Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Philemon (English → Bodo)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, drawn from every section of Philemon’s single chapter (vv.1-7, the core passage vv.8-21, and vv.22-25). Terms marked [BASELINE] are reused exactly from the Romans translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json and MUST NOT be altered. All other terms are newly proposed for this curriculum and require theologian or native-speaker confirmation per their assigned risk tier before Phase 2 deployment.
Baseline Terms Reused Exactly
| Term | Bodo Rendering | Transliteration | Doctrine Risk | Baseline Source | Occurrences in Philemon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grace | मोफादांनाय दान | mwphwdangnai daan | Critical | translation_memory.json | vv.3, 25; conceptually vv.14, 22 |
| peace | सान्ति | santi | Medium | translation_memory.json | v.3; conceptually v.20 |
| god | ईश्वर | Isor | Critical | translation_memory.json | v.3, v.4 |
| father | आफा | afa | Critical | translation_memory.json | v.3 |
| lord | प्रभु | probhu | Critical | translation_memory.json | vv.3, 5, 16, 20, 25 |
| jesus | जिसु | Jisu | Critical | translation_memory.json | vv.1, 3, 5, 9, 25 |
| messiah/christ | मसीह | mosih | Critical | translation_memory.json | vv.1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 20, 23, 25 |
| faith | बिश्वास | biswas | High | translation_memory.json | vv.5, 6 |
| saints | पबित्र मानुष | pobitro manwsw | High | translation_memory.json | vv.5, 7 |
| church | मण्डली | mwndoli | Medium | translation_memory.json | v.2 |
| fellowship | गोसो जोंथानाय | gwsw jwnthanai | Low | translation_memory.json | v.6 |
| thanksgiving | धिनानाय | dhinanai | Low | translation_memory.json | v.4 |
| exhort (entreaty sense) | बिनयनाय | binoinai | High (context-sensitive) | translation_memory.json | vv.9, 10 |
| gospel | मंगल खबर | mangal khabor | High | translation_memory.json | v.13 |
| intercession (structural parallel) | मोनसे नि थाखाय बिनयनाय | monse ni thakhai binoinai | Medium | translation_memory.json | conceptual background to whole appeal (vv.8-21) |
| obedience of faith (distinguish, do not conflate) | बिश्वासनि मानोन | biswasni manwn | High | translation_memory.json | contrast term for v.21’s plain मानोन |
| adoption (distinguish, do not conflate) | गोसोआव फैनाय | gwswao phoinai | High | translation_memory.json | contrast term for v.10’s spiritual fatherhood |
| providence (distinguish, do not conflate) | ईश्वरनि सामलानाय | Isornni samlanai | High | translation_memory.json | contrast term for v.15’s ἐχωρίσθη |
| imputed righteousness (theological parallel, not equivalence) | दानै लाबोनाय धार्मिकता | danai labwnai dharmikota | Critical | translation_memory.json | conceptual parallel to v.18’s ἐλλόγα |
| holy_spirit (forbidden-substitution rule applies) | पबित्र आत्था | pobitro aatha | Critical | translation_memory.json | NOT used in v.25 (human spirit, not Holy Spirit — see note below) |
New Terms Proposed for the Philemon Curriculum
| Term (English) | Greek | Bodo Rendering | Transliteration | Doctrine Risk | Doctrine | Occurrences | Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| slave / bondservant | δοῦλος | दास | das | Critical | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power; Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | v.16 | The book’s single highest-risk term. Bodo social history includes bonded/household-labor relationships and clan-hierarchy structures; Brahma Dharma’s Sanskritized reform ethic could cause दास to be heard as a fixed religious-social rank. Must be taught as a real social-legal status the gospel relativizes through brotherhood, without claiming the text mandates immediate manumission. Requires human theologian review at every occurrence. |
| brother / brotherhood | ἀδελφός | भाई | bhai | High | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | vv.1, 7, 16, 20 | No baseline entry exists. Must be taught as spiritual brotherhood in Christ transcending status, explicitly distinguished from clan (afad) brotherhood, which in Bodo kinship structure is exclusively blood-lineage-based. |
| sister | ἀδελφή | बहिनी | bohini | Low | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | v.2 | Parallel term to ἀδελφός; low ambiguity beyond consistency. |
| prisoner (of Christ) | δέσμιος | बन्दि | bandi | Medium-High | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | vv.1, 9, 10, 13 | Must be taught as voluntary gospel-suffering identity, not political or criminal disgrace — sensitive given contemporary Bodoland-region associations of imprisonment with political conflict. |
| bonds / chains | δεσμός | सिकिरि / बन्दिनाय | sikiri / bandinai | Medium | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | vv.10, 13 | Literal imprisonment vocabulary; low ambiguity beyond consistency with δέσμιος rendering. |
| love (ἀγάπη as standalone noun) | ἀγάπη | मोखांथिनाय | mokhangthinai | High | Grace-Motivated Obedience; Christian Brotherhood | vv.5, 7, 9 | No baseline standalone-noun entry exists (baseline treats “love” only implicitly). Must not be conflated with बिश्वास (faith) or with the reciprocal-gift logic already flagged Critical-risk in the baseline grace entry. |
| spiritual child / begotten (spiritual fatherhood) | τέκνον + ἐγέννησα | आत्मिक गोरा | aatmik gwra | High | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | v.10 | Built parallel to baseline’s ईश्वरनि गोरा (Son of God) structure; must be distinguished from baseline’s गोसोआव फैनाय (adoption) and taught as a genuinely new category, since spiritual fatherhood outside blood lineage has no ready equivalent in Bodo kinship. |
| useless (wordplay term) | ἄχρηστος | अखान्थि | akhanthi | Medium | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | v.11 | New coinage on native root खान्थि (worth). Paired wordplay term; see εὔχρηστος. |
| useful / profitable (wordplay term) | εὔχρηστος | गुनथि | gunthi | Medium | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | v.11 | The Greek pun linking this term to Onesimus’s name cannot be reproduced through the transliterated proper name; requires a translator/teacher note. |
| inward affection / heart | σπλάγχνα | गोसो | gwsw | High | Forgiveness and Reconciliation; Intercession and Appeal | vv.7, 12, 20 | Reuses the root of baseline’s गोसो जोंथानाय (fellowship). Must be taught as expressing the deepest possible personal identification with another, not ordinary affection. Keep rendering consistent across all three occurrences. |
| partner (person) | κοινωνόν | गोसो जोंथायग्रा | gwsw jwnthaygra | High | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | v.17 | Must convey full, equal-standing partnership, not a subordinate role — parallels the baseline’s caution against κοινωνία collapsing into mere social association. |
| receive / welcome (reconciliation act) | προσλαμβάνω | आदाराव लाबोनाय | adarao labwnai | High | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | v.17 | The doctrine’s practical test case: must be distinguished from private, internal forgiveness that produces no visible change in treatment. |
| wrong / injustice (interpersonal) | ἀδικέω | गोरोन्थि खालामनाय | gwrwnthi khalamnai | Medium | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | v.18 | Distinguish from baseline गुनाह (sin against God); this is interpersonal wrong/injury, a related but distinct category. |
| debt / owe | ὀφείλω | ऋण (थानाय) | rin (thanai) | Medium | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | vv.18, 19 | Sanskrit/Assamese-region loan for debt, well understood, low syncretism risk. |
| charge to account / impute (commercial) | ἐλλογάω | ऐसाव लिरनाय | aisao lirnai | High | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | v.18 | Typologically anticipates substitutionary atonement (parallel to baseline’s दानै लाबोनाय धार्मिकता) without being that doctrine itself; teaching notes must draw the parallel explicitly while avoiding equating Paul’s act with the atonement. |
| repay | ἀποτίνω | दैथाय दिहुनगोन | daithai dihungwn | Medium | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | v.19 | Legally-flavored, binding-guarantee phrasing; low ambiguity beyond precision. |
| owe further / be indebted besides | προσοφείλω | बांग्रायाव ऋण थानाय | bangraiyao rin thanwi | Medium | Grace-Motivated Obedience | v.19 | Shifts from literal debt (v.18) to spiritual debt (Philemon’s debt to Paul); must not be conflated with v.18’s literal-debt sense. |
| voluntary / willing | ἑκούσιον | मोनथावनायजों | mwnthawnaijwng | High | Grace-Motivated Obedience | v.14 | The passage’s theological hinge. Must be taught against both Brahma Dharma’s rule-based ethic and traditional Bathou/Kherai reciprocal-exchange logic — directly parallel to the baseline’s Critical grace/merit distinction. |
| compulsion / necessity | ἀνάγκη | गोनांथिजों | gwnangthijwng | Medium | Grace-Motivated Obedience | v.14 | Distinguish from भागी (impersonal fate) already flagged in baseline providence/election entries; this is coerced obligation, not destiny. |
| obedience (general, grace-shaped) | ὑπακοή | मानोन | manwn | High | Grace-Motivated Obedience | v.21 | Distinct from baseline’s बिश्वासनि मानोन (“obedience of faith”); here obedience to a personal, grace-shaped appeal, not obedience flowing from saving faith per se. Guard against a rule-compliance reading reminiscent of Brahma Dharma’s codified conduct ethic. |
| boldness / confidence (rhetorical) | παρρησία | हिम्मत | himmot | Medium | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | v.8 | Must not be confused with the confident, forceful speech attributed to a doudini during Kherai trance-possession. |
| command (rejected alternative) | ἐπιτάσσω | हुकुम होनाय | hukum honai | Low | Grace-Motivated Obedience (contrast term) | v.8 | Names the authoritative-command mode Paul deliberately sets aside in favor of appeal. |
| fitting / proper (duty) | ἀνῆκον | लाबोदैनाय | labwdainai | Low | Grace-Motivated Obedience | v.8 | Descriptive; frames the underlying issue as moral obligation. |
| beloved (address) | ἀγαπητός | मोखांथियै | mokhangthiyoi | Medium | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | vv.1, 16 | Adjectival form paired with ἀδελφός; keep consistent with the ἀγάπη noun-root rendering. |
| fellow worker | συνεργός | साथी कामारि | sathi kamari | Low | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | vv.1, 24 | Low ambiguity; standard ministry-partnership vocabulary. |
| fellow soldier | συστρατιώτης | लराइनि साथी | larai ni sathi | Low-Medium | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | v.2 | Frame as spiritual combat imagery only; handle sensitively given contemporary Bodoland-region associations with armed conflict. |
| fellow prisoner | συναιχμάλωτος | बन्दिनि साथी | bandini sathi | Medium | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | v.23 | Reuses δέσμιος root; confirms Paul’s gospel-suffering is shared, not solitary. |
| house church (household assembly) | κατ’ οἶκον…ἐκκλησία | नोआव थानाय मण्डली | noao thanai mwndoli | Medium | Church as God’s People (Romans baseline doctrine, extended here) | v.2 | Combines native नो (house) with baseline मण्डली; clarifies this is a household-based gathering, not a building-institution, consistent with baseline’s church-vs-नमासोलि distinction. |
| joy | χαρά | खुशी | khushi | Low | (general affective term) | v.7 | Standard vocabulary; minor risk only. |
| full knowledge | ἐπίγνωσις | गुदि मुनजानाय | gudi munjanai | Medium | (supporting term for koinōnia tēs pisteōs) | v.6 | Intensified knowing; distinguish from mere information. |
| joy/benefit wordplay (ὀναίμην) | ὀναίμην | गुनथि मोनथाव | gunthi monthaw | Medium | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power (wordplay) | v.20 | Untranslatable pun on Ὀνήσιμος; requires an explicit translator/teacher note. |
| refresh / give rest | ἀναπαύω | गोसो सान्ति होनाय | gwsw santi honai | Medium | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | vv.7, 20 | Built on baseline सान्ति (peace) plus गोसो (heart); distinguish from ritual household well-being secured through Bathou/Kherai offerings. |
| granted as a gift (of a person) | χαρίζομαι (passive) | मोफादांनाय दान महर होनाय | mwphwdangnai daan mohor honai | Medium | Grace-Motivated Obedience (echo) | v.22 | Built on baseline grace root; notes the wordplay linking Paul’s hoped-for release to the letter’s grace-theme. |
| lodging / guest room | ξενία | थानाय जायगा | thanai jaygaa | Low | (hospitality, supporting term) | v.22 | Low ambiguity; standard hospitality vocabulary. |
Special Cross-Reference Notes
- δοῦλος (v.16) is the book’s single Critical-risk term requiring the most careful Phase 2 handling. It has no baseline precedent and directly engages “Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power” and “Christian Brotherhood across Social Status,” the two doctrines most exposed to misreading against Bodo social history and Brahma Dharma’s reform-era social ethic.
- v.25’s πνεῦμα ὑμῶν (“your spirit”) refers to the human spirit, not the Holy Spirit. The baseline’s forbidden-substitution rule against bare आत्था applies only to Holy Spirit references (which must always render as पबित्र आत्था in full). Bare आत्था is correct here and must not be “corrected” to पबित्र आत्था by an over-eager validation pass.
- The ἄχρηστος/εὔχρηστος (v.11) and ὀναίμην (v.20) wordplays on Onesimus’s name cannot be reproduced in Bodo through the transliterated proper name ओनेसिमुस. Both require an explicit translator/teacher note (per the AI instruction set’s footnote-requirement pattern) rather than a forced onomastic pun in the destination text.
- v.18’s ἐλλόγα (“charge to my account”) is a human-level enactment of the same imputation logic behind the baseline’s Critical-risk दानै लाबोनाय धार्मिकता (imputed righteousness) term. Teaching notes should draw this typological parallel explicitly while keeping the two doctrinally distinct (Paul’s offer illustrates, but is not itself, the atonement).
- v.14’s ἑκούσιον (voluntary) is the doctrinal center of “Grace-Motivated Obedience” and must be cross-referenced in Phase 2 instructions with the baseline’s Critical-risk grace-versus-merit/ritual-exchange distinction (Romans 4:4-5, 11:5-6), since the same two comparative-religion currents (Brahma Dharma merit-ethic; Bathou/Kherai reciprocal exchange) threaten this term as they threaten grace itself.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: मोफादांनाय दान
Transliteration: mwphwdangnai daan
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: दान गोरोबनाय (a reciprocal gift expecting return offering, rejected), पुण्य (Brahma Dharma merit-language, never use)
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Descriptive compound meaning ‘freely-given gift,’ required to resist both Bathou/Kherai reciprocal-offering logic and Brahma Dharma merit-ethic. PHILEMON APPLICATION: opens and closes the letter (1:3, 1:25) and underlies 1:14’s ἑκούσιον (voluntary) argument and 1:22’s χαρίζομαι wordplay (Paul’s own hoped-for release framed as an act of grace). Cross-reference with Romans 4:4-5 and 11:5-6 whenever Philemon 1:14 is translated.
God
Approved rendering: ईश्वर
Transliteration: Isor
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: बाथौबुरै (never use as the primary term for the biblical God; reserve strictly for describing traditional Bathou belief)
Original: θεός
Category: God
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Never बाथौबुरै. PHILEMON APPLICATION: source of grace and peace and object of Paul’s thanksgiving (1:3-4).
Father
Approved rendering: आफा
Transliteration: afa
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: बाथौबुरै (reserve strictly for describing traditional belief, never for the biblical Father)
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Ordinary Bodo word for father, chosen for warmth/intimacy over an inherited deity-elder title. PHILEMON APPLICATION: named in the letter’s opening greeting (1:3) only; contrast term for 1:10’s distinct spiritual-fatherhood doctrine, which is Paul’s role, not God’s.
Lord
Approved rendering: प्रभु
Transliteration: probhu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: बुरहा/बर’ऐ titles reserved for Bathoubwrai and Kherai-pantheon elder-deities, never use for Christ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Never बर’ऐ/बुरहा. PHILEMON APPLICATION: occurs repeatedly (1:3, 5, 16, 20, 25); in 1:16 the ‘in the Lord’ plane must be held together with, not against, ‘in the flesh.‘
Jesus
Approved rendering: जिसु
Transliteration: Jisu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Follows the Bodo Bible’s established form. PHILEMON APPLICATION: occurs at 1:1, 3, 5, 9, 25; verify consistency against a current printed Bodo Bible before finalizing.
Messiah
Approved rendering: मसीह
Transliteration: mosih
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Transliterated term, regional convention. PHILEMON APPLICATION: occurs at 1:1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 20, 23, 25, including Paul’s self-identification as ‘prisoner of Christ Jesus’ and ‘fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus.‘
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: दानै लाबोनाय धार्मिकता
Transliteration: danai labwnai dharmikota
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: मोनसे नि गुनथिजों लाबोनाय धार्मिकता (righteousness earned by one’s own good conduct, the explicit rejected opposite)
Original: ἐλογίσθη (structural parallel)
Category: Salvation
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Righteousness credited, not earned. PHILEMON APPLICATION: retained ONLY as the theological parallel (not equivalence) for 1:18’s ἐλλόγα, ‘charge it to my account’ (see new term impute_charge_to_account below). Teaching notes must draw the parallel explicitly while keeping Paul’s human-level act distinct from the atonement itself.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: पबित्र आत्था
Transliteration: pobitro aatha
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: देउ (a generic spirit-being from the Bathou/Kherai pantheon, never use), बुरहा-बुरही आत्था (ancestral household spirits venerated in traditional practice, never use)
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Must always be used in full; never bare आत्था for the Holy Spirit. PHILEMON APPLICATION: this term does NOT occur in Philemon 1:25 — that verse’s πνεῦμα ὑμῶν refers to the addressees’ own human spirit; see new term human_spirit below for that distinct, correctly-bare-आत्था case. Do not insert पबित्र आत्था into 1:25.
Slave Bondservant
Approved rendering: दास
Transliteration: das
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Rejected alternatives: softened euphemisms such as ‘helper/worker/servant’ (rejected — flattens the real legal-social stakes the doctrine depends on), caste-adjacent terms drawn from Brahma Dharma’s Sanskritized social-rank vocabulary (never use — risks a fixed quasi-religious rank reading)
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Slavery
CRITICAL: the single highest-risk term in this book. Bodo social history includes its own forms of bonded/household labor and clan-hierarchy relationships; Brahma Dharma’s Sanskritized reform ethic could cause दास to be heard as a fixed, quasi-religious social rank rather than a legal-social status the gospel relativizes (1:16). Must be retained literally, not euphemized — softening would hide the very tension the letter exploits. Teach explicitly: Paul does not command manumission outright, yet insists the relationship is now fundamentally brotherhood. Never flatten into either ‘slavery doesn’t matter’ or ‘Paul commands Philemon to free him.’ Requires human theologian review at every occurrence.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: मंगल खबर
Transliteration: mangal khabor
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: सुसमाचार (Hindi loan, avoid as default; retain only as an explanatory gloss for readers already literate in Hindi)
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] मंगल खबर preferred over a direct Hindi सुसमाचार borrowing so the curriculum reads as Bodo, not Hindi-with-Devanagari-spelling. PHILEMON APPLICATION: modifies ‘bonds’ in 1:13 (मंगल खबरनि बन्दिनाय) to name Paul’s imprisonment as voluntarily embraced gospel-service, not political or criminal disgrace — a distinction worth stating given the contemporary Bodoland-region association of imprisonment with political conflict.
Faith
Approved rendering: बिश्वास
Transliteration: biswas
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: भरोसा (generic trust, too weak alone)
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Object of faith must always be specified in context. PHILEMON APPLICATION: reported of Philemon (1:5-6) as part of the basis for Paul’s appeal; combined with गोसो जोंथानाय in 1:6’s ‘fellowship of your faith’ — confirm this combined phrase’s naturalness with a native speaker.
Saints
Approved rendering: पबित्र मानुष
Transliteration: pobitro manwsw
Doctrine: Sainthood
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Corporate term; must not be narrowed to an elite class. PHILEMON APPLICATION: occurs at 1:5, 7 — Philemon’s love and faith are reported to reach ‘all the saints,’ setting a corporate frame that anticipates the appeal for one particular believer, Onesimus.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: बिश्वासनि मानोन
Transliteration: biswasni manwn
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: धर्मनि निदान मानोन (rule-keeping obedience to a reformed religious code, a works-based misreading)
Original: ὑπακοὴ πίστεως
Category: Faith
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Obedience flowing from saving faith (Romans 1:5/16:26). PHILEMON APPLICATION: retained ONLY as a contrast term for 1:21’s plain ὑπακοή/मानोन, which names obedience to a personal, grace-shaped appeal, not obedience flowing from saving faith per se. Do not substitute this compound for 1:21’s plain मानोन.
Adoption
Approved rendering: गोसोआव फैनाय
Transliteration: gwswao phoinai
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: υἱοθεσία
Category: Salvation
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] God’s legal placement of believers as sons with full inheritance rights. PHILEMON APPLICATION: retained ONLY as a contrast term for 1:10’s spiritual-fatherhood language (see new term spiritual_child below), which describes Paul’s ministerial role in Onesimus’s conversion — a distinct doctrine from God’s own adoption of believers. Do not conflate the two.
Providence
Approved rendering: ईश्वरनि सामलानाय
Transliteration: Isornni samlanai
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: भागी (fate, never use)
Original: πρόνοια (structural parallel)
Category: God
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] God’s personal, purposive care, never भागी. PHILEMON APPLICATION: retained ONLY as a contrast term for 1:15’s passive ἐχωρίσθη (‘he was separated’ — see new term separated below), since Philemon never states divine agency as explicitly as Romans 8:28; avoid overclaiming direct divine causation in teaching notes for 1:15.
Appeal Entreaty
Approved rendering: बिनयनाय
Transliteration: binoinai
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: हुकुम होनाय (command, the mode Paul deliberately rejects, 1:8)
Original: παρακαλῶ
Category: Intercession
New term, distinguished from the baseline exhort entry’s generic encouragement sense. Personal, relational entreaty grounded in love (1:9-10), the mode Paul deliberately chooses over apostolic command (1:8). Must convey direct, unmediated personal speech, not the mediated petitions traditionally carried to Bathoubwrai or the Kherai pantheon through a doudini or ओझा ritual specialist on a household’s behalf.
Brother
Approved rendering: भाई
Transliteration: bhai
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Brotherhood
New term; no baseline precedent for ἀδελφός. Must be taught explicitly as spiritual, cross-status brotherhood in Christ, sharply distinguished from clan (afad) brotherhood, which in traditional Bodo kinship is exclusively blood-lineage-based. Occurs 1:1 (Timothy), 1:7 (Philemon), 1:16 (Onesimus, the doctrine’s central occurrence), 1:20. Always anchor with the flesh_and_lord dual-plane framing at first occurrence in a lesson.
Prisoner Of Christ
Approved rendering: बन्दि
Transliteration: bandi
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: δέσμιος (Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ)
Category: Intercession
New term. ‘Prisoner of Christ Jesus’ (1:1, 9, 10, 13) is Paul’s chosen self-identification, not merely a circumstantial fact of Roman custody. Must be taught as voluntary gospel identity, never shame or criminal disgrace — sensitive given the contemporary Bodoland-region association of imprisonment with decades of ethnic-political conflict, which could otherwise cause this identity-language to be reheard as political martyrdom.
Love Agape
Approved rendering: मोखांथिनाय
Transliteration: mokhangthinai
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Obedience
New term; no baseline TM entry exists for ἀγάπη as a standalone noun (Romans package treats love only implicitly). Occurs 1:5, 7, 9. Must be distinguished from बिश्वास (faith) and must not be flattened into the reciprocal-gift logic already flagged Critical for grace — Paul’s love-appeal is not a ritual exchange for a favor owed back, unlike traditional Bathou/Kherai offerings. First-time coinage requiring native-speaker naturalness confirmation.
Spiritual Child
Approved rendering: आत्मिक गोरा
Transliteration: aatmik gwra
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood in the Gospel
Original: τέκνον / ἐγέννησα
Category: Intercession
New compound built parallel to the baseline’s ईश्वरनि गोरा (Son of God) structure. Names Paul’s claim of spiritual fatherhood over Onesimus through leading him to faith while both were confined (1:10, 12). Genuinely new category: spiritual fatherhood outside blood lineage has no ready equivalent in traditional Bodo clan (afad) kinship, where inheritance and identity run through birth lineage. Must NOT be confused with the baseline’s गोसोआव फैनाय (God’s own adoption of believers) — a distinct doctrine describing God’s, not Paul’s, relationship to a believer.
Heart Affection
Approved rendering: गोसो
Transliteration: gwsw
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rejected alternatives: a literal ‘bowels/inward-parts’ rendering (anatomically odd and doctrinally flat in Bodo, rejected)
Original: σπλάγχνα
Category: Reconciliation
Chosen over a literal σπλάγχνα rendering. Used of the saints’ refreshed hearts (1:7), of Onesimus as Paul’s ‘very heart’ (1:12), and of Paul’s own heart needing refreshment (1:20). Must be taught as expressing the deepest possible personal identification with another, not ordinary ‘I care about him’ language. गोसो is now the shared root of at least four distinct theological compounds across the Romans baseline and this letter (fellowship, partner_person, refresh_give_rest, heart_affection itself) — keep each compound lexically stable and distinguished in teaching notes to prevent semantic bleed.
Partner Person
Approved rendering: गोसो जोंथायग्रा
Transliteration: gwsw jwnthaygra
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: κοινωνός
Category: Reconciliation
Built on the baseline’s गोसो जोंथानाय (fellowship) root. The standing Paul asks Philemon to extend to Onesimus (1:17). Must convey full, equal-standing partnership, not a junior or subordinate role — the same risk direction as the baseline’s caution against κοινωνία collapsing into mere social association.
Receive Welcome
Approved rendering: आदाराव लाबोनाय
Transliteration: adarao labwnai
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: προσλαμβάνω
Category: Reconciliation
The reconciliation doctrine’s practical, visible test case (1:17). Must be distinguished from mere toleration or a private change of heart producing no visible change in how Onesimus is treated in Philemon’s household. Must be glossed with the concrete social action it names, not merely inward pardon.
Impute Charge To Account
Approved rendering: ऐसाव लिरनाय
Transliteration: aisao lirnai
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἐλλογάω
Category: Reconciliation
Commercial/accounting term coined for 1:18; no devotional Bodo precedent exists for ‘charge a debt to my own account’ as a personal, voluntary transaction between two believers. Typologically anticipates the baseline’s Critical-risk दानै लाबोनाय धार्मिकता (imputed righteousness) without being that doctrine itself. Teaching notes must draw the parallel explicitly — Paul standing in for Onesimus’s debt, as Christ stands in for the believer’s — while never claiming Paul’s action equals the atonement; it illustrates it.
Voluntary
Approved rendering: मोनथावनायजों
Transliteration: mwnthawnaijwng
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἑκούσιον
Category: Obedience
CRITICAL-ADJACENT: this book’s doctrinal hinge (1:14). New compound built on मोनथावनाय (willingness). Must be taught against two live currents: Brahma Dharma’s rule-based, obligation-oriented ethic and traditional Bathou/Kherai ritual-exchange logic, both of which could pull ‘goodness’ toward compulsion or reciprocal debt rather than free grace-response. Directly parallels the baseline’s Critical-risk grace/merit distinction (Romans 4:4-5, 11:5-6) and must be cross-referenced with it in every Phase 2 instruction touching 1:14.
Obedience General
Approved rendering: मानोन
Transliteration: manwn
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ὑπακοή
Category: Obedience
Distinct from the baseline’s compound बिश्वासनि मानोन (‘obedience of faith’); here मानोन stands alone (1:21) for obedience to a personal, grace-shaped appeal, not obedience flowing from saving faith per se. Must guard against a rule-compliance reading reminiscent of Brahma Dharma’s codified conduct ethic — this obedience is relational and voluntary (cf. voluntary entry above), not rule-based.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: सान्ति
Transliteration: santi
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Relational peace with God through justification. PHILEMON APPLICATION: paired with grace in the greeting (1:3); conceptually echoed in 1:20’s गोसो सान्ति होनाय (refresh my heart), which must be distinguished from household well-being traditionally secured through Bathou/Kherai offerings.
Church
Approved rendering: मण्डली
Transliteration: mwndoli
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: नमासोलि (Bathou/Kherai shrine site or worship ground, never use)
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Must remain distinct from नमासोलि. PHILEMON APPLICATION: occurs at 1:2 as ‘the church in your house’ (see new compound house_church below for the household-specific extension).
Intercession
Approved rendering: मोनसे नि थाखाय बिनयनाय
Transliteration: monse ni thakhai binoinai
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Distinct from mediated petitions carried to Bathoubwrai/Kherai pantheon via a doudini or ओझा. PHILEMON APPLICATION: reused as conceptual background for the whole letter’s appeal (1:8-21), which enacts this pattern concretely rather than merely describing it.
Bonds Chains
Approved rendering: सिकिरि / बन्दिनाय
Transliteration: sikiri / bandinai
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: δεσμός / δεσμοῖς
Category: Intercession
Literal imprisonment vocabulary (1:10, 13). Standard, low ambiguity beyond consistency with prisoner_of_christ.
Bonds Of The Gospel
Approved rendering: मंगल खबरनि बन्दिनाय
Transliteration: mangal khaborni bandinai
Doctrine: Gospel Suffering as Ministry
Original: δεσμοῖς τοῦ εὐαγγελίου
Category: Intercession
Built directly on the baseline gospel term; occurs 1:13. Reinforces that Paul’s imprisonment is voluntarily embraced gospel suffering, not political or criminal disgrace.
Beloved
Approved rendering: मोखांथियै
Transliteration: mokhangthiyoi
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Brotherhood
Adjectival form paired with brother; applied to Philemon (1:1) and to Onesimus as ‘beloved brother’ (1:16). Keep consistent with love_agape’s noun-root rendering to preserve the pedagogical link between the two.
Useless
Approved rendering: अखान्थि
Transliteration: akhanthi
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: ἄχρηστος
Category: Slavery
New coinage on the native root खान्थि (worth/benefit). Describes Onesimus’s former condition (1:11). Paired with ‘useful’ below; the Greek pun linking this word-pair to Onesimus’s own name (meaning ‘useful’) cannot be reproduced through the transliterated proper name ओनेसिमुस and requires an explicit translator/teacher note.
Useful
Approved rendering: गुनथि
Transliteration: gunthi
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: εὔχρηστος
Category: Slavery
New coinage on the native root गुन (benefit). Names the concrete change the gospel produces in Onesimus’s usefulness to both master and apostle (1:11). See ‘useless’ entry for the shared onomastic-pun risk note; requires the same translator/teacher note.
Wrong Injustice
Approved rendering: गोरोन्थि खालामनाय
Transliteration: gwrwnthi khalamnai
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀδικέω
Category: Reconciliation
Interpersonal harm or injustice Onesimus may have caused, likely theft or lost labor from his flight (1:18). Distinguish from the baseline’s गुनाह (sin against a personal God); this is interpersonal wrong/injury, a related but distinct category to be taught side-by-side, not merged.
Debt Owe
Approved rendering: ऋण (थानाय)
Transliteration: rin (thanai)
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ὀφείλω
Category: Reconciliation
Sanskrit/Assamese-region loan for debt, well understood, low syncretism risk. Names the wrong of 1:18 explicitly as something owed; reused in 1:19’s ἀποτίνω/repay.
Repay
Approved rendering: दैथाय दिहुनगोन
Transliteration: daithai dihungwn
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀποτίνω
Category: Reconciliation
Descriptive, legally-flavored phrasing (1:19); must retain the sense of a personal, written, binding guarantee — Paul putting himself legally on the hook, not a vague promise.
Owe Further
Approved rendering: बांग्रायाव ऋण थानाय
Transliteration: bangraiyao rin thanwi
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: προσοφείλω
Category: Reconciliation
Shifts from literal debt (1:18) to spiritual debt (1:19, Philemon’s debt to Paul for his own conversion). Two visibly different Bodo phrasings (debt_owe for literal, this compound for spiritual) must be kept distinct so the two senses are not conflated.
Compulsion Necessity
Approved rendering: गोनांथिजों
Transliteration: gwnangthijwng
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἀνάγκη
Category: Obedience
Descriptive compound on गोनां (need/necessity), the alternative Paul explicitly rejects for goodness’s motivation (1:14). Must be distinguished from भागी (impersonal fate, already flagged in the baseline providence/election entries) — this is coerced obligation, not destiny.
Confidence Trust
Approved rendering: निश्चयथाव
Transliteration: nisoythaw
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: πεποιθώς
Category: Obedience
Descriptive confidence term (1:21). Paul’s confidence is relational trust in Philemon’s transformed character, not a coercive assumption of compliance.
Boldness Confidence Rhetorical
Approved rendering: हिम्मत
Transliteration: himmot
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: παρρησία
Category: Intercession
Hindi/Assamese-region loan for boldness/courage (1:8). Paul’s boldness here is relational, not oracular; must not be confused with the confident, forceful speech attributed to a doudini during Kherai trance-possession.
Serve Minister
Approved rendering: सेवा खालामनाय
Transliteration: seba khalamnai
Doctrine: Gospel Suffering as Ministry
Original: διακονέω
Category: Slavery
सेवा (a Sanskrit/Assamese loan) used consistently with existing Bodo Bible tradition for diaconal service (1:13); must not collapse into the reciprocal-service framing of traditional Bathou household offerings.
Separated
Approved rendering: गोबाव जाथाव
Transliteration: gwbaw jathaw
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: ἐχωρίσθη
Category: Reconciliation
Passive verb hinting at providential purpose behind Onesimus’s flight/absence (1:15). Should be taught alongside, not merged into, the baseline ईश्वरनि सामलानाय (providence) term; avoid overclaiming direct divine causation.
Eternal Forever Relational
Approved rendering: सदायनि थाखाय
Transliteration: sadayni thakhay
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: αἰώνιον
Category: Brotherhood
Refers to a transformed, permanent relationship (1:15), not an afterlife destiny; must not be confused with the eschatological weight carried by resurrection/salvation vocabulary elsewhere in the wider curriculum.
Flesh And Lord
Approved rendering: सारीराव आरो प्रभुनि जायगाव
Transliteration: sarirao aru probhuni jaigao
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ἐν σαρκὶ καὶ ἐν κυρίῳ
Category: Brotherhood
Ensures the ‘flesh and Lord’ dual framing of 1:16 is not lost — the change is not merely notional but must reshape actual conduct within the household. Must always be paired with the brother entry at first occurrence in a lesson.
Fellow Soldier
Approved rendering: लराइनि साथी
Transliteration: larai ni sathi
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: συστρατιώτης
Category: Intercession
Military-metaphor partnership in gospel struggle (1:2, Archippus). Frame as spiritual combat imagery only; handle sensitively given contemporary Bodoland-region sensitivities around armed conflict.
Fellow Prisoner
Approved rendering: बन्दिनि साथी
Transliteration: bandini sathi
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: συναιχμάλωτος
Category: Intercession
Reuses the बन्दि root from prisoner_of_christ (1:23, Epaphras). Confirms Paul is not alone in gospel-suffering, reinforcing the communal backdrop of intercession and appeal.
House Church
Approved rendering: नोआव थानाय मण्डली
Transliteration: noao thanai mwndoli
Doctrine: Household Church and Hospitality
Original: κατ᾽ οἶκόν σου ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Combines native नो (house) with the baseline’s मण्डली (1:2). Clarifies this is a household-based gathering, not a building-institution, consistent with the baseline’s church-vs-नमासोलि distinction; must not be presented as though it functions like the sijou-centered household courtyard of Bathou ritual practice.
Full Knowledge
Approved rendering: गुदि मुनजानाय
Transliteration: gudi munjanai
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ἐπίγνωσις
Category: Faith
Intensified knowing (1:6, ἐπίγνωσις); distinguish from mere information or generic religious awareness. Supporting term for ‘the fellowship of your faith.‘
Onaimen Wordplay
Approved rendering: गुनथि मोनथाव
Transliteration: gunthi monthaw
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: ὀναίμην
Category: Slavery
‘May I have joy/benefit from you’ (1:20) — a direct pun on Onesimus’s name (meaning ‘useful/profitable’). The Greek pun is untranslatable in Bodo through the transliterated proper name; a translator/teacher note must flag this explicitly so the rhetorical warmth of the wordplay is not simply lost.
Refresh Give Rest
Approved rendering: गोसो सान्ति होनाय
Transliteration: gwsw santi honai
Doctrine: Household Church and Hospitality
Original: ἀναπαύω
Category: Reconciliation
Built on the baseline सान्ति (peace) plus गोसो (heart); used of the saints’ hearts (1:7) and Paul’s own heart (1:20). Distinguish from ritual household well-being secured through Bathou/Kherai offerings — this is relational refreshment between believers.
Granted As Gift
Approved rendering: मोफादांनाय दान महर होनाय
Transliteration: mwphwdangnai daan mohor honai
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: χαρίζομαι (passive)
Category: Intercession
Built on the baseline grace root (1:22, χαρίζομαι passive). Notes the wordplay linking Paul’s own hoped-for release to the same grace-vocabulary undergirding the appeal for Onesimus.
Human Spirit
Approved rendering: आत्था
Transliteration: aatha
Doctrine: Household Church and Hospitality
Rejected alternatives: पबित्र आत्था (WRONG for this verse — reserved exclusively for the Holy Spirit; must not be inserted here)
Original: πνεῦμα ὑμῶν
Category: God
SPECIAL CASE: Philemon 1:25’s πνεῦμα ὑμῶν refers to the addressees’ own human spirit, NOT the Holy Spirit. Bare आत्था is the CORRECT rendering here; the baseline’s forbidden-substitution rule against bare आत्था applies only to Holy Spirit references and must not be misapplied to override this verse, nor should this verse be read as license to use bare आत्था for the Holy Spirit elsewhere in this or any other curriculum.
Onesimus
Approved rendering: ओनेसिमुस
Transliteration: Onesimus
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Ὀνήσιμος
Category: Proper Names
Philemon’s slave, converted through Paul’s ministry, whose name means ‘useful/profitable’ (1:10). The wordplay on the name’s meaning (see useless, useful, onaimen_wordplay) cannot be reproduced in the transliterated form; requires a translator/teacher note explaining the pun at every relevant occurrence (1:11, 1:20).
Low Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: गोसो जोंथानाय
Transliteration: gwsw jwnthanai
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Shared participation in Christ. PHILEMON APPLICATION: occurs at 1:6 (‘the fellowship of your faith’); root also underlies new compounds partner_person (1:17) and refresh_give_rest — keep all compounds lexically distinguished so learners do not flatten them into one vague ‘heart/togetherness’ gloss.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: धिनानाय
Transliteration: dhinanai
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία / εὐχαριστῶ
Category: Faith
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Standard term. PHILEMON APPLICATION: opens the thanksgiving section at 1:4.
Exhort
Approved rendering: गोसो होनाय
Transliteration: gwsw honai
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
[INHERITED FROM ROMANS PACKAGE] Use for encouragement/building up. PHILEMON APPLICATION: this general encouragement sense is NOT the sense active in 1:9-10; those verses use the distinct High-risk entreaty sense — see new term appeal_entreaty below, which must not be conflated with this entry.
Sister
Approved rendering: बहिनी
Transliteration: bohini
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ἀδελφή
Category: Brotherhood
Parallel term to brother, applied to Apphia (1:2). Confirms women’s full inclusion as named recipients and ministry partners; low ambiguity beyond consistency.
Consent Opinion
Approved rendering: मोन
Transliteration: mwn
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: γνώμη
Category: Obedience
Standard term; Paul defers to Philemon’s own free consent (1:14), reinforcing the grace-not-compulsion pattern central to this book.
Command Rejected
Approved rendering: हुकुम होनाय
Transliteration: hukum honai
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἐπιτάσσω
Category: Obedience
Standard command vocabulary; no comparative-religion collision. Names the authoritative-command mode Paul deliberately sets aside in favor of appeal (1:8).
Fitting Proper
Approved rendering: लाबोदैनाय
Transliteration: labwdainai
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἀνῆκον
Category: Obedience
Descriptive; carries the sense of ‘what is owed/appropriate,’ setting up the appeal-not-command frame for the whole passage (1:8).
Retain Keep
Approved rendering: दिहुननानै थानाय
Transliteration: dihunnanai thanai
Doctrine: Gospel Suffering as Ministry
Original: κατέχειν
Category: Slavery
Descriptive; Paul’s admitted desire to keep Onesimus for himself (1:13), setting up 1:14’s voluntary/compulsion contrast.
Fellow Worker
Approved rendering: साथी कामारि
Transliteration: sathi kamari
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: συνεργός
Category: Brotherhood
Standard ministry-partnership vocabulary (1:1, 24); names Philemon as an active gospel partner, not merely a wealthy patron.
Joy
Approved rendering: खुशी
Transliteration: khushi
Doctrine: Household Church and Hospitality
Original: χαρά
Category: Reconciliation
Standard vocabulary (1:7); Paul’s own joy on hearing of Philemon’s love and faith. Minor risk only.
Lodging Guest Room
Approved rendering: थानाय जायगा
Transliteration: thanai jaygaa
Doctrine: Household Church and Hospitality
Original: ξενία
Category: Brotherhood
Standard hospitality vocabulary (1:22); quietly reinforces Paul’s confidence that his appeal will be honored.
Paul
Approved rendering: पौल
Transliteration: Paul
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Παῦλος
Category: Proper Names
Standard transliteration; verify against a current printed Bodo Bible. The letter’s author, self-identified as prisoner_of_christ (1:1).
Philemon
Approved rendering: फिलेमोन
Transliteration: Philemon
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Φιλήμων
Category: Proper Names
Standard transliteration; verify against a current printed Bodo Bible. The letter’s primary recipient, a beloved fellow_worker and slave_bondservant owner (1:1).
Timothy
Approved rendering: तीमथी
Transliteration: Timothy
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Τιμόθεος
Category: Proper Names
Standard transliteration. Co-sender of the letter, named brother (1:1).
Apphia
Approved rendering: आफ्फिया
Transliteration: Apphia
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Ἀπφία
Category: Proper Names
Standard transliteration. Named recipient, addressed as sister (1:2).
Archippus
Approved rendering: आर्खिप्पुस
Transliteration: Archippus
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Ἄρχιππος
Category: Proper Names
Standard transliteration. Named recipient, addressed as fellow_soldier (1:2).
Epaphras
Approved rendering: इपाफ्रास
Transliteration: Epaphras
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Ἐπαφρᾶς
Category: Proper Names
Standard transliteration. Named fellow_prisoner in the closing greetings (1:23).
Mark Aristarchus Demas Luke
Approved rendering: मार्क, आरिस्तार्खुस, दीमास, लूका
Transliteration: Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Μᾶρκος, Ἀρίσταρχος, Δημᾶς, Λουκᾶς
Category: Proper Names
Standard transliterations; grouped for registry economy. Four of Paul’s named fellow_worker co-laborers in the closing greetings (1:24); none carries individual doctrinal weight beyond confirming Paul’s wide circle of gospel partnership.
Referenced passages