Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Philemon (English → Cantonese)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, covering the entire book of Philemon (one chapter, 25 verses). Terms are grouped into:
- Terms Reused Exactly from the Baseline Romans Translation Memory — no deviation permitted.
- New Terms Introduced by Philemon — proposed Cantonese renderings, risk tiers, and grounded justification, formatted for direct promotion into an updated
translation_memory.jsonin a later step. - Proper Nouns — established Cantonese Bible transliterations.
Risk tiers follow the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json definitions exactly (Critical / High / Medium / Low).
1. Terms Reused Exactly from Baseline Romans Translation Memory
| English Term | Greek | Cantonese (Baseline) | Jyutping | Risk | Doctrine | Philemon Occurrence(s) | Reuse Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grace | χάρις | 恩典 | jan1 din2 | Critical | Grace | 1:3, 1:22 (χαρίζομαι), 1:25 | Applies without exception; χαρίζομαι at 1:22 must visibly connect to this root |
| Peace | εἰρήνη | 平安 | ping4 on1 | Medium | Peace with God | 1:3 | Standard greeting formula |
| God | θεός | 神 | san4 | Critical | Deity of Christ | 1:3, 1:4 | No deviation |
| Lord | κύριος | 主 | zyu2 | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 1:3, 1:5, 1:16, 1:20, 1:25 | No deviation |
| Jesus | Ἰησοῦς | 耶穌 | je4 sou1 | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 1:9, 1:23, 1:25 | No deviation |
| Christ / Messiah | Χριστός | 基督 | gei1 duk1 | Critical | Messianic Promise | 1:1, 1:3, 1:6, 1:8, 1:9, 1:20, 1:23, 1:25 | No deviation |
| Faith | πίστις | 信心 | seon3 sam1 | High | Faith | 1:5, 1:6 | Distinguish from πείθω (interpersonal trust) at 1:21 — see new term below |
| Saints | ἅγιοι | 聖徒 | sing3 tou4 | High | Sainthood | 1:5, 1:7 | No deviation |
| Fellowship | κοινωνία | 團契 | tyun4 kai3 | Low | Christian Fellowship | 1:6 | κοινωνόν (1:17) is a related but distinct new term — see below |
| Church | ἐκκλησία | 教會 | gaau3 wui2 | Medium | Church as God’s People | 1:2 | Do NOT translate “house church” as 家庭教會 — see new-term risk note |
| Gospel | εὐαγγέλιον | 福音 | fuk1 jam1 | Medium | Gospel | 1:13 | No deviation |
| Thanksgiving | εὐχαριστία (vb. εὐχαριστέω) | 感恩 | gam2 jan1 | Low | Thanksgiving | 1:4 | No deviation |
| Exhort (contextual: appeal) | παρακαλέω | 勸勉 (baseline default) | hyun3 min5 | Low (baseline) / elevated to High in this context | Mutual Edification / Intercession and Appeal | 1:9, 1:10 | Baseline itself flags this verb as context-sensitive between entreaty and encouragement; Philemon’s entreaty sense requires the stronger 懇求 rendering — see new-term entry below for full justification |
| Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα ἅγιον | 聖靈 | sing3 ling4 | Critical | Sanctification | (not directly named in Philemon) | Cited for contrast; the πνεῦμα at 1:25 is NOT this term — see new-term entry |
2. New Terms Introduced by Philemon
| English Term | Greek (transliteration) | Proposed Cantonese | Jyutping | Risk | Doctrine | Occurrence(s) | Alternatives Rejected | Grounded Justification / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prisoner (of Christ) | δέσμιος (desmios) | 被囚嘅 (為基督被囚嘅) | bei6 cau4 ge3 | Medium | Intercession and Appeal | 1:1, 1:9, 1:10, 1:13 | 囚犯 | 囚犯 imports ordinary criminal-record stigma, heavily consequential in Hong Kong employment/social contexts; always pair with “為基督” to keep the honorific, non-criminal sense |
| Fellow prisoner (war-captive) | συναιχμάλωτος (synaichmalōtos) | 同被囚嘅 | tung4 bei6 cau4 ge3 | Low-Medium | Intercession and Appeal | 1:23 | 同監犯 | Retains the martial-captive imagery without importing ordinary criminal connotation; pair with “為主” |
| Beloved | ἀγαπητός (agapētos) | 親愛嘅 | can1 oi3 ge3 | Low | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | 1:1, 1:2, 1:16 | — | Standard, no significant collision |
| Fellow worker | συνεργός (synergos) | 同工 | tung4 gung1 | Low | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | 1:1, 1:24 | — | Established Hong Kong church usage |
| Fellow soldier | συστρατιώτης (systratiōtēs) | 同袍 | tung4 pou4 | Low | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | 1:2 | 戰友 | Natural Cantonese comrade-in-arms term; note the military metaphor explicitly |
| House church (descriptive, avoid loaded compound) | κατ᾽ οἶκόν ἐκκλησία | 喺你屋企聚會嘅教會 | (descriptive phrase) | Medium | Church as God’s People | 1:2 | 家庭教會 | 家庭教會 carries contemporary Mainland underground/unregistered-church political connotation; avoid the loaded modern compound and use a descriptive phrase instead |
| Love | ἀγάπη (agapē) | 愛 / 愛心 | oi3 / oi3 sam1 | Medium | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | 1:5, 1:7, 1:9 | 仁愛 (Confucian familial benevolence) | Must be explicitly taught as Christ-centered, sacrificial covenant love, not generic sentiment or Confucian familial duty |
| Joy | χαρά (chara) | 喜樂 | hei2 lok6 | Low | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:7 | 開心 (circumstantial happiness) | Standard Cantonese Christian joy vocabulary |
| Comfort/encouragement (noun) | παράκλησις (paraklēsis) | 安慰 | on1 wai3 | Low | Intercession and Appeal | 1:7 | — | Noun form; contrast with the High-risk verb παρακαλέω entry below |
| Heart / deep affection | σπλάγχνα (splagchna) | 心 / 心腸 | sam1 / sam1 coeng4 | Medium | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:7, 1:12, 1:20 | 內臟 (literal anatomical) | Literal rendering is absurd in Cantonese; must render consistently across all three occurrences to preserve the letter’s emotional inclusio |
| Full knowledge | ἐπίγνωσις (epignōsis) | 認識 | jing6 sik1 | Low | — | 1:6 | — | Minor term |
| Appeal / entreat (contextual sense of παρακαλέω) | παρακαλέω (parakaleō) | 懇求 (context-specific; 勸勉 is baseline default) | han2 kau4 | High | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | 1:9, 1:10 | 勸勉 alone (too weak for entreaty sense), 命令-adjacent renderings | Baseline flags this verb as context-sensitive; Philemon’s urgent third-party entreaty sense requires 懇求 rather than the general-encouragement default; flag for human theologian review |
| Boldness / confident authority | παρρησία (parrēsia) | 理直氣壯嘅權柄 (phrase) | (phrase) | Medium | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | 1:8 | 勇氣 (courage alone) | Must convey both boldness AND standing/authority, not mere personal courage |
| Command (rejected option) | ἐπιτάσσω (epitassō) | 命令 | ming6 ling6 | Low-Medium | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | 1:8 | — | Preserve as the explicitly rejected alternative to appeal |
| Elder / ambassador (textual variant) | πρεσβύτης / πρεσβευτής | 年老嘅人 (+ textual-variant note) | (phrase) | Medium | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | 1:9 | — | Flag textual variant (ambassador reading) for reviewer awareness |
| Child (spiritual) | τέκνον (teknon) | 我所生嘅仔 (喺信仰上) | ngo5 so2 saang1 ge3 zai2 | Medium | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | 1:10 | 過繼 (clan-succession adoption) | Must be clearly spiritual, not literal/legal adoption; parallels baseline adoption cautions |
| Beget / father (spiritually) | γεννάω (gennaō) | 生 (喺監禁中) | saang1 | Medium | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | 1:10 | — | Always retain “in my imprisonment” qualifier |
| Useless | ἄχρηστος (achrēstos) | 無用 | mou4 jung6 | Low | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | 1:11 | — | Pairs with εὔχρηστος; part of untranslatable Onesimus name-pun, needs translator note |
| Useful | εὔχρηστος (euchrēstos) | 有用 | jau5 jung6 | Low | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | 1:11 | — | See above |
| Send back | ἀναπέμπω (anapempō) | 送返 | sung3 faan1 | Low | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:12 | — | Standard |
| Keep/retain | κατέχω (katechō) | 留住 | lau4 zyu6 | Low | Grace-Motivated Obedience | 1:13 | — | Standard |
| Serve/minister | διακονέω (diakoneō) | 服侍 / 事奉 | fuk6 si6 / si6 fung6 | Low | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | 1:13 | 打工 (generic paid labor) | Preserve ministry sense, not domestic-labor sense |
| Consent / free will | γνώμη (gnōmē) | 同意 / 意願 | tung4 ji3 / ji3 jyun6 | Medium | Grace-Motivated Obedience | 1:14 | 許可 (mere procedural permission) | Must convey free moral agency as a condition of the act’s goodness, not procedural courtesy |
| Compulsion | ἀνάγκη (anankē) | 勉強 / 被迫 | mit5 koeng4 / bei6 bik1 | Medium | Grace-Motivated Obedience | 1:14 | — | Distinguish relational coercion from mere absence of legal obligation |
| Good (deed) | ἀγαθός (agathos) | 善事 / 好事 | sin6 si6 / hou2 si6 | Low | Grace-Motivated Obedience | 1:14 | — | Standard |
| Voluntary | ἑκούσιος (hekousios) | 自願 / 出於甘心 | zi6 jyun6 / ceot1 jyu4 gam1 sam1 | High | Grace-Motivated Obedience | 1:14 | 還神還願-style compliance | Doctrinal linchpin distinguishing grace-motivated action from debt-discharging/vow-fulfilling obedience; flag for human theologian review |
| Separated (euphemistic) | χωρίζω (chōrizō) | 離開 | lei4 hoi1 | Medium | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:15 | 逃走 (blunt “ran away”) | Preserve Paul’s deliberate gentleness/indirection about Onesimus’s past wrong |
| Permanently / forever | αἰώνιος (aiōnios) | 永遠 | wing5 jyun5 | Medium | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:15 | — | Note double sense: permanent earthly restoration and/or eternal brotherhood |
| Slave / bondservant | δοῦλος (doulos) | 奴僕 | nou4 buk6 | High | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | 1:16 | 僕人 (softened, suggests paid employment) | Must not be conflated with historical 妹仔 (mui-tsai) practice or with contemporary 外傭 (foreign domestic helper) discourse without careful, explicit distinction; flag for human theologian review |
| Brother | ἀδελφός (adelphos) | 弟兄 | dai6 hing1 | Medium | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | 1:1 (Timothy), 1:7, 1:9, 1:16, 1:20 | 結拜 (sworn-brotherhood pact between equals) | Biblical brotherhood is a given, gospel-created kinship overturning existing hierarchy, not a voluntary peer alliance; flag for human theologian review at 1:16 |
| Flesh (ordinary relationship sense) | σάρξ (sarx) | 肉體 | juk6 tai2 | Medium | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | 1:16 | 肉身 (reserved for baseline’s Incarnation doctrine) | Keep written form distinct from 肉身 to avoid blurring with the Critical Incarnation doctrine |
| Partner | κοινωνός (koinōnos) | 同伴 / 夥伴 | tung4 bun6 / fo2 bun6 | Medium | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | 1:17 | 合夥人 (commercial business partner) | Hong Kong’s contract-driven business culture makes 合夥人 a tempting but wrong secularizing choice |
| Receive/welcome | προσλαμβάνω (proslambanō) | 接納 | zip3 naap6 | Low | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:17 | — | Standard |
| Wrong (verb) | ἀδικέω (adikeō) | 得罪 / 虧負 | dak1 zeoi6 / kwai1 fu6 | Low | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:18 | — | Cross-reference to 罪/義 word family for teaching continuity, though distinct in category |
| Owe | ὀφείλω (opheilō) | 欠 | him3 | Low | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:18 | — | Natural Hong Kong commercial-register term |
| Charge to account (impute) | ἐλλογάω (ellogaō) | 算落…嘅數上 / 記在我嘅帳上 | syun3 lok6…ge3 sou3 soeng6 | High | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:18 | — | Directly parallels baseline’s Critical imputed_righteousness (算為義) logic; risk is flattening to secular bookkeeping without drawing the gospel connection; flag for human theologian review |
| Repay | ἀποτίνω (apotinō) | 償還 | soeng4 waan4 | Medium | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | 1:19 | — | Preserve “handwritten pledge” detail as binding personal guarantee |
| Owe besides | προσοφείλω (prosopheilō) | 仲欠… | zung6 him3 | Medium | Grace-Motivated Obedience | 1:19 | — | Connect to the logic that Philemon can forgive because he was forgiven a greater debt |
| May I benefit/have joy of | ὀνίνημι / ὀναίμην (onaimēn) | 願我可以因你得着益處 | (phrase) | Low | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:20 | — | Second untranslatable Onesimus-name pun; requires explicit translator note |
| Refresh/give rest | ἀναπαύω (anapauō) | 使…得安舒 | sai2…dak1 on1 syu1 | Low | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:7 (ἀναπέπαυται), 1:20 | — | Keep consistent between the two cognate occurrences |
| Trust/confidence (interpersonal) | πείθω (peithō) | 有信心 / 有把握 | jau5 seon3 sam1 / jau5 baa2 aak1 | Medium | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | 1:21 | — | Distinguish from the baseline’s reserved High-risk 信心 (saving faith in Christ); 有把握 is the safer disambiguating choice |
| Obedience (situational, Philemon’s) | ὑπακοή (hypakoē) | 順服 | seon6 fuk6 | High | Grace-Motivated Obedience | 1:21 | 孝順 (Confucian filial obedience); 還神還願-style discharge obedience | Distinct from baseline’s obedience_of_faith compound (因信而生嘅順服); must spring from grace-and-love relationship, not seniority-based duty or reciprocal vow; flag for human theologian review |
| Hospitality / guest room | ξενία (xenia) | 接待 / 住宿 | zip3 doi6 / zyu6 suk1 | Low | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | 1:22 | — | Standard hospitality vocabulary |
| Graciously given/restored | χαρίζομαι (charizomai) | 蒙恩歸還 / 蒙恩賜返 | mung4 jan1 gwai1 waan4 | High | Grace-Motivated Obedience | 1:22 | — | Cognate of Critical grace term; must not read as prayer-performance “earning” release; flag for human theologian review |
| Spirit (human, not Holy Spirit) | πνεῦμα (pneuma) | 心靈 | sam1 ling4 | High | — | 1:25 | 靈 alone (folk-spirit association); 聖靈 (doctrinal overcorrection — wrong referent) | Must be clearly disambiguated from the baseline’s Critical holy_spirit term; standard Chinese-Bible benediction-formula solution; flag for human theologian review |
3. Proper Nouns (Established Cantonese Bible Transliterations)
| English Name | Greek | Cantonese | Jyutping | Risk | Occurrence(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul | Παῦλος | 保羅 | bou2 lo4 | Low | 1:1, 1:9, 1:19 |
| Timothy | Τιμόθεος | 提摩太 | tai4 mo4 taai3 | Low | 1:1 |
| Philemon | Φιλήμων | 腓利門 | fei2 lei6 mun4 | Low | 1:1 |
| Apphia | Ἀπφία | 阿腓亞 | aa3 fei1 aa3 | Low | 1:2 |
| Archippus | Ἄρχιππος | 阿基布 | aa3 gei1 bou3 | Low | 1:2 |
| Onesimus | Ὀνήσιμος | 阿尼西母 | aa3 nei4 sai1 mou5 | Low (name-pun untranslatable — see translator notes) | 1:10 |
| Epaphras | Ἐπαφρᾶς | 以巴弗 | ji5 baa1 fat1 | Low | 1:23 |
| Mark | Μᾶρκος | 馬可 | maa5 ho2 | Low | 1:24 |
| Aristarchus | Ἀρίσταρχος | 亞里達古 | aa3 lei5 daat6 gu2 | Low | 1:24 |
| Demas | Δημᾶς | 底馬 | dai2 maa5 | Low | 1:24 |
| Luke | Λουκᾶς | 路加 | lou6 gaa1 | Low | 1:24 |
Risk Summary
| Risk Tier | Count (new terms, excluding proper nouns) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 0 (all Critical terms in Philemon are baseline reuses: 神, 主, 耶穌, 基督, 恩典) | Human theologian (per baseline) |
| High | 9 (παρακαλέω-appeal, ἑκούσιον, δοῦλος, ἐλλογάω, ὑπακοή, χαρίζομαι, πνεῦμα-human-spirit, plus baseline-inherited 信心/聖靈 contrast entries) | Human theologian |
| Medium | 19 | Human theologian or native speaker per specific note |
| Low | remaining new terms + all proper nouns | Automated / native speaker spot-check |
Note: Although no new Critical-tier term is introduced in Philemon, the letter’s core passage (1:8-21) is saturated with baseline Critical terms (神, 主, 耶穌, 基督, 恩典) plus a cluster of High-risk new terms (δοῦλος, ἑκούσιον, ἐλλογάω, the appeal-sense of παρακαλέω, ὑπακοή) whose interaction is precisely what carries the letter’s distinctive doctrines. Phase 2 review routing should treat Philemon 1:8-21 as requiring human theologian review in its entirety, consistent with the baseline’s escalation rule for segments containing multiple Critical/High terms in close proximity.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: 恩典
Transliteration: jan1 din2
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: 福氣, 有求必應式嘅恩典, 功德
Original: χάρις
Category: Grace
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). CRITICAL: never frame as Wong Tai Sin-style transactional temple-vow favor; never use 功德. Philemon occurrences bookend the entire letter: 1:3 (salutation), 1:22 (verb form χαρίζομαι — see ‘graciously_restored’ entry, which must visibly share this root), 1:25 (closing benediction). This grace-vocabulary inclusio is a structural feature of the letter and must read as one continuous thread in Cantonese.
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: zyu2
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 事頭, 老爺
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). Never soften to 事頭 or 老爺. Philemon occurrences: 1:3, 1:5, 1:16 (‘in the Lord’ — names the spiritual plane on which master and slave are equal brothers), 1:20, 1:25. Keep doctrinal, not political, given Hong Kong’s sensitivities around sovereignty/loyalty language.
Jesus
Approved rendering: 耶穌
Transliteration: je4 sou1
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). Philemon occurrences: 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 1:9, 1:23, 1:25.
Messiah
Approved rendering: 基督
Transliteration: gei1 duk1
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: 彌勒, 黃大仙式嘅救世主
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). Never conflate with Maitreya (彌勒) or a wish-granting temple deity. Philemon occurrences: 1:1, 1:3, 1:6, 1:8, 1:9, 1:20, 1:23, 1:25.
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: san4
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 天主, 上帝, 老天爺
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). This package standardizes on 神, not 天主 (Catholic) or 上帝, for Protestant curriculum consistency. Philemon occurrences: 1:3, 1:4.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖靈
Transliteration: sing3 ling4
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 問米嘅靈, 祖先靈
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation), cited for contrast in this book. 聖靈 is NOT directly named anywhere in Philemon. Philemon 1:25’s πνεῦμα (‘grace be with your spirit’) refers to the recipients’ own HUMAN spirit, not this term — see the new ‘human_spirit’ entry, which must render 心靈, never 聖靈 and never a bare 靈.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: 信心
Transliteration: seon3 sam1
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: 虔誠, 睇相算命式嘅相信
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). Personal trust in Christ specifically; distinguish from generic piety and from fortune-telling/palm-reading confidence (睇相算命). Philemon occurrences: 1:5, 1:6 (‘the fellowship of your faith’). Must be kept visibly distinct from πείθω, ordinary interpersonal trust in a person’s proven character at 1:21 — see ‘trust_confidence’ entry (rendered 有把握, NOT 信心), to avoid diluting this reserved theological term.
Saints
Approved rendering: 聖徒
Transliteration: sing3 tou4
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: 神仙, 得道高人
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). Applies corporately to all ordinary believers, never a rare spiritually elevated class (神仙, 得道高人). Philemon occurrences: 1:5, 1:7 — the believers gathered in Philemon’s house church.
Appeal
Approved rendering: 懇求
Transliteration: han2 kau4
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: 勸勉 alone (too weak for entreaty sense), 命令-adjacent renderings
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Elevated contextual rendering for the verb παρακαλέω (parakaleō) at Philemon 1:9-10, where Paul deliberately chooses earnest, urgent, personal entreaty on a third party’s behalf over ἐπιτάσσω (command). The baseline’s general default 勸勉 under-communicates this urgency; using it here would flatten the letter’s rhetorical hinge into generic encouragement. Flag for human theologian review whenever it appears. Do not confuse with 代求 (baseline intercession, prayer directed to God) — this is human-to-human advocacy directed to Philemon, not prayer.
Voluntary
Approved rendering: 自願 / 出於甘心
Transliteration: zi6 jyun6 / ceot1 jyu4 gam1 sam1
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: 還神還願-style compliance, 志願者-style secular volunteerism
Original: ἑκούσιος
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
New term for ἑκούσιος (hekousios), Philemon 1:14 — the doctrinal linchpin distinguishing grace-motivated action from debt-discharging or vow-fulfilling obedience. Must NEVER be softened toward vow-fulfilling exchange (還神還願) or generic social politeness, nor toward modern secular civic ‘volunteer work’ framing, which drains the term of its grounding in grace already received. Mirrors how grace itself operates (unearned, freely given). Flag for human theologian review whenever it appears.
Slave
Approved rendering: 奴僕
Transliteration: nou4 buk6
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Rejected alternatives: 僕人 (softened, suggests paid employment)
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
New term for δοῦλος (doulos), the doctrinal center of the letter, Philemon 1:16. Established Traditional-CUV term; NEVER the softer 僕人. GROUNDED RISK FOR CANTONESE: Hong Kong readers carry two live cultural reference points — the historical 妹仔 (mui-tsai) bonded child-servant system, abolished only in the 1930s, and the contemporary, socially prominent 外傭 (foreign domestic helper) labor-conditions discourse. Teaching materials must clarify δοῦλος names a real first-century Greco-Roman legal chattel-slave relationship, neither collapsing into nor uncritically analogizing either historical mui-tsai practice or present-day domestic-helper conditions, while preserving the text’s transforming logic (brotherhood displacing bare ownership). Flag for human theologian review.
Brother
Approved rendering: 弟兄
Transliteration: dai6 hing1
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: 結拜
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
New term for ἀδελφός (adelphos) in its status-crossing sense. Occurs at Philemon 1:1 (Timothy), 1:7, 1:9, 1:16 (Onesimus, alongside 奴僕 in the same breath — the letter’s central rhetorical move), 1:20. GROUNDED RISK FOR CANTONESE: must not be confused with 結拜, the sworn-brotherhood pact of Cantonese/triad-film culture, a voluntary oath-bound alliance between chosen social equals (already a rejected alternative under the baseline fellowship entry). Biblical brotherhood in Philemon 1:16 is a GIVEN, gospel-created kinship that spans and overturns an existing legal master-slave hierarchy — the reverse direction of 結拜’s social logic. Flag for human theologian review, especially at 1:16.
Charge To Account
Approved rendering: 算落…嘅數上 / 記在我嘅帳上
Transliteration: syun3 lok6…ge3 sou3 soeng6 / gei3 zoi6 ngo5 ge3 zoeng3 soeng6
Doctrine: Substitutionary Reckoning and Imputation
Original: ἐλλογάω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New phrase for ἐλλογάω (ellogaō), Philemon 1:18 — the single most theologically loaded verb in the letter, a real-life narrative enactment of the same reckon/credit-to-an-account logic underlying the baseline’s Critical imputed_righteousness doctrine (算為義, Romans 4:3). GROUNDED RISK FOR CANTONESE: because Hong Kong is a major financial hub, this accounting metaphor will feel immediately natural — the danger is NOT obscurity but the OPPOSITE, flattening a rich theological substitution into merely secular bookkeeping with no connection drawn to Christ’s substitutionary payment. Teaching material must draw the explicit connection. Flag for human theologian review.
Obedience Situational
Approved rendering: 順服
Transliteration: seon6 fuk6
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: 孝順, 還神還願-style discharge obedience
Original: ὑπακοή
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
New term for ὑπακοή (hypakoē), Philemon 1:21 — Philemon’s personal, situational compliance with this specific request, distinct from the baseline’s compound obedience_of_faith (因信而生嘅順服, Romans 1:5/16:26). GROUNDED RISK FOR CANTONESE: 順服 must not collapse into 孝順 (Confucian filial obedience owed to an elder/superior by role) nor into vow-discharging obedience owed after a granted request (還神還願-style reciprocal obligation). Philemon’s obedience must spring from the grace-and-love relationship established throughout the letter, not from Paul’s seniority or a debt owed for being asked nicely. Flag for human theologian review.
Graciously Restored
Approved rendering: 蒙恩歸還 / 蒙恩賜返
Transliteration: mung4 jan1 gwai1 waan4 / mung4 jan1 ci3 faan2
Doctrine: Grace
Original: χαρίζομαι
Category: Grace
New term for χαρίζομαι (charizomai), Philemon 1:22, cognate of the Critical baseline grace term χάρις. Paul frames his hoped-for release as itself an act of grace received through prayer, not legal process or merit. MUST visibly share the 恩 root with 恩典 (1:3, 1:25) so the reader recognizes the same grace-vocabulary family bookending the letter. NEVER render in a way suggesting the recipients’ prayers ‘earn’ Paul’s release as a transactional exchange — the baseline’s Critical forbidden-substitution rule against reciprocal temple-vow favor framing applies with equal force. Flag for human theologian review.
Human Spirit
Approved rendering: 心靈
Transliteration: sam1 ling4
Doctrine: Disambiguation of the Holy Spirit from the Human Spirit
Rejected alternatives: 靈 alone (folk-mediumship association), 聖靈 (wrong referent — doctrinal overcorrection)
Original: πνεῦμα
Category: God
New term for πνεῦμα (pneuma), Philemon 1:25, ‘grace be with your spirit’ — a standard Pauline benediction (cf. Gal 6:18; 2 Tim 4:22) referring to the recipients’ own human spirit/inner being, NOT the Holy Spirit. The baseline mandates 聖靈 exclusively for the divine Person and warns against bare 靈 due to folk-religious associations with ancestral/mediumship spirits (問米嘅靈, 祖先靈). Rendering 聖靈 here would misattribute the divine Person to the wrong referent; a bare 靈 risks exactly the folk-spirit association the baseline warns against. 心靈 is the standard Chinese-Bible benediction-formula solution. Flag for human theologian review with an explicit disambiguating translator note.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fuk1 jam1
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 好消息, 喜訊
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). Baseline note: shared written form with Mandarin 福音, but heard through Hong Kong/Guangdong commercial-luck culture (福 as the anchor of 恭喜發財). Teaching must be explicit the gospel announces salvation, not prosperity. Philemon occurrence: 1:13, ‘the chains of the gospel’ — ties Paul’s imprisonment to gospel service, not criminal guilt.
Church
Approved rendering: 教會
Transliteration: gaau3 wui2
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: 廟, 祠堂
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). Never use 廟 or 祠堂. Philemon occurrence: 1:2, ‘the church that meets in your house.’ CRITICAL EXTENSION FOR THIS BOOK: do NOT render ‘house church’ with the modern compound 家庭教會, which in contemporary Chinese-language religious discourse denotes unregistered/underground Mainland congregations — see the new ‘house_church’ entry below for the required descriptive-phrase solution.
Peace
Approved rendering: 平安
Transliteration: ping4 on1
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: 平安符式嘅平安, 老黃曆話嘅好日子
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). Relational, covenantal peace, not general protection-from-misfortune. Philemon occurrence: 1:3, salutation formula.
Prisoner Of Christ
Approved rendering: 被囚嘅
Transliteration: bei6 cau4 ge3
Doctrine: Suffering for the Gospel (Apostolic Imprisonment)
Rejected alternatives: 囚犯
Original: δέσμιος
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
New term for δέσμιος (desmios), Paul’s self-designation ‘prisoner of Christ Jesus.’ 囚犯 imports strong secular criminal-record stigma with serious real-world Hong Kong employment/social consequences (刑事記錄). ALWAYS pair 被囚嘅 with 為基督 so the honorific, non-criminal sense of gospel-suffering is unmistakable. Occurs at Philemon 1:1, 1:9, 1:10, 1:13.
Fellow Prisoner
Approved rendering: 同被囚嘅
Transliteration: tung4 bei6 cau4 ge3
Doctrine: Suffering for the Gospel (Apostolic Imprisonment)
Rejected alternatives: 同監犯
Original: συναιχμάλωτος
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
New term for συναιχμάλωτος (synaichmalōtos), a more vivid war-captive variant of δέσμιος, applied to Epaphras at Philemon 1:23. Always tie explicitly to 為主/在基督耶穌裡 so the martial-captive imagery reads as gospel suffering, not ordinary criminal detention.
House Church
Approved rendering: 喺你屋企聚會嘅教會
Transliteration: hai2 nei5 uk1 kei2 zeoi6 wui6 ge3 gaau3 wui2
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: 家庭教會
Original: ἡ κατ᾽ οἶκόν σου ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
New descriptive phrase for κατ᾽ οἶκόν σου ἐκκλησία, Philemon 1:2. DO NOT use the modern compound 家庭教會, which in contemporary Chinese-language religious discourse specifically denotes unregistered/underground Mainland congregations — using it here would import an unintended political/legal-status connotation onto a simple first-century meeting arrangement (no dedicated church buildings existed yet). This is a paraphrase decision, not a coinage; native speaker review recommended.
Love
Approved rendering: 愛 / 愛心
Transliteration: oi3 / oi3 sam1
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: 仁愛
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
New term for ἀγάπη (agapē). Occurs at Philemon 1:5, 1:7, 1:9. Risk: 愛 alone can read as generic secular romantic affection or Confucian familial benevolence (仁愛-style relational duty). Teaching notes must specify Christ-centered, sacrificial covenant love directed toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints — the relational virtue Paul appeals to (1:9) rather than commands from.
Heart Affection
Approved rendering: 心 / 心腸
Transliteration: sam1 / sam1 coeng4
Doctrine: Mutual Edification and Refreshment
Rejected alternatives: 內臟, 腸臟
Original: σπλάγχνα
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New term for σπλάγχνα (splagchna), the seat of deep feeling. A literal anatomical rendering is absurd in Cantonese. Occurs at Philemon 1:7 (the saints’ hearts refreshed through Philemon), 1:12 (Onesimus called ‘my very heart’), and 1:20 (Paul’s own heart). MUST be rendered with the SAME Cantonese wording at all three occurrences to preserve the letter’s deliberate emotional inclusio; inconsistency here is a documented risk in existing Chinese Bible traditions and must be corrected in this curriculum.
Boldness Authority
Approved rendering: 理直氣壯嘅權柄
Transliteration: lei5 zik6 hei3 zong3 ge3 kyun4 beng3
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: 勇氣
Original: παρρησία
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
New phrase for παρρησία (parrēsia), Philemon 1:8. Must convey both boldness AND standing/authority together, not mere personal courage (勇氣 loses the authority component). Sets up the deliberate rhetorical contrast with v.9’s chosen appeal instead of command. Native speaker review recommended.
Command
Approved rendering: 命令
Transliteration: ming6 ling6
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: ἐπιτάσσω
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
New term for ἐπιτάσσω (epitassō), Philemon 1:8 — the authority Paul deliberately declines to exercise. Preserve as the explicitly rejected alternative to ‘appeal’ (懇求) at v.9; ensure the surrounding clause keeps this contrast visible.
Elder Ambassador
Approved rendering: 年老嘅人
Transliteration: nin4 lou5 ge3 jan4
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: πρεσβύτης (variant: πρεσβευτής)
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
New term for πρεσβύτης (presbytēs), Philemon 1:9, following the majority modern critical text (‘an old man’). A one-letter textual variant (πρεσβευτής, ‘ambassador’) exists and must be flagged in a translator note for reviewer awareness rather than silently harmonized, since some readers may know a translation tradition using ‘ambassador.‘
Spiritual Child
Approved rendering: 我所生嘅仔
Transliteration: ngo5 so2 saang1 ge3 zai2
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood in Ministry
Rejected alternatives: 過繼
Original: τέκνον
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
New term for τέκνον (teknon), Philemon 1:10, Paul’s claim of Onesimus as ‘my child.’ Always retain the qualifier 喺信仰上 (‘in the faith’) to avoid the reading of literal paternity or clan-succession adoption (過繼), paralleling the baseline adoption entry’s cautions.
Beget Spiritually
Approved rendering: 生
Transliteration: saang1
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood in Ministry
Original: γεννάω
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
New term for γεννάω (gennaō), Philemon 1:10. Always retain the qualifying phrase ‘in my imprisonment’ (喺監禁中) so the reader understands spiritual fathering through gospel proclamation, not literal or legal parentage.
Consent
Approved rendering: 同意 / 意願
Transliteration: tung4 ji3 / ji3 jyun6
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: 許可
Original: γνώμη
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
New term for γνώμη (gnōmē), Philemon 1:14. Paul explicitly refuses to act apart from Philemon’s consent, grounding the appeal in free moral agency. A translator note must distinguish this from mere procedural permission-seeking (許可, a business-courtesy reading Hong Kong’s contract culture might otherwise suggest).
Compulsion
Approved rendering: 勉強 / 被迫
Transliteration: mit5 koeng4 / bei6 bik1
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἀνάγκη
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
New term for ἀνάγκη (anankē), Philemon 1:14, the explicit alternative Paul rejects. Given Hong Kong’s contract-driven business culture, ensure this communicates relational, not merely legal, freedom from coercion — the point is moral/relational freedom, not the absence of a legal contract.
Separated
Approved rendering: 離開
Transliteration: lei4 hoi1
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rejected alternatives: 逃走
Original: χωρίζω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New term for χωρίζω (chōrizō), Philemon 1:15. Paul’s passive, euphemistic phrasing delicately avoids directly blaming Onesimus for what was likely flight or theft. Preserve this gracious restraint rather than sharpening into a blunt accusation (逃走, ‘ran away’).
Permanently
Approved rendering: 永遠
Transliteration: wing5 jyun5
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: αἰώνιος
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New term for αἰώνιος (aiōnios), Philemon 1:15, contrasted with ‘for a season.’ Note the double sense (permanent earthly restoration and/or eternal brotherhood) shares its root with the standard Christian term for eternal life (永生); teaching materials should draw out both senses.
Flesh Ordinary
Approved rendering: 肉體
Transliteration: juk6 tai2
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Rejected alternatives: 肉身 (reserved for the baseline’s Critical Incarnation doctrine)
Original: σάρξ
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
New term for σάρξ (sarx) in its ordinary-relationship sense, Philemon 1:16 (‘both in the flesh and in the Lord’). Deliberately distinct in written form from 肉身, which the baseline reserves exclusively for the Critical-risk Incarnation doctrine (道成肉身). Using the same characters here would blur an ordinary-relationship idiom with the unique doctrine of the Son’s taking of human nature.
Partner
Approved rendering: 同伴 / 夥伴
Transliteration: tung4 bun6 / fo2 bun6
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: 合夥人
Original: κοινωνός
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
New term for κοινωνός (koinōnos), Philemon 1:17 — related to but distinct from κοινωνία (baseline fellowship). Render in a relational, non-commercial register. GROUNDED RISK FOR CANTONESE: Hong Kong’s strongly commercial/contract culture makes 合夥人 (‘business/joint-venture partner’) a natural-sounding but doctrinally wrong choice, reducing gospel partnership to a commercial arrangement.
Repay
Approved rendering: 償還
Transliteration: soeng4 waan4
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: ἀποτίνω
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
New term for ἀποτίνω (apotinō), Philemon 1:19. Paul personally guarantees repayment in his own handwriting, functioning like a signed promissory note. Preserve the ‘handwritten pledge’ detail (親手寫嘅) as Paul becoming Onesimus’s guarantor — an important narrative detail for teaching substitutionary intercession.
Owe Besides
Approved rendering: 仲欠…
Transliteration: zung6 him3
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: προσοφείλω
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
New term for προσοφείλω (prosopheilō), Philemon 1:19. Paul reminds Philemon he owes Paul his very self, reframing the whole transaction: Philemon can forgive only because he himself received a greater, unpayable debt cancelled through the gospel. Connect explicitly to Grace-Motivated Obedience in teaching notes.
Trust Confidence
Approved rendering: 有把握
Transliteration: jau5 baa2 aak1
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: 有信心 (overlaps reserved 信心 term)
Original: πείθω
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
New term for πείθω (peithō), Philemon 1:21 — ordinary interpersonal trust/confidence in a person’s proven character, distinct from πίστις (saving faith). Render 有把握, NOT 有信心, to avoid overlapping the baseline’s reserved High-risk 信心 term for saving faith in Christ; a translator note should clarify this narrower, non-theological referent.
Low Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: 團契
Transliteration: tyun4 kai3
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: 同鄉會, 結拜
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). Distinguish from a clan/native-place association (同鄉會) or sworn-brotherhood pact (結拜). Philemon occurrence: 1:6. Note: κοινωνός (‘partner,’ 1:17) is a related but grammatically distinct noun requiring its own entry — see ‘partner’ below; do not use 團契 to translate κοινωνός.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: 感恩
Transliteration: gam2 jan1
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία / εὐχαριστέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package (no deviation). Standard term. Philemon occurrence: 1:4.
Exhort
Approved rendering: 勸勉
Transliteration: hyun3 min5
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package as the DEFAULT sense of παρακαλέω (no deviation to the base entry). Baseline itself flags this verb as context-sensitive between entreaty and encouragement. In Philemon 1:9-10 the sense shifts decisively toward urgent, personal, third-party entreaty and REQUIRES the elevated new ‘appeal’ entry (懇求) instead of this default — do not use 勸勉 at 1:9-10.
Beloved
Approved rendering: 親愛嘅
Transliteration: can1 oi3 ge3
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
New term for ἀγαπητός (agapētos). Occurs at Philemon 1:1 (Philemon), implied for Apphia at 1:2, and climactically at 1:16 (Onesimus, the slave). The repetition of this exact term across the social divide is itself the doctrinal statement — must render identically at all three occurrences.
Fellow Worker
Approved rendering: 同工
Transliteration: tung4 gung1
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: συνεργός
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
New term for συνεργός (synergos). Occurs at Philemon 1:1 (Philemon) and 1:24 (Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke). Identity reframed around gospel partnership rather than social/legal status. Established Hong Kong church usage.
Fellow Soldier
Approved rendering: 同袍
Transliteration: tung4 pou4
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: 戰友
Original: συστρατιώτης
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
New term for συστρατιώτης (systratiōtēs), applied to Archippus at Philemon 1:2. A natural Cantonese military-fraternity term; note the military metaphor explicitly, as this is a rare NT word (cf. Phil 2:25).
Joy
Approved rendering: 喜樂
Transliteration: hei2 lok6
Doctrine: Mutual Edification and Refreshment
Rejected alternatives: 開心
Original: χαρά
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New term for χαρά (chara), Philemon 1:7. Distinct from purely circumstantial happiness (開心); joy produced by hearing of another believer’s love.
Comfort
Approved rendering: 安慰
Transliteration: on1 wai3
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: παράκλησις
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
New term for the noun παράκλησις (paraklēsis), Philemon 1:7. Contrast with the High-risk verb-form ‘appeal’ entry, which requires a stronger rendering in its 1:9-10 entreaty context.
Full Knowledge
Approved rendering: 認識
Transliteration: jing6 sik1
Doctrine: Faith
Original: ἐπίγνωσις
Category: Faith
New term for ἐπίγνωσις (epignōsis), Philemon 1:6. Standard rendering; knowledge that produces active love, not abstract information.
Useless
Approved rendering: 無用
Transliteration: mou4 jung6
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: ἄχρηστος
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
New term for ἄχρηστος (achrēstos), Philemon 1:11, continuing the wordplay on the name Onesimus (‘useful’). Teaching contexts must not let this read as a permanent verdict on Onesimus’s worth as a person; the doctrinal point is its immediate reversal (see ‘useful’).
Useful
Approved rendering: 有用
Transliteration: jau5 jung6
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: εὔχρηστος
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
New term for εὔχρηστος (euchrēstos), Philemon 1:11. Pair consistently with 無用 so the reversal reads clearly, modeling the gospel’s reordering of a person’s relational value.
Send Back
Approved rendering: 送返
Transliteration: sung3 faan1
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀναπέμπω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New term for ἀναπέμπω (anapempō), Philemon 1:12. Paul’s voluntary act of returning Onesimus models costly reconciliation rather than harboring him.
Retain
Approved rendering: 留住
Transliteration: lau4 zyu6
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: κατέχω
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
New term for κατέχω (katechō), Philemon 1:13. Paul admits his personal desire to keep Onesimus, heightening the voluntary cost of releasing him and modeling grace-motivated obedience before asking it of Philemon.
Serve
Approved rendering: 服侍 / 事奉
Transliteration: fuk6 si6 / si6 fung6
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Rejected alternatives: 打工
Original: διακονέω
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
New term for διακονέω (diakoneō), Philemon 1:13. Preserve the ministry sense; distinguish from generic paid domestic labor (打工) so as not to flatten the vicarious-service image (‘on your behalf’ / ὑπὲρ σοῦ).
Good Deed
Approved rendering: 善事 / 好事
Transliteration: sin6 si6 / hou2 si6
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἀγαθός
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
New term for ἀγαθός (agathos), Philemon 1:14. Standard rendering.
Receive Welcome
Approved rendering: 接納
Transliteration: zip3 naap6
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: προσλαμβάνω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New term for προσλαμβάνω (proslambanō), Philemon 1:17. The concrete, public, behavioral form reconciliation must take — not merely private forgiving feeling.
Wronged
Approved rendering: 得罪 / 虧負
Transliteration: dak1 zeoi6 / kwai1 fu6
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀδικέω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New term for ἀδικέω (adikeō), Philemon 1:18. Paul does not deny Onesimus may have wronged Philemon; the doctrine addresses real wrongdoing honestly rather than minimizing it. Shares a root family with the baseline’s 罪/義 vocabulary, though this is interpersonal wrongdoing, not the theological category of sin against God.
Owe
Approved rendering: 欠
Transliteration: him3
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ὀφείλω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New term for ὀφείλω (opheilō), Philemon 1:18. Natural everyday commercial term readily intelligible to a Hong Kong financial-hub readership.
Benefit Pun
Approved rendering: 願我可以因你得着益處
Transliteration: jyun6 ngo5 ho2 ji5 jan1 nei5 dak1 zoek6 jik1 cyu3
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ὀνίνημι (ὀναίμην)
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New phrase for ὀνίνημι/ὀναίμην (oninēmi/onaimēn), Philemon 1:20 — a second untranslatable wordplay on the name Onesimus (‘useful/profitable’). Render for plain sense only; the wordplay is structurally untranslatable through the Cantonese transliteration 阿尼西母 and must be supplied explicitly in a translator note, as at vv.10-11.
Refresh
Approved rendering: 使…得安舒
Transliteration: sai2…dak1 on1 syu1
Doctrine: Mutual Edification and Refreshment
Original: ἀναπαύω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New term for ἀναπαύω (anapauō). Occurs at Philemon 1:7 (ἀναπέπαυται, cognate) and 1:20, forming a deliberate rhetorical inclusio with the letter’s opening commendation. Keep consistent between both occurrences.
Hospitality
Approved rendering: 接待 / 住宿
Transliteration: zip3 doi6 / zyu6 suk1
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ξενία
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
New term for ξενία (xenia), Philemon 1:22. Standard Cantonese Christian hospitality vocabulary; anticipates a restored, warm fellowship, not merely a resolved dispute.
Paul
Approved rendering: 保羅
Transliteration: bou2 lo4
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: Παῦλος
Category: Church
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. Occurs at Philemon 1:1, 1:9, 1:19.
Timothy
Approved rendering: 提摩太
Transliteration: tai4 mo4 taai3
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: Τιμόθεος
Category: Church
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. Occurs at Philemon 1:1, co-sender called ‘the brother.‘
Philemon
Approved rendering: 腓利門
Transliteration: fei2 lei6 mun4
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: Φιλήμων
Category: Church
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. The letter’s primary recipient, a slaveholder and house-church host.
Apphia
Approved rendering: 阿腓亞
Transliteration: aa3 fei1 aa3
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: Ἀπφία
Category: Church
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. Occurs at Philemon 1:2, called ‘the sister,’ likely Philemon’s wife.
Archippus
Approved rendering: 阿基布
Transliteration: aa3 gei1 bou3
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: Ἄρχιππος
Category: Church
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. Occurs at Philemon 1:2, called ‘our fellow soldier.‘
Onesimus
Approved rendering: 阿尼西母
Transliteration: aa3 nei4 sai1 mou5
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: Ὀνήσιμος
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. Philemon’s slave, converted through Paul; the name means ‘useful/profitable’ in Greek. The name-based wordplay (vv.11, 20) is untranslatable through this transliteration and must be explained in translator notes rather than relying on the text to convey it.
Epaphras
Approved rendering: 以巴弗
Transliteration: ji5 baa1 fat1
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: Ἐπαφρᾶς
Category: Church
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. Occurs at Philemon 1:23, Paul’s fellow prisoner sending greetings.
Mark
Approved rendering: 馬可
Transliteration: maa5 ho2
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: Μᾶρκος
Category: Church
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. Occurs at Philemon 1:24.
Aristarchus
Approved rendering: 亞里達古
Transliteration: aa3 lei5 daat6 gu2
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: Ἀρίσταρχος
Category: Church
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. Occurs at Philemon 1:24.
Demas
Approved rendering: 底馬
Transliteration: dai2 maa5
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: Δημᾶς
Category: Church
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. Occurs at Philemon 1:24.
Luke
Approved rendering: 路加
Transliteration: lou6 gaa1
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: Λουκᾶς
Category: Church
Established Cantonese Bible proper-name transliteration. Occurs at Philemon 1:24.
Referenced passages