Semantic Analysis

Semantic Analysis — Book of John

Original Koine Greek → Bavarian (Boarisch) | Full-Book Coverage

Methodology Note

This analysis follows the PRD Phase 1 Step 1 mandate: full-book coverage of every chapter of John, first to last, with the core passage (John 3:1–21) receiving verse-by-verse treatment. Every load-bearing theological term is documented with: original Greek word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English translation variants, contextual theological meaning in John, and destination-language (Bavarian) rendering risk.

Baseline reuse rule enforced throughout: any term already recorded in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json is reused with its EXACT recorded Bavarian rendering (e.g. Gott, Jesus, Heiliger Geist, Glaam, Gnad, Erlösung, Sohn vo Gott, Aufersteh'ng, Menschwerdung, Sünd, Herrlichkeit, Friad, Kirch, Messias, Israel, David, Herr, heilig, Heiling, Heiligung, Kindschaft, s'Reich vo Gott, Gsetz, Heiden, Weissogung, Prophet, Bund, Erwählung, Fürbitt, Vorsehung, Mission, beruafa/Beruafung, Gehorsam vom Glaam, Kraft vo Gott, ermahna, Nachkomme vom David, zuagrechnete Gerechtigkeit, Gerechtigkeit, Rechtfertigung, Dank, Gmoaschaft, Gnodngob'n, Abba, Voda, Apostl). New terms unique to John follow the same orthographic conventions established in the baseline package (regular apocope, intervocalic lenition, -en > -a infinitives, borrowed-standard-German-with-dialect-pronunciation for register-gap abstractions).

John’s Gospel has a markedly different theological center of gravity from Romans: it is Christological and pneumatological rather than forensic-soteriological. Its besetting Bavarian-specific risk is therefore different too — less about the Reformation-controversy register gap (justification, imputed righteousness) and more about (a) John’s dense network of “I AM” self-identifications colliding with ordinary Bavarian copula speech, (b) the Greek pneuma wind/Spirit wordplay, (c) John’s frequent, sometimes adversarial use of “the Jews” requiring the same post-Holocaust historical care already flagged for Romans 9–11 in Bavaria specifically, and (d) the Counselor/Paraclete term’s collision risk with the same Marian/saints intercessory piety (Altötting) already flagged for “Fürbitt” in the baseline.

PART 1 — Core Passage: John 3:1–21 (Verse-by-Verse)

John 3:1

Text sense: “Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.”

Pharisees — Pharisaios (Φαρισαῖος) — lit. “separated one” — a Jewish religious-legal party emphasizing Torah observance and oral tradition. English variants: Pharisee(s). Contextual meaning: Nicodemus’s social/religious credentials frame his coming to Jesus as significant — a respected teacher seeking out Jesus privately. Bavarian: Pharisäer (borrowed, stable) — Risk: Low.
ruler / Jews — archōn (ἄρχων, “ruler/leader”) + Ioudaios (Ἰουδαῖος) — see extended treatment under Ch. 1 and Ch. 5–11 below; here denotes Nicodemus’s membership in the Sanhedrin. Bavarian: Obaster vo de Juden / a Ratsherr vo de Juden — Risk: High (John’s frequent use of “the Jews” as a bloc requires the same post-Holocaust historical sensitivity already flagged in the baseline for “Israel”; sharper here because John sometimes uses the term for Jesus’s specific opponents. See Ch.1 note below).

John 3:2

Text sense: “This man came to Jesus by night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs you do unless God is with him.’”

Rabbi — Rabbi (Ῥαββί) — transliterated Hebrew/Aramaic honorific, “my great one/my teacher.” English variants: Rabbi, Teacher, Master. Bavarian: Rabbi (transliterated, unchanged) — Risk: Low.
teacher — didaskalos (διδάσκαλος) — one who instructs authoritatively. Bavarian: Lehrer — Risk: Low.
signs — sēmeion (σημεῖον) — lit. “sign, mark, token” — semantic range spans miracle, proof, and symbolic pointer. English variants: sign(s), miracle(s), wonder(s). Contextual meaning: in John, sēmeia are never mere spectacle but revelatory acts pointing to Jesus’s identity (cf. John 20:30-31). Bavarian: Zeicha (Zeichen, final -en > -a per established pattern) — Risk: Medium — must not collapse into folk-magic “Wunder” (mere wonder-working) divorced from revelatory, faith-eliciting purpose.

John 3:3

Text sense: “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.’”

Truly, truly (Amen, Amen) — amēn amēn legō soi (ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι) — a doubled solemn oath-formula unique to John’s Gospel (occurs 25×), lit. “it is firm/true.” English variants: “Truly, truly,” “Verily, verily,” “I tell you the truth.” Contextual meaning: marks an authoritative, non-negotiable divine pronouncement. Bavarian: Woarhaft, woarhaft, i sag dir's (or borrowed Amen, Amen, i sag dir's) — Risk: Medium — must retain full solemn doubling; must not be flattened into a casual dialect intensifier (“wirklich wirklich”).
born again / born from above — gennēthē anōthen (γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν) — gennaō = “to beget, bring forth, be born”; anōthen = “from above” OR “again, anew” (the Greek word carries both meanings simultaneously — the pivot of the whole passage). English variants: “born again,” “born anew,” “born from above.” Contextual meaning: this is the doctrinal core of The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit — a Spirit-wrought re-creation of the person, not moral self-improvement or a second physical birth (which is precisely how Nicodemus misunderstands it in v.4). Bavarian: vo obn gebor'n (born from above) as primary rendering with obligatory translator note preserving the “again” ambiguity — Risk: Critical — the double meaning is the entire literary hinge of vv.3-8; a Bavarian rendering that resolves the ambiguity in only one direction (as most target-language renderings must, since Bavarian, like English, lacks a single word carrying both senses) will inevitably flatten Nicodemus’s confusion in v.4 unless the surrounding narrative explicitly carries the wordplay forward.
kingdom of God — basileia tou theou (βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ) — baseline term. Bavarian: s'Reich vo Gott (reused exactly) — Risk: Medium (per baseline).

John 3:4

Text sense: “Nicodemus said, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’”

womb — koilia (κοιλία) — lit. “belly, cavity,” idiomatically “womb.” Bavarian: Muadaleib (Mutterleib, dialect vowel shift) — Risk: Low. This verse introduces no new doctrinal term but is essential for showing Nicodemus’s literalistic (mis)understanding, which the translation must preserve as a genuine misunderstanding, not a rhetorical question already answered.

John 3:5

Text sense: “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’”

water — hydōr (ὕδωρ) — lit. “water.” Semantic range in John spans literal water, baptismal water, and symbolic cleansing/life-giving water (cf. John 4:10-14, 7:38). Contextual meaning here debated among interpreters (physical birth vs. baptism vs. symbol of the Spirit’s cleansing) but functionally paired with Spirit as the means of the new birth. Bavarian: Wasser — Risk: Medium — flag for native-speaker/theologian review because a Bavarian Catholic audience will very readily read “water” sacramentally (infant baptism is near-universal in this culture), which is not wrong but must not be allowed to reduce regeneration to the sacramental rite alone, apart from the Spirit’s active work.
Spirit — pneuma (πνεῦμα) — see extended treatment at v.6 and v.8 below. Bavarian: Geist (as part of Heiliger Geist, reused) — Risk: Critical.

John 3:6

Text sense: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”

flesh — sarx (σάρξ) — lit. “flesh, meat, body-tissue.” Semantic range spans (1) physical human nature (neutral, as in Menschwerdung/John 1:14), (2) fallen, self-oriented human nature opposed to the Spirit (as here and throughout John 6, 8). English variants: flesh, human nature, sinful nature (some paraphrases). Contextual meaning: here sarx denotes merely natural human generation, incapable by itself of producing spiritual life — a categorical contrast, not a moral condemnation of the body itself. Bavarian: Fleisch (borrowed, stable; same lexical item already used for the positive incarnational sense in Menschwerdung) — Risk: High — the SAME Bavarian word must carry two theologically distinct senses (neutral human nature in the Incarnation vs. spiritually inert natural generation here); reviewers must confirm context disambiguates in each occurrence, since collapsing them risks either a docetic reading of the Incarnation or an overly negative reading of embodied human life generally (the latter risk is heightened by any residual body-denying ascetic strand in folk piety).
spirit — pneuma (πνεῦμα) — here contrasted with sarx; denotes the category of life originating from and belonging to God’s Spirit. Bavarian: Geist — Risk: Critical.

John 3:7

Text sense: “Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

marvel — thaumazō (θαυμάζω) — “to wonder, be astonished.” Bavarian: di wundern — Risk: Low. No new doctrinal term; repeats v.3’s “born again/from above.”

John 3:8

Text sense: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

wind / Spirit — pneuma (πνεῦμα) — the single Greek word pneuma is used for BOTH “wind” and “Spirit” within this one verse, an untranslatable pun exploited deliberately by the text (cf. Hebrew ruach behind it). English variants: most translations render the first occurrence “wind” and later occurrences “Spirit,” necessarily losing the pun. Contextual meaning: the Spirit’s regenerating work is sovereign, perceptible in its effects but not in its origin or mechanism — mirroring the uncontrollable, untraceable movement of wind. Bavarian: first occurrence da Wind, later da Geist — Risk: Critical — MUST carry a [TRANSLATOR NOTE] flagging that Bavarian, like English and standard German, cannot preserve the single-word wordplay; reviewers should consider a footnote in the teaching material (not the running text) explaining that Greek pneuma = both “wind” and “Spirit,” since this wordplay is a documented feature of the passage’s argument, not an accident of translation.

John 3:9–10

Text sense: “Nicodemus said, ‘How can these things be?’ Jesus answered, ‘Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?’”

Israel — baseline term. Bavarian: Israel (reused exactly) — Risk: Medium (per baseline). No new terms otherwise; underscores Nicodemus’s credentialed-but-unregenerate status.

John 3:11

Text sense: “Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.”

bear witness / testimony — martyreō (μαρτυρέω, verb) / martyria (μαρτυρία, noun) — lit. “to testify as a witness” (juridical root, cf. English “martyr”). Semantic range: legal courtroom testimony, eyewitness report, and (in John specifically) a structuring motif — John’s Gospel is deliberately organized as a trial in which witnesses testify to Jesus’s identity (John the Baptist, the Scriptures, the Father, Jesus’s works, the Spirit — cf. ch.5, 8, 15). English variants: witness, testify, testimony, bear witness. Bavarian: Zeugnis geb'n (verb) / s'Zeugnis (noun) — Risk: Medium-High — this is a load-bearing structural term across the whole book (see Ch.1, 5, 8, 15, 21 below) and must render consistently throughout to preserve the trial-motif for the reader.
receive — lambanō (λαμβάνω) — “to take, receive, accept.” Bavarian: annehma — Risk: Low.

John 3:12

Text sense: “If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”

believe — pisteuō (πιστεύω, verb form of pistis, “faith,” already Glaam in the baseline) — lit. “to trust, put faith in, be persuaded of.” English variants: believe, trust, have faith. Contextual meaning: John’s Gospel uses this verb roughly 98 times — more than any other NT book — almost always with a personal object (“believe in him/me”), never mere intellectual assent to a proposition. Bavarian: glaam (verb, following the same intervocalic b-lenition pattern already established for the noun Glaam) — Risk: High — must always retain or imply a personal object (trust IN Christ); a bare intransitive “glaam” (as in “just believe, generally”) risks reading as vague religiosity rather than John’s insistently personal, Christ-directed trust.

John 3:13

Text sense: “No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.”

Son of Man — ho huios tou anthrōpou (ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου) — lit. “the son of the man/of humanity” — a self-designation Jesus uses of himself uniquely (never used by others of him in the Gospels), drawing on the heavenly, authority-bearing figure of Daniel 7:13-14 while simultaneously affirming genuine humanity. English variants: Son of Man (universally retained, never paraphrased). Contextual meaning: distinct from Sohn vo Gott (Son of God) — this title holds together BOTH Christ’s true humanity AND his heavenly, pre-existent, authoritative origin (“descended… ascended”) in a single phrase, directly serving The Deity and Pre-existence of Christ. Bavarian: Menschasohn (Menschensohn, borrowed compound with dialect vowel reduction) — Risk: Critical — must not be rendered merely as “a human being” (which would erase the pre-existence/descent claim) nor collapsed into Sohn vo Gott (which would erase the distinct emphasis on incarnate humanity); the two titles must remain visibly distinct terms throughout the book.

John 3:14

Text sense: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”

lifted up — hypsōthēnai (ὑψωθῆναι, from hypsoō, “to lift high, exalt”) — deliberate double meaning throughout John (3:14, 8:28, 12:32-34): the SAME verb denotes both the physical elevation of crucifixion and the theological exaltation/glorification of Christ. English variants: “lifted up,” “exalted,” “raised up.” Contextual meaning: John presents the cross itself as the moment of glory, not merely its prelude — directly relevant to Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection. Bavarian: aufghengt wern (be hung up, crucifixion sense) / erhöht wern (be exalted, glorification sense) — Risk: High — same wordplay problem as pneuma above; a single consistent Bavarian rendering that can carry both senses is preferred (erhöht wern is recommended as the primary gloss across all three occurrences, since it can bridge both the physical “raised up on a pole/cross” and the exaltation sense, whereas aufghengt reads only as execution) — flag for theologian review at each of the three occurrences (3:14, 8:28, 12:32-34) to confirm consistency.
serpent — ophis (ὄφις) — OT allusion to Numbers 21:8-9. Bavarian: d'Schlanga — Risk: Low (requires OT background note, not translation risk per se).

John 3:15

Text sense: “…that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”

eternal life — zōē aiōnios (ζωὴ αἰώνιος) — zōē = “life” (the God-quality, divine-origin life John distinguishes from mere biological existence, bios); aiōnios = “eternal, age-lasting, belonging to the age to come.” English variants: eternal life, everlasting life, life of the age to come. Contextual meaning: the central soteriological category of John’s Gospel (used 17× as a phrase), the doctrinal anchor of Eternal Life through Faith in Christ — a present possession received by faith now (John 5:24), not only a future reward. Bavarian: s'ewige Lebn — Risk: Critical — must not be rendered as mere “long life,” “afterlife” in a vague sense, or (given syncretistic risk in any culture) a reincarnation-adjacent cycle; must convey a QUALITY of life (participation in God’s own life) received now through faith, continuing forever.

John 3:16

Text sense: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

loved — ēgapēsen (ἠγάπησεν, aorist of agapaō) — self-giving, deliberate, sacrificial love, distinct from erōs (romantic desire) and philia (affectionate friendship, though John does not always keep these hermetically separate — see 21:15-17 below). English variants: loved. Contextual meaning: the doctrinal center of God’s Love for the World — God’s initiating, costly love demonstrated concretely in giving the Son. Bavarian: hat ... liab ghabt (idiomatic Bavarian “to have dear,” an attested affection-construction, here intensified by so: Gott hat d'Welt so liab ghabt) — Risk: High — must retain the sacrificial, giving quality (“gave his only Son”) alongside the emotional warmth of the idiom, so it does not collapse into sentimental fondness alone.
world — kosmos (κόσμος) — lit. “ordered system, world” (root of English “cosmos” via “cosmetic,” orderliness). Semantic range in John spans: (1) the physical created order (rarely), (2) humanity in general, (3) — most frequently and most theologically loaded — humanity in organized rebellion against God, the object of both God’s love (3:16) and God’s coming judgment (3:19, 12:31, 16:33). English variants: world, the world, humankind. Bavarian: d'Welt — Risk: High — must not be narrowed to “the natural/created world” (nature) nor softened into “nice people out there”; John’s kosmos is a morally loaded, humanity-wide category that is simultaneously loved by God and in rebellion against him — both truths must remain visible.
only Son / one and only — monogenēs (μονογενής) — lit. “one of a kind, only one of its kind, unique” (NOT etymologically “only-begotten” in a biological-procreation sense, though that is the traditional rendering following Latin unigenitus; the root is monos “only” + genos “kind/class,” i.e. “unique, one-of-a-kind”). English variants: only begotten Son (KJV/traditional), one and only Son (NIV), only Son (ESV). Contextual meaning: asserts Christ’s utterly unique Sonship — not one son among many (as in Kindschaft/adoption, which the baseline correctly notes is a distinct, derivative status), not a metaphorical or honorary title. Bavarian: sein oanziga Sohn (his one-and-only Son), used to modify the baseline term Sohn vo Gott — Risk: Critical — must never be rendered in a way that could parallel the believer’s own adoptive Kindschaft; Christ’s Sonship is unique and underived, the believer’s is derivative and granted. This is THE central term of The Deity and Pre-existence of Christ at its most concentrated.
perish — apollymi (ἀπόλλυμι) — “to destroy, be lost, perish utterly.” Bavarian: verlorn gehn — Risk: Medium — must convey genuine, final loss/destruction, not a soft “fade away.”

John 3:17

Text sense: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

condemn — krinō (κρίνω) — root sense “to judge, separate, decide”; in context with negative force, “to condemn.” Bavarian: vaurteiln (verurteilen, ver- > va- lenition) — Risk: High — see extended treatment at v.18-19.
saved — sōzō (σώζω, verbal form of sōtēria, already Erlösung in the baseline as a noun) — “to rescue, deliver, save.” Bavarian: erlösn (verb form of baseline noun Erlösung) — Risk: High (per baseline salvation entry; avoid any resonance with Heil).

John 3:18

Text sense: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

condemned already — krinō (perfect tense, κέκριται) — emphasizes a present, already-settled state, not merely a future verdict. Bavarian: is scho vaurteilt — Risk: High — the doctrine of Judgment and Belief/Unbelief turns on this present-tense force: unbelief is not merely risking future condemnation but already stands condemned now; a future-only rendering would weaken the passage’s urgency.
name — onoma (ὄνομα) — “name,” idiomatically standing for the whole person, identity, authority, and character of the one named. English variants: name. Contextual meaning: “believing in the name” = trusting the person and authority of Christ, not a magical formula. Bavarian: Nam (Name, apocope) — Risk: Medium — flag to ensure “in the name of” is not read as an invocational formula (as in some folk-devotional practice of naming saints for protection) but as trust in the person himself.

John 3:19

Text sense: “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

judgment — krisis (κρίσις, noun form of krinō) — “a judging, a decision, a crisis-point of decision.” Bavarian: s'Gricht (Gericht, Ge- > G- per established pattern) — Risk: High — John’s distinctive twist: judgment is not only a future event but a present self-verdict rendered by one’s response (love or hatred) to the light now.
light — phōs (φῶς) — lit. “light.” Semantic range: physical light, moral/spiritual illumination, revelation. Contextual meaning: Christ himself as the light that both reveals truth and exposes/confronts sin (cf. John 1:4-9, 8:12, 9:5, 12:35-36). English variants: light. Bavarian: s'Liacht (Licht, regular ich > iach diphthongization) — Risk: High — must retain the CONFRONTATIONAL, morally exposing edge of the metaphor (people “loved darkness” specifically to avoid exposure), not soften into generic “enlightenment” or wisdom-teaching imagery detached from moral crisis.
darkness — skotia (σκοτία) — “darkness,” moral/spiritual as well as physical. Bavarian: d'Finsternis — Risk: Medium.
works — erga (ἔργα) — “deeds, works, actions.” Bavarian: Werk / Doa'ng — Risk: Low.
evil — ponēros (πονηρός) — “evil, wicked, morally corrupt.” Bavarian: bös / schlecht — Risk: Low.

John 3:20–21

Text sense: “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God’s sight.”

hate — miseō (μισέω) — Bavarian: hass'n — Risk: Low.
exposed — elenchō (ἐλέγχω) — “to expose, convict, bring to light, reprove.” Bavarian: aufdeckt wern — Risk: Low-Medium.
does what is true — ho poiōn tēn alētheian (ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν) — lit. “the one doing the truth,” a Hebraic idiom meaning to live/act in accordance with reality/God’s revealed truth, not merely to speak accurate statements. Bavarian: wer nach da Wahrheit lebt — Risk: Medium.
truth — alētheia (ἀλήθεια) — lit. “truth, reality, that which is not hidden” (etymologically “un-concealedness”). Semantic range in John: factual accuracy, but far more centrally, God’s own reality revealed in Christ, moral/relational integrity, and (John 14:6) Christ’s own identity (“I am… the truth”). English variants: truth. Contextual meaning: one of John’s most theologically dense recurring terms (appears 25× as a noun, plus the adjective alēthinos “true/genuine” a further 9×) — see extended treatment in Ch. 1, 4, 8, 14, 16, 17, 18 below. Bavarian: d'Wahrheit — Risk: High — must retain its full weight as revealed divine reality and moral/relational integrity, not narrow to mere factual correctness; this term recurs as a structural pillar across the whole Gospel and must render identically throughout.

PART 2 — Whole-Book Chapter-by-Chapter Study (John 1–21)

Chapter 1 — Prologue, John the Baptist’s Witness, First Disciples

New load-bearing terms (beyond core passage):

Word — Logos (λόγος) — lit. “word, speech, reason, account, the rational principle giving order to a thing.” English variants: Word, the Word. Contextual meaning: John’s title for the eternal, pre-existent, divine Son (“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” — 1:1). This is the direct textual anchor for The Deity and Pre-existence of Christ. Bavarian: s'Wort — Risk: Critical — must retain BOTH distinction from God the Father (“was WITH God”) AND full identity as God (“was God”) without collapsing into modalism (Word = merely another name for the Father) or subordinationism (Word = a created, lesser divine being); this is arguably the single highest-stakes term in the entire book.
life — zōē (ζωή) — see extended treatment at 3:15-16 above; here (1:4) introduced as an attribute inherent IN the Word (“in him was life”) prior to any mention of believers receiving it. Bavarian: s'Lebn — Risk: Critical.
light — phōs (φῶς) — see 3:19 above; introduced here (1:4-9) as the Word’s own nature (“the light of men,” “the true light”), opposed by but never overcome by darkness. Bavarian: s'Liacht — Risk: High.
darkness — skotia (σκοτία) — “the darkness has not overcome it” (1:5) — introduces the cosmic-conflict motif continued through 3:19 and 12:35-46. Bavarian: d'Finsternis — Risk: Medium.
witness/testify — martyreō/martyria — John the Baptist’s entire role (1:7-8, 15, 19-34) is defined by this term; establishes the trial-witness structural motif of the whole book (see 3:11 above). Bavarian: Zeugnis geb'n / s'Zeugnis — Risk: Medium-High.
flesh (Incarnation) — sarx (σάρξ) — “the Word became flesh” (1:14) — the direct textual basis for the theological category Menschwerdung already in the baseline. Bavarian: Fleisch worn (with Menschwerdung as the doctrinal category label, reused exactly from baseline) — Risk: Critical — see the disambiguation note at 3:6 above: this is the POSITIVE sense of sarx and must be kept visibly distinct in the reader’s mind from the same word’s negative sense at 3:6, 6:63, 8:15.
grace and truth — charis kai alētheia (χάρις καὶ ἀλήθεια, 1:14, 17) — combines baseline term Gnad with new term Wahrheit; echoes OT covenant-language (Exodus 34:6, “steadfast love and faithfulness”). Bavarian: Gnad und Wahrheit — Risk: High — reuse Gnad exactly per baseline (with its documented Bavarian Catholic devotional-transaction risk) alongside Wahrheit.
only Son (seen God) — monogenēs theos / ho monogenēs (μονογενὴς θεός, 1:18, textually variant but “the only God” or “the only Son” in different MSS) — “No one has ever seen God; the only Son… has made him known.” Bavarian: da oanziga Sohn — Risk: Critical — same term as 3:16; ties revelation of the unseen Father directly to the unique Son, feeding Unity of the Father and the Son.
Lamb of God — ho amnos tou theou (ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, 1:29, 1:36) — lit. “the lamb of God” — John the Baptist’s declaration, drawing on Passover lamb and Isaiah 53 sacrificial imagery. Bavarian: s'Lamm vo Gott (parallel construction to baseline Sohn vo Gott) — Risk: Critical — directly serves Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection; must retain the substitutionary, sin-bearing, sacrificial sense (“who takes away the sin of the world”), not soften into a generic gentleness/innocence metaphor.
baptize with the Holy Spirit — baptizō en pneumati hagiō (1:33) — Bavarian: mit'n Heiligen Geist taufa (taufa = taufen, -en > -a) — Risk: Medium.
disciple — mathētēs (μαθητής) — “learner, follower, apprentice.” Used throughout the whole book from 1:35 onward. Bavarian: Jünga (Jünger, -er > -a per established Vater>Voda pattern) — Risk: Low.
Messiah/Christ, Son of God, King of Israel (1:41, 1:49) — all reuse baseline terms Messias and Sohn vo Gott; King of Israel = Kini vo Israel (König > Kini, common Bavarian form) — Risk: Medium (per baseline Messiah/Sonship entries).
Son of Man (1:51) — first occurrence of this title; see full treatment at 3:13 above. Bavarian: Menschasohn — Risk: Critical.

Chapter 2 — Cana, Temple Cleansing

sign — sēmeion — “the first of his signs” (2:11) establishes the sign-motif structuring the whole book (see 3:2 above; recurs at every major miracle through ch. 11, and is explicitly named as the book’s purpose at 20:30-31). Bavarian: Zeicha — Risk: Medium.
glory (manifested) — doxa (δόξα, baseline term Herrlichkeit) — “manifested his glory” (2:11) — reused exactly from baseline; note that in John, glory is manifested precisely THROUGH signs and, climactically, through the cross (contrast typical glory-as-triumph expectations). Bavarian: Herrlichkeit (reused) — Risk: Medium (per baseline).
No further new load-bearing terms beyond Tempel (temple, borrowed, Low risk) and Hoazeit (Hochzeit/wedding, dialect vowel-shift, Low risk, narrative color only).

Chapter 3 — Core Passage (vv.1-21, see Part 1) plus vv.22-36

Verses 22-36 (John the Baptist’s final testimony) introduce:

bridegroom / friend of the bridegroom — nymphios / philos tou nymphiou (3:29) — philos here = “friend,” a different Greek root from agapē, denoting affectionate/loyal friendship rather than self-giving love; see the philos/agapaō distinction returning at 21:15-17. Bavarian: Bräutigam / Freind vom Bräutigam — Risk: Low — narrative self-effacement imagery (John’s joy at Christ’s rise, not rivalry).
wrath of God — orgē tou theou (ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ, 3:36) — lit. “settled, judicial anger,” not impulsive rage. Bavarian: da Zorn vo Gott — Risk: High — must not be softened into mere disappointment nor caricatured as capricious divine temper; this is the direct negative counterpart to s'ewige Lebn in the very same verse (“whoever believes has eternal life; whoever does not obey… the wrath of God remains on him”), so both terms must be handled with matching theological weight.

Chapter 4 — Samaritan Woman, Nobleman’s Son

living water — hydōr zōn (ὕδωρ ζῶν, 4:10-14) — combines new term Wasser (see 3:5) with zōē/life-root; symbolic of the Spirit’s life-giving, thirst-satisfying gift. Bavarian: lebendigs Wasser — Risk: Medium.
worship in spirit and truth — proskyneō en pneumati kai alētheia (4:23-24) — proskyneō lit. “to bow down, do homage.” Contextual meaning: worship centered on genuine Spirit-given relationship and truth-revelation rather than location (Jerusalem vs. Samaria) or ritual form. Bavarian: in Geist und Wahrheit anbet'n — Risk: Medium-High — flag for native-speaker review: in a Mass-centered, liturgically-formal Catholic devotional culture, this verse’s contrast with mere “place/ritual” worship requires careful framing so as not to be heard as devaluing liturgical worship altogether, when the text’s actual target is worship divorced from Spirit and truth, in any form.
Savior of the world — sōtēr tou kosmou (4:42) — combines new term Welt with the person-title Heiland, the traditional warm Bavarian/Catholic folk term for “Savior” (attested in Bavarian Christmas devotional tradition — “der Heiland ist geboren” — and etymologically and culturally UNRELATED to the Nazi-contaminated Heil already flagged in the baseline salvation entry). Bavarian: da Heiland vo da Welt — Risk: Medium — genuinely warm register opportunity, but flag for consistency check against baseline Erlösung (abstract salvation) so that Heiland (person) and Erlösung (abstract event/state) are not confused as competing renderings of the same concept.
“I am he” (egō eimi, relative) — (4:26, Jesus to the Samaritan woman) — introduces the egō eimi self-identification pattern (see Ch.6, 8 below for the full doctrinal treatment of the seven absolute “I AM” statements). Bavarian: I bin's — Risk: High (flagged fully at Ch.6/8).

Chapter 5 — Healing at the Pool, Son’s Equality with the Father

Sabbath — sabbaton (σάββατον) — borrowed. Bavarian: Sabbat — Risk: Low.
equality of Son with Father / Son does what Father does (5:17-23) — not a single lexical term but a load-bearing doctrinal claim (“the Son does likewise… that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father”) directly serving Unity of the Father and the Son. Bavarian: rendered through careful syntax rather than a single glossary term — Risk: Critical — flag every occurrence for theologian review; any rendering that subordinates the Son’s honor below the Father’s undermines the passage’s explicit claim of equal honor.
resurrection of life / resurrection of judgment (5:28-29) — combines baseline Aufersteh'ng with new term Gricht (judgment, see 3:19). Bavarian: d'Aufersteh'ng zum Lebn / d'Aufersteh'ng zum Gricht — Risk: High.
honor — timē (τιμή) — Bavarian: Ehr — Risk: Low.

Chapter 6 — Bread of Life, Feeding of the 5,000

“I am the bread of life” — egō eimi ho artos tēs zōēs (ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς, 6:35, 6:48) — the SECOND of the seven absolute “I AM” statements structuring John’s Christology. Egō eimi lit. “I am,” deliberately echoing God’s self-revelation to Moses at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14, LXX egō eimi ho ōn, “I am the one who is”). English variants: “I am the bread of life.” Contextual meaning: directly serves The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements doctrine — each of the seven statements is BOTH a self-predication (Jesus supplies X) AND, by the bare formula egō eimi, an implicit divine self-identification. Bavarian: I bin s'Brot vom Lebn — Risk: Critical — the formula I bin... must be used consistently for ALL seven I-AM statements across the book (see full list below) so a Bavarian reader can recognize the recurring pattern; translators must resist varying the construction (“I am” vs. “I’m the one who…”) for stylistic variety, since the repetition itself is theologically significant.
manna / true bread from heaven — manna (transliterated Hebrew) / artos ek tou ouranou — OT background (Exodus 16). Bavarian: Manna / wahres Brot vom Himmel — Risk: Low (background note required, not translation risk).
eat my flesh, drink my blood — sarx + haima (αἷμα, “blood”) (6:53-56) — startling, deliberately provocative sacramental-sounding language anticipating the Last Supper and pointing to genuine participatory union with Christ through his atoning death. Bavarian: mei Fleisch essn, mei Bluat trinka (Bluat, Blut with regular Bavarian diphthongization) — Risk: High — flag for theologian review: in a strongly Eucharist-centered Catholic devotional culture this language will (rightly, in John’s own intent) evoke sacramental resonance, but reviewers must ensure the passage is not FLATTENED into a bare ritual-participation claim divorced from the personal faith-union John is describing (cf. 6:35, 6:47 “whoever believes”).
draws — helkō (ἕλκω, 6:44) — “to draw, drag, pull” — “no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” Bavarian: ziang (dialectal for ziehen) — Risk: Medium — parallel to the baseline’s “Effectual Calling” doctrine (beruafa/Beruafung), a sovereign, prior divine initiative in salvation; the same baseline register-gap risk noted for Erwählung applies (no lived Bavarian Catholic confessional battleground over this, so risk is content-supplying, not competing-doctrine).
“Holy One of God” — ho hagios tou theou (ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ, 6:69, Peter’s confession) — combines baseline heilig with Gott. Bavarian: der Heilige vo Gott — Risk: High.
murmuring/grumbling — gongyzō (γογγύζω, 6:41, 61) — echoes Israel’s wilderness grumbling (Exodus/Numbers). Bavarian: murrn — Risk: Low.

Chapter 7 — Feast of Tabernacles

rivers of living water (Spirit) — combines the living-water term (ch. 4) explicitly with the Holy Spirit (7:37-39, “this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive”). Bavarian: Ström vo lebendigem Wasser — Risk: Medium.
my time/hour has not yet come — hē hōra / ho kairos (ἡ ὥρα / ὁ καιρός, 7:6, 7:30) — introduces John’s recurring theological “hour” motif (see ch. 12, 13, 17 below) denoting the divinely appointed, unhurried timing of Christ’s passion and glorification. Bavarian: mei Stund is noch nit kemma — Risk: Medium — must not be read as ordinary clock-time; “hour” is a theological marker for the appointed moment of the cross/glorification throughout John.

Chapter 8 — Light of the World, Woman Caught in Adultery, “Before Abraham Was, I AM”

“I am the light of the world” — egō eimi to phōs tou kosmou (ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου, 8:12) — THIRD of the seven “I AM” statements, combining phōs (light, see 3:19) with the formula established at 6:35. Bavarian: I bin s'Liacht vo da Welt — Risk: Critical (see 6:35 note on formula consistency).
truth sets you free — hē alētheia eleutherōsei hymas (ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς, 8:32) — combines alētheia (truth) with eleutheroō (“to set free”). Bavarian: d'Wahrheit macht enk frei — Risk: Medium.
“before Abraham was, I AM” — prin Abraam genesthai egō eimi (πρὶν Ἀβραὰμ γενέσθαι ἐγὼ εἰμί, 8:58) — the ABSOLUTE, unmodified use of the “I AM” formula (no predicate at all, unlike the seven “I am X” statements), the clearest single claim to pre-existent deity in the Gospel, directly echoing Exodus 3:14 and provoking the crowd’s charge of blasphemy (8:59, they pick up stones). Bavarian: Bevor da Abraham gwen is, bin I — Risk: Critical — this is arguably the single most doctrinally loaded and most easily softened verse in the entire book; the AI/translator must NEVER render this as a simple past-tense comparison (“I existed before Abraham”) that loses the deliberate grammatical shock of a PRESENT-tense “I am” applied to a claim about the remote past — the shock IS the point, and reviewers should treat this verse identically to the Thomas confession (20:28) for escalation purposes.
father of lies / the devil — ho patēr autou [tou psychous] / diabolos (8:44) — Bavarian: da Deifi (folk-register, narrative contexts) / da Teufel (formal register) — Risk: Low-Medium — register choice flag only, no doctrinal risk.
sons of Abraham / children of God vs. children of the devil (8:31-47) — narrative-theological contrast; reuses Abraham (proper name, standard) and Sünd (baseline, “everyone who sins is a slave to sin,” 8:34). Bavarian: reuse Sünd exactly — Risk: High (per baseline sin entry — flag colloquial trivialization risk).

“I am the light of the world” (9:5) — repeats ch. 8 term; reinforced narratively through the healing of physical blindness as a sign of spiritual sight. No new lexical term, but flag the sign’s theological function: physical healing as enacted metaphor for Judgment and Belief/Unbelief (9:39-41, “so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind”). Bavarian: reuse I bin s'Liacht vo da Welt — Risk: Critical (consistency).
worship — proskyneō (9:38, the healed man worships Jesus) — reuse term from ch. 4. Bavarian: anbet'n — Risk: Medium — here the object of worship is Jesus himself, directly reinforcing his deity; flag alongside the Thomas confession (20:28) as evidence for The Deity and Pre-existence of Christ.

Chapter 10 — Good Shepherd

“I am the good shepherd” — egō eimi ho poimēn ho kalos (ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, 10:11, 10:14) — FOURTH “I AM” statement. Bavarian: I bin da guade Hirt — Risk: Critical (formula consistency, per 6:35).
lay down his life for the sheep — tithēmi tēn psychēn (τίθημι τὴν ψυχήν, 10:11, 15, 17-18) — directly serves Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection: voluntary, purposeful, substitutionary self-giving (“no one takes it from me; I lay it down of my own accord,” 10:18). Bavarian: sei Lebn hergebn fia de Schaf — Risk: High.
one flock, one shepherd (10:16) — reuses shepherd term; touches Unity of Jews and Gentiles (baseline doctrine) by anticipating Gentile inclusion (“other sheep that are not of this fold”). Bavarian: oa Herd, oa Hirt — Risk: Medium.
“I and the Father are one” — egō kai ho patēr hen esmen (ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν, 10:30) — the single most concentrated one-sentence statement of Unity of the Father and the Son in the book. Hen = neuter “one,” denoting unity of being/purpose, NOT heis (masculine “one person,” which would collapse Father and Son into a single person, a modalist error). Bavarian: I und mei Voda san oans — Risk: Critical — flag explicitly: the Bavarian neuter/indeclinable numeral oans here must be understood as unity of essence/will, not identity of person; theologian review required to ensure teaching materials built on this verse do not drift toward either modalism (no real distinction) or a mere unity of agreement/cooperation (too weak — the Jews’ own reaction, picking up stones for blasphemy at 10:31-33, confirms they heard it as a claim to deity, and the translation/teaching must preserve that force).
no one can snatch them out of my hand (10:28-29) — directly parallels baseline Assurance of Salvation doctrine (Romans 8:31-39). Bavarian: neamand ko sie ausm meine Hand reissn — Risk: High (reuse assurance framing from baseline).

Chapter 11 — Raising of Lazarus

“I am the resurrection and the life” — egō eimi hē anastasis kai hē zōē (ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή, 11:25) — FIFTH “I AM” statement, combining baseline term Aufersteh'ng with zōē/Lebn. Bavarian: I bin d'Aufersteh'ng und s'Lebn — Risk: Critical (formula consistency; also the direct textual anchor for Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection as applied to believers generally, not only Christ’s own resurrection).
Jesus wept — edakrysen (ἐδάκρυσεν, 11:35) — genuine human grief, confirming true humanity alongside the deity claims surrounding this same chapter. Bavarian: hat gwaint — Risk: Low (theologically significant but linguistically simple; flag narratively as evidence against any docetic softening).
Martha’s confession — “the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world” (11:27) — combines baseline Messias/Sohn vo Gott with Welt. Bavarian: reuse exactly — Risk: Critical.
substitutionary language (Caiaphas’s unwitting prophecy) — “it is better for you that one man should die for the people” (11:50) — hyper (ὑπέρ, “on behalf of, for the sake of”) — the same preposition used of Christ’s death throughout the Passion narrative and epistles. Bavarian: für's Volk sterb'n — Risk: High — flag as an ironic but doctrinally load-bearing anticipation of Christ’s Substitutionary Death; must retain the “on behalf of / in place of” force of hyper, not merely “because of” or “regarding.”

Chapter 12 — Triumphal Entry, Greeks Seek Jesus, “Grain of Wheat”

“the hour has come” — elēlythen hē hōra (ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα, 12:23) — the theological “hour” motif (see ch.7) reaches its turning point: from “not yet” to “now come,” marking the onset of the Passion. Bavarian: d'Stund is kemma — Risk: Medium-High.
grain of wheat (12:24) — “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” — a death-to-life parable directly illustrating substitutionary/representative death. Bavarian: a Weizakorn — Risk: Medium.
“if I am lifted up” (12:32-34) — reuses hypsōthēnai term, see 3:14 above. Bavarian: reuse erhöht wern — Risk: High (consistency).
“whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (12:45) — anticipates the fuller statement at 14:9; direct Unity of the Father and the Son material. Bavarian: wer mi gsehg'n hat, hat mein Voda gsehg'n — Risk: Critical.
walking in darkness/light (12:35-36, 46) — reuses phōs/skotia terms established at 1:4-9, 3:19-21.

Chapter 13 — Foot Washing, New Commandment, Betrayal Foretold

servant/slave — doulos (δοῦλος) — “By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” is framed against the foot-washing act of a servant (13:1-17). Bavarian: Knecht — Risk: Low — a warmly resonant, authentically rural-Bavarian term (farmhand/servant), well-suited to the humility imagery, though flag that its everyday agricultural connotation should reinforce rather than trivialize the theological point of self-humbling service.
new commandment — entolē kainē (ἐντολὴ καινή, 13:34) — “love one another as I have loved you.” Combines new term Liab with ermahna-adjacent exhortation register (reuse baseline ermahna for the imperative force where appropriate). Bavarian: s'neue Gebot — Risk: Medium — directly connects God’s Love for the World (3:16, the Father’s love) to a command for believers to replicate that same self-giving quality of love toward one another; flag to ensure the standard baseline is met (self-giving agapē, not mere affection).
glorify (the Son is glorified in this hour) — doxazō (δοξάζω, verb form of Herrlichkeit, 13:31-32) — Bavarian: verherrlicha (-en > -a) — Risk: Medium (per baseline glory entry) — notable that in John, the cross/betrayal-hour itself is called the moment of the Son’s glorification, a paradox that must not be smoothed away.

Chapter 14 — “I Am the Way,” Father’s House, the Counselor Promised

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life” — egō eimi hē hodos kai hē alētheia kai hē zōē (ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή, 14:6) — SIXTH “I AM” statement, and the only one with a triple predicate, combining hodos (way, new term) with already-established alētheia (truth) and zōē (life). Bavarian: I bin da Weg, d'Wahrheit und s'Lebn — Risk: Critical (formula consistency; also carries the exclusivity claim “no one comes to the Father except through me,” directly relevant to Eternal Life through Faith in Christ and requiring careful, non-apologetic-sounding but doctrinally faithful handling for an interfaith-aware modern Bavarian audience).
“If you have seen me, you have seen the Father” / “the Father is in me and I in the Father” (14:9-11) — the fullest statement of Unity of the Father and the Son in the book, expanding 10:30 and 12:45. Bavarian: rendered through careful syntax, reusing Voda — Risk: Critical.
Counselor / Paraclete — paraklētos (παράκλητος, 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7) — lit. “one called alongside,” i.e. an advocate, helper, legal-defense counselor, or comforter, depending on context; historic German Bible tradition renders it variously as “Tröster” (Comforter — Luther), “Beistand” (Helper/Counselor — most modern ecumenical translations including the Catholic Einheitsübersetzung’s “Beistand” in some editions), or “Fürsprecher” (Advocate). English variants: Counselor, Comforter, Helper, Advocate. Contextual meaning: the direct textual basis for The Holy Spirit as Counselor, describing the Spirit’s ministry to believers after Christ’s departure. Bavarian: da Beistand — Risk: Critical — this term requires unusually careful handling in Bavaria specifically: it must be kept SHARPLY DISTINCT from Fürbitt (intercession), the baseline’s already-documented HIGH-RISK term for the Altötting Marian/saints intercessory-prayer tradition. The Spirit’s Paraclete ministry (teaching, indwelling, convicting, guiding believers directly) is categorically different from saints interceding with God on a petitioner’s behalf, but the surface-level “helper who assists my relationship with God” framing risks Bavarian Catholic devotional pattern-matching onto the latter unless the teaching material explicitly distinguishes them. FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: never render paraklētos as Fürbitt or as a form built on the Fürbitt root.
another Helper — allon paraklēton (14:16) — “another” implies continuity with Christ’s own presence/ministry, now continued in/through the Spirit. Bavarian: an andern Beistand — Risk: High.
peace — eirēnē (baseline term Friad, 14:27, “my peace I give to you”) — reused exactly. Bavarian: Friad — Risk: Low (per baseline).
ruler of this world — ho archōn tou kosmou toutou (ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, 14:30) — a title for Satan; combines Welt with archōn (ruler). Bavarian: da Herrscher vo dera Welt — Risk: Medium.

Chapter 15 — The True Vine, Friendship, the World’s Hatred

“I am the true vine” — egō eimi hē ampelos hē alēthinē (ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή, 15:1, 15:5) — SEVENTH and final “I AM” statement. Bavarian: I bin da wahre Weinstock — Risk: Critical (formula consistency, completing the set of seven).
abide/remain — menō (μένω) — “abide in me, and I in you” (15:4-10) — a key relational-union term recurring throughout John (also 6:56, 14:10, 17). Bavarian: bleiba (-en > -a) — Risk: Medium — must convey ongoing, living relational union (branch-in-vine dependence), not mere static location or membership.
friend, not servant — philos (φίλος, 15:13-15) — reuses the philos root from 3:29; here Jesus explicitly redefines the disciples’ status upward: “no longer servants but friends,” directly connected to laying down his life (“greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends,” 15:13). Bavarian: Freind, nit Knecht — Risk: Medium — flag the philos/agapē interplay: the “greater love” (agapē, self-giving) is what qualifies them as philoi (friends, affectionate intimates) — the two Greek love-words work together here, not in tension, and the Bavarian rendering (which likely uses one lexical field, Liab, for both) should not obscure this deepening of relationship.
chosen out of the world (15:19) — echoes baseline Erwählung (election) applied corporately to the disciples’ identity amid the world’s hostility. Bavarian: reuse Erwählung-adjacent framing — Risk: High (per baseline election entry, register-gap risk).
Spirit of truth — to pneuma tēs alētheias (τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας, 15:26) — combines Heiliger Geist (baseline) with Wahrheit. Bavarian: da Geist vo da Wahrheit — Risk: High.

Chapter 16 — The Spirit’s Further Ministry, Sorrow Turned to Joy

Spirit of truth (continued), guide into all truth (16:13) — reuse from ch.15. Bavarian: reuse da Geist vo da Wahrheit — Risk: High.
he will glorify me (16:14) — reuse verherrlicha — Risk: Medium.
grief turned to joy — lypē / chara (λύπη / χαρά, 16:20-22) — Bavarian: Traurigkeit / Freid — Risk: Low.
“I have overcome the world” — egō nenikēka ton kosmon (ἐγὼ νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον, 16:33) — nikaō = “to conquer, overcome, win victory.” Combines new verb with established kosmos/Welt. Bavarian: I hab d'Welt übawundn — Risk: Medium-High — an important assurance/victory statement that must not be softened into a merely private, spiritualized comfort divorced from Christ’s actual, historical, cosmic-scale victory (anticipating the cross and resurrection).

Chapter 17 — The High Priestly Prayer

eternal life (defined) — hautē estin hē aiōnios zōē, hina ginōskōsin se (αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή, ἵνα γινώσκωσιν σε, 17:3) — “this is eternal life, that they know you” — the book’s own explicit definition of s'ewige Lebn, tying it directly to relational, personal knowledge of God, not merely unending duration. Bavarian: reuse s'ewige Lebn — Risk: Critical — flag this verse specifically as the canonical definitional anchor for teaching materials on Eternal Life through Faith in Christ.
glory before the world existed — pro tou ton kosmon einai (πρὸ τοῦ τὸν κόσμον εἶναι, 17:5, 17:24) — explicit pre-temporal, pre-creation glory shared between Father and Son. Bavarian: Herrlichkeit, wo scho vor da Welt gwen is — Risk: Critical — the single clearest explicit textual statement of Christ’s PRE-EXISTENCE (as distinct from mere pre-announcement/foreknowledge) in the entire book; core evidence for The Deity and Pre-existence of Christ.
“that they may be one, even as we are one” — hina ōsin hen kathōs hēmeis hen (ἵνα ὦσιν ἓν καθὼς ἡμεῖς ἕν, 17:11, 17:21-22) — extends Unity of the Father and the Son (10:30’s hen) to become the pattern/ground for believers’ unity with one another. Bavarian: dass sie oans sind, so wie mir oans sind — Risk: Critical — must preserve the same hen (unity of will/purpose, not merger of identity) sense established at 10:30, now applied by analogy (not identity) to the church; flag to prevent either an over-mystical merging reading or an overly weak “just getting along” reading.
sanctify — hagiazō (ἁγιάζω, 17:17, 17:19, verb form of baseline Heiligung) — “sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Bavarian: heiliga (-en > -a) — Risk: Medium (per baseline sanctification entry).
“your word is truth” (17:17) — reuses both Wort (from 1:1, though here logos in a different, non-titular sense — God’s spoken/written word rather than the person of the Son; flag this as a DIFFERENT use of the same Greek root and ensure translators do not conflate the Logos-title of 1:1 with this ordinary use) and Wahrheit. Bavarian: dei Wort is d'Wahrheit — Risk: Medium (disambiguation flag, not high doctrinal risk per se).

Chapter 18 — Betrayal, Arrest, Trial Before Pilate

“I am he” (at arrest) — egō eimi (ἐγώ εἰμι, 18:5-8) — Jesus’s bare self-identification to the arresting soldiers, echoing the absolute 8:58 usage; the soldiers “drew back and fell to the ground” (18:6), a detail many interpreters read as an echo of the divine self-revelation’s overwhelming force. Bavarian: I bin's — Risk: Critical — flag for theologian review alongside 8:58 and 20:28; do not render as a merely mundane “yes, that’s me” without at least a translator’s note preserving the possible deeper resonance for teaching purposes.
kingdom not of this world — hē basileia hē emē ouk estin ek tou kosmou toutou (18:36) — reuses baseline s'Reich vo Gott framework and Welt. Bavarian: mei Reich is nit vo dera Welt — Risk: Medium-High — must retain the deliberate contrast with a political/territorial kingdom (Pilate’s category) while not implying Christ’s kingdom is unreal or merely “spiritual” in a world-denying sense; consistent with the baseline’s kingdom-of-God caution against political/nationalist misreading.
“What is truth?” — ti estin alētheia (18:38, Pilate) — reuses alētheia; Pilate’s question is left rhetorically (and tragically) unanswered by the narrative at this point, its answer already given at 14:6. Bavarian: reuse Wahrheit — Risk: Medium (literary/rhetorical flag for teaching material, not a translation-choice risk).

Chapter 19 — Crucifixion

“It is finished” — tetelestai (τετέλεσται, 19:30, perfect tense of teleō, “to complete, accomplish, bring to its intended end”) — Christ’s final word from the cross, a declaration of the COMPLETED, sufficient accomplishment of his atoning work. English variants: “It is finished,” “It is accomplished,” “It is complete.” Bavarian: Es is vollbracht — Risk: Critical — the single-word/single-clause climax of Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection; must convey a completed, once-for-all accomplishment (nothing remains to be added by human merit, penance, or ongoing sacrifice), a point of particular pastoral importance given any lingering folk-devotional sense of grace as partly earned through ongoing devotional transaction (cf. baseline Grace entry) — this verse is the clearest possible textual corrective to that risk and should be flagged for theologian review accordingly.
Lamb typology (no bone broken) — ostoun ou syntribēsetai (19:36, citing Exodus 12:46/Numbers 9:12, Passover lamb regulation) — reuses s'Lamm vo Gott framework established at 1:29. Bavarian: reuse — Risk: Critical (consistency with 1:29).
blood and water — haima kai hydōr (αἷμα καὶ ὕδωρ, 19:34) — Bavarian: Bluat und Wasser — Risk: Medium (symbolic/typological richness, low lexical risk).
King of the Jews (inscription, 19:19-22) — reuses proper-noun conventions; flag alongside the Ch.1/Ch.3 note on “the Jews” for consistent, historically careful handling. Risk: High (see note below).
cross — stauros (σταυρός) — Bavarian: s'Kreuz — Risk: Low — culturally resonant, warmly familiar term (Bavarian farmhouse Herrgottswinkel crucifix tradition, per baseline god/Herrgott entry); no doctrinal risk, but a genuine register/warmth opportunity for teaching material.

Chapter 20 — Resurrection Appearances

“My Lord and my God” — ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou (ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου, 20:28, Thomas’s confession) — combines baseline terms Herr and Gott in the most explicit, unambiguous direct address of Jesus AS God anywhere in the four Gospels. English variants: “My Lord and my God!” Bavarian: Mei Herr und mei Gott! — Risk: Critical — the single most important verse in the entire book for The Deity and Pre-existence of Christ taken together with 1:1 and 8:58; this confession must be rendered with full, unqualified force — Jesus does not correct or soften Thomas’s exclamation but commends the faith it expresses (20:29). Escalate to human theologian review for every occurrence in any teaching material.
“receive the Holy Spirit” (20:22) — reuses baseline Heiliger Geist. Risk: Medium (per baseline).
“as the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (20:21) — reuses baseline Mission doctrine category. Bavarian: wia da Voda mi gsandt hat, so schick i enk — Risk: Medium (per baseline mission entry).
the Gospel’s purpose statement — “these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31) — combines glaam, Messias, Sohn vo Gott, s'Lebn, and Nam — functions as the book’s own thesis statement, structurally parallel to Romans 1:16-17’s role in that curriculum. Bavarian: reuse all constituent terms exactly — Risk: Critical — flag per the baseline’s cross-document consistency rule (same treatment as Romans 1:16-17/8:28/10:9-10): this verse’s rendering must be IDENTICAL across every teaching document in this curriculum.

Chapter 21 — Epilogue, Restoration of Peter

“Do you love me?” — agapas me / phileis me (ἀγαπᾷς με / φιλεῖς με, 21:15-17) — the famous alternation between agapaō (self-giving, covenantal love) and phileō (affectionate, personal fondness) across this three-fold exchange; interpreters differ on how much theological weight to place on the alternation, but it is a well-documented literary feature of the passage. Bavarian: Hast mi liab? — Risk: Medium — flag as a DOCUMENTED TRANSLATION-LOSS RISK: ordinary Bavarian, like English and most target languages, does not sustain two clearly distinct everyday verbs matching agapaō/phileō; the idiom liab ham will almost certainly be used for both Greek verbs, and any doctrinal point resting on the alternation (rather than on the three-fold repetition itself, which corresponds to Peter’s three-fold denial and is fully preservable) should not be built into teaching material without an explicit note on this limitation.
“feed my sheep” / “tend my lambs” (21:15-17) — reuses shepherd/sheep imagery from ch.10; note the shift to amnos/lambs (21:15, echoing s'Lamm vo Gott vocabulary, though here in the ordinary pastoral sense, not the atonement-title sense of 1:29 — flag this as a homonym-adjacent disambiguation, not a doctrinal risk). Bavarian: füader meine Schaf / füader meine Lampl — Risk: Low-Medium.
beloved disciple — ho mathētēs hon ēgapa [ho Iēsous] (21:20, cf. 13:23, 19:26, 20:2) — reuses mathētēs (disciple) and agapaō (love). Bavarian: der Jünga, den er liab ghabt hat — Risk: Low.
witness/testimony (concluding) — martyreō (21:24) — the book’s concluding self-attestation as reliable eyewitness testimony, closing the trial-motif opened at 1:7-8. Bavarian: reuse Zeugnis geb'n — Risk: Medium-High (consistency with 1:7, 3:11, 5:31-39, 8:14-18, 15:27).

Summary Note on “the Jews” (Ioudaios) Across the Whole Book

John’s Gospel uses hoi Ioudaioi (οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, “the Jews”) some 70+ times, with a range of senses: (1) neutrally, an ethnic/religious descriptor (“a feast of the Jews,” 5:1); (2) specifically, the Jerusalem religious authorities/leadership opposed to Jesus (frequently in ch. 5–12, 18–19); (3) occasionally, the wider Judean crowd. English variants: “the Jews,” “the Jewish leaders” (some modern translations narrow the referent contextually to avoid the appearance of blanket ethnic condemnation). Bavarian: d'Juden (broad) / de jüdischn Führer or da Hohepriester und sei Leut (narrowed, where the context specifically means the hostile leadership, not the Jewish people generally) — Risk: High — flag EVERY occurrence for theologian review with explicit reference to the same Munich/Bavaria-specific historical sensitivity already documented in the baseline package’s israel and unity_of_jews_and_gentiles entries; teaching material must make unmistakably clear that John’s polemic (where it occurs) targets specific historical leaders and their unbelief, not the Jewish people as such, both for basic exegetical accuracy and because of Bavaria’s own acute 20th-century history.

This document is the mandatory theological/linguistic foundation for 08_core_glossary.md and for all subsequent Phase 1 and Phase 2 artifacts in this curriculum. No Phase 2 segment translation may proceed without this analysis having been loaded alongside the baseline translation_memory.json.

Library content is free and openly licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — share and adapt it for non-commercial use, with attribution to tri-bible.ai.