Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Psalms (Full Book) — English → Arabic
This glossary extends translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json (Romans baseline) for the Psalms curriculum. It follows the same risk framework (Critical / High / Medium / Low) defined in doctrine_risk_registry.json. Terms marked REUSED must be rendered exactly as recorded in the baseline; deviation is not permitted. Terms marked NEW are Psalms-specific additions proposed for addition to translation memory, pending the same theologian/native-speaker review routing the baseline requires for their assigned risk tier.
Section A — Baseline Terms Reused Verbatim (No New Analysis Required)
| Term | Arabic Rendering | Risk (per baseline) | Reused From |
|---|---|---|---|
| God | الله | Critical | baseline “god” |
| LORD / Lord | الرب | Critical | baseline “lord” (extended to YHWH and Adonai — see Section B for OT-specific caveat) |
| Messiah / Anointed | المسيح | Critical | baseline “messiah” |
| Son of God / Son | ابن الله | Critical | baseline “son_of_god” |
| Father | الآب | Critical | baseline “father” |
| Holy Spirit / Spirit of Holiness | الروح القدس | Critical | baseline “holy_spirit” |
| Righteousness / righteous | البر | Critical | baseline “righteousness” |
| Salvation / save / deliver | الخلاص | Critical | baseline “salvation” |
| Sin | الخطية | High | baseline “sin” |
| Law / Instruction (Torah) | الناموس | Critical | baseline “law” |
| Covenant | العهد | High (elevated from Medium at Psalm 89) | baseline “covenant” |
| Glory | المجد | High | baseline “glory” |
| Holy | مقدس | Medium | baseline “holy” |
| Faith / Trust | الإيمان | High | baseline “faith” |
| Grace / Favor | النعمة | High | baseline “grace” (also mapped to Hebrew חן/חנן, chen/chanan — see Section B) |
| Peace | السلام | Medium | baseline “peace” |
| Intercession | الشفاعة | High | baseline “intercession” |
| David | داود | Medium | baseline “david” |
| Israel | إسرائيل | High | baseline “israel” |
| Gentiles / Nations | الأمم | Medium | baseline “gentiles” |
| Thanksgiving | الشكر | Low | baseline “thanksgiving” |
| Prophet / Prophecy | نبي / نبوءة | Low | baseline “prophet” / “prophecy” |
| Hallelujah | هللويا | — | baseline transliteration standard |
| Kingdom of God | ملكوت الله | Medium | baseline “kingdom_of_god” |
| Power of God | قوة الله | Medium | baseline “power_of_god” |
| Fellowship | الشركة | Medium | baseline “fellowship” |
Section B — New Terms Introduced by the Psalms Curriculum
| Term (English) | Hebrew (translit.) | Arabic Rendering | Risk | Doctrine Category | Key Psalms | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shepherd | רָעָה (ro’ah) | الراعي | Medium | Character of God as Shepherd | 23, 28, 78, 80, 95, 100 | Positive, culturally available image, but Islamic tanzīh theology has no comparable personal-relational shepherding image of Allah toward an individual; must be taught with the same deliberateness as the baseline’s Abba/Father note. |
| King (of God/Messianic) | מֶלֶךְ / מָלַךְ (melekh/malakh) | الملك | High | Character of God as King; Kingship and the Messianic King | 2, 24, 45, 47, 72, 93, 95–99, 110, 145 | Overlaps with Al-Malik (Allah’s 99 names) — broadly compatible sovereignty vocabulary, but must be distinguished from a static divine attribute: these psalms proclaim active, historical, and ultimately messianic reign, culminating in Christ. |
| Refuge | מַחְסֶה (machaseh) | ملجأ / ملاذ | Medium | Character of God as Refuge | 2:12, 46, 91 | Low independent collision; establish as the controlling term for the Refuge doctrine unit alongside rock/fortress below. |
| Rock (of refuge) | צוּר (tsur) | صخرة | Medium | Character of God as Refuge | 18, 19, 62, 95 | Established Arabic Bible usage; anticipates messianic “stone” typology (see Cornerstone below) — flag the conceptual link for teaching. |
| Fortress / Stronghold | מְצוּדָה / מִשְׂגָּב (metsudah/misgav) | حصن | Low | Character of God as Refuge | 18, 46, 91, 144 | No independent collision. |
| Steadfast Love / Mercy (Hesed) | חֶסֶד (chesed) | الرحمة (+ mandatory doctrine-note at Critical-tier occurrences) | Critical | Covenant Faithfulness (Hesed) | 23:6; 25; 33; 85; 89; 100; 103; 107; 118; 136; 145 | Established Arabic Bible tradition renders ḥesed as رحمة, but this is Allah’s paramount Quranic name-pair (Ar-Raḥmān/Ar-Raḥīm), commonly read as sovereign responsive mercy rather than self-obligating covenant loyalty. Retain الرحمة for textual consistency with the wider Bible tradition, but require a qualifying phrase (“رحمته الثابتة بحسب عهده”) and mandatory theologian review at every doctrine-anchor occurrence. This is the single most consequential new term in the Psalms curriculum. |
| Faithfulness / Truth | אֱמֶת (emet) | الحق / الأمانة | High | Covenant Faithfulness (Hesed) | 25, 40, 85, 89, 100, 138 | Fixed word-pair with chesed; low independent collision (al-Ḥaqq is a compatible divine name), but must be rendered consistently across every chesed-emet pairing. |
| Compassion / Merciful & Gracious (formula) | רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן (rachum v’chanun) | رحيم ورؤوف | Critical | Covenant Faithfulness (Hesed); Character of God | 86:15; 103:8; 111:4; 112:4; 116:5; 145:8 | The deepest Semitic-cognate overlap with Islamic divine-name formulas (Ar-Raḥmān Ar-Raḥīm; “Ghafūr Raḥīm”) anywhere in this curriculum. Genuine cognate root, not superficial borrowing — must be taught as God’s covenant self-revelation to a particular redeemed people, not assumed equivalent to Allah’s non-covenantal universal raḥmah. Mandatory theologian review at every occurrence. |
| Grace / Favor (OT) | חֵן / חָנַן (chen/chanan) | النعمة | High | Grace (extends baseline “grace” doctrine into the OT) | 84:11; 103; 145 | Closest OT Hebrew counterpart to χάρις; extend the baseline’s النعمة rendering (rather than الرحمة) here to preserve the unmerited-favor sense distinct from chesed/racham. |
| Redeem / Ransom (kinsman) | גָּאַל (ga’al) | يفتدي / الفادي | Critical | Covenant Faithfulness; Messianic Prophecy | 19:14; 78:35; 103:4; 107; 130 | Kinsman-redeemer concept theologically anticipates Christ’s incarnation-grounded redemption; collides with the Quran’s explicit denial (6:164) that one soul may bear/ransom another’s burden — same collision already Critical in the baseline’s “salvation” entry. |
| Redeem / Ransom (payment) | פִּדְיוֹן / פָּדָה (pidyon/padah) | فداء | High | Covenant Faithfulness; Messianic Prophecy | 49:8, 15; 111:9; 130:7 | Sibling term to ga’al above; same doctrinal collision note applies. |
| Righteous / Wicked | צַדִּיק / רָשָׁע (tsaddiq/rasha) | البر (root reused) / الشرير | Critical | The Righteous and the Wicked (Psalm 1) | 1, 37, 73, 112 | Extends baseline البر (Critical); specific Psalms caution: Psalm 1’s fruit-based description of the righteous risks reinforcing the Quranic al-birr “checklist” reading the baseline explicitly warns against — must be taught as fruit of covenant relationship, not the ground of standing before God. |
| Sin (general) | חֵטְא / חֲטָאָה (chet/chata’ah) | الخطية | High | Confession and Forgiveness (Psalm 51) | 32, 51 | REUSED — baseline “sin”; no new note. |
| Transgression / Rebellion | פֶּשַׁע (pesha) | معصية / تعدٍّ | High | Confession and Forgiveness | 32, 51 | Completes the Hebrew sin-vocabulary triad; render distinctly from الخطية to preserve the triad’s rhetorical weight. |
| Iniquity / Guilt | עָוֹן (avon) | إثم | High | Confession and Forgiveness | 32, 51 | Third member of the sin-vocabulary triad; render distinctly from both الخطية and معصية. |
| Forgiveness / Pardon | סְלִיחָה / סָלַח (selichah/salach) | مغفرة / يغفر | High | Confession and Forgiveness | 32; 51; 86; 130 | Word-level overlap with Islamic ghufrān (Al-Ghafūr) is broadly safe, but the surrounding theology (received through repentant trust, not a pending deeds-balance) must be actively taught, per the baseline’s “salvation” caution. |
| Blot Out / Cover / Carry Away (forgiveness imagery triad) | מָחָה / כָּסָה / נָשָׂא (machah/kasah/nasa) | يمحو / يستر / يحمل | High | Confession and Forgiveness | 32, 51 | Three distinct forgiveness-imagery verbs; Psalm 32:1-2 is directly quoted by Paul in Romans 4:7-8 for justification apart from works — flag as a direct cross-reference to the baseline’s Critical “justification” and “imputed_righteousness” doctrines. |
| Cleanse / Purge (ritual imagery applied morally) | טָהֵר (taher) | يطهّر | Medium | Confession and Forgiveness | 51 | Unlike the baseline’s general caution against ritual-purity vocabulary for “holy,” this term’s ritual register is Psalm 51’s deliberate poetic vehicle for moral renewal — appropriate here; flag so translators do not over-apply the general caution. |
| Holy One / Faithful One | חָסִיד (chasid) | القدّيس المختار (with translator’s note distinguishing from مقدس) | Critical | Messianic Prophecy; Resurrection | 16:10 | Distinct from qadosh/holy (مقدس); carries the covenant-loyalty (chesed) sense. Directly load-bearing for the resurrection-of-Christ apologetic (Acts 2:27) — same Critical tier as the baseline’s “resurrection” entry. |
| Sheol (realm of the dead) | שְׁאוֹל (she’ol) | الهاوية | Critical | Messianic Prophecy; Resurrection | 16; 49; 88; 89 | Never render as جهنم (Jahannam) — that imports a developed judgment/damnation concept foreign to Sheol’s general realm-of-the-dead sense and would blur the specific resurrection argument (Christ did not merely avoid hell; he did not remain among the dead). |
| Priest | כֹּהֵן (kohen) | كاهن | High | Messianic Prophecy; Kingship and the Messianic King | 110; 99:6 | Mainstream Sunni Islam has no ordained mediating priesthood; كاهن may also evoke pre-Islamic Arabian soothsayer-priests. Must be taught alongside الشفاعة (intercession, baseline High) with the note that Christ’s priesthood is exclusive, perfect, and final. |
| Melchizedek | מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק (Malki-Tsedek) | ملكي صادق | Medium | Kingship and the Messianic King | 110 | Established Christian Arabic transliteration; doctrinally significant as an office-not-lineage priest-king type fulfilled in Christ. |
| Cornerstone | אֶבֶן פִּנָּה (even pinnah) | حجر الزاوية | Critical | Messianic Prophecy | 118:22 | Central “rejected-then-exalted” messianic pattern, quoted repeatedly in the NT; must be taught as necessary divine plan, not unforeseen tragedy, directly countering the Quran’s crucifixion denial (4:157). |
| Forsaken (crucifixion cry) | עֲזַבְתָּנִי (azavtani) | تركتني | Critical | Messianic Prophecy; Lament | 22:1 | Quoted verbatim by Christ on the cross; requires the same apologetic scaffolding the baseline specifies for “resurrection” — establishing the crucifixion as a historical event the Quran denies. |
| Pierced (hands and feet) | כָּאֲרוּ (debated text) | ثقبوا / كأنهم ثقبوا | Critical | Messianic Prophecy | 22:16 | Genuine textual-critical variant (not merely a translation choice); follow established Bible-tradition reading; flag for mandatory theologian sign-off given crucifixion-denial apologetic stakes. |
| The LORD says to my Lord (YHWH/Adonai distinction) | יהוה לַאדֹנִי (YHWH l’Adoni) | الرب [يهوه] لسيدي [أدوناي] (footnoted first occurrence) | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 110:1 | Arabic cannot preserve English’s capitalization-based YHWH/Adonai distinction; the entire Christological argument Jesus makes from this verse (Matthew 22:41-45) depends on recognizing two distinct referents. Single most technically demanding rendering decision in the curriculum; mandatory theologian review. |
| Your throne, O God (deity ascription to the king) | כִּסְאֲךָ אֱלֹהִים (kis’akha Elohim) | عرشك يا الله | Critical | Deity of Christ | 45:6 | Quoted of Christ in Hebrews 1:8; do not soften the direct address of “God” to the king into a merely honorific comparison. |
| Son of Man (idiom vs. title) | בֶּן־אָדָם (ben-adam) | ابن آدم / ابن الإنسان (context-dependent) | High | (supports Sonship of Christ typologically) | 8:4 | Common Arabic idiom for “a human being” in Psalm 8’s original sense; must not be flattened into or conflated with the later technical NT christological title without a clear teaching distinction. |
| Anointed One | מָשִׁיחַ (mashiach) | المسيح | Critical | Messianic Prophecy; Messianic Promise | 2; 20; 45; 89; 132 | REUSED root of baseline “messiah” — OT seedbed the NT explicitly claims Jesus fulfills; teach as one unbroken typological chain, not an isolated royal-court term. |
| Son (Davidic/divine) | בֵּן (ben) | ابن | Critical | Sonship of Christ | 2:7 | REUSED — feeds directly into baseline “son_of_god” (ابن الله); Psalm 2:7 is quoted in Acts 13:33 and Hebrews 1:5 of Christ’s eternal Sonship. |
| Most High | עֶלְיוֹן (Elyon) | العلي | High | Sonship of Christ; Character of God | 91; 47:2 | Overlaps with Al-‘Alī (Allah’s 99 names); applied to Jesus via Luke 1:32 (“Son of the Most High”) — teach the cross-reference deliberately. |
| Almighty | שַׁדַּי (Shaddai) | القدير | Medium | Character of God as Refuge | 91:1 | Overlaps with Al-Qadīr; broadly compatible, standard-care risk level similar to baseline “power_of_god.” |
| Fear of the LORD | יִרְאַת יהוה (yir’at YHWH) | مخافة الرب | High | Wisdom foundation (supports Righteous/Wicked doctrine) | 34:9-11; 111:10; 128:1 | Distinguish from Islamic taqwā’s more legal-obedience framing; preserve the term’s relational, “taste and see” experiential dimension (Psalm 34:8). |
| Soul / Self | נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh) | النفس | Medium | Character of God as Shepherd (Psalm 23:3) | 23:3; 42–43; 103; 139 | Do not import Islamic nafs-psychology (nafs al-ammārah, al-lawwāmah, al-muṭma’innah); nephesh is the whole living person as God’s object of care, not a graded moral faculty to be self-mastered. |
| Blessed (state) vs. Blessed (agent-conferred) | אֶשֶׁר / אַשְׁרֵי vs. בָּרוּךְ (esher/ashrei vs. barukh) | طوبى لـ (ashrei) vs. مبارك (barukh) | Medium | The Righteous and the Wicked (Psalm 1); Messianic Prophecy (Psalm 118:26) | 1:1; 118:26; 127; 128 | Two distinct Hebrew roots; keep the Arabic renderings distinct across the curriculum rather than collapsing both into one word. |
| Servant (covenant office) | עֶבֶד (eved) | خادم / عبد (context-dependent) | High | Covenant Faithfulness; Kingship | 89:3, 20 | خادم preferred where dignified covenant-office sense is primary, to avoid the lower servile connotation عبد alone may carry in contemporary usage; flag for native-speaker review per context. |
| Bow Down / Prostrate (worship posture) | הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtachavah) | يسجد | Low (positive bridge) | Praise and Worship | 95:6; 5:7; 132:7 | Shares the same root as Arabic سجد (Islamic prostration); genuine positive shared embodied-worship vocabulary — usable pastorally as a bridge point while keeping the object/mediator of worship (the Triune God, through Christ) as the essential distinction. |
| Torah-Synonyms (word/testimony/precept/statute) | עֵדוּת / פִּקּוּדִים / מִצְוָה / מִשְׁפָּטִים / דָּבָר / אִמְרָה | شهادات / فرائض / وصية / أحكام / كلمة / قول | Medium | Inspiration of Scripture (baseline extension) | 19; 119 | Cluster of Torah-synonyms; keep each rendered consistently and distinctly across Psalm 19 and 119’s extended acrostic. |
| Musical Worship Instruments (cluster) | שׁוֹפָר, נֵבֶל, כִּנּוֹר, תֹּף, עֻגָב, צֶלְצְלִים | بوق، عود، قيثارة، دف، مزمار، صنوج | Low | Praise and Worship | 150; 33; 92; 98 | Standard cultural/musical vocabulary; no doctrinal collision. |
Section C — Doctrine-to-Term Cross-Reference Summary
| Curriculum Doctrine | Primary New/Extended Terms | Overall Risk Tier |
|---|---|---|
| The Character of God as Shepherd, King, and Refuge | الراعي, الملك, ملجأ, صخرة, حصن, القدير, العلي | High |
| Lament and Honest Prayer | (no single new term; doctrinal-handling notes at Ps 22, 88, 109) | High |
| Praise and Worship | يسجد, آلات موسيقية cluster, هللويا (reused) | Low–Medium |
| Messianic Prophecy in the Psalms | المسيح (reused), حجر الزاوية, تركتني, ثقبوا, ابن (reused), Sheol/الهاوية, الرب [يهوه/أدوناي] distinction | Critical |
| Confession and Forgiveness (Psalm 51) | الخطية (reused), معصية, إثم, مغفرة, يمحو/يستر/يحمل, يطهّر | High |
| The Righteous and the Wicked (Psalm 1) | البر (reused), الشرير, الناموس (reused), طوبى | Critical |
| Covenant Faithfulness (Hesed) | الرحمة (chesed, with mandatory doctrine-note), الحق/الأمانة, رحيم ورؤوف, النعمة (chen/chanan), يفتدي/الفادي, فداء | Critical |
| Kingship and the Messianic King (Psalms 2 and 110) | الملك, المسيح (reused), ابن (reused), كاهن, ملكي صادق, الرب [يهوه/أدوناي] distinction | Critical |
This glossary must be loaded alongside translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json before any Phase 2 Psalms segment translation begins. All Critical-tier entries above require the same mandatory human theologian review routing specified in doctrine_risk_registry.json. Proposed new terms should be added to a Psalms-specific extension of translation_memory.json (version-incremented, per the baseline’s Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions) before Phase 2 processing.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: الله
Transliteration: Allāh
Doctrine: Deity of God / Deity of Christ
Original: אֱלֹהִים / יהוה
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: the Psalter habitually interchanges אֱלֹהִים (Elohim, generic) and יהוה (YHWH, covenant name) — e.g. Psalm 14 and Psalm 53 are near-identical texts using different divine names. Both render as الله/الرب per baseline conventions, but do not let this interchange flatten a passage whose argument depends specifically on the covenant-name sense (see ‘lord’).
Lord
Approved rendering: الرب
Transliteration: al-Rabb
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: السيد, المولى
Original: יהוה (YHWH) / אָדוֹן, אֲדֹנָי (adon, adonai)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL Psalms addendum: الرب renders both יהוה (YHWH) and אָדוֹן/אֲדֹנָי (adon/adonai) — two distinct Hebrew words. At Psalm 110:1 (‘YHWH says to my Adonai’), the entire Christological argument Jesus makes in Matthew 22:41-45 depends on the reader recognizing two distinct referents in one verse, a distinction English preserves via capitalization but Arabic cannot. Mandatory footnoted/glossed rendering required at this verse: الرب [يهوه] لسيدي [أدوناي]. See ‘yhwh_adoni’ entry below.
Messiah
Approved rendering: المسيح
Transliteration: al-Masīḥ
Doctrine: Messianic Prophecy
Original: מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Psalm 2 is the OT seedbed of the Quranic title al-Masīḥ already carries; must be taught as the unbroken typological chain the NT explicitly claims Jesus fulfills (Acts 4:25-27), not an isolated OT royal-court term. Recurs at Psalm 2, 20, 45, 89, 110, 132.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: ابن الله
Transliteration: Ibn Allāh
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: الحبيب من الله, الكلمة من الله (بدون ‘ابن’)
Original: בֵּן (ben), applied to God’s Anointed
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Psalm 2:7 (‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you’) is quoted directly of Christ’s eternal Sonship in Acts 13:33 and Hebrews 1:5 — one of the two OT texts the NT most directly cites, and thus a primary flashpoint against Quran 112:3 and 19:35. Do not soften; retain the full phrase at every messianic-sonship cross-reference (Psalm 2:7, 8:4 typologically).
Father
Approved rendering: الآب
Transliteration: al-Āb
Doctrine: Adoption / Fatherhood of God
Original: אָב (av)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Psalm 103:13’s tender simile (‘as a father shows compassion to his children’) must be preserved deliberately, not softened toward a distant comparison, consistent with the baseline’s Father/Son intimacy caution against Islamic tanzīh’s resistance to paternal-affection language for God.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: الروح القدس
Transliteration: al-Rūḥ al-Qudus
Doctrine: Sanctification / Holy Spirit
Original: רוּחַ קָדְשֶׁךָ (ruach qodshekha)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Psalm 51:11 (‘take not your Holy Spirit from me,’ lit. ‘your Spirit of holiness,’ רוּחַ קָדְשֶׁךָ) is the clearest OT anticipation of the Spirit’s personal, indwelling presence. Teach as genuine, Spirit-inspired anticipation of the Person the NT fully reveals — neither over-read with full Trinitarian precision nor diluted into an impersonal ‘quality of holiness.‘
Righteousness
Approved rendering: البر
Transliteration: al-birr
Doctrine: The Righteous and the Wicked / Salvation
Rejected alternatives: الصلاح, العدل
Original: צֶדֶק / צְדָקָה (tsedeq / tsedaqah)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL Psalms addendum: Psalm 1 and Psalm 23:3 (‘paths of righteousness’) describe righteousness by visible fruit (torah-delight, being led along right paths), independently reinforcing the Quranic al-birr ‘checklist of pious deeds’ (Q 2:177) reading even before any Quranic association is considered. Teach as gift and guidance flowing from covenant relationship (‘for his name’s sake,’ Ps 23:3), never as the ground of standing before God; always pair Psalm 1 teaching with Psalm 32/51 and Romans 3-4.
Salvation
Approved rendering: الخلاص
Transliteration: al-khalāṣ
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: النجاة, الفوز بالجنة
Original: יְשׁוּעָה / יָשַׁע (yeshu’ah / yasha)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: the noun יְשׁוּעָה (yeshu’ah) and verb יָשַׁע (yasha) underlying this rendering share their root with the personal name Yeshua/Jesus (see ‘yasha’ entry) — a genuine, valuable etymological bridge reinforcing rather than diluting the baseline’s insistence on يسوع over عيسى. Retain full once-for-all assurance register against Islamic mizan-pending soteriology throughout the lament/deliverance psalms (3, 6, 7, 18, 68).
Law
Approved rendering: الناموس
Transliteration: al-nāmūs
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture / Torah-Piety
Rejected alternatives: الشريعة, الشرع
Original: תּוֹרָה (torah)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; never الشريعة/الشرع. Psalms addendum: Psalm 1 and Psalm 119 present torah (תּוֹרָה) in a positive, joy-filled wisdom-instructional register (‘his delight is in the law of the LORD’), distinct from Romans’ forensic law-versus-grace polemic. Teach both registers as true but distinct; do not import Romans’ argument wholesale into Psalms’ devotional torah-piety, or Romans’ argument risks reading as an attack on delighting in God’s revealed instruction.
Hesed
Approved rendering: الرحمة
Transliteration: al-raḥmah
Doctrine: Covenant Faithfulness (Hesed)
Original: חֶסֶד (chesed)
Category: Covenant
NEW — single highest-stakes rendering decision in this curriculum. Renders חֶסֶד (chesed), God’s covenant-obligated loyal love. Established Arabic Bible tradition (Van Dyck) renders chesed as الرحمة throughout the Psalter, but this is the very term forming Ar-Raḥmān/Ar-Raḥīm, Allah’s paramount Quranic name-pair, typically read as sovereign, non-covenantal, individually-dispensed compassion rather than a self-binding covenant oath. Retain الرحمة for textual/liturgical consistency with the wider Arabic Bible corpus (do not coin a novel term), but MANDATE the qualifying phrase ‘رحمته الثابتة بحسب عهده’ (‘his steadfast mercy according to his covenant’) at every doctrine-anchor occurrence: Psalm 23:6 (core passage), 25, 33:5, 85:10, 89, 100:5, 103, 107, 118, 136 (26-fold refrain), 138. Mandatory theologian review at each occurrence. The Hebrew ר-ח-ם/Arabic ر-ح-م root-cognation is genuine and should be leveraged pastorally, not merely flagged as risk.
Rachum V Chanun
Approved rendering: رحيم ورؤوف
Transliteration: raḥīm wa ra’ūf
Doctrine: The ‘Merciful and Gracious’ Self-Revelation Formula
Rejected alternatives: رحمة وحنان (single generic pairing)
Original: רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן (rachum v’chanun)
Category: God
NEW — deepest genuine Semitic-cognate overlap with Islamic divine-name formulas anywhere in this curriculum. Renders the Exodus 34:6 formula רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן (rachum v’chanun), reprised at Psalm 86:15, 103:8, 111:4, 112:4, 116:5, 145:8. Near-verbatim structural parallel to Ar-Raḥmān/Ar-Raḥīm and the Quranic refrain ‘Ghafūr Raḥīm.’ Must remain visibly distinct from single-word الرحمة (used for hesed alone). MANDATORY theologian teaching note at every occurrence: this is God’s self-revelation of his covenant character toward a particular redeemed people, not equivalent to Allah’s non-covenantal universal raḥmah. Psalm 145:9’s extension (‘his mercy is over all he has made’) additionally requires distinguishing common providential compassion from particular saving hesed.
Gaal
Approved rendering: الفادي
Transliteration: al-Fādī
Doctrine: Kinsman-Redemption (Ga’al/Padah)
Original: גָּאַל (ga’al)
Category: Salvation
NEW. Renders גָּאַל (ga’al), kinsman-redemption — a near relative’s legal/familial act of rescuing a helpless person (Psalm 19:14; 49; 78:35; 103:4; 107; 130). Theologically rich soil for teaching Christ’s incarnation and kinship-identification with humanity, but collides directly with Quran 6:164’s denial that one soul may bear/ransom another’s burden — the same Critical collision the baseline documents under ‘salvation.’ Requires the same apologetic scaffolding, not a vocabulary-only fix.
Tsaddiq
Approved rendering: الصدّيق
Transliteration: al-ṣiddīq
Doctrine: The Righteous and the Wicked (Psalm 1)
Original: צַדִּיק (tsaddiq)
Category: Sin
NEW, extends baseline البر (Critical). Renders צַדִּיק (tsaddiq), described in Psalm 1 by covenant-aligned fruit (torah-delight, avoiding wicked company) rather than a forensic verdict. Independently reinforces the Quranic al-birr checklist reading the baseline flags Critical. Teach as fruit flowing from covenant relationship, not the ground of standing before God — resolved fully only at Psalm 32/51 and Romans 3-4. Recurs at Psalm 1, 37, 73, 112.
Chasid
Approved rendering: القدّيس المختار
Transliteration: al-qiddīs al-mukhtār
Doctrine: Resurrection Hope (Psalm 16)
Rejected alternatives: مقدس (collapses distinct Hebrew concept)
Original: חָסִיד (chasid)
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Renders חָסִיד (chasid), ‘your Holy One’ (Psalm 16:10), covenant-loyal one from the chesed root, distinct from qadosh’s set-apartness sense (مقدس). Directly load-bearing for the resurrection-of-Christ apologetic (Acts 2:27) — same Critical tier as the baseline’s ‘resurrection’ entry. Use this distinguishing compound with a translator’s note; mandatory theologian review at every occurrence.
Sheol
Approved rendering: الهاوية
Transliteration: al-hāwiyah
Doctrine: Sheol and the Realm of the Dead
Rejected alternatives: جهنم (FORBIDDEN — see forbidden substitutions)
Original: שְׁאוֹל (she’ol)
Category: Eschatology
NEW. Renders שְׁאוֹל (she’ol), the general realm/abode of the dead, righteous and wicked alike (Psalm 16, 49, 88, 89) — not a developed judgment-geography. NEVER render as جهنم (Jahannam), which imports a developed judgment/damnation concept foreign to Sheol and would blur Psalm 16’s specific resurrection argument: Christ did not merely avoid hell; he did not remain among the dead at all. Mandatory theologian review given crucifixion-denial apologetic stakes.
Even Pinnah
Approved rendering: حجر الزاوية
Transliteration: ḥajar al-zāwiyah
Doctrine: Cornerstone Prophecy (Psalm 118)
Original: אֶבֶן פִּנָּה (even pinnah)
Category: Messianic Prophecy
NEW. Renders אֶבֶן פִּנָּה (even pinnah), Psalm 118:22, ‘the stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone’ — quoted by Jesus (Matthew 21:42), Peter (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:6-7). Central rejected-then-exalted messianic pattern; must be taught as necessary, purposeful divine plan, directly countering both ‘unforeseen tragedy’ readings and Quran 4:157’s crucifixion denial. Flag at every NT cross-reference across the wider curriculum.
Azavtani
Approved rendering: تركتني
Transliteration: taraktanī
Doctrine: Crucifixion Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: رفضتني
Original: עֲזַבְתָּנִי (azavtani)
Category: Messianic Prophecy
NEW. Renders עֲזַבְתָּנִי (azavtani), ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ (Psalm 22:1), quoted verbatim by Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). Requires the same apologetic scaffolding the baseline specifies for ‘resurrection’: since Quran 4:157 denies the crucifixion occurred, this is a load-bearing prophetic text establishing that it happened exactly as foreseen. Mandatory theologian review at every occurrence.
Pierced
Approved rendering: ثقبوا
Transliteration: thaqabū
Doctrine: Crucifixion Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: كالأسد (alternate ‘like a lion’ textual reading — not to be substituted without theologian sign-off)
Original: כָּאֲרוּ (debated Masoretic/LXX/DSS textual variant)
Category: Messianic Prophecy
NEW. Renders the debated Psalm 22:16 text (traditional church reading ‘they have pierced my hands and feet’), anticipating crucifixion nail-wounds. This is a genuine textual-critical variant (Masoretic/LXX/DSS), not merely a translation choice. Follow the established Van Dyck/NAV tradition; mandatory theologian sign-off given the apologetic weight against crucifixion denial; do not soften toward the alternate reading without explicit review.
Yhwh Adoni
Approved rendering: الرب [يهوه] لسيدي [أدوناي]
Transliteration: YHWH l’Adoni
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ (Psalm 110:1)
Rejected alternatives: الرب لربي (loses the two-referent distinction entirely — REJECTED)
Original: יהוה לַאדֹנִי (YHWH l’Adoni)
Category: Christology
NEW. Renders יהוה לַאדֹנִי, ‘The LORD says to my Lord’ (Psalm 110:1) — two distinct Hebrew terms, the covenant name and a master/lord title, the textual basis for Jesus’ argument (Matthew 22:41-45) that the Messiah is both David’s son and David’s sovereign Lord. Arabic cannot preserve English’s capitalization-based distinction; MANDATORY bracketed/footnoted gloss at first occurrence, permanent apparatus not a one-time note. Single most technically demanding rendering decision in the curriculum; mandatory theologian sign-off.
Kisakha Elohim
Approved rendering: عرشك يا الله
Transliteration: ‘arshuka yā Allāh
Doctrine: Deity of Christ (Psalms 45, 102, 110)
Rejected alternatives: كأنك إله (softened honorific comparison — FORBIDDEN)
Original: כִּסְאֲךָ אֱלֹהִים (kis’akha Elohim)
Category: Christology
NEW. Renders כִּסְאֲךָ אֱלֹהִים, ‘Your throne, O God’ (Psalm 45:6), quoted of Christ in Hebrews 1:8. One of the most direct OT-to-NT deity-of-Christ textual bridges outside Psalm 110 — a human king addressed directly as ‘God,’ the paradigm case of shirk from an Islamic vantage point. Render literally and directly; any softening toward an honorific comparison is a translation error, not a stylistic choice. Mandatory theologian review.
Ben
Approved rendering: ابن
Transliteration: ben
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: בֵּן (ben)
Category: Christology
NEW listing separate from ‘son_of_god’ to flag Psalm 2:7 specifically as the textual anchor: ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you,’ quoted of Christ’s eternal Sonship in Acts 13:33 and Hebrews 1:5. Render ابن within the fuller phrase ابن الله per baseline; do not soften. Primary Islamic flashpoint text alongside Quran 112:3 and 19:35.
Yasha
Approved rendering: يخلّص
Transliteration: yukhalliṣ
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: יָשַׁע (yasha)
Category: Salvation
NEW. Renders יָשַׁע (yasha), the verbal root ‘to save/deliver,’ underlying both יְשׁוּעָה (yeshu’ah, salvation) and the personal name Yeshua/Jesus, frequent throughout the lament and deliverance psalms (3, 6, 7, 18, 68). Genuine, valuable etymological bridge: the name يسوع (Yasū’) itself embeds this Hebrew salvation-root, reinforcing the baseline’s insistence that Yasū’, not ʿIsā, is the name carrying this OT salvation-history freight — surface this explicitly in teaching.
High Risk Terms
Sin
Approved rendering: الخطية
Transliteration: al-khaṭīyah
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: الذنب, الإثم
Original: חֵטְא / חֲטָאָה (chet / chata’ah)
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: Psalm 51:1-3 stacks this general Hebrew sin-term (חֵטְא/chet) with פֶּשַׁע (pesha, rendered معصية) and עָוֹן (avon, rendered إثم) for rhetorical and theological weight. Render all three distinctly across the whole curriculum — do not flatten the triad into الخطية alone. Same fitrah (innate-purity) caution as baseline applies, reinforced independently at Psalm 14:1-3 (quoted Romans 3:10-12).
Covenant
Approved rendering: العهد
Transliteration: al-‘ahd
Doctrine: Covenant Faithfulness / Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: الميثاق
Original: בְּרִית (berit)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; risk elevated from Medium (Romans) to High in Psalms. Psalm 89 directly wrestles with apparent covenant failure (vv. 38-51) — one of Scripture’s boldest laments, questioning God’s own seeming unfaithfulness to his unconditional oath to David, resolved only by continued trust the oath still stands. Must not be softened into a tame rhetorical complaint.
Glory
Approved rendering: المجد
Transliteration: al-majd
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / Character of God
Rejected alternatives: النور الإلهي
Original: כָּבוֹד (kavod)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: Psalm 8:5’s ‘glory and honor’ crowning humanity is derived, gift-given dignity, not inherent or self-achieved — treat with the same care as the baseline’s grace-versus-merit distinction. Psalm 24:7-10’s ‘King of glory’ (see ‘king_of_glory’) combines this term with kingship.
Faith
Approved rendering: الإيمان
Transliteration: al-īmān
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: الاعتقاد, الثقة
Original: בָּטַח (batach, ‘to trust’)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: Psalms most often expresses this concept verbally through בָּטַח (batach, ‘to trust,’ e.g. Psalm 37:3, 5; 91:2) rather than a noun-form doctrine. Reinforce the relational-trust sense over Islamic iman’s creedal-assent sense when rendering trust-verbs with الإيمان-family vocabulary.
Grace
Approved rendering: النعمة
Transliteration: al-ni’mah
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: الفضل, الرحمة
Original: חֵן / חָנַן (chen / chanan)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: extend النعمة to render חֵן/חָנַן (chen/chanan), the OT Hebrew root nearest to NT charis (Psalm 84:11; 103; 145) — distinct from חֶסֶד (chesed), which is rendered الرحمة (see ‘hesed’). Reserving النعمة for chen/chanan and الرحمة for chesed/racham preserves the baseline’s unmerited-favor safeguard without introducing a third, undifferentiated Arabic term.
Intercession
Approved rendering: الشفاعة
Transliteration: al-shafā’ah
Doctrine: Priesthood and Intercession of Christ
Original: כֹּהֵן (kohen, mediating function) / הִתְפַּלֵּל (hitpallel)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: pair explicitly with ‘kohen’ (priest) at Psalm 110:4 — Christ’s Melchizedekian priesthood intercedes exclusively and perfectly, not as one intercessor among several, consistent with the baseline’s caution against Islamic shafa’ah’s contested multiple-intercessor framework.
Israel
Approved rendering: إسرائيل
Transliteration: Isrā’īl
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: Psalm 137’s exile lament (‘by the rivers of Babylon’) doubles the contemporary-political-sensitivity risk, since both ‘Israel’ and ‘Babylon’ carry present-day Middle East resonance. Requires deliberate pastoral framing at every corporate-lament and historical-recital psalm (78, 105-106, 137).
King
Approved rendering: الملك
Transliteration: al-Malik
Doctrine: The Character of God as King / Kingship and the Messianic King
Original: מֶלֶךְ / מָלַךְ (melekh / malakh)
Category: Kingship
NEW. Renders מֶלֶךְ/מָלַךְ (melekh/malakh). Direct overlap with Al-Malik, one of Allah’s 99 names — broadly compatible sovereignty vocabulary, but must be distinguished from a static divine attribute: Psalm 47, 93, 95-99 proclaim God’s present, active, historical reign over history and nations, culminating in the messianic king of Psalm 2, 45, 72, 110. Teach with active verbs (‘يملك,’ ‘قد ملك’), not a frozen title.
King Of Glory
Approved rendering: ملك المجد
Transliteration: malik al-majd
Doctrine: The Character of God as King
Original: מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד (melekh hakavod)
Category: God
NEW. Compound of REUSED المجد and NEW الملك, rendering מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד (melekh hakavod), Psalm 24:7-10. Combines two curriculum-core doctrines; no independent collision beyond the component terms’ existing notes.
Chen Chanan
Approved rendering: النعمة
Transliteration: chen / chanan → al-ni’mah
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: الرحمة (reserved for hesed)
Original: חֵן / חָנַן (chen / chanan)
Category: Salvation
NEW listing separate from ‘grace’ to flag it as a distinct Hebrew root (חֵן/חָנַן) requiring the same النعمة rendering as the baseline’s grace entry, never الرحمة. Occurs at Psalm 84:11, 103, 145. Distinguished from chesed by being spontaneous, not covenant-obligated, favor.
Emet
Approved rendering: الحق
Transliteration: al-ḥaqq
Doctrine: Covenant Faithfulness (Hesed)
Rejected alternatives: الأمانة (do not vary mid-curriculum)
Original: אֱמֶת (emet)
Category: Covenant
NEW. Renders אֱמֶת (emet), truthfulness/reliability, a fixed word-pair with chesed describing God’s promise-keeping character (Psalm 25:10; 40:11; 85:10; 89:14; 138:2). Al-Ḥaqq is a compatible divine name (low independent collision), but fix الحق as the standing partner-term to الرحمة in every chesed-emet pairing; do not substitute الأمانة mid-curriculum.
Padah
Approved rendering: فداء
Transliteration: fidā’
Doctrine: Kinsman-Redemption (Ga’al/Padah)
Original: פִּדְיוֹן / פָּדָה (pidyon / padah)
Category: Salvation
NEW. Renders פִּדְיוֹן/פָּדָה (pidyon/padah), ransom by payment, sibling concept to ga’al (Psalm 49:8, 15; 111:9; 130:7-8). No independent Islamic-vocabulary collision (fidā’ is standard for ransom of captives), but the same conceptual collision noted under ‘gaal’ applies at the doctrinal level; not a neutral vocabulary choice.
Pesha
Approved rendering: معصية
Transliteration: ma’siyah
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: تعدٍّ
Original: פֶּשַׁע (pesha)
Category: Sin
NEW, sibling to الخطية. Renders פֶּשַׁע (pesha), willful rebellion/breach of covenant — the strongest of the three Hebrew sin-terms (Psalm 32:1; 51:1-3). Render distinctly from الخطية and إثم so the Hebrew sin-vocabulary triad is not flattened.
Avon
Approved rendering: إثم
Transliteration: ithm
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness
Original: עָוֹן (avon)
Category: Sin
NEW. Renders עָוֹן (avon), guilt/moral crookedness — the weight/consequence dimension of sin, distinct from chet (act) and pesha (rebellion), stacked in Psalm 51:1-3. Completes the sin-vocabulary triad Psalm 51 deliberately stacks for rhetorical and theological weight.
Selichah
Approved rendering: مغفرة
Transliteration: maghfirah
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness
Original: סְלִיחָה / סָלַח (selichah / salach)
Category: Salvation
NEW. Renders סְלִיחָה/סָלַח (selichah/salach), judicial pardon distinct from Psalm 32’s and 51’s forgiveness-imagery verbs. ‘With you there is forgiveness’ (Psalm 130:4). Word-level overlap with Islamic ghufrān (Al-Ghafūr) is broadly safe, but the surrounding theology — received through repentant trust, not a pending Judgment-Day deeds-balance (mizan) — must be actively taught, per the baseline’s salvation caution.
Forgiveness Imagery
Approved rendering: يمحو / يستر / يحمل
Transliteration: yamḥū / yastur / yaḥmil
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: يغفر (as a single generic substitute — rejected as it collapses three distinct images)
Original: מָחָה / כָּסָה / נָשָׂא (machah / kasah / nasa)
Category: Salvation
NEW cluster. Renders מָחָה/כָּסָה/נָשָׂא (machah/kasah/nasa): blot out (erase a record), cover (conceal from just accounting), carry away (lift a burden). Psalm 32:1-2 is directly quoted by Paul in Romans 4:7-8 for justification apart from works — direct cross-reference to the baseline’s Critical ‘justification’ and ‘imputed_righteousness’ doctrines. Keep the three images distinct for teaching richness; do not smooth into a single generic verb.
Kohen
Approved rendering: كاهن
Transliteration: kāhin
Doctrine: Priesthood of Christ (Psalm 110)
Original: כֹּהֵן (kohen)
Category: Kingship
NEW. Renders כֹּהֵן (kohen), Psalm 110:4 (‘a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek’). Mainstream Sunni Islam has no ordained mediating priesthood, and كاهن may evoke pre-Islamic Arabian soothsayer-priests condemned in early Islamic tradition — a genuine false-friend risk. Always pair with الشفاعة and explicit teaching that Christ’s priesthood is exclusive, perfect, and final, ending the need for any further mediating priestly class.
Ben Adam
Approved rendering: ابن آدم
Transliteration: ibn Ādam
Doctrine: Messianic Sonship of Christ (typological bridge)
Original: אֱנוֹשׁ / בֶּן־אָדָם (enosh / ben-adam)
Category: Christology
NEW. Renders אֱנוֹשׁ/בֶּן־אָדָם (enosh/ben-adam), Psalm 8:4, ‘what is man… and the son of man,’ quoted of Christ in Hebrews 2:6-8. ابن آدم is a very common, doctrinally neutral idiom for ‘a human being’ in everyday and Islamic religious Arabic. Teaching notes must distinguish Psalm 8’s generic humanity-sense from Jesus’ later technical self-title ‘Son of Man’ without overclaiming the connection prematurely within Psalm 8 itself.
Elyon
Approved rendering: العلي
Transliteration: al-‘Alī
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ / Character of God
Original: עֶלְיוֹן (Elyon)
Category: God
NEW. Renders עֶלְיוֹן (Elyon), ‘Most High’ (Psalm 91:1; 47:2), a divine title of supremacy. Overlaps with Al-‘Alī, one of Allah’s 99 names — broadly compatible, but applied to Jesus via Luke 1:32 (‘Son of the Most High’), drawing this OT title directly into the Critical Sonship-of-Christ doctrine; teach the two texts together.
Yirat Yhwh
Approved rendering: مخافة الرب
Transliteration: makhāfat al-Rabb
Doctrine: The Fear of the LORD
Original: יִרְאַת יהוה (yir’at YHWH)
Category: Wisdom
NEW. Renders יִרְאַת יהוה (yir’at YHWH), the foundational wisdom posture: reverent awe combined with trust and obedience (Psalm 34:9-11; 111:10; 128:1; 147:11). Distinguish from Islamic taqwā’s more legal-obedience-oriented framing; preserve the relational, experiential ‘taste and see that the LORD is good’ (Psalm 34:8) dimension taqwā does not foreground.
Eved
Approved rendering: خادم
Transliteration: khādim
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: عبد (context-dependent; may carry lower servile connotation)
Original: עֶבֶד (eved)
Category: Kingship
NEW. Renders עֶבֶד (eved), ‘my servant David’ (Psalm 89:3, 20) — a dignified covenant-office term anticipating the prophets’ Servant-of-the-LORD theology later applied to Christ. Prefer خادم where the dignified covenant-office sense is primary; عبد الله remains a standard honorific in both Christian and Islamic Arabic, so flag for native-speaker review to determine best register per context.
Medium Risk Terms
Holy
Approved rendering: مقدس
Transliteration: muqaddas
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: طاهر
Original: קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh)
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: distinguish carefully from חָסִיד (chasid, ‘covenant-loyal one,’ rendered القدّيس المختار) at Psalm 16:10 — qadosh is set-apartness/consecration; chasid is covenant-loyalty. Do not collapse both into مقدس when they occur together.
Peace
Approved rendering: السلام
Transliteration: al-salām
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: الأمان, الطمأنينة
Original: שָׁלוֹם (shalom)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: Psalm 122:6 (‘pray for the peace of Jerusalem’) carries strong contemporary political weight in Arabic-speaking contexts, analogous to the baseline’s ‘israel’ caution. Teach as an ancient covenantal prayer, not a comment on the present conflict.
David
Approved rendering: داود
Transliteration: Dāwūd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: דָּוִד
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: David functions here not only as a positively-regarded Quranic figure but explicitly as shepherd-king (Psalm 78:70-72) and covenant-oath recipient (Psalm 89, 132) — supply this fuller covenant-king typology deliberately, since the Quranic Dawud lacks it.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: الأمم
Transliteration: al-umam
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: الكفار
Original: גּוֹיִם / לְאֻמִּים (goyim / le’ummim)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: preserve the Psalter’s rebellion-to-inclusion trajectory — Psalm 2’s rebellious nations reconciled and blessed through the same Messiah by Psalm 72, 87, and 117 — as a single unfolding messianic-mission arc across the curriculum.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: ملكوت الله
Transliteration: malakūt Allāh
Doctrine: Universal Reign of God
Rejected alternatives: مملكة الله
Original: מַלְכוּת (malkhut, cf. melekh/malakh)
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: grounded here in present, historical, active divine kingship (the ‘YHWH mālak’ cluster, Psalm 47, 93, 95-99), not merely a static attribute — anticipates the NT’s kingdom inaugurated in Christ.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: قوة الله
Transliteration: quwwat Allāh
Doctrine: Character of God
Original: עֹז / גְּבוּרָה (‘oz / gevurah)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: renders עֹז/גְּבוּרָה (‘oz/gevurah), frequently paired with refuge/protection imagery. Broadly compatible with Al-Qawiyy; standard care only.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: الشركة
Transliteration: al-sharikah
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: الزمالة, الجماعة
Original: יַחַד (yachad, ‘together, in unity’)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: renders יַחַד (yachad, ‘together, in unity’), e.g. Psalm 133’s ‘how good and pleasant when brothers dwell in unity.’ Same ش-ر-ك root-resonance-with-shirk caution applies; avoid pairing with vocabulary suggesting ‘partnership with God.‘
Shepherd
Approved rendering: الراعي
Transliteration: al-Rā’ī
Doctrine: The Character of God as Shepherd
Original: רָעָה (ro’ah / ro’i, ‘my shepherd’)
Category: God
NEW. Renders רָעָה/רֹעִי (ro’ah/ro’i). Culturally available, positively received pastoral image, but Islamic tanzīh theology has no comparable image of Allah personally, relationally shepherding an individual believer through daily provision and danger — surface deliberately, as with the baseline’s Abba/Father intimacy note. Do not let الراعي be read as mere material provider; retain the personal guiding/protecting sense. Core passage term (Psalm 23:1); also Psalm 28:9, 78:70-72, 80:1, 95:7, 100:3.
Refuge
Approved rendering: ملجأ
Transliteration: malja’
Doctrine: The Character of God as Refuge
Rejected alternatives: ملاذ
Original: מַחְסֶה (machaseh); verb חָסָה (chasah)
Category: God
NEW. Renders מַחְסֶה (machaseh, noun) and חָסָה (chasah, verb, first at Psalm 2:12). Low independent collision; establishes the controlling term for the Refuge doctrine unit at Psalm 91 alongside ‘rock’ and ‘fortress.’ Preserve as a distinct term from صخرة/حصن rather than substituting for poetic variety, since the Psalter deliberately stacks distinct refuge images (Psalm 18, 91).
Rock
Approved rendering: صخرة
Transliteration: ṣakhrah
Doctrine: The Character of God as Refuge
Original: צוּר (tsur)
Category: God
NEW. Renders צוּר (tsur), e.g. Psalm 18, 19, 62, 95 (‘The LORD is my rock’). Established Arabic Bible usage; anticipates messianic ‘stone/cornerstone’ typology (see ‘even_pinnah’/‘cornerstone,’ Psalm 118:22) — flag the conceptual link for teaching continuity.
Rasha
Approved rendering: الشرير
Transliteration: al-sharīr
Doctrine: The Righteous and the Wicked (Psalm 1)
Original: רָשָׁע (rasha)
Category: Sin
NEW. Renders רָשָׁע (rasha), the wicked/guilty person — Psalm 1’s counter-example, chaff without root, facing coming judgment. No independent collision; pairs with tsaddiq.
Taher
Approved rendering: يطهّر
Transliteration: yuṭahhir
Doctrine: Confession and Forgiveness
Original: טָהֵר (taher)
Category: Sanctification
NEW. Renders טָהֵר (taher), Psalm 51:7 (‘purge me with hyssop’), ritual-purification vocabulary deliberately applied metaphorically to inward moral renewal. EXCEPTION to the baseline’s general caution against ritual-purity vocabulary for holiness: here the ritual register IS the psalm’s deliberate poetic vehicle for a moral-spiritual reality. Flag so translators do not over-apply the general caution in this specific passage.
Melchizedek
Approved rendering: ملكي صادق
Transliteration: Malkī Ṣādiq
Doctrine: Kingship and the Messianic King
Original: מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק (Malki-Tsedek)
Category: Kingship
NEW proper name. Renders מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק (Malki-Tsedek), Genesis 14 / Psalm 110:4. Established Christian Arabic transliteration; office-not-lineage priest-king type fulfilled in Christ — an instructive contrast given some Islamic traditions’ emphasis on prophetic/genealogical succession.
Shaddai
Approved rendering: القدير
Transliteration: al-Qadīr
Doctrine: The Character of God as Refuge
Original: שַׁדַּי (Shaddai)
Category: God
NEW. Renders שַׁדַּי (Shaddai), ‘Almighty’ (Psalm 91:1, ‘the shadow of the Almighty’). Overlaps with Al-Qadīr, one of Allah’s 99 names — broadly compatible; standard-care risk level similar to the baseline’s power_of_god entry.
Nephesh
Approved rendering: النفس
Transliteration: al-nafs
Doctrine: The Character of God as Shepherd
Original: נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh)
Category: God
NEW. Renders נֶפֶשׁ (nephesh), the whole living self — not merely an immaterial soul opposed to body (Psalm 23:3, ‘he restores my soul’; 42-43; 103; 139). Islamic anthropology has an elaborated moral psychology of al-nafs (nafs al-ammārah/al-lawwāmah/al-muṭma’innah) — a graded self to be disciplined into submission — absent from the Hebrew concept, where nephesh is God’s object of restorative care, not the believer’s own internal struggle to master. Do not import the Islamic nafs-framework.
Ashrei Barukh
Approved rendering: طوبى / مبارك
Transliteration: ṭūbā (ashrei) / mubārak (barukh)
Doctrine: The Righteous and the Wicked (Psalm 1) / Cornerstone Prophecy
Original: אֶשֶׁר / אַשְׁרֵי (esher/ashrei) vs. בָּרוּךְ (barukh)
Category: Wisdom
NEW. Two distinct Hebrew roots: אֶשֶׁר/אַשְׁרֵי (esher/ashrei, a flourishing state, Psalm 1:1; 32:1-2; 41:1; 119:1) vs. בָּרוּךְ (barukh, agent-conferred blessing, Psalm 118:26, quoted at Jesus’ triumphal entry, Matthew 21:9, and of his return, Matthew 23:39). Fence permanently: طوبى لـ reserved for ashrei-type declarations, مبارك reserved for barukh-type agent blessing, enforced across the whole Psalter.
Torah Synonyms
Approved rendering: شهادات / فرائض / وصية / أحكام / كلمة / قول
Transliteration: edut / piqqudim / mitzvah / mishpatim / davar / imrah
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture / Torah-Piety
Original: עֵדוּת / פִּקּוּדִים / מִצְוָה / מִשְׁפָּטִים / דָּבָר / אִמְרָה (edut / piqqudim / mitzvah / mishpatim / davar / imrah)
Category: Covenant
NEW cluster. A cluster of near-synonyms for God’s revealed word — testimony, precept, commandment, ordinance, word, saying — concentrated in Psalm 19 and multiplied throughout Psalm 119’s 176-verse acrostic. Keep each rendered consistently and distinctly; flag for native-speaker review purely for internal consistency across the extended acrostic, not doctrinal content.
Tsalmavet
Approved rendering: وادي ظل الموت
Transliteration: wādī ẕill al-mawt
Doctrine: The Character of God as Shepherd / Lament and Honest Prayer
Original: צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet)
Category: God
NEW. Renders צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmavet), ‘valley of deep darkness/the shadow of death’ (Psalm 23:4, core passage) — deep gloom, danger, mortal threat, not necessarily a specific afterlife location. Established Arabic Bible tradition, proverbial in devotional usage. No problematic Islamic-theological collision; preserve the deliberate ambiguity (general danger/darkness) rather than over-literalizing into hell or the grave specifically.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: الشكر
Transliteration: al-shukr
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: יָדָה / תּוֹדָה (yadah / todah)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Broadly compatible with the Islamic shukr virtue throughout the Psalter’s praise psalms (100, 107, 118, 136); ensure grounding in God’s specific redemptive acts, not generic gratitude.
Prophet
Approved rendering: نبي
Transliteration: nabī
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: נָבִיא (navi)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Psalms addendum: the psalmist himself (especially David) is treated in the NT as speaking prophetically of Christ (Acts 2:30). No new independent risk beyond the baseline’s ‘seal of the prophets’ finality caution.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: نبوءة
Transliteration: nubū’ah
Doctrine: Messianic Prophecy
Original: נְבוּאָה (nevu’ah, functional; not a frequent noun in Psalms itself but the category governing messianic psalms)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Functions as the umbrella category for the Psalter’s Critical-tier messianic prophecy cluster (Psalm 2, 16, 22, 45, 110, 118).
Hallelujah
Approved rendering: هللويا
Transliteration: Hallelūyā
Doctrine: Praise and Worship
Inherited from Romans package as an established transliteration standard. No independent Psalms risk; used throughout the closing Hallelujah psalms (111-118, 135, 146-150).
Fortress
Approved rendering: حصن
Transliteration: ḥiṣn
Doctrine: The Character of God as Refuge
Original: מְצוּדָה / מִשְׂגָּב (metsudah / misgav)
Category: God
NEW. Renders מְצוּדָה/מִשְׂגָּב (metsudah/misgav), Psalm 18, 46, 91, 144. No independent collision; part of the refuge word-cluster.
Hishtachavah
Approved rendering: يسجد
Transliteration: yasjud
Doctrine: Praise and Worship
Original: הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtachavah)
Category: Worship
NEW — positive bridge term. Renders הִשְׁתַּחֲוָה (hishtachavah), physical prostration (Psalm 5:7; 95:6; 132:7). Shares the same triliteral root (س-ج-د) as Arabic Islamic ritual prostration (sujūd) — a rare case of genuine, positive shared embodied-worship vocabulary usable pastorally as a bridge point, while keeping the object/mediator of worship (the Triune God, through Christ) as the essential distinction, not the physical posture itself.
Musical Instruments
Approved rendering: بوق، عود وقيثارة، دف، آلات ذات أوتار ومزمار، صنوج
Transliteration: shofar, nevel v’kinnor, tof, minnim v’ugav, tseltselim
Doctrine: Musical and Instrumental Worship
Original: שׁוֹפָר, נֵבֶל וְכִנּוֹר, תֹּף, מִנִּים וְעֻגָב, צֶלְצְלִים
Category: Worship
NEW cluster. Concrete Temple worship instruments closing the Psalter’s culminating doxology (Psalm 150; also 33, 92, 98, 149). Standard cultural/musical vocabulary; no doctrinal collision. Unrestrained instrumental praise is affirmed without qualification.
Referenced passages