Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Judges (Full Book)
A. Reused Baseline Terms (Romans translation_memory.json) — Verified Applicable to Judges
| Term | Original (LXX Greek / Heb.) | Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk (baseline) | Doctrine Link | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | θεός / אֱלֹהִים | theos / Elohim | Dieu | Medium | Cycle | throughout | Reused exactly; no OT-specific adjustment needed. |
| Lord (title, κύριος of humans/Christ family) | κύριος | kyrios | Seigneur | High | NoKing | 8:23 | Reused; see NEW entry “the LORD (YHWH)” below for the OT covenant-name-specific extension. |
| Holy / Holiness | ἅγιος | hagios | saint | High (Medium in OT-consecration context) | SpiritEmpower | 13 | Reused; applied here to Nazirite consecration, a narrower sense than corporate sainthood. |
| Covenant | διαθήκη | diathēkē | alliance | High | Apostasy | 2, throughout | Reused exactly. |
| Sin | ἁμαρτία / חֵטְא | hamartia / chet | péché | High | Cycle, Apostasy | 2, 10 | Reused exactly, including verb forms (“nous avons péché”). |
| Israel | Ἰσραήλ | Israēl | Israël | Medium | Apostasy, NoKing | throughout | Reused exactly. |
| Prophet (feminine form new) | προφήτης / προφῆτις | prophētēs / prophētis | prophète / prophétesse | Low | — | 4 | Feminine form is a straightforward grammatical extension of the reused baseline term. |
| Church (assembly root, ekklēsia) | ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | Église (baseline) / l’assemblée (Judges-specific, see NEW below) | High | — | 20 | Baseline “Église” not reused verbatim in Judges (no institutional-church referent); see NEW entry for the OT “assembly” sense. |
| Messiah (anointing root, χρίω) | Χριστός (root) | christos (root) | Messie (baseline) / oindre (Judges-specific, see NEW below) | Critical (baseline) | NoKing | 9 | Root connection only; ch. 9’s usage is ironic/negative and requires its own entry, below. |
B. New Terms Required for the Judges Curriculum
| Term (English gloss) | Original (LXX Greek / Heb.) | Transliteration | French Rendering | Risk | Doctrine Link | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the LORD (YHWH, covenant name) | κύριος / יהוה | kyrios / YHWH | le SEIGNEUR (majuscules); alt. “l’Éternel” (Segond) flagged | Critical | Cycle, Apostasy, NoKing | throughout | Extends baseline’s “Seigneur” (κύριος) entry with a typographic convention marking the OT divine covenant name. Reviewer must confirm Segond vs. TOB/BJ convention for this curriculum before Phase 2. |
| judge (office) | κριτής / שֹׁפֵט | kritēs / shophet | juge | Critical | Cycle, FlawedDeliverers | 2, 3-16 | Central office of the book; French “juge” defaults to courtroom magistrate. Standing gloss required on first use in every document. |
| everyone did what was right in his own eyes | ἀνὴρ τὸ ἀρεστὸν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ ἐποίει / אִישׁ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו | anēr to areston en ophthalmois autou epoiei | chacun faisait ce qui lui semblait bon / ce qui était droit à ses propres yeux | Critical | NoKing, MoralDecline | 17, 21 | Book’s thesis refrain; must be rendered identically at both occurrences (17:6, 21:25), per baseline’s consistency-rule precedent (Romans 1:16-17, 8:28, 10:9-10). |
| vow (Jephthah’s) | εὐχή / נֵדֶר | euchē / neder | vœu | Critical | FlawedDeliverers, MoralDecline | 11 | Mishandling risks implying God required/approved human sacrifice; flag for mandatory theologian review, do not resolve the literal-sacrifice-vs.-seclusion debate silently in translation. |
| evil in the sight of the LORD | τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιον κυρίου / הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה | to ponēron enōpion kyriou | le mal aux yeux du SEIGNEUR | High | Cycle, MoralDecline | 2 | Deliberately contrasted with 17:6/21:25’s “right in his own eyes”; contrast must survive translation. |
| Baals / Ashtaroth / Dagon (foreign deities) | Βααλίμ / Ἀσταρώθ / Δαγών | Baalim / Astarōth / Dagōn | les Baals / les Ashtaroth (Astartés) / Dagon | Medium | Apostasy | 2, 10, 16 | Transliterated proper names; require footnoted cultural/religious explanation, not a live French doctrinal collision. |
| abandoned / forsook (the LORD) | ἐγκατέλιπον / עָזַב | egkatelipon / azav | abandonnèrent | High | Apostasy | 2 | Active covenant betrayal, not passive drift. |
| went after / bowed down to other gods | ἐπορεύθησαν ὀπίσω… προσεκύνησαν | eporeuthēsan… prosekynēsan | allèrent après… se prosternèrent devant | High | Apostasy | 2 | ”Adorer” reserved for legitimate worship of God; idol-directed acts rendered “se prosterner devant.” |
| played the whore after (other gods) | ἐξεπόρνευσαν / זָנָה | exeporneusan / zanah | se prostituèrent (en allant après…) | High | Apostasy | 2, 8 | Marital-infidelity metaphor for covenant unfaithfulness; must not be flattened or over-literalized. |
| anger of the LORD (wrath, kindled) | ὠργίσθη θυμῷ κύριος / חָרָה אַף יְהוָה | ōrgisthē thymō kyrios | la colère du SEIGNEUR s’enflamma | High | Cycle | 2 | Righteous judicial wrath, not capricious anger; resists secular-French minimization of divine wrath. |
| gave/sold into the hand of (judicial handing-over) | παρέδωκεν / ἀπέδοτο ἐν χειρὶ / מָכַר בְּיַד | paredōken / apedoto en cheiri | les livra / les vendit entre les mains de | High | Cycle | 2 | Intertextual echo with Romans 1:24-28’s paradidōmi pattern; recommend cross-reference in teaching notes. |
| did not know the LORD | οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὸν κύριον / לֹא יָדְעוּ אֶת־יְהוָה | ouk egnōsan ton kyrion | ne connaissaient pas le SEIGNEUR | High | Apostasy | 2 | Relational/experiential covenant knowledge, not mere cognitive information; French “connaître” risks the weaker sense. |
| the LORD raised up judges | ἤγειρεν κύριος κριτάς | ēgeiren kyrios kritas | le SEIGNEUR fit surgir des juges | High | Cycle, FlawedDeliverers | 2 | Divine sovereign initiative, not human election/dynastic succession. |
| saved/delivered (human judges’ act) | ἔσωσαν / וַיּוֹשִׁיעוּם | esōsan | délivrèrent / sauvèrent | High | FlawedDeliverers | 2, throughout | Must not be conflated with baseline’s “salut” (Christ’s once-for-all salvation, Critical); these are partial, repeatable, human deliverances that typologically anticipate, but do not achieve, ultimate salvation. |
| moved to pity / had compassion (of God) | κατενύγη / παρεκλήθη / נִחַם | katenygē / parklēthē | fut ému de compassion | Medium-High | Cycle | 2, 10 | Anthropopathic language; preserve genuine covenantal compassion without implying divine instability. |
| more corrupt than their fathers (moral decline) | διέφθειραν ὑπὲρ τοὺς πατέρας | diephtheiran hyper tous pateras | se corrompirent plus que leurs pères | Medium-High | MoralDecline | 2 | Escalating/comparative decline, not static repetition — the book’s downward-spiral structure. |
| Spirit of the LORD (came upon / clothed / rushed upon) | πνεῦμα κυρίου (+ variant verbs) / רוּחַ־יְהוָה | pneuma kyriou | l’Esprit du SEIGNEUR (vint sur / revêtit / se précipita sur) | High | SpiritEmpower | 3, 6, 11, 13, 14, 15 | Temporary, task-specific OT empowerment; must not be conflated with the baseline’s permanent NT “Esprit Saint” indwelling without a teaching note on continuity/discontinuity with Pentecost. |
| cried out to the LORD | ἀνεβόησαν / ἐβόησαν πρὸς κύριον | aneboēsan pros kyrion | crièrent au SEIGNEUR | Medium | Cycle | 3, 4, 6, 10 | Recurring cycle-trigger; connects to baseline’s “Prayer and Intercession” doctrine. |
| the LORD shall rule/be lord over you | κύριος κυριεύσει ὑμῶν | kyrios kyrieusei hymōn | le SEIGNEUR dominera/régnera sur vous | High | NoKing | 8 | Direct lexical link to baseline’s Lordship-of-Christ (κύριος/κυριεύω) entry; Gideon’s refusal of kingship is the book’s positive counter-example. |
| king | βασιλεύς / מֶלֶךְ | basileus / melekh | roi | High | NoKing | 8, 9, 17-21 | Links to baseline’s Davidic Covenant doctrine; negative examples (Abimelech) set up the later need for a righteous king, not a blanket anti-monarchy statement. |
| anoint (to make king) | χρίω / מָשַׁח | chriō / mashach | oindre / consacrer par l’onction | High | NoKing | 9 | Etymological root of baseline’s Critical “Messie” term; ironic/negative usage in Jotham’s fable, flag for teaching contrast with the true Anointed King. |
| there was no king in Israel | οὐκ ἦν βασιλεὺς ἐν Ἰσραήλ | ouk ēn basileus en Israēl | il n’y avait pas de roi en Israël | High | NoKing, MoralDecline | 17, 18, 19, 21 | Structural refrain; render identically at all four occurrences. |
| angel of the LORD | ἄγγελος κυρίου / מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה | angelos kyriou | l’ange du SEIGNEUR | High | Cycle, SpiritEmpower | 2, 6, 13 | Debated possible Christophany; French “ange” defaults to a created angelic being. Flag for theologian review at each occurrence. |
| Nazirite | ναζιραῖος / נָזִיר | naziraios / nazir | naziréen | High | SpiritEmpower, MoralDecline | 13, 16 | Near-homophone risk with “nazaréen” (of Nazareth) in French; requires standing disambiguating footnote. |
| assembly / congregation (qahal, Israel’s national gathering) | ἐκκλησία / συναγωγή / קָהָל | ekklēsia / qahal | l’assemblée (d’Israël) | High | — | 20 | Direct lexical link to baseline’s “Église”/church doctrine; distinct referent (Israel’s civil-religious national gathering), teach the connection rather than concealing it. |
| carved / molten image; household idols (teraphim) | γλυπτόν / χωνευτόν / θεραφίν | glypton / chōneuton / theraphin | image taillée / image en métal fondu / idoles domestiques | High | Apostasy | 17, 18 | France’s Wars of Religion involved Protestant destruction of Catholic images as “idolatry” — a live internal Christian historical controversy; render to condemn pagan idol-worship without reflexively invoking that controversy. |
| test / prove (nations left to test Israel) | πειράζω / δοκιμάζω / נִסָּה | peirazō / dokimazō | mettre à l’épreuve | Medium | Cycle | 2 | Do not render with “tenter” (wrong register: enticement to sin vs. divine character-testing). |
| snare / trap (idolatry’s entrapment) | σκάνδαλον / παγίς / מוֹקֵשׁ | skandalon / pagis | piège | Medium | Apostasy | 2, 8 | Recurs at Gideon’s ephod (ch. 8) as well as the unconquered-nations warning (ch. 2). |
| ephod (idolatrous cult object) | ἐφούδ / אֵפוֹד | ephoud | éphod | Medium | Apostasy, FlawedDeliverers | 8, 17, 18 | Requires footnote distinguishing the legitimate priestly garment (Exodus 28) from this idolatrous misuse. |
| drive out / dispossess (incomplete conquest) | ἐξολεθρεύω / ἐκβάλλω / הוֹרִישׁ | exolethreuō / ekballō | chassèrent / dépossédèrent (ne… entièrement) | Medium-High | Cycle | 1 | Requires pastoral-sensitivity framing around conquest-warfare ethics for a French readership; doctrinal point is incomplete obedience, not violence-justification. |
| we have sinned (explicit confession) | ἡμάρτομεν / חָטָאנוּ | hēmartomen | nous avons péché | Medium | Apostasy | 10 | Verb-form application of baseline’s reused “péché” noun entry. |
| the LORD’s soul could no longer bear | ὠλιγοψύχησεν ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ κυρίου | ōligopsychēsen hē psychē tou kyriou | l’âme du SEIGNEUR ne put plus supporter | Medium-High | Cycle | 10 | Harder-edged anthropopathism than the ch. 2 “moved to pity” entry; teach as covenantal tension. |
| the LORD as Judge (source of judges’ delegated authority) | κριτής (of YHWH) / שֹׁפֵט | kritēs (of YHWH) | le SEIGNEUR, le Juge | Medium-High | FlawedDeliverers | 11 | Cross-reference with the Critical human “juge” office entry — human judges are derivative/delegated. |
| groaning (Israel’s distress cry) | στεναγμός / נַאֲקָה | stenagmos | gémissement | Medium | Cycle | 2 | Intertextual echo with Romans 8:23, 26; recommend cross-reference in teaching notes. |
| stubborn / hardened practices | τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα τὰ σκληρά | ta epitēdeumata ta sklēra | leurs pratiques et leur endurcissement | Medium | MoralDecline | 2 | Intertextual echo with Romans 2:5’s “hardness of heart.” |
| curse / blessed (covenant blessing-curse pairing) | κατάρα / εὐλογημένη / אָרוּר / בְּרוּכָה | katara / eulogēmenē | malédiction / bénie | Medium | Apostasy | 5, 9 | Reflects Deuteronomic covenant blessing-curse structure underlying the whole book. |
| sign (confirming miraculous marker) | σημεῖον / אוֹת | sēmeion | signe | Medium | FlawedDeliverers | 6 | Teaching caution: contrast with NT discouragement of sign-seeking; not a normative discernment model. |
| lots (procedural divine-will marker) | κλῆρος / גּוֹרָל | klēros | sort / tirer au sort | Low-Medium | — | 20 | Etymologically related to κληρονομία (“inheritance”); procedural, not doctrinally weighty. |
| concubine | παλλακή / פִּילֶגֶשׁ | pallakē | concubine | Medium | MoralDecline | 19 | Cultural-historical distance required; pastoral sensitivity given the passage’s violence against a woman. |
| wickedness / vile outrage (Gibeah) | πονηρία / ἀφροσύνη / נְבָלָה | ponēria / aphrosynē | infamie / chose ignoble | Medium-High | MoralDecline | 19 | Deliberate literary echo of Genesis 19 (Sodom); flag the cross-reference. |
| inheritance (tribal land) | κληρονομία / נַחֲלָה | klēronomia | héritage | Low-Medium | — | 1, 2 | Concrete literal land-grant sense; must not import the NT “spiritual inheritance” sense (Romans 8:17). |
| Canaanites | Χαναναῖοι / כְּנַעֲנִים | Chananaioi | Cananéens | Low | Apostasy | 1 | Standard proper ethnonym. |
| forced labor / tribute | φόρος / מַס | phoros | corvée / tribut | Low-Medium | Cycle | 1 | Israel’s compromise settlement rather than full obedience. |
| servant of the LORD (title) | δοῦλος κυρίου / עֶבֶד־יְהוָה | doulos kyriou | serviteur du SEIGNEUR | Low-Medium | — | 2 | Standard leadership-office honorific (Joshua); do not overread messianically here. |
| served (the LORD / covenant service) | ἐδούλευσαν / עָבַד | edouleusan | servir (fidèlement le SEIGNEUR) | Medium | Cycle | 2 | Secular French “servir” reads as generic helpfulness; gloss as covenant-exclusive allegiance. |
| another generation | γενεὰ ἑτέρα / דּוֹר אַחֵר | genea hetera | une autre génération | Low-Medium | Cycle | 2 | Names the generational-transmission-of-faith mechanism underlying the whole cycle. |
| Dagon | Δαγών / דָּגוֹן | Dagōn | Dagon | Medium | Apostasy | 16 | Same footnoting treatment as Baal/Ashtaroth. |
| turned back / relapsed | ἐπέστρεψαν / שָׁבוּ | epestrepsan | ils retombaient | Medium | Cycle | 2 | Names the cyclical, downward-spiraling structure of the book. |
C. Risk Tier Summary (Judges-Specific New Terms Only)
| Risk Tier | Count | Review Routing (per baseline conventions) |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 4 | Human theologian review — mandatory |
| High | 17 | Human theologian review — mandatory |
| Medium-High | 5 | Human theologian / senior native speaker review |
| Medium | 12 | Native speaker review |
| Low-Medium | 4 | Native speaker review (light touch) |
| Low | 3 | Automated review sufficient |
Note for Phase 1 Step 2 onward: the four Critical terms — the LORD (YHWH), judge (office), everyone did what was right in his own eyes, and vow (Jephthah’s) — together with the High-risk there was no king in Israel refrain, should be treated with the same curriculum-wide verbatim-consistency discipline the baseline applies to Romans 1:16-17, 8:28, and 10:9-10, since Judges 17:6/21:25 functions as this curriculum’s thesis-statement equivalent.
Critical Risk Terms
Messiah
Approved rendering: Messie
Transliteration: Messie
Doctrine: Messianic Promise / The Absence of a Righteous King
Original: Χριστός (root) / מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Not directly named in Judges, but its anointing-root (chriō/mashach) appears ironically in Jotham’s fable (ch. 9); retained here for the cross-reference with the ‘anoint’ entry. Teaching materials must contrast Abimelech’s illegitimate anointing with the true future Anointed King.
Lord Yhwh
Approved rendering: le SEIGNEUR
Transliteration: YHWH / kyrios
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: l’Éternel (Segond tradition — flagged for reviewer confirmation, not adopted by default in this curriculum), Seigneur (unqualified, without the majuscule convention)
Original: יהוה (LXX κύριος)
Category: God
Extends baseline ‘Seigneur’ (κύριος) entry with the ecumenical TOB/Bible de Jérusalem majuscule convention marking the Tetragrammaton. Recurs dozens of times per chapter throughout all 21 chapters; any inconsistency across curriculum documents (switching between ‘Seigneur’ and ‘l’Éternel’, or dropping the majuscule) would be immediately visible to readers. MUST be confirmed against Segond’s ‘l’Éternel’ before Phase 2 if this curriculum’s readership is Segond-anchored.
Judge Office
Approved rendering: juge
Transliteration: shophet / kritēs
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers
Rejected alternatives: magistrat, gouverneur (loses deliverer nuance), chef (loses Spirit-empowerment nuance)
Original: שֹׁפֵט / κριτής
Category: Deliverance
The book’s defining office: a Spirit-raised, ad hoc, charismatic military-deliverer and rough communal governor, NOT a courtroom magistrate. Modern French ‘juge’ is exclusively and immediately understood as a courtroom official. MANDATORY standing explanatory gloss on first use in every curriculum document: ‘juge, c’est-à-dire chef libérateur suscité par l’Esprit.‘
Right In His Own Eyes
Approved rendering: chacun faisait ce qui lui semblait bon / ce qui était droit à ses propres yeux
Transliteration: ish hayashar b’einav ya’aseh / anēr to areston en ophthalmois autou epoiei
Doctrine: Moral Decline and the Need for a Righteous King
Rejected alternatives: chacun vivait selon sa propre conscience (risks a POSITIVE Vatican-II conscience-theology reading), chacun faisait ce qu’il voulait (loses the ‘in his own eyes’/evaluative-standard nuance)
Original: אִישׁ הַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו יַעֲשֶׂה / ἀνὴρ τὸ ἀρεστὸν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ ἐποίει
Category: Kingship
The book’s closing thesis-refrain (17:6; 21:25). Contemporary secular French individualist culture treats personal moral autonomy as an unqualified positive, the exact opposite of the text’s severe indictment. MUST be rendered identically at both occurrences, mirroring the baseline’s fixed-rendering discipline for Romans 1:16-17/8:28/10:9-10. Must be taught alongside ‘le mal aux yeux du SEIGNEUR’ (2:11) as its deliberate antithesis.
Vow Jephthah
Approved rendering: vœu
Transliteration: neder / euchē
Doctrine: Rash Vows and the Danger of Human Presumption before God
Rejected alternatives: promesse (too weak — loses the binding, sacral self-obligation force), serment (imports a legal/oath register not quite matching neder)
Original: נֵדֶר / εὐχή
Category: Deliverance
Jephthah’s rash, binding self-obligating promise (11:30-31), fulfilled in the death or lifelong dedicated seclusion of his daughter (11:34-40), an interpretively disputed outcome. Any French rendering that resolves the ambiguity too neatly toward literal child sacrifice risks implying God required or approved human sacrifice, contradicting Leviticus 18:21/Deuteronomy 12:31. MANDATORY theologian review; the literal-sacrifice-vs-seclusion question must be flagged, never silently resolved.
High Risk Terms
Lord
Approved rendering: Seigneur
Transliteration: Seigneur
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ / The Absence of a Righteous King
Rejected alternatives: maître, patron
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package (κύριος root). In Judges 8:23, Gideon’s refusal of kingship (‘le SEIGNEUR dominera sur vous’) directly echoes this root; see lord_shall_rule_over_you below for the extended construction. Distinct from the covenant-name entry lord_yhwh.
Covenant
Approved rendering: alliance
Transliteration: alliance
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: contrat
Original: בְּרִית / διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. God’s covenant with the patriarchs is the standard against which Israel’s apostasy throughout Judges is measured; no OT-specific adjustment needed.
Sin
Approved rendering: péché
Transliteration: péché
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Original: חֵטְא / ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package, including verb forms (‘nous avons péché’, 10:10, 15). Colloquial French trivialization risk (‘péché mignon’) already flagged in baseline continues to apply.
Church
Approved rendering: Église
Transliteration: Église
Doctrine: Covenant Community, Discipline, and National Assembly
Rejected alternatives: temple (building only)
Inherited from Romans package. NOT to be used for Judges’ qahal/ekklēsia referent (Israel’s national civil-religious assembly, ch. 20); see assembly_qahal below for the Judges-specific rendering that preserves the lexical link without an anachronistic institutional-Church reading.
Grace
Approved rendering: grâce
Transliteration: grâce
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers
Rejected alternatives: faveur, mérite
Inherited from Romans package. Applied in Judges to God’s sovereign choice of morally compromised deliverers (Jephthah, Samson, Gideon); grace operating despite, not because of, merit — the same doctrinal point as the baseline’s Romans usage.
Angel Of The Lord
Approved rendering: l’ange du SEIGNEUR
Transliteration: mal’akh YHWH / angelos kyriou
Doctrine: The Angel of the LORD (Possible Theophany)
Rejected alternatives: un ange du Seigneur (indefinite article further weakens the theophany reading)
Original: מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה / ἄγγελος κυρίου
Category: Christology
French ‘un ange’ defaults to a created angelic being (Gabriel, Michael) in ordinary and Catholic usage, obscuring the debated but theologically significant possibility of a pre-incarnate Christophany the text itself leaves suggestively open (13:21-22). Flag for mandatory theologian review at every occurrence (2:1-5; 6:11-24; 13:3-21); never resolve the identity question either direction in translation.
Spirit Of The Lord
Approved rendering: l’Esprit du SEIGNEUR (vint sur / revêtit / se précipita sur / commença à se manifester en)
Transliteration: ruach YHWH / pneuma kyriou
Doctrine: The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges
Rejected alternatives: Esprit Saint (unqualified — risks NT Pentecostal-permanence conflation)
Original: רוּחַ־יְהוָה / πνεῦμα κυρίου
Category: God
Temporary, task-specific divine empowerment (Othniel 3:10; Gideon 6:34; Jephthah 11:29; Samson 13:25, 14:6, 14:19, 15:14). Must never be silently equated with baseline’s permanent NT ‘Esprit Saint’ indwelling. Preserve the varied source verbs (came upon / clothed / rushed upon / began to stir) distinctly across occurrences rather than flattening to one bare noun phrase. Mandatory continuity/discontinuity teaching note at every occurrence.
Saved Delivered
Approved rendering: délivrèrent / sauvèrent
Transliteration: vayoshi’um / esōsan
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers
Rejected alternatives: libérer (acceptable synonym, use sparingly for variety), racheter (imports a redemption-price nuance not present here)
Original: וַיּוֹשִׁיעוּם / ἔσωσαν
Category: Deliverance
Partial, temporary, repeatable national rescue by human judges. French ‘sauver/délivrer’ shares the baseline’s ‘salut’ word-family (Christ’s once-for-all Critical-risk salvation); teaching notes must state explicitly that these are limited, repeatedly-undone deliverances that typologically anticipate but do not constitute the salvation doctrine of Romans.
Did Not Know The Lord
Approved rendering: ne connaissaient pas le SEIGNEUR
Transliteration: lo yad’u et-YHWH / ouk egnōsan ton kyrion
Doctrine: Generational Transmission of Covenant Faith
Rejected alternatives: n’avaient pas connaissance du SEIGNEUR (too informational), ignoraient le SEIGNEUR (too weak)
Original: לֹא יָדְעוּ אֶת־יְהוָה / οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὸν κύριον
Category: Faith
Relational, experiential, covenantal knowledge, not mere cognitive/informational awareness. French ‘connaître’ readily supports a merely acquaintance-level reading; must be glossed as intimate, covenantal, experiential knowledge in every teaching context.
Evil In Sight Of Lord
Approved rendering: le mal aux yeux du SEIGNEUR
Transliteration: hara b’einei YHWH / to ponēron enōpion kyriou
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: le mal (bare, without ‘aux yeux du SEIGNEUR’)
Original: הָרַע בְּעֵינֵי יְהוָה / τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιον κυρίου
Category: Judgment
Objective moral evil measured by God’s own evaluation, the book’s recurring cyclical refrain (2:11 and parallels). Must be rendered so its deliberate ironic contrast with the closing refrain ‘ce qui était droit à ses propres yeux’ (17:6; 21:25) is unmistakable across every curriculum document.
Abandoned Forsook
Approved rendering: abandonnèrent
Transliteration: azav / egkatelipon
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: délaissèrent (too mild), quittèrent (too neutral/procedural)
Original: עָזַב / ἐγκατέλιπον
Category: Sin
Active covenant betrayal and desertion, not passive neglect or drift. Must be paired contextually with the following marital-infidelity metaphor (‘se prostituèrent’) so readers do not read mere drift where active betrayal is intended.
Went After Bowed Down
Approved rendering: allèrent après … se prosternèrent devant
Transliteration: vayelchu acharei … vayishtachavu
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: adorèrent (reserved exclusively for legitimate worship of God in this curriculum)
Original: וַיֵּלְכוּ אַחֲרֵי … וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲוּוּ / ἐπορεύθησαν ὀπίσω … προσεκύνησαν
Category: Sin
Same physical-prostration verb describes both true worship of YHWH and idol worship in the source. French must reserve ‘adorer’ for legitimate worship of God per curriculum convention; idol-directed acts always rendered ‘se prosterner devant’ to preserve the true/false worship contrast.
Played The Whore After
Approved rendering: se prostituèrent (en allant après d’autres dieux)
Transliteration: vayiznu acharei elohim acherim / exeporneusan opisō theōn heterōn
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: furent infidèles (too bland, loses shock value), commirent l’adultère spirituel (over-explains, weakens the raw metaphor)
Original: וַיִּזְנוּ אַחֲרֵי אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים / ἐξεπόρνευσαν ὀπίσω θεῶν ἑτέρων
Category: Sin
The book’s sharpest apostasy metaphor: covenant unfaithfulness figured as marital/sexual betrayal, YHWH as husband and Israel as unfaithful wife. Must not be softened into bland infidelity language nor over-literalized as a statement purely about sexual sin.
Anger Of The Lord Kindled
Approved rendering: la colère du SEIGNEUR s’enflamma
Transliteration: vayichar-af YHWH / ōrgisthē thymō kyrios
Doctrine: God’s Judicial Wrath and Covenant Compassion
Rejected alternatives: le SEIGNEUR fut mécontent (far too weak), le malheur s’abattit (erases divine agency)
Original: חָרָה אַף יְהוָה / ὠργίσθη θυμῷ κύριος
Category: Judgment
Righteous, judicial, covenant-based anger activating the covenant-curse mechanism of Deuteronomy 28. Secularizing French culture strongly resists divine-wrath language; must not be minimized into impersonal misfortune.
Gave Sold Into Hand Of
Approved rendering: les livra / les vendit entre les mains de
Transliteration: vayimkerem b’yad / paredōken, apedoto en cheiri
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: laissa tomber entre les mains de (loses judicial force)
Original: מָכַר בְּיַד / παρέδωκεν, ἀπέδοτο ἐν χειρὶ
Category: Judgment
God’s judicial handing-over of Israel into an oppressor’s power as covenant-curse discipline. Shares the same paradidōmi word-family theology already established in the baseline’s Romans 1:24, 26, 28; recommend cross-referencing in teaching notes so the pattern is recognized as one scriptural theology across both curricula.
Moved To Pity
Approved rendering: fut ému de compassion
Transliteration: vayinachem / katenygē, parklēthē
Doctrine: God’s Judicial Wrath and Covenant Compassion
Rejected alternatives: changea d’avis (implies capricious instability), eut de la pitié (too weak/sentimental)
Original: נִחַם / κατενύγη, παρεκλήθη
Category: God
Anthropopathic language describing YHWH’s genuine covenantal compassion stirred by Israel’s groaning (2:18). Must preserve as personal, covenant-faithful responsiveness, not emotional instability or an impersonal deist mechanism (cf. baseline’s flagged Enlightenment-deist ‘la Providence’ risk).
Lords Soul Could Not Bear
Approved rendering: l’âme du SEIGNEUR ne put plus supporter
Transliteration: vattiqtsar naphsho b’amal Yisra’el / ōligopsychēsen hē psychē tou kyriou
Doctrine: God’s Judicial Wrath and Covenant Compassion
Rejected alternatives: le SEIGNEUR se lassa (too flat), le SEIGNEUR perdit patience (risks reading as mood swing)
Original: וַתִּקְצַר נַפְשׁוֹ בַּעֲמַל יִשְׂרָאֵל / ὠλιγοψύχησεν ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ κυρίου
Category: God
Harder-edged anthropopathism than 2:18’s ‘fut ému de compassion’ (10:16). Must be taught as covenantal tension between divine patience and divine justice, not divine instability.
More Corrupt Than Fathers
Approved rendering: se corrompirent plus que leurs pères
Transliteration: hishchitu me’avotam / diephtheiran hyper tous pateras
Doctrine: Moral Decline and the Need for a Righteous King
Rejected alternatives: se corrompirent comme leurs pères (erases the escalation), firent le mal de nouveau (flattens to static repetition)
Original: הִשְׂחִיתוּ מֵאֲבוֹתָם / διέφθειραν ὑπὲρ τοὺς πατέρας
Category: Judgment
Establishes the book’s downward-spiral, not merely cyclical, structure (2:19). The comparative/escalating force must be unmistakable in every occurrence; do not simplify to a flat repeated clause.
The Lord Raised Up Judges
Approved rendering: le SEIGNEUR fit surgir des juges
Transliteration: vayaqem YHWH shoftim / ēgeiren kyrios kritas
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: le SEIGNEUR élut des juges (collides with baseline’s High-risk political ‘élection’), Israël choisit des juges (wrongly implies human/democratic process)
Original: וַיָּקֶם יְהוָה שֹׁפְטִים / ἤγειρεν κύριος κριτάς
Category: Deliverance
Divine sovereign initiative in appointing deliverer-leaders, prior to and apart from human electoral or dynastic process. Must avoid any construction implying Israel chose or elected its own leaders.
King
Approved rendering: roi
Transliteration: melekh / basileus
Doctrine: The Absence of a Righteous King
Original: מֶלֶךְ / βασιλεύς
Category: Kingship
A permanent, dynastic ruling office. Directly connects to baseline’s Davidic Covenant doctrine. Abimelech’s disastrous self-made kingship (ch. 9) must be taught as establishing the need for a future RIGHTEOUS king, not as a blanket anti-monarchy statement — a nuance easily lost given French post-revolutionary political loading on ‘roi.‘
Anoint
Approved rendering: oindre / consacrer par l’onction
Transliteration: mashach / chriō
Doctrine: The Absence of a Righteous King
Original: מָשַׁח / χρίω
Category: Kingship
Consecration by oil marking divine authorization to rule; used ironically in Jotham’s fable of trees seeking to anoint the worthless bramble Abimelech (9:8ff.). Etymologically the same root as baseline’s Critical-risk ‘Messie’; must be flagged in teaching notes as a deliberate negative foil, never a template, for the true Anointed King.
Lord Shall Rule Over You
Approved rendering: je ne dominerai pas sur vous … le SEIGNEUR dominera/régnera sur vous
Transliteration: YHWH yimshol bakhem / kyrios kyrieusei hymōn
Doctrine: The Absence of a Righteous King
Rejected alternatives: je ne serai pas votre roi … le SEIGNEUR sera votre roi (loses the κύριος/κυριεύω lexical echo)
Original: יְהוָה יִמְשֹׁל בָּכֶם / κύριος κυριεύσει ὑμῶν
Category: Kingship
Gideon’s refusal of hereditary kingship (8:23), affirming YHWH’s own exclusive rule. Direct lexical link to baseline’s ‘Lordship of Christ’ doctrine (κύριος/κυριεύω root); the book’s positive theological high point, tragically abandoned by the rest of the narrative.
No King In Israel Refrain
Approved rendering: il n’y avait pas de roi en Israël
Transliteration: ein melekh b’Yisra’el / ouk ēn basileus en Israēl
Doctrine: The Absence of a Righteous King
Rejected alternatives: Israël n’avait pas de roi (word-order variant — must not be used, breaks verbatim-consistency requirement)
Original: אֵין מֶלֶךְ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל / οὐκ ἦν βασιλεὺς ἐν Ἰσραήλ
Category: Kingship
Structural refrain (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25) marking the era’s political-theological leadership vacuum. MUST be rendered identically at all four occurrences across every curriculum document.
Nazirite
Approved rendering: naziréen
Transliteration: nazir / naziraios
Doctrine: Nazirite Vow and Consecration
Rejected alternatives: consacré (paraphrase — loses the specific vow-category technical term)
Original: נָזִיר / ναζιραῖος
Category: Sanctification
One under a special lifelong vow of consecration (no wine, no haircut, no contact with corpses), applied to Samson from the womb (13:5, 7). CONCRETE FRENCH-SPECIFIC RISK: ‘naziréen’ is a near-homophone of ‘nazaréen’ (of Nazareth), two entirely unrelated biblical categories. Standing disambiguating footnote required at every occurrence (ch. 13, 16).
Assembly Qahal
Approved rendering: l’assemblée (d’Israël)
Transliteration: qahal / ekklēsia, synagōgē
Doctrine: Covenant Community, Discipline, and National Assembly
Rejected alternatives: l’Église (wrongly implies the institutional Christian Church)
Original: קָהָל / ἐκκλησία, συναγωγή
Category: Church
Israel’s formally gathered national covenant community, convened against Benjamin (ch. 20). Direct lexical link to baseline’s High-risk ‘Église’/‘church_as_gods_people’ doctrine; render ‘l’assemblée (d’Israël)’, never bare ‘Église’, to preserve the theological continuity while avoiding anachronism.
Carved Molten Images Teraphim
Approved rendering: image taillée / image en métal fondu / idoles domestiques (teraphim)
Transliteration: pesel / massekhah / teraphim; glypton / chōneuton / theraphin
Doctrine: Idolatry and Domestic Religious Syncretism
Rejected alternatives: statues religieuses (too neutral — erases the condemnation)
Original: פֶּסֶל / מַסֵּכָה / תְּרָפִים; γλυπτόν / χωνευτόν / θεραφίν
Category: Sin
Household idols fashioned by Micah (ch. 17), representing idolatry’s spread from national apostasy into ordinary domestic religion. France’s 16th-century Wars of Religion iconoclasm controversy must not be reflexively invoked; condemn genuine pagan idol-fabrication only.
Medium Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Dieu
Transliteration: Dieu
Doctrine: God
Original: אֱלֹהִים / θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Same rendering and risk tier apply in Judges’ OT narrative context; no adjustment needed. Secularization risk (‘Mon Dieu!’ as interjection; abstract deist reading) continues to apply.
Holy
Approved rendering: saint
Transliteration: saint
Doctrine: Nazirite Vow and Consecration
Rejected alternatives: pur
Original: קָדוֹשׁ / ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. In Judges applied narrowly to Samson’s individual Nazirite consecration (ch. 13) rather than corporate believer-sainthood; baseline’s High corporate-sainthood risk is reduced but not absent.
Israel
Approved rendering: Israël
Transliteration: Israël
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל / Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Contemporary political sensitivity around this proper name in French discourse continues to apply.
Salvation
Approved rendering: salut
Transliteration: salut
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers
Rejected alternatives: délivrance
Inherited from Romans package. Retained here strictly for CONTRAST: Judges’ human deliverers ‘délivrèrent/sauvèrent’ Israel partially and repeatedly, but this must never be conflated with the baseline’s Critical-risk once-for-all NT ‘salut’ achieved by Christ. See saved_delivered entry below.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Esprit Saint
Transliteration: Esprit Saint
Doctrine: The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges
Inherited from Romans package. Retained here strictly for CONTRAST: Judges’ ‘l’Esprit du SEIGNEUR’ (episodic, task-specific OT empowerment) must not be conflated with this baseline term’s permanent NT post-Pentecost indwelling of every believer. See spirit_of_the_lord entry below for the Judges-specific construction and required continuity/discontinuity teaching note.
Servant Of The Lord
Approved rendering: serviteur du SEIGNEUR
Transliteration: eved-YHWH / doulos kyriou
Doctrine: Generational Transmission of Covenant Faith
Original: עֶבֶד־יְהוָה / δοῦλος κυρίου
Category: Covenant
Honorific covenant-office title applied to Joshua (2:8). Standard leadership honorific; must not be overread as anticipating Isaiah’s messianic ‘Servant of the LORD’ title in this occurrence.
Another Generation
Approved rendering: une autre génération
Transliteration: dor acher / genea hetera
Doctrine: Generational Transmission of Covenant Faith
Rejected alternatives: une nouvelle génération (loses the negative-contrast implication)
Original: דּוֹר אַחֵר / γενεὰ ἑτέρα
Category: Judgment
Names the generational-transmission-of-faith failure mechanism (2:10) driving the whole cycle. ‘Génération’ itself carries no false-friend risk; the real risk lies in the paired phrase ‘ne connaissaient pas le SEIGNEUR.‘
Baals Ashtaroth Dagon
Approved rendering: les Baals / les Ashtaroth (Astartés) / Dagon
Transliteration: Baalim / Ashtarot / Dagon
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: les faux dieux (paraphrase — erases the specific historical-religious referent)
Original: הַבְּעָלִים / הָעַשְׁתָּרוֹת / דָּגוֹן; Βααλίμ / Ἀσταρώθ / Δαγών
Category: Sin
Transliterated Canaanite/Philistine deity names. No live French doctrinal collision, but reads as meaningless proper nouns without a footnoted cultural/religious explanation for a biblically low-literacy readership.
Cried Out To The Lord
Approved rendering: crièrent au SEIGNEUR
Transliteration: vayitz’aqu el-YHWH
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: appelèrent le SEIGNEUR (too weak), prièrent le SEIGNEUR (loses the urgency/distress register)
Original: וַיִּצְעֲקוּ אֶל־יְהוָה / ἀνεβόησαν, ἐβόησαν πρὸς κύριον
Category: Faith
Israel’s urgent cry for help under oppression, the recurring trigger of divine deliverance (3:9, 15; 4:3; 6:6-7; 10:10). Connects to the baseline’s ‘Prayer and Intercession’ doctrine; render consistently across all occurrences.
Groaning
Approved rendering: gémissement
Transliteration: na’aqah / stenagmos
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: plainte (too mild), cri (already used for ‘cried out’; keep distinct)
Original: נַאֲקָה / στεναγμός
Category: Judgment
Israel’s inarticulate cry of distress under oppression (2:18). Intertextual echo with Romans 8:23, 26 (creation’s and the Spirit’s groaning), already established in the baseline curriculum; recommend cross-referencing in teaching notes.
Turned Back Relapsed
Approved rendering: ils retombaient
Transliteration: shavu / epestrepsan
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: ils revinrent (too neutral, loses the negative relapse sense)
Original: שָׁבוּ / ἐπέστρεψαν
Category: Judgment
Israel’s repeated reversion to prior sin after each judge’s death, naming the book’s cyclical structure (2:19; 3:12; 4:1; 6:1; 8:33; 10:6; 13:1). Ensure consistent use across all cycle-refrain occurrences.
Stubborn Hardened Practices
Approved rendering: leurs pratiques et leur endurcissement
Transliteration: ma’alleihem umidarkam haqashah / ta epitēdeumata ta sklēra
Doctrine: Moral Decline and the Need for a Righteous King
Rejected alternatives: leurs mauvaises habitudes (too mild)
Original: מַעַלְלֵיהֶם וּמִדַּרְכָּם הַקָּשָׁה / τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα τὰ σκληρά
Category: Judgment
Obstinate, unyielding moral practice and entrenched resistance to covenant correction (2:19). Intertextual echo with Romans 2:5’s ‘hardness of heart,’ already established in the baseline curriculum; recommend cross-reference in teaching notes.
Test Prove
Approved rendering: mettre à l’épreuve
Transliteration: nissah / peirazō, dokimazō
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: tenter (wrong register — implies enticement to sin)
Original: נִסָּה / πειράζω, δοκιμάζω
Category: Judgment
The remaining unconquered nations deliberately left by God to test/prove Israel’s covenant loyalty (2:22; 3:1, 4), distinct from enticement to sin. ‘Tenter’ must never be used here.
Snare Trap
Approved rendering: piège
Transliteration: moqesh / skandalon, pagis
Doctrine: Idolatry and Domestic Religious Syncretism
Original: מוֹקֵשׁ / σκάνδαλον, παγίς
Category: Sin
Metaphor for idolatry’s entrapment of Israel through the unconquered nations (2:3) and later Gideon’s own ephod (8:27). Low-risk, natural French rendering; recurrence across contexts worth noting in teaching materials.
Ephod
Approved rendering: éphod
Transliteration: ephod / ephoud
Doctrine: Idolatry and Domestic Religious Syncretism
Rejected alternatives: vêtement sacerdotal (paraphrase — loses the term’s dual legitimate/illegitimate usage across Exodus 28 and Judges 8/17-18)
Original: אֵפוֹד / ἐφούδ
Category: Sin
A priestly garment (Exodus 28); in Judges fashioned by Gideon from war spoils into an idolatrous cult object that ensnares his household (8:27), and later part of Micah’s shrine (17-18). Requires a footnote distinguishing legitimate priestly use from idolatrous misuse at every occurrence.
Lord As Judge
Approved rendering: le SEIGNEUR, le Juge
Transliteration: shophet / kritēs (of YHWH)
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers
Original: שֹׁפֵט (of YHWH) / κριτής (of YHWH)
Category: Deliverance
God himself named as the ultimate Judge (11:27), the source from whom every human judge’s delegated authority derives. Cross-reference with the Critical human ‘juge’ office entry so readers see the theological relationship (human judges are derivative/delegated), not a coincidental repetition of the same word.
Inheritance Land
Approved rendering: héritage
Transliteration: nachalah / klēronomia
Doctrine: Incomplete Conquest and Covenant Compromise
Original: נַחֲלָה / κληρονομία
Category: Land
The tribes’ concrete, literal allotted territorial possession of the promised land (1:1-36; 2:6). The same French word is used in the baseline for Romans 8:17’s spiritual inheritance in Christ; in Judges this must remain strictly literal tribal land-grant language — do not import the NT spiritual-inheritance sense.
Drive Out Dispossess
Approved rendering: chassèrent / dépossédèrent (ne … entièrement)
Transliteration: horish / exolethreuō, ekballō
Doctrine: Incomplete Conquest and Covenant Compromise
Original: הוֹרִישׁ / ἐξολεθρεύω, ἐκβάλλω
Category: Judgment
The command and repeated failure to completely remove the Canaanite inhabitants (1:19, 21, 27, 29, 31, 33). Requires pastoral-sensitivity framing around conquest-warfare ethics; doctrinal point is incomplete obedience opening the door to apostasy, not a justification of the violence.
Forced Labor Tribute
Approved rendering: corvée / tribut
Transliteration: mas / phoros
Doctrine: Incomplete Conquest and Covenant Compromise
Original: מַס / φόρος
Category: Land
Tax/servitude imposed on subjugated Canaanite populations, Israel’s compromise settlement short of full obedience (1:28, 30, 33, 35). Frame as a sign of incomplete obedience/compromise, not military victory.
Concubine
Approved rendering: concubine
Transliteration: pilegesh / pallakē
Doctrine: Moral and Social Collapse at Gibeah
Original: פִּילֶגֶשׁ / παλλακή
Category: Social Practice
A secondary wife of lesser legal/social standing, the central victimized figure of ch. 19’s Gibeah narrative. Requires cultural-historical framing so the term describes, rather than endorses, an ancient social institution; pastoral sensitivity strongly recommended given the passage’s violence against a woman.
Wickedness Vile Outrage
Approved rendering: infamie / chose ignoble
Transliteration: nevalah / ponēria, aphrosynē
Doctrine: Moral and Social Collapse at Gibeah
Rejected alternatives: méchanceté (too mild — loses the folly + gross-moral-evil combination)
Original: נְבָלָה / πονηρία, ἀφροσύνη
Category: Social Practice
A moral category combining folly and gross moral evil (19:23-24), deliberately echoing Genesis 19’s Sodom narrative. Should be flagged alongside the Genesis 19 cross-reference so the literary echo is not lost.
Curse Blessed Pairing
Approved rendering: malédiction / bénie
Transliteration: arur / berukhah; katara / eulogēmenē
Doctrine: Covenant Blessing and Curse
Original: אָרוּר / בְּרוּכָה; κατάρα / εὐλογημένη
Category: Covenant
Covenant blessing/curse pronouncements (Meroz cursed, Jael blessed, Song of Deborah ch. 5; Jotham’s curse ch. 9). Ensure French readers grasp this as covenant-legal pronouncement grounded in Deuteronomy 27-28, not folk-magical formulas.
Sign
Approved rendering: signe
Transliteration: ot / sēmeion
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers
Rejected alternatives: preuve (too evidentiary/legalistic register)
Original: אוֹת / σημεῖον
Category: Faith
A confirming miraculous marker of divine authorization, requested by Gideon via the fleece (6:36-40). Teaching caution: contrast with NT teaching discouraging sign-seeking (e.g., Matthew 12:39); avoid presenting Gideon’s fleece test as a normative discernment model.
Commandments Of The Lord
Approved rendering: commandements du SEIGNEUR
Transliteration: mitzvot YHWH / entolai kyriou
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Original: מִצְוֹת יְהוָה / ἐντολαί κυρίου
Category: Covenant
God’s specific covenant stipulations that the fathers kept and this generation abandons (2:17), distinct from baseline’s ‘law’ (νόμος) entry, which denotes the whole Mosaic corpus.
Served The Lord
Approved rendering: servir (fidèlement le SEIGNEUR)
Transliteration: avad / edouleusan
Doctrine: Generational Transmission of Covenant Faith
Rejected alternatives: servir (bare, unqualified — reads as generic helpfulness/employment)
Original: עָבַד / ἐδούλευσαν
Category: Covenant
Exclusive covenant service/allegiance to YHWH alone, the positive baseline (2:7) from which the whole book charts Israel’s decline. Secular French ‘servir’ must always be glossed as consecrated, exclusive service to God alone.
We Have Sinned Confession
Approved rendering: nous avons péché
Transliteration: chatanu / hēmartomen
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Original: חָטָאנוּ / ἡμάρτομεν
Category: Sin
Israel’s explicit first-person verbal confession of covenant transgression (10:10, 15), distinct from the narrator’s third-person description of sin. Verb-form application of the baseline’s reused ‘péché’ noun entry.
Low Risk Terms
Prophet
Approved rendering: prophète
Transliteration: prophète
Doctrine: Prophetic Ministry and Deborah’s Leadership
Rejected alternatives: voyant
Inherited from Romans package. Feminine form ‘prophétesse’ (Deborah, ch. 4) is a straightforward grammatical extension; see prophetess entry below.
Canaanites
Approved rendering: Cananéens
Transliteration: Kena’anim / Chananaioi
Doctrine: Incomplete Conquest and Covenant Compromise
Original: כְּנַעֲנִים / Χαναναῖοι
Category: Land
Standard proper ethnonym across French Bible traditions; minimal risk.
Lots
Approved rendering: sort / tirer au sort
Transliteration: goral / klēros
Doctrine: Covenant Community, Discipline, and National Assembly
Original: גּוֹרָל / κλῆρος
Category: Land
A marked object cast to determine an outcome believed to reveal divine will, used procedurally in the civil-war narrative (ch. 20). Etymologically related to klēronomia (‘inheritance’); theological weight here is procedural, not doctrinally central.
Prophetess
Approved rendering: prophétesse
Transliteration: nevi’ah / prophētis
Doctrine: Prophetic Ministry and Deborah’s Leadership
Original: נְבִיאָה / προφῆτις
Category: Faith
God’s authorized female spokesperson (Deborah, ch. 4), exercising explicitly prophetic rather than merely charismatic-military authority. Straightforward feminine grammatical form of the baseline’s reused ‘prophète’ entry.
Referenced passages