Core Glossary
Core Glossary
Koine Greek → Fulfulde | Gospel of Mark 1–16
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, drawn from the core passage (Mark 10:35-45) and from every chapter of Mark 1-16. Terms already fixed in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [BASELINE — REUSE EXACTLY] and must not be altered. New terms required by Mark’s distinctive vocabulary are marked [NEW — PROVISIONAL] and require native-speaker and/or theologian confirmation before Phase 2 deployment, per this language’s documented thinner Bible-translation tradition.
A. Baseline Terms Reused from Romans (Fixed — Do Not Alter)
| English Term | Fulfulde Rendering | Risk | Key Mark References | Note for Mark Curriculum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gospel | Linjiila | High | 1:1, 1:14-15, 8:35, 10:29, 13:10, 16:15 | Opens the entire book (1:1); tahrif-doctrine risk applies from the first verse |
| God | Alla | Critical | throughout | Must be presented in explicitly Trinitarian, Christ-centered terms per baseline |
| Jesus | Yeesu | Critical | throughout | Never the Quranic Iisa in doctrinal exposition |
| Lord | Joom | Critical | 10:37(implicit)/12:36-37, 13:35, 16:19-20 | Never Laamiiɗo as primary term for Christ’s Lordship, EXCEPT the deliberate ironic exception at 15:2-26 (King of the Jews mockery) — see note below |
| Son of God | Ɓiɗɗo Alla | Critical | 1:1, 1:11, 3:11, 5:7, 9:7, 15:39 | Climactic use at 15:39 (centurion) requires verbatim consistency |
| Holy Spirit | Ruuhu Ceniiɗo | Critical | 1:8, 1:10, 3:29, 12:36, 13:11 | Always full form; never ruuhu alone or jinna/jinnaaji |
| Father | Baaba | Medium | 8:38, 11:25, 13:32, 14:36, 14:38 | Paired with Abba at 14:36 |
| Abba | Abba | Medium | 14:36 | Paired exactly with Baaba per baseline Romans 8:15 convention |
| Faith | gomɗinal | High | 2:5, 4:40, 5:34, 5:36, 9:23-24, 10:52, 11:22-24 | Object of faith (God/Christ) must always be explicit |
| Salvation / save / heal | kisal / daɗndude | Critical | 3:4, 5:23, 5:28, 5:34, 8:35, 10:26, 10:52, 13:13, 13:20, 15:30-31 | σῴζω spans healing and salvation in Mark; connect explicitly to kisal doctrine |
| Sin | bakkaatu | High | 1:4-5, 2:5-10, 3:28-29 | Scribes’ objection at 2:7 is a Tawhid-style challenge to be addressed directly |
| Kingdom of God | laamu Alla | Medium | 1:15, 4:11, 4:26-32, 9:1, 9:47, 10:14-15, 10:23-25, 12:34, 14:25, 15:43 | ”Breaking in” nuance (1:15) must be taught; distinct from any political Islamic state memory |
| Messiah / Christ | Almasiihu | Critical | 1:1, 8:29, 12:35, 13:21-22, 14:61-62, 15:32 | Shared Quranic vocabulary; content radically differs — teach explicitly at every occurrence |
| Apostle | nulaaɗo | High | 3:14, 6:30 | Never rasuulu |
| Called / calling | noddaaɗo / noddaandi | Medium | 1:20, 2:17, 3:13 | Effectual/vocational calling distinctions per baseline |
| Holy | ceniiɗo | Medium | 1:24, 6:20, 8:38 | Keep distinct from laaɓɗo (ritual cleanliness) |
| Resurrection / raised | immorde e maayde | Critical | 6:14-16, 8:31, 9:9-10, 9:31, 10:34, 12:18-27, 16:6 | Direct collision with Quran 4:157; state plainly and repeatedly |
| Glory | manaango | Medium | 8:38, 9:2-3 (implicit), 10:37, 13:26 | Keep distinct from teddungal (human honor) |
| Power of God | doole Alla | High | 5:30, 6:2, 6:14, 9:1, 13:26 | Keep distinct from barke (marabout-associated power) |
| Law | sariya | Medium | 2:23-28, 7:1-13, 10:2-9, 12:28-34 | Mosaic covenant institution, not Sharia-style total life-code |
| Gentiles / nations | leƴƴi goo | Medium | 7:24-30 (implicit), 10:33, 10:42, 13:10, 15:39 (implicit) | Broader “worldly powers” sense at 10:42 as well as ethnic sense |
| Israel | Israa’iila | Medium | 15:2 (contextual), 12:29 (Shema) | Distinguish biblical referent from modern nation-state |
| David | Daawuda | Low | 2:25, 10:47-48, 11:10, 12:35-37 | Quranic Dawud is a familiar but distinct narrative |
| Prophet | annabi | Low | 6:4, 6:15, 8:28, 11:32, 13:22 | Distinguish OT prophetology from Quranic prophetology |
| Covenant | alkawal | Medium | 14:24 | Blood-covenant framework foreign to mainstream Islamic theology; teach explicitly |
| Intercession / prayer | torgol / torgol wonande | Medium | 1:35, 6:46, 9:29, 11:17, 11:24-25, 14:32-39 | Distinguish from salaa (Islamic ritual prayer) |
| Mission | yamiroore Linjiila | Medium | 13:10, 16:15 | Sensitivity to Sahelian religious landscape |
| Church (anticipatory) | kawtal | Medium | (implicit background for 3:14, 6:7) | Never moosaale (mosque) |
B. New Terms Required by Mark (Provisional — Confirm Before Deployment)
| English Term | Original (Greek) | Fulfulde Rendering | Risk | Key Mark References | Rationale / Collision Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Son of Man | ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (ho huios tou anthrōpou) | Ɓiɗɗo Aadama | Critical | 2:10, 2:28, 8:31, 9:9, 9:12, 9:31, 10:33, 10:45, 13:26, 14:21, 14:41, 14:62 | Surface humanity-only reading aligns too comfortably with Islamic Isa-as-prophet theology; Daniel 7 divine-authority background must be taught at every occurrence, paired with Ɓiɗɗo Alla, not as its alternative |
| Ransom | λύτρον (lytron) | soottirgal | Critical | 10:45 | No Fulfulde crystallized theological term exists; root soott- (to redeem a captive/slave by payment) intersects with regional slave-ransom and caste memory; substitutionary atonement has no Islamic soteriological parallel |
| Instead of / in place of | ἀντί (anti) | e nokku (…) | Critical | 10:45 | No single preposition carries full substitutionary force; must be explicit descriptive phrase, taught alongside λύτρον |
| Many (Isaiah 53 echo) | πολλῶν (pollōn) | ɗuuɗuɓe | High (context) / Low (lexical) | 10:45, 14:24 | Isaiah 53 Suffering Servant background must be made explicit or the connection is lost |
| Slave / bondservant | δοῦλος (doulos) | maccuɗo | Critical | 10:44 | Direct collision with the historic Fulani rimɓe/maccuɓe caste system; requires explicit framing as voluntary posture, not inherited status |
| Servant / attendant | διάκονος (diakonos) | surga | High | 9:35, 10:43, 10:45 | Provisional term chosen to avoid collapsing into maccuɗo’s caste connotations; confirm regional naturalness |
| Cup (of suffering) | ποτήριον (potērion) | kaasi | High | 10:38-39, 14:36 | OT “cup of suffering/wrath” metaphor not native to Fulfulde idiom; must be taught explicitly |
| Baptism / to baptize | βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω (baptisma / baptizō) | batisim (+ descriptive sowgol e ndiyam) | Critical | 1:4-11, 10:38-39, 11:30 | No confirmed crystallized Fulfulde term; figurative use at 10:38-39 (suffering) distinct from literal water rite; risk of conflation with Islamic ritual ablution |
| Has been prepared (divine sovereignty) | ἡτοίμασται (hētoimastai) | hebbinaama | Medium | 10:40 | Distinguish God’s personal purpose from natal/al-qadar fatalism |
| Lord it over / dominate | κατακυριεύω (katakyrieuō) | laamaade e semmbe e dow | High | 10:42 | Built on same root as Joom; must not be read back onto Christ’s own Lordship |
| Exercise authority over (negative) | κατεξουσιάζω (kateksousiazō) | waɗde kattanɗe e dow | High | 10:42 | Same root as positive exousia (Jesus’ authority); contrast must be taught |
| Authority (Jesus’ positive authority) | ἐξουσία (exousia) | kattanɗe | High | 1:22, 1:27, 2:10, 3:15, 6:7, 11:28-33 | Distinct from doole Alla (raw power) and from the negative domination-sense at 10:42 |
| Repentance | μετάνοια (metanoia) | tuubaare / tuubde | High | 1:4, 1:15, 6:12 | Shared with Islamic tawba; must specify turning toward Christ/the kingdom specifically |
| Satan | ὁ Σατανᾶς (ho Satanas) | Sheytaani | High | 1:13, 3:23-26, 4:15, 8:33 | Shared vocabulary with Islamic Shaytan/Iblis; do not assume identical doctrine of origin, role, or defeat |
| Demon / unclean spirit | δαιμόνιον / πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον | ruuhu bonɗo (preferred) — NEVER jinne as primary | Critical | 1:23-27, 1:34, 1:39, 3:22-30, 5:1-20, 6:13, 7:24-30, 9:14-29 | jinne would import full West African Islamic/folk jinn cosmology (possession, marabout exorcism, “Muslim jinn”) foreign to NT demonology |
| Heal | θεραπεύω / ἰάομαι | safrude | Medium | 1:34, 1:41, 3:2-10, 6:5, 6:13 | Distinguish from barke-style transactional spiritual power |
| Fasting | νηστεύω (nēsteuō) | koorka | High | 2:18-20 | Shared with Islamic Ramadan fasting term; teach the specific redemptive-historical point, not a general devaluation of fasting |
| Sabbath | σάββατον (sabbaton) | Sabaa / ñalnde fooyre | Medium | 1:21, 2:23-28, 3:1-6, 6:2 | Distinguish from Jumu’ah (Islamic Friday observance) |
| Tradition (of the elders) | παράδοσις (paradosis) | aada mawɓe | High | 7:3-13 | Aada is positively valued in Pulaaku; distinguish critique of legalistic religious tradition from cultural custom generally |
| Common / defiled | κοινός / κοινοῦν | tuundi | High | 7:2, 7:15, 7:18-23 | Distinct from laaɓɗo (ritual cleanliness, Islamic wuduu-adjacent) and ceniiɗo (moral holiness) |
| Corban | κορβάν (korban) | Korban (transliteration) | Low | 7:11 | Technical term, requires footnote gloss |
| Parable | παραβολή (parabolē) | misal | Medium | 3:23, 4:2-34, 12:1-12, 13:28 | Positive cultural contact with Fulani proverb tradition, but Messianic Secret function goes beyond ordinary wisdom-teaching |
| Mystery of the Kingdom | τὸ μυστήριον τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ | gunndoo laamu Alla | High | 4:11 | Intentional, not exclusionary, veiling — central Messianic Secret term |
| Beloved (of the Son) | ἀγαπητός (agapētos) | yiɗaaɗo | Critical | 1:11, 9:7 | Must be rendered identically at both occurrences |
| Christ / Messiah confession | ὁ Χριστός (ho Christos) | Almasiihu | Critical | 8:29 | Structural turning point; pairs with the secrecy command (8:30) |
| Necessity (of the cross) | δεῖ (dei) | fotde | Critical | 8:31 (and implied 9:31, 10:33) | Must convey inescapable divine necessity, not mere circumstance |
| Deny oneself | ἀπαρνέομαι ἑαυτόν | yo o ɗureeta hoore-makko | High | 8:34 | Direct tension with teddungal/self-assertion honor dynamics |
| Cross / crucify | σταυρός / σταυρόω | kuruwaa / fettude e kuruwaa | Critical | 8:34, 10:33-34, 15:13-27 | Direct collision with Quran 4:157’s denial of the crucifixion; state historically and repeatedly |
| Soul / life | ψυχή (psychē) | wonkii | High | 3:4, 8:35-37, 10:45, 12:30 | Whole-self offering; connect 8:35-37 to 10:45 thematically |
| Transfiguration | μεταμορφόω (metamorphoō) | waylitagol yaajeele Yeesu | Critical | 9:2-3 | No crystallized term exists; momentary revealing of inherent divine glory |
| Stumbling block | σκανδαλίζω / σκάνδαλον | kolangal | Medium | 9:42-47 | Descriptive compound |
| Gehenna / Hell | γέεννα (geenna) | Jahannama | Critical | 9:43-47 | Extremely close shared vocabulary with Islamic Jahannam; entry-conditions and finality differ theologically and must be clarified |
| Unquenchable fire | πῦρ ἄσβεστον | yiite ɓurngum huɓindeede | Medium | 9:43 | Descriptive |
| Divorce | ἀπολύω (apolyō) | seerude | High | 10:2-12 | Pair with adultery term below |
| Adultery | μοιχεία (moicheia) | jinaa | High | 10:11-12 | Shared with Islamic zina legal category; distinguish NT marriage-permanence teaching; teach with sensitivity to regional polygyny norms |
| Rich (person) | πλούσιος (plousios) | jom-jawdi | High | 10:17-27 | Jawdi = cattle-wealth, the core Pulaaku status marker; teach as warning against trust in wealth, not condemnation of pastoralist livelihood |
| Eternal life | ζωὴ αἰώνιος (zōē aiōnios) | nguurndam duumiiɗam | Critical | 10:17, 10:30 | Distinguish from aljanna deeds-weighing framework; relational, present-and-future |
| Son of David (title) | υἱὸς Δαυίδ (huios Dauid) | Ɓiɗɗo Daawuda | High | 10:47-48, 12:35-37 | Distinct from baseline’s descriptive “geɗal Daawuda” (seed of David, lineage sense); here a direct messianic title of address |
| Hosanna | Ὡσαννά (hōsanna) | Hosanna (transliteration) | Low | 11:9-10 | Distinguish crowd’s nationalist hope from the spiritual kingdom Jesus brings |
| Temple | ναός / ἱερόν (naos / hieron) | Suudu Alla Senaande | High | 11:11, 11:15-17, 13:1-2, 14:58, 15:29, 15:38 | Must be kept distinct from moosaale (mosque) and kawtal (church); teach OT background explicitly |
| House of prayer / den of robbers | οἶκος προσευχῆς / σπήλαιον λῃστῶν | suudu ngoƴa (den of robbers) | Medium | 11:17 | Paired contrast phrase |
| Love (of God / neighbor) | ἀγαπάω (agapaō) | yiɗde Alla / yiɗde biɗɗo-wuro maa | Medium-High | 12:29-31 | Self-giving covenantal love; distinguish from submission-only devotional framing |
| Tribulation | θλῖψις (thlipsis) | sunaare mawnde | Medium | 13:19, 13:24 | Descriptive |
| False prophet / false Christ | ψευδοπροφήτης / ψευδόχριστος | annabi fenaaɗo / Almasiihu fenaaɗo | High | 13:22 | Reinforces the guarded, deliberate nature of true messianic revelation |
| Watch / be alert | γρηγορέω (grēgoreō) | reentaade | Medium | 13:33-37, 14:34-38 | Trust-rooted readiness, not anxious fatalism |
| Passover | πάσχα (pascha) | Paska (transliteration) | Medium | 14:1, 14:12-16 | Requires OT Exodus background teaching |
| Body / Blood of the covenant | τὸ σῶμα / τὸ αἷμα τῆς διαθήκης | ɓalndu / ƴiiƴam alkawal | Critical | 14:22-24 | No parallel sacrificial/sacramental framework in mainstream Islamic theology; direct fulfillment of Ransom for Many (echoes 10:45’s ἀντὶ/ὑπὲρ πολλῶν) |
| Betray / hand over | παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi) | jibirde / yeggitde | Medium | 14:10-11, 14:18-21, 14:41-44 | Standard narrative verb |
| High priest | ἀρχιερεύς (archiereus) | mawɗo sakkitiiɗo sadaka | Medium-High | 14:53-65 | Distinguish from imam/marabout roles; blasphemy charge at 14:61-64 is a Tawhid-style objection |
| King of the Jews (ironic title) | βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων | Laamiiɗo Yahuudiyankooɓe | High | 15:2-26 | Deliberate exception to the baseline’s preference for Joom over Laamiiɗo — here the political-mockery register is the point; teach the irony explicitly |
| Truly this was the Son of God (centurion) | Ἀληθῶς … υἱὸς θεοῦ ἦν | Ɓiɗɗo Alla (verbatim, fixed) | Critical | 15:39 | Climactic confession; verbatim cross-document consistency required, parallel to Romans 10:9-10 rule |
| Signs (confirming proclamation) | σημεῖα (sēmeia) | taasiraaji / maandeeji | Medium | 16:17-20 | Confirm, do not compete with, the gospel message; distinguish from barke-associated practices |
C. Cross-Reference Notes for Phase 2 Enforcement
- Son of Man (Ɓiɗɗo Aadama) and Son of God (Ɓiɗɗo Alla) must always be taught as complementary titles, never as alternatives or as a “demotion.” Any segment using Ɓiɗɗo Aadama should be checked for whether the Daniel 7 authority-background note is present in the accompanying teaching material.
- Ransom (soottirgal) and Slave (maccuɗo) are the two highest-sensitivity new coinages in this Language Package extension. Both intersect with the historic Fulani rimɓe/maccuɓe caste system and require mandatory joint theologian + native-speaker review before any Phase 2 segment containing Mark 10:44-45, 14:24, or related ransom/service language is finalized.
- Cross/crucify (kuruwaa / fettude e kuruwaa) and Resurrection (immorde e maayde, baseline) together form the single largest doctrinal collision surface with Quran 4:157 in this curriculum; every occurrence (8:34, 10:33-34, 14:24, 15:13-27, 16:6) should be flagged for theologian review regardless of assigned risk tier on any individual segment.
- Jahannama (Gehenna) is flagged Critical specifically because it is closer shared vocabulary with Islamic theology than even Almasiihu or Linjiila — this is the single highest-risk direct terminological overlap newly introduced by Mark and should receive the same explicit-teaching treatment the baseline requires for Almasiihu.
- Laamiiɗo — note the single deliberate, narrow exception to the baseline’s general avoidance of this term for Christ: Mark 15:2-26’s ironic “King of the Jews” mockery is the one context in this curriculum where Laamiiɗo is contextually correct rather than risky, precisely because the irony (mockery concealing truth) is the exegetical point. This exception must not be generalized to any other Lordship/kingship reference to Christ.
- All provisional terms in Section B are to be loaded into
translation_memory.jsonas new entries (version increment required) before Phase 2 segment translation begins, per the baseline’s “Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions,” each flagged for both theologian and native-speaker review given the newly-coined status of these renderings.
This glossary is the authoritative per-term reference for Phase 2 translation of the Mark curriculum. It extends, and does not contradict, the baseline Romans Language Package. See 07_semantic_analysis.md for full verse-by-verse and chapter-by-chapter context for every term listed above.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Alla
Transliteration: Alla
Doctrine: Deity of Christ (in Mark)
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Must be presented in explicitly Trinitarian, Christ-centered terms per Mark’s narrative (forgiving sins, calming the sea, transfiguration), not assumed automatically shared with standard regional Islamic usage of Alla.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Yeesu
Transliteration: Yeesu
Doctrine: Christology
Rejected alternatives: Iisa (the Quranic form; reserved only for explicit interfaith-dialogue contexts, never in doctrinal exposition)
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Never the Quranic form Iisa, to prevent readers from assuming the Quranic Isa figure is simply interchangeable with Mark’s Jesus.
Lord
Approved rendering: Joom
Transliteration: Joom
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Laamiiɗo (reserved ONLY for the deliberate ironic exception at Mark 15:2-26’s ‘King of the Jews’ mockery — see king_of_the_jews entry — never generalized elsewhere)
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Joom remains the default term throughout Mark; the single narrow exception (Laamiiɗo at 15:2-26) is because the irony — mockery concealing cosmic truth — is itself the exegetical point and must not be generalized.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Ɓiɗɗo Alla
Transliteration: Ɓiɗɗo Alla
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ (in Mark)
Rejected alternatives: nulaaɗo mawɗo (a great messenger, an explicit downgrade)
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Mark’s structural pillars (1:1, 1:11, 3:11, 5:7, 9:7, 15:39); the climactic centurion confession at 15:39 requires verbatim-identical rendering to every other occurrence.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Ruuhu Ceniiɗo
Transliteration: Ruuhu Ceniiɗo
Doctrine: Sanctification / Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: ruuhu (never alone), jinna/jinnaaji (jinn, never)
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; always the full form. Never ruuhu alone (ambiguous ‘spirit/breath’) or jinna/jinnaaji (jinn, a class of spirit beings widely believed in across West African Islamic and folk contexts).
Salvation
Approved rendering: kisal / daɗndude
Transliteration: kisal / daɗndude
Doctrine: Salvation / Healing and Faith
Rejected alternatives: aljanna (never alone as a stand-alone gloss), dancal (never as a stand-alone substitute)
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package (kisal fixed; daɗndude added for σῴζω’s healing/rescue sense, which Mark uses interchangeably with the fuller salvific sense at 5:23, 5:28, 5:34, 8:35, 10:26, 10:52). This dual range must be taught explicitly so healing miracles connect to, not stand apart from, the deeper kisal doctrine.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Almasiihu
Transliteration: Almasiihu
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret / Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Peter’s confession (8:29) is Mark’s structural turning point; shared vocabulary with the Quranic al-Masih title for Isa must not be mistaken for shared belief, and must be taught paired with the secrecy command that immediately follows (8:30).
Resurrection
Approved rendering: immorde e maayde
Transliteration: immorde e maayde
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ (in Mark)
Rejected alternatives: immorde ka maayde (dialectal variant, confirm regionally)
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἐγείρω
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Used of both the general resurrection debate (12:18-27) and Christ’s own resurrection (16:6); the empty tomb is the narrative vindication of every passion prediction (8:31, 9:31, 10:33-34) and must be stated plainly given Quran 4:157’s denial of the crucifixion this presupposes.
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: Ɓiɗɗo Aadama
Transliteration: Ɓiɗɗo Aadama
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
Rejected alternatives: biɗɗo neɗɗo (unglossed literal-humanity gloss, insufficient without the Daniel 7 background)
Original: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
NEW/PROVISIONAL. Jesus’ preferred self-designation (14 occurrences: 2:10, 2:28, 8:31, 9:9, 9:12, 9:31, 10:33, 10:45, 13:26, 14:21, 14:41, 14:62), combining Daniel 7:13-14’s veiled divine authority with genuine humanity and, uniquely in Mark, suffering. Surface humanity-only reading aligns too comfortably with mainstream Sunni theology’s own affirmation of Jesus as a true human prophet; must always be taught paired with, never as an alternative to, Ɓiɗɗo Alla.
Ransom
Approved rendering: soottirgal
Transliteration: soottirgal
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: a generic word for ‘gift’ or ‘sacrifice’ (never; loses the specific substitutionary-purchase sense)
Original: λύτρον
Category: Salvation
NEW/PROVISIONAL coinage from soott- (‘to redeem a captive/slave by payment’), not yet a crystallized fixed theological term. Doubly sensitive: (1) Islamic soteriology has no atonement/ransom-payment framework at all; (2) the root intersects directly with the historic Sahelian slave-ransom practice and the still-sensitive rimɓe/maccuɓe caste memory. Theological climax of Mark 10:45; mandatory joint theologian + native-speaker review.
In Place Of
Approved rendering: e nokku (…)
Transliteration: e nokku
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: a vaguer ‘for the benefit of’ phrasing (never; loses substitutionary force)
Original: ἀντί
Category: Salvation
NEW/PROVISIONAL descriptive phrase for ἀντί. No single Fulfulde preposition carries this full substitutionary-exchange force; must always be explicit (‘e nokku ɗuuɗuɓe,’ in place of the many) and explicitly taught, since one-life-for-many substitution has no parallel category in Islamic soteriology.
Slave Bondservant
Approved rendering: maccuɗo
Transliteration: maccuɗo
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Rejected alternatives: jiyaaɗo ɓurɗo yankinaade (proposed softening gloss for explanatory footnote use only, never as a silent substitute)
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Servanthood
NEW/PROVISIONAL. The single highest-sensitivity term-choice in this Language Package: traditional Fulani society is structured by the hereditary rimɓe/maccuɓe (free-born/slave-descended) caste distinction, a real and still socially sensitive stratification. Risks either shocking degradation (heard by a rimɗo hearer) or caste-reinforcement (heard by a maccuɗo-descended hearer) rather than Jesus’ call to every disciple’s voluntary self-giving (Mark 10:44). Mandatory joint theologian + native-speaker review before any deployment.
Baptism
Approved rendering: batisim (+ descriptive sowgol e ndiyam)
Transliteration: batisim
Doctrine: Repentance and the Kingdom / The Necessity of the Cross
Original: βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω
Category: Sacraments
NEW/PROVISIONAL, not yet confirmed with confidence across Fulfulde dialects. John’s literal water rite (1:4-11) is distinct from the figurative sense at 10:38-39 (immersion in coming suffering); the metaphor must be explicitly taught, since a reader familiar only with Christian water-baptism or Islamic ritual ablution (wuduu/ghusl) could otherwise miss it entirely.
Demon Unclean Spirit
Approved rendering: ruuhu bonɗo
Transliteration: ruuhu bonɗo
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Exorcism
Rejected alternatives: jinne/jinnaaji (never as primary rendering)
Original: δαιμόνιον / πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον
Category: Spiritual Warfare
Preferred descriptive rendering (‘evil/bad spirit’) for uniformly hostile fallen spirits decisively defeated by Christ’s authority (1:23-27, 1:34, 1:39, 3:22-30, 5:1-20, 6:13, 7:24-30, 9:14-29). jinne must never substitute: West African Islamic/folk belief holds a rich, actively practiced jinn cosmology (possession, marabout-led exorcism, belief in ‘Muslim jinn’) foreign to the NT’s demonology.
Beloved
Approved rendering: yiɗaaɗo
Transliteration: yiɗaaɗo
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ (in Mark)
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Christology
The Father’s declaration over the Son at the baptism (1:11) and Transfiguration (9:7). Must be rendered identically at both occurrences per the theological consistency principle already established in the baseline for repeated key declarations.
Necessity Dei
Approved rendering: fotde
Transliteration: fotde
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: a weaker ‘it happened that’ construction (never; loses purposeful necessity)
Original: δεῖ
Category: Christology
Expresses purposeful, inescapable divine necessity: ‘the Son of Man MUST suffer’ (8:31, and implied 9:31, 10:33). Linchpin of the Necessity of the Cross doctrine; must never soften into mere circumstance or misfortune.
Cross Crucify
Approved rendering: kuruwaa / fettude e kuruwaa
Transliteration: kuruwaa
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: ‘torture stake’ (poteau de supplice) — the Jehovah’s Witness New World Translation pattern; NEVER use
Original: σταυρός / σταυρόω
Category: Christology
No crystallized single-word Fulfulde term for ‘cross’ is attested with confidence; kuruwaa is a plausible loanword pattern requiring urgent dialectal confirmation. Direct historical collision with Quran 4:157’s denial that Jesus was crucified at all (8:34, 10:33-34, 15:13-27); must be stated historically and repeatedly, never minimized, and never rendered with the sectarian ‘torture stake’ substitution.
Transfiguration
Approved rendering: waylitagol yaajeele Yeesu
Transliteration: waylitagol yaajeele Yeesu
Doctrine: Transfiguration and Divine Glory
Original: μεταμορφόω
Category: Christology
NEW/PROVISIONAL descriptive compound; no crystallized Fulfulde term exists for this event (9:2-3). Must be taught as a momentary revealing of Jesus’ own inherent divine manaango, at a moment when Islamic theology would deny any human prophet possessing or displaying such visible divine glory.
Gehenna
Approved rendering: Jahannama
Transliteration: Jahannama
Doctrine: Eschatology (Gehenna)
Original: ἡ γέεννα
Category: Eschatology
The place of final judgment (9:43-47). Precisely the standard Arabic-derived term for hell used across West African Islamic theology, making this an even closer shared-vocabulary point than Almasiihu or Linjiila; entry-conditions (deeds-weighing in Islamic eschatology vs. rejection of Christ) and finality must be explicitly clarified every occurrence.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: nguurndam duumiiɗam
Transliteration: nguurndam duumiiɗam
Doctrine: Eternal Life
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Eschatology
Life that is everlasting/enduring (10:17, 10:30), descriptive compound. Must be carefully distinguished from the Islamic framework of aljanna as a deeds-weighed future reward, already Critical in the baseline for kisal; Mark’s relational, present-and-future dimension (‘come, follow me,’ 10:21) must be taught explicitly.
Body Blood Of Covenant
Approved rendering: ɓalndu am / ƴiiƴam am alkawal
Transliteration: ɓalndu am / ƴiiƴam am alkawal
Doctrine: The Last Supper and the New Covenant
Original: τὸ σῶμά μου / τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης
Category: Sacraments
Jesus’ words instituting an ongoing sacramental remembrance of his sacrificial death ‘for many’ (14:22-24). Mainstream Islamic theology has no sacrificial atonement or blood-covenant framework parallel to this, nor an ongoing sacramental practice; must be taught as the direct, concrete fulfillment of the Ransom for Many doctrine (10:45), deliberately echoing its ‘ἀντὶ πολλῶν’ with ‘ὑπὲρ πολλῶν’ here.
Suffering Servant
Approved rendering: surga sunniiɗo Alla
Transliteration: surga sunniiɗo Alla
Doctrine: Jesus as the Suffering Servant and Son of God
NEWLY IDENTIFIED fenced compound coined specifically for explicit Isaiah 53 (ebed YHWH) teaching contexts (10:45, 14:24, and passion-narrative framing generally), where no Fulfulde term for this specific OT category previously existed. Must never substitute for, or be confused with, Ɓiɗɗo Alla; always pair with Ɓiɗɗo Aadama in the same teaching unit, never as an alternative to it. Mandatory theologian review given its coined status and the doctrine’s compound collision with both Tawhid and the absence of a suffering-divine-figure category in Islamic prophetology.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: Linjiila
Transliteration: Linjiila
Doctrine: Gospel Proclamation
Rejected alternatives: kabaaru moƴƴo (acceptable only as an explanatory gloss, ‘good news’)
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; reused exactly. Mark opens the entire book with this term (1:1, 1:14-15, 8:35, 10:29, 13:10, 16:15), so the tahrif-doctrine risk documented in the baseline is active from the very first verse rather than eased into gradually.
Father
Approved rendering: Baaba
Transliteration: Baaba
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession (Gethsemane) / Adoption
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Risk elevated to High for Mark specifically because its sole occurrence with Abba (14:36) sits inside Gethsemane’s anguished cup-prayer, directly preceding the crucifixion; must be paired with Abba exactly per the established Romans 8:15 convention.
Faith
Approved rendering: gomɗinal
Transliteration: gomɗinal
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Rejected alternatives: hoolaare (trust, supporting synonym only)
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. In Mark, faith is repeatedly exercised amid fear (4:40, 5:36, 6:50, 9:23-24, 10:32, 10:52); the object of faith (Jesus specifically) must always be explicit so gomɗinal does not default to generalized confessional (assumed Muslim) identity.
Sin
Approved rendering: bakkaatu
Transliteration: bakkaatu
Doctrine: Deity of Christ (in Mark)
Rejected alternatives: fenaande (too weak)
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. The scribes’ objection at Mark 2:7 (‘who can forgive sins but God alone?’) is itself a Tawhid-style challenge to Jesus claiming a divine prerogative and must be taught as Mark’s own direct, unavoided answer.
Called
Approved rendering: noddaaɗo
Transliteration: noddaaɗo
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: torraaɗo (invited, too weak)
Original: καλέω (καλοῦμαι)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Used across Mark’s calling-of-disciples scenes (1:20, 2:17, 3:13); torraaɗo remains too weak and must not be used.
Calling
Approved rendering: noddaandi
Transliteration: noddaandi
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Noun form; conveys sovereign summons, never impersonal fate (natal/al-qadar).
Holy
Approved rendering: ceniiɗo
Transliteration: ceniiɗo
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: laaɓɗo (reserve for ritual/physical cleanliness only)
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 1:24, 6:20, 8:38. Must be kept distinct from laaɓɗo (ritual/physical cleanliness, Islamic wuduu-adjacent).
Glory
Approved rendering: manaango
Transliteration: manaango
Doctrine: Transfiguration and Divine Glory / Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: teddungal (reserve for human honor/dignity in Pulaaku contexts)
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. James and John’s request for seats ‘in your glory’ (10:37) itself conflates manaango with teddungal-style social honor; the passage corrects this conflation and it must be taught explicitly. Also underlies the momentary revealing of divine glory at the Transfiguration (9:2-3).
Power Of God
Approved rendering: doole Alla
Transliteration: doole Alla
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Rejected alternatives: barke (never; marabout-associated blessing/spiritual power)
Original: δύναμις
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at 5:30, 6:2, 6:14, 9:1, 13:26. Must be kept categorically distinct from barke, the protective spiritual power widely sought from marabouts through amulets and blessed objects.
Law
Approved rendering: sariya
Transliteration: sariya
Doctrine: Sabbath and the Law
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; risk elevated to High for Mark because the Sabbath, divorce, and greatest-commandment controversies (2:23-28, 7:1-13, 10:2-9, 12:28-34) engage sariya’s close parallel to Sharia’s comprehensive legal-religious weight in regional Islamic scholarship more intensively than Romans did. The Mosaic Law’s redemptive-historical role must be distinguished from a Sharia-style total life-code.
Covenant
Approved rendering: alkawal
Transliteration: alkawal
Doctrine: The Last Supper and the New Covenant
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; risk elevated to High for Mark because its climactic use at the Last Supper (14:24, ‘my blood of the covenant’) invokes a blood-covenant sacrificial framework with no parallel in mainstream Islamic theology, requiring explicit teaching rather than assuming alkawal’s everyday, more contractual sense carries this weight automatically.
Many Isaiah53
Approved rendering: ɗuuɗuɓe
Transliteration: ɗuuɗuɓe
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Original: πολλῶν
Category: Salvation
Lexically a plain quantifier (‘many’), but High risk in context (10:45, 14:24): the Isaiah 53:11-12 Suffering Servant background must be made explicit at every occurrence or the connection central to Doctrine 1 and Doctrine 8 is easily lost.
Servant Attendant
Approved rendering: surga
Transliteration: surga
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: διάκονος
Category: Servanthood
NEW/PROVISIONAL. Chosen specifically to avoid collapsing the voluntary, dignified service Jesus commends (9:35, 10:43, 10:45) into the rimɓe/maccuɓe caste categories reserved for maccuɗo; the escalation from surga (v.43) to maccuɗo (v.44) within one pericope must be preserved as deliberate rhetorical intensification, never flattened into a single term.
Cup Of Suffering
Approved rendering: kaasi
Transliteration: kaasi
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: ποτήριον
Category: Christology
kaasi is the ordinary Fulfulde word for a drinking vessel and carries no inherent metaphorical weight; the OT ‘cup of suffering/wrath’ metaphor (Ps 75:8, Isa 51:17) is not native to Fulfulde idiom and must be taught explicitly at both occurrences (10:38-39, 14:36).
Lord It Over
Approved rendering: laamaade e semmbe e dow (maɓɓe)
Transliteration: laamaade e semmbe e dow
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: κατακυριεύω
Category: Servanthood
Coercive, self-serving domination by worldly rulers (10:42). Built ironically on the same root as κύριος/Joom; must be kept clearly distinct from Christ’s own Lordship. Given the memory of the Fulani-led Sokoto Caliphate, teach this critique of coercive political domination with care.
Exercise Authority Negative
Approved rendering: waɗde kattanɗe e dow (maɓɓe)
Transliteration: waɗde kattanɗe e dow
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: κατεξουσιάζω
Category: Servanthood
Coercive exercise of authority, paired with lord_it_over for emphasis (10:42). Shares its root with the positive exousia used of Jesus’ own life-giving authority elsewhere; the contrast must be explicitly taught since one Greek root covers both senses.
Authority
Approved rendering: kattanɗe
Transliteration: kattanɗe
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Authority
Jesus’ distinctive, positive authority in teaching, forgiving sin, healing, and delegating to the Twelve (1:22, 1:27, 2:10, 3:15, 6:7, 11:28-33). Distinct from doole Alla (raw power/might) and from the negative, coercive sense of the same underlying Greek root condemned at 10:42; the contrast must be taught explicitly.
Repentance
Approved rendering: tuubaare / tuubde
Transliteration: tuubaare
Doctrine: Repentance and the Kingdom
Original: μετάνοια
Category: Faith
Shared vocabulary with Islamic tawba (turning back to Allah through regret and renewed obedience/deeds). Mark’s repentance is inseparable from turning specifically toward the coming kingdom in Jesus (1:4, 1:15, 6:12), a christological specificity absent from tawba; this distinction must be taught explicitly.
Satan
Approved rendering: Sheytaani
Transliteration: Sheytaani
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Exorcism
Original: ὁ Σατανᾶς
Category: Spiritual Warfare
Shared vocabulary with the Islamic Shaytan/Iblis figure (1:13, 3:23-26, 4:15, 8:33) — a genuine point of contact — but this curriculum must not assume identical doctrine of Satan’s origin, role, or ultimate defeat, which in Mark is decisively secured through the cross, a doctrine Islamic theology does not share.
Fasting
Approved rendering: koorka
Transliteration: koorka
Doctrine: Kingdom of God Breaking In (Bridegroom Teaching)
Original: νηστεύω
Category: Religious Practice
Shared with the standard term for the Islamic Ramadan fast, a deeply significant annual practice across Fulani Muslim communities. Jesus’ teaching (2:18-20) that his disciples do not fast ‘while the bridegroom is with them’ must be taught as addressing a specific redemptive-historical moment, not a general devaluation of fasting.
Tradition Of Elders
Approved rendering: aada mawɓe
Transliteration: aada mawɓe
Doctrine: Tradition versus God’s Commandment
Original: ἡ παράδοσις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων
Category: Covenant
aada is a strong, positively-valued word in Fulani culture (Pulaaku is sometimes itself described as an aada); Jesus’ critique (7:1-13) targets religious tradition that nullifies God’s actual commandment specifically, not cultural custom generally, and must not be misheard as an attack on Fulani cultural identity itself.
Common Defiled
Approved rendering: tuundi
Transliteration: tuundi
Doctrine: Ritual Purity and the Heart
Original: κοινός / κοινοῦν
Category: Sanctification
Ritual/moral defilement, relativized by Jesus as originating from the heart (7:2, 7:15, 7:18-23). Must be kept distinct from laaɓɗo (ritual/physical cleanliness, Islamic wuduu-adjacent) and ceniiɗo (moral holiness); Jesus’ teaching runs parallel to, and could seem to dismiss, regional wuduu/halal-haram concerns and must be taught without appearing to do so.
Mystery Of Kingdom
Approved rendering: gunndoo laamu Alla
Transliteration: gunndoo laamu Alla
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
Original: τὸ μυστήριον τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Messianic Secret
NEW/PROVISIONAL descriptive compound for Mark 4:11’s kingdom mystery. Central Messianic Secret term; must be taught as intentional, purposeful revelation-and-veiling, never as evidence of exclusion, favoritism, or (via the tahrif doctrine) a corrupted/incomplete message.
Deny Self
Approved rendering: yo o ɗureeta hoore-makko
Transliteration: yo o ɗureeta hoore-makko
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: ἀπαρνέομαι ἑαυτόν
Category: Discipleship
The call to self-denial as the pattern of cross-bearing discipleship (8:34). Directly and deliberately confronts self-assertion, in tension with teddungal-related honor-culture instincts within Pulaaku; must be taught as relativizing, without erasing, legitimate Fulani identity.
Soul Life
Approved rendering: wonkii
Transliteration: wonkii
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Original: ψυχή
Category: Anthropology
The whole self/life offered up (8:35-37, 10:45, 12:30). Parallels nafsu-adjacent Islamic anthropology where the soul’s fate at judgment is central; must be taught as Jesus’ voluntary self-offering of his whole being, distinct from an Islamic framework in which no prophet’s soul is ever offered as payment for others’ sin. The 8:35-37 and 10:45 uses are a deliberate thematic echo.
Divorce
Approved rendering: seerude
Transliteration: seerude
Doctrine: Marriage and Divorce
Original: ἀπολύω
Category: Ethics
The dissolution of marriage, addressed in light of creation’s one-flesh design (10:1-12). Must be taught alongside jinaa (adultery) and with pastoral sensitivity to the cultural normalcy of polygyny within many Fulani communities.
Adultery
Approved rendering: jinaa
Transliteration: jinaa
Doctrine: Marriage and Divorce
Original: μοιχεία
Category: Ethics
Marital unfaithfulness (10:11-12). Shared with the Islamic legal category of zina, which carries distinct legal-social consequences from the NT’s teaching on marriage’s created permanence (10:6-9, citing Genesis); this distinction must be taught explicitly.
Rich
Approved rendering: jom-jawdi
Transliteration: jom-jawdi
Doctrine: Wealth and Discipleship
Original: πλούσιος
Category: Ethics
A wealthy person, the subject of Jesus’ warning about the danger of riches (10:17-27). Jawdi (wealth) historically and still primarily denotes cattle-wealth, the core Pulaaku status/identity marker; must be taught as a warning against trusting in wealth, never a condemnation of pastoralist livelihood itself.
Son Of David
Approved rendering: Ɓiɗɗo Daawuda
Transliteration: Ɓiɗɗo Daawuda
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ (in Mark) / Messianic Promise
Original: υἱὲ Δαυίδ
Category: Christology
A direct messianic title of address used by blind Bartimaeus (10:47-48) and debated at 12:35-37. Distinct from the baseline’s existing descriptive phrase ‘geɗal Daawuda’ (seed of David, physical lineage sense in Romans); here it functions as a direct christological title.
Temple
Approved rendering: Suudu Alla Senaande
Transliteration: Suudu Alla Senaande
Doctrine: Temple and New Covenant Access
Original: ναός / ἱερόν
Category: Covenant
The Jerusalem temple, cleansed (11:11, 11:15-17), whose destruction is foretold (13:1-2) and whose curtain is torn at Jesus’ death (15:38). Must be kept distinct from moosaale (mosque) and kawtal (church); the OT background (a house of prayer for all nations, Isaiah 56:7) should be taught, not assumed shared.
Love God Neighbor
Approved rendering: yiɗde Alla / yiɗde biɗɗo-wuro maa
Transliteration: yiɗde Alla
Doctrine: The Greatest Commandment
Original: ἀγαπάω
Category: Ethics
Self-giving, covenantal love, the substance of the Greatest Commandment (12:29-31). Must be distinguished from an exclusively obedience/submission-framed love of God common in regional Islamic devotional emphasis, while affirming genuine common ground in the call to wholehearted devotion.
False Prophet False Christ
Approved rendering: annabi fenaaɗo / Almasiihu fenaaɗo
Transliteration: annabi fenaaɗo
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
Original: ψευδοπροφῆται / ψευδόχριστοι
Category: Eschatology
Deceivers who will falsely claim prophetic or messianic status (13:22). Claims to be ‘the Christ’ (Almasiihu, already Critical for shared vocabulary with the Quranic Isa al-Masih) are precisely the kind of claim readers must be equipped to evaluate against Mark’s carefully guarded Christological content.
High Priest
Approved rendering: mawɗo sakkitiiɗo sadaka
Transliteration: mawɗo sakkitiiɗo sadaka
Doctrine: Betrayal and the Passion
Original: ὁ ἀρχιερεύς
Category: Covenant
The chief Jewish religious official presiding over Jesus’ trial (14:53-65). Must be distinguished from Islamic religious-leadership roles (imam, marabout), which do not share the OT priestly sacrificial function. The blasphemy charge (14:61-64) directly enacts the same Tawhid-style objection documented for Deity/Sonship of Christ.
King Of The Jews
Approved rendering: Laamiiɗo Yahuudiyankooɓe
Transliteration: Laamiiɗo Yahuudiyankooɓe
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ (ironic exception)
Original: ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων
Category: Christology
The mocking title given to Jesus by Roman soldiers (15:2, 15:9, 15:12, 15:18, 15:26). Deliberate, narrow exception to the baseline’s general avoidance of Laamiiɗo for Christ: here the political-mockery register is precisely the exegetical point (mockery concealing cosmic truth); must never be generalized to any other Lordship/kingship reference to Christ.
Blasphemy Against Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: yeddugol Ruuhu Ceniiɗo
Transliteration: yeddugol Ruuhu Ceniiɗo
Doctrine: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
Original: βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον
Category: Sin
The unpardonable sin of attributing the Spirit’s work to Satan (3:28-29). Must be distinguished from the Islamic categories of kufr (disbelief) or shirk, which operate within a different framework of divine judgment; this sin concerns willful, informed rejection of the Spirit’s testimony to Christ specifically.
Fear
Approved rendering: kulol
Transliteration: kulol
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
NEWLY IDENTIFIED gap term for φόβος/φοβέομαι (4:41, 5:15, 5:33, 5:36, 6:50, 9:32, 10:32, 16:8), structurally load-bearing for one of the eight curriculum doctrines yet previously unlogged. Must be explicitly distinguished from semteende (Pulaaku modesty/shame-avoidance, a different register) and from fatalistic dread tied to natal/al-qadar. Pair systematically with gomɗinal at each occurrence (e.g. 4:40’s antithetical pairing).
Greatness
Approved rendering: mawɗo
Transliteration: mawɗo
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
NEWLY IDENTIFIED gap term for μέγας, the explicit hinge word of Doctrine 5’s title (9:34-35, 10:42-44 — ‘whoever wants to be great among you’), previously unfixed despite the doctrine’s centrality. Must be fenced against teddungal (Pulaaku honor/dignity) in the same manner already required for manaango, and explicitly contrasted with maccuɗo/surga so the paradox (‘whoever wants to be mawɗo must become maccuɗo’) is visible in translation.
Medium Risk Terms
Abba
Approved rendering: Abba
Transliteration: Abba
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession (Gethsemane)
Original: Ἀββά
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Mark’s only occurrence (14:36); paired exactly with Baaba in that fixed order, never reversed.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: laamu Alla
Transliteration: laamu Alla
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Mark 1:15’s perfect tense (‘has drawn near’) conveys a kingdom already breaking in, not merely future; must be distinguished from any historic or contemporary political Islamic state structure, given the memory of the Fulani-led Sokoto Caliphate.
Apostle
Approved rendering: nulaaɗo
Transliteration: nulaaɗo
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: rasuulu (never; Muhammad’s Islamic title)
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Used of the Twelve (3:14, 6:30). Never rasuulu, the Arabic-derived title reserved in regional Islamic usage for Muhammad.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: leƴƴi goo
Transliteration: leƴƴi goo
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles (in Mark)
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. At Mark 10:42 the term shifts to a broader ‘worldly powers’ sense distinct from its ethnic sense elsewhere (7:24-30, 15:39); both senses require sensitivity to real inter-ethnic tensions in the Sahel.
Israel
Approved rendering: Israa’iila
Transliteration: Israa’iila
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles (in Mark)
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Background to the Shema (12:29) and the ‘King of the Jews’ title (15:2); distinguish the biblical covenant referent from the modern nation-state.
Intercession
Approved rendering: torgol wonande
Transliteration: torgol wonande
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Original: προσεύχομαι (of prayer on behalf of others)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Covers Jesus’ own extended private prayer (1:35, 6:46, 14:32-39); must be kept distinct from salaa (Islamic ritual prayer) and from any suggestion of marabout-mediated petitionary practice.
Mission
Approved rendering: yamiroore Linjiila
Transliteration: yamiroore Linjiila
Doctrine: Mission and the Great Commission
Original: ἀποστολή / κηρύσσω
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at 13:10 and 16:15; sensitive to the historically complex and contested religious landscape of the Sahel.
Church
Approved rendering: kawtal
Transliteration: kawtal
Doctrine: Church as God’s People (anticipatory)
Rejected alternatives: moosaale (mosque, never)
Original: ἐκκλησία (anticipated; the gathered community of disciples in Mark, e.g. 3:14, 6:7)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Anticipatory background for the gathered community of disciples (3:14, 6:7); never moosaale (mosque).
Has Been Prepared
Approved rendering: hebbinaama
Transliteration: hebbinaama
Doctrine: Providence
Original: ἡτοίμασται
Category: God
God’s prior, purposive determination of the seating of honor in the kingdom (10:40). Should be handled alongside the baseline’s providence caution: God’s personal, purposive determination, not the impersonal fatalism of natal (al-qadar).
Heal
Approved rendering: safrude
Transliteration: safrude
Doctrine: Healing and Faith
Original: θεραπεύω / ἰάομαι
Category: Healing
Standard medical-register term (1:34, 1:41, 3:2-10, 6:5, 6:13). Doctrinal risk is context, not lexicon: healing must be taught as a sign of Jesus’ authority, never a barke-style transactional spiritual power.
Sabbath
Approved rendering: Sabaa / ñalnde fooyre
Transliteration: Sabaa
Doctrine: Sabbath and the Law
Original: σάββατον
Category: Covenant
The Mosaic day of rest (1:21, 2:23-28, 3:1-6, 6:2); distinguish from Jumu’ah (the Islamic Friday congregational observance) without conflation.
Parable
Approved rendering: misal
Transliteration: misal
Doctrine: Parables and Revelation
Original: παραβολή
Category: Kingdom
Jesus’ primary kingdom-teaching form (4:2-34, 12:1-12, 13:28). A genuine positive point of contact with Fulani proverb/hakkille (wisdom) tradition, but the parables’ Messianic-Secret revelatory/veiling function (4:11-12) exceeds ordinary wisdom-teaching and must be taught as intentional divine pedagogy.
Stumbling Block
Approved rendering: kolangal
Transliteration: kolangal
Doctrine: Discipleship Ethics
Original: σκανδαλίζω / σκάνδαλον
Category: Sin
That which causes another to stumble into sin (9:42-47). Descriptive compound; low lexical ambiguity once understood.
Unquenchable Fire
Approved rendering: yiite ɓurngum huɓindeede
Transliteration: yiite ɓurngum huɓindeede
Doctrine: Eschatology (Gehenna)
Original: τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἄσβεστον
Category: Eschatology
The fire of final judgment that cannot be extinguished (9:43). Descriptive compound; supports the gehenna entry’s Critical-risk teaching context.
House Of Prayer Den Of Robbers
Approved rendering: suudu ngoƴa
Transliteration: suudu ngoƴa
Doctrine: Temple and New Covenant Access
Original: οἶκος προσευχῆς / σπήλαιον λῃστῶν
Category: Covenant
Jesus’ paired contrast phrase at the temple cleansing (11:17); descriptive, low lexical ambiguity.
Tribulation
Approved rendering: sunaare mawnde
Transliteration: sunaare mawnde
Doctrine: The Second Coming and the Son of Man
Original: θλῖψις
Category: Eschatology
The great distress preceding the end (13:19, 13:24). Descriptive; low lexical ambiguity.
Watch Be Alert
Approved rendering: reentaade
Transliteration: reentaade
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Original: γρηγορέω
Category: Discipleship
Watchful readiness for the Son of Man’s return (13:33-37) and in Gethsemane (14:34-38); must convey trust-rooted readiness, not anxious fatalism.
Passover
Approved rendering: Paska
Transliteration: Paska
Doctrine: The Last Supper and the New Covenant
Original: τὸ πάσχα
Category: Covenant
The Jewish feast commemorating deliverance from Egypt, the setting of the Last Supper (14:1, 14:12-16). Requires OT Exodus background teaching; distinct from unrelated Islamic Eid observances despite superficial ‘festival’ similarity.
Betray Hand Over
Approved rendering: jibirde / yeggitde
Transliteration: jibirde
Doctrine: Betrayal and the Passion
Original: παραδίδωμι
Category: Narrative
To hand over/betray, of Judas’s act and Jesus’ arrest (14:10-11, 14:18-21, 14:41-44). Standard narrative verb; theological weight lies in the surrounding passion narrative.
Signs
Approved rendering: taasiraaji / maandeeji
Transliteration: taasiraaji
Doctrine: Mission and the Great Commission
Original: σημεῖα
Category: Church
Miraculous confirmations accompanying gospel proclamation (16:17-20, longer ending). Must be taught as confirming, not competing with, the gospel message itself, given the prominence of barke-associated spiritual-power practices in the region.
Amazement
Approved rendering: haawnaade
Transliteration: haawnaade
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
NEWLY IDENTIFIED term for θαμβέομαι/ἐξίστημι, the crowd’s recurring stock reaction to Jesus’ authority (1:22, 1:27, 2:12, 5:42, 6:2, 7:37, 10:24, 10:32). Not itself doctrinally contested but supports consistent teaching of Doctrine 7.
First
Approved rendering: gadanooɗo
Transliteration: gadanooɗo
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
NEWLY IDENTIFIED term for πρῶτος, paired antithetically with maccuɗo at 9:35 and 10:44 (‘whoever wants to be first must become slave of all’).
Secrecy Command
Approved rendering: yamiray ɓe wata ɓe haalu
Transliteration: yamiray ɓe wata ɓe haalu
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
NEWLY IDENTIFIED descriptive compound standardizing the recurring narrative formula (‘he strictly commanded them not to speak of it,’ 1:34, 1:44, 3:12, 5:43, 7:36, 8:30, 9:9), previously untranslated as a technical unit distinct from the noun-concept gunndoo laamu Alla. Cross-reference at every occurrence so students trace the secrecy motif as a deliberate authorial pattern rather than isolated incidents; must never be taught as evidence of textual concealment (tahrif doctrine).
Low Risk Terms
David
Approved rendering: Daawuda
Transliteration: Daawuda
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant / Son of David
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Invoked at 2:25, 10:47-48, 11:10, 12:35-37; the Quranic Dawud narrative is a familiar but theologically distinct background and should be noted where relevant.
Prophet
Approved rendering: annabi
Transliteration: annabi
Doctrine: Prophetic Fulfillment (in Mark)
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs 6:4, 6:15, 8:28, 11:32, 13:22; distinguish OT prophetology (a unified, progressively unfolding covenant history) from Quranic prophetology (each new prophet superseding the last with a new book).
Corban
Approved rendering: Korban
Transliteration: Korban
Doctrine: Tradition versus God’s Commandment
Original: κορβάν
Category: Covenant
A gift formally dedicated to God, used by some to evade filial duty (7:11). Technical term requiring a mandatory footnote gloss (‘gift dedicated to God’) rather than doctrinal caution.
Hosanna
Approved rendering: Hosanna
Transliteration: Hosanna
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Original: Ὡσαννά
Category: Worship
The crowd’s acclamation at the triumphal entry (11:9-10), preserved transliteration per most regional Bible traditions. Distinguish the crowd’s nationalist-political hope for ‘the coming kingdom of our father David’ from the spiritual kingdom Jesus actually brings.
Legion
Approved rendering: Lejiyon
Transliteration: Lejiyon
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare and Exorcism
Original: Λεγιών
Category: Spiritual Warfare
The name given by the demon-possessed man for the horde of unclean spirits he hosts (5:9). Proper name/transliteration; paired with ruuhu bonɗo for the broader unclean-spirit category.
Beelzebul
Approved rendering: Beelsebuul
Transliteration: Beelsebuul
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: Βεελζεβούλ
Category: Spiritual Warfare
A name for the prince of demons, invoked in the accusation against Jesus (3:22). Proper name, low risk in itself; paired with a High-risk claim (that Jesus casts out demons by Satan’s power), refuted by the divided-kingdom argument (3:23-27).
Talitha Koum
Approved rendering: Talita kum
Transliteration: Talitha koum
Doctrine: Healing and Faith
Original: Ταλιθα κουμ
Category: Narrative
Jesus’ Aramaic words raising Jairus’s daughter (5:41). Preserved Aramaic transliteration with gloss, following the pattern already established for Abba in the baseline.
Ephphatha
Approved rendering: Efaata
Transliteration: Ephphatha
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
Original: Ἐφφαθά
Category: Narrative
Jesus’ Aramaic command, ‘be opened,’ healing a deaf man (7:34). Preserved Aramaic transliteration with gloss, following the Talitha koum/Abba pattern.
Calm Of Storm
Approved rendering: deeƴre mawnde
Transliteration: deeƴre mawnde
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature
NEWLY IDENTIFIED descriptive term for γαλήνη (‘great calm,’ 4:39). Supports the nature-miracle fence: teach with an explicit note distinguishing Jesus’ creation-authority from any local rain-making, weather-spirit, or ancestral-propitiation framework, parallel to the barke fencing already required for doole Alla elsewhere.
Referenced passages