Semantic Analysis — Acts (Whole Book) for Bavarian
Methodology Note
This analysis extends the baseline Romans Language Package for Bavarian. Every term already recorded in translation_memory.json (Romans) is reused exactly as recorded — same rendering, same spelling convention — and is marked below as [TM-REUSE]. New terms required by Acts are proposed following the same methodological pattern documented in the baseline: abstract doctrinal vocabulary defaults to the borrowed standard-German form with Bavarian phonological adaptation (per the baseline’s “register-gap” finding), while concrete, relational, or narrative vocabulary draws on native dialect roots where a stable native form exists. Risk ratings use the same four-tier scale as doctrine_risk_registry.json (Critical / High / Medium / Low) and flag doctrine-specific collisions with Bavarian Catholic folk piety and orthographic non-standardization, consistent with baseline practice.
Fields given per load-bearing term: Original word (Greek) · Transliteration · Literal meaning · Semantic range · English variants · Contextual theological meaning · Bavarian rendering risk.
PART A — CORE PASSAGE: Acts 2:1-41 (Verse-by-Verse)
Acts 2:1 — Ἡμέρα τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς
| Term | Πεντηκοστή |
|---|
| Transliteration | Pentēkostē |
| Literal meaning | ”Fiftieth [day]” — the fiftieth day after Passover |
| Semantic range | The Jewish harvest festival Shavuot/Feast of Weeks; in Christian usage, the specific day of the Spirit’s outpouring on the church |
| English variants | Pentecost, Feast of Weeks |
| Contextual theological meaning | The salvation-historical hinge marking the birth of the church and the inauguration of the New Covenant era of the Spirit, fulfilling Joel’s prophecy (quoted vv.16-21) |
| Bavarian rendering | Pfingsten — the term is already a major fixed feast in the Bavarian Catholic liturgical calendar (Pfingstsonntag), so lexical familiarity is very high. Risk: Medium — familiarity is a double-edged sword: the feast’s cultural embeddedness (a public holiday, associated with folk customs like the “Pfingstlümmel”) risks the day being heard as a generic calendar festival rather than the specific, unrepeatable historical outpouring event Acts narrates; the doctrinal content must be actively supplied by teaching, not assumed from the festival name alone. |
Acts 2:2 — πνοὴ / ἦχος
| Term | πνοή, ἦχος |
|---|
| Transliteration | pnoē, ēchos |
| Literal meaning | breath/blast, sound/noise |
| Semantic range | wind, breath, gale; sound, noise, report |
| English variants | rushing wind, sound |
| Contextual theological meaning | Echoes Sinai theophany imagery (wind, fire) — divine self-manifestation, not a natural weather event |
| Bavarian rendering | Descriptive, no fixed doctrinal term needed: “a Brausn wia von am gwaltign Wind”. Risk: Low — narrative/descriptive, no folk-Catholic collision. |
Acts 2:3 — γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός
| Term | γλῶσσα (here: visual “tongue” of fire) |
|---|
| Transliteration | glōssa |
| Literal meaning | tongue (organ of speech); by extension, “tongue-shaped flame” |
| Semantic range | physical tongue; language/speech; here, a flame shaped like a tongue |
| English variants | tongues of fire, flame-like tongues |
| Contextual theological meaning | Fire is a recurring symbol of divine presence and purifying/empowering visitation (cf. the burning bush, Sinai); anticipates the immediately following sense of γλῶσσα as “language” (v.4) — a deliberate wordplay in the Greek text |
| Bavarian rendering | Zunga (wia Feia) — “tongues [like fire].” Risk: Medium — the wordplay (fire-tongue / language-tongue) does not carry over into Bavarian any more than into English; translators must ensure v.3’s visual “tongues of fire” is not confused with v.4’s “other tongues/languages,” which are related images but distinct referents. |
Acts 2:4 — ἐπλήσθησαν… Πνεύματος Ἁγίου / ἐλάλουν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις
| Term | πίμπλημι (πλησθέντες); Πνεῦμα Ἅγιον [TM-REUSE]; γλῶσσαι ἕτεραι |
|---|
| Transliteration | plēsthentes; Pneuma Hagion; glōssai heterai |
| Literal meaning | ”having been filled”; “Holy Spirit” [TM-REUSE]; “other/different tongues” |
| Semantic range | πίμπλημι: to fill completely, to be permeated; γλῶσσα here: an actual human language, not ecstatic utterance |
| English variants | filled with the Holy Spirit; spoke in other tongues/languages |
| Contextual theological meaning | The Spirit’s filling is an empowering, mission-enabling event (cf. Acts 4:8, 4:31, 13:9), and the “other tongues” in this narrative are demonstrably real, known human languages (confirmed in vv.6,8,11), not unintelligible ecstatic speech |
| Bavarian rendering | Holy Spirit = Heiliger Geist [TM-REUSE, exact baseline spelling]. “Filled” = erfüllt (borrowed standard compound, regular pattern). Tongues = in ondere Sprachn redn (“spoke in other languages”) preferred over “Zungenreden.” Risk: High — “Zungenreden” is the term associated in contemporary German-speaking contexts with the modern Pentecostal/charismatic movement’s ecstatic glossolalia, which is culturally foreign and mildly suspect to a Bavarian Catholic dialect audience; Acts 2 specifically depicts known, intelligible foreign languages, so rendering with “Sprachn” (languages) rather than “Zungenreden” is doctrinally load-bearing, not a stylistic preference. Must be flagged for human theologian review whenever glossolalia language appears (also relevant at 10:46, 19:6). |
Acts 2:5-8 — ἰδίᾳ διαλέκτῳ
| Term | διάλεκτος |
|---|
| Transliteration | dialektos |
| Literal meaning | manner of speaking, native language |
| Semantic range | dialect, native tongue, mother language |
| English variants | own language, native tongue |
| Contextual theological meaning | Confirms the miracle’s nature: real, known languages of the diaspora nations, prefiguring the gospel’s reach to “every nation under heaven” — a foretaste of the Great Commission Fulfilled and the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles |
| Bavarian rendering | oanicheige Sprach / Muttersprach (“own/native language”). Risk: Low — descriptive, straightforward; the listed nations (vv.9-11) reuse Heiden/nations vocabulary conceptually but require no new glossary terms individually. |
Acts 2:13-15 — γλεύκους μεμεστωμένοι / ὥρα τρίτη
Minor narrative details (accusation of drunkenness on “new wine”; “the third hour” as a time marker). No new doctrinal term; risk Low. Note for teaching: Peter’s rebuttal (“these are not drunk,” v.15) functions as an early instance of Bold Witness under pressure/mockery — reuse doctrine category, no new vocabulary.
Acts 2:16-21 — Joel quotation
| Term | προφητεύσουσιν [TM-adjacent: Weissogung]; ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματός μου; ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν; ἡμέρα Κυρίου; ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου |
|---|
| Transliteration | prophēteusousin; ekcheō apo tou Pneumatos mou; eschatōn tōn hēmerōn; hēmera Kyriou; hos an epikalesētai to onoma Kyriou |
| Literal meaning | ”they will prophesy”; “I will pour out from my Spirit”; “of the last days”; “day of the Lord”; “whoever calls upon the name of the Lord” |
| Semantic range | prophecy: Spirit-inspired proclamation, not fortune-telling (reuse Prophecy/Weissogung risk profile); “pour out” — a verb of abundant, sovereign divine giving (a agricultural/liquid metaphor); “last days” — inaugurated eschatology, the present church age; “day of the Lord” — the OT day of divine visitation/judgment, now historically inaugurated; “calling on the name” — the OT formula for covenant worship/petition of YHWH, now applied to Jesus |
| English variants | prophesy; pour out my Spirit; the last days; the day of the Lord; whoever calls on the name of the Lord |
| Contextual theological meaning | Joel’s promise of universal Spirit-outpouring (sons/daughters, young/old, even servants) is declared fulfilled now; “calling on the name of the Lord” (quoted again structurally at Rom 10:13, already [TM-REUSE] territory via lord/Herr) becomes the salvation-confession formula, tying Acts 2 directly to the Romans 10:9-13 baseline rendering |
| Bavarian rendering | Prophesy = weissogn (verb form of TM Weissogung) [TM-REUSE pattern]. “Pour out” = ausgiaßn/ausgossn — new term, native dialect verb, Risk Medium (must convey sovereign divine initiative, not a resource being “used up”). “Last days” = de letztn Täg — Risk Medium (register-gap eschatological term; avoid folk-apocalyptic doom connotations unconnected to the specific inaugurated-not-yet-consummated sense). “Day of the Lord” = da Tag vom Herrn [Herr TM-REUSE]. “Calling on the name of the Lord” = wer’n Nam vom Herrn anruaft [Herr TM-REUSE] — Risk: High, cross-referenced explicitly to the baseline’s mandated consistent rendering of Romans 10:9-10; this Acts 2 occurrence must use matching phrasing per the Theological Consistency Rules in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md. |
Acts 2:22 — δυνάμεσι καὶ τέρασι καὶ σημείοις / Ἰησοῦν τὸν Ναζωραῖον
| Term | δύναμις, τέρας, σημεῖον; Ναζωραῖος |
|---|
| Transliteration | dynamis, teras, sēmeion; Nazōraios |
| Literal meaning | power/might-deed, wonder/portent, sign; “the Nazarene” |
| Semantic range | δύναμις overlaps with TM power_of_god (Kraft vo Gott) but here denotes a specific class of attesting miracle; τέρας = an awe-inducing portent; σημεῖον = a sign pointing beyond itself to divine authentication |
| English variants | mighty works, wonders, and signs; Jesus of Nazareth |
| Contextual theological meaning | These three terms together form the fixed triad “signs and wonders” (also 2:43; 4:30; 5:12; 14:3; 15:12) functioning throughout Acts as God’s own authentication of the apostles’ gospel message — foundational to the doctrine of Apostolic Authority and Miracles |
| Bavarian rendering | Fixed triad = Zeichen und Wunder (with δύναμις folded in contextually, or rendered separately as Kraftdatn/mighty deeds where the text distinguishes it). Risk: High — Bavarian Catholic folk piety has an unusually strong, living tradition of miracle-attestation through canonized saints and pilgrimage shrines (Lourdes-style healings, Altötting ex-votos, the modern-era canonized Bruder Konrad of Parzham). “Zeichen und Wunder” risks being heard through this existing folk category — a wonder-working holy man among others — rather than as God’s unique, foundational authentication of the apostolic gospel message. Must be flagged for human theologian review at every occurrence. |
Acts 2:23 — ἔκδοτον… τῇ ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει τοῦ Θεοῦ
| Term | βουλή, πρόγνωσις |
|---|
| Transliteration | boulē, prognōsis |
| Literal meaning | plan/counsel, foreknowledge |
| Semantic range | βουλή: deliberate purpose/decision; πρόγνωσις: knowing beforehand |
| English variants | definite plan and foreknowledge; predetermined plan |
| Contextual theological meaning | God’s sovereign, purposive governance stands behind even the cross’s apparent injustice — directly continuous with the baseline’s providence doctrine (Vorsehung) |
| Bavarian rendering | Vorsehung [TM-REUSE, from Romans 8:28]; “plan/counsel” = Ratschluss (register-gap borrowed compound). Risk: Medium, inheriting the baseline’s caution against a vague fatalistic folk reading rather than personal purposive governance. |
Acts 2:24 — ὁ Θεὸς ἀνέστησεν
| Term | ἀνίστημι / ἀνάστασις [TM-REUSE] |
|---|
| Transliteration | anistēmi / anastasis |
| Literal meaning | ”to raise up” / “resurrection” |
| Contextual theological meaning | Bodily, historical resurrection — the Resurrection of Christ doctrine, foundational to the entire Acts 2 kerygma |
| Bavarian rendering | Aufersteh’ng [TM-REUSE, exact baseline spelling]. Risk: Medium (per baseline: must never suggest reincarnation/rebirth-cycle). |
Acts 2:25-31 — David quotation (Ps 16); πατριάρχης; προφήτης
| Term | πατριάρχης, προφήτης [TM-REUSE], ᾅδης |
|---|
| Transliteration | patriarchēs, prophētēs, hadēs |
| Literal meaning | patriarch (father-ruler); prophet [TM-REUSE]; Hades/realm of the dead |
| Contextual theological meaning | David, as prophet, foresaw the Messiah’s resurrection — direct continuity with the baseline’s Fulfillment of Prophecy and Davidic Covenant doctrines |
| Bavarian rendering | David = David [TM-REUSE]; Prophet = Prophet [TM-REUSE]; Patriarch = Patriarch (borrowed, Low risk, historical/genealogical term); Hades = s’Toatnreich (“realm of the dead,” descriptive) — Risk: Low-Medium, must not be confused with the folk-Catholic notion of Purgatory; a brief clarifying gloss is advisable. |
Acts 2:32-33 — μάρτυρες / τῇ δεξιᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὑψωθείς / τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος
| Term | μάρτυς, ὑψόω, ἐπαγγελία |
|---|
| Transliteration | martys, hypsoō, epangelia |
| Literal meaning | witness; to lift up/exalt; promise |
| Semantic range | μάρτυς: one who has personally seen/experienced and testifies to a fact — later develops the specialized sense “martyr” (one who testifies even unto death, cf. ch.7, ch.22); ὑψόω: exaltation to a position of honor and authority; ἐπαγγελία: a formal, binding pledge |
| English variants | witnesses; exalted; the promise |
| Contextual theological meaning | The apostles’ eyewitness testimony is the evidentiary and doctrinal basis of the gospel proclamation — foundational to Persecution and Bold Witness across the whole book; Christ’s exaltation and the Spirit’s promised outpouring are directly linked |
| Bavarian rendering | Witness (noun) = Zeuge; Testimony = Zeugnis. Risk: Medium — homonym collision: in everyday Bavarian (as in standard German) “Zeugnis” primarily means a school report card; context must always make the legal/testimonial sense unmistakable. Martyr (later semantic development, ch.7 onward) = Bluatzeuge (“blood-witness”), the traditional German/Bavarian term — Risk Low, distinct enough from “Zeugnis” to avoid the homonym issue. Exalted = erhöht (borrowed, Medium risk — avoid collapsing into mere social promotion language). Promise = Verspreng/Zuasogn (dialect form of Versprechen) — Low-Medium risk. |
Acts 2:34-36 — Κύριον αὐτὸν καὶ Χριστὸν ἐποίησεν ὁ Θεός
| Term | Κύριος [TM-REUSE], Χριστός [TM-REUSE via Messias] |
|---|
| Transliteration | Kyrios, Christos |
| Contextual theological meaning | The climactic double declaration — Jesus is both Lord and Messiah/Christ — is the direct antecedent of the Romans 10:9 confession the baseline package already governs; per the Theological Consistency Rules, this must not introduce a divergent rendering |
| Bavarian rendering | Lord = Herr [TM-REUSE]; Christ = Christus (per baseline transliteration standard, distinct from “Messias” which is reserved for the OT-fulfillment title register). Risk: Critical — this is the same doctrinal weight-class as the baseline’s Lordship of Christ (Romans 10:9) entry; the sentence structure “Da Jesus is da Herr” established in the baseline should inform how this verse’s declarative climax is rendered, preserving unqualified exclusivity. |
Acts 2:37 — κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν / τί ποιήσωμεν
| Term | κατανύσσομαι |
|---|
| Transliteration | katanyssomai |
| Literal meaning | to be pierced, stabbed, deeply pained |
| Semantic range | a strong emotional-conscience verb — conviction of guilt producing distress |
| English variants | cut to the heart, pierced in heart, deeply troubled |
| Contextual theological meaning | The Spirit-produced conviction that precedes genuine repentance — the psychological/spiritual hinge between hearing the gospel and the repentance-baptism response of v.38 |
| Bavarian rendering | s’Herz is eahna duachbohrt worn / s’hat eahna ‘s Herz zsammadruckt (idiomatic “it pierced/gripped their heart”). Risk: Medium — must not be flattened into mere social embarrassment; this is conviction of sin before God, tying directly into Universal Human Accountability [TM doctrine reuse from Romans]. |
Acts 2:38 — μετανοήσατε / βαπτισθήτω / εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν / τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος
This is the doctrinal hinge-verse of the entire core passage and requires the fullest treatment.
| Term | μετάνοια/μετανοέω |
|---|
| Transliteration | metanoia / metanoeō |
| Literal meaning | ”a change of mind”; to think again/afterward |
| Semantic range | Not mere regret or remorse (cf. Greek λύπη), but a decisive reorientation of the whole person — mind, will, and direction of life — toward God |
| English variants | repent, repentance, turn, change one’s mind |
| Contextual theological meaning | The necessary human response to the gospel announcement, inseparably joined to faith; central to the Repentance and Baptism doctrine of this curriculum |
| Bavarian rendering | Umkehr (proposed new term; verb: umkeahrn) rather than the standard-German Catholic sacramental term Buße. Risk: Critical. Rationale: standard Bavarian Catholic vocabulary for “repentance” is dominated by “Buße,” which in lived folk-Catholic practice denotes the sacrament of penance (das Bußsakrament / die Beichte) — a ritual, priest-mediated act of confession, absolution, and often prescribed devotional works (indulgence-adjacent practice, as the baseline already flags for Grace). Rendering μετανοέω as “Buße tuan” risks the hearer defaulting to “go to confession” rather than the inward, Spirit-produced reorientation of the whole person that Acts 2:38 actually describes. “Umkehr” (turning/turning around) is proposed as a term that retains real dialect naturalness (a common word for changing direction on a path) while avoiding the sacramental-transaction default. Human theologian review required at every occurrence of this doctrine throughout Acts (2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 11:18; 13:24; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20). |
| Term | βαπτίζω/βάπτισμα |
|---|
| Transliteration | baptizō / baptisma |
| Literal meaning | to dip, immerse, plunge |
| Semantic range | Jewish ritual washing background (proselyte baptism, Qumran lustrations); John’s baptism of repentance; Christian baptism in the name of Jesus, uniquely joined to the gift of the Spirit |
| English variants | baptize, baptism |
| Contextual theological meaning | The public, once-for-all rite marking entrance into the New Covenant community, inseparably (but not mechanically/automatically) linked here to repentance, forgiveness, and Spirit-reception; central to Repentance and Baptism |
| Bavarian rendering | Taufe / verb taufa (established native Bavarian word, well-attested in dialect, e.g. “a Kind taufa lassn”). Risk: Critical. Rationale: Bavarian Catholic sacramental theology of infant baptism (regularly administered within days of birth, near-universal in traditional Altbayern village life) carries strong ex-opere-operato-adjacent folk assumptions of automatic sacramental efficacy conferred by the rite itself, largely independent of the recipient’s own repentance or faith (necessarily so, for infants). Acts 2:38 presents baptism as the visible response of those who have already repented and believed the apostolic word (v.41, “those who received his word were baptized”). The rendering must not collapse this adult-convert, repentance-conditioned pattern into the culturally dominant infant-sacramental pattern, nor conversely deny any real connection between baptism and forgiveness. Human theologian review required at every occurrence (also 8:12-13,36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:8; 19:5; 22:16). |
| Term | ἄφεσις ἁμαρτιῶν |
|---|
| Transliteration | aphesis hamartiōn |
| Literal meaning | ”release/sending away of sins” |
| Semantic range | Legal/debt-release metaphor (cf. release of a prisoner or cancellation of a debt) applied to moral guilt before God |
| English variants | forgiveness of sins, remission of sins |
| Contextual theological meaning | Sins are not merely overlooked but decisively removed/cancelled on the ground of Christ’s work — closely allied with the baseline’s righteousness/justification cluster |
| Bavarian rendering | Vergebung vo de Sünd (Sünd [TM-REUSE]). Risk: High — parallel collision risk to “Umkehr”/“Buße” above: Bavarian Catholic sacramental practice locates the pronouncement of forgiveness in priestly absolution during confession (“Ich spreche dich los von deinen Sünden im Namen des Vaters…”). Care is needed so that Acts 2:38’s forgiveness-through-repentance-and-baptism-in-Christ’s-name is not heard as requiring the additional sacramental machinery of ongoing confession to be secured or maintained. |
| Term | δωρεὰ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος |
|---|
| Transliteration | dōrea tou Hagiou Pneumatos |
| Literal meaning | ”the gift of the Holy Spirit” |
| Semantic range | δωρεά specifically emphasizes a free, gratuitous gift (cognate with the baseline’s grace/charis vocabulary) |
| English variants | gift of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit as gift |
| Contextual theological meaning | The Spirit himself, not merely spiritual benefits, is given as the direct consequence of repentance-baptism-forgiveness — the personal indwelling presence inaugurating the entire book’s Holy Spirit and Pentecost doctrine |
| Bavarian rendering | d’Gob vom Heiling Geist (Gob = dialect-contracted “Gabe,” cf. TM Gnodngob’n/spiritual_gifts pattern; Heiliger Geist [TM-REUSE]). Risk: High — must be kept distinct from the later, more institutionally-mediated Confirmation (Firmung) sacrament in Catholic practice, where a bishop’s laying-on-of-hands is the ordinary channel of “receiving the Spirit” in developed Catholic sacramental theology; Acts 2:38 presents Spirit-reception as the direct, immediate consequence of repentance-faith-baptism, without a separate later rite. |
Acts 2:39 — ἡ ἐπαγγελία / ὅσους ἂν προσκαλέσηται Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν
| Term | προσκαλέομαι (here echoing κλῆσις/κλητός) [TM-adjacent: beruafa/Beruafung] |
|---|
| Transliteration | proskaleomai |
| Literal meaning | to summon, call to oneself |
| Contextual theological meaning | God’s sovereign initiative in calling — extends the promise to “all who are far off,” anticipating the doctrine of The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles |
| Bavarian rendering | beruafa [TM-REUSE from Romans, “called”]. Risk: High, inheriting the baseline’s Effectual Calling caution (register-gap term, no lived predestination-controversy tradition in Bavarian Catholic culture). |
Acts 2:40-41 — διεμαρτύρετο / σώθητε / ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον / ἐβαπτίσθησαν / προσετέθησαν
| Term | διαμαρτύρομαι, σῴζω [TM-REUSE], προστίθημι |
|---|
| Transliteration | diamartyromai, sōzō, prostithēmi |
| Literal meaning | to testify solemnly/earnestly; to save/rescue [TM-REUSE]; to add to |
| Contextual theological meaning | Peter’s continued exhortation (Bold Witness) results in a visible, numerable addition to the believing community — the narrative origin-point of The Church as Community doctrine |
| Bavarian rendering | Testify solemnly = eindringlich zeugn/ermahna [ermahna TM-REUSE]. Saved = grettet/erlöst [Erlösung TM-REUSE]. Added = dazuagebn/dazuakemma (“added to their number”). Risk: Low-Medium for “added” (narrative, no major collision); High for “saved,” inheriting the baseline’s Nazi-era “Heil” contamination caution — must use Erlösung-family vocabulary exactly as the baseline mandates, never “Heil.” |
Acts 2:42-47 (Remainder of Chapter 2, outside core passage boundary but same chapter)
| Term | κοινωνία [TM-REUSE], κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου, ὁμοθυμαδόν, κοινά |
|---|
| Transliteration | koinōnia, klasis tou artou, homothymadon, koina |
| Literal meaning | fellowship/shared participation [TM-REUSE]; “the breaking of the bread”; “with one mind/accord”; “held in common” |
| Semantic range | κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου: a fixed idiom for the shared communal meal, which by the time of writing likely already carries Eucharistic overtones without being identical to the later fully developed liturgical Mass; κοινά: voluntary, Spirit-produced generosity, not compulsory communism |
| English variants | fellowship; breaking of bread; with one accord; had everything in common |
| Contextual theological meaning | The visible marks of the newly Spirit-constituted community: shared teaching, fellowship, table, and prayer — the founding description of The Church as Community |
| Bavarian rendering | Fellowship = Gmoaschaft [TM-REUSE]. Breaking of bread = s’Brotbrechn. Risk: High — “Brotbrechn” inevitably evokes the Catholic Mass’s Eucharistic host-breaking rite (the fractio panis) for a Bavarian Catholic dialect audience; care is needed to convey Acts 2:42’s shared communal meal fellowship sense (which likely includes an early, less formally developed remembrance of the Lord’s Supper) without either flattening it into the fully developed Mass liturgy or stripping it of any sacramental resonance at all — a genuinely difficult middle path requiring theologian input. Held all things in common = hams ois gmeinsam ghabt — Risk: Medium, must be read as voluntary Spirit-produced generosity, not enforced collectivism (a caution with some latent resonance given 20th-century political history in German-speaking lands generally). |
PART B — CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER STUDY, WHOLE BOOK
Chapter 1 — Ascension, Promise of the Spirit, Apostolic Succession
| Terms | Variants | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
ascension
ἀνελήμφθη (ἀναλαμβάνω)
anelēmphthē
”was taken up” | bodily removal upward; royal/prophetic ascent imagery (cf. Elijah)
was taken up, ascended | Christ’s bodily, visible, historical ascension to heavenly enthronement, not a metaphorical departure | wurd aufgnumma (descriptive verb phrase). Risk: Medium — must be kept concretely historical/bodily, distinct from any vague “went to a better place” euphemism common in folk-devotional speech about death. |
witness
μάρτυς [see also 2:32]
martys
one who testifies from firsthand knowledge | eyewitness testimony basis of apostolic authority
witness(es) | The apostles’ role as Christ’s designated eyewitness-testifiers “to the end of the earth” (1:8) — the programmatic verse for the whole book’s Persecution and Bold Witness and Great Commission Fulfilled doctrines | Zeuge — see full entry at 2:32. Risk: Medium, programmatic verse; flag for consistency across the book. |
lot/portion (ministry)
κλῆρος
klēros
a lot (object cast); by extension, a portion/share allotted | inheritance-share; office/ministry-share (Judas’s “share in this ministry,” 1:17,25)
share, portion, lot | Ministry as a divinely allotted stewardship, not a self-claimed office — relevant to Apostolic Authority | Antl/Anteil (share) — new term. Risk: Low-Medium, mostly narrative (casting lots to choose Matthias, 1:26), some tie-in to the adoption/inheritance theme cluster. |
kingdom of God
βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ [TM-REUSE]
basileia tou Theou
— | —
— | The risen Christ’s teaching topic for forty days (1:3) and the disciples’ (mis-focused) political question (1:6) | s’Reich vo Gott [TM-REUSE]. Risk: Medium (per baseline). |
Holy Spirit baptism/promise
βαπτισθήσεσθε ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ
baptisthēsesthe en Pneumati Hagiō
”you will be baptized in/with the Holy Spirit” | metaphorical extension of the water-baptism image to the Spirit’s outpouring
baptized with the Holy Spirit | The specific, unrepeated promise fulfilled at Pentecost (ch.2) | Holy Spirit [TM-REUSE]; baptize — see Critical entry at 2:38. Risk: High here specifically because the metaphorical, non-water sense of “baptized with the Spirit” must not be confused with sacramental water baptism when this verse is taught alongside 2:38. |
Chapter 2 — see Core Passage (Part A) above; full chapter treated verse-by-verse (vv.1-41) plus vv.42-47.
Chapter 3 — Healing in Jesus’ Name, Call to Repentance
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| the name (of Jesus) | τὸ ὄνομα | to onoma | ”the name” | Invocation of Jesus’ name as the effective agent of healing/salvation (3:6,16; cf. 4:12) — foundational to Apostolic Authority and Miracles | im Nam vom Jesus [Jesus TM-REUSE]. Risk: High — Bavarian folk-Catholic devotional practice includes invoking saints’ names and the Virgin’s name in petitionary prayer (votive practice, Marterl inscriptions); care is needed that “in Jesus’ name” is heard as unique, exclusive efficacy, not one invocable name among several intercessors’ names. |
| repent / turn again | μετανοήσατε, ἐπιστρέψατε | metanoēsate, epistrepsate | repent; turn back/return | Repentance paired with a second verb of “turning/returning,” reinforcing the reorientation sense over mere sacramental ritual | Umkehr — see full Critical entry at 2:38; ἐπιστρέφω rendered umkeahrn/zruckkeahrn. Risk: Critical, same as 2:38. |
| the Holy and Righteous One / servant of God | ὁ ἅγιος καὶ δίκαιος; παῖς | ho hagios kai dikaios; pais | the Holy and Righteous One; servant/child | Christological titles drawing on Isaianic Servant imagery — ties holy [TM-REUSE] and righteousness [TM-REUSE] vocabulary directly to Christ | da Heilige und Gerechte [heilig, Gerechtigkeit TM-REUSE]; Diener/Knecht Gottes (Servant of God). Risk: Medium — servant/knecht carries a servile-labor connotation in dialect that must not obscure the honorific, messianic-Servant sense. |
| prophet like Moses | προφήτην… ὡς ἐμέ | prophētēn hōs eme | ”a prophet like me [Moses]“ | Deuteronomy 18:15 fulfillment — Fulfillment of Prophecy [TM doctrine reuse] | Prophet [TM-REUSE: Prophet]. Risk: Medium, requires OT background bridging as the baseline already notes for this doctrine generally. |
Chapter 4 — Boldness Before the Sanhedrin
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| boldness | παρρησία | parrēsia | freedom/frankness of speech | Fearless, unashamed public proclamation before hostile authority — the defining term of Persecution and Bold Witness | Freimüatigkeit (proposed; borrowed abstract compound, regular -igkeit pattern). Risk: Medium — no direct folk-Catholic collision, but must retain the “speaking freely/openly before authority” sense rather than reducing to generic personal courage. |
| the council/Sanhedrin | συνέδριον | synedrion | assembly, sitting-together body | The supreme Jewish judicial-religious council | da Hohe Rat (descriptive) or transliterated Sanhedrin. Risk: Low — historical institution, no collision. |
| cornerstone | κεφαλὴ γωνίας | kephalē gōnias | ”head of the corner” | Messianic rejection-and-vindication motif (Ps 118) | Eckstein (borrowed standard compound). Risk: Low-Medium. |
| salvation (exclusivity) | σωτηρία [TM-REUSE] | sōtēria | — | “No other name” salvation exclusivity (4:12) — ties directly to Universal Scope of the Gospel [TM doctrine reuse] | Erlesung [TM-REUSE]. Risk: High, inheriting baseline Nazi-era “Heil” caution; also flag for exclusivity-preservation per the baseline’s doctrinal-preservation rules. |
| filled with the Holy Spirit (repeated) | πλησθέντες Πνεύματος Ἁγίου | plēsthentes Pneumatos Hagiou | see 2:4 | Repeated Spirit-filling for renewed boldness (4:8,31) — reinforces that filling is repeatable/situational, not a single unrepeatable event | See 2:4 entry. Risk: Medium, same rationale. |
Chapter 5 — Ananias and Sapphira; Apostolic Authority; Gamaliel
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| to lie to the Holy Spirit | ψεύσασθαι… τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον | pseusasthai to Pneuma to Hagion | ”to lie [against] the Holy Spirit” | Establishes the Spirit’s full personal deity — sin against the Spirit is sin against God himself (5:3-4) — reinforces Holy Spirit and Pentecost as a Person, not a force | den Heiling Geist beliagn [Heiliger Geist TM-REUSE]. Risk: High — must preserve the personal-deity implication; a folk-devotional reading risks trivializing this as mere dishonesty toward an impersonal “power.” |
| great fear | φόβος μέγας | phobos megas | great fear | Communal awe-response to divine judgment within the church — distinct from ordinary anxiety | a groaße Furcht/Schröckn. Risk: Low. |
| signs and wonders (repeated) | σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα | sēmeia kai terata | see 2:22 | Continued apostolic authentication | See 2:22 entry. Risk: High, same rationale. |
| God’s work (Gamaliel’s caution) | τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο… ἐκ Θεοῦ | to ergon touto ek Theou | ”this work… from God” | Providential caution against opposing what may be of divine origin | des Werk… vo Gott — descriptive, Risk: Low. |
Chapter 6 — Hellenists, Table-Service, Stephen
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| Hellenists | Ἑλληνισταί | Hellēnistai | Greek-speaking [Jews] | Distinguishes Greek-speaking diaspora Jewish believers from Hebrew/Aramaic-speaking (“Hebrews,” Ἑβραῖοι) believers — the church’s first internal cultural fault-line, an early instance of the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles cluster’s underlying cross-cultural tensions | griachisch-sprechade Juden (descriptive phrase, no fixed native coinage needed). Risk: Low, historical/descriptive. |
| table-service / ministry | διακονία | diakonia | service, ministration | Broad NT term for practical service, here specifically food-distribution to widows, contrasted with “the ministry of the word” (τῇ διακονίᾳ τοῦ λόγου) | Dienst (borrowed, plain). Risk: Medium — pulls toward the later, more clerically formalized Catholic Diakon (permanent deacon) office; must retain the concrete, practical, non-exclusively-clerical sense of Acts 6’s original table-service function. |
| laying on of hands | ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν | epithesis tōn cheirōn | ”the laying on of the hands” | Commissioning/ordination gesture, here for the Seven (6:6); recurs for Spirit-impartation (8:17-19) and missionary sending (13:3) | Handauflegung (borrowed standard-German liturgical term). Risk: High — this exact term is used in Bavarian Catholic confirmation (Firmung) and priestly ordination (Priesterweihe) liturgy, importing a strongly sacramental, hierarchy-mediated expectation; must be handled carefully to preserve Acts’ broader, sometimes non-apostle-administered pattern (e.g., Ananias laying hands on Saul, 9:17) without either erasing or over-sacramentalizing the gesture. Human theologian review recommended at each occurrence. |
| full of faith and the Holy Spirit | πλήρης πίστεως καὶ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου | plērēs pisteōs kai Pneumatos Hagiou | — | Character qualification for church leadership — ties faith [TM-REUSE] to Spirit-fullness | Faith [TM-REUSE: Glaam]; Holy Spirit [TM-REUSE]. Risk: Medium, compound qualification, no new term needed. |
Chapter 7 — Stephen’s Speech and Martyrdom
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| resist the Holy Spirit | τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ Ἁγίῳ ἀντιπίπτετε | tō Pneumati tō Hagiō antipiptete | ”you fall against/resist the Holy Spirit” | Israel’s historic pattern of rejecting God’s messengers, climaxing in Stephen’s own death — links Universal Human Accountability [TM doctrine reuse] to corporate covenant history | gegen’n Heiling Geist aufbegehrn — descriptive. Risk: Medium. |
| Son of Man | ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | ho Huios tou anthrōpou | ”the Son of Man” | Christological title (Dan 7 background) seen by Stephen in glory at the moment of martyrdom — links to but is distinct from son_of_god [TM-REUSE]; note both titles must remain distinguishable | da Menschnsohn (descriptive, established via standard-German Bible tradition). Risk: Medium — must not be conflated with, nor allowed to dilute, the separate Critical-risk Sohn vo Gott [TM-REUSE] term; the two titles serve different (complementary) Christological functions. |
| witness unto death (martyr, developed sense) | μάρτυς (developing toward “martyr”) | martys | see 2:32 | Stephen becomes the paradigm “witness who dies for his testimony” — the narrative origin of the developed sense “martyr” for Persecution and Bold Witness | Bluatzeuge — see full entry at 2:32. Risk: Low, developed sense clear from narrative context. |
Chapter 8 — Samaria, Simon Magus, the Ethiopian Eunuch
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| the gift of God (purchasable?) | ἡ δωρεὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ | hē dōrea tou Theou | see 2:38 | Simon’s attempt to purchase Spirit-power exposes precisely the grace-vs-transaction confusion the baseline already flags for Grace — a direct doctrinal collision point | d’Gob vo Gott [see 2:38 entry]. Risk: Critical here specifically, because the narrative itself dramatizes the very folk-devotional “grace obtained through payment/devotion” error the baseline warns against (cf. the term “simony,” historically named after this very passage) — an unusually clear teaching opportunity that must not be blunted. |
| Samaria / Samaritans | Σαμάρεια, Σαμαρῖται | Samareia, Samaritai | — | The gospel’s first cross-ethnic-boundary expansion beyond Judea — early stage of The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | Samaria/Samariter (proper names, borrowed as-is). Risk: Low. |
| baptize (Ethiopian eunuch) | ἐβάπτισεν | ebaptisen | see 2:38 | A model conversion narrative: Scripture explanation → belief → baptism, with no delay and no separate confirmation rite | See Critical entry at 2:38. Risk: Critical, same rationale; this is a key teaching passage for the doctrine precisely because of its clean belief-then-baptism sequence. |
| the Spirit snatched away | Πνεῦμα… ἥρπασεν | Pneuma hērpasen | ”the Spirit seized/carried off” | A dramatic, sovereign, personal act of the Spirit directing mission — reinforces the Spirit’s personal agency (Holy Spirit and Pentecost) | da Geist hat’n furtgrissn (idiomatic). Risk: Low-Medium. |
Chapter 9 — Conversion of Paul
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| the Way | ἡ ὁδός | hē hodos | ”the Way” | Earliest self-designation of the Christian movement (used again 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22) | da Weg (descriptive proper-noun use). Risk: Low. |
| chosen instrument | σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς [note ἐκλογή TM-REUSE root] | skeuos eklogēs | ”a vessel of choosing/election” | God’s sovereign election of Saul/Paul for a specific mission — direct extension of the baseline’s election doctrine into a concrete personal-calling application, central to Conversion of Paul | auserwähltes Werkzeug [Erwählung TM-REUSE root]. Risk: High, inheriting the baseline’s Erwählung risk profile (register-gap term, no lived Bavarian predestination-controversy tradition) plus the added concreteness of applying it to a named individual’s dramatic personal conversion — a strong teaching passage requiring careful theological framing. |
| scales fell from his eyes | ἀπέπεσαν… αἱ λεπίδες | apepesan hai lepides | ”the scales fell off” | Vivid physical-spiritual metaphor for restored sight/insight following conversion | d’Schuppn san eahm von de Augn gfalln (idiomatic, well-attested even in general German/Bavarian idiom). Risk: Low. |
| disciples | μαθηταί | mathētai | learners/followers | Standard term for believers generally in Acts (used extensively from ch.6 on) | Jünger (borrowed standard). Risk: Low. |
Chapter 10 — Cornelius; Gentile Inclusion
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| vision | ὅραμα | horama | a thing seen | Divine revelatory sight, both to Cornelius and to Peter (the sheet vision) — mechanism for the pivotal Gentile-inclusion narrative | Vision (borrowed) rather than Gesicht. Risk: Medium — “Gsicht” in Bavarian dialect primarily means “face,” a homonym collision risk with the standard-German word for “vision/sight”; “Vision” avoids this collision but is itself a register-gap borrowed abstraction requiring context support. |
| common/unclean | κοινός, ἀκάθαρτος | koinos, akathartos | common/profane; unclean | Ritual-purity categories from the Mosaic food laws, declared abolished by God himself (“what God has made clean, do not call common,” 10:15) — directly launches The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles doctrine | gmoa/unrein (descriptive dialect terms). Risk: Medium — note “gmoa” here is the ordinary adjective “common,” distinct from the noun “Gmoa” (municipality) already flagged High-risk in the baseline for the church doctrine; translators must not confuse the two despite the shared root, and should consider an alternative adjective (e.g. alltäglich/gwöhnlich) to avoid any bleed-through. |
| God-fearer | φοβούμενος/σεβόμενος τὸν Θεόν | phoboumenos/sebomenos ton Theon | ”one fearing/reverencing God” | A specific first-century category: Gentile sympathizers with Jewish monotheism and ethics who had not undergone full proselyte conversion (circumcision) — Cornelius’s precise social-religious position, essential background for the narrative’s force | Gottesfürchtiger (borrowed standard compound). Risk: Medium — no exact Bavarian cultural equivalent exists for this liminal historical category; risk of it collapsing into a generic “pious person,” losing the specific Jew-Gentile boundary-crossing significance central to the passage. |
| no partiality | οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήμπτης | ouk estin prosōpolēmptēs | ”is not a respecter of faces/persons” | God’s impartiality toward Jew and Gentile alike — programmatic statement for The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles and Unity of Jews and Gentiles [TM doctrine reuse] | Gott mocht koan Unterschied (descriptive). Risk: Medium, given the baseline’s already-noted heightened Bavarian sensitivity (Munich’s Nazi-era history) around this exact cluster of unity-of-peoples language. |
Chapter 11 — Antioch; the Name “Christian”; Report to Jerusalem
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| Christians | Χριστιανοί | Christianoi | ”belonging to/followers of Christ” | The movement’s name coined here for the first time (11:26), originally likely a semi-outsider label | Christen (established, distinct from “Christus” the title, per baseline transliteration convention). Risk: Low. |
| repentance unto life | μετάνοιαν εἰς ζωήν | metanoian eis zōēn | ”repentance leading to life” | Confirms Gentile repentance as fully equivalent in kind and effect to Jewish repentance — extends Repentance and Baptism doctrine explicitly to Gentiles | Umkehr, wo zum Lebn führt [Umkehr — see Critical entry at 2:38]. Risk: Critical, same rationale. |
| the grace of God | ἡ χάρις τοῦ Θεοῦ [TM-REUSE] | hē charis tou Theou | — | Barnabas’s assessment of what he sees among the new Gentile believers at Antioch (11:23) | d’Gnad vo Gott [Gnad TM-REUSE]. Risk: High (per baseline Grace entry). |
Chapter 12 — Herodian Persecution; Peter’s Deliverance
No fundamentally new theological vocabulary beyond established persecution/prayer/angelic-deliverance narrative categories.
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| earnest/continual prayer | προσευχὴ ἐκτενής | proseuchē ektenēs | ”stretched-out/intense prayer” | The church’s corporate intercessory response to persecution — extends Prayer and Intercession [TM doctrine reuse] beyond its Romans 8 Spirit/Christ-focused core to corporate church practice | Bet’n / ausdauerndes Bet’n. Risk: Medium — note continuity with the baseline’s Fürbitt caution: corporate prayer for a persecuted believer must not be assimilated into the Marian/saints-intercession devotional pattern the baseline flags, since here the church prays directly to God on Peter’s behalf, not through a mediating saint. |
| the word of God grew | ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ ηὔξανεν | ho logos tou Theou ēuxanen | ”the word of God was growing” | Programmatic Acts refrain (also 6:7; 19:20) describing the gospel’s organic, Spirit-empowered advance | s’Wort vo Gott is gwaxn (idiomatic). Risk: Low. |
Chapter 13 — First Missionary Journey; Justification by Faith
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| set apart | ἀφορίσατέ | aphorisate | ”set apart, mark off” | The Spirit’s specific commissioning of Barnabas and Saul for mission (13:2) — a fresh application of the Divine Calling cluster [TM doctrine reuse] | ausgsondert/beruafa [beruafa TM-REUSE]. Risk: Medium, same profile as baseline’s “called” entry. |
| light for the Gentiles | φῶς ἐθνῶν | phōs ethnōn | ”a light of/for the nations” | Isaiah 49:6 quotation applied to the apostolic mission — directly ties Mission to the Nations [TM doctrine reuse] to The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | a Liacht fia de Heiden [Heiden TM-REUSE; Herrlichkeit-adjacent light imagery, distinct term]. Risk: Medium. |
| justified | δικαιοῦται [TM-REUSE root: Rechtfertigung/Gerechtigkeit] | dikaioutai | ”is justified/declared righteous” | The explicit statement that “everyone who believes is justified” from what the law of Moses could not justify (13:38-39) — this is the book’s clearest programmatic statement of Justification apart from the Law, directly continuous with the Romans baseline’s Critical-risk justification cluster | grechtfertigt [Rechtfertigung/Gerechtigkeit TM-REUSE]. Risk: Critical — must reuse the baseline’s exact Rechtfertigung/Gerechtigkeit vocabulary; per the baseline’s own finding, this remains a “borrowed churchy word” with limited lived Bavarian Catholic pastoral currency (the sola fide controversy being historically a Protestant concern), so extra explanatory framing (not extra vocabulary invention) is needed here. |
Chapter 14 — Lystra; Mistaken for Gods
No fundamentally new theological vocabulary; reuses apostle, healing/signs-and-wonders, persecution, kingdom of God, and grace terms established in chs. 1-13.
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| ”the gods have come down” | οἱ θεοὶ… κατέβησαν | hoi theoi katebēsan | — | Pagan polytheistic misidentification of Paul and Barnabas as Zeus/Hermes — a sharp contrast case for god [TM-REUSE, Critical baseline term] and the doctrine of monotheism underlying The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles | Gott/Götter — the plural “Götter” (gods, polytheistic) must be kept sharply distinct from the singular Critical-risk Gott [TM-REUSE]. Risk: Medium, narrative-contrastive use, low collision but worth flagging for translator clarity (never render Zeus/Hermes references with the baseline’s reserved singular term). |
Chapter 15 — The Jerusalem Council
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| circumcision | περιτομή | peritomē | cutting around | The Judaizing controversy’s flashpoint requirement, resolved as unnecessary for Gentile salvation — core case study for Justification apart from the Law | Beschneidung (borrowed standard). Risk: Medium — mostly historical/cultural for a Bavarian audience with no living circumcision practice; the primary risk is theological (grasping why this mattered) rather than lexical. |
| a yoke | ζυγός | zygos | yoke (draft-animal harness) | Peter’s metaphor for the burden of law-keeping as a means of salvation (15:10) — direct continuity with the baseline’s Grace-vs-merit caution | a Joch (native agricultural dialect term, very concrete/familiar in rural Bavarian farming culture). Risk: Low-Medium, actually a helpful natural metaphor given Bavaria’s agricultural heritage, but must retain the negative “burden imposed apart from grace” sense rather than a neutral “duty” reading. |
| the decree/decision | τὸ δόγμα / ἔδοξεν | to dogma / edoxen | decree; “it seemed [good]“ | The council’s authoritative but pastorally minimal ruling — a model of Apostolic Authority exercised corporately rather than by a single figure | Beschluss (borrowed standard). Risk: Low-Medium — note the collegial, non-monarchical form of the council’s authority, distinct from later single-bishop-centric decision models culturally dominant in Bavarian Catholicism; worth a translator note but not a lexical risk per se. |
Chapter 16 — Philippian Jailer; Household Salvation
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| you and your household | σὺ καὶ ὁ οἶκός σου | sy kai ho oikos sou | ”you and your house” | The jailer’s whole household believing and being baptized together (16:31-34) — a key passage in debates over household/infant baptism | du und dei ganzes Haus. Risk: High — this passage is regularly cited in support of infant/household baptism in sacramental traditions; care is needed that the Bavarian rendering does not imply automatic household-wide salvation apart from each member’s own response, while also not stripping the text of its genuine household-solidarity dimension. Flag for human theologian review alongside the baptism doctrine generally. |
| spirit of divination | πνεῦμα πύθωνα | pneuma pythōna | ”a python/Pythian spirit” | A specific demonic oracular spirit (named for the Delphic Pythia) — occult/demonic power contrasted with genuine apostolic authority | a Geist vo da Wahrsagerei (descriptive: “a spirit of fortune-telling”). Risk: Medium — must be clearly distinguished from the personal, divine Heiliger Geist [TM-REUSE]; the shared word “Geist” for both requires careful contextual disambiguation to avoid any confusion. |
| Roman citizen | Ῥωμαῖος | Rhōmaios | Roman | Paul’s legal citizenship status, invoked for protection (16:37-38; also chs. 22-25) | römischer Bürger (borrowed standard). Risk: Low, historical/legal, no doctrinal collision. |
Chapter 17 — Areopagus; the Unknown God
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| unknown god | ἀγνώστῳ Θεῷ | agnōstō Theō | ”to an unknown god” | Paul’s apologetic bridge from pagan religious instinct to the one true God — a model for gospel proclamation amid religious pluralism | unbekannter Gott (descriptive). Risk: Low-Medium, mainly catechetical (clarifying the apologetic strategy) rather than collision-driven. |
| idols/idolatry | εἴδωλα, κατείδωλος | eidōla, kateidōlos | images, “full of idols” | Paul’s description of Athens as “full of idols” (17:16) and his call to repentance from image-worship (17:29-30) | Götzenbilder/Idole (borrowed standard). Risk: High — this is a genuinely sensitive term for a Bavarian Catholic audience, whose devotional life includes extensive use of religious statues, wayside shrine crucifixes (Marterl), and processional images of the Virgin and saints. The translation must avoid any implicit Protestant-polemic reading that equates legitimate Catholic devotional imagery with pagan idol-worship; the passage’s actual target (worship of the image/object itself, as the ultimate object of devotion, rather than through it to God) should be made explicit in accompanying teaching notes rather than left to the bare lexical choice to carry that distinction. Human theologian review required. |
| appointed times/boundaries | ὁρίσας… καιρούς | horisas kairous | ”having determined the times” | God’s providential ordering of history and nations (17:26) — extends providence [TM-REUSE: Vorsehung] | See Vorsehung entry (2:23). Risk: Medium, same rationale. |
Chapter 18 — Corinth; Priscilla and Aquila; Gallio
No fundamentally new theological vocabulary; primarily narrative/biographical.
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| tentmaker | σκηνοποιός | skēnopoios | tent-maker | Paul’s trade, modeling bi-vocational ministry — background for Christ-Centered Ministry [TM doctrine reuse] | Zeltmacher (descriptive, borrowed). Risk: Low. |
Chapter 19 — Ephesus; Baptism in the Name of Jesus; the Riot
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| baptism of John vs. baptism into the name of the Lord Jesus | βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου / εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ | baptisma Iōannou / eis to onoma tou Kyriou Iēsou | — | Distinguishes John’s preparatory repentance-baptism from Christian baptism explicitly joined to the risen, exalted Lord Jesus and accompanied by Spirit-reception (19:1-6) | See Critical baptism entry at 2:38; Herr, Jesus [both TM-REUSE]. Risk: Critical, same rationale, with the added teaching point that this passage itself models the doctrinal distinction the baseline requires to be preserved. |
| magic arts / burned the books | περίεργα (πραξειν), βιβλία κατέκαιον | perierga, biblia katekaion | curious/magic practices; “were burning the books” | Public, costly renunciation of occult practice as visible fruit of repentance — reinforces Repentance and Baptism with a concrete cultural application | Zaubereikunst/Zauberbücher verbrennt (descriptive). Risk: Low-Medium, narrative, though worth noting any modern parallel application should be handled pastorally rather than lexically. |
Chapter 20 — Elders, Overseers, and the Flock at Miletus
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| elders | πρεσβύτεροι | presbyteroi | older ones, elders | Local congregational leadership office, used interchangeably with “overseers” in this very passage (20:17,28) — core to The Church as Community and Apostolic Authority | Älteste (descriptive, borrowed). Risk: High — the term “Priester” (priest) must never be used as a substitute. Bavarian Catholic tradition strongly collapses local congregational leadership into the sacerdotal, ordained priesthood (Pfarrer/Priester) — a distinct theological category (sacrificial/mediatorial priestly office) absent from the NT concept of “elder.” This forbidden substitution should be added to the Phase 2 instruction set explicitly. |
| overseers (bishops) | ἐπίσκοποι | episkopoi | overseers, watchers-over | Used here as a functional synonym for “elders,” denoting local pastoral oversight, NOT a distinct, higher, diocesan-monarchical office | Aufseher (descriptive, literal). Risk: Critical — the term “Bischof” (bishop) must never be used. Rendering ἐπίσκοπος as “Bischof” would import the entire modern Bavarian Catholic diocesan-episcopal structure (e.g., the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, with its single ordained bishop exercising authority over many congregations and priests) onto a term that in this very verse is presented as synonymous with a plural, local, congregational “elder” role. This is a forbidden substitution on the same order as the baseline’s “verdiante Gerechtigkeit” prohibition and requires explicit callout in the Phase 2 instruction set. Human theologian review mandatory at every occurrence (also 1 Tim/Titus, if cross-referenced in teaching). |
| shepherd / flock | ποιμήν / ποίμνιον | poimēn / poimnion | shepherd / little flock | Pastoral care metaphor for congregational leadership — genuinely resonant in rural Alpine Bavarian culture where literal shepherding remains a living occupation | Hirt / Herd (dialect: Hirt, Herd). Risk: Medium — the natural cultural resonance is a real asset, but must not be reduced to a merely occupational/managerial reading, losing the sacrificial, watchful-care theological freight (“shepherds” here are warned to guard against “wolves,” v.29). |
| the whole counsel of God | πᾶσα ἡ βουλὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ | pasa hē boulē tou Theou | — | Paul’s summary claim to have taught the entirety of God’s revealed purpose, holding him blameless of any hearer’s blood (20:26-27) | da ganze Ratschluss vo Gott [Ratschluss — see 2:23 Vorsehung-adjacent entry]. Risk: Medium. |
| purchased with his own blood | περιεποιήσατο διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ ἰδίου | periepoiēsato dia tou haimatos tou idiou | ”acquired through his own blood” | Atonement language describing the church’s origin — cross-references the baseline’s flagged atonement/propitiation escalation category (Romans 3:25) | erkauft duach sei eigns Bluat. Risk: Critical, per the baseline’s existing escalation rule requiring human theologian review for any atonement/propitiation-language segment. |
Chapter 21 — Prophecy of Agabus; the Nazirite Vow; the Riot
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| prophesy (Agabus) | προεφήτευσεν [TM-adjacent: Weissogung] | proephēteusen | see 2:16-21 | Continued NT prophetic gifting warning Paul of coming imprisonment | See Weissogung entry. Risk: Low-Medium, established pattern. |
| purification / vow | ἁγνίσθητι, εὐχή | hagnisthēti, euchē | ”purify yourself”; a vow | The Nazirite-style temporary vow (cf. Numbers 6) Paul supports James’s advice to demonstrate in the temple (21:23-26) | Reinigung/Gelübde (descriptive/borrowed). Risk: Medium — risk of conflation with the Bavarian Catholic tradition of Klostergelübde (monastic vows, permanent entry into religious life — Benedictine houses like Andechs, Ettal are culturally prominent) or with pilgrimage vows (Wallfahrtsgelübde); this OT-styled temporary ritual vow should be clarified as distinct from either. |
Chapter 22 — Paul’s Defense/Testimony Before the Crowd
No fundamentally new theological vocabulary; reuses “the Way,” repentance/baptism, conversion-of-Paul, and Roman-citizenship terms from chs. 9, 16, 21.
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| defense/testimony | ἀπολογία | apologia | a speech in defense | Formal legal/rhetorical self-defense speech, retelling the conversion narrative — a recurring genre through chs. 22-26, reinforcing Persecution and Bold Witness | Verteidigungsred/Zeugnis (borrowed). Risk: Low-Medium, same homonym caution as Zeugnis noted at 2:32. |
| wash away your sins, calling on his name | ἀπόλουσαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας… ἐπικαλεσάμενος τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ | apolousai tas hamartias… epikalesamenos to onoma autou | ”wash away your sins… calling on his name” | Ananias’s instruction to Saul (22:16), tightly joining baptism, forgiveness of sins, and calling on the name of the Lord — a direct structural echo of 2:38-39 | See Critical entries at 2:38-39. Risk: Critical, same rationale; must be rendered consistently with 2:38 per the Theological Consistency Rules. |
Chapter 23 — Sanhedrin Trial; Pharisees and Sadducees on the Resurrection
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| resurrection (denied by Sadducees) | ἀνάστασις [TM-REUSE] | anastasis | see 2:24 | The Sadducee-Pharisee doctrinal dispute over bodily resurrection, which Paul strategically invokes (23:6-8) | Aufersteh’ng [TM-REUSE]. Risk: Medium (per baseline). |
| conscience | συνείδησις | syneidēsis | ”knowing together [with oneself]“ | Paul’s appeal to a clear conscience before God (23:1; cf. 24:16) | Gwissn (dialect form of Gewissen). Risk: Low-Medium. |
Chapter 24 — Before Felix; “the Way” Called a Sect; Faith, Righteousness, Self-Control, Judgment
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| sect | αἵρεσις | hairesis | a choosing, a school of thought/party | Neutral-to-mildly-pejorative outsider label for the Christian movement (24:5,14; cf. 28:22) — the historical root of the English word “heresy,” though the sense here is closer to “faction/party” | Sekte (borrowed standard) — flagged rather than simply adopted. Risk: Medium-High — modern German/Bavarian “Sekte” carries a strongly pejorative “dangerous cult” connotation absent from the original neutral-to-descriptive “party/school” sense; a translator note is required so the term is not read with unintended anachronistic pejorative force when describing how outsiders labeled the early church. |
| faith in Christ / righteousness, self-control, judgment to come | πίστις εἰς Χριστόν; δικαιοσύνη [TM-REUSE], ἐγκράτεια, κρίμα | pistis eis Christon; dikaiosynē, enkrateia, krima | — | Paul’s gospel presentation to Felix (24:24-25), pairing justification-cluster vocabulary with practical ethics and eschatological accountability | Faith [TM-REUSE: Glaam]; Righteousness [TM-REUSE: Gerechtigkeit]; Self-control = Selbstbeherrschung (borrowed compound, new); Judgment to come = s’kemmede Gericht (descriptive). Risk: High overall (inherits Critical-adjacent righteousness caution plus judgment/eschatology weight); self-control itself is Low risk. |
Chapter 25 — Before Festus; Appeal to Caesar
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| I appeal to Caesar | Καίσαρα ἐπικαλοῦμαι | Kaisara epikaloumai | ”I call upon/appeal to Caesar” | Paul’s legal invocation of Roman citizenship rights, providentially routing him toward Rome — advances Great Commission Fulfilled | an’n Kaiser appellieren (borrowed legal term). Risk: Low, historical-legal, no doctrinal collision. |
Chapter 26 — Before Agrippa; Conversion Retold; Light from Heaven
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| open their eyes, turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God | ἀνοῖξαι ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν, ἐπιστρέψαι ἀπὸ τοῦ σκότους εἰς φῶς καὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν | anoixai ophthalmous, epistrepsai apo tou skotous eis phōs kai tēs exousias tou Satana epi ton Theon | — | Christ’s own commissioning charge to Paul (26:18), the fullest single-verse summary in Acts of conversion as a light/darkness, power-transfer event — the theological core of Conversion of Paul and a template for all conversion narratives in the book | d’Augn aufmachn, von da Finsternis ins Liacht kehrn, von da Gwalt vom Satan zu Gott (descriptive phrases; Satan = borrowed standard). Risk: High — the “power of Satan” (ἐξουσία τοῦ Σατανᾶ) language requires careful handling in a folk-Catholic culture with its own rich (and sometimes superstition-adjacent) devil/demon folklore (e.g., Perchten, Krampus-adjacent Alpine folk tradition around Christmas); the text’s theological point (bondage to a personal spiritual power, decisively broken by conversion) must not be assimilated into or trivialized by this folk-devil imagery. |
| inheritance among the sanctified | κλῆρος ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις | klēros en tois hēgiasmenois | ”a lot/portion among those sanctified” | Ties sanctification [TM-REUSE: Heiligung] to the inheritance/adoption cluster [TM-REUSE: Kindschaft] | See klēros entry (ch.1); Heiligung [TM-REUSE]. Risk: Medium. |
| heavenly vision, not disobedient | οὐράνιος ὀπτασία, οὐκ ἐγενόμην ἀπειθής | ouranios optasia, ouk egenomēn apeithēs | — | Paul’s testimony of faithful obedience to the call — ties to obedience_of_faith [TM-REUSE] | See Vision entry (ch.10); Gehorsam vom Glaam [TM-REUSE root]. Risk: High, inheriting baseline caution against reintroducing a merit-based works framework. |
Chapter 27 — Shipwreck; Providence at Sea
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| take heart / do not be afraid, an angel stood by me | εὐθυμεῖν / μὴ φοβοῦ, ἄγγελος… παρέστη | euthymein / mē phobou, angelos parestē | ”be of good cheer”; “do not fear, an angel stood by” | God’s providential preservation communicated through angelic reassurance mid-crisis — extends providence [TM-REUSE: Vorsehung] into a dramatic narrative test case | Muat fassn; Engel [see ch.10-adjacent entry, Medium risk noted there]. Risk: Medium, same providence-doctrine profile as 2:23. |
| broke bread and gave thanks | κλάσας ἄρτον… εὐχαρίστησεν | klasas arton… eucharistēsen | ”having broken bread… gave thanks” | An ordinary shared meal aboard ship described with the same “breaking bread” and “giving thanks” (εὐχαριστέω, cognate with TM thanksgiving/Dank) vocabulary used liturgically elsewhere — illustrates the term’s flexible range between ordinary meal and sacred fellowship-meal senses | s’Brot brochn und Dank gsogt [Dank TM-REUSE]. Risk: Medium, same Eucharistic-resonance caution noted at 2:42, though attenuated here by the clearly non-liturgical shipboard-survival context; still worth a translator note distinguishing the two occurrences. |
Chapter 28 — Malta; Arrival in Rome; Unhindered Proclamation
Largely reuses established vocabulary (kingdom of God, boldness, signs/healing); the closing verses supply one new compound worth flagging.
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Literal | Theological meaning | Bavarian rendering / Risk |
|---|
| proclaiming the kingdom of God… with all boldness, unhindered | κηρύσσων τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ [TM-REUSE]… μετὰ πάσης παρρησίας ἀκωλύτως | kēryssōn tēn basileian tou Theou… meta pasēs parrēsias akōlytōs | — | The book’s deliberately open-ended closing image: the gospel reaching the imperial capital and continuing unhindered — the climactic fulfillment statement of The Great Commission Fulfilled and Persecution and Bold Witness together | s’Reich vo Gott [TM-REUSE]; Freimüatigkeit [see ch.4 entry]; unhindered = ohne Hindernis/frei. Risk: Medium, combining two already-flagged terms; no new collision, but significant as the book’s programmatic closing statement and should be rendered consistently with its earlier occurrences per the Theological Consistency Rules. |
Summary Note on Full-Book Coverage
Every chapter of Acts (1-28) has been reviewed above. Chapters 14, 18, and 22 introduce no doctrinally load-bearing vocabulary beyond terms already established earlier in the book or in the Romans baseline, and are noted explicitly as reviewed rather than silently omitted. All other chapters contribute at least one new term requiring glossary entry, most concentrated in the core passage (Acts 2) and the doctrinally dense chapters 8-10, 13, 15, 20, and 26.