Semantic Analysis — Exodus (Full Book) | English → French

Methodological Note: Original Language of Exodus

Exodus was composed in Biblical Hebrew, not Koine Greek. Koine Greek is the original language of the New Testament (including Romans, the baseline curriculum this package extends); Exodus belongs to the Torah/Pentateuch and is Hebrew Scripture (Hebrew title: שְׁמוֹת, Shemot, “Names,” from its opening words). Treating Exodus as a Greek document would misrepresent its textual history and would sever the analysis from the actual word-choices Moses’ narrative makes.

This analysis therefore proceeds from the Masoretic Hebrew text as the original-language authority, giving Hebrew script, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, and English variants for every load-bearing term, exactly as the Step 1 mandate requires for “original language” analysis.

Where a Hebrew term is also rendered by the Septuagint (LXX) — the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that the New Testament authors, including Paul, quote and echo — that Greek form is additionally cited. This matters directly for this pipeline: several Exodus terms are the direct lexical ancestors of Critical/High risk terms already fixed in the baseline Romans package (e.g., LXX ἱλαστήριον hilastērion for כַּפֹּרֶת kapporet is the same word Paul uses in Romans 3:25; LXX διαθήκη diathēkē for בְּרִית berit is the same word behind baseline “alliance”; χρίσμα/χριστός vocabulary behind מָשַׁח mashach is the same root behind baseline “Messie”). These bridges are flagged throughout as Critical continuity risks: if French renderings diverge between the Exodus and Romans materials, the curriculum will visibly break its own typological argument for francophone learners.

All French renderings below default to the baseline translation_memory.json wherever a term already exists there. New terms are proposed for theologian/native-speaker review and risk-tiered per the baseline’s four-tier framework (Critical/High/Medium/Low).

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PART A — Core Passage: Exodus 12:1–14 (Verse-by-Verse)

Exodus 12:1

“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt…”

LORD / YHWH — Hebrew: יהוה (YHWH, the Tetragrammaton) — no LXX single equivalent; LXX renders κύριος (kyrios), the same Greek word underlying baseline “lord”/“Seigneur.”

• Literal meaning: the personal, revealed covenant name of God, likely connected to the verb הָיָה (hayah, “to be”).
• Semantic range: proper name, not a title; distinct from אֱלֹהִים (Elohim, generic “God”) and אֲדֹנָי (Adonai, “my Lord”).
• English variants: “LORD” (small caps, most English Bibles), “Yahweh,” “Jehovah” (older).
• Contextual theological meaning: this is the name revealed at the burning bush (Exodus 3:14–15) now acting in history to redeem; it grounds “The Character and Name of God” doctrine for the whole curriculum.
• French rendering risk: CRITICAL. French Bible tradition is split: Segond renders YHWH as “l’Éternel” throughout the OT; the ecumenical TOB/Bible de Jérusalem tradition (matching this package’s target register) uses “le SEIGNEUR” (small caps) to distinguish the covenant name from a generic “seigneur” while remaining visually/lexically consistent with the baseline’s NT “Seigneur” (κύριος). Recommendation: adopt “le SEIGNEUR” (small-caps typographic convention) for YHWH throughout Exodus, with an explicit style note that plain “Seigneur” (no caps) is reserved for generic address, and that any audio/video Phase 2 output must find a spoken equivalent (e.g., verbal gloss “le Seigneur, c’est-à-dire l’Éternel”) since capitalization is inaudible. This decision requires theologian sign-off before Phase 2 begins.

Exodus 12:2

“This month shall be for you the beginning of months.”

month — Hebrew: חֹדֶש (chodesh) — from חָדָש (“new”); also means “new moon.”

• Semantic range: lunar month; calendrical marker.
• English variants: “month,” “new moon.”
• Contextual theological meaning: God reorders Israel’s calendar itself around the redemption event — the Exodus becomes the fixed point from which time is measured.
• French rendering: “mois.” Risk: Low. Stable, no collision.

Exodus 12:3

“…the whole congregation of Israel…” “a lamb for a household…”

congregation — Hebrew: עֵדָה (edah) — LXX often συναγωγή (synagōgē) or later ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) contexts.

• Literal meaning: an assembly gathered by appointment.
• Semantic range: the corporate covenant community of Israel, not a random crowd.
• English variants: “congregation,” “assembly,” “community.”
• Contextual theological meaning: redemption in Exodus 12 is corporate — a whole people is delivered together, prefiguring the NT “Church as God’s People” doctrine already defined in the baseline (church).
• French rendering: “assemblée” / “communauté d’Israël.” Risk: Medium. Must NOT be rendered “Église” (anachronistic institutional import); reserve “Église” per baseline notes for the NT body-of-Christ sense.

lamb — Hebrew: שֶׂה (seh) — a young animal from the flock (sheep or goat, cf. v.5).

• Literal meaning: a member of the flock, sheep or goat.
• Semantic range: broader than English “lamb”; disambiguated in v.5 to mean specifically a young, flawless male.
• English variants: “lamb,” “animal.”
• Contextual theological meaning: the animal that will die in the place of the household — the seed of substitutionary atonement doctrine.
• French rendering: “agneau.” Risk: Medium. French “Agneau de Dieu” is a stable, positive liturgical echo (Agnus Dei) that reinforces the substitution typology; risk is that readers may import full NT Christological freight prematurely — acceptable here since that typological arc is the curriculum’s own teaching point, but must be flagged so translators do not add anachronistic explicit “Jésus” glosses into the Exodus text itself.

Exodus 12:4–5

“…according to what each can eat…” “your lamb shall be without blemish, a male, a year old…”

without blemish — Hebrew: תָּמִים (tamim).

• Literal meaning: complete, whole, sound, unblemished.
• Semantic range: physical perfection (no defect) extending metaphorically to moral integrity elsewhere in the OT (e.g., Genesis 17:1, “walk before me and be tamim”).
• English variants: “without blemish,” “without defect,” “perfect,” “unblemished.”
• Contextual theological meaning: only a flawless sacrifice may stand in the place of the household; this is the direct root of the NT’s “lamb without blemish or spot” typology (1 Peter 1:19) and of substitutionary atonement doctrine generally.
• French rendering: “sans défaut” / “sans tache.” Risk: High. Must retain the cultic-sacrificial sense (ritual and moral perfection) rather than drifting into a merely aesthetic “sans défaut de fabrication” (manufacturing-defect) register; recommend “sans défaut” fixed as this curriculum’s standard phrase for consistency with future NT lessons on Christ.

Exodus 12:6

“…keep it until the fourteenth day…kill it at twilight.”

twilight — Hebrew: בֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם (bein ha-arbayim, lit. “between the two evenings”).

• Literal meaning: the interval between late afternoon and dusk.
• Semantic range: a specific ritual-time window, debated in later Judaism (afternoon vs. dusk).
• English variants: “twilight,” “evening,” “at dusk.”
• Contextual theological meaning: precise timing matters because this is a scheduled, divinely appointed sacrifice, not an improvised one — later echoed in the timing of Christ’s crucifixion.
• French rendering: “au crépuscule” / “entre les deux soirs.” Risk: Low. Minor precision note only.

Exodus 12:7

“Take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel…”

blood — Hebrew: דָּם (dam) — LXX αἷμα (haima).

• Literal meaning: blood, the life-fluid of a living creature.
• Semantic range: life itself (cf. Leviticus 17:11, “the life is in the blood”); also the means of atonement/ransom.
• English variants: “blood.”
• Contextual theological meaning: the visible, applied sign of a death that has already occurred on the household’s behalf — the theological center of “Passover and Substitutionary Atonement.”
• French rendering: “sang.” Risk: High. Not a lexical ambiguity risk (sang is stable) but a doctrinal-emphasis risk: French secular and even some catechetical usage can flatten sacrificial blood-language into symbolic metaphor; translators must keep the concrete, applied, life-for-life substitution sense intact, especially since this passage is the direct OT anchor for later NT “blood of Christ” language.

doorposts / lintel — Hebrew: מְזוּזֹת (mezuzot, doorposts) and מַשְׁקוֹף (mashqof, lintel/crossbeam).

• Literal meaning: the vertical posts and horizontal beam framing a door.
• Semantic range: architectural terms with no independent theological content in this text.
• English variants: “doorposts,” “door frame,” “lintel.”
• Contextual theological meaning: the blood is applied publicly, on the household’s own dwelling, marking it as a place under the sign of the substitute’s death.
• French rendering: “poteaux de la porte” / “linteau.” Risk: Low, with one advisory note: later Jewish practice (mezuzah scroll boxes) uses the same root word for a different, much later custom; a brief footnote distinguishing the Exodus 12 practice from the later mezuzah custom is recommended for accuracy, though risk to core doctrine is minimal.

Exodus 12:8

“…eat the flesh…with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.”

unleavened bread — Hebrew: מַצּוֹת (matzot, sg. מַצָּה matzah).

• Literal meaning: bread made without leaven/yeast.
• Semantic range: bread of haste and affliction; later becomes the defining food of the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15–20).
• English variants: “unleavened bread,” “bread without yeast.”
• Contextual theological meaning: haste (no time to let bread rise) and purity (leaven later symbolizes corruption/sin, e.g., 1 Corinthians 5:6–8, outside this curriculum but a live NT echo).
• French rendering: “pain sans levain.” Risk: Medium. An alternate liturgical French term, “pain azyme,” exists (used of the Catholic Eucharistic host); “azyme” is acceptable as a technical gloss but should not replace the plain “pain sans levain” as the primary teaching term, to avoid prematurely importing Eucharistic-rite associations into the Exodus narrative.

bitter herbs — Hebrew: מְרֹרִים (merorim).

• Literal meaning: bitter plants/herbs.
• Semantic range: a taste-symbol of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt.
• English variants: “bitter herbs.”
• Contextual theological meaning: the meal itself teaches redemption’s cost — deliverance was from real bitterness, not merely a change of status.
• French rendering: “herbes amères.” Risk: Low.

Exodus 12:9–10

“…not raw or boiled…roasted…let none of it remain until morning…”

roasted whole (head, legs, entrails) — no single Hebrew technical term beyond צָלִי־אֵש (tsli-esh, “roasted with/by fire”).

• Contextual theological meaning: the animal is presented complete, echoing the tamim (“without blemish/whole”) requirement — the substitute is offered in its integrity, not divided or hidden.
• French rendering: “rôti au feu, entier.” Risk: Low.

let nothing remain — Hebrew: לֹא־תוֹתִירוּ (lo totiru, “you shall not leave over”).

• Contextual theological meaning: the sacrifice is not stored or treated as ordinary food; anything left is burned, preserving its set-apart (holy) character.
• French rendering: “n’en laisserez rien.” Risk: Low. Conceptually connects to baseline “saint”/holiness vocabulary (Medium risk category generally, but the phrase itself is not lexically difficult).

Exodus 12:11

“…eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover.”

in haste — Hebrew: בְּחִפָּזוֹן (be-chippazon).

• Literal meaning: hurriedly, in urgent flight.
• Semantic range: urgency bordering on panic, but purposeful, not chaotic.
• English variants: “in haste,” “hurriedly,” “quickly.”
• Contextual theological meaning: readiness for immediate deliverance — redemption interrupts ordinary life and demands a response.
• French rendering: “à la hâte.” Risk: Low.

Passover — Hebrew: פֶּסַח (Pesach) — from the verb פָּסַח (pasach, “to pass over / to spare”); LXX πάσχα (pascha), the same Greek word the NT uses for both the Jewish festival and, typologically, for Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7, “Christ our Passover,” outside this curriculum but the direct NT payoff of this term).

• Literal meaning: “a passing over” / “a sparing.”
• Semantic range: (1) the historical night of Exodus 12; (2) the annual festival commemorating it; (3) the sacrificial lamb itself is sometimes metonymically called “the Passover” (v.11, 21).
• English variants: “Passover,” “the LORD’s Passover.”
• Contextual theological meaning: the name of the entire doctrine of substitutionary, God-provided deliverance from judgment — the theological anchor of this curriculum.
• French rendering: “la Pâque.” Risk: CRITICAL. French “la Pâque” (Passover, singular, no final -s) is a near-homograph of “Pâques” (Easter, the Christian resurrection feast, usually written with a final -s and often capitalized). This is one of the most consequential term-collision risks in the entire curriculum: an unglossed reference to “la Pâque” risks readers hearing “Pâques” (Easter) and collapsing the Passover-lamb typology into a vague generic “Easter” association, or conversely, French Catholic/secular readers may assume the term only concerns the Christian festival and miss the Jewish institution altogether. Mandatory rule: first occurrence in any Phase 2 document must read “la Pâque juive” or “la Pâque (l’Exode)” with explicit apposition; do not rely on capitalization alone to disambiguate. This term must be added to the Exodus translation memory as Critical, parallel to how baseline treats “justification.”

Exodus 12:12

“I will pass through the land of Egypt…strike all the firstborn…execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt; I am the LORD.”

pass through / strike — Hebrew: עָבַר (avar, “pass through”) and נָכָה (nakah, “strike, smite”).

• Contextual theological meaning: this is not an impersonal natural disaster but YHWH’s own direct, personal action in judgment.
• French rendering: “passer à travers” / “frapper.” Risk: Medium.

firstborn — Hebrew: בְּכוֹר (bekhor).

• Literal meaning: the first male offspring, bearing special status, inheritance rights, and (per Exodus 13) a consecration obligation.
• Semantic range: also used metaphorically of Israel itself as God’s “firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22).
• English variants: “firstborn.”
• Contextual theological meaning: the judgment falls precisely on what a household holds most precious, making the substitute lamb’s death a direct, costly exchange for the life that would otherwise be forfeit.
• French rendering: “premier-né.” Risk: Medium. Stable term; risk is conceptual (must be tied explicitly to substitution, not treated as an isolated historical detail).

judgments — Hebrew: שְׁפָטִים (shefatim, from שָׁפַט, “to judge”).

• Contextual theological meaning: the plagues (and this final plague) are framed as legal verdicts against Egypt’s gods, not random calamities — establishing YHWH’s exclusive supremacy, a key facet of “The Character and Name of God” doctrine.
• French rendering: “jugements.” Risk: Low.

Exodus 12:13

“The blood shall be a sign for you…I will pass over you…”

sign — Hebrew: אוֹת (ot).

• Literal meaning: a mark, token, or proof.
• Semantic range: ranges from a simple identifying mark to a divinely authenticating miracle (cf. the plague-signs of chapters 4–10).
• English variants: “sign,” “token,” “mark.”
• Contextual theological meaning: the blood does not magically ward off harm; it is a covenantal marker of a household already sheltered under the substitute’s death.
• French rendering: “signe.” Risk: Medium. Secular French can read “signe” as superstition (a lucky charm/omen); must retain the covenantal-authentication sense established already for baseline term category “sign”-adjacent doctrine (cf. baseline power_of_god, providence).

pass over (verb) — Hebrew: פָּסַח (pasach), the verbal root of “Passover” itself.

• Contextual theological meaning: God’s judgment “passes over” (spares) the substitute-marked household — the deliverance is one and the same event as the judgment on Egypt, distinguished only by the applied blood.
• French rendering: “je passerai au-dessus de vous” / “je vous épargnerai.” Risk: High. Must preserve the wordplay link to “la Pâque” (same root) wherever feasible in Phase 2 prose exposition, even though French cannot reproduce the Hebrew pun directly; a translator’s note explaining the wordplay is recommended rather than attempting a forced French pun.

plague — Hebrew: נֶגֶף (negef, “a striking/plague,” distinct from the general term for the ten plagues, מַכָּה makkah).

• French rendering: “fléau” / “plaie.” Risk: Low.

Exodus 12:14

“This day shall be to you a memorial…keep it as a feast to the LORD…a statute forever.”

memorial — Hebrew: זִכָּרוֹן (zikkaron), from זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”).

• Literal meaning: a remembrance, something that prompts memory.
• Semantic range: not mere recollection but active, participatory remembering that re-actualizes the event’s meaning for the present generation.
• English variants: “memorial,” “remembrance.”
• Contextual theological meaning: every subsequent generation is to treat the Exodus as their own deliverance, not merely their ancestors’.
• French rendering: “mémorial.” Risk: Medium. French Catholic liturgical usage applies “mémorial” specifically to the Eucharist (“le mémorial de la Cène/de la Pâque du Seigneur”); this is a helpful structural parallel (both are participatory remembrances of a saving act) but must not be presented as doctrinally equivalent — the Passover mémorial and the Catholic Eucharistic mémorial are related typologically, not identical sacramentally. Flag for native-speaker review to keep the analogy pedagogically useful without collapsing distinct traditions’ theology of the Lord’s Supper into this OT text.

feast — Hebrew: חַג (chag, from חוּג, “to go in a circle,” i.e., a pilgrimage-festival).

• French rendering: “fête.” Risk: Low.

statute forever — Hebrew: חֻקַּת עוֹלָם (chuqqat olam).

• Literal meaning: a decree/ordinance for perpetuity (עוֹלָם olam, “long duration,” contextually “forever” for an ongoing institution).
• Semantic range: a fixed, binding, enduring legal-covenantal requirement, distinct from a temporary command.
• English variants: “a lasting ordinance,” “a perpetual statute,” “forever.”
• Contextual theological meaning: Passover observance is not optional or occasional but woven permanently into Israel’s covenant identity — connects directly to “The Mosaic Covenant and Law” doctrine.
• French rendering: “une ordonnance perpétuelle” / “un statut à toujours.” Risk: Medium. Must be distinguished from generic French “loi” (baseline term for Mosaic Law generally) — this is a specific class of enduring ceremonial ordinance within the larger Law; translators should avoid conflating חֻקָּה (chuqqah, statute) with the broader תּוֹרָה (torah) vocabulary discussed under chapters 18–24 below.

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PART B — Chapter-by-Chapter Study of the Whole Book

Chapter 1 — Israel’s Bondage in Egypt

• slavery/labor/service — Hebrew: עֲבֹדָה (avodah); slave/servant — עֶבֶד (eved). Literal: hard, forced labor. Semantic range: this same root later means cultic “service/worship” (cf. ch. 4–5, 20), making Pharaoh’s forced avodah and Israel’s true avodah (worship of YHWH) a deliberate contrast running through the whole book. English variants: “slavery,” “hard labor,” “bondage,” “service.” Theological meaning: establishes the “Deliverance from Bondage to Sin” doctrine’s OT type — physical bondage as the visible picture of a deeper bondage. French: “esclavage” / “servitude” (bondage) vs. “service” (worship-service). Risk: High. The wordplay is invisible in French unless the two senses are deliberately cross-referenced by the translator; recommend a standing translator’s note flagging every occurrence of avodah so the “let my people go that they may serve/worship me” argument (chs. 4–10) is not lost.
• Hebrews — עִבְרִים (Ivrim). Ethnic/covenant self-designation. French: “Hébreux.” Risk: Low.
• fear [God] — יָרֵא (yare, of the midwives, 1:17, 21). Reuse baseline concept (cf. holy/fear-of-the-Lord doctrine below, ch. 20). Risk: Medium — see fuller treatment at ch. 20.

Chapter 2 — Moses’ Birth; Israel’s Cry Remembered

• cry out / groan — Hebrew: צָעַק (tsa’aq) and נָאַק (na’aq, groan, 2:23–24). Literal: an anguished vocal appeal. Semantic range: not polite petition but the cry of the oppressed that God is bound by covenant to hear (cf. Genesis 4:10, Abel’s blood). English variants: “cried out,” “groaned,” “cry for help.” Theological meaning: redemption begins with God hearing — establishes the relational, covenant-keeping character of God central to the whole book. French: “crier” / “gémir.” Risk: Medium — must not be flattened to generic “se plaindre” (complain), which loses the covenant-appeal weight.
• remember [the covenant] — זָכַר (zakhar). Reuse baseline covenant (alliance) concept. Risk: Medium — “se souvenir” in French; God’s remembering is active, not passive recollection — must not read as God merely “recalling” a forgotten fact.

Chapter 3 — The Burning Bush; the Divine Name Revealed

• holy ground — אַדְמַת־קֹדֶש (admat qodesh). Reuse baseline holy = “saint.” Risk: Medium — first instance in Exodus of place-holiness (not yet the Tabernacle); establishes that God’s presence, not architecture, makes a place holy.
• Angel of the LORD — מַלְאַךְ יהוה (malakh YHWH). Literal: “messenger of YHWH.” Semantic range: in several OT theophanies this figure speaks as YHWH in the first person (3:2–6), raising the theological question of whether this is a created angel or a manifestation of YHWH himself. English variants: “angel of the LORD,” “the LORD’s messenger.” Theological meaning: an early hint of the plurality-within-unity later fully revealed in Christ; connects to baseline intercession/mediatorial themes. French: “l’ange de l’Éternel” / “l’Ange du SEIGNEUR.” Risk: High — must not be reduced to “un simple messager” (an ordinary angelic errand-runner), which would erase the theophanic ambiguity the text intentionally preserves.
• I AM WHO I AM — אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh, 3:14); LXX: Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν (Egō eimi ho ōn, “I am the one who is/exists”), the direct lexical background of the NT’s “ἐγώ εἰμι” (“I am”) sayings (e.g., John 8:58, outside this curriculum but a live doctrinal bridge). Literal: from הָיָה (hayah, “to be”); the imperfect verb form can carry present (“I am”) or future (“I will be”) force — both readings are theologically defensible and used by different traditions. English variants: “I AM WHO I AM,” “I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE,” “I AM.” Theological meaning: God’s self-existence, self-definition, and covenant faithfulness (he will be present and active as he has always been) — the theological core of “The Character and Name of God” doctrine. French: “Je suis celui qui suis” (Segond’s classic rendering). Risk: CRITICAL. Must be fixed exactly and used identically wherever the curriculum references this verse, given its direct bridge to future NT “I AM” Christological teaching; theologian sign-off required alongside the YHWH decision above.
• YHWH / the LORD — see treatment at 12:1 above; the name is formally introduced here (3:15) as “my name forever.” Risk: CRITICAL (same entry as 12:1).

Chapter 4 — Signs Given to Moses; Early Hardening Language

• sign(s) — אֹת/אֹתוֹת (ot/otot). See treatment at 12:13. Risk: Medium.
• harden the heart — כָּבֵד לֵב / חִזֵּק לֵב (kaved lev / chizzek lev, lit. “make the heart heavy/strong”). Literal: to make unresponsive, stubborn. Semantic range: used of both God’s action (“I will harden,” 4:21) and Pharaoh’s own action (“Pharaoh hardened his heart,” 8:15), producing a genuine theological tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. English variants: “harden,” “make stubborn,” “make obstinate.” Theological meaning: this is the exact language Paul cites in Romans 9:17–18 regarding Pharaoh — a CRITICAL cross-curriculum bridge the translation team must not miss, since baseline Romans materials already discuss election/hardening as High risk (effectual_calling, election). French: “endurcir le cœur.” Risk: CRITICAL. Must render consistently whether the subject is God or Pharaoh, preserving the ambiguity/tension rather than resolving it in translation (e.g., do not soften God’s agency to “permitted Pharaoh to harden” if the Hebrew verb has God as grammatical subject).

Chapter 5 — Pharaoh’s Refusal; Bondage Intensifies

• No new load-bearing theological term; reuses avodah/eved (ch. 1) and introduces סְבָלָה (sivlah, “burdens,” 5:4–5), a minor synonym for forced labor requiring no new glossary entry. French: “fardeaux.” Risk: Low.

Chapter 6 — Covenant Reaffirmed; the Name Contrasted with El Shaddai

• God Almighty — אֵל שַׁדַּי (El Shaddai). Literal meaning debated (possibly “God of the mountain” or “All-Sufficient One”). Semantic range: the patriarchal-era name of God (Genesis 17:1, 35:11), now explicitly contrasted with the newly disclosed covenant name YHWH (6:2–3). Theological meaning: continuity and escalation — the same God who covenanted with the patriarchs now acts by his fuller, redemptive name. French: “le Dieu Tout-Puissant.” Risk: Medium — established rendering; risk is purely pedagogical (explaining the name-shift, not a lexical ambiguity).
• redeem — גָּאַל (ga’al, 6:6, “I will redeem you with an outstretched arm”). Literal: to act as a go’el (kinsman-redeemer) — to buy back, reclaim, or avenge a relative’s loss of freedom, land, or life (cf. the book of Ruth’s go’el institution). Semantic range: familial, relational redemption, distinct in nuance from פָּדָה (padah, commercial ransom, see ch. 13). English variants: “redeem,” “deliver,” “rescue.” Theological meaning: God acts not as a distant rescuer but as Israel’s covenant kinsman — foundational for “The Exodus as Redemption” doctrine. French: “racheter” / “rédemption.” Risk: High. Not currently in the baseline TM; must be added as a new Exodus-curriculum entry, distinguished carefully from the commercial-ransom nuance of padah (ch. 13) so both Hebrew words are not flattened into one identical French verb without a footnote on the distinction.
• outstretched arm — זְרוֹעַ נְטוּיָה (zeroa netuyah). Idiom for decisive, powerful action. French: “bras étendu.” Risk: Low.

Chapter 7 — The Blood Plague; “Signs and Wonders” Formula Established

• signs and wonders — אֹתוֹת וּמֹפְתִים (otot u-moftim). Literal: “signs” (see ch. 4) plus מוֹפֵת (mofet, “wonder, portent”). Semantic range: together they form a fixed formula for divinely authenticating acts, reused throughout the plague narrative and picked up by the NT (Acts 2:22, outside curriculum). Theological meaning: the plagues are covenant-lawsuit evidence of YHWH’s supremacy over Pharaoh’s claimed divinity. French: “signes et prodiges.” Risk: Medium.
• harden the heart — reused from ch. 4; now enacted for the first time (7:13–14, 22). Risk: CRITICAL (see ch. 4 entry).

Chapter 8 — Frogs, Gnats, Flies

• finger of God — אֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים (etzba Elohim, 8:19). Idiom for direct, minimal-effort divine power (contrasted with the magicians’ failed imitation). Theological meaning: even Egypt’s own magicians concede YHWH’s superior power — reinforces “The Character and Name of God.” French: “le doigt de Dieu.” Risk: Low — established idiom, no French collision.
• Hardening language reused from ch. 4/7. Risk: CRITICAL (same entry).

Chapter 9 — Pestilence and Hail; “That You May Know That I Am the LORD”

• know — יָדַע (yada, e.g., 9:14, 16, 29). Literal: to know experientially and relationally, not merely intellectually (the same verb used of marital intimacy in Genesis 4:1). Semantic range: covenantal, relational knowledge of God’s character and supremacy, demonstrated through action. English variants: “know,” “understand,” “recognize.” Theological meaning: the entire plague sequence exists “that you may know that I am the LORD” — knowledge of God through his self-revealing acts, not abstract theology. French: “connaître.” Risk: High. French “connaître” (personal/relational knowledge) vs. “savoir” (factual knowledge) distinction is available and should be exploited deliberately — always use “connaître,” never “savoir,” when this formula recurs, to preserve the relational sense.
• CRITICAL cross-reference note: Exodus 9:16 (“I have raised you up…that I might show my power in you”) is directly quoted by Paul in Romans 9:17 as part of his argument on divine sovereignty in election — this is the single most important Exodus/Romans doctrinal bridge point in the entire curriculum and must be flagged for theologian review wherever it appears in Phase 2 materials.

Chapter 10 — Locusts and Darkness

• No new load-bearing theological vocabulary; reuses hardening (ch. 4/7), signs-and-wonders (ch. 7), and “know that I am the LORD” (ch. 9) formulas.

Chapter 11 — The Final Plague Announced

• firstborn — בְּכוֹר (bekhor); see full treatment at 12:12. First anticipatory occurrence in the death-of-the-firstborn announcement (11:4–5). Risk: Medium (as above).

Chapter 12 — Passover Instituted and Observed

See Part A above for full verse-by-verse treatment (vv. 1–14). Additional load-bearing terms in the remainder of the chapter (vv. 15–51):

• mixed multitude / sojourner — עֵרֶב רַב (erev rav, “mixed crowd,” 12:38) and גֵּר (ger, “sojourner/resident alien,” 12:19, 48–49). Semantic range: ger denotes a non-Israelite living among Israel who may be incorporated into the covenant community (via circumcision) and then participates fully in Passover — an OT precedent for the later NT “Unity of Jews and Gentiles” doctrine already flagged High risk in the baseline. French: “étranger” (for ger). Risk: Medium — do not substitute baseline gentiles (“païens”), which the baseline itself flags as carrying a pejorative connotation and describes a different category (nations outside Israel generally, not a resident alien incorporated into the covenant community).
• night to be much observed — לֵיל שִׁמֻּרִים (leil shimurim, 12:42, “a night of watching/vigil”). French: “une nuit de veille.” Risk: Low.

Chapter 13 — Consecration of the Firstborn; Unleavened Bread; the Pillar of Cloud and Fire

• consecrate/sanctify — קָדַש (qadash, 13:2, “Consecrate to me every firstborn”). Reuse baseline holy/sanctification concept exactly. Risk: Medium (per baseline entry).
• redeem/ransom — פָּדָה (padah, 13:13, 15, “you shall redeem” the firstborn donkey). Literal: to buy back, pay a ransom price for something/someone that would otherwise be forfeited or destroyed. Semantic range: distinct in nuance from גָּאַל (ga’al, ch. 6) — padah emphasizes a paid price/substitute exchange (a commercial-legal transaction), while ga’al emphasizes the kinsman-relationship of the redeemer. English variants: “redeem,” “ransom,” “buy back.” Theological meaning: every firstborn belongs to God by right of the Passover deliverance; substitutes (an animal, or a payment) stand in their place — direct doctrinal continuity with 12:1–14’s substitutionary lamb. French: “racheter” (same French verb as ga’al, risk of flattening two distinct Hebrew concepts). Risk: High. Recommend a translator’s note distinguishing the two Hebrew terms wherever both appear in the same lesson (chs. 6, 13, 15, 21, 30).
• pillar of cloud / pillar of fire — עַמּוּד עָנָן / עַמּוּד אֵש (ammud anan / ammud esh). Visible, guiding manifestation of God’s presence. French: “colonne de nuée” / “colonne de feu.” Risk: Low — anticipates the Tabernacle-presence vocabulary of chs. 25–40.

Chapter 14 — The Crossing of the Red Sea

• salvation/deliverance — יְשׁוּעָה (yeshuah, 14:13, “see the salvation of the LORD”). Reuse baseline salvation = “salut” exactly. Risk: Medium (per baseline entry) — note the direct etymological kinship of yeshuah to the name יְהוֹשֻׁעַ/יֵשׁוּעַ (Yehoshua/Yeshua, “Joshua/Jesus”), worth a brief pedagogical note connecting “salut” here to baseline “Jésus,” though this should not be forced into the Exodus text itself.
• the LORD will fight for you — נִלְחָם (nilcham, “fight,” 14:14). Idiom for the divine-warrior motif. French: “combattre pour vous.” Risk: Low.

Chapter 15 — The Song of Moses (the Sea)

• strength — עֹז (oz, 15:2, “The LORD is my strength”). French: “force” / “puissance.” Risk: Low — note baseline already prefers “puissance” over “force” for power_of_god; align with that preference here for consistency.
• redeem — גָּאַל (ga’al, 15:13, “the people whom you have redeemed”). Reinforces ch. 6 entry. Risk: High (as above).
• holy — קָדוֹש (qadosh, 15:11, “glorious in holiness”). Reuse baseline holy = “saint.” Risk: Medium.
• sanctuary — מִקְדָּש (miqdash, 15:17), an anticipatory reference to the future Tabernacle/Temple. French: “sanctuaire.” Risk: Low — anticipates ch. 25 vocabulary.

Chapter 16 — Manna, Quail, and the Sabbath Introduced

• manna — מָן (man, from מָן הוּא, “What is it?” — a built-in etymological pun in the Hebrew text itself, 16:15). French: “manne.” Risk: Low, with one advisory note: French idiom “tomber du ciel comme la manne” (a windfall/godsend) can trivialize the term into a mere lucky-break metaphor if not anchored to its specific narrative and to Jesus’ “bread of life” discourse (John 6, outside this curriculum but a live future bridge).
• Sabbath — שַׁבָּת (shabbat, first explicit institution as commanded practice, 16:23, 25–26). Literal: from שָׁבַת (“to cease, rest”). Semantic range: covenant sign of rest and trust in God’s provision, not mere labor law. English variants: “Sabbath,” “day of rest.” Theological meaning: rest as a theological category (trust in God’s provision rather than self-sufficient labor), later formalized as the fourth commandment (ch. 20) and covenant sign (ch. 31). French: “sabbat.” Risk: High. Secular French “sabbat” carries a strong folk-occult connotation (“le sabbat des sorcières,” the witches’ sabbath), an association entirely absent from the biblical term; must always be introduced with clarifying context (e.g., “le sabbat, le jour de repos institué par Dieu”) to prevent unintended folkloric association, and must be clearly distinguished from “dimanche” (Sunday), the Christian day of worship in French culture, which is not the biblical Sabbath.
• glory of the LORD — כָּבוֹד יהוה (kevod YHWH, 16:7, 10). See full treatment at ch. 40; reuse baseline glory = “gloire.” Risk: Medium (per baseline entry).

Chapter 17 — Water from the Rock; War with Amalek

• Massah and Meribah — מַסָּה וּמְרִיבָה (place names meaning “testing” and “quarreling/strife,” 17:7). French: “Massa et Meriba” (transliterated proper names, with gloss). Risk: Low.
• the LORD is my banner — יהוה נִסִּי (YHWH-Nissi, 17:15), a compound name-title. French: “L’Éternel/le SEIGNEUR est ma bannière.” Risk: Low — consistent with the YHWH-rendering decision above.

Chapter 18 — Jethro’s Advice; Judges Appointed

• judges — שֹׁפְטִים (shoftim, 18:13, 25). Minor governance term, low theological weight in this chapter.
• laws/instructions — תּוֹרֹת (torot, plural of תּוֹרָה torah, 18:16, 20) — the first appearance of the torah root in Exodus, in the general sense of “instruction/teaching” (Jethro advises Moses to “teach them the statutes and the laws,” using this root), anticipating the formal giving of the Law at Sinai (chs. 19–24). French: “instructions/lois.” Risk: Medium — flag as the semantic on-ramp to baseline law = “loi”/“la Loi,” which becomes fully load-bearing beginning at ch. 19.

Chapter 19 — Sinai Theophany; the Covenant Proposed

• covenant — בְּרִית (berit). Reuse baseline covenant = “alliance” exactly. Risk: High (per baseline entry) — this chapter is the Mosaic Covenant’s formal proposal, the theological core of “The Mosaic Covenant and Law” doctrine for this curriculum.
• kingdom of priests and a holy nation — מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ (mamlekhet kohanim ve-goy qadosh, 19:6). Literal: “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Semantic range: corporate priestly mediating identity for the whole nation, not a professional priestly class alone (that distinct institution is established separately in chs. 28–29). English variants: “kingdom of priests,” “royal priesthood” (cf. 1 Peter 2:9’s direct NT echo, outside curriculum but relevant). Theological meaning: Israel is called and set apart to mediate God’s presence to the nations — connects to baseline saints/sainthood doctrine (all of God’s people set apart, not an elite class) and anticipates the NT “royal priesthood” language. French: “un royaume de prêtres et une nation sainte.” Risk: High. The word “prêtres” here again raises the Catholic ordained-priesthood collision (see ch. 28–29 below) — must be clearly explained as a corporate designation for the whole nation, not a technical priestly office.
• treasured possession — סְגֻלָּה (segullah, 19:5). Literal: a special, personally valued possession (used elsewhere of a king’s private treasury). French: “peuple précieux” / “possession précieuse.” Risk: Medium — do not conflate with baseline election (“élection”), which carries its own distinct political-collision risk; segullah describes the result of God’s choice (treasured status), not the choosing-act itself.
• consecrate/sanctify oneself — קָדַש/הִתְקַדֵּש (qadash/hitqadesh, 19:10, 14, 22). Reuse baseline holy/sanctification. Risk: Medium.

Chapter 20 — The Ten Commandments

• the ten words — עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים (aseret ha-devarim, lit. “the ten words,” the Hebrew name for what English calls “the Ten Commandments,” cf. 34:28). Semantic range: דָּבָר (davar) means “word,” “matter,” or “thing” — the Law is given as relational speech from God, not an impersonal legal code. French: “les dix paroles” / “les Dix Commandements.” Risk: Medium. The established French phrase “les Dix Commandements” is fine for popular use, but translators should retain awareness that the Hebrew frames these as personally spoken “words,” reinforcing the relational (not merely legal) character of “The Mosaic Covenant and Law” doctrine — a nuance worth surfacing in exposition even where the fixed phrase is used.
• jealous God — אֵל קַנָּא (El Qanna, 20:5). Literal: a God who is exclusively possessive of his own covenant loyalty. Semantic range: covenant-exclusivity, not petty human insecurity; the same root is used of a husband’s legitimate exclusive claim on his wife’s fidelity. English variants: “jealous,” “zealous.” Theological meaning: idolatry is covenant unfaithfulness, akin to adultery — YHWH’s jealousy is the mirror image of his covenant love. French: “un Dieu jaloux.” Risk: High. French “jaloux/jalousie” carries a strong everyday connotation of petty, insecure, or possessive human emotion; without a clarifying gloss (“jaloux” here = fiercely loyal to his covenant, not insecure), French readers risk projecting an unworthy emotional flaw onto God.
• carved image / idol — פֶּסֶל (pesel, 20:4). French: “idole” / “image taillée.” Risk: Low-Medium.
• fear [of the LORD] — יָרֵא (yare, 20:20, “that you may fear him”). Literal: reverential awe, not terror-avoidance. Semantic range: distinguishes servile dread from covenant reverence; the text itself contrasts the people’s terrified reaction (20:18–19) with the reverent “fear” God intends to produce (20:20) — the passage is a deliberate lesson in the difference. Theological meaning: central to “Holiness and the Fear of the Lord” doctrine for this curriculum. French: “craindre l’Éternel/le SEIGNEUR” / “la crainte de Dieu.” Risk: High. French distinguishes “crainte” (reverential, respectful) from “peur” (fear, dread) more cleanly than English distinguishes “fear” in both senses; always use “crainte,” never “peur,” when rendering this doctrine, and make the 20:18–20 contrast explicit in teaching material.

Chapters 21–23 — The Book of the Covenant (Case Laws)

• judgments/ordinances — מִשְׁפָּטִים (mishpatim, the traditional Jewish name for this whole section). French: “lois/ordonnances.” Risk: Medium — reuse baseline law framework; note this is case law applying the Ten Words to specific situations, a distinct sub-category worth flagging for teaching clarity though not requiring a separate French term.
• eye for eye — עַיִן תַּחַת עַיִן (ayin tachat ayin, 21:24). Literal/idiomatic: proportional retributive justice (lex talionis), historically a limit on vengeance (proportionality), not a license for escalating retaliation. French: “œil pour œil, dent pour dent.” Risk: Low — this is already a stable, widely known French idiom (used even secularly); minor risk that popular usage reads it as endorsing personal vengeance rather than judicial proportionality — worth a brief clarifying note.
• ransom — כֹּפֶר (kofer, 21:30). Literal: a substitutionary payment averting a deserved penalty (often death). Semantic range: overlaps with padah (ch. 13) in substitution-logic but denotes specifically the price paid. French: “rançon” / “prix du rachat.” Risk: Medium-High — reinforces the ransom/redemption word-family that must stay terminologically distinguishable in French from ga’al (“racheter” as kinsman-redemption) without collapsing all three Hebrew terms (ga’al, padah, kofer) into one flattened French word-choice.
• sojourner/stranger — גֵּר (ger, 22:21, “you shall not wrong a sojourner…for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt”). See ch. 12 entry; reinforced with an explicit ethical rationale rooted in Israel’s own redemption memory. Risk: Medium (as above).

Chapter 24 — The Covenant Ratified

• blood of the covenant — דַּם־הַבְּרִית (dam ha-berit, 24:8). Direct verbal ancestor of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper (“this is my blood of the covenant,” Matthew 26:28, outside curriculum but a CRITICAL forward bridge). French: “le sang de l’alliance.” Risk: CRITICAL. Must be rendered with the exact same French phrase that any future NT curriculum built on this same package would use for Matthew 26:28, to preserve the typological link for francophone learners; flag for theologian coordination across curricula.
• glory of the LORD (as devouring fire) — כָּבוֹד יהוה. Reuse glory=“gloire.” Risk: Medium (per baseline entry).
• they saw the God of Israel — a rare, direct theophany statement (24:10–11), followed by a covenant meal in God’s presence. French: no single fixed term; render literally as “ils virent le Dieu d’Israël.” Risk: High — theologically sensitive (relates to the doctrine of God’s invisibility/transcendence elsewhere, e.g., 33:20, “no one may see my face and live”); flag for theologian review to ensure the tension between 24:10 and 33:20 is handled consistently rather than smoothed over.

Chapter 25 — Tabernacle Materials; the Ark and Mercy Seat

• tabernacle — מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, from שָׁכַן, “to dwell”). Literal: “dwelling place.” Semantic range: the portable sanctuary where God’s presence dwells among his people — the central term for “The Tabernacle and God’s Presence” doctrine. English variants: “tabernacle,” “tent of meeting” (אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, a related but distinct term denoting the tent structure specifically, cf. 27:21). French rendering: “tabernacle.” Risk: CRITICAL. In French Catholic usage, “le tabernacle” denotes specifically the small ornamented cabinet on or near the altar that houses the reserved consecrated Eucharistic host (the Real Presence) — an extremely strong, live, devotionally central association for French Catholic readers. This is a direct collision requiring careful, explicit handling: the Exodus mishkan is the wilderness sanctuary structure itself (God dwelling among a mobile, journeying people), not a small liturgical furnishing. Recommend a standing clarifying gloss on first use in every lesson (“le tabernacle, la tente sacrée où Dieu habitait au milieu de son peuple, à ne pas confondre avec le tabernacle eucharistique”).
• ark of the covenant/testimony — אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית / הָעֵדֻת (aron ha-berit / ha-edut). French: “l’arche de l’alliance.” Risk: Medium — the fixed phrase disambiguates from Noah’s ark (a different Hebrew word, תֵּבָה tevah, but same French “arche”); risk is low precisely because the fixed phrase “de l’alliance” already does the disambiguating work.
• mercy seat / atonement cover — כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet, 25:17–22), from כָּפַר (kaphar, “to cover, atone”); LXX ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion) — the identical Greek word Paul uses in Romans 3:25 (“whom God put forward as a hilastērion,” commonly rendered “propitiation” or “mercy seat” in English translations of Romans). Literal: the covering-place, specifically the gold lid of the Ark where atoning blood was applied (Leviticus 16). Semantic range: the meeting-point of atoning sacrifice and divine presence — the single most concentrated visual symbol of substitutionary atonement in the entire OT cultic system. Theological meaning: CRITICAL — this term is the direct OT background for Paul’s Christological claim that Jesus himself is the mercy seat, the very place atonement happens. French: “le propitiatoire” (the established French Bible technical term, from Latin propitiatorium). Risk: CRITICAL. Because “propitiatoire” is a rare, technical word largely unknown to ordinary readers (unlike English speakers, who at least encounter “mercy seat” as two common words), the comprehension risk is high even where the doctrinal risk is well-controlled by the fixed term; every occurrence should carry an explanatory phrase (“le propitiatoire, le lieu où le sang était répandu pour l’expiation”) and this term must be flagged for coordination with any future Romans 3:25 lesson to ensure the same French word is used, closing the OT–NT typological loop for francophone learners.
• cherubim — כְּרוּבִים (keruvim). French: “chérubins.” Risk: Low — stable, though French secular/artistic usage (cherub-as-cute-baby-angel, Renaissance art) differs sharply from the Hebrew concept of fearsome throne-guardian creatures; worth a brief clarifying note.

Chapters 26–27 — Tabernacle Structure, Curtains, Altar, Courtyard

• altar — מִזְבֵּח (mizbeach, from זָבַח, “to slaughter/sacrifice”). French: “autel.” Risk: Low.
• veil/curtain — פָּרֹכֶת (parokhet), separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. French: “le voile” / “le rideau.” Risk: Low in this curriculum’s scope, though it anticipates the (outside-curriculum) NT torn-veil typology (Matthew 27:51, Hebrews 10:19–20).
• Holy of Holies / Most Holy Place — קֹדֶש הַקֳּדָשִׁים (qodesh ha-qodashim). Reuse holy root. French: “le lieu très saint” / “le Saint des Saints.” Risk: Medium — “le Saint des Saints” is the established French phrase; ensure “saint” here is understood spatially (a place of maximal set-apartness) consistent with baseline holy notes.

Chapters 28–29 — Priestly Garments and Ordination

• priest(s) — כֹּהֵן/כֹּהֲנִים (kohen/kohanim). Literal: one who ministers before God on behalf of the people, mediating sacrifice and access. Semantic range: a specific hereditary Aaronic/Levitical office, distinct from the corporate “kingdom of priests” language of 19:6. English variants: “priest(s).” Theological meaning: establishes the mediatorial structure later fulfilled uniquely and permanently in Christ’s priesthood (Hebrews, outside curriculum, but a load-bearing forward bridge for “Moses as Mediator and Deliverer” doctrine). French: “prêtre(s).” Risk: High. French “prêtre” is overwhelmingly and specifically associated with the Roman Catholic ordained ministerial priesthood in contemporary usage; this OT Aaronic/Levitical priesthood must be explicitly framed as a distinct, historical, typological institution — not to be conflated with, nor read as directly validating or invalidating, any contemporary church’s ordained clergy structure. This is a live ecumenical-sensitivity point given the curriculum’s mixed Catholic/Protestant/secular audience (per baseline’s stated audience profile).
• high priest — כֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל (kohen ha-gadol). French: “le grand prêtre.” Risk: High — same collision as above, compounded; flag for theologian review given its direct typological load (anticipating Christ’s unique high priesthood, Hebrews, outside curriculum).
• anoint/anointing — מָשַׁח / מִשְׁחָה (mashach / mishchah, 29:7, 29 etc.). Literal: to pour oil over, setting apart for office. Semantic range: this is the exact verbal root of מָשִׁיחַ (Mashiach, “Messiah/Anointed One”), already a Critical baseline term (messiah = “Messie”). Theological meaning: the anointing of Aaronic priests (and later kings, and prophets) establishes the pattern that finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Messiah, the definitively Anointed One. French: “onction” / “oindre.” Risk: CRITICAL. Beyond the etymological bridge to baseline “Messie” (which must be flagged explicitly in teaching material), French “onction” also names the Catholic sacrament of the “onction des malades” (Anointing of the Sick, formerly “extreme unction”); the OT ordination-anointing must be clearly distinguished from that sacrament while the Messianic-title connection is actively drawn out.
• ordination/consecration (“filling the hand”) — מִלֻּאִים (milu’im, lit. “fillings”). French: “consécration” / “ordination.” Risk: Medium — reuse baseline sanctification/holy framework where applicable.

Chapter 30 — Incense, Anointing Oil, Atonement Money, Bronze Basin

• incense — קְטֹרֶת (qetoret). Symbol of prayer ascending to God (cf. Psalm 141:2, outside curriculum). French: “encens.” Risk: Low — note French Catholic liturgical incense-use is a live, positive cultural resonance here, not a collision.
• atonement/ransom money — כֶּסֶף הַכִּפֻּרִים / כֹּפֶר נֶפֶש (kesef ha-kippurim / kofer nefesh, 30:12, 16, “ransom for one’s life”). Reinforces the kofer ransom-word-family (ch. 21). French: “argent de l’expiation” / “rançon pour sa vie.” Risk: Medium-High (per kofer entry above).
• atone / make atonement — כִּפֶּר (kipper, the verb root behind both kapporet, ch. 25, and the later feast Yom Kippur, “Day of Atonement”). Literal: to cover, to appease, to wipe away/purge. Semantic range: this is the single most theologically load-bearing verb in the OT sacrificial system, describing what happens because of substitutionary blood. English variants: “atone,” “make atonement,” “cover for sin.” Theological meaning: the mechanism, not merely the fact, of substitutionary atonement — every animal sacrifice in the Tabernacle system enacts what the Passover lamb enacted once for a household in Exodus 12. French: “expier” / “faire l’expiation.” Risk: CRITICAL. French Catholic penitential theology uses “expiation” for the believer’s own penitential suffering/works offered to satisfy for sin (an anthropocentric direction: humans expiating); the OT term is theocentric and substitutionary in the opposite direction: God himself provides and accepts a substitute’s death in the sinner’s place. Every occurrence must make clear that the atoning action is God-provided and God-directed toward the worshiper, not a human work offered to placate God through personal suffering or merit.

Chapter 31 — Sabbath as Covenant Sign; Bezalel Filled with the Spirit

• Spirit of God — רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים (ruach Elohim, 31:3, “I have filled him with the Spirit of God”). Semantic range: the same divine Person as the baseline’s holy_spirit (“Esprit Saint”), though the OT idiom typically reads “Spirit of God/the LORD” rather than “Holy Spirit.” Theological meaning: the Spirit empowers ordinary craftsmanship (Bezalel’s skilled artistry) for sacred purposes — a significant, often-overlooked point that God’s Spirit-filling is not limited to prophetic speech but extends to skilled work done for worship. French: “l’Esprit de Dieu.” Risk: Medium. Recommend a cross-reference note connecting this OT idiom explicitly to baseline holy_spirit = “Esprit Saint,” so learners recognize doctrinal continuity across Testaments even though the French phrasing differs slightly by convention.
• sign (Sabbath as covenant sign, 31:13, 17) — אוֹת (ot). Reuse ch. 4/12 entry. Risk: Medium.

Chapter 32 — The Golden Calf

• molten/cast calf — עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה (egel massekah). French: “veau d’or” (established French idiom, “the golden calf,” widely known even secularly as a symbol of misplaced worship of wealth). Risk: Low — helpfully, this French idiom already carries the correct cautionary connotation.
• stiff-necked people — עַם־קְשֵׁה־עֹרֶף (am-qesheh-oref, 32:9). Idiom for stubborn covenant unfaithfulness. French: “un peuple à la tête dure” / “un peuple rebelle.” Risk: Low.
• intercession — Moses’ plea for the people (32:11–14, 31–32), including his offer “blot me out of your book” (32:32). Reuse baseline intercession exactly (“intercession”). Risk: High. This is the definitive OT type-scene for “Moses as Mediator and Deliverer” doctrine, and it must be handled with a specific theological caution the baseline’s intercession entry does not itself carry: Moses’ offer to be blotted out is a genuine but ultimately rejected/impossible substitution (God does not accept Moses’ self-offering; he forgives on other grounds and later punishes the guilty, 32:33–35). Translators must not present Moses’ mediation as doctrinally equivalent to Christ’s accepted substitutionary atonement (Romans 5, 8:34) — it is a real but limited, non-salvific type, not the fulfillment itself. Flag for theologian review to prevent an over-realized typology.

Chapter 33 — God’s Presence and Glory; Moses’ Request to See God

• presence/face — פָּנִים (panim, 33:14–15, “my Presence [lit. Face] will go with you”). Semantic range: a Hebrew idiom for personal, relational nearness. French: “ma Présence” / “ma Face.” Risk: Medium — “Présence” is the natural, non-anthropomorphizing French choice; a literal “Face” rendering risks an odd, overly literal register in French and should be reserved for footnoted explanation of the idiom rather than the primary running text.
• glory — כָּבוֹד (kavod, 33:18, 22). Reuse baseline glory = “gloire” exactly. Risk: Medium (per baseline entry) — reinforced here as the visible, awesome manifestation of God’s own being, which Moses may only see “from behind” (33:20–23), preserving divine transcendence.
• goodness — טוּב (tuv, 33:19, “I will make my goodness pass before you”). French: “bonté.” Risk: Low-Medium — note the overlap with chesed (ch. 34) below; keep distinguished if both terms occur in the same lesson.

Chapter 34 — Covenant Renewed; the Proclamation of God’s Name and Character

• compassionate and gracious — רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן (rachum ve-chanun, 34:6). French: “compatissant et miséricordieux” / “plein de compassion et de grâce.” Risk: Medium — note “chanun” shares a root with baseline concept-adjacent grace but is not identical; see chesed entry below for the fuller distinction.
• slow to anger — אֶרֶך אַפַּיִם (erekh apayim, lit. “long of nostrils,” an idiom for patience). French: “lent à la colère.” Risk: Low.
• steadfast love / covenant loyalty — חֶסֶד (chesed, 34:6–7, “abounding in chesed”). Literal meaning: loyal, covenant-keeping love/kindness, exercised specifically within a relationship of obligation or commitment. Semantic range: this word has no single exact English or French equivalent; English Bibles render it variously as “steadfast love,” “lovingkindness,” “mercy,” “faithful love,” “kindness.” Theological meaning: CRITICAL for “The Character and Name of God” doctrine — chesed describes God’s reliable, relationship-honoring faithfulness, which overlaps with but is not identical to baseline’s grace (“grâce,” defined there as strictly unmerited favor apart from any covenant obligation). Collapsing chesed fully into “grâce” would lose the covenant-loyalty, relationship-keeping dimension; collapsing it into “fidélité” alone would lose the warmth of active kindness. French rendering: recommend the compound phrase “amour fidèle” or “bonté et fidélité” depending on context, reserving bare “grâce” only where the unmerited-favor sense specifically is in view. Risk: CRITICAL. This term requires its own dedicated new translation-memory entry (not present in the baseline, which only covers NT Greek χάρις) and mandatory theologian review wherever it recurs (it is one of the most frequent theologically loaded words in the whole Hebrew Bible).
• truth/faithfulness — אֱמֶת (emet, paired with chesed as “chesed ve-emet,” 34:6). French: “vérité” / “fidélité.” Risk: Medium — often paired with chesed; keep the pairing visible in French (“un amour fidèle et vrai”) rather than rendering only one of the pair.
• iniquity, transgression, sin — עָוֹן, פֶּשַׁע, חַטָּאָה (avon, pesha, chattaah, 34:7). Semantic range: three distinct nuances — avon (guilt/crookedness), pesha (willful rebellion/breach), chattaah (missing the mark, reuse baseline sin = “péché”). Theological meaning: the OT’s sin-vocabulary is richer than a single word; French/English translation traditions typically collapse all three into one term (“péché”/“sin”), risking loss of nuance about the different dimensions of wrongdoing described. French: “iniquité,” “transgression,” “péché.” Risk: Medium — recommend using three distinct French words here specifically (rather than “péché” three times) to preserve the enumerated richness of the divine self-description, flagging for native-speaker review.
• Moses’ face shone — קָרַן (qaran, 34:29–35, “his face shone/radiated”). Historical translation-risk case study: Jerome’s Latin Vulgate rendered this root as “cornuta” (“horned”), producing the medieval and Renaissance artistic tradition of a horned Moses (e.g., Michelangelo’s statue) — a well-documented mistranslation with lasting cultural consequences. French: “son visage rayonnait.” Risk: Low for this curriculum’s own rendering, but the historical case is valuable to cite in translator training materials as a cautionary example of exactly the kind of consequential, centuries-lasting error this whole Language Package exists to prevent.

Chapters 35–39 — Tabernacle Construction (Execution of Chapters 25–31)

No new load-bearing theological vocabulary. These chapters narrate the faithful execution of the instructions given in chapters 25–31 and reuse the same terms verbatim and with identical theological weight: מִשְׁכָּן (mishkan, “tabernacle,” CRITICAL, see ch. 25), אֲרוֹן (aron, “ark”), כַּפֹּרֶת (kapporet, “mercy seat/propitiatoire,” CRITICAL, see ch. 25), כֹּהֵן (kohen, “priest,” High, see ch. 28–29), and the priestly garments and anointing vocabulary (chs. 28–30). All risk tiers and French renderings established at chapters 25–31 apply identically here; no additional glossary entries are required.

Chapter 40 — The Tabernacle Erected; the Glory Fills It

• the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle — כְבוֹד־יהוה מָלֵא אֶת־הַמִּשְׁכָּן (kevod-YHWH male et ha-mishkan, 40:34–35). Literal: God’s own weighty, radiant presence fills the physical structure so completely that even Moses cannot enter. Semantic range: the climactic fulfillment of the entire book’s driving question — will God actually dwell among this redeemed, covenant, but repeatedly unfaithful people? Theological meaning: CRITICAL — the direct Hebrew/conceptual ancestor of John 1:14’s “the Word became flesh and tabernacled (ἐσκήνωσεν, eskēnōsen, from σκηνή/skēnē, “tent/tabernacle,” the same root used by the LXX for mishkan-related vocabulary) among us,” a bridge directly into the baseline’s already-Critical incarnation doctrine. This is the single most important forward-looking doctrinal payoff of the entire Exodus curriculum. French: “la gloire de l’Éternel/du SEIGNEUR remplit le tabernacle.” Risk: CRITICAL. Must be flagged for theologian review and explicitly cross-referenced to baseline incarnation/glory entries so the Exodus-to-Incarnation typological argument is preserved in French exactly as intended.
• cloud — עָנָן (anan), the visible sign of the glory’s presence, covering the tent (40:34–38), continuing the pillar-of-cloud motif from chs. 13–14, 16, 19, 24. French: “la nuée.” Risk: Low.

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Summary of Terms Requiring New Translation Memory Entries (Not Present in Baseline)

The following Exodus terms have no existing baseline entry and must be added to an Exodus-specific extension of translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json before Phase 2 begins (see 08_core_glossary.md for the full structured listing): la Pâque (Passover), le SEIGNEUR (YHWH-specific convention), Je suis celui qui suis (I AM WHO I AM), tabernacle, le propitiatoire (mercy seat/kapporet), expier/l’expiation (atone/kipper), prêtre / grand prêtre (kohen, Aaronic priesthood — distinct entry from any future NT priesthood discussion), onction (anoint/mashach), racheter (ga’al), racheter/rançon (padah/kofer), amour fidèle / chesed, agneau (Passover lamb sense), sans défaut (tamim), sabbat (Sabbath, distinct entry from any generic “repos”), endurcir le cœur (harden the heart).

All chapters of Exodus (1–40) have been reviewed. Chapters producing no new load-bearing vocabulary (5, 10, 18 [minor only], 35–39) are noted explicitly above rather than silently omitted.