (New) | Well-established. |
| Sabbath | שַׁבָּת | shabbat | السبت | al-sabt | Medium | Remembering God’s Redemption | 5:12-15 | No (New) | Distinguish from Sunday worship and Islamic Jumu’ah. |
| honor (parents) | כַּבֵּד | kabbed | أكرم | akrama | Low | — | 5:16 | No (New) | Straightforward. |
| Hear! (Shema) | שְׁמַע | shema | اسمع | isma’ | High | Shema and Exclusive Love | 6:4 | No (New) | Fuses “hear + obey”; functional parallel to Shahada as bridge, not content-equivalence. |
| the LORD (YHWH) | יְהוָה | YHWH | الرب | al-Rabb | Medium (OT usage) | Shema and Exclusive Love | 6:4 | Yes | Reuse baseline exactly; note this is a distinct, lower risk profile than the Critical NT-Christological usage. |
| God | אֱלֹהִים | Elohim | الله | Allāh | Critical | Shema and Exclusive Love | 6:4 | Yes | Reuse baseline exactly. |
| one | אֶחָד | echad | واحد | wāḥid | Critical | Shema and Exclusive Love | 6:4 | No (New) | Direct overlap with Quranic tawḥīd/Sura al-Ikhlāṣ vocabulary; teach echad’s “unified oneness” range (Gen 2:24) so later Trinitarian teaching is not foreclosed. |
| love | אָהַב | ahav | يحب / المحبة | yuḥibb / al-maḥabbah | High | Shema; Obedience Motivated by Love | 6:5 | No (New) | ANE covenant-loyalty term; distinguish from Sufi mystical-union mahabbah. |
| heart | לֵבָב | levav | القلب | al-qalb | Medium | Shema | 6:5 | No (New) | Seat of will/intellect, broader than emotion alone. |
| soul/self/life | נֶפֶשׁ | nephesh | النفس | al-nafs | High | Shema | 6:5 | No (New) | Risk of collapsing into Islamic/Sufi “lower self” (nafs ammārah) sense; means whole living being here. |
| might/strength | מְאֹד | me’od | قوتك / بكل طاقتك | qūwatuk / bikulli ṭāqatik | Medium | Shema | 6:5 | No (New) | Human total capacity, not divine power. |
| words | דְּבָרִים | devarim | الكلمات | al-kalimāt | Low-Medium | Covenant Renewal | 6:6 | No (New) | Plural, mundane; singular “Kalimah” carries separate Christological weight elsewhere. |
| teach diligently | שִׁנַּנְתָּם | shinnantam | لقّن / علّم بجد وتكرار | laqqana / ‘allama bijidd | Medium | Obedience Motivated by Love | 6:7 | No (New) | Positive bridge to Qur’anic ḥifẓ memorization culture. |
| sign | אוֹת | ot | علامة | ’alāmah | High | Shema | 6:8 | No (New) | Never render as آية (ayah) — the Quranic verse/miracle term. |
| frontlets | טוֹטָפֹת | totafot | عصائب (بين العينين) | ‘aṣā’ib | Medium | Shema | 6:8 | No (New) | Risk of misreading as protective amulet (ta’wīdh). |
| doorpost | מְזוּזָה | mezuzah | عضادة الباب | ’iḍādat al-bāb | Low | Shema | 6:9 | No (New) | Straightforward architectural term. |
| choose/elect | בָּחַר | bachar | اختار (اختيار الله) | ikhtār (ikhtiyār Allāh) | High | Covenant Renewal; Choosing Life | 7:6 | Yes | Reuse baseline “election” pattern; distinguish national election of Israel (type) from individual soteriological election (Romans 9). |
| treasured possession | סְגֻלָּה | segullah | شعب خاص / ملكية خاصة | sha’b khāṣṣ | Medium-High | Covenant Renewal | 7:6 | No (New) | Distinguish from ummah-style political identity claims. |
| devoted to destruction (ban) | חֵרֶם | cherem | التحريم / مخصص للهلاك | al-taḥrīm | Critical | Warnings against Idolatry | 7:2 | No (New) | Shares root ح-ر-م with ḥarām/iḥrām; major apologetic flashpoint re: OT holy war. Prefer descriptive periphrasis. |
| steadfast covenant love | חֶסֶד | chesed | المحبة والوفاء (تقليديًا: الرحمة) | al-maḥabbah wal-wafā’ | High | Obedience Motivated by Love | 7:9 | No (New) | Explicitly reciprocal in context — unlike NT unconditioned grace; also avoid full collapse into Islamic raḥmah. |
| holy people | עַם קָדוֹשׁ | ’am qadosh | شعب مقدس | sha’b muqaddas | Medium | Warnings against Idolatry | 7:6 | Yes (holy) | Reuse baseline “holy” (مقدس). |
| remember | זָכַר | zakhar | اذكر / يذكر | udhkur / yadhkur | High | Remembering God’s Redemption | 8:2 | No (New) | Shares root with Islamic dhikr; teach as historical rehearsal, not mystical mantra. |
| forget | שָׁכַח | shakach | تنسى | tansā | Medium | Remembering God’s Redemption | 8:11 | No (New) | Contrast pair with zakhar. |
| humble/afflict | עִנָּה | anah | يذل / يؤدب | yudhillu | Medium | Remembering God’s Redemption | 8:2 | No (New) | Fatherly discipline, not arbitrary suffering. |
| test/prove | נִסָּה | nissah | يمتحن / يجرب | yumtaḥin | Low-Medium | Remembering God’s Redemption | 8:2 | No (New) | Overlaps positively with Islamic balā’ concept. |
| stiff-necked | קְשֵׁה עֹרֶף | qesheh oref | قاسي الرقبة | qāsī al-raqabah | Low | Warnings against Idolatry | 9:6 | No (New) | Vivid, cross-culturally clear metaphor. |
| circumcise the heart | מוּל לְבָבְכֶם | mul levavkhem | ختان القلب | khitān al-qalb | Critical | Obedience Motivated by Love | 10:16; 30:6 | No (New) | Root of Romans 2:29 (no prior baseline entry — glossary gap closed here); metaphor risk given live physical-practice sensitivities. |
| sojourner/stranger | גֵּר | ger | الغريب | al-gharīb | Medium | — | 10:19 | No (New) | Positive bridge to Arab hospitality ethics. |
| blessing | בְּרָכָה | berakhah | البركة | al-barakah | High | Blessings and Curses | 11:26-28 | No (New) | Folk-Islamic barakah connotes transferable spiritual “substance”; clarify covenantal-relational sense. |
| curse | קְלָלָה | qelalah | اللعنة | al-la’nah | High | Blessings and Curses | 11:26-28 | No (New) | Distinguish judicial covenant curse from folk “evil eye” superstition. |
| the chosen place | הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר | ha-maqom asher yivchar | المكان الذي يختاره الرب | al-makān alladhī yakhtāruhu al-Rabb | High | Covenant Renewal | 12:5 | No (New) | Anticipates Jerusalem/Temple Mount; extreme contemporary political sensitivity. |
| abomination | תּוֹעֵבָה | to’ebah | رجس / مكروه | rijs | Medium | Warnings against Idolatry | 12:31 | No (New) | Overlaps with Quranic rijs; keep referent specific to idolatrous practice. |
| false prophet | נָבִיא שֶׁקֶר | navi sheqer | نبي كذب | nabī kadhib | High | Warnings against Idolatry | 13:1-5 | No (New) | Text’s own criterion for evaluating prophetic claims; handle evenhandedly. |
| banished/apostate city | עִיר הַנִּדַּחַת | ir hanidachat | مدينة انحرفت إلى عبادة الأوثان | madīnah inḥarafat ilā ‘ibādat al-awthān | Critical | Warnings against Idolatry | 13:12-15 | No (New) | Avoid root ارتد/مرتد (modern apostasy-law term) entirely. |
| clean/unclean | טָהוֹר / טָמֵא | tahor / tame | طاهر / نجس | ṭāhir / najis | High | — | 14:3-21 | No (New) | Core fiqh purity vocabulary; frame as provisional ceremonial law fulfilled in Christ. |
| tithe | מַעֲשֵׂר | ma’aser | العُشور | al-‘ushūr | Medium | — | 14:22 | No (New) | Overlaps with Islamic fiqh ‘ushr; clarify not equivalent to zakat calculus. |
| release (sabbatical year) | שְׁמִטָּה | shemittah | سنة الإبراء | sanat al-ibrā’ | Low-Medium | — | 15:1 | No (New) | No precise Arabic religious-legal equivalent; needs explanation. |
| Hebrew servant | עֶבֶד עִבְרִי | eved ivri | العبد العبراني | al-‘abd al-‘ibrānī | Medium | — | 15:12 | No (New) | Frame as protective ANE regulation, not endorsement. |
| Passover | פֶּסַח | Pesach | الفصح | al-Fiṣḥ | Low | Remembering God’s Redemption | 16:1 | No (New) | Well-established across Christian Arabic tradition. |
| pilgrim feast | חַג | chag | عيد | ’īd | Low | — | 16:16 | No (New) | Shared, neutral vocabulary across religions. |
| justice | צֶדֶק | tzedeq | العدل | al-‘adl | High | — | 16:20 | No (New) | Distinguish from البر (forensic righteousness, Romans register); same conceptual root, different context-driven rendering. |
| king | מֶלֶךְ | melekh | ملك | malik | Low-Medium | Davidic/Messianic anticipation | 17:14-20 | No (New) | Overlaps with Al-Malik; keep clear this is a Torah-subordinate human king. |
| copy of the law | מִשְׁנֵה הַתּוֹרָה | mishneh ha-torah | نسخة من الناموس | nuskhah min al-Nāmūs | Low-Medium | Inspiration of Scripture | 17:18 | Yes (law) | Reuse الناموس (baseline). |
| prophet | נָבִיא | navi | نبي | nabī | Critical | Coming Prophet like Moses | 18:15 | Yes | Reuse baseline exactly. |
| prophet like Moses | נָבִיא … כָּמֹנִי | navi kamoni | نبي مثلي | nabī mithlī | Critical | Coming Prophet like Moses | 18:15-18 | No (New) | The single most contested Muslim–Christian apologetic text in the book; requires full scaffolding (see 07 analysis). |
| diviner/sorcerer | קֹסֵם / מְכַשֵּׁף | qosem / mekhashef | عرّاف / ساحر | ’arrāf / sāḥir | Low-Medium | Warnings against Idolatry | 18:10-11 | No (New) | Shared prohibition with Islamic siḥr laws; positive bridge. |
| city of refuge | עִיר מִקְלָט | ir miqlat | مدينة الملجأ | madīnat al-malja’ | Low-Medium | — | 19:1-13 | No (New) | Typological bridge to Christ as refuge. |
| eye for eye | עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן | ayin tachat ayin | عين بعين | ’ayn bi-‘ayn | Low | — | 19:21 | No (New) | Shared with Quran 5:45; flag NT transformation (Matt 5:38-39) for later teaching. |
| hanged on a tree | תָּלוּי עַל־עֵץ | taluy ‘al etz | المعلَّق على خشبة | al-mu’allaq ‘alā khashabah | Critical | Coming Prophet; Resurrection scaffolding | 21:22-23 | No (New) | Cited in Galatians 3:13; requires crucifixion-historicity scaffolding per baseline “resurrection” note. |
| atone/atonement | כִּפֶּר | kipper | الكفّارة | al-kaffārah | High | — | 21:8 | No (New) | Overlaps with Islamic kaffārah (oath/fast expiation); clarify substitutionary, once-for-all trajectory. |
| certificate of divorce | סֵפֶר כְּרִיתֻת | sefer keritut | كتاب طلاق | kitāb ṭalāq | High | — | 24:1 | No (New) | Overlaps with Islamic ṭalāq procedure; flag Jesus’ reinterpretation (Matt 19:8). |
| levirate marriage | יִבּוּם | yibbum | زواج أخ الزوج المتوفى | zawāj akh al-zawj al-mutawaffā | Low-Medium | — | 25:5-10 | No (New) | Unfamiliar institution; needs explanation, low collision. |
| honest weight | אֶבֶן שְׁלֵמָה | even shlemah | ميزان صحيح / موازين عادلة | mīzān ṣaḥīḥ | High | — | 25:13-15 | No (New) | Overlaps with eschatological mīzān (deeds-scale) already flagged in baseline “salvation”; clarify commercial, not eschatological, referent. |
| firstfruits | בִּכּוּרִים | bikkurim | الباكورات | al-bākūrāt | Low-Medium | Remembering God’s Redemption | 26:1-11 | No (New) | Typological link to Christ as firstfruits (1 Cor 15:20). |
| historical credo | אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי | arami oved avi | أرامياً تائهاً كان أبي | Arāmiyyan tā’ihan kāna abī | Medium | Remembering God’s Redemption | 26:5 | No (New) | Genuine textual/interpretive ambiguity; follow established Van Dyck-consistent rendering. |
| cursed (liturgical) | אָרוּר | arur | ملعون | mal’ūn | High | Blessings and Curses | 27:15-26 | No (New) | Cited in Galatians 3:10, 13; keep consistent with Ch. 21’s cursed-tree term. |
| the LORD will scatter you | הֱפִיצְךָ יְהוָה | hephitzkha YHWH | يشتتك الرب (السبي والتشتت) | yushattitukum al-Rabb | High | Blessings and Curses | 28:64 | No (New) | Contemporary political sensitivity re: exile/return narrative; same caution as baseline “israel” entry. |
| covenant renewal (trans-generational) | לֹא אִתְּכֶם לְבַדְּכֶם | lo itkhem levadkhem | ليس معكم أنتم وحدكم | laysa ma’akum antum waḥdakum | Medium-High | Covenant Renewal | 29:14-15 | No (New) | Contrast carefully with Quranic mithāq al-alast (Q7:172); distinct covenant categories. |
| hidden/revealed things | הַנִּסְתָּרֹת / הַנִּגְלֹת | ha-nistarot / ha-niglot | الأمور الخفية والمعلنة | al-umūr al-khafiyyah wal-mu’lanah | Low-Medium | — | 29:29 | No (New) | Epistemological humility; low doctrinal risk. |
| life and death | הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת | ha-chayyim ve-ha-mavet | الحياة والموت | al-ḥayāh wal-mawt | High | Choosing Life over Death | 30:15-19 | No (New) | Trace, do not conflate, trajectory to NT “eternal life.” |
| good and evil | הַטּוֹב וְהָרָע | ha-tov ve-ha-ra’ | الخير والشر | al-khayr wal-sharr | Medium | Choosing Life over Death | 30:15 | No (New) | Broadly universal moral vocabulary. |
| return/repent | וְשַׁבְתָּ | ve-shavta | يرجع إلى الرب (التوبة) | yarji’ ilā al-Rabb (al-tawbah) | Critical | Choosing Life over Death | 30:2 | No (New) | Massive overlap with Islamic tawbah; must preserve monergistic emphasis of 30:6 (God circumcises the heart). |
| choose life | וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים | u-vacharta ba-chayyim | فاختر الحياة | fa-ikhtar al-ḥayāh | High | Choosing Life over Death | 30:19 | No (New) | Human response within, not replacing, prior divine redemptive initiative. |
| be strong and courageous | חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ | chazaq ve-ematz | تشدد وتشجع | tashaddad wa-tashajja’ | Low | — | 31:6-7 | No (New) | Straightforward exhortation. |
| the book of the law | סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה | sefer ha-torah | سفر الناموس | sifr al-Nāmūs | High | Inspiration of Scripture | 31:24-26 | Yes (law) | Reuse الناموس; reinforces written-Scripture authority against tahrif claims. |
| the Rock (divine epithet) | הַצּוּר | ha-Tzur | الصخرة | al-Ṣakhrah | Medium | — | 32:4 | No (New) | Coincidental homonymic overlap with Dome of the Rock; note but not doctrinal collision. |
| vengeance | נָקָם | naqam | الانتقام | al-intiqām | Medium | — | 32:35 | No (New) | Cited in Romans 12:19 (existing curriculum); frame as restraining human vengeance. |
| Jeshurun | יְשֻׁרוּן | Yeshurun | يشورون | Yashūrūn | Low | — | 32:15 | No (New) | Proper noun, transliterated. |
| everlasting arms | זְרֹעֹת עוֹלָם | zero’ot olam | الأذرع الأبدية | al-adhru’ al-abadiyyah | Medium | — | 33:27 | No (New) | Anthropomorphism caution, parallel to baseline tanzīh note. |
| no prophet like Moses since | לֹא־קָם נָבִיא עוֹד … כְּמֹשֶׁה | lo qam navi ‘od ke-Moshe | لم يقم بعد نبي في إسرائيل مثل موسى | lam yaqum ba’du nabī fī Isrā’īl mithl Mūsā | Critical | Coming Prophet like Moses | 34:10 | No (New) | Paired with 18:15-18; requires joint apologetic scaffolding re: fulfillment in Christ. |
| spirit of wisdom | רוּחַ חָכְמָה | ruach chokhmah | روح الحكمة | rūḥ al-ḥikmah | Medium-High | — | 34:9 | No (New) | Task-endowment sense; distinguish from full NT Holy Spirit personhood (already Critical in baseline). |
Terms Reused Exactly from the Baseline Romans translation_memory.json
| Term | Arabic (unchanged) | Baseline Risk Tier |
|---|---|---|
| covenant | العهد | Medium |
| law / Torah | الناموس | Critical |
| holy | مقدس | Medium |
| election / choose | اختيار الله | High |
| lord (YHWH, OT usage) | الرب | Critical (NT usage) / Medium (this OT usage — see note) |
| god | الله | Critical |
| prophet | نبي | High (per translation_memory.json) / Low (per bible_term_registry.json) |
| israel | إسرائيل | High |
| david | داود | Medium |
| jesus | يسوع | Critical (referenced forward, Ch. 18/34 fulfillment discussion) |
Risk Summary for Deuteronomy Full-Book Coverage
| Risk Tier | Count of New/Flagged Terms | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 10 | Human theologian |
| High | 22 | Human theologian |
| Medium | 20 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 20 | Automated review |
Note: counts reflect distinct glossary entries in this document, not raw occurrences across the book’s 34 chapters.
This glossary must be merged into an updated translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json for Deuteronomy in a subsequent Phase 1 step, following the same versioning and enforcement discipline established by the Romans baseline. No entry above may be altered during Phase 2 translation without a version increment and theologian sign-off for Critical/High items.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: البر
Transliteration: al-birr
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: الصلاح, العدل
CRITICAL: al-birr appears in the Quran (2:177) as a checklist of pious deeds - a works-checklist sense that must never attach to the soteriological ‘righteousness of God apart from works.’ NOTE FOR THIS CURRICULUM: Deuteronomy’s social/legal ‘tzedeq’ (16:20, ‘justice, justice you shall pursue’) is correctly rendered العدل, NOT البر, in its own register (see ‘justice_tzedeq’); this is a deliberate, non-contradictory register distinction, not an exception to this rule — البر remains reserved exclusively for the forensic, apart-from-works soteriological sense. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Justification
Approved rendering: التبرير
Transliteration: al-tabrīr
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: التزكية, الحكم بالبراءة
CRITICAL: التزكية (tazkiyah) is a Quranic term for self-purification through deeds - a process, not a forensic declaration. Note for this curriculum: Deuteronomy has no direct lexical equivalent within the book itself, but this baseline term must remain untouched and consistent for later NT-linkage teaching (e.g. when connecting Deut 30:6’s circumcised heart to Romans 2:29). [Inherited from Romans package.]
Salvation
Approved rendering: الخلاص
Transliteration: al-khalāṣ
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: النجاة, الفوز بالجنة
CRITICAL: mainstream Islamic soteriology has no assured salvation - a soul’s fate rests on a deeds-weighing scale (mizan). Deuteronomy’s own ‘life and death’ choice (30:15-20) and ‘honest weight’ commercial-ethics passage (25:13-15) must be carefully distinguished from this eschatological mizan register (see ‘honest_weight’, ‘life_and_death’) so as not to blur OT covenant-blessing categories with either full NT assured salvation or Islamic deeds-weighing. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Lord
Approved rendering: الرب
Transliteration: al-Rabb
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: السيد, المولى
CRITICAL: al-Rabb is a defining title of Allah (Rabb al-‘Alamin). Applying it to Jesus is the paradigm case of shirk in Islamic theology; السيد/المولى would wrongly soften the claim to mere human respect. NOTE: Deuteronomy’s own extensive OT use of الرب for YHWH (e.g. the Shema, 6:4) carries a DIFFERENT, lower risk profile — see the new entry ‘lord_yhwh_ot’ — because there the word is applied to God himself, not to a human-born man, and overlaps positively with the Quranic ‘Rabb al-‘Alamin.’ Do not treat the two usages with the same alarm, but do not blur them either. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Son Of God
Approved rendering: ابن الله
Transliteration: Ibn Allāh
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: الحبيب من الله, الكلمة من الله (بدون ‘ابن’)
CRITICAL: the Quran twice states Allah ‘does not beget nor is He begotten’ (112:3). Relevant forward-linkage: the NT identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18’s ‘Prophet like Moses’ (Acts 3:22-26; 7:37) and the ultimate bearer of the covenant Deuteronomy renews; teaching that fulfillment eventually requires this full title, not a diluted one. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Incarnation
Approved rendering: التجسد
Transliteration: al-tajassud
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: الحلول, الظهور
CRITICAL: الحلول is Sufi pantheistic indwelling; الظهور echoes the Quran’s own crucifixion-denial ‘mere appearance’ language. Deuteronomy’s own strict prohibition of any physical representation of God (ch. 4’s pesel/temunah) is the very aniconism that later makes the Incarnation doctrine maximally confrontational; flag this connection when teaching ch. 4 forward. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Law
Approved rendering: الناموس
Transliteration: al-nāmūs
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: الشريعة, الشرع
Original: תּוֹרָה
Category: Covenant
CRITICAL: established Arabic Bible tradition deliberately uses الناموس rather than الشريعة, which today overwhelmingly denotes the total Islamic religious-legal-political system. This is the primary Arabic rendering for Deuteronomy’s own תּוֹרָה (Torah) throughout the book (e.g. ‘sefer ha-torah’ → سفر الناموس, ‘mishneh ha-torah’ → نسخة من الناموس). Never substitute. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Messiah
Approved rendering: المسيح
Transliteration: al-Masīh
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
CRITICAL: al-Masih is already loaded with a specific, well-defined, competing Quranic narrative (honored prophet, not divine, not crucified, not resurrected). Directly relevant to Deuteronomy 18’s ‘Prophet like Moses’ typology and Deuteronomy 17’s Torah-subordinate kingship law, both of which anticipate this title’s fulfillment. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Resurrection
Approved rendering: القيامة
Transliteration: al-qiyāmah
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
CRITICAL: mainstream Islamic doctrine (Quran 4:157) denies Jesus was crucified at all. Deuteronomy 21:22-23’s ‘hanged on a tree’ curse category (see ‘hanged_on_tree’), directly cited in Galatians 3:13, requires the SAME apologetic scaffolding as this term: first establish the historicity of the crucifixion before any resurrection or curse-bearing claim can be taught. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: الروح القدس
Transliteration: al-Rūḥ al-Qudus
Doctrine: Sanctification
CRITICAL: mainstream tafsir identifies the identical Quranic phrase with the angel Jibril, a created being. Deuteronomy 34:9’s ‘spirit of wisdom’ (רוּחַ חָכְמָה, see ‘spirit_of_wisdom’) is a distinct, task-specific OT endowment and must not be overclaimed as full Trinitarian personhood, nor underclaimed as merely a natural disposition. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Father
Approved rendering: الآب
Transliteration: al-Āb
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
CRITICAL: Islamic tanzih theology treats any begetting language applied to Allah as anthropomorphism verging on shirk. Deuteronomy’s own anthropomorphic imagery for God (‘everlasting arms,’ 33:27) requires similar figurative-not-literal framing; see ‘everlasting_arms’. [Inherited from Romans package.]
God
Approved rendering: الله
Transliteration: Allāh
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: אֱלֹהִים
Category: God
CRITICAL: Allah is simply the Arabic word for God, used by Arabic-speaking Christians for centuries. The risk is entirely in content: Islamic tawhid’s strictly unitarian, non-incarnate conception must be actively distinguished from the Trinitarian conception, a distinction that Deuteronomy’s Shema (6:4, see ‘echad_one’) makes maximally urgent for this curriculum. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Jesus
Approved rendering: يسوع
Transliteration: Yasū’
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: عيسى
Original: — (referenced forward via fulfillment typology)
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: established Eastern Christian Arabic form, predating Islam. عيسى (‘Isa) is exclusively the Quranic name and is explicitly rejected. The NT identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18:15-18’s Prophet like Moses (Acts 3:22-26; 7:37); this identification must always use يسوع, never عيسى, for identity-marker consistency across the whole curriculum. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: طاعة الإيمان
Transliteration: ṭā’at al-īmān
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: الطاعة الشرعية
CRITICAL: ‘Islam’ itself means submission/obedience - the defining category of the entire religion, not a downstream fruit of belief. This is the exact pattern Deuteronomy’s own ‘Obedience Motivated by Love not Merit’ doctrine mirrors: obedience (6:1-9) is consistently framed as the covenant response of a people already redeemed (ch. 8), never the means of securing that redemption. Teach as fruit, never ground, of covenant standing. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Echad One
Approved rendering: واحد
Transliteration: wāḥid
Doctrine: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Rejected alternatives: أحد (even closer Quranic cognate, Sura al-Ikhlas 112:1)
Original: אֶחָד
Category: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
CRITICAL: Sura al-Ikhlas makes ‘one’ the defining confessional word of Islamic tawhid, understood as strict, internally undifferentiated numerical unity. Rendering echad as واحد risks being read as a full doctrinal match to Quranic tawhid, foreclosing later Trinitarian teaching, or later appearing as a doctrinal ‘bait-and-switch.’ Teach that Hebrew echad (unlike yachid) can denote unified oneness (cf. Gen 2:24, ‘the two shall become one flesh’; Ex 24:3), and that the Shema’s historical target is Canaanite polytheism, not a metaphysical statement precluding later revelation of triune personal distinction. This is the single highest-priority Critical term in the whole curriculum.
Cherem Ban
Approved rendering: التحريم / مخصص للهلاك
Transliteration: al-taḥrīm / mukhaṣṣaṣ lil-halāk
Doctrine: Divine Judgment and Holy War (Cherem)
Rejected alternatives: الحرم / الإحرام (bare cognate)
Original: חֵרֶם
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
CRITICAL: total, irrevocable devotion to destruction of Canaanite idolatry as a covenant-protective judicial measure (Deut 7:2; 13; 20). The root ح-ر-م underlies Islam’s central legal-sacred categories (ḥarām, iḥrām, al-Masjid al-Ḥarām). A bare cognate rendering risks readers assuming cherem denotes ritual forbiddenness or pilgrim consecration. Major, live flashpoint in Muslim-Christian apologetic exchange over OT violence; prefer descriptive periphrasis with full ANE covenant-lawsuit scaffolding, never an unexplained cognate.
Circumcise Heart
Approved rendering: ختان القلب
Transliteration: khitān al-qalb
Doctrine: Circumcision of the Heart
Original: מוּל לְבָבְכֶם
Category: Obedience Motivated by Love not Merit
CRITICAL: metaphorical removal of stubbornness/insensitivity from the heart, culminating in Deut 30:6’s promise that God HIMSELF performs this act. Khitan denotes a near-universal, physically concrete practice tied to communal/religious identity in Arab/Muslim culture, and (regarding female circumcision) a currently sensitive real-world debate. A metaphorical use of this exact vocabulary risks literalizing confusion. This is also the OT root of Romans 2:29’s ‘circumcision of the heart’ — a genuine glossary gap in the Romans baseline this curriculum closes. Must be taught unmistakably as inward, divinely-wrought renewal, never conflated with the physical practice, and never placed adjacent to literal-circumcision discussion without a clear flag.
Apostate City
Approved rendering: مدينة انحرفت إلى عبادة الأوثان
Transliteration: madīnah inḥarafat ilā ‘ibādat al-awthān
Doctrine: Warnings against Idolatry
Rejected alternatives: مدينة مرتدة (using the ارتد/مرتد root)
Original: עִיר הַנִּדַּחַת
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
CRITICAL: a city that has collectively turned to idol worship and its judicial consequence (ir hanidachat, Deut 13:12-15). Do NOT render using the root ارتد/مرتد. Al-murtadd is the loaded modern Islamic legal-theological term for a person who leaves Islam, carrying serious, sometimes life-threatening, contemporary legal and social consequences. Use a purely descriptive periphrasis only.
Prophet Like Moses
Approved rendering: نبي مثلي
Transliteration: nabī mithlī
Doctrine: The Coming Prophet like Moses
Original: נָבִיא מִקִּרְבְּךָ מֵאַחֶיךָ כָּמֹנִי
Category: The Coming Prophet like Moses
CRITICAL: a future prophet arising from within Israel’s own kinship group, sharing Moses’ prophetic profile (Deut 18:15-18), fulfilled per the NT in Jesus (Acts 3:22-26; 7:37). The single most contested Deuteronomy passage in Muslim-Christian apologetics — mainstream Muslim apologetics reads ‘from among your brothers’ as pointing to Muhammad. Requires full scaffolding at every occurrence: (1) ‘brothers’ = fellow Israelites elsewhere (17:15’s parallel usage for kingship); (2) apply the true-prophet test of 18:21-22 evenhandedly; (3) teach the NT’s own explicit fulfillment identification directly, not as assumed self-evident. Must always be reviewed jointly with ‘no_prophet_since’.
Hanged On Tree
Approved rendering: المعلَّق على خشبة
Transliteration: al-mu’allaq ‘alā khashabah
Doctrine: The Curse of the Cross (Typology)
Rejected alternatives: مصلوب (would presuppose crucifixion vocabulary before establishing the OT typological category)
Original: תָּלוּי עַל־עֵץ
Category: The Curse of the Cross (Typology)
CRITICAL: a publicly displayed, judicially cursed execution (taluy ‘al etz, Deut 21:22-23), directly cited by Paul in Galatians 3:13 regarding Christ’s death. Since mainstream Islamic doctrine denies the crucifixion occurred at all (Quran 4:157), this category is precisely what the NT applies to the cross. Requires the same apologetic scaffolding as the baseline’s Critical ‘resurrection’ entry: first establish the historicity of the crucifixion, then show this text explains its theological necessity.
Return Repent
Approved rendering: يرجع إلى الرب (التوبة)
Transliteration: yarji’ ilā al-Rabb (al-tawbah)
Doctrine: Choosing Life over Death
Rejected alternatives: التوبة (unqualified, standing alone without pairing to 30:6’s divine agency)
Original: וְשַׁבְתָּ עַד־יְהוָה
Category: Choosing Life over Death
CRITICAL: turning back to the LORD, culminating in Deut 30:6’s promise that God HIMSELF will circumcise the heart — a divine-monergistic transformation, not merely human self-turning. Tawbah is one of Islam’s most central categories (repentance as a human act Allah may or may not accept, outcome uncertain per the mizan). Always pair with 30:6’s divine heart-circumcision promise and Deut 30:19’s human ‘choose life’ clause to preserve both divine initiative and human responsibility.
No Prophet Since
Approved rendering: لم يقم بعد نبي في إسرائيل مثل موسى
Transliteration: lam yaqum ba’du nabī fī Isrā’īl mithl Mūsā
Doctrine: The Coming Prophet like Moses
Original: לֹא־קָם נָבִיא עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה
Category: The Coming Prophet like Moses
CRITICAL: the book’s capstone evaluation that no prophet since has arisen in Israel like Moses (Deut 34:10), read by the NT as pointing forward to fulfillment in Christ. Directly paired with ‘prophet_like_moses’ — this exact verse is used in Muslim apologetics to argue the promised prophet arose OUTSIDE Israel. Must be taught jointly with Deut 18’s scaffolding and the NT’s own explicit fulfillment identification (Acts 3, 7); never process or review in isolation from ‘prophet_like_moses’.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: الإنجيل
Transliteration: al-Injīl
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: البشارة, الخبر السار
Established term shared with Quranic usage (Injil = the revelation given to ‘Isa). Risk is not word-choice but background assumption: mainstream Islamic doctrine holds the Injil in circulation today is corrupted (tahrif) from an original lost revelation. Segments must not concede this framing; al-Injil here means the NT record itself, not a lost predecessor text. Directly relevant to Deuteronomy’s ‘Inspiration of Scripture’ doctrine: the book’s own establishment of a complete, publicly deposited, written Torah (31:9-26) is valuable pre-emptive framing against the same tahrif claim. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Grace
Approved rendering: النعمة
Transliteration: al-ni’mah
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: الفضل, الرحمة
الفضل (Allah’s bounty) and الرحمة (mercy, one of Allah’s 99 names) both function in Islamic theology as favor responsive to obedience, not favor totally apart from merit. Must never be substituted for Deuteronomy’s chesed (see ‘chesed_covenant_love’), which IS explicitly reciprocal in its own context (7:9) — the two concepts must be kept distinct, not collapsed into each other in either direction. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Faith
Approved rendering: الإيمان
Transliteration: al-īmān
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: الاعتقاد, الثقة
Iman is one of Islam’s six articles of belief - primarily creedal assent paired with practice (islam) and excellence (ihsan). Relevant background for Deuteronomy’s ‘love_ahavah’ (6:5) and ‘obedience_of_faith’ pairing: covenant love/trust must precede and motivate obedience, not the reverse. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Election
Approved rendering: اختيار الله
Transliteration: ikhtiyār Allāh
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: القدر
Original: בָּחַר
Category: National Election of Israel
القدر (qadar, divine decree) functions as exhaustive fatalistic determinism, popularly detached from any particular redemptive purpose. This baseline term denotes the individual soteriological election of Romans 9-11. Deuteronomy’s national/corporate election of Israel-as-a-people (7:6-8) is a distinct, typologically-related but not identical doctrine — see the new entry ‘election_national’ below; do not conflate the two registers when teaching. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Sin
Approved rendering: الخطية
Transliteration: al-khaṭīyah
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: الذنب, الإثم
Islamic anthropology holds each person is born in a state of natural purity (fitrah) and denies inherited sin. Deuteronomy’s own account of persistent national rebellion (the golden calf, ch. 9; ‘stiff-necked,’ 9:6) and the promised divine solution (circumcised heart, 30:6) provide OT-rooted background for this doctrine, directly relevant to Romans 5’s later argument. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Prophet
Approved rendering: نبي
Transliteration: nabī
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: נָבִיא
Category: The Coming Prophet like Moses
Correct and Quran-affirmed, but risks readers stopping at ‘a prophet’ through the lens of Islam’s khatam an-nabiyyin (seal of the prophets) doctrine. This risk is at its absolute maximum in Deuteronomy 18:15-22 and 34:10 (see ‘prophet_like_moses’ and ‘no_prophet_since’), the single most contested Muslim-Christian apologetic locus in the book. Always pair with fuller scaffolding; never let نبي stand as a complete identity claim. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: نسل داود
Transliteration: nasl Dāwūd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Conveys physical lineage and OT covenant fulfillment. Deuteronomy 17:14-20’s kingship law (Torah-subordinate king) is the direct anticipatory background for this later Davidic/messianic category; teach the connection explicitly. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Israel
Approved rendering: إسرائيل
Transliteration: Isrā’īl
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל
Category: Covenant
In contemporary spoken Arabic ‘Isra’il’ is overwhelmingly associated with the modern nation-state and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This risk is elevated throughout Deuteronomy relative to Romans because so much of the book’s content (land, exile, covenant blessing/curse, the ‘chosen place’ anticipating Jerusalem) intersects directly with contemporary political discourse; deliberate pastoral framing is required throughout the book, not only in isolated passages. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Statutes
Approved rendering: فرائض
Transliteration: farā’iḍ
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: חֻקִּים
Category: Covenant
فرائض (farā’iḍ) is core Islamic fiqh vocabulary for obligatory religious duties (e.g. the five daily prayers). Using it risks importing the fiqh category of works performed to earn standing onto covenant statutes given to a people already redeemed (Deut 6:1 follows, not precedes, the Exodus). Always pair with explicit sequencing framing: ‘Israel is redeemed first, then instructed.‘
Judgments
Approved rendering: أحكام
Transliteration: aḥkām
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: מִשְׁפָּטִים
Category: Covenant
أحكام is the standard term for the rulings of Islamic sharia (aḥkām al-sharī’a). Pairing فرائض and أحكام together, as Deut 4:1 and 6:1 both do, closely mirrors Islamic legal-vocabulary structure and risks an implicit parallel-sharia reading of the whole book; requires the same sequencing framing as ‘statutes’.
Fear Reverential
Approved rendering: مخافة الرب
Transliteration: makhāfat al-Rabb
Doctrine: Obedience Motivated by Love not Merit
Original: יָרֵא
Category: Obedience Motivated by Love not Merit
Reverential awe and worshipful submission toward YHWH specifically, commanded generationally (Deut 6:2). The established Arabic idiom مخافة الرب is safe and traditional, but must not be confused with the dread-sense of the same root (‘fear_dread’) nor collapse into a fear-based, merit-earning motivation contrary to this doctrine’s own thesis (love precedes and motivates obedience).
Other Gods
Approved rendering: آلهة أخرى
Transliteration: ālihah ukhrā
Doctrine: Warnings against Idolatry
Original: אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
A natural, positive bridge to Islam’s own rejection of shirk (Deut 4:28), but Muslim polemic frequently turns this exact category back onto the Trinity, charging Christians with worshiping ‘other gods.’ Teachers must be ready to distinguish the Trinity (one God, three co-eternal Persons) from polytheism using this passage’s own logic.
Shema Hear
Approved rendering: اسمع
Transliteration: isma’
Doctrine: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Rejected alternatives: الشيماع (transliterated technical title)
Original: שְׁמַע
Category: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
The imperative ‘Hear!’ fuses hearing with obedient response in Hebrew (Deut 6:4). Arabic distinguishes سمع (‘hear’) from أطاع (‘obey’), so the fused sense is not automatic in اسمع alone. Translate the imperative in-text as اسمع; do not transliterate ‘al-Shema” as a technical unit-title in body text. The functional parallel to the Shahada as a daily-recited creedal confession is a useful bridge for explaining the verse’s cultural role, but the content of the two confessions must never be presented as equivalent.
Love Ahavah
Approved rendering: يحب / المحبة
Transliteration: yuḥibb / al-maḥabbah
Doctrine: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Rejected alternatives: عشق (romantic/mystical passion)
Original: אָהַב
Category: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Covenant love commanded in Deut 6:5 — Ancient Near Eastern treaty vocabulary for total allegiance to a sovereign, expressed in obedience, not primarily sentiment. Sufi devotional maḥabbah is a positive bridge but often trends toward mystical absorption/annihilation (fanā’) into the divine, whereas Deuteronomy’s ahav is covenantal allegiance expressed in obedience to commandments, not mystical union.
Soul Nephesh
Approved rendering: النفس
Transliteration: al-nafs
Doctrine: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Rejected alternatives: الروح (would wrongly suggest a separable spiritual faculty)
Original: נֶפֶשׁ
Category: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
The whole living being, one’s very life or self (Deut 6:5) — not a separable spiritual part contrasted with the body. Arabic نفس in Islamic/Sufi anthropology frequently denotes the lower, appetitive self to be disciplined (al-nafs al-ammārah, Quran 12:53) — nearly an inverted sense. Must clarify: ‘with all your nephesh’ means with your whole life/being, not with a disciplined appetitive faculty.
Sign Ot
Approved rendering: علامة
Transliteration: ‘alāmah
Doctrine: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Rejected alternatives: آية
Original: אוֹת
Category: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
A visible marker or token of covenant identity, bound on the hand (Deut 6:8, ot). Must NEVER be rendered آية (ayah), the specific and inescapable Quranic term for a verse or miraculous sign. علامة is the correct, neutral choice and must be used consistently.
Election National
Approved rendering: اختار (اختيار الله للأمة)
Transliteration: ikhtār (ikhtiyār Allāh lil-ummah)
Doctrine: National Election of Israel
God’s sovereign, unearned selection of Israel as a corporate people (bachar, Deut 7:6-8), explicitly not on the basis of size or merit. Distinct from, though it reuses, the baseline’s اختيار الله pattern (see ‘election’): this is NATIONAL/corporate election of a people-as-type, to be distinguished from the INDIVIDUAL soteriological election of Romans 9-11. Must not collapse into folk qadar fatalism, nor imply endorsement of modern ethno-national political claims.
Treasured Possession
Approved rendering: شعب خاص / ملكية خاصة
Transliteration: sha’b khāṣṣ / milkiyyah khāṣṣah
Doctrine: National Election of Israel
Rejected alternatives: أمة خاصة (would too closely parallel ‘ummah’)
Original: סְגֻלָּה
Category: National Election of Israel
A treasured, uniquely valued possession set apart from the general population (segullah, Deut 7:6). Must be distinguished from ummah-style national/religious community-identity claims and from endorsing modern ethno-national political claims about chosen-people status.
Chesed Covenant Love
Approved rendering: المحبة والوفاء
Transliteration: al-maḥabbah wal-wafā’
Doctrine: Covenant Loyalty (Chesed)
Rejected alternatives: الرحمة (collapses into Islamic works-responsive raḥmah), النعمة (wrong register — baseline’s unconditioned grace)
Original: חֶסֶד
Category: Covenant Renewal
Steadfast, loyal covenant love, explicitly reciprocal in Deut 7:9 (‘to those who love him and keep his commandments’). Unlike النعمة (NT charis, wholly unmerited), chesed here is explicitly tied to covenant reciprocity. Do not let this be read back into Romans’ unconditioned grace, nor collapsed into Islamic raḥmah’s works-responsive framework, without this covenant-reciprocity nuance made explicit either way.
Holy People
Approved rendering: شعب مقدس
Transliteration: sha’b muqaddas
Doctrine: National Election of Israel
Rejected alternatives: الأولياء
Original: עַם קָדוֹשׁ
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
The corporate holiness of the whole covenant community, consecrated to God (‘am qadosh, Deut 7:6). Reuses the baseline’s مقدس exactly; corporate, non-hierarchical set-apartness, not an ascetic elite (parallel to baseline’s rejection of الأولياء for ‘saints’).
Remember Zakhar
Approved rendering: اذكر / يذكر
Transliteration: udhkur / yadhkur
Doctrine: Remembering God’s Redemption
Original: זָכַר
Category: Remembering God’s Redemption
Active, covenant-renewing remembrance of God’s redemptive acts — the Exodus, the wilderness manna (zakhar, Deut 8:2). The root ذ-ك-ر underlies Islamic dhikr, ritual repetitive devotional recitation. Teach zakhar as rehearsing concrete redemptive history, not a mystical mantra technique; always attach a named historical referent in the same clause.
Blessing Berakhah
Approved rendering: البركة
Transliteration: al-barakah
Doctrine: Blessings and Curses of the Covenant
Original: בְּרָכָה
Category: Blessings and Curses of the Covenant
Covenant favor and prosperity granted in response to obedience (Deut 11:26-28; 28). Barakah is a live folk-Islamic/Sufi concept of transferable spiritual ‘substance’ via contact with holy people/places/objects. Deuteronomy’s berakhah is covenantal and relational — a direct response to covenant loyalty — never a transferable substance; clarify this distinction explicitly every occurrence.
Curse Qelalah
Approved rendering: اللعنة
Transliteration: al-la’nah
Doctrine: Blessings and Curses of the Covenant
Original: קְלָלָה
Category: Blessings and Curses of the Covenant
The judicial covenant curse resulting from covenant breach (qelalah, Deut 11:26-28; 28). Decent overlap with Quranic la’nah, but must be distinguished from folk ‘evil eye’ (al-‘ayn) superstition; Deuteronomy’s curse is judicial and covenantal, not magical or arbitrary.
Chosen Place
Approved rendering: المكان الذي يختاره الرب
Transliteration: al-makān alladhī yakhtāruhu al-Rabb
Doctrine: Centralization and Purity of Worship
Original: הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה
Category: Covenant Renewal
The future central sanctuary site God will choose, fulfilled in Jerusalem (Deut 12:5). Anticipates al-Quds/Haram al-Sharif, one of the most geopolitically volatile sites on earth today; requires the same deliberate pastoral care as the baseline’s ‘israel’ note — keep the ancient covenant-historical referent clearly distinct from present-day claims.
False Prophet
Approved rendering: نبي كذب
Transliteration: nabī kadhib
Doctrine: False Prophecy and Prophetic Testing
Original: נָבִיא שֶׁקֶר (implied)
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
A prophet whose signs may be real but whose message leads to idolatry, tested by fidelity to God’s revealed character (Deut 13:1-5). The Bible’s own criterion for testing prophetic claims, directly relevant to comparative claims of prophetic succession, including Islam’s khatam an-nabiyyin doctrine. Present as the text’s own criterion, applied evenhandedly, never as a selectively-applied polemical tool.
Clean Unclean
Approved rendering: طاهر / نجس
Transliteration: ṭāhir / najis
Doctrine: Ceremonial Purity Law
Original: טָהוֹר / טָמֵא
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
Ritual purity status determining eligibility for worship and food (tahor/tame, Deut 14:3-21). Ṭāhir/najis are core, highly active categories in Islamic fiqh. Must be explicitly framed as OT ceremonial law with a redemptive-historical trajectory (cf. Mark 7; Acts 10; Romans 14), never as equivalently binding today.
Justice Tzedeq
Approved rendering: العدل
Transliteration: al-‘adl
Doctrine: Social and Economic Justice
Rejected alternatives: البر (reserved exclusively for the soteriological register)
Original: צֶדֶק
Category: Social and Economic Justice
Social and judicial rectitude, mandated as covenant civic ethics (tzedeq, Deut 16:20). Cognate to the same conceptual family as NT dikaiosynē (البر in the baseline). Established Arabic Bible tradition renders social/legal contexts like this as العدل, reserving البر for the soteriological ‘righteousness of God’ register; teach the underlying theological continuity without conflating the two.
Atonement Kipper
Approved rendering: الكفّارة
Transliteration: al-kaffārah
Doctrine: Refuge and Atonement
Original: כִּפֶּר
Category: Refuge and Atonement
Sacrificial atonement, covering or expiating guilt (kipper, Deut 21:8), anticipating the once-for-all atonement in Christ. Kaffārah is a live Islamic legal-theological category (expiation for oath-breaking, broken fasts). Clarify biblical kapparah points toward substitutionary, once-for-all atonement fulfilled in Christ, not a repeatable menu of individually prescribed expiations.
Certificate Of Divorce
Approved rendering: كتاب طلاق
Transliteration: kitāb ṭalāq
Doctrine: Marriage and Family Law
Original: סֵפֶר כְּרִיתֻת
Category: Marriage and Family Law
A formal, written divorce document regulating, not idealizing, divorce (sefer keritut, Deut 24:1-4). Ṭalāq is a major, extremely well-known Islamic legal-procedural term; reader familiarity is double-edged, risking assumed legal equivalence. Must flag Jesus’ own reinterpretation (Matt 19:8: concession to hardness of heart, not the creation ideal).
Honest Weight
Approved rendering: ميزان صحيح / موازين عادلة
Transliteration: mīzān ṣaḥīḥ / mawāzīn ‘ādilah
Doctrine: Social and Economic Justice
Rejected alternatives: ميزان (bare, unqualified, risking eschatological resonance)
Original: אֶבֶן שְׁלֵמָה
Category: Social and Economic Justice
Accurate, unmanipulated commercial weights and measures (even shlemah, Deut 25:13-15). Al-mīzān is a hugely significant Islamic eschatological term — the scale weighing deeds at Judgment, already flagged Critical in the baseline’s ‘salvation’ entry. Must always qualify with صحيح/عادلة and clarify this passage concerns commercial/civil ethics, not eschatological judgment.
Cursed Liturgical
Approved rendering: ملعون
Transliteration: mal’ūn
Doctrine: Blessings and Curses of the Covenant
Original: אָרוּר
Category: Blessings and Curses of the Covenant
A formal, communal liturgical curse-pronouncement ratifying the covenant through corporate ‘Amen’ (arur, Deut 27:15-26). Directly quoted in Galatians 3:10, 13; keep this rendering consistent with ‘hanged_on_tree’ for cross-reference clarity.
Scatter Exile
Approved rendering: يشتتك الرب (السبي والتشتت)
Transliteration: yushattitukum al-Rabb (al-sabī wal-tashattut)
Doctrine: Exile and Restoration
Original: הֱפִיצְךָ יְהוָה
Category: Exile and Restoration
The ultimate covenant curse: exile and dispersion for persistent covenant unfaithfulness (hephitzkha YHWH, Deut 28:64). Intersects heavily with the modern Jewish historical narrative and contemporary Israeli-Palestinian political discourse; the same pastoral-political caution as the baseline’s ‘israel’ entry applies with even greater force.
Life And Death
Approved rendering: الحياة والموت
Transliteration: al-ḥayāh wal-mawt
Doctrine: Choosing Life over Death
Original: הַחַיִּים וְהַמָּוֶת
Category: Choosing Life over Death
Covenant blessing/longevity-in-the-land versus covenant curse/exile/death, set before Israel as a decisive choice (Deut 30:15-19). In the OT frame ‘life’ means covenant blessing and longevity in the land, distinct from but typologically anticipating the NT’s ‘eternal life.’ Trace, do not conflate, this trajectory.
Choose Life
Approved rendering: فاختر الحياة
Transliteration: fa-ikhtar al-ḥayāh
Doctrine: Choosing Life over Death
Original: וּבָחַרְתָּ בַּחַיִּים
Category: Choosing Life over Death
The climactic imperative of the whole book: the decisive human response to the covenant already established by God’s prior redemptive act (u-vacharta ba-chayyim, Deut 30:19). Reuses the اختار (choose) pattern consistently with ‘election_national’ while distinguishing the register: here it is the human response of covenant loyalty, not God’s initiating electing choice.
Book Of The Law
Approved rendering: سفر الناموس
Transliteration: sifr al-Nāmūs
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה
Category: Inspiration of Scripture
The written Torah scroll, deposited beside the ark and read publicly every seventh year (sefer ha-torah, Deut 31:9-26). Reuses الناموس exactly from the baseline; reinforces that Scripture’s authoritative written form long predates any later corruption (tahrif) claim.
Medium Risk Terms
Covenant
Approved rendering: العهد
Transliteration: al-‘ahd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: الميثاق
Original: בְּרִית
Category: Covenant
‘Ahd also covers generic pledges and treaties in everyday Arabic; retain the relational, unilaterally-initiated biblical covenant sense. This is Deuteronomy’s own central organizing category (berit); reused exactly across every covenant-renewal passage in the book (5:2-3; 26:16-19; 29:1). Distinguish explicitly from the Quranic mithaq al-alast (Q7:172), a universal, innate, pre-temporal covenant of every soul, categorically different from Deuteronomy’s historical, particular, conditional covenant with a specific people. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: ملكوت الله
Transliteration: malakūt Allāh
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Rejected alternatives: مملكة الله
Al-Malik (The Sovereign) is one of Allah’s 99 names, appropriately majestic. Deuteronomy 17’s king (ملك, melekh) is a future HUMAN king explicitly subordinate to the written Torah, not this divine title; keep the two registers distinct. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Holy
Approved rendering: مقدس
Transliteration: muqaddas
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: طاهر
Original: קָדוֹשׁ
Category: Sanctification
Shares the ق-د-س root with al-Quds (Jerusalem) and al-Quddus (one of Allah’s names) - generally safe. طاهر carries ritual-purity connotation and is avoided in favor of the relational, set-apart-for-God sense. Deuteronomy extends this term into ‘holy people’ (עַם קָדוֹשׁ, see ‘holy_people’) and must be kept distinct from the ceremonial ṭāhir/najis purity-law categories of ch. 14 (see ‘clean_unclean’). [Inherited from Romans package.]
David
Approved rendering: داود
Transliteration: Dāwūd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: דָּוִד
Category: Covenant
Shared Quranic figure, generally positively regarded, but the Quranic Dawud carries less of the covenant-king typology pointing forward to a messianic heir. Deuteronomy does not name David directly, but 17:14-20’s kingship law anticipates him; supply that forward-looking context explicitly. [Inherited from Romans package.]
Land Promised Land
Approved rendering: الأرض (أرض الميعاد)
Transliteration: al-arḍ (arḍ al-mī’ād)
Doctrine: Land and Inheritance Theology
Original: אֶרֶץ
Category: Covenant
Contemporary political sensitivity around ‘the Land’ in Arabic-speaking discourse parallels the baseline’s caution on ‘israel’. Every land-inheritance passage (1:8; 8:7-10; 11:8-12) needs pastoral framing distinguishing the ancient covenant referent from the modern political conflict.
Possess Inherit
Approved rendering: يرث / يمتلك
Transliteration: yarith / yamtalik
Doctrine: Land and Inheritance Theology
Original: יָרַשׁ
Category: Covenant
Covenant land-grant language (Deut 1:8, yarash); requires the same pastoral care as ‘land_promised_land’ regarding present-day political overtones.
Fear Dread
Approved rendering: يخاف
Transliteration: yakhāf
Doctrine: Courage and Divine Presence
Original: יָרֵא
Category: Covenant
Dread or terror of hostile enemies (Deut 1:21, 29). Context-sensitive counterpart to ‘fear_reverential’; must be kept distinct from the worshipful ‘fear of the LORD’ sense of the same Hebrew root (yare).
Keep Observe
Approved rendering: يحفظ
Transliteration: yaḥfaẓ
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: שָׁמַר
Category: Covenant
To guard, watch over, and keep covenant instruction faithfully (shamar). Conveys watchful, loving guardianship of God’s word, not mere legal compliance or ritual box-ticking.
Jealous God
Approved rendering: غيور
Transliteration: ghayūr
Doctrine: Warnings against Idolatry
Original: קַנָּא
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
God’s righteous, exclusive jealousy for covenant loyalty (qanna, Deut 4:24). Overlaps with the hadith concept of Allah’s ghayrah; frame explicitly as righteous, non-sinful jealousy, not petty human possessiveness.
Idol Carved Image
Approved rendering: صنم / تمثال منحوت
Transliteration: ṣanam / timthāl manḥūt
Doctrine: Warnings against Idolatry
Original: פֶּסֶל / תְּמוּנָה
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
A carved image or physical representation of deity, forbidden by the covenant (pesel/temunah, Deut 4:16). Good overlap with the Quranic/Islamic rejection of aṣnām; this shared aniconism is itself the basis of Islam’s later objection to the Incarnation — flag forward.
Sabbath
Approved rendering: السبت
Transliteration: al-sabt
Doctrine: Remembering God’s Redemption
Original: שַׁבָּת
Category: Remembering God’s Redemption
Tied explicitly in Deut 5:15 to remembrance of the Exodus redemption. Must be clarified as a Mosaic covenant sign distinct from later Christian Sunday worship and from the Islamic Friday congregational pattern (Jumu’ah is not a rest-day); avoid conflating the three institutions.
Lord Yhwh Ot
Approved rendering: الرب
Transliteration: al-Rabb
Doctrine: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Original: יְהוָה
Category: God
The personal, self-revealing covenant name of God, paired with ‘our God’ in the Shema (Deut 6:4). Reuses the baseline ‘lord’ rendering exactly, but carries a distinct, LOWER risk profile than the baseline’s Critical Christological entry (which concerns applying Allah’s title to the human-born Jesus). Here الرب is applied to God himself and overlaps positively with the Quranic ‘Rabb al-‘Alamin.’ Do not treat this OT usage with the same alarm as the NT usage, but do not blur the two contexts either.
Heart Levav
Approved rendering: القلب
Transliteration: al-qalb
Doctrine: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Original: לֵבָב
Category: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
The seat of will, intellect, and moral decision — the command center of the whole person (Deut 6:5). Arabic قلب, like English ‘heart,’ risks narrowing to the emotional/romantic sense; must be taught as encompassing mind and will, not feeling alone.
Might Meod
Approved rendering: قوتك / بكل طاقتك
Transliteration: qūwatuk / bikulli ṭāqatik
Doctrine: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Original: מְאֹד
Category: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
One’s total capacity, resources, and strength offered in devotion to God (Deut 6:5). Describes human total capacity offered to God, not divine power itself; avoid conflating with قوة الله (power of God).
Words Devarim
Approved rendering: الكلمات
Transliteration: al-kalimāt
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: דְּבָרִים
Category: Covenant
God’s spoken covenant words, to be internalized in the heart (Deut 6:6). The plural, mundane ‘words/commandments’ here carries none of the weight of the singular الكلمة (Islamic Christological title for Jesus, Quran 4:171; Christian title, John 1:1) — low risk, but be aware of the singular form’s separate loaded status elsewhere in the curriculum.
Teach Diligently
Approved rendering: لقّن / علّم بجد وتكرار
Transliteration: laqqana / ‘allama bijidd
Doctrine: Obedience Motivated by Love not Merit
Original: שִׁנַּנְתָּם
Category: Obedience Motivated by Love not Merit
To teach through intensive, incisive repetition, woven into ordinary daily life (Deut 6:7, shinnantam). Positive bridge to the Islamic tradition of Qur’anic ḥifẓ (memorization); ensure the content memorized is covenant history and command, not liturgical recitation for its own sake.
Frontlets Totafot
Approved rendering: عصائب (بين العينين)
Transliteration: ‘aṣā’ib (bayn al-‘aynayn)
Doctrine: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Rejected alternatives: تعويذة (protective amulet)
Original: טוֹטָפֹת
Category: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Bands or ornaments worn on the forehead as a covenant reminder (Deut 6:8, totafot). Risk that a ‘worn object containing sacred words’ could be misread through the lens of folk-Islamic protective amulets (ta’wīdh/ta’wīz). Must be clarified as a pedagogical reminder, not a protective talisman.
Forget Shakach
Approved rendering: تنسى
Transliteration: tansā
Doctrine: Remembering God’s Redemption
Original: שָׁכַח
Category: Remembering God’s Redemption
To fail to remember, neglect, or abandon covenant loyalty (shakach, Deut 8:11). The great danger warned against — prosperity leading to forgetting the Redeemer; contrast pair with ‘remember_zakhar’.
Humble Afflict
Approved rendering: يذل / يؤدب
Transliteration: yudhillu / yu’addib
Doctrine: Remembering God’s Redemption
Original: עִנָּה
Category: Remembering God’s Redemption
God’s fatherly discipline through wilderness hardship (anah, Deut 8:2-3). Frame as benevolent discipline, not arbitrary suffering.
Test Prove
Approved rendering: يمتحن / يجرب
Transliteration: yumtaḥin / yujarrib
Doctrine: Remembering God’s Redemption
Original: נִסָּה
Category: Remembering God’s Redemption
Benevolent testing to reveal and form the heart (nissah, Deut 8:2). Good overlap with the Islamic concept of balā’ (trial/testing); a shared and largely compatible category, low collision risk.
Sojourner Ger
Approved rendering: الغريب
Transliteration: al-gharīb
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: גֵּר
Category: Covenant Renewal
A resident alien living among the covenant community under God’s protection (ger, Deut 10:19). Positive bridge to Arab hospitality ethics (diyāfah) and the Quran’s concern for ‘ibn al-sabīl’ (the traveler); low collision, good pastoral resource.
Abomination Toebah
Approved rendering: رجس / مكروه
Transliteration: rijs / makrūh
Doctrine: Warnings against Idolatry
Original: תּוֹעֵבָה
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
A ritually and morally detestable practice, especially idolatrous worship forms (to’ebah, Deut 12:31). Reasonable overlap with Quranic rijs; ensure the specific referent (idolatrous cultic practice) is not wrongly generalized to unrelated fiqh purity categories.
Tithe Maaser
Approved rendering: العُشور
Transliteration: al-‘ushūr
Doctrine: Remembering God’s Redemption
Original: מַעֲשֵׂר
Category: Remembering God’s Redemption
A one-tenth offering expressing worship-oriented generosity and trust in God’s provision (ma’aser, Deut 14:22). Good conceptual overlap with the Islamic fiqh concept of ‘ushr; clarify OT tithe law is not equivalent to zakat’s legal calculus.
Sabbatical Release
Approved rendering: سنة الإبراء
Transliteration: sanat al-ibrā’
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: שְׁמִטָּה
Category: Covenant Renewal
The seventh-year cancellation of debts (shemittah, Deut 15:1-11). No precise common Arabic religious-legal equivalent exists; requires explanatory framing, not a borrowed technical term.
Hebrew Servant
Approved rendering: العبد العبراني
Transliteration: al-‘abd al-‘ibrānī
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: עֶבֶד עִבְרִי
Category: Covenant Renewal
A bonded servant under fixed-term, rights-protected servitude, granted generous release (eved ivri, Deut 15:12-18). A known apologetic flashpoint; frame explicitly as protective ANE regulation tied to Israel’s own remembered slavery in Egypt (15:15), not a timeless endorsement.
King Melekh
Approved rendering: ملك
Transliteration: malik
Doctrine: Kingship and Messianic Anticipation
Original: מֶלֶךְ
Category: The Coming Prophet like Moses
A future Israelite king, anticipated but explicitly subordinated to the Law (melekh, Deut 17:14-20). Overlaps positively with Al-Malik (the Sovereign); keep clear this refers to a future human, Torah-subordinate king, not a divine title.
Copy Of Law
Approved rendering: نسخة من الناموس
Transliteration: nuskhah min al-Nāmūs
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: מִשְׁנֵה הַתּוֹרָה
Category: Inspiration of Scripture
The king’s personal, hand-copied Torah scroll, placing him under the written word (mishneh ha-torah, Deut 17:18). Reuses الناموس exactly from the baseline ‘law’ entry.
Diviner Sorcerer
Approved rendering: عرّاف / ساحر
Transliteration: ‘arrāf / sāḥir
Doctrine: Warnings against Idolatry
Original: קֹסֵם / מְכַשֵּׁף
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
Occult practices of divination and sorcery forbidden as illegitimate means of seeking divine knowledge (qosem/mekhashef, Deut 18:10-11). Strong existing Islamic prohibition on comparable practices (siḥr); positive shared ethical ground, low collision risk.
City Of Refuge
Approved rendering: مدينة الملجأ
Transliteration: madīnat al-malja’
Doctrine: Refuge and Atonement
Original: עִיר מִקְלָט
Category: Refuge and Atonement
A designated asylum city protecting the unintentional manslayer pending due process (ir miqlat, Deut 19:1-13). Good typological bridge forward to Christ as refuge (cf. Hebrews 6:18); worth flagging for later NT-curriculum harmonization.
Levirate Marriage
Approved rendering: زواج أخ الزوج المتوفى
Transliteration: zawāj akh al-zawj al-mutawaffā
Doctrine: Marriage and Family Law
Original: יִבּוּם
Category: Marriage and Family Law
The obligation for a brother-in-law to marry a childless widow and raise an heir (yibbum, Deut 25:5-10). Unfamiliar institution requiring explanation; background to Ruth and Matthew 1’s genealogy; no major collision.
Firstfruits
Approved rendering: الباكورات
Transliteration: al-bākūrāt
Doctrine: Remembering God’s Redemption
Original: בִּכּוּרִים
Category: Remembering God’s Redemption
The first and best portion of the harvest, offered to God in gratitude (bikkurim, Deut 26:1-11). Typologically anticipates Christ as ‘firstfruits’ (1 Cor 15:20); worth cross-curriculum harmonization.
Historical Credo
Approved rendering: أرامياً تائهاً كان أبي
Transliteration: Arāmiyyan tā’ihan kāna abī
Doctrine: Historical Credo and Corporate Memory
Original: אֲרַמִּי אֹבֵד אָבִי
Category: Remembering God’s Redemption
A historical credal recitation identifying Jacob’s precarious origins (arami oved avi, Deut 26:5), the heart of Israel’s liturgical rehearsal of redemptive history. Genuine textual/interpretive ambiguity exists in the Hebrew; follow the established Van Dyck-consistent rendering rather than introduce a novel interpretive variant.
Transgenerational Covenant
Approved rendering: ليس معكم أنتم وحدكم
Transliteration: laysa ma’akum antum waḥdakum
Doctrine: Transgenerational Covenant Scope
Original: לֹא אִתְּכֶם לְבַדְּכֶם
Category: Covenant Renewal
The covenant’s binding scope over future, not-yet-born generations (Deut 29:14-15). Worth contrasting with the Quranic mithaq al-alast (Q7:172), a universal, innate, pre-temporal covenant, quite different from Deuteronomy’s historical, particular, conditional covenant; a positive comparative-theology bridge if the distinction is made explicit.
Good And Evil
Approved rendering: الخير والشر
Transliteration: al-khayr wal-sharr
Doctrine: Choosing Life over Death
Original: הַטּוֹב וְהָרָע
Category: Choosing Life over Death
Moral-covenantal categories of blessing and calamity paired with the life/death choice (Deut 30:15). Broadly universal moral vocabulary with reasonable Quranic overlap; low independent risk.
The Rock
Approved rendering: الصخرة
Transliteration: al-Ṣakhrah
Doctrine: God’s Character and Faithfulness
Original: הַצּוּר
Category: God
A divine epithet for God’s steadfast, secure faithfulness (ha-Tzur, Deut 32:4), picked up Christologically in 1 Corinthians 10:4. Purely coincidental but distracting homonymic association with ‘al-Ṣakhrah’ of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem; not a doctrinal collision, but worth a brief translator’s note.
Vengeance
Approved rendering: الانتقام
Transliteration: al-intiqām
Doctrine: Social and Economic Justice
Original: נָקָם
Category: Social and Economic Justice
Retributive justice reserved exclusively to God (naqam, Deut 32:35), directly quoted in Romans 12:19. Positive cross-reference opportunity with the existing Romans baseline; frame as restraining private human vengeance, not endorsing divine vindictiveness.
Everlasting Arms
Approved rendering: الأذرع الأبدية
Transliteration: al-adhru’ al-abadiyyah
Doctrine: God’s Character and Faithfulness
Original: זְרֹעֹת עוֹלָם
Category: God
Anthropomorphic imagery of God’s sustaining, protective presence (zero’ot olam, Deut 33:27). Parallels the baseline’s tanzih caution under ‘father’/‘abba’; clarify this is figurative, not a claim of literal divine physicality.
Spirit Of Wisdom
Approved rendering: روح الحكمة
Transliteration: rūḥ al-ḥikmah
Doctrine: The Spirit’s Enablement for Ministry
Original: רוּחַ חָכְמָה
Category: God
A divine endowment enabling Joshua’s specific leadership task (ruach chokhmah, Deut 34:9). Care needed both not to overclaim (reading full Trinitarian personhood, already Critical in the baseline ‘holy_spirit’ entry, into this OT task-endowment) and not to underclaim (dismissing it as merely a natural ‘wise attitude’ severed from its stated divine source).
Low Risk Terms
Commandment
Approved rendering: الوصية
Transliteration: al-waṣiyyah
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: מִצְוָה
Category: Covenant
A single binding directive from God, or collectively the whole body of divine instruction (Deut 6:1). Standard, safe vocabulary; introduces Deuteronomy 6 as authoritative divine speech, not Mosaic opinion.
Ten Commandments
Approved rendering: الوصايا العشر
Transliteration: al-waṣāyā al-‘ashr
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים
Category: Covenant
The Decalogue, restated at Moab for the new generation (Deut 5:6-21). Well-established, low-risk term.
Honor Parents
Approved rendering: أكرم
Transliteration: akrama
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: כַּבֵּד
Category: Covenant
To esteem, respect, and provide for one’s parents (kabbed, Deut 5:16). Straightforward family ethic.
Doorpost Mezuzah
Approved rendering: عضادة الباب
Transliteration: ‘iḍādat al-bāb
Doctrine: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
Original: מְזוּזָה
Category: The Shema and Exclusive Love for God
The doorpost of a house, inscribed with covenant words (Deut 6:9). Straightforward architectural term; low collision risk.
Stiff Necked
Approved rendering: قاسي الرقبة
Transliteration: qāsī al-raqabah
Doctrine: Warnings against Idolatry
Original: קְשֵׁה־עֹרֶף
Category: Warnings against Idolatry
Israel’s persistent, stubborn rebellion despite God’s grace (qesheh oref, Deut 9:6). Vivid, cross-culturally clear metaphor; low collision risk.
Passover
Approved rendering: الفصح
Transliteration: al-Fiṣḥ
Doctrine: Remembering God’s Redemption
Original: פֶּסַח
Category: Remembering God’s Redemption
The spring festival commemorating the Exodus redemption (Pesach, Deut 16:1-8). Well-established across the whole Christian Arabic tradition.
Pilgrim Feast
Approved rendering: عيد
Transliteration: ‘īd
Doctrine: Remembering God’s Redemption
Original: חַג
Category: Remembering God’s Redemption
A mandated festival requiring travel to the central sanctuary (chag, Deut 16:16). ‘Īd is shared, neutral festival vocabulary across Muslim and Christian feasts; no collision.
Eye For Eye
Approved rendering: عين بعين
Transliteration: ‘ayn bi-‘ayn
Doctrine: Social and Economic Justice
Original: עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן
Category: Social and Economic Justice
Proportional judicial retribution, a limiting rather than escalating principle (Deut 19:21). Cited approvingly in the Quran (5:45) as the Torah’s own law — a genuinely shared scriptural cross-reference; flag for later teaching that the NT (Matt 5:38-39) transforms rather than abolishes this principle in personal ethics.
Hidden Revealed Things
Approved rendering: الأمور الخفية والمعلنة
Transliteration: al-umūr al-khafiyyah wal-mu’lanah
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal
Original: הַנִּסְתָּרֹת / הַנִּגְלֹת
Category: Covenant Renewal
Divine epistemic reserve versus revealed obligation (Deut 29:29): mysteries belong to God, obedience belongs to us. Low doctrinal risk.
Strong And Courageous
Approved rendering: تشدد وتشجع
Transliteration: tashaddad wa-tashajja’
Doctrine: Courage and Divine Presence
Original: חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ
Category: Covenant Renewal
A courage exhortation grounded in God’s promised presence with Joshua, not human confidence (chazaq ve-ematz, Deut 31:6-7, 23). Straightforward exhortation; low collision risk.
Jeshurun
Approved rendering: يشورون
Transliteration: Yashūrūn
Doctrine: Blessings and Curses of the Covenant
Poetic honorific name for Israel (‘the upright one’), Deut 32:15. Proper noun, transliterated; low collision risk.
Referenced passages