Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Philemon (English → Czech)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, covering the entire book of Philemon (1:1–25), with the core passage (1:8–21) as the theological anchor. Terms already fixed in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked (reuse) and MUST be rendered exactly as recorded there; new terms proposed for this curriculum are marked (new) and must be added to translation memory before Phase 2 processing begins, with the risk levels and doctrine associations below carried into doctrine_risk_registry.json.
Risk tiers follow the baseline convention: Critical (human theologian review, every occurrence) / High (human theologian review) / Medium (native speaker review) / Low (automated review). Per the baseline’s Czech-specific orientation, “risk” here typically means the reader has no framework for the term at all, or an actively competing secular/commercial framework, rather than a rival religious tradition.
Section A: Terms Reused Exactly from the Romans Baseline Translation Memory
| Term (English) | Original | Czech Rendering | Risk | Doctrine Link (Philemon) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grace | χάρις | milost | High | Grace-Motivated Obedience | Reused exactly; also the vehicle for the χαρίζομαι wordplay at v.22 |
| peace | εἰρήνη | pokoj | Medium | (greeting formula, v.3) | Reused exactly |
| faith | πίστις | víra | High | Grace-Motivated Obedience | Reused exactly (vv.5–6) |
| fellowship | κοινωνία | společenství | Low (elevated to Medium in Philemon context) | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | Reused exactly; flag elevated risk in v.6 because the cognate κοινωνός (v.17) carries a distinct, more transactional partnership sense that must not be blurred with this term |
| saints | ἅγιοι | svatí | High | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | Reused exactly; referenced in vv.5, 7 |
| thanksgiving | εὐχαριστία / εὐχαριστῶ | díkůvzdání | Low | (opening thanksgiving, v.4) | Reused exactly |
| church | ἐκκλησία | církev | Medium | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | Reused exactly; v.2’s “house church” qualifier must be retained to avoid the architectural/touristic default association |
| exhort | παρακαλέω (general sense) | povzbuzovat | Low | — | Reused ONLY for Romans-style general encouragement contexts; explicitly NOT to be used for Philemon 1:9–10’s appeal sense — see “appeal_urge” new entry below |
| gospel | εὐαγγέλιον | evangelium | High | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | Reused exactly (v.13) |
| jesus | Ἰησοῦς | Ježíš | Critical | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | Reused exactly |
| christ | Χριστός | Kristus | Critical | (throughout) | Standard Czech Bible-tradition proper name form, per baseline transliteration standards |
| god | θεός | Bůh | Critical | (opening greeting, v.3) | Reused exactly |
| lord | κύριος | Pán | Critical | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | Reused exactly; v.16’s “ἐν κυρίῳ” inherits the baseline’s Critical-risk caution about capitalization being a fragile signal |
| father | πατήρ | Otec | Critical | (opening greeting, v.3) | Reused exactly |
| obedience_of_faith (compound, for cross-reference only) | ὑπακοὴ πίστεως | poslušnost víry | High | Grace-Motivated Obedience | Not directly quoted in Philemon, but shares its root “poslušnost” with the new “obedience” entry below (v.21); translators must keep the two distinct in teaching notes |
| imputed_righteousness (concept parallel, for cross-reference only) | ἐλογίσθη εἰς δικαιοσύνην (Romans 4:3) | přičtená spravedlnost | Critical | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | Not a Philemon term itself, but Philemon 1:18–19’s ἐλλογάω/ἀποτίνω debt-imagery functions as a small-scale narrative illustration of this same imputation logic in reverse (imputed debt, absorbed by a substitute); cross-reference in teaching material is strongly recommended |
Section B: New Terms Introduced for the Philemon Curriculum
B1 — Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
| Term ID | Original | Transliteration | Czech Rendering | Risk | Primary Passage(s) | Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| slave_servant | δοῦλος | doulos | otrok | Critical | 1:16 | The single highest-risk term in this curriculum. Czech readers bring either no framework for Greco-Roman household slavery, or an anachronistic transatlantic-chattel-slavery framework from general education/media; softening to “sluha” (servant) erases the doctrinal reversal, while an unglossed “otrok” risks readers concluding Paul endorses the institution. Requires sustained explanatory framing, every occurrence, human theologian review. |
| useless_useful | ἄχρηστος / εὔχρηστος | achrēstos / euchrēstos | neužitečný / užitečný | Medium | 1:11 | The wordplay is the doctrinal payload; must not be flattened into generic personality-improvement language divorced from the gospel |
| beget_spiritual_father | γεννάω | gennaō | zplodit / zrodil jsem (duchovně) | Medium | 1:10 | Must exclude any literal-biological reading; unfamiliar spiritual-fatherhood metaphor for a reader without prior NT exposure |
| onesimus_name_pun | Ὀνήσιμος | Onēsimos | Onezimus | Medium | 1:10–11 | Name-based wordplay (“Useful One”) invisible in Czech without an explicit translator’s note |
B2 — Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
| Term ID | Original | Transliteration | Czech Rendering | Risk | Primary Passage(s) | Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| brother | ἀδελφός | adelphos | bratr | High | 1:1, 1:16, 1:20 | Ordinary Czech “bratr” is a flat kinship word with no inherent doctrinal content for a secular reader; the radical status-transformation claim (former slave becomes full brother) must be actively taught, not assumed to register from the word alone |
| beloved | ἀγαπητός | agapētos | milovaný | Medium | 1:1, 1:16 | Intensifies brotherhood claim with warmth, distinct from a bare change of legal category |
| flesh_social | σάρξ (neutral/social sense) | sarx | tělo / lidsky vzato | High | 1:16 | Must be actively distinguished from Romans’ technical negative sense of σάρξ (“sinful nature”); conflating the two introduces a doctrinal error absent from the source text |
| partner | κοινωνός | koinōnos | společník / partner | Medium | 1:17 | Distinct from κοινωνία (fellowship); carries a more transactional, business-partnership flavor that grounds the letter’s concrete request |
| receive_welcome | προσλαμβάνω | proslambanō | přijmout | Medium | 1:17 | Must be read as full, unqualified acceptance, not grudging or partial tolerance |
B3 — Forgiveness and Reconciliation
| Term ID | Original | Transliteration | Czech Rendering | Risk | Primary Passage(s) | Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| wronged | ἀδικέω | adikeō | ukřivdit / provinit se vůči | Medium | 1:18 | Must retain sense of a real, nameable wrongdoing, not a vague unspecified “mistake” |
| debt_owe | ὀφείλω | opheilō | dluží / dluh | High | 1:18–19 | Vehicle for the imputation illustration; flattening the commercial metaphor loses the typological link to the gospel of substitutionary payment |
| charge_to_account | ἐλλογάω | ellogaō | připočíst k účtu | High | 1:18 | The letter’s clearest gospel-typology moment; must render the specific accounting image, not a generic “forgive it,” or the parallel to Christ bearing believers’ debt is obscured |
| repay_in_full | ἀποτίνω | apotinō | splatit / zaplatit celé | High | 1:19 | Must preserve full, formal, personally guaranteed repayment, not a vague offer of leniency |
| owe_besides | προσοφείλω | prosopheilō | dlužíš mi ještě víc / dlužíš mi sám sebe | Medium | 1:19 | Wordplay with ὀφείλω/ἀποτίνω must remain visible for the rhetorical escalation to land |
| send_back | ἀναπέμπω | anapempō | poslat zpět | Medium | 1:12 | Concrete costly act of reconciliation; must not read as endorsing an ancient legal convention as a timeless norm |
| graciously_grant | χαρίζομαι | charizomai | (milostivě) navrácen / darován | Medium | 1:22 | Deliberate wordplay on χάρις (grace) at the letter’s close; a neutral rendering (“budu propuštěn”) loses the echo |
B4 — Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
| Term ID | Original | Transliteration | Czech Rendering | Risk | Primary Passage(s) | Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| appeal_urge | παρακαλῶ (appeal sense) | parakalō | prosím / vroucně žádám | High | 1:9–10 | Same Greek lemma as the baseline “exhort” (παρακαλέω → povzbuzovat), but that rendering must NOT be reused here — Philemon’s use is a personal, urgent plea, and “povzbuzovat” would erase the appeal-vs-command contrast central to the letter. Explicit exception to standard translation-memory reuse; must be logged, not silently overridden |
| comfort_encouragement_noun | παράκλησις | paraklēsis | povzbuzení / útěcha | High | 1:7 | Noun form of appeal_urge; same context-sensitivity applies |
| command_order | ἐπιτάσσω | epitassō | přikázat | High | 1:8 | Names the authority Paul deliberately declines to use; softening this term collapses the rhetorical contrast with the appeal that follows |
| boldness_confidence | παρρησία | parrhēsia | smělost / otevřenost | Medium | 1:8 | Ordinary Czech reads this as a personality trait rather than relational/spiritual standing to speak |
| fitting_proper | τὸ ἀνῆκον | to anēkon | co se patří / co je povinností | Medium | 1:8 | Must retain moral-obligation weight, not merely polite custom |
| prisoner | δέσμιος | desmios | vězeň (Kristův) | High | 1:1, 1:9, 1:13, 1:23 (συναιχμάλωτος) | Doctrinal reframing of imprisonment as gospel-service badge, not disgrace, must be actively taught against the ordinary criminal-justice association |
| fellow_prisoner | συναιχμάλωτος | synaichmalōtos | spoluvězeň | Medium | 1:23 | Shares δέσμιος’s reframing challenge |
| serve_minister | διακονέω | diakoneō | sloužit | Medium | 1:13 | Must be distinguished from δοῦλος’s status-based servitude; voluntary ministry service, not bondage |
| wish_benefit | ὀναίμην | onaimēn | ať z tebe mám užitek / prokaž mi tuto radost | Low/Medium | 1:20 | Rare optative form with no direct Czech grammatical equivalent; must read as a warm personal request |
| refresh_give_rest | ἀναπαύω | anapauō | občerstvit / dát klid (mé srdce) | Medium | 1:7, 1:20 | Relational/emotional refreshment through reconciliation, not mere physical rest |
| inward_affection | σπλάγχνα | splagchna | srdce | Medium | 1:7, 1:12, 1:20 | Literal rendering would be grotesque in Czech; “srdce” alone under-communicates the idiom’s visceral intensity without a translator’s note |
| prayer | προσευχή | proseuchē | modlitba | Medium | 1:4, 1:22 | Foundational concept of address to a personal God cannot be assumed for a secular reader; needs the same scaffolding baseline’s “intercession” (přímluva) requires |
| confidence_trust | πεποιθώς (πείθω) | pepoithōs | s důvěrou (spoléhám) | Medium | 1:21 | Relational confidence grounded in known character, not blind hope or coerced compliance |
B5 — Grace-Motivated Obedience
| Term ID | Original | Transliteration | Czech Rendering | Risk | Primary Passage(s) | Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| love | ἀγάπη | agapē | láska | High | 1:5, 1:9 | Not present in the Romans baseline glossary at all; must be newly established. Ordinary Czech “láska” defaults to romantic/family affection; must be defined narratively (self-giving, covenantal) on first use and reused identically across all future documents |
| compulsion | ἀνάγκη | anankē | donucení / z povinnosti | High | 1:14 | Negative pole of the letter’s central ethical contrast; blurring it with its counterpart below loses the doctrine entirely |
| voluntary | ἑκούσιον | hekousion | dobrovolně / z vlastní vůle | High | 1:14 | Must remain in clear antithesis to “compulsion” within the same sentence structure |
| consent | γνώμη | gnōmē | souhlas / svolení | Medium | 1:14 | Binding personal consent, not a trivial “opinion” |
| the_good_deed | τὸ ἀγαθόν | to agathon | dobrý skutek / to dobré | Low/Medium | 1:6, 1:14 | The concrete good act that must arise from free will, not constraint |
| obedience | ὑπακοή | hypakoē | poslušnost | High | 1:21 | Shares its root with baseline “poslušnost víry” (obedience_of_faith); readers must not default to law-based, command-compliance associations that v.8’s rhetoric explicitly rejects — obedience here flows from grace and relationship |
B6 — Supporting / Contextual Terms (Opening and Closing)
| Term ID | Original | Transliteration | Czech Rendering | Risk | Primary Passage(s) | Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fellow_worker | συνεργός | synergos | spolupracovník | Low | 1:1, 1:24 | Needs a brief gloss so gospel-partnership sense is not read as ordinary workplace collegiality |
| fellow_soldier | συστρατιώτης | systratiōtēs | spolubojovník | Low | 1:2 | Transparent metaphor; brief note useful, not essential |
| house_church | ἐκκλησία κατ’ οἶκον | ekklēsia kat’ oikon | (domácí) církev | Medium | 1:2 | Qualifier “v domě/domácí” must be retained against the architectural/heritage-tourism default association of “církev/kostel” |
| remembrance | μνεία | mneia | zmínka / vzpomínka | Low | 1:4 | — |
| active_effective | ἐνεργής | energēs | účinná / činná | Low | 1:6 | — |
| full_knowledge | ἐπίγνωσις | epignōsis | (plné) poznání | Low | 1:6 | — |
| joy | χαρά | chara | radost | Low | 1:7 | — |
| spiritual_child | τέκνον | teknon | (mé) dítě | Medium | 1:10 | Must be clearly marked as spiritual, not biological, relationship |
| hope | ἐλπίζω | elpizō | doufám | Low/Medium | 1:22 | Ordinary Czech carries a weaker, more uncertain sense than NT confident expectation; worth a note if recurring elsewhere |
| your_spirit | τὸ πνεῦμα ὑμῶν | to pneuma hymōn | váš duch | Medium | 1:25 | Human spirit, NOT the Holy Spirit; must not be capitalized as “Duch,” which is reserved for the Holy Spirit per baseline convention |
Risk Summary for This Curriculum
| Risk Tier | Count (new terms) | Count (reused baseline terms) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | 1 (slave_servant) | 5 (jesus, christ, god, lord, father) | Human theologian, every occurrence |
| High | 12 (brother, flesh_social, debt_owe, charge_to_account, repay_in_full, appeal_urge, comfort_encouragement_noun, command_order, prisoner, love, compulsion, voluntary, obedience — note: 13 actually, see full list above) | 5 (grace, faith, saints, church, gospel) | Human theologian |
| Medium | 20 | 3 (peace, fellowship [elevated], thanksgiving-adjacent) | Native speaker review |
| Low | 9 | 1 (exhort, restricted use) | Automated review |
Note on the highest-priority curriculum-specific risk: the single term requiring the most sustained pedagogical attention across every Phase 2 document is δοῦλος (otrok), because it sits at the intersection of this Language Package’s general low-biblical-literacy risk profile and a specific, high-stakes historical/social misreading risk not present in most other terms in this glossary. Every occurrence must carry the explanatory framing established here, applied identically across all curriculum materials.
Critical Risk Terms
Jesus
Approved rendering: Ježíš
Doctrine: Christology
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Appears throughout Philemon as part of the compound identity marker ‘Christ Jesus’/‘Jesus Christ’ (1:1, 1:3, 1:6, 1:9, 1:23, 1:25).
Christ
Approved rendering: Kristus
Doctrine: Christology
Rejected alternatives: Mesiáš (rejected here — reserved for explicit OT-fulfillment contexts, not present in Philemon’s use as a fixed compound proper name)
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
NEW entry for this curriculum; not present standalone in the Romans baseline TM (Romans uses ‘Mesiáš’ for explicit fulfillment argument contexts). Philemon uses ‘Christ Jesus’/‘Jesus Christ’ purely as a compound proper name (1:1, 1:8-9, 1:23, 1:25), so ‘Kristus’ is correct here. Must be added to the shared cross-curriculum term registry going forward.
God
Approved rendering: Bůh
Doctrine: God
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Opening greeting formula (1:3, 1:4).
Lord
Approved rendering: Pán
Doctrine: Union with Christ Reframing Social Relationships
Rejected alternatives: pán s malým ‘p’ jako běžné zdvořilostní oslovení
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Philemon 1:16’s ‘ἐν κυρίῳ’ (in the Lord) inherits the baseline caution that capitalization alone is a fragile signal against the everyday honorific ‘pane’; must be paired with the human/social ‘ἐν σαρκί’ (see flesh_social) as a complementary, not competing, category.
Father
Approved rendering: Otec
Doctrine: God
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Opening greeting formula (1:3).
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: přičtená spravedlnost
Doctrine: Substitutionary Payment as Gospel Typology (cross-reference)
Inherited from Romans package, cross-reference only. Not a Philemon term itself, but Philemon 1:18-19’s ἐλλογάω/ἀποτίνω debt-imagery functions as a small-scale narrative illustration of this same imputation logic in reverse (imputed debt, absorbed by a substitute); cross-reference in teaching material is strongly recommended.
Slave Servant
Approved rendering: otrok
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Rejected alternatives: sluha (servant/employee — erases legal-status reversal and the doctrinal weight of Paul’s argument), nevolník (serf — anachronistic import from Czech domestic serfdom history, legally distinct from Greco-Roman household slavery)
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Slavery and Transformation
CRITICAL, highest-priority term in this curriculum. Czech readers bring either no framework for Greco-Roman household slavery at all, or import an anachronistic transatlantic chattel-slavery framework from general education/media, which differs sharply in legal and social structure. Requires sustained explanatory framing at EVERY occurrence (1:16), not a one-time gloss. Never soften to ‘sluha’; never leave unglossed.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: evangelium
Doctrine: Gospel / Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Reused exactly. In Philemon 1:13 Paul names his imprisonment as being ‘for the gospel,’ reinforcing the letter’s reframing of his bondage as gospel service; must still be actively defined for a low-biblical-literacy reader, not merely named.
Grace
Approved rendering: milost
Doctrine: Grace as the Letter’s Theological Frame
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Frames the entire letter, opening (1:3) and closing (1:25), and underlies the χαρίζομαι wordplay at 1:22. ‘Milost’ is also ordinary Czech for judicial clemency (a presidential pardon); the theological sense must be actively taught, especially where the letter deliberately echoes this word at its close.
Faith
Approved rendering: víra
Doctrine: Faith / Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: víra v obecném slova smyslu (např. sebedůvěra)
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Philemon 1:5-6 describes Philemon’s faith as something meant to become visibly active; the object of faith (the Lord) must remain recoverable from context.
Saints
Approved rendering: svatí
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: svatí jako úzká skupina zvlášť zbožných osob
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Referenced in Philemon 1:5, 1:7 as the recipients of Philemon’s love; must not be rendered with a term implying a small class of especially holy people.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: poslušnost víry
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience (cross-reference)
Inherited from Romans package, cross-reference only — not directly quoted in Philemon, but shares its root ‘poslušnost’ with the new ‘obedience’ entry (v.21); translators must keep the two distinct in teaching notes so Philemon’s grace-flowing obedience is not collapsed into this compound Romans doctrine term.
Brother
Approved rendering: bratr
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: bratr jako pouhé vřelé oslovení bez statusové změny
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Brotherhood
Ordinary Czech ‘bratr’ is a flat kinship word with no inherent doctrinal content for a secular reader. Philemon 1:16’s radical claim (a runaway slave becomes a full brother to his former master) will not register as radical unless actively taught as a genuine status transformation.
Flesh Social
Approved rendering: tělo / lidsky vzato
Doctrine: Union with Christ Reframing Social Relationships
Rejected alternatives: tělo v Římanům-negativním smyslu ‘hříšná přirozenost’ (musí být zde vyloučeno)
Original: σάρξ (social/human sense)
Category: Brotherhood
A Czech reader trained on Romans-based teaching (where ‘tělo’ is consistently negative, ‘sinful nature’) will very likely default to that sense here; Philemon 1:16 instead pairs a neutral, social sense of ‘ἐν σαρκί’ with the spiritual ‘ἐν κυρίῳ’ as complementary categories. Must be explicitly flagged wherever this verse is taught.
Debt Owe
Approved rendering: dluží
Doctrine: Substitutionary Payment as Gospel Typology
Original: ὀφείλω
Category: Reconciliation
Names the financial/moral debt Onesimus may have incurred (1:18) and becomes the vehicle for the imputation illustration of 1:18b-19; flattening the commercial metaphor loses the typological connection to the gospel of substitutionary payment, paralleling the baseline’s Critical doctrine of imputed righteousness.
Charge To Account
Approved rendering: připočíst k účtu
Doctrine: Substitutionary Payment as Gospel Typology
Rejected alternatives: obecné ‘odpusť to’ (generic ‘forgive it’ — obscures the specific accounting image)
Original: ἐλλογάω
Category: Reconciliation
The letter’s clearest gospel-typology moment (1:18); rendering it as a generic ‘forgive it’ rather than the specific accounting image destroys rather than merely weakens the parallel to Christ bearing believers’ debt.
Repay In Full
Approved rendering: splatit
Doctrine: Substitutionary Payment as Gospel Typology
Rejected alternatives: vágní nabídka shovívavosti bez formálního závazku
Original: ἀποτίνω
Category: Reconciliation
Paul personally guarantees full payment (1:19), reinforcing the substitutionary motif begun with ἐλλογάω; must preserve a full, formal, personally guaranteed payment.
Appeal Urge
Approved rendering: prosím / vroucně žádám
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: povzbuzovat (baseline ‘exhort’ rendering for the same Greek lemma — explicitly REJECTED here as it would erase the appeal-versus-command contrast), vyzývám (urge/call upon — drifts toward the command register the passage explicitly contrasts itself with)
Original: παρακαλῶ (appeal/plea sense)
Category: Intercession
DOCUMENTED EXCEPTION to standard translation-memory reuse. Same Greek lemma (παρακαλέω) as the baseline’s ‘exhort’ entry, but that rendering must NOT be reused here (1:9-10): Philemon’s use is a personal, urgent plea, and ‘povzbuzovat’ would erase the deliberate appeal-versus-command contrast that is this letter’s rhetorical hinge.
Comfort Encouragement Noun
Approved rendering: povzbuzení / útěcha
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: παράκλησις
Category: Intercession
Occurs in 1:7 describing Paul’s own comfort, which mirrors the comfort he is about to ask Philemon to extend regarding Onesimus; the same context-sensitivity noted for ‘appeal_urge’ applies.
Command Order
Approved rendering: přikázat
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another / Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: mohl bych ti nařídit (softened ‘I could order you’ — risks losing the sharp legal-authority register)
Original: ἐπιτάσσω
Category: Intercession
Names the authoritative option Paul deliberately sets aside in favor of appeal in 1:8-9; if softened, the contrast with the appeal that follows collapses and the letter’s central ethical argument is lost.
Prisoner
Approved rendering: vězeň (Kristův)
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: vězeň bez kvalifikátoru ‘Kristův’ (drops the reframing qualifier)
Original: δέσμιος
Category: Intercession
Ordinary Czech ‘vězeň’ carries only a criminal-justice association; the doctrinal reframing (imprisonment as gospel service, not disgrace) must be actively taught, and gains particular rhetorical force set against ‘otrok’ (slave) in 1:16 (1:1, 1:9, 1:13). The ‘Kristův’ qualifier must never be dropped.
Love
Approved rendering: láska
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: láska pouze v romantickém nebo rodinném smyslu
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Obedience
NOT present in the Romans baseline glossary at all; must be newly established here. Ordinary Czech ‘láska’ defaults overwhelmingly to romantic or family affection. Must be defined narratively (self-giving, covenantal, not romantic) on first use, and this definition must be reused identically in every future document in this curriculum.
Compulsion
Approved rendering: donucení
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἀνάγκη
Category: Obedience
Named as the wrong motive for the good act in view (1:14). This term and its counterpart ‘dobrovolně’ together carry the entire weight of the doctrine of Grace-Motivated Obedience; if the contrast is blurred, the letter’s central ethical argument is lost entirely.
Voluntary
Approved rendering: dobrovolně
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἑκούσιον
Category: Obedience
The correct, positive motive for the good act in view (1:14). Must be clearly and consistently set in antithesis to ‘donucení’ within the same sentence structure (‘ne z donucení, ale dobrovolně’); losing this antithesis removes the verse’s doctrinal center.
Obedience
Approved rendering: poslušnost
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: poslušnost v běžném smyslu vynucené podřízenosti (škola, zaměstnání, autoritářský režim)
Original: ὑπακοή
Category: Obedience
Shares its root with the baseline’s compound term ‘poslušnost víry’ (obedience of faith); readers must not default to the law-based, command-compliance association that 1:8’s rhetoric explicitly rejects, an association with particular resonance in Czech historical memory of 20th-century authoritarian compliance. This ‘poslušnost’ flows from relationship, appeal, and grace, not imposed authority.
Medium Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: společenství
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, where it is Low risk; elevated to Medium specifically for this curriculum because Philemon 1:17’s cognate κοινωνός (‘společník/partner’) carries a distinct, more transactional partnership sense that must not be blurred with this term’s shared-participation sense in 1:6.
Church
Approved rendering: církev
Doctrine: House Church and Christian Community
Rejected alternatives: kostel (budova) namísto společenství věřících
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Philemon 1:2’s qualifier (‘the church that meets in your house’) must be retained; many secular Czech readers’ primary association with ‘církev/kostel’ is architectural or heritage-tourism, not living community.
Peace
Approved rendering: pokoj
Doctrine: Grace as the Letter’s Theological Frame
Rejected alternatives: pokoj ve smyslu pouhého klidu
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Opening greeting formula (1:3); distinguish from the everyday Czech sense of mere quiet.
Useless Useful
Approved rendering: neužitečný / užitečný
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: ἄχρηστος / εὔχρηστος
Category: Slavery and Transformation
Wordplay on Onesimus’s name (‘Useful One’) carries the doctrinal payload for this doctrine (1:11); must not be flattened into generic personality-improvement language divorced from the gospel’s transforming work.
Beget Spiritual Father
Approved rendering: zplodil jsem (duchovně)
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and Transformed Identity
Rejected alternatives: zplodil jsem (bez upřesnění) — riskuje literární/biologické čtení
Original: γεννάω
Category: Slavery and Transformation
Describes Paul leading Onesimus to faith (1:10); literal biological reading must be actively excluded via the ‘(duchovně)’ qualifier at every occurrence.
Onesimus Name Pun
Approved rendering: Onezimus
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power / Spiritual Fatherhood and Transformed Identity
Original: Ὀνήσιμος
Category: Slavery and Transformation
Standard Czech Bible-tradition transliteration. The name’s meaning (‘Useful One’) is entirely invisible without a translator’s note explaining the underlying Greek etymology and its connection to the ἄχρηστος/εὔχρηστος wordplay (1:10-11).
Beloved
Approved rendering: milovaný
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Brotherhood
Intensifies the brotherhood claim of 1:16 with personal warmth beyond a bare change of legal category; also used of Philemon himself in 1:1.
Partner
Approved rendering: společník
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: kamarád / přítel (friend — loses specific business/legal-partnership connotation grounding Paul’s concrete request)
Original: κοινωνός
Category: Brotherhood
Distinct from the cognate κοινωνία (‘fellowship,’ rendered ‘společenství’); carries a more transactional, business-partnership flavor grounding the concrete request of 1:17 (receive Onesimus as you would receive me).
Receive Welcome
Approved rendering: přijmout
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rejected alternatives: přijmout jako neúplnou/podmíněnou tolerance
Original: προσλαμβάνω
Category: Brotherhood
The doctrine of Forgiveness and Reconciliation depends on this being read as complete, unqualified acceptance (1:17), not a grudging or conditional welcome.
Wronged
Approved rendering: ukřivdit
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rejected alternatives: udělal chybu (a mere ‘mistake’ — too vague)
Original: ἀδικέω
Category: Reconciliation
Must retain the sense of a real, nameable wrongdoing (likely theft or absconding, 1:18), not be softened into a vague, unspecified mistake.
Owe Besides
Approved rendering: dlužíš mi ještě víc
Doctrine: Substitutionary Payment as Gospel Typology
Original: προσοφείλω
Category: Reconciliation
Paul escalates the debt-image (1:19): Philemon’s own spiritual debt to Paul dwarfs Onesimus’s material debt. The wordplay with ὀφείλω/ἐλλογάω/ἀποτίνω must remain visible for the rhetorical escalation to land.
Send Back
Approved rendering: poslat zpět
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀναπέμπω
Category: Reconciliation
The concrete, costly act of reconciliation (1:12), not mere words; must not appear to endorse the ancient property-return convention as a timeless social norm.
Graciously Grant
Approved rendering: navrácen / darován
Doctrine: Grace as the Letter’s Theological Frame
Rejected alternatives: budu propuštěn (neutral ‘I will be released’ — loses the χάρις/χαρίζομαι echo entirely)
Original: χαρίζομαι (χαρισθήσομαι)
Category: Reconciliation
Deliberate wordplay on the letter’s opening term χάρις (grace); Paul’s own expected release is framed as a gracious gift to Philemon (1:22). A neutral rendering loses this echo entirely, weakening the letter’s closing return to its central theological vocabulary.
Boldness Confidence
Approved rendering: smělost
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: παρρησία
Category: Intercession
Names the real authority Paul possesses and is about to decline to use (1:8); ordinary Czech reads this as a personality trait, not standing/authority to speak, so needs a brief accompanying gloss.
Fitting Proper
Approved rendering: co se patří
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: co je pouhou zdvořilostí (mere politeness — too weak)
Original: τὸ ἀνῆκον
Category: Intercession
Could be flattened into ordinary polite manners (1:8); must retain the weight of a moral, not merely social, obligation before God.
Fellow Prisoner
Approved rendering: spoluvězeň
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: συναιχμάλωτος
Category: Intercession
Shares the same doctrinal reframing challenge as δέσμιος; ordinary Czech carries only the criminal-justice association unless paired with a ‘for Christ’ qualifier (1:23).
Serve Minister
Approved rendering: sloužit
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: διακονέω
Category: Intercession
Paul envisions Onesimus’s potential gospel service (1:13) as ministry partnership, not mere domestic labor; must be actively distinguished from δοῦλος’s status-based servitude — this is voluntary ministry service flowing from calling, not bondage.
Wish Benefit
Approved rendering: ať z tebe mám užitek
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: ὀναίμην (ὀνίνημι)
Category: Intercession
Rare optative wish for benefit (1:20), a NT hapax legomenon with no direct Czech grammatical equivalent; must be rendered as a warm personal request rather than a cold, formal one.
Refresh Give Rest
Approved rendering: občerstvit
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: ἀναπαύω
Category: Intercession
Paul asks Philemon (1:20) for the same relief he earlier gave the saints (1:7) — reciprocal, relational refreshment achieved through reconciliation, not mere physical rest.
Inward Affection
Approved rendering: srdce
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: vnitřnosti (literal ‘bowels’ — grotesque/archaic-comic to a modern secular reader)
Original: σπλάγχνα
Category: Intercession
Greek idiom (bowels/inward parts) for the seat of deep emotion; ‘srdce’ is correct but under-communicates the idiom’s visceral intensity without an accompanying translator’s note. Recurs at 1:7, 1:12, and 1:20 and must be rendered consistently across all three occurrences.
Prayer
Approved rendering: modlitba
Doctrine: Prayer and Thanksgiving in Relationship
Original: προσευχή
Category: Intercession
Grounds the entire letter’s appeal in a context of ongoing prayer, not a cold business letter (1:4, 1:22); addressing an unseen personal God cannot be assumed as familiar for a secular reader and needs the same foundational scaffolding the baseline requires for ‘přímluva’ (intercession).
Confidence Trust
Approved rendering: s důvěrou
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: πεποιθώς (πείθω)
Category: Intercession
Paul’s confidence in 1:21 is relational, grounded in Philemon’s known character — not a demand backed by threat; must be distinguished from mere wishful hoping.
Consent
Approved rendering: souhlas
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: názor (trivial ‘opinion’ — too weak)
Original: γνώμη
Category: Obedience
Paul will not act unilaterally even though he could (1:14) — models appeal, not coercion, as the pattern for how grace operates; could be misread as a trivial opinion rather than the binding personal consent Paul deliberately waits for.
The Good Deed
Approved rendering: dobrý skutek
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: τὸ ἀγαθόν
Category: Obedience
The concrete good act in view (receiving Onesimus back well, 1:6, 1:14) must be read as flowing from grace-motivated free will, not obligation.
House Church
Approved rendering: (domácí) církev
Doctrine: House Church and Christian Community
Original: ἐκκλησία κατ’ οἶκόν σου
Category: Church
Reminds the reader that ‘church’ in the New Testament era was ordinarily a small home gathering, not a building (1:2). The ‘domácí’/‘v tvém domě’ qualifier must be retained without exception so the reader does not picture the large stone church buildings dominating the Czech cultural association with ‘kostel/církev’.
Spiritual Child
Approved rendering: (mé) dítě
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and Transformed Identity
Rejected alternatives: dítě bez upřesnění (implies literal biological family connection)
Original: τέκνον
Category: Slavery and Transformation
Paul claims spiritual fatherhood over Onesimus (1:10); must be clearly marked as a spiritual, not biological, relationship.
Hope
Approved rendering: doufám
Doctrine: Prayer and Thanksgiving in Relationship (supporting)
Original: ἐλπίζω
Category: Support/Context
Paul’s stated hope of a future visit (1:22); ordinary Czech ‘doufám’ can carry a weaker, more uncertain sense than the New Testament’s confident expectation.
Your Spirit
Approved rendering: váš duch
Doctrine: Grace as the Letter’s Theological Frame (closing benediction)
Rejected alternatives: váš Duch (capitalized — would wrongly introduce a Holy Spirit reference the source text does not make)
Original: τὸ πνεῦμα ὑμῶν
Category: Support/Context
The human spirit (collective ‘you’), not a reference to the Holy Spirit (1:25); must not be capitalized as ‘Duch,’ which is reserved for the Holy Spirit per baseline convention.
Separated Providence
Approved rendering: byl odloučen
Doctrine: Providence in Onesimus’s Personal Circumstances
Rejected alternatives: utekl (a purely human-agency reading, ‘he ran away’ — erases the implied divine passive)
Original: ἐχωρίσθη (χωρίζω)
Category: Support/Context
Passive voice possibly implying an unnamed divine agent behind the event (1:15). The providential implication is easy to miss entirely in Czech without a translator’s note; a purely human-agency reading would erase the doctrinal point.
Eternal Permanent
Approved rendering: navěky / provždy
Doctrine: Providence in Onesimus’s Personal Circumstances (supporting)
Original: αἰώνιος
Category: Support/Context
Here, ‘for good’ or permanently — NOT the technical New Testament sense of ‘eternal life’ (1:15). Needs a clarifying gloss distinguishing this everyday relational use from the doctrinal ‘eternal life’ sense.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: díkůvzdání
Doctrine: Prayer and Thanksgiving in Relationship
Original: εὐχαριστία / εὐχαριστῶ
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Opens the letter’s body (1:4), grounding the appeal that follows in genuine affection rather than mere rhetorical strategy.
Exhort
Approved rendering: povzbuzovat
Doctrine: Mutual Edification (general sense only)
Original: παρακαλέω (general encouragement sense)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package for GENERAL encouragement contexts ONLY. MUST NOT be applied to Philemon 1:9-10’s urgent personal plea (see ‘appeal_urge’ below); using this term there would erase the letter’s central appeal-versus-command contrast. Documented, deliberate restriction on reuse.
Fellow Worker
Approved rendering: spolupracovník
Doctrine: Gospel Partnership in Ministry
Original: συνεργός
Category: Support/Context
Philemon and later Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke (1:1, 1:24) are named as partners in gospel labor, not merely social acquaintances; needs a brief gloss so the doctrinal nuance is not read as ordinary paid workplace collegiality.
Fellow Soldier
Approved rendering: spolubojovník
Doctrine: Gospel Partnership in Ministry
Original: συστρατιώτης
Category: Support/Context
Describes Archippus (1:2); a transparent metaphor in Czech, though a brief note is useful for readers unfamiliar with Paul’s other military metaphors elsewhere in the New Testament.
Remembrance
Approved rendering: zmínka
Doctrine: Prayer and Thanksgiving in Relationship
Original: μνεία
Category: Support/Context
Paul’s prayer life includes ongoing, specific remembrance of Philemon (1:4).
Active Effective
Approved rendering: účinná
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience (supporting)
Original: ἐνεργής
Category: Support/Context
Faith that is real produces visible action (1:6), anticipating the letter’s argument that grace-motivated faith must issue in a concrete, costly act.
Full Knowledge
Approved rendering: (plné) poznání
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience (supporting)
Original: ἐπίγνωσις
Category: Support/Context
Knowledge of ‘every good thing’ in Christ (1:6); background concept for τὸ ἀγαθόν (the_good_deed).
Joy
Approved rendering: radost
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status (supporting)
Original: χαρά
Category: Support/Context
Paul’s joy over reports of Philemon’s love for the saints (1:7); establishes the emotional warmth preceding the difficult request.
Elder Ambassador
Approved rendering: starší muž / vyslanec
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another (textual variant)
Original: πρεσβύτης (v.l. πρεσβευτής)
Category: Intercession
Well-known textual variant in 1:9 (πρεσβύτης / πρεσβευτής). Either reading supports the same rhetorical point: Paul appeals from a posture of humility rather than apostolic command. Record both readings in the segment cache.
Hospitality
Approved rendering: pokoj pro hosta / ubytování
Doctrine: Gospel Partnership in Ministry (supporting)
Original: ξενία
Category: Support/Context
A room set aside for a guest (1:22); reinforces the household/hospitality setting of the whole letter.
Referenced passages