Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Joshua
Curriculum: Joshua
Destination language: Bengali (বাংলা)
Core passage: Joshua 24:14–15
Generated: Phase 1, Step 1
Status: Draft for Phase 2 translation_memory.json extension — every “New” entry below must be appended to translation memory (with version increment) before Phase 2 segment translation begins. Every “Reused (baseline)” entry must be enforced exactly as recorded in the Romans-package translation_memory.json; do not re-derive or alter.
How to Read This Table
- Status:
Reused (baseline)= term and rendering already fixed by the Romans translation memory, carried over unchanged;New= introduced for Joshua, to be added to translation memory. - Risk: Critical / High / Medium / Low, per the same risk-tier definitions as
doctrine_risk_registry.json. - Doctrine: the curriculum doctrine(s) most directly served by the term.
- Citations use chapter references within Joshua unless noted.
Part 1 — Reused Baseline Terms (Must Match Romans Package Exactly)
| English Term | Bengali Rendering | Transliteration | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Primary Joshua Passages | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | ঈশ্বর | Ishshor | Critical | God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise | throughout | Never ভগবান/আল্লাহ. Never used for false গods (দেবতা), see Part 2. |
| Lord (generic/Kyrios sense) | প্রভু | Provu | Critical | — | not primary in Joshua (see সদাপ্রভু, Part 2) | Reserved for NT κύριος usage; not used for יהוה in Joshua. |
| Faith | বিশ্বাস | Bishwas | High | Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith | 2:9–11 (cf. Hebrews 11:31) | Same term must carry Rahab’s OT trust and NT saving faith without discontinuity. |
| Holy | পবিত্র | Pobitro | High | Covenant Renewal at Shechem; Holy War and Divine Judgment | 3:5; 5:15; 7:13 | Applies to ground, people, and camp; moral/relational set-apartness, not ritual purity alone. |
| Covenant | নিয়ম | Niyom | High | Covenant Renewal at Shechem; God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise | 3:3, 3:6 (ark); 7:11 (violated); 9:6–20 (Gibeon); 24:25 | Base for compounds নিয়ম-সিন্দুক, নিয়ম স্থাপন করা. |
| Law | ব্যবস্থা | Bebostha | High | Obedience and the Conquest | 1:7–8; 8:31–34; 23:6; 24:26 | Never ধর্ম or শরিয়ত. Base for ব্যবস্থা-পুস্তক. |
| Israel | ইস্রায়েল | Israel | Medium | God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise | throughout | Established proper name form. |
| Election (divine choice, distinct sense) | ঈশ্বরের মনোনয়ন | Ishshorer monownoyon | High | (background doctrine; contrast term) | cf. 24:15 contrast, see বেছে নেওয়া, Part 2 | Never used for the human choice of 24:15 — see note under “choose.” |
| Gentiles (NT sense: non-Jewish peoples generally) | পরজাতি | Porojati | Medium | (background doctrine; contrast term) | not used directly in Joshua narrative | Retained as the NT-register term; Joshua’s Canaanite “nations” use জাতিগণ instead — see Part 2. |
Part 2 — New Terms Introduced for Joshua
| English Term | Bengali Rendering | Transliteration | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Primary Passages | Original (Heb. / LXX Gk.) | Rejected Alternatives | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LORD (YHWH, covenant name) | সদাপ্রভু | Sodaprovu | Critical | God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise; all doctrines | throughout (e.g., 1:1; 24:14–15) | יְהוָה / κύριος | প্রভু (reserved for NT κύριος), ভগবান, আল্লাহ | Established Bengali OT Bible term for the tetragrammaton; must never be interchanged with প্রভু. New baseline requirement not present in the Romans (NT-only) package. |
| Other gods / false deities | দেবতা / অন্য দেবতা | Debota / Onno debota | Critical | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 24:2, 14–15, 20, 23 | אֱלֹהִים (plural sense) / θεοί | ঈশ্বর (forbidden for false gods) | ঈশ্বর reserved exclusively for the true God; দেবতা correctly carries the “one deity among many” sense needed for this polemic. |
| Serve (exclusive covenant service) | সেবা করা | Sheba kora | High | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 24:14–15, 18, 19, 22, 24 | עָבַד / δουλεύω, λατρεύω | চাকরি করা (too mundane) | Must be understood as exclusive, total allegiance, not one deity-service option among several, contra common Bengali temple-seba usage. |
| Fear the LORD | সদাপ্রভুকে ভয় করা | Sodaprovuke bhoy kora | High | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 24:14 | יָרֵא / φοβέομαι | শ্রদ্ধা করা alone (too weak) | Reverential covenant awe, not servile terror nor propitiation of an unpredictable wrathful deity (cf. regional Shakta fear-appeasement patterns). |
| Choose (human choice) | বেছে নেওয়া | Beche neoya | High | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 24:15 | בָּחַר / αἱρέομαι | মনোনীত করা (reserved for divine election) | Deliberately kept distinct from ঈশ্বরের মনোনয়ন to preserve the divine-election / human-responsibility distinction. |
| Sincerity / wholehearted integrity | সরলতা | Shorolota | Medium | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 24:14 | תָּמִים / εὐθύτης | সততা alone (too generic) | Undivided devotion, paired with faithfulness. |
| Faithfulness / truth (relational) | বিশ্বস্ততা | Bishwostota | Medium | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 24:14 | אֱמֶת / ἀλήθεια | সত্যতা alone (too factual) | Covenant-loyalty sense over bare factual truth. |
| House / household | পরিবার | Poribar | Low | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 24:15 | בַּיִת / οἶκος | বাড়ি (building only) | Household-headship declaration; resonates with Bengali joint-family structures. |
| Be strong and courageous | বলবান ও সাহসী হও | Bolobon o shahoshi hou | High | Courage through God’s Presence | 1:6, 7, 9, 18; 10:25 | חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ / ἴσχυε καὶ ἀνδρίζου | (none; phrase-level) | Must retain/footnote the grounding clause “for the LORD is with you”; guard against extraction as self-help slogan. |
| Meditate (on the Law) | মনে মনে বার বার আওড়ানো / চিন্তা করা | Mone mone barbar aorano | Critical | Obedience and the Conquest | 1:8 | הָגָה / μελετάω | ধ্যান করা (older Bible tradition, now collides with yogic/Buddhist meditation) | Deliberate departure from the older Bengali Bible gloss, parallel to সাধুগণ → পবিত্র লোক precedent; captures audible/repeated rehearsal, not silent meditative technique. |
| Land (general) | দেশ | Desh | Medium | God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise | throughout | אֶרֶץ / γῆ | — | Bare geography sense. |
| Promised Land (covenant land) | প্রতিজ্ঞাত দেশ | Protijnato desh | High | God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise | 1:2–6; 21:43–45 | אֶרֶץ (with נִשְׁבַּע) / γῆ (with ὄμνυμι) | দেশ alone (loses covenant force) | Covenant-promise land, not bare geography. |
| Swear / oath (divine covenant promise) | শপথ করা | Shopoth kora | High | God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise; Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 1:6; 9:19–20; 21:43 | נִשְׁבַּע / ὄμνυμι | প্রতিশ্রুতি দেওয়া alone (too weak for binding oath) | Unilateral, unconditional divine oath; also governs Israel’s own binding oaths (Gibeon). |
| Harlot / prostitute (Rahab) | বেশ্যা | Beshya | High | Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith | 2:1; 6:17, 25 | זוֹנָה / πόρνη | সরাইখানার মালিক (“innkeeper,” euphemistic) | Retain blunt term; softening erases the doctrine’s force that grace reaches the socially excluded. |
| Spies | গুপ্তচর | Guptochor | Low | Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith | 2:1 | מְרַגְּלִים / κατάσκοποι | — | — |
| Covenant kindness (chesed, Rahab’s plea) | বিশ্বস্ত দয়া | Bishwosto doya | Medium | Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith | 2:12, 14 | חֶסֶד / ἔλεος | দয়া alone (loses covenant-obligation sense) | — |
| Ark of the Covenant | নিয়ম-সিন্দুক | Niyom-sinduk | Medium | God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise | 3:3–17; 4:7–18; 6:6–13 | אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית / κιβωτὸς τῆς διαθήκης | সিন্দুক alone (loses covenant identity) | — |
| Priests | যাজক | Yajok | Medium | Obedience and the Conquest | 3:3, 6, 8; 6:4, 6 | כֹּהֲנִים / ἱερεῖς | পুরোহিত, ইমাম | Established Bengali Christian term distinct from Hindu/Muslim religious-specialist words. |
| Circumcision | ত্বকছেদ | Twokchhed | High | Covenant Renewal at Shechem (covenant-sign background) | 5:2–9 | מוּל / περιτέμνω | সুন্নত (Islamic-idiom collision) | Never সুন্নত — functionally synonymous with Islamic rite for Bengali readers; parallels baseline’s ঈসা/ইঞ্জিল/মশীহ reasoning. |
| Passover | নিস্তারপর্ব | Nistarparbo | Medium | Obedience and the Conquest | 5:10–11 | פֶּסַח / πάσχα | উৎসব alone (too generic) | Carries Exodus-deliverance narrative specifically. |
| Commander of the LORD’s army | সদাপ্রভুর সৈন্যদলের সেনাপতি | Sodaprovur sainnodoler senapoti | Medium | Courage through God’s Presence | 5:13–15 | שַׂר־צְבָא יְהוָה / ἀρχιστράτηγος δυνάμεως κυρίου | — | Possible Christophany; flag for theologian review if taught as such. |
| Devoted to destruction / the ban (herem) | বর্জিত বস্তু (noun) / সম্পূর্ণরূপে ধ্বংস করা (verb) | Borjito bostu / Shompurnorupe dhongsho kora | Critical | Holy War and Divine Judgment | 6:17–21; 7:1, 11–13; 8:26; 10:28–40; 11:11–21 | חֵרֶם / ἀνάθεμα | (no acceptable softened alternative) | Highest-stakes term in the book; mandatory translator/theologian note every occurrence distinguishing unique redemptive-historical judgment from any transferable holy-war ethic or contemporary religious-violence rhetoric. |
| Unfaithful trespass (Achan) | বিশ্বাসঘাতকতা | Bishwasghatokota | High | Holy War and Divine Judgment | 7:1, 11, 20 | מַעַל / (παρέβησαν) | চুরি alone (“theft,” too narrow) | Corporate covenant-betrayal sense, not mere property theft. |
| Anger / wrath of the LORD | সদাপ্রভুর ক্রোধ | Sodaprovur krodh | High | Holy War and Divine Judgment | 7:1, 26 | אַף־יְהוָה / ὀργὴ κυρίου | — | Righteous judicial anger, not capricious temper or appeasement-hungry deity imagery. |
| Altar | বেদী | Bedi | High | Obedience and the Conquest; Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 8:30–31; 22:10, 26–29 | מִזְבֵּחַ / θυσιαστήριον | — | Anchor with “for সদাপ্রভু” context to prevent Vedic yajna-altar association. |
| Burnt offering | হোমবলি | Homboli | High | Obedience and the Conquest | 8:31 | עֹלָה / ὁλοκαύτωμα | — | হোম evokes Hindu Vedic fire-ritual; requires exclusivity note. |
| Peace/fellowship offering | মঙ্গলার্থক বলি | Mongolarthok boli | Medium | Obedience and the Conquest | 8:31 | שֶׁלֶם / εἰρηνικά | — | — |
| Blessing and curse | আশীর্বাদ ও অভিশাপ | Ashirbad o obhishap | Medium | Obedience and the Conquest | 8:34 | בְּרָכָה וּקְלָלָה / εὐλογία καὶ κατάρα | — | Tie to covenant sanctions, not folk luck (ভাগ্য). |
| The LORD fought for Israel | সদাপ্রভু ইস্রায়েলের জন্য যুদ্ধ করলেন | Sodaprovu Israeler jonno juddho korlen | High | Holy War and Divine Judgment; Courage through God’s Presence | 10:14, 42 | נִלְחַם יְהוָה / ἐπολέμησεν κύριος | — | Avoid implying an ongoing mandate for divinely-guaranteed physical warfare today. |
| Inheritance / possession (tribal land) | অধিকার | Odhikar | High | God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise | 13:1–33; 14:1–15; 21:1–45 | נַחֲלָה / κληρονομία | সম্পত্তি (too secular/commercial) | Keep resonance with NT believer’s inheritance concept (same Greek root) for future typological teaching. |
| Lot (casting lots for allotment) | গুলিবাঁট | Guli-bath | Medium | God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise | 14:2; 18:6–10; 19:51 | גּוֹרָל / κλῆρος | ভাগ্য-নির্ধারণ (implies impersonal chance) | Sovereign divine determination, not fortune/chance. |
| Boundary | সীমা | Shima | Low | God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise | 15:1–12; 16–19 (tribal lists) | גְּבוּל / ὅριον | — | — |
| Wholly followed the LORD | সম্পূর্ণরূপে সদাপ্রভুর অনুসরণ করা | Shompurnorupe Sodaprovur onushoron kora | Medium | Obedience and the Conquest | 14:8–9, 14 | מִלֵּא אַחֲרֵי יְהוָה / ἐπηκολούθησεν ὀπίσω κυρίου | — | Cross-reference to established বিশ্বাসের বাধ্যতা (obedience of faith). |
| Refuge (city of refuge) | আশ্রয় নগর | Ashroy nogor | Medium | Holy War and Divine Judgment (restraint of judgment) | 20:1–9 | מִקְלָט / φυγαδευτήριον | — | Judicial-legal protection institution, not spiritual retreat/আশ্রম. |
| Avenger of blood | রক্তের প্রতিশোধকারী | Rokter protishodhkari | Medium | Holy War and Divine Judgment | 20:3, 5, 9 | גֹּאֵל הַדָּם / ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τὸ αἷμα | — | Frame as judicial restraint of vendetta, not endorsement of blood-feud custom. |
| Witness (stone/altar as witness) | সাক্ষী | Shakkhi | Low | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 4:1–7 (implicit); 22:26–28, 34; 24:26–27 | עֵד / μαρτύριον, μάρτυς | — | Bookends the whole book (Jordan crossing stones ↔ Shechem stone). |
| Rebellion | বিদ্রোহ | Bidroho | Medium | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 22:16, 18, 22, 29 | מֶרֶד / ἀποστασία | — | — |
| Cling to (the LORD) | আঁকড়ে থাকা | Akre thaka | Medium | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 22:5; 23:8 | דָּבַק / προσκολλάομαι | আসক্তি (negative Buddhist/Hindu “clinging desire” sense) | Positive relational-loyalty sense, opposite of the craving-attachment আসক্তি denotes. |
| Statute and rule | বিধি ও শাসন | Bidhi o shashon | Medium | Covenant Renewal at Shechem | 24:25 | חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט / πρόσταγμα καὶ κρίσιν | — | Legal terms of the Shechem covenant, recorded in the Book of the Law. |
| Nations (Canaanite peoples under judgment) | জাতিগণ | Jatigon | High | Holy War and Divine Judgment | 3:10; 23:3–13; 24:11 | גּוֹיִם / ἔθνη | পরজাতি (reserved for NT Jew/Gentile-inclusion register) | Kept distinct from পরজাতি to avoid importing Romans’ positive-inclusion connotation backward, or Joshua’s judgment connotation forward, across the two registers. |
Risk Summary (Joshua-Specific New Terms)
| Risk Tier | Count (New Terms) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 4 (সদাপ্রভু; দেবতা/অন্য দেবতা; ত্বকছেদ [collision]; বর্জিত বস্তু/herem; মনে মনে বার বার আওড়ানো [meditate]) | Human theologian, every occurrence |
| High | 14 | Human theologian |
| Medium | 14 | Native speaker review |
| Low | 6 | Automated review |
Note: Critical count reflects 5 terms with Critical-tier collision or doctrinal-core status; both সদাপ্রভু/দেবতা and the herem/circumcision/meditate collisions are listed individually above, all five must route to mandatory human theologian review with no exceptions.
This glossary extends, and does not contradict, the baseline Romans translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json. All “Reused (baseline)” terms above must be enforced exactly as recorded there. All “New” terms above must be added to translation memory (version incremented) before any Phase 2 Joshua segment is translated.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বর
Transliteration: Ishshor
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise / Deity
Rejected alternatives: ভগবান, আল্লাহ
Original: אֱלֹהִים / θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. In Joshua, ঈশ্বর must NEVER be used for the false gods the ancestors served (see other_gods, Part B) — it is reserved exclusively for the one true God throughout the conquest and covenant-renewal narratives.
Lord
Approved rendering: প্রভু
Transliteration: Provu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ (NT register; contrast term in Joshua)
Rejected alternatives: মালিক, ঈশ্বর
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Reserved exclusively for New Testament κύριος usage applied to Christ. Must NEVER be used in Joshua to render the covenant name יהוה — see lord_yhwh, Part B, for the required Old Testament rendering. Keeping these two terms distinct is a new, book-specific enforcement requirement not needed in the NT-only Romans package.
Salvation
Approved rendering: পরিত্রাণ
Transliteration: poritran
Doctrine: Rest in the Promised Land as a Type of Salvation Rest (contrast/typology term)
Rejected alternatives: মুক্তি, মোক্ষ, নাজাত
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Retained here as the doctrinal anchor-point for the Joshua-specific new term বিশ্রাম (rest, Part B), which requires the identical anti-মুক্তি/মোক্ষ guard: God-given, covenant-secured rest, never a self-attained liberation state.
Lord Yhwh
Approved rendering: সদাপ্রভু
Transliteration: Sodaprovu
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise; Covenant Renewal at Shechem; all doctrines
Rejected alternatives: প্রভু (reserved for NT κύριος), ভগবান, আল্লাহ, যাহওয়েহ (bare transliteration, rejected)
Original: יְהוָה / κύριος (LXX)
Category: God
New required baseline entry for this curriculum, not present in the NT-only Romans package. Established Bengali Old Testament convention for the tetragrammaton יהוה. Must never be interchanged with প্রভু: Joshua’s argument throughout depends on Israel serving a specific, named, promise-keeping covenant God, not a generic ‘lord’ title any deity or ruler could hold. First occurrence ~1:1; climactic occurrence 24:14-15.
Other Gods
Approved rendering: দেবতা / অন্য দেবতা
Transliteration: Debota / Onno debota
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem; Exclusive Worship and Rejection of Syncretism
Rejected alternatives: ঈশ্বর (forbidden for false gods)
Original: אֱלֹהִים (plural, common-noun sense) / θεοί
Category: God
The same Hebrew word אֱלֹהִים used of the true God is here used generically for false deities. ঈশ্বর must NEVER be used for these gods. দেবতা is the correct Bengali term for a pagan deity and usefully already carries the ‘one deity among many’ sense needed for Joshua 24’s polemical contrast between সদাপ্রভু and দেবতা. Occurs at 24:2, 14, 20, 23.
Meditate
Approved rendering: মনে মনে বার বার আওড়ানো / চিন্তা করা
Transliteration: Mone mone barbar aorano / chinta kora
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest; Inspiration and Authority of the Law
Rejected alternatives: ধ্যান করা (older Bengali Bible tradition, now collides with yogic/Buddhist meditation)
Original: הָגָה / μελετάω
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
Joshua 1:8. Deliberate departure from the older Bengali Bible gloss ধ্যান করা, now the single most recognizable Bengali term for yogic/Buddhist silent meditation (dhyāna), which inverts hagah’s actual sense of audible, repeated, obedience-aimed rehearsal. Precedent: this curriculum’s departure from সাধুগণ → পবিত্র লোক. Mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence; highest risk of silent regression to the old gloss by translators working from habit.
Herem
Approved rendering: বর্জিত বস্তু (noun) / সম্পূর্ণরূপে ধ্বংস করা (verb)
Transliteration: Borjito bostu / Shompurnorupe dhongsho kora
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Rejected alternatives: (no acceptable softened single-word alternative exists)
Original: חֵרֶם / ἀνάθεμα
Category: Holy War and Divine Judgment
The single highest-stakes term in the book. Must never read as endorsing a general holy-war ethic. Mandatory translator/theologian note at every occurrence (chs. 6, 7, 8, 10, 11) distinguishing: (a) a unique, time-bound, divinely commanded act of judgment within Israel’s specific conquest narrative, not a transferable pattern; (b) clear distinction from contemporary religiously-motivated communal violence rhetoric, given real pastoral sensitivity in Bangladesh/West Bengal; (c) distinction from a general Hindu yajna-style ritual destruction concept. No exceptions.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: বিশ্বাস
Transliteration: Bishwas
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Rejected alternatives: ঈমান, শ্রদ্ধা
Original: בִּטְחָה (implicit) / πίστις (Hebrews 11:31’s retrospective reading)
Category: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. In Joshua 2:9-11, Rahab’s confession is the Old Testament counterpart to Romans 10:9’s confession; বিশ্বাস must read as the same allegiance-reorienting personal trust in both Testaments, never mere factual theism or Islamic ঈমান-style creedal assent.
Holy
Approved rendering: পবিত্র
Transliteration: Pobitro
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem; Holy War and Divine Judgment
Rejected alternatives: শুচি, নির্মল
Original: קָדוֹשׁ / ἅγιος
Category: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Applies in Joshua to ground (5:15), people, and camp (3:5, 7:13) — moral and relational set-apartness, not ritual purity alone.
Covenant
Approved rendering: নিয়ম
Transliteration: Niyom
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem; God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Rejected alternatives: চুক্তি, অঙ্গীকার
Original: בְּרִית / διαθήκη
Category: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Base for the Joshua-specific compounds নিয়ম-সিন্দুক (ark of the covenant) and নিয়ম স্থাপন করা (establish/cut a covenant) — see Part B.
Law
Approved rendering: ব্যবস্থা
Transliteration: Bebostha
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest; Inspiration and Authority of the Law
Rejected alternatives: ধর্ম, শরিয়ত, নিয়ম
Original: תּוֹרָה / νόμος
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Never ধর্ম or শরিয়ত. Base for the Joshua-specific compound ব্যবস্থা-পুস্তক (Book of the Law) — see Part B. Activated far more densely in Joshua (1:7-8; 8:31-34; 23:6; 24:26) than in Romans, raising cumulative enforcement exposure.
Election
Approved rendering: ঈশ্বরের মনোনয়ন
Transliteration: Ishshorer monownoyon
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem (contrast term)
Rejected alternatives: ভাগ্য, নিয়তি, কর্মফল
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. In Joshua, NEVER used for the human choice of 24:15 (see choose_human, Part B) — retained here strictly as the contrast term preserving the divine-sovereignty/human-responsibility distinction across both Testaments.
Sin
Approved rendering: পাপ
Transliteration: Pap
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment; Corporate Solidarity in Sin and Judgment
Rejected alternatives: অধর্ম, অশুচিতা
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Used in Joshua 7 (‘Israel has sinned,’ 7:11) paired with the new term বিশ্বাসঘাতকতা (unfaithful trespass, Part B) to convey both moral transgression and covenant betrayal in Achan’s account.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: বিশ্বাসের বাধ্যতা
Transliteration: bishwasher baddhota
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Rejected alternatives: ধর্মীয় কর্তব্য পালন
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. May be cross-referenced in teaching notes alongside Caleb’s commendation (সম্পূর্ণরূপে সদাপ্রভুর অনুসরণ করা, 14:8-9, 14 — see Part B) without merging the two vocabularies.
Serve
Approved rendering: সেবা করা
Transliteration: Sheba kora
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: চাকরি করা (too mundane)
Original: עָבַד / δουλεύω, λατρεύω
Category: Covenant Renewal
Not present in the Romans package, which uses ‘serve’ more abstractly. In Bengali religious idiom সেবা is the ordinary word for temple/deity service (ঠাকুরের সেবা), typically non-exclusive in Hindu devotional practice. Joshua 24’s সেবা করা must be footnoted at every occurrence (24:14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 24) as exclusive, total covenant allegiance, not one deity-service option among several. Ranked the single most exposed term in the core passage.
Fear The Lord
Approved rendering: সদাপ্রভুকে ভয় করা
Transliteration: Sodaprovuke bhoy kora
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem; Exclusive Worship and Rejection of Syncretism
Rejected alternatives: শ্রদ্ধা করা alone (too weak)
Original: יָרֵא (אֶת־יְהוָה) / φοβέομαι
Category: Covenant Renewal
Reverential covenant awe, not servile terror nor propitiation-fear of an unpredictable deity — a live risk given regional Shakta fear-appeasement religious patterns toward deities such as Kali or Shitala. Joshua 24:14.
Choose Human
Approved rendering: বেছে নেওয়া
Transliteration: Beche neoya
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: মনোনীত করা / মনোনয়ন (reserved for divine election)
Original: בָּחַר / αἱρέομαι
Category: Covenant Renewal
Deliberately ordinary, non-technical verb kept distinct from ঈশ্বরের মনোনয়ন to preserve the divine-sovereignty/human-responsibility distinction the whole canon holds together. Joshua 24:15, the core passage’s pivotal human-decision clause.
Be Strong And Courageous
Approved rendering: বলবান ও সাহসী হও
Transliteration: Bolobon o shahoshi hou
Doctrine: Courage through God’s Presence
Original: חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ / ἴσχυε καὶ ἀνδρίζου
Category: Courage through God’s Presence
Must retain or footnote the grounding clause ‘for the LORD your God is with you’ at every occurrence (1:6, 7, 9, 18; 10:25); guard against extraction as a stand-alone motivational/devotional-poster slogan, a live risk given pan-Bengali devotional/inspirational meme culture.
Lord Fought For Israel
Approved rendering: সদাপ্রভু ইস্রায়েলের জন্য যুদ্ধ করলেন
Transliteration: Sodaprovu Israeler jonno juddho korlen
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment; Courage through God’s Presence
Original: נִלְחַם יְהוָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל / ἐπολέμησεν κύριος
Category: Courage through God’s Presence
Joshua 10:14, 42. Must not be flattened into a generic ‘God helped them win,’ which loses the covenant-warrior theology; equally must not imply an ongoing mandate for believers today to expect God to fight physical wars on their behalf. Pastoral framing note recommended at every occurrence.
Book Of The Law
Approved rendering: ব্যবস্থা-পুস্তক
Transliteration: Bebostha-pustok
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest; Inspiration and Authority of the Law
Rejected alternatives: ধর্ম বই, শরিয়ত-জাতীয় বই
Original: סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה / βιβλίον τοῦ νόμου
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
Compound built on ব্যবস্থা; inherits its forbidden-substitution profile. Joshua 1:8; 8:31-34; 23:6; 24:26.
Altar
Approved rendering: বেদী
Transliteration: Bedi
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest; Covenant Unity Among the Tribes
Original: מִזְבֵּחַ / θυσιαστήριον
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
বেদী is also the term for a Vedic/Hindu ritual fire-altar (yajna-vedi). Every occurrence should be anchored with explicit ‘for সদাপ্রভু’ context (8:30-31; 22:10, 26-29) to prevent readers from importing a multi-deity or ancestor-propitiation ritual frame.
Burnt Offering
Approved rendering: হোমবলি
Transliteration: Homboli
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Original: עֹלָה / ὁλοκαύτωμα
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
হোম is the specific Bengali/Sanskritic word for the Vedic Hindu fire-sacrifice ritual (homa). Requires a translator note at every occurrence (8:31) clarifying exclusive worship of সদাপ্রভু alone at his commanded altar.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: ত্বকছেদ
Transliteration: Twokchhed
Doctrine: Covenant Sign and Identity Renewal; Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: সুন্নত (Islamic-idiom collision)
Original: מוּל / περιτέμνω, περιτομή
Category: Covenant Renewal
NEVER সুন্নত, the near-universal and functionally Islamic-synonymous Bengali word for the practice. Using it would collapse the Abrahamic/Mosaic covenant sign into an Islamic-idiom container, the same class of error the baseline guards against with মশীহ/ইঞ্জিল/ঈসা. Joshua 5:2-9.
Unfaithful Trespass
Approved rendering: বিশ্বাসঘাতকতা
Transliteration: Bishwasghatokota
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment; Corporate Solidarity in Sin and Judgment
Rejected alternatives: চুরি alone (‘theft,’ too narrow)
Original: מַעַל / (παρέβησαν)
Category: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Achan’s breach of trust against the herem ban, framed as corporate covenant treachery, not mere property theft. Joshua 7:1, 11, 20.
Anger Of The Lord
Approved rendering: সদাপ্রভুর ক্রোধ
Transliteration: Sodaprovur krodh
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Original: אַף־יְהוָה / ὀργὴ κυρίου
Category: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Righteous judicial anger against covenant betrayal, not capricious temper or propitiation-hungry deity imagery from regional folk-religious frameworks. Joshua 7:1, 26.
Nations Canaanite
Approved rendering: জাতিগণ
Transliteration: Jatigon
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Rejected alternatives: পরজাতি (reserved for NT Jew/Gentile-inclusion register)
Original: גּוֹיִם / ἔθνη
Category: Holy War and Divine Judgment
The Canaanite peoples under divine judgment. Kept strictly distinct from পরজাতি to avoid importing Romans’ positive-inclusion connotation backward, or Joshua’s judgment connotation forward. Joshua 3:10; 23:3-13; 24:11.
Promised Land
Approved rendering: প্রতিজ্ঞাত দেশ
Transliteration: Protijnato desh
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Rejected alternatives: দেশ alone (loses covenant force)
Original: אֶרֶץ (with נִשְׁבַּע) / γῆ (with ὄμνυμι)
Category: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Mandatory wherever the land is framed as covenant fulfillment (1:2-6; 21:43-45). Must never suggest endorsement of any modern geopolitical land claim; a live sensitivity given Bengali news-media discourse on the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Swear Oath
Approved rendering: শপথ করা
Transliteration: Shopoth kora
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise; Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: প্রতিশ্রুতি দেওয়া alone (too weak for a binding oath)
Original: נִשְׁבַּע / ὄμνυμι
Category: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Unilateral, unconditional divine oath (1:6; 21:43); also governs Israel’s own binding oaths (9:19-20, Gibeon) with equally binding force, preserving the narrative’s insistence on keeping even a deceptively obtained oath.
Inheritance Land
Approved rendering: অধিকার
Transliteration: Odhikar
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise; Divine Sovereignty in Land Allotment
Rejected alternatives: সম্পত্তি (too secular/commercial)
Original: נַחֲלָה / κληρονομία
Category: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Tribal land allotment as gift, not military merit. Kept resonant with (not collapsed into) the NT believer’s inheritance concept (same underlying Greek root κληρονομία) for future typological teaching. Joshua 13:1-33; 14:1-15; 21:1-45.
Rest In The Land
Approved rendering: বিশ্রাম
Transliteration: Bishram
Doctrine: Rest in the Promised Land as a Type of Salvation Rest
Rejected alternatives: মুক্তি, মোক্ষ, নির্বাণ
Original: נוּחַ / καταπαύω
Category: Rest in the Promised Land as a Type of Salvation Rest
Every doctrinally load-bearing occurrence (21:44; 22:4) must be anchored explicitly to God’s gift of settled, secure dwelling, never read through a Hindu/Buddhist self-attained-liberation frame (মোক্ষ/নির্বাণ), paralleling the baseline’s caution on পরিত্রাণ vs. মুক্তি/মোক্ষ.
Harlot
Approved rendering: বেশ্যা
Transliteration: Beshya
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Rejected alternatives: সরাইখানার মালিক (‘innkeeper,’ euphemistic minimization)
Original: זוֹנָה / πόρνη
Category: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Must be retained without softening; euphemism erases the doctrine’s force that God’s grace reaches the socially excluded — an especially high-stakes point given deep, still-active Bengali social stigma toward sex workers. Joshua 2:1; 6:17, 25.
Covenant Establish
Approved rendering: নিয়ম স্থাপন করা
Transliteration: Niyom sthapon kora
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Original: כָּרַת בְּרִית / διέθετο διαθήκην
Category: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Built on নিয়ম; inherits its High-risk profile. The book’s narrative climax (24:25) — the same covenant vocabulary used for God’s covenant with Abraham/Moses is now enacted with the new generation entering the land.
Medium Risk Terms
Israel
Approved rendering: ইস্রায়েল
Transliteration: Israel
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל
Category: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Established proper-name form.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: পরজাতি
Transliteration: Porojati
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith (contrast term)
Rejected alternatives: বিদেশী
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Reserved for the New Testament’s positive Jew/Gentile-inclusion register. Joshua’s Canaanite peoples under judgment use জাতিগণ instead (see nations_canaanite, Part B); the two terms are strictly partitioned by Testament and connotation to avoid cross-contaminating either doctrine.
Sincerity
Approved rendering: সরলতা
Transliteration: Shorolota
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: সততা alone (too generic)
Original: תָּמִים / εὐθύτης
Category: Covenant Renewal
Undivided, wholehearted devotion (Hebrew tamim), paired with বিশ্বস্ততা. Joshua 24:14.
Faithfulness Truth
Approved rendering: বিশ্বস্ততা
Transliteration: Bishwostota
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: সত্যতা alone (too factual)
Original: אֱמֶת / ἀλήθεια
Category: Covenant Renewal
Covenant-loyal faithfulness (Hebrew emet), not bare factual truth. Joshua 24:14.
Commander Of Lords Army
Approved rendering: সদাপ্রভুর সৈন্যদলের সেনাপতি
Transliteration: Sodaprovur sainnodoler senapoti
Doctrine: Courage through God’s Presence
Original: שַׂר־צְבָא יְהוָה / ἀρχιστράτηγος δυνάμεως κυρίου
Category: Courage through God’s Presence
Joshua 5:13-15. Many commentators identify this figure as a pre-incarnate Christophany; flag for human theologian review whenever teaching material asserts that identification, since it touches the same doctrinal territory as the baseline’s Critical Christology terms.
Wholly Followed The Lord
Approved rendering: সম্পূর্ণরূপে সদাপ্রভুর অনুসরণ করা
Transliteration: Shompurnorupe Sodaprovur onushoron kora
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Original: מִלֵּא אַחֲרֵי יְהוָה / ἐπηκολούθησεν ὀπίσω κυρίου
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
Caleb’s commendation, 14:8-9, 14. Descriptive compound, not a fixed technical term; may be cross-referenced with বিশ্বাসের বাধ্যতা in teaching notes without merging the two vocabularies.
Peace Offering
Approved rendering: মঙ্গলার্থক বলি
Transliteration: Mongolarthok boli
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Original: שֶׁלֶם / εἰρηνικά (θυσία)
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
Joshua 8:31. Lower risk than burnt offering but should be taught alongside হোমবলি’s exclusivity note.
Blessing And Curse
Approved rendering: আশীর্বাদ ও অভিশাপ
Transliteration: Ashirbad o obhishap
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Original: בְּרָכָה וּקְלָלָה / εὐλογία καὶ κατάρα
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
Joshua 8:34. Tie explicitly to covenant obedience/disobedience (Deuteronomy 27-28 background), never to a generic good-luck/bad-luck (ভাগ্য) folk framework.
Priests
Approved rendering: যাজক
Transliteration: Yajok
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest; Divine Presence Preceding Human Action
Rejected alternatives: পুরোহিত, ইমাম
Original: כֹּהֲנִים / ἱερεῖς
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
Established Bengali Christian term distinguishing OT/Levitical priests from পুরোহিত (Hindu Brahmin priest) or ইমাম (Muslim prayer-leader). Joshua 3:3, 6, 8; 6:4, 6.
Passover
Approved rendering: নিস্তারপর্ব
Transliteration: Nistarparbo
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Rejected alternatives: উৎসব alone (too generic)
Original: פֶּסַח / πάσχα
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
Established Bengali Bible term. Joshua 5:10-11. Carries the Exodus-deliverance narrative specifically.
Avenger Of Blood
Approved rendering: রক্তের প্রতিশোধকারী
Transliteration: Rokter protishodhkari
Doctrine: Judicial Restraint of Vengeance
Original: גֹּאֵל הַדָּם / ὁ ἀγχιστεύων τὸ αἷμα
Category: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Requires a cultural-legal framing note that this chapter restrains, not endorses, private vendetta — relevant given informal blood-feud/family-honor revenge customs present in parts of South Asia. Joshua 20:3, 5, 9.
Refuge City
Approved rendering: আশ্রয় নগর
Transliteration: Ashroy nogor
Doctrine: Judicial Restraint of Vengeance
Original: מִקְלָט / φυγαδευτήριον
Category: Holy War and Divine Judgment
A judicial-legal protection institution, not a spiritual retreat or আশ্রম (Hindu ascetic retreat-community). Joshua 20:1-9.
Land
Approved rendering: দেশ
Transliteration: Desh
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Original: אֶרֶץ / γῆ
Category: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Bare geographic sense; reserved for neutral geographic references only. See promised_land for the covenant-theological form.
Lot Casting
Approved rendering: গুলিবাঁট
Transliteration: Guli-bath
Doctrine: Divine Sovereignty in Land Allotment
Rejected alternatives: ভাগ্য-নির্ধারণ (implies impersonal chance)
Original: גּוֹרָל / κλῆρος
Category: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Sovereign divine determination, not folk-astrological or gambling chance, paralleling the baseline’s existing guard on ভাগ্য/নিয়তি. Joshua 14:2; 18:6-10; 19:51.
Ark Of Covenant
Approved rendering: নিয়ম-সিন্দুক
Transliteration: Niyom-sinduk
Doctrine: Divine Presence Preceding Human Action; God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Rejected alternatives: সিন্দুক alone (loses covenant identity)
Original: אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית / κιβωτὸς τῆς διαθήκης
Category: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Built on নিয়ম. Must not be shortened to bare সিন্দুক, which would lose the covenant-object identity central to chs. 3-4’s crossing narrative.
Covenant Kindness Chesed
Approved rendering: বিশ্বস্ত দয়া
Transliteration: Bishwosto doya
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Rejected alternatives: দয়া alone (loses covenant-obligation sense)
Original: חֶסֶד / ἔλεος
Category: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Rahab’s plea for the same covenant-loyal kindness God shows Israel, by analogy. Joshua 2:12, 14.
Rebellion
Approved rendering: বিদ্রোহ
Transliteration: Bidroho
Doctrine: Covenant Unity Among the Tribes
Original: מֶרֶד / ἀποστασία
Category: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Perceived act of covenant treachery/apostasy nearly provoking civil war among the tribes. Joshua 22:16, 18, 22, 29.
Cling To
Approved rendering: আঁকড়ে থাকা
Transliteration: Akre thaka
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem; Exclusive Worship and Rejection of Syncretism
Rejected alternatives: আসক্তি (Buddhist/Hindu negative ‘clinging desire/attachment’ sense)
Original: דָּבַק / προσκολλάομαι
Category: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Positive, marriage-like relational loyalty to God. Never আসক্তি, which would invert the doctrine’s valence (commending release rather than devotion). Joshua 22:5; 23:8.
Statute And Rule
Approved rendering: বিধি ও শাসন
Transliteration: Bidhi o shashon
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem; Inspiration and Authority of the Law
Original: חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט / πρόσταγμα καὶ κρίσιν
Category: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
The legal terms of the Shechem covenant recorded in the Book of the Law. Joshua 24:25.
Low Risk Terms
Household
Approved rendering: পরিবার
Transliteration: Poribar
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: বাড়ি (building only)
Original: בַּיִת / οἶκος
Category: Covenant Renewal
Household-headship public declaration; resonates positively with Bengali joint-family structures. Joshua 24:15.
Command
Approved rendering: আজ্ঞা / আদেশ
Transliteration: Agya / Adesh
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Original: צִוָּה / ἐντέλλομαι
Category: Obedience and the Conquest
Standard vocabulary; theological weight lies in the completeness of the described obedience (11:15, 20, 23), not in the word itself.
Unintentional Killer
Approved rendering: অনিচ্ছাকৃতভাবে নরহত্যাকারী
Transliteration: Onichchhakritvabe norohatyakari
Doctrine: Judicial Restraint of Vengeance
Original: רוֹצֵחַ בִּשְׁגָגָה
Category: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Must be clearly distinguished from premeditated-murder terminology. Joshua 20.
Boundary
Approved rendering: সীমা
Transliteration: Shima
Doctrine: Divine Sovereignty in Land Allotment
Original: גְּבוּל / ὅριον
Category: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Neutral geographic-administrative term. Joshua 15:1-12; 16-19.
King
Approved rendering: রাজা
Transliteration: Raja
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Original: מֶלֶךְ / βασιλεύς
Category: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Ordinary title/proper-noun usage; no collision risk. Conquest-list chapters (ch. 12).
Spies
Approved rendering: গুপ্তচর
Transliteration: Guptochor
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Original: מְרַגְּלִים / κατάσκοποι
Category: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Standard narrative vocabulary; no collision risk. Joshua 2:1.
Witness Stone
Approved rendering: সাক্ষী
Transliteration: Shakkhi
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem; Divine Presence Preceding Human Action
Original: עֵד / μαρτύριον, μάρτυς
Category: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Physical memorial standing as ongoing testimony. Bookends the book — Jordan-crossing stones (ch. 4) and the Shechem covenant stone (24:26-27). Must be distinguished from a functioning sacrificial altar where relevant (ch. 22).
Shofar Trumpets
Approved rendering: শিঙ্গা
Transliteration: Shinga
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Original: שׁוֹפָרוֹת / σάλπιγγες
Category: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Ram’s-horn trumpets, Jericho siege ritual. Joshua 6.
Battle Shout
Approved rendering: জয়ধ্বনি
Transliteration: Joydhoni
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Original: תְּרוּעָה / ἀλαλαγμός
Category: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Battle shout at Jericho’s fall. Joshua 6.
Trickery
Approved rendering: প্রতারণা
Transliteration: Protarona
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem (background: Gibeonite narrative)
Original: עָרְמָה / πανουργία
Category: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
The Gibeonites’ cunning deception (ch. 9); the doctrinal weight of the episode is carried by শপথ করা, not by this word.
Referenced passages