Semantic Analysis
Semantic Analysis: Ephesians (English → Greek)
Curriculum: Ephesians
Destination language: Greek (Modern Greek / Ελληνικά)
Core passage: Ephesians 2:1–10
Baseline authority: translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json / doctrine_risk_registry.json (Romans + Galatians Language Package). Every term already recorded there is reused exactly below; this document only analyzes terms not yet covered, plus baseline terms as they recur in new Ephesians contexts.
Methodology note (inherited from baseline)
As documented in the Romans Language Package, Ephesians was written in the same Koine Greek that Modern Greek directly descends from. This creates the same inverted risk profile documented throughout the baseline: the danger is almost never choosing the wrong word — the NT’s own word is usually still the natural Modern Greek word — but rather:
- Patristic/liturgical accretion — words that have gained a specific technical sense in Greek Orthodox theology and liturgy since the NT (e.g., τα Μυστήρια = the Sacraments; θείες ενέργειες = the uncreated divine energies of Palamite theology; Σώμα Χριστού = the consecrated Eucharistic host).
- Secular bleaching/drift — words worn down by ordinary Modern Greek usage into something bureaucratic, commercial, or trivial (e.g., προορισμός = “travel destination”; αρραβώνας = “engagement to be married”; σφραγίδα = “official stamp”; ενέργεια = “electricity”).
Ephesians intensifies both risks relative to Romans/Galatians because its central vocabulary — μυστήριον, σῶμα, πλήρωμα, ἐνέργεια, οἰκονομία, προορίζω — sits exactly on the fault line between Orthodox sacramental/mystical theology and everyday secular Greek. This document flags every such term explicitly.
PART A — Core Passage Verse-by-Verse: Ephesians 2:1–10
Ephesians 2:1
Greek: Καὶ ὑμᾶς ὄντας νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν καὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν English (reference): “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”
- νεκρός / nekrós — “dead.” Literal meaning: physically dead, a corpse. Semantic range: physical death; by extension, spiritual deadness/lifelessness. English variants: dead, deadness. Contextual theological meaning: total spiritual incapacity before regeneration — not sickness or weakness but death, the presupposition for 2:5’s “made alive.” Risk: Medium. Modern Greek νεκρός is completely stable and vivid (obituaries, funerals), but there is a real risk of softening Paul’s absolute claim into a metaphor for “spiritually unwell” rather than the total inability the argument requires. No baseline entry; new term for this curriculum, feeds the “Salvation by Grace through Faith” doctrine.
- παράπτωμα / paráptoma — “trespass, false step.” Literal meaning: a stumble, a fall to the side (παρά + πίπτω). Semantic range: sin as a specific misstep, close synonym to ἁμαρτία but with a nuance of “falling away” rather than “missing the mark.” English variants: trespass, transgression, wrongdoing. Contextual theological meaning: paired with ἁμαρτία for rhetorical fullness — every category of wrongdoing. Risk: Low. Fully alive and stable in Modern Greek; no significant secular or patristic drift. New term, pairs with baseline αμαρτία (sin, Medium risk per baseline).
Ephesians 2:2
Greek: ἐν αἷς ποτε περιεπατήσατε κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, κατὰ τὸν ἄρχοντα τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος, τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας
- περιπατέω / peripatéo — “to walk about.” Literal meaning: to walk around, to go about one’s daily business. Semantic range: in Paul, a fixed metaphor for one’s whole manner of life/conduct — a governing image throughout Ephesians (2:2, 2:10, 4:1, 4:17, 5:2, 5:8, 5:15). English variants: walked, lived, conducted yourselves. Contextual theological meaning: the lost, pre-conversion “walk” that stands in deliberate contrast to the new “walk” believers are called to in 2:10 and 4:1 — this verb is one of the book’s central structural threads (“Walking in Newness of Life” doctrine). Risk: Medium. Modern Greek περπατώ is the ordinary verb for physical walking; the metaphorical “lifestyle” sense survives in formal/biblical register (περιπατείτε ἀξίως) but is not the reader’s first association, so the lifestyle-conduct sense must be actively reinforced, especially since it recurs so often across the book.
- αἰών τοῦ κόσμου τούτου / this present age — “the age/course of this world.” Literal meaning: αἰών = age, era; κόσμος = world/order. Contextual theological meaning: the present, fallen world-order under sin’s dominion, distinct from “the coming ages” of 2:7. Risk: Low. Stable theological phrase.
- ἄρχων τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος / prince of the power of the air — Satan’s title. Literal meaning: “ruler of the authority of the air.” Contextual theological meaning: names a real, personal, malevolent spiritual power governing the fallen order — directly feeding “Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God” (cf. 6:12’s ἀρχαί/ἐξουσίαι). Risk: High. Modern Greek ἄρχοντας/άρχοντας can be used loosely today for any powerful person (a “boss” or “big shot”); ἐξουσία (authority/power) is the ordinary word for governmental/civil authority (cf. baseline note on Romans 13). Must not be flattened into a merely political or metaphorical “system of oppression” — this is Ephesians’ first naming of a personal spiritual enemy.
- ἐνεργέω / energéo — “to work, to be operative, to be effective.” Literal meaning: to be at work, to produce effect (ἐν + ἔργον). Semantic range: active operative power, whether divine (1:19–20; 3:20) or demonic (here, 2:2). English variants: at work, operative, effective, active. Contextual theological meaning: the same verb Paul uses for God’s resurrection-power in 1:19–20 is used here of Satan’s active operation in the disobedient — a deliberate, ominous parallel. Risk: Critical. The noun form ἐνέργεια (energeia) is the single word most loaded in all of Modern Greek theological vocabulary: it is both (a) the ordinary secular word for “energy/electricity” (ενεργειακή κρίση, “energy crisis”) and (b) the technical term for the Palamite doctrine of the uncreated divine ἐνέργειες (energies), central to Greek Orthodox mystical theology (hesychasm, theosis). Every occurrence of ἐνεργέω/ἐνέργεια in Ephesians (1:11, 1:19, 2:2, 3:7, 3:20, 4:16) requires deliberate anchoring to Paul’s own contextual sense — operative power at work in a person — without either collapsing into secular “electricity” bleaching or being absorbed wholesale into Palamite essence-energies metaphysics, which Paul is not discussing.
- υἱοὶ τῆς ἀπειθείας / sons of disobedience — Literal meaning: a Hebraic idiom, “sons characterized by disobedience.” Contextual theological meaning: describes unbelieving humanity’s essential character, not merely occasional acts. Risk: Low. Idiom is transparent and stable in formal Greek register.
Ephesians 2:3
Greek: ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημέν ποτε ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν, ποιοῦντες τὰ θελήματα τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν διανοιῶν, καὶ ἤμεθα τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποί
- ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκός / desires/passions of the flesh and σάρξ / sarx — “flesh.” Baseline term (σάρκα, reused exactly; baseline risk Critical). Contextual theological meaning here: the sin-oriented self, expressed through bodily and mental desire alike — note Paul immediately adds “καὶ τῶν διανοιῶν” (and of the mind), proving, exactly as the baseline’s Galatians entry notes, that σάρξ is not body-versus-soul dualism. Risk: Critical (per baseline). Reactivate the baseline’s explanatory-note requirement here: Greek philosophical heritage will default to reading σάρξ as “the body” opposed to “the soul/mind,” but Paul explicitly includes τῶν διανοιῶν (of the mind/reasoning faculty) within what is corrupted.
- τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς / by nature children of wrath — Literal meaning: “children by nature of wrath.” Semantic range: φύσις = nature, inherent constitution (not merely habit or environment); ὀργή = God’s settled, righteous judicial anger against sin (not a passing emotion). English variants: by nature objects of wrath, by nature deserving wrath. Contextual theological meaning: this is one of the strongest statements of inherited/inherent sinfulness in the NT — humanity’s condition is not acquired by choice alone but is native from birth. Risk: High. φύσις is a heavily philosophically loaded word in Greek (Aristotelian “nature,” also the root of Modern Greek “φυσικός” = natural/physicist); ὀργή in Modern Greek is simply “anger” in the ordinary emotional sense (a spouse’s ὀργή), risking a reading of God’s wrath as a volatile emotional outburst rather than settled judicial verdict. This doctrine (universal human depravity, feeding “Salvation by Grace through Faith”) requires theologian-level care.
Ephesians 2:4
Greek: ὁ δὲ θεὸς πλούσιος ὢν ἐν ἐλέει, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἀγάπην αὐτοῦ ἣν ἠγάπησεν ἡμᾶς
- ἔλεος / éleos — “mercy.” Literal meaning: compassion shown to one in a miserable condition. Semantic range: distinct from χάρις (grace, favor to the undeserving) — ἔλεος specifically responds to misery/need. English variants: mercy, compassion, pity. Contextual theological meaning: God’s mercy is the emotional/relational ground from which his saving grace flows toward those “dead” in v.1–3. Risk: Low. Stable in Modern Greek, richly present in Orthodox liturgy (“Κύριε, ελέησον” — Lord, have mercy), an asset rather than a risk.
- ἀγάπη / agápi — “love.” Literal meaning: selfless, deliberate love (as distinct from ἔρως/romantic love or φιλία/friendship-love). Semantic range: the NT’s preferred word for God’s covenantal, self-giving love and for the love believers are to have for one another (cf. ch. 5’s household codes). English variants: love. Contextual theological meaning: God’s ἀγάπη, not human merit, is the efficient cause of salvation (2:4) and the pattern for Christian marriage (5:25) and church life. Risk: Medium. No baseline entry exists (Romans/Galatians rarely required a standalone ἀγάπη entry), but Ephesians makes it structurally central. Modern Greek ἀγάπη is used indiscriminately for romantic love, family affection, and even casual enthusiasm (“αγαπάω το ποδόσφαιρο,” “I love soccer”), which risks flattening the specific, costly, self-giving sense Ephesians requires, especially in ch. 5’s marriage instruction.
Ephesians 2:5
Greek: καὶ ὄντας ἡμᾶς νεκροὺς τοῖς παραπτώμασιν συνεζωοποίησεν τῷ Χριστῷ – χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι
- συζωοποιέω / synzoopoiéo — “to make alive together with.” Literal meaning: σύν (with) + ζωοποιέω (to make alive, from ζωή, life). Semantic range: a rare compound, used only here and Colossians 2:13 in the NT — deliberately built to parallel resurrection language. Contextual theological meaning: believers’ new life is not merely analogous to but literally united with Christ’s own resurrection life — foundational for “The Church as the Body of Christ” and union-with-Christ theology. Risk: Medium. The compound is transparent to a Modern Greek reader (ζωή is a completely live word) but its rarity means it will not carry pre-loaded associations either way — an advantage; the risk is simply under-translating its force as generic “gave new life” rather than the specific “co-resurrected with Christ” sense.
- χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι / by grace you have been saved — Baseline terms: χάρη (grace, Critical) and σωτηρία-family (saved/salvation, Critical). Both reused exactly per baseline. Grammatical note: περιφραστικό παρακείμενο (periphrastic perfect passive) — a completed action with continuing present result (“you are in a saved state,” not merely “you got saved once”). Risk: Critical (per baseline). This is the verse the whole book’s soteriology turns on. Per baseline guidance on σωτηρία: preserve Romans/Ephesians’ emphasis on a decisive, already-accomplished salvation (the perfect tense is doctrinally load-bearing) without collapsing it into, nor flatly denying, the Orthodox theosis framework of ongoing, synergistic, uncompleted deification — the same tension the baseline documents for Romans 8’s assurance doctrine applies here with equal force.
Ephesians 2:6
Greek: καὶ συνήγειρεν καὶ συνεκάθισεν ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ
- συνεγείρω / synegeíro — “raised up together with.” Related to baseline ανάσταση (resurrection, Critical). Contextual theological meaning: believers’ union with Christ extends to his resurrection, not merely his death (cf. 2:5). Risk: High. Same forbidden-substitution logic as baseline’s ἀνάστασις entry: must never be read as reincarnation, spiritual rebirth-cycle, or purely metaphorical “fresh start” — this is participatory union with a specific, historical, bodily resurrection.
- συγκαθίζω / synkathízo — “seated together with.” Literal meaning: to sit down together with. Contextual theological meaning: believers are pictured as already enthroned with Christ — present, not merely future, exaltation. Risk: Medium. No secular drift risk; the doctrinal risk is under-realizing the “already” (a present accomplished status) in favor of an exclusively future-only eschatology.
- ἐπουράνια / epouránia — “the heavenly places/realms.” Literal meaning: the things/places above heaven (ἐπί + οὐρανός). Semantic range: in Ephesians a distinctive, five-fold repeated phrase (1:3, 1:20, 2:6, 3:10, 6:12) naming the realm where Christ reigns, believers are seated, and hostile spiritual powers also operate. English variants: heavenly places, heavenly realms, the heavens. Contextual theological meaning: a genuinely Ephesians-specific theological category bridging “The Church as the Body of Christ” and “Spiritual Warfare” — the same realm hosts both Christ’s enthronement and the cosmic powers of 6:12. Risk: Medium-High. Οὐρανός/ουρανός is entirely stable in Modern Greek, but “επουράνια” as a technical spatial-theological category (distinct from simply “heaven,” οὐρανός, or “paradise,” παράδεισος) is not intuitive to a general reader and needs an explanatory note the first time it occurs (1:3) to be tracked correctly through the book.
Ephesians 2:7
Greek: ἵνα ἐνδείξηται ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσιν τοῖς ἐπερχομένοις τὸ ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ ἐν χρηστότητι ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ
- ὑπερβάλλον πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος / immeasurable/surpassing riches of his grace — Literal meaning: ὑπερβάλλω = to throw beyond, to exceed; πλοῦτος = wealth, riches. Contextual theological meaning: one of Ephesians’ signature “riches” images (cf. 1:7, 1:18, 3:8, 3:16) — grace pictured as inexhaustible wealth displayed publicly across all future ages. Risk: Medium. πλοῦτος is entirely stable and vivid in Modern Greek (wealth/riches); risk is purely one of under-translating ὑπερβάλλον’s intensity (“surpassing,” “extraordinary,” not merely “great”).
- χρηστότης / chrestótes — “kindness.” Literal meaning: goodness, usefulness, kindness of disposition (from χρηστός, useful/good — famously near-homophonous with Χριστός, a wordplay early Christian writers noted). Semantic range: benevolent kindness in action, not mere sentiment. Risk: Low. Stable Modern Greek word (καλοσύνη is the more common synonym; χρηστότητα is the more formal/biblical register term), low ambiguity.
Ephesians 2:8
Greek: τῇ γὰρ χάριτί ἐστε σεσωσμένοι διὰ τῆς πίστεως· καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐξ ὑμῶν, θεοῦ τὸ δῶρον
- χάρις / πίστις / grace / faith — Baseline terms χάρη and πίστη, both reused exactly (both Critical/High per baseline). This is the verse where both baseline’s forbidden-substitution warnings converge simultaneously: χάρη must not register as charm or legal pardon, πίστη must not register as generic self-belief.
- δῶρον / dóron — “gift.” Literal meaning: a gift, a thing given freely. Semantic range: the ordinary Modern Greek word for any present/gift (a birthday δώρο). English variants: gift, present. Contextual theological meaning: salvation is explicitly, emphatically, not self-generated — it is received, like any gift, from outside oneself. Risk: Low. Unlike χάρις, δῶρον carries no problematic secular narrowing — its everyday “birthday present” sense is actually a genuine asset here, making Paul’s point (unearned, freely given) immediately and warmly intelligible to a Modern Greek reader without any special anchoring. This is one of the few places in this whole curriculum where the ordinary secular meaning of a term perfectly serves the theological point.
Ephesians 2:9
Greek: οὐκ ἐξ ἔργων, ἵνα μή τις καυχήσηται
- ἔργα / érga — “works.” Literal meaning: deeds, actions, labor. Contextual theological meaning: must be distinguished from the Galatians-baseline entry ἔργα νόμου (“works of the law”), which specifically targets Mosaic Torah-observance. Here Paul’s ἔργα is unqualified — any and all human effort or merit whatsoever, not specifically Jewish ceremonial law. Risk: High. The single greatest risk at this verse is pattern-matching to the Galatians baseline entry and narrowing Paul’s claim to “not by Torah-observance” when the point is broader and more universal: no human works of any kind, religious or otherwise, contribute to salvation. This must be flagged for human theologian review precisely because the correct baseline term (έργα του νόμου) is a false friend here.
- καυχάομαι / kavcháomai — “to boast.” Baseline term (καυχώμαι, reused; baseline context is “boast_in_the_cross,” Low risk). Contextual theological meaning: salvation-by-grace excludes all human boasting before God — the same verb Paul redirects positively toward the cross in Galatians 6:14. Risk: Low (per baseline), stable and alive in church register.
Ephesians 2:10
Greek: αὐτοῦ γάρ ἐσμεν ποίημα, κτισθέντες ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπὶ ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς οἷς προητοίμασεν ὁ θεὸς ἵνα ἐν αὐτοῖς περιπατήσωμεν
- ποίημα / poíima — “workmanship, that which is made.” Literal meaning: a thing made or crafted (from ποιέω, to make/do). English variants: workmanship, handiwork, masterpiece, creation. Contextual theological meaning: believers are God’s own skilled, purposeful creative work — this word is the positive counterpart to v.1’s “dead,” completing the passage’s dead-to-alive, unworked-to-workmanship structure. Risk: High. This is the single most striking modern-Greek-specific risk in the entire core passage: the ordinary Modern Greek meaning of ποίημα is “poem” (a literary composition). A contemporary reader’s first, unreflective association with “εμείς είμαστε ποίημα Θεού” will very plausibly be “we are God’s poem” — a lovely and not entirely false image (a poem is a deliberate, crafted work), but one that risks softening Paul’s more robust “skilled handiwork/craftsmanship built for a purpose” sense into a merely aesthetic, literary metaphor, obscuring the immediately following purpose clause (“created… for good works”). Requires an explanatory note distinguishing “handiwork/masterwork” from the narrower literary sense, without discarding the genuine poetic resonance as an asset.
- κτίζω / ktízo — “to create.” Related to baseline entry καινή δημιουργία / καινή κτίση (new creation, Galatians baseline, High risk — note the baseline’s own warning that κτίζω/κτίση gravitate toward “building/construction” in Modern Greek). Risk: Medium. Here the risk is milder than the Galatians new-creation case (no “new” qualifier to misread), but the same base verb’s constructional pull should be watched.
- ἔργα ἀγαθά / good works — Literal meaning: good deeds/actions. Contextual theological meaning: the crucial sequential point of the whole passage — good works are the fruit and purpose of salvation (v.10), never its ground or cause (v.9). Risk: High. The doctrinal risk is not lexical but structural: if the ἔργα of v.9 and the ἔργα ἀγαθά of v.10 are not kept in their correct causal sequence (works excluded as ground; works included as fruit), the passage’s entire argument collapses into either legalism or antinomianism. This sequencing must be flagged for human theologian review.
- περιπατέω / walk — see 2:2 above; here used positively of the new, purposed “walk,” completing the chapter’s walked-in-death (v.2) to walk-in-good-works (v.10) inclusio.
PART B — Whole-Book Chapter-by-Chapter Study
Chapter 1 (Ephesians 1:1–23)
| Term (Greek) | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Destination-language rendering risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| απόστολος | apóstolos | one sent | delegated envoy with authority | apostle | Paul’s foundational authority for the letter (baseline term, reused exactly) | Low (per baseline) |
| άγιοι | ágioi | holy ones | corporate believers; also canonized saints | saints | All believers at Ephesus, addressed corporately (baseline term, reused exactly) | Critical (per baseline — name-day/canonized-saint collision) |
| χάρη / ειρήνη | chári / eiríni | grace / peace | greeting formula | grace and peace | Standard Pauline salutation (baseline terms, reused exactly) | Critical / Medium (per baseline) |
| ευλογητός / ευλογία | evlogitós / evlogía | blessed / blessing | benediction, praise | blessed, blessing | God is praised as source of every spiritual blessing (1:3) | Low. Stable, richly liturgical, an asset (doxological register familiar from the Divine Liturgy). |
| επουράνια | epouránia | the heavenly places | see core-passage 2:6 entry above | heavenly places, heavenly realms | The realm of every spiritual blessing (1:3), first of five occurrences | Medium-High — see full discussion at 2:6 above; must be tracked as a technical spatial category from its first occurrence. |
| εκλογή / εκλέγομαι | eklogí / eklégomai | choice / to choose out | God’s sovereign choice before creation | election, chose | ”He chose us in him before the foundation of the world” (1:4) — foundational text for “Election and Predestination in Christ” (baseline term εκλογή, reused exactly) | High (per baseline) — must not register as political voting. |
| άγιος και άμωμος | ágios kai ámomos | holy and unblemished | moral purity, without defect (sacrificial imagery) | holy and blameless | The purpose of election: moral transformation, not bare legal status | Low-Medium. ἄμωμος (blameless/spotless) carries OT sacrificial-animal background (Leviticus); risk is mild loss of that sacrificial resonance without a note. |
| προορίζω / προορισμός | proorízo / proorismós | to mark out beforehand | God’s sovereign predetermination | predestined, foreordained, predetermined | ”He predestined us for adoption” (1:5, 1:11) — the letter’s second core doctrine, “Election and Predestination in Christ” | Critical. NEW TERM, not in baseline. This is a uniquely severe secular-bleaching case, structurally identical to the baseline’s treatment of κλήση: in everyday Modern Greek, προορισμός overwhelmingly means “travel destination” (ο προορισμός των διακοπών, “vacation destination”; airport departure boards list πτήσεις προς προορισμό). A contemporary reader’s default association is tourism, not divine sovereignty. Requires the same deliberate reactivation discipline the baseline mandates for κλήση and εκλογή, and should be added to the Critical Forbidden Substitutions list for Phase 2. |
| υιοθεσία | yiothesía | placement as a son | full legal son-status with inheritance | adoption | Believers adopted as God’s sons through Christ (1:5) (baseline term, reused exactly) | Medium (per baseline) |
| χάρις (πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος) | chári / ploútos tis cháritos | grace / riches of grace | see 2:7 above | riches of his grace | 1:6-7 — grace lavished, first of the “riches” motif | Critical (per baseline χάρη entry) |
| απολύτρωση | apolýtrosi | ransoming, buying back | redemption through Christ’s blood | redemption | ”In him we have redemption through his blood” (1:7) (baseline term λυτρώνω/απολύτρωση, reused exactly) | Critical (per baseline) — must not register as bribery/corporate buyout via εξαγοράζω-family confusion. |
| άφεση αμαρτιών | áfesi amartíon | release/discharge of sins | forgiveness | forgiveness of sins/trespasses | 1:7 — redemption’s immediate content | Low-Medium. NEW TERM. Stable, liturgically reinforced (“εις άφεσιν αμαρτιών” from the Divine Liturgy) — a genuine asset; mild risk only if άφεσις is read in its secular legal-discharge sense (e.g., discharge from a debt or sentence) without the relational forgiveness sense attached. |
| μυστήριο | mystírio | mystery, secret | God’s hidden redemptive plan now revealed | mystery | ”The mystery of his will” (1:9); central to “The Mystery of Christ Revealed” doctrine, recurring through 3:3–9, 5:32, 6:19 | Critical. NEW TERM. The single highest-stakes new term in this curriculum. Modern Greek τα Μυστήρια is the standing technical name for the Seven Sacraments of the Orthodox Church (Baptism, Chrismation, Eucharist, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders, Unction) — “τα Ιερά Μυστήρια.” Paul’s μυστήριον is a revealed secret (previously hidden, now disclosed, 3:5) — nearly the opposite semantic direction of a sacramental Mystery (which remains mysterious even as it is administered). Every occurrence requires deliberate anchoring to Paul’s “hidden-then-revealed” sense; must never be silently read as a reference to sacramental rites. |
| ανακεφαλαιώσασθαι / ανακεφαλαίωση | anakefalaíosi | to sum up, to head up again | unite all things under one head | to unite, to sum up, to bring to a head | ”To unite all things in him” (1:10) — Christ as the recapitulating Head of the cosmos, feeding “The Church as the Body of Christ” | High. NEW TERM. Shares the root κεφαλή (head), which carries its own risk (below); the compound itself is rare and mildly opaque in Modern Greek, requiring a gloss (“to bring everything together under Christ as head”) rather than a literal transliteration alone. |
| κληρονομία | klironomía | inheritance | believers’ inherited share in Christ | inheritance, heritage | ”We have obtained an inheritance” (1:11, 1:14, 1:18) — connects to baseline κληρονόμος (heir, Low risk) | Low. Fully alive in Modern Greek inheritance law; stable. |
| σφραγίζω / σφραγίδα | sfragízo / sfragída | to seal / a seal, stamp | mark of ownership and authenticity | sealed, seal | Believers “sealed” with the Holy Spirit (1:13; also 4:30) | High. NEW TERM. Modern Greek σφραγίδα is overwhelmingly the ordinary word for an official bureaucratic stamp (a government document stamp, a company seal) — a bureaucratic-bleaching risk structurally similar to the baseline’s κλήση case. Must be anchored to the ancient sense of an owner’s mark of authenticity and security, not a mundane paperwork stamp. |
| αρραβώνας | arravónas | down payment, pledge, guarantee | first installment guaranteeing the rest | guarantee, deposit, pledge, down payment | The Spirit as the guarantee of the future inheritance (1:14) | High (double-edged). NEW TERM. In all contemporary Modern Greek usage, αρραβώνας means “engagement” (betrothal) — the ring, the ceremony, the pre-wedding promise. This is a genuine double risk: (1) a reader may hear only the trivial “engagement ring” sense and miss the financial-guarantee sense Paul intends; but (2) because Ephesians 5 develops bride/bridegroom imagery for Christ and the church, the betrothal sense is not entirely foreign to the letter’s theology and could be responsibly exploited as a teaching asset with a deliberate note — but must not be left unglossed, or it will read as a stray financial-legal term disconnected from any of its available resonances. |
| ελπίδα | elpída | hope | confident expectation | hope | ”The hope to which he has called you” (1:18) | Low. Stable, unambiguous. |
| πλήρωμα | plíroma | fullness, that which fills/completes | totality, completeness | fullness | Christ “who fills all in all” (1:23); recurs 3:19, 4:13 | High. NEW TERM. Modern Greek πλήρωμα has a vivid, entirely unrelated everyday meaning: “crew” (of a ship, aircraft, or spacecraft — “το πλήρωμα του πλοίου”). An unglossed use risks a bizarre “crew of Christ” misassociation. Additionally, historically, “Pleroma” was a loaded technical term in the Gnostic systems Ephesians’ theology of fullness may implicitly be countering — a fact worth noting for theologian review, though not itself a live modern-reader risk. |
| σῶμα (Χριστού) / κεφαλή | sóma (Christoú) / kefalí | body (of Christ) / head | the church as Christ’s body; Christ as its head | body of Christ; head | ”He is the head… and gave him as head over the church, his body” (1:22–23) — the letter’s defining ecclesiological image, “The Church as the Body of Christ” | Critical. NEW TERM (σῶμα Χριστού). Modern Greek Σῶμα Χριστού (capitalized, liturgical) is the standing name for the consecrated Eucharistic host received in Holy Communion (“Λάβετε, φάγετε, τούτο εστί το Σώμα μου”). Ephesians’ ecclesiological “body of Christ” (the church, the corporate people) and the sacramental “Body of Christ” (the consecrated bread) are both entirely legitimate, textually related concepts in the wider NT and in Orthodox theology — but they are not identical, and Ephesians 1:23/4:12/5:23 must not be silently absorbed into a purely sacramental referent, nor should the sacramental resonance be suppressed as if illegitimate. Requires a mandatory explanatory note on first occurrence. κεφαλή (head) itself is stable but must retain its organic, life-giving, body-uniting sense (developed further in 4:15–16 and 5:23) rather than flattening into a merely administrative “boss/CEO” hierarchy image. Risk for κεφαλή alone: High. |
Chapter 2 (Ephesians 2:1–22)
Verses 1–10 (the core passage) are fully treated in Part A above. This section covers 2:11–22.
| Term (Greek) | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Destination-language rendering risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| έθνη | éthni | nations, peoples | non-Jewish peoples | Gentiles | Ephesian believers’ former status “in the flesh” (2:11) (baseline term, reused exactly) | Medium (per baseline) |
| περιτομή / ακροβυστία | peritomí / akrovystía | circumcision / uncircumcision | Jewish covenant marker and its absence | circumcision, uncircumcision | 2:11 — the marker of exclusion now abolished in Christ (baseline term περιτομή, reused exactly) | Low (per baseline) |
| αλλότριοι / ξένοι | allótrioi / xénoi | strangers, foreigners, alienated | excluded from covenant community | strangers, aliens, foreigners | ”Alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise” (2:12) | Low-Medium. NEW TERM. Stable in Modern Greek; ξένος carries a very live secular sense (a foreign national, an immigrant) which can be a genuine cultural asset for teaching on inclusion, provided the note keeps it theological rather than only sociopolitical. |
| πολιτεία (του Ισραήλ) | politía (tou Israíl) | citizenship, commonwealth, body politic | corporate national-covenantal life | commonwealth | Gentiles were formerly excluded from Israel’s covenant commonwealth (2:12) | Medium. NEW TERM. Πολιτεία is the ordinary Modern Greek word for “state/polity” (e.g., “Ελληνική Πολιτεία”), risking a purely political-nationalist reading of “Israel” parallel to the baseline’s own caution about Ισραήλ (Low risk baseline note: avoid reading OT/NT Israel as the modern nation-state). |
| διαθήκες της επαγγελίας | diathíkes tis epangelías | covenants of the promise | the Abrahamic/Mosaic/Davidic covenants | covenants of promise | 2:12 (baseline terms διαθήκη High risk, υπόσχεση/επαγγελία High risk, both reused exactly) | High (per baseline) |
| ειρήνη (αὐτός ἐστιν ἡ εἰρήνη) | eiríni | peace | Christ himself as peace | he himself is our peace | 2:14 — Christ personally embodies reconciling peace (baseline term, reused exactly) | Medium (per baseline) |
| μεσότοιχον του φραγμού | mesótoichon tou fragmoú | the dividing wall of the fence | the barrier separating Jew and Gentile | dividing wall of hostility | 2:14 — a vivid image, plausibly alluding to the actual soreg barrier in the Jerusalem Temple separating the Court of the Gentiles | Low-Medium. NEW TERM. Architecturally transparent and vivid in Modern Greek; risk is purely one of missing the specific Temple-court historical referent without a note — an asset for a Greek reader able to access Josephus’s own Greek description of the Temple directly. |
| νόμος (τῶν ἐντολῶν) | nómos | law (of commandments) | the Mosaic law as a system of ordinances | the law of commandments and regulations | 2:15 — abolished as a dividing wall (baseline term νόμος, reused exactly) | High (per baseline) |
| καινός άνθρωπος | kainós ánthropos | new man/humanity | one unified new corporate humanity out of two (Jew + Gentile) | one new man, one new humanity | 2:15 — central to “Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity”; corporate, not individual | High. NEW TERM. Must be carefully distinguished from the related but individually-focused “new self” (νέος ἄνθρωπος) of 4:24 — same conceptual family, different referent (one corporate humanity vs. one regenerated individual). Modern καινός retains its “new-in-kind” biblical-register force reasonably well (cf. baseline’s καινή κτίση discussion), but the corporate/individual distinction is not self-evident and needs an explicit note. |
| αποκαταλλάξω / καταλλαγή | apokatallázo / katallagí | to reconcile fully / reconciliation | restoring right relationship after hostility | reconcile, reconciliation | 2:16 — both God-to-humanity and Jew-to-Gentile reconciliation | Medium. NEW TERM. Stable and transparent (καταλλαγή is the standard word for reconciliation in Modern Greek, including interpersonal and diplomatic contexts); risk is mild under-realization of its double reference (vertical and horizontal reconciliation both intended). |
| πρόσοδος / προσαγωγή | prósodos / prosagogí | access, means of approach | access to God the Father | access | ”Through him we…have access to the Father” (2:18) | Low-Medium. NEW TERM. Stable formal-register word; connects forward to 3:12’s παρρησία (boldness) and access theme. |
| συμπολίτες | sympolítes | fellow citizens | shared citizenship status | fellow citizens | 2:19 — Gentiles now full citizens with the saints, not merely tolerated residents | Medium. NEW TERM. Fully alive, ordinary Modern Greek civic vocabulary; the asset/risk balance favors clarity, but note the term’s civic-political resonance should be kept subordinate to the covenantal-theological point. |
| οικείοι (του Θεού) | oikeíoi (tou Theoú) | members of the household | family members, household members | members of the household of God | 2:19 — familial belonging, not mere legal citizenship | Low. Stable, warm, family-register word in Modern Greek. |
| θεμέλιο (των αποστόλων και προφητών) | themélio | foundation | the church’s foundational authority | foundation of the apostles and prophets | 2:20 | Low. Stable architectural metaphor. |
| ακρογωνιαίος λίθος | akrogoniaíos líthos | cornerstone | the foundation-defining stone | cornerstone | 2:20 — Christ himself | Low. An asset: this exact phrase already functions as a live, positive Modern Greek idiom for “the essential basis” of anything, aligning naturally with Paul’s use. |
| ναός άγιος | naós ágios | holy temple | the church as God’s living sanctuary | holy temple | 2:21 | Medium. Modern Greek ναός defaults to a physical church building (“Ιερός Ναός”); Paul’s point — believers themselves, corporately, as the living temple — risks being read as a statement about church architecture rather than the corporate body of believers, echoing the baseline’s caution about εκκλησία as building vs. body. |
| κατοικητήριον (του Θεού) | katoikitírio | dwelling place | the Spirit’s indwelling of the church | dwelling place, habitation | 2:22 | Low. Stable, transparent compound. |
Chapter 3 (Ephesians 3:1–21)
| Term (Greek) | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Destination-language rendering risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| μυστήριο | mystírio | mystery | see Ch.1 full entry | mystery | ”The mystery of Christ” (3:4), “the mystery hidden for ages… now revealed” (3:9) | Critical (see Ch.1 entry) — recurs as the doctrinal center of “The Mystery of Christ Revealed.” |
| αποκάλυψη | apokálypsi | unveiling, disclosure | divine revelation | revelation | ”Made known to me by revelation” (3:3) (baseline term, reused exactly) | Medium (per baseline) |
| οικονομία (τῆς χάριτος) | oikonomía (tis cháritos) | management of a household, stewardship | administration, plan, dispensation | stewardship, administration, plan | ”The stewardship of God’s grace given to me” (3:2); “the plan of the mystery” (3:9) | High. NEW TERM. Overwhelmingly dominant Modern Greek sense is “the economy” (national/financial — “η ελληνική οικονομία”), a secular-bleaching risk on the scale of the baseline’s κλήση/εκλογή cases. Countervailing asset: Orthodox theology retains a technical sense, “η θεία οικονομία” (the divine economy/dispensation), which is directly aligned with Paul’s own meaning here — one of the rare cases in this curriculum where the patristic accretion actually supports rather than distorts the NT sense. Requires a note leveraging this alignment while guarding against the dominant financial-news reading. |
| συγκληρονόμοι / σύσσωμα / συμμέτοχοι | synklironómoi / sýssoma / symmétochoi | fellow-heirs / fellow-body-members / fellow-partakers | Gentile believers’ full equal share | fellow heirs, members of the same body, partakers of the promise | 3:6 — three compound terms stating Gentile equality with Jewish believers with maximal emphasis | Medium. NEW TERMS. All transparent compounds built on already-analyzed roots (κληρονόμος/heir baseline Low; σῶμα body Critical; μέτοχος/partaker). Risk is losing the rhetorical force of triple repetition (Paul is not being redundant — he is being emphatic) if compressed or paraphrased in translation. |
| ανεξιχνίαστος πλούτος (του Χριστού) | anexichníastos ploútos | untraceable, unsearchable riches | inexhaustible wealth | unsearchable riches | 3:8 | Low. Vivid, stable “riches” motif continuing from ch.1–2. |
| πολυποίκιλη σοφία (του Θεού) | polypoíkili sofía | many-colored, variegated wisdom | God’s multifaceted wisdom displayed through the church | manifold wisdom | 3:10 | Low. Stable, an asset — πολυποίκιλος remains a vivid, almost artistic Modern Greek word (used of fabric patterns, mosaics), well-suited to Paul’s imagery. |
| αρχές και εξουσίες (ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις) | archés kai exousíes | rulers and authorities | cosmic spiritual powers | rulers and authorities | 3:10 — the church’s existence displays God’s wisdom to hostile spiritual powers; connects directly to 6:12’s “Spiritual Warfare” vocabulary | High. See full discussion under Chapter 6 below; first occurrence here should be flagged consistently. |
| παρρησία και προσαγωγή | parrisía kai prosagogí | boldness and access | confident approach to God | boldness and access | 3:12 | Low-Medium. NEW TERM (παρρησία). A richly positive, stable term in both Modern Greek and Orthodox liturgical usage (freedom/boldness of speech before God, echoed in the Divine Liturgy’s “μετά παρρησίας”), an asset rather than a risk. |
| εσωτερικός άνθρωπος | esoterikós ánthropos | inner man/inner self | the regenerate inner self, strengthened by the Spirit | inner being, inner man | 3:16 | Medium. NEW TERM. A recognized philosophical category (going back to Plato’s inner man), which risks a dualistic body/soul misreading similar to the σάρξ caution, though less acute since Paul is not contrasting inner/outer as good/evil here but describing Spirit-empowered strengthening. |
| ριζωμένοι και τεθεμελιωμένοι (ἐν ἀγάπῃ) | rizoménoi kai themelioménoi | rooted and founded/grounded | stability metaphors (plant root + building foundation) | rooted and grounded | 3:17 | Low. Stable, vivid, mixed-metaphor Modern Greek. |
| πλήρωμα (τοῦ Θεοῦ) | plíroma (tou Theoú) | the fullness of God | complete indwelling of God’s presence | filled with all the fullness of God | 3:19 | High (see Ch.1 entry — the “crew” secular-bleaching risk recurs). |
| δύναμη (ἡ ἐνεργουμένη ἐν ἡμῖν) | dýnami (i energouméni en imín) | power at work within us | God’s operative power | the power at work within us | 3:20 (baseline term δύναμη Θεού, Medium risk, reused) combined with ἐνεργέω-family | Critical (per the ἐνεργέω discussion at 2:2 above — recurs here at the doxology’s climax). |
Chapter 4 (Ephesians 4:1–32)
| Term (Greek) | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Destination-language rendering risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| κλήση | klísi | calling, summons | God’s sovereign call | calling | ”Walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (4:1) (baseline term, reused exactly) | Critical (per baseline) — must not register as a phone call/traffic summons. |
| ενότητα (τοῦ Πνεύματος) | enótita (tou Pnévmatos) | unity | oneness, cohesion | unity of the Spirit | 4:3, 4:13 — central to both “The Church as the Body of Christ” and “Unity of Jews and Gentiles” doctrines | Medium. NEW TERM. Stable, but carries a live secular-political association (Greek public discourse frequently invokes “εθνική ενότητα,” national unity, in crisis rhetoric); mild risk of the theological unity being read through a nationalist-solidarity lens rather than Spirit-given, cross-ethnic unity. |
| σύνδεσμος (τῆς εἰρήνης) | sýndesmos (tis eirínis) | bond, ligament | that which binds together | bond of peace | 4:3 | Low. Stable; also a live anatomical term (ligament), an apt organic-body asset given the chapter’s body imagery. |
| ἓν σῶμα, ἓν Πνεῦμα, μία ἐλπίδα, εἷς Κύριος, μία πίστις, ἓν βάπτισμα, εἷς Θεὸς καὶ Πατήρ | — | one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father | the sevenfold unity confession | one body…one Father | 4:4–6 — a creedal, liturgically structured unity statement | High (composite). Combines baseline terms σῶμα (Critical), Άγιο Πνεύμα (Critical), ελπίδα (Low), Κύριος (Critical), πίστη (High), Θεός/Πατέρας (Critical), plus the new term βάπτισμα below. The composite risk is structural: this sevenfold confession must be rendered with maximal consistency, ideally matching any existing Greek liturgical creedal cadence, since it functions almost as a creed within the letter. |
| βάπτισμα | váptisma | baptism | the rite of Christian initiation | baptism | 4:5 | Low. NEW TERM. Zero-gap, stable, and an asset — identical to the NT’s own word and to the ongoing sacramental practice of the Orthodox Church, requiring no special caution beyond standard consistency. |
| χάρισμα / δωρεά | chárisma / doreá | grace-gift / gift given | Spirit-apportioned grace to each believer | grace given…gift | 4:7 (baseline term πνευματικά χαρίσματα, Medium risk, reused) | Medium (per baseline) |
| απόστολοι, προφήτες, ευαγγελιστές, ποιμένες, διδάσκαλοι | apóstoloi, profítes, evangelistés, poiménes, didáskaloi | apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors/shepherds, teachers | the five (or four) ministry gifts | apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers | 4:11 — central to “Gifts for Building Up the Church” | Low-Medium. NEW TERMS (apostle/prophet reused from baseline, Low risk each). ποιμένας (shepherd/pastor) is a vivid, stable pastoral-care image in Modern Greek (also a common surname/toponym reference); διδάσκαλος is entirely stable. The chief risk is administrative flattening — reading these as institutional job titles/professions (as in a modern church org chart) rather than Spirit-given functional gifts for the whole body. |
| καταρτισμός | katartismós | equipping, outfitting, perfecting | preparing for a task; also a technical medical term for setting a bone | equipping, perfecting | 4:12 — the purpose of the ministry gifts | Medium. NEW TERM. The word’s secondary medical sense (orthopedic “setting/repair”) is a striking and largely positive resonance (equipping = repairing/strengthening the body for function), but not the reader’s default first association (Modern Greek καταρτισμός today mostly evokes vocational/professional training, “επαγγελματική κατάρτιση” — job-skills training), risking an overly technical/vocational reading rather than the whole-body-strengthening sense Paul intends. |
| οικοδομή (τοῦ σώματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ) | oikodomí (tou sómatos tou Christoú) | building up | edification | building up, edifying | 4:12, 4:16, 4:29 — central to “Gifts for Building Up the Church” | Medium. NEW TERM. Modern Greek οικοδομή primarily means physical construction (a building, construction industry) — the same constructional-bleaching risk the baseline flags for καινή κτίση; the metaphorical “edification” sense survives in formal/church register but is not automatic, especially for a reader outside regular church attendance. |
| τέλειος ανήρ / πλήρωμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ | téleios anír / plíroma tou Christoú | mature/complete man / fullness of Christ | corporate spiritual maturity as a body | mature manhood, the fullness of Christ | 4:13 | Medium-High. NEW TERM. τέλειος carries the philosophically loaded sense of “perfect/complete” (Aristotelian teleology); risk of reading “mature manhood” as sinless individual perfection rather than the corporate body’s full-grown maturity Paul intends. πλήρωμα here recurs the “crew” secular-bleaching risk noted in ch.1. |
| παλαιός ἄνθρωπος / νέος ἄνθρωπος | palaiós ánthropos / néos ánthropos | old man / new man | the pre-conversion self / the regenerate self | old self, new self | 4:22–24 — individually focused, distinct from 2:15’s corporate καινός ἄνθρωπος; central to “Walking in Newness of Life” | High. NEW TERM. Must be explicitly distinguished in translator notes from 2:15’s corporate “one new man” (Jew+Gentile united) — here the referent is the individual believer’s moral transformation. Confusing the two collapses two distinct doctrines (ecclesial unity vs. personal sanctification) into one. |
| διάβολος | diávolos | the devil, slanderer | the personal spiritual adversary | the devil | 4:27 — “give no opportunity to the devil” | Low. Stable, zero-gap; folk-superstition caricatures exist in popular culture but do not typically intrude on formal biblical-theological register. |
| χαρίζομαι | charízomai | to forgive, to give graciously | forgiving as an act of grace | forgiving | ”Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (4:32) — same root as χάρη/grace (baseline Critical), worth noting the etymological link as a teaching asset | Medium. NEW TERM (verb form of the baseline noun). Modern Greek χαρίζομαι/χαρίζω is the ordinary verb for “to give as a gift” or “to forgive a debt,” making the grace-forgiveness connection unusually transparent and available as a positive teaching point, provided the shared root with χάρη’s Critical secular senses (charm, legal pardon) is not allowed to trivialize it. |
Chapter 5 (Ephesians 5:1–33)
| Term (Greek) | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Destination-language rendering risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| αγάπη | agápi | love | see 2:4 entry | love | ”Walk in love, as Christ loved us” (5:2) | Medium (see 2:4 entry) — foundational for “Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships.” |
| προσφορά και θυσία | prosforá kai thysía | offering and sacrifice | Christ’s self-giving death as cultic sacrifice | offering and sacrifice | 5:2 | Medium. NEW TERM. Both words are entirely stable and richly reinforced by ongoing Orthodox liturgical sacrificial vocabulary (the Divine Liturgy’s own offering language) — mostly an asset, with the mild risk of the reader assimilating Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice too closely to the ongoing liturgical re-presentation without a clarifying note on the historical, once-for-all nature of Calvary. |
| πορνεία, ακαθαρσία, πλεονεξία | porneía, akatharsía, pleonexía | sexual immorality, impurity, greed | vice list; πλεονεξία explicitly equated with idolatry (5:5) | sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness | 5:3–5 | Low-Medium. Stable vocabulary; πλεονεξία’s idolatry-equation is worth a note since greed is not intuitively “idolatrous” to a modern reader without explanation. |
| βασιλεία τοῦ Θεού | vasileía tou Theoú | kingdom of God | God’s sovereign reign; inheritance excluded for the unrepentant | kingdom of God | 5:5 (baseline term, reused exactly) | Medium (per baseline) |
| τέκνα φωτός | tékna fotós | children of light | believers’ new identity | children of light | 5:8, contrasted with pre-conversion darkness | Low. Stable light/darkness imagery, an asset (widely used in Orthodox hymnography). |
| καρπός τοῦ φωτός | karpós tou fotós | fruit of the light | the moral fruit produced by walking in light | fruit of light | 5:9 — parallels baseline’s Galatians καρπός τοῦ Πνεύματος convention (fruit of the Spirit, singular) | Medium. NEW TERM, following the baseline’s established pattern: keep καρπός singular (a unified, integrated character-fruit, not a checklist), per the Galatians baseline note. |
| πληρούσθε ἐν Πνεύματι | plirósthe en Pnévmati | be filled with/by the Spirit | ongoing, Spirit-saturated life, contrasted with drunkenness | be filled with the Spirit | 5:18 | Medium. NEW TERM. πληρόω shares the πλήρωμα root discussed above (Ch.1); risk is primarily one of framing — in a culture where “being filled with the Spirit” language is more associated with Protestant/Pentecostal revivalist piety than with Orthodox sacramental-liturgical spirituality, care is needed to present this as Ephesians’ own ongoing exhortation (a present imperative, continuous action) without implying either a one-time ecstatic experience or a purely sacramental/automatic transfer. Native speaker review recommended. |
| ψαλμοί, ύμνοι, ωδαί πνευματικαί | psalmoí, ýmnoi, odaí pnevmatikaí | psalms, hymns, spiritual songs | corporate worship vocabulary | psalms, hymns, spiritual songs | 5:19 | Low. An asset — all three terms remain the living, standard vocabulary of Orthodox liturgical worship today, requiring no special caution. |
| ευχαριστία | efcharistía | thanksgiving | grateful acknowledgment to God | giving thanks | 5:20 (baseline term, reused exactly) | Medium (per baseline — sacramental Eucharist collision) |
| υποτάσσομαι | ypotássomai | to place oneself under, to submit | voluntary, ordered submission | submit, be subject to | 5:21 (“submitting to one another”), 5:22, 5:24 — central to “Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships” | High. NEW TERM. Modern Greek υποταγή/υποτάσσομαι carries substantial historical-political weight (used of national subjugation under foreign occupation, and in ordinary usage often connotes coerced, unequal subordination rather than voluntary, mutual deference). Paul’s usage begins with a mutual submission (5:21, “submitting to one another”) before addressing wives specifically (5:22–24) — this mutuality-first framing must not be lost, and the term must be actively guarded against reading as one-directional subjugation. Requires human theologian and native-speaker review together, given contemporary sensitivity to gender-role interpretation. |
| κεφαλή | kefalí | head | organic, life-giving headship, not mere hierarchy | head | 5:23 — Christ as head of the church, husband as head of wife, explicitly parallel structure | High (see Ch.1 entry) — recurs at maximum doctrinal and pastoral sensitivity here; must retain the organic body-unity sense (5:29–30) rather than a flat corporate-hierarchy image. |
| σωτήρ | sotír | savior | Christ as the church’s rescuer | savior | 5:23 — Christ is “the Savior” of the body/church | High. NEW TERM. Shares root with baseline σωτηρία (salvation, Critical); as a divine title (parallel to Κύριος), σωτήρ is stable and dignified in Modern Greek but must retain its full christological weight rather than the generic secular sense of “rescuer” (e.g., a lifeguard, ναυαγοσώστης, or “savior” of a football match in sports journalism). |
| καθαρίζω / αγιάζω | katharízo / agiázo | to cleanse / to sanctify | ritual and moral purification | cleansing, sanctifying | 5:26 (baseline term αγιασμός-family, High risk, reused) | High (per baseline) |
| λουτρόν (τοῦ ὕδατος) | loutrón (tou ýdatos) | washing, bath | the washing of baptism | washing of water | 5:26 | Low. NEW TERM. Stable baptismal-liturgical vocabulary, an asset (cf. Titus 3:5’s “λουτρόν παλιγγενεσίας,” washing of regeneration, a natural cross-reference for a Greek reader). |
| μία σάρξ | mía sárka | one flesh | marital union, quoting Genesis 2:24 LXX | one flesh | 5:31 | Low. Directly quotable from the Septuagint text Paul himself cites — a genuine asset unique to this Language Package. |
| μυστήριο μέγα | mystírio méga | great mystery | the profound typological mystery of Christ and the church, pictured in marriage | this mystery is profound / a great mystery | 5:32 | Critical (see Ch.1 μυστήριο entry) — here the risk is compounded, since a reader may default to reading “great mystery” through the specifically sacramental lens given that marriage (γάμος) is itself one of the Seven Mysteries/Sacraments of the Orthodox Church. This verse sits at the exact intersection of Paul’s revealed-secret sense and the Orthodox sacramental-Mystery sense and requires the most careful theologian-level handling in the whole book. |
Chapter 6 (Ephesians 6:1–24)
| Term (Greek) | Transliteration | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Destination-language rendering risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| υπακούω / τιμώ | ypakoúo / timó | to obey / to honor | children’s duty to parents, quoting Exodus 20:12 LXX | obey, honor | 6:1–2 | Low. Directly quotable Septuagint wording — an asset. |
| παιδεία και νουθεσία Κυρίου | paideía kai nouthesía Kyríou | discipline/upbringing and instruction of the Lord | Christ-centered child-rearing | discipline and instruction of the Lord | 6:4 | Medium. NEW TERM. παιδεία shares its root with the baseline’s Galatians-flagged παιδαγωγός (guardian/custodial slave-escort, Critical, forbidden to render as “teacher”). While παιδεία itself is not the same forbidden-inversion case (Modern Greek παιδεία broadly and positively means “education,” Υπουργείο Παιδείας = Ministry of Education), the shared root means translators should be alert not to import the παιδαγωγός entry’s restrictive/custodial connotations inappropriately, nor to flatten παιδεία into mere academic schooling when Paul intends holistic moral-spiritual formation. |
| δούλοι / κύριοι | doúloi / kýrioi | slaves/bondservants / masters | the master-slave household relationship | bondservants…masters | 6:5–9 — central to “Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships” | High. NEW TERM (both). Two compounding risks: (1) δούλος is a strongly loaded modern word (slavery, including its use as a live metaphor for degrading subjugation, “δούλος των παθών” — “slave to one’s passions”), raising real pastoral-application sensitivity about how this passage is taught in a modern context that rightly abhors chattel slavery; (2) κύριοι (lowercase, “masters,” 6:5, 6:9) is the exact same word as the baseline’s Critical term Κύριος (capitalized, “the Lord,” referring to Christ/YHWH). Consistent, careful capitalization and typographic convention is essential throughout chapter 6 to prevent “obey your masters” (κυρίους) from visually or aurally blurring into “obey your Lords” in a letter that elsewhere reserves Κύριος exclusively for Christ. Flag for human theologian review on both grounds. |
| δύναμη (τῆς ἰσχύος αὐτοῦ) | dýnami (tis ischýos aftoú) | power / might | strength for spiritual conflict | strength of his might | 6:10 (baseline term δύναμη Θεού, reused) | Medium (per baseline) |
| πανοπλία (τοῦ Θεοῦ) | panoplía (tou Theoú) | full armor, complete arms | the full set of military equipment | whole armor of God | 6:11, 6:13 — central to “Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God” | Low-Medium. NEW TERM. A vivid, stable ancient-military term still transparent in Modern Greek (πανοπλία is used of any complete armor/equipment set, including figuratively); an asset requiring only comprehension support, not doctrinal correction. |
| μεθοδεία (τοῦ διαβόλου) | methodeía (tou diavólou) | scheming, crafty stratagem | cunning deceit | schemes, wiles | 6:11 | Medium. NEW TERM. Shares a root with the entirely neutral Modern Greek word μέθοδος (“method”), risking a bland “the devil’s methods/techniques” reading rather than the specifically cunning, deceptive stratagem Paul intends (the word’s classical sense is close to “trickery”). |
| πάλη | páli | wrestling, struggle | hand-to-hand combat metaphor | struggle | 6:12 — “our struggle is not against flesh and blood” | Low. Stable, an asset (wrestling remains a known and vivid sport/metaphor in Modern Greek culture). |
| αρχαί, εξουσίαι, κοσμοκράτορες (τοῦ σκότους τούτου), πνευματικά τῆς πονηρίας | archaí, exousíai, kosmokrátores, pnevmatiká tis ponirías | rulers, authorities, world-rulers of this darkness, spiritual [forces] of evil | the hierarchy of hostile spiritual powers | rulers, authorities, cosmic powers over this present darkness, spiritual forces of evil | 6:12 — the letter’s fullest statement of “Spiritual Warfare,” naming real personal spiritual enemies, not merely social/political structures | Critical. NEW TERM (κοσμοκράτωρ especially). κοσμοκράτωρ occurs only here in the entire NT. Its two component parts (κόσμος, world + κράτωρ, ruler) remain transparent in Modern Greek, but the word has a live secular usage today applied to powerful political strongmen, oligarchs, or global business tycoons (a “κοσμοκράτορας” in journalistic usage can mean a dominant world power or magnate). This risks Paul’s cosmic, personal-spiritual-enemy language being read as a merely political or economic critique of human power structures (a reading with real contemporary ideological appeal) rather than the specific claim that real, personal, malevolent spiritual beings — not human systems alone — are in view. Requires human theologian review on every occurrence; ἀρχαί/ἐξουσίαι recur from 1:21 and 3:10 and should be rendered identically for consistency. |
| ζώνη ἀληθείας / θώρακας δικαιοσύνης / ὑπόδησις ἑτοιμασίας τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης / θυρεός πίστεως / περικεφαλαία σωτηρίας / μάχαιρα τοῦ Πνεύματος, ῥήμα Θεού | — | belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of gospel-readiness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit (the word of God) | the individual pieces of the Roman legionary’s equipment, applied metaphorically | belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, etc. | 6:14–17 | Low-Medium (composite). Combines baseline terms δικαιοσύνη (Critical), ευαγγέλιο (High), ειρήνη (Medium), πίστη (High), σωτηρία (Critical) — all reused exactly in their compound armor-piece forms. θυρεός (the specific large Roman rectangular shield, as opposed to the ordinary Modern Greek word for shield, ασπίδα) is a rare, somewhat archaic word that may be mildly opaque for comprehension (not doctrinal distortion) and could benefit from a brief gloss. ῥήμα (a spoken utterance) is worth distinguishing from λόγος (word/Word) in a note, since Paul specifically chooses ῥήμα here — the spoken, actively wielded word, fitting the sword metaphor. |
| παρρησία | parrisía | boldness | confident, unashamed speech | boldly | 6:19 (see 3:12 entry, reused) | Low-Medium (per Ch.3 entry) |
| μυστήριο (τοῦ εὐαγγελίου) | mystírio (tou evangelíou) | mystery of the gospel | the revealed content Paul proclaims boldly | mystery of the gospel | 6:19 (see Ch.1 μυστήριο entry) | Critical (per Ch.1 entry) |
| πρεσβεύω | presvévo | to be an ambassador, to represent | diplomatic representation | ambassador | 6:20 — “an ambassador in chains” | Low. Stable, and an asset — πρέσβης/πρεσβευτής remains the ordinary Modern Greek word for a diplomatic ambassador, making Paul’s paradox (an ambassador who is also a prisoner) vivid and immediately intelligible. |
| χάρη / ειρήνη / αγάπη / πίστη | chári / eiríni / agápi / pístis | grace / peace / love / faith | closing benediction | grace, peace, love, faith | 6:23–24 (baseline terms χάρη, ειρήνη, πίστη reused exactly; αγάπη per this document’s Ch.2 entry) | Critical/Medium/Medium/High (per baseline and above) |
Cross-Reference Summary: Doctrine-to-Chapter Coverage
| Curriculum Doctrine | Primary Chapters | Key New Terms Introduced |
|---|---|---|
| Salvation by Grace through Faith | 2 (core), 1 | δώρον, ἔργα (vs. baseline ἔργα νόμου), ποίημα |
| Election and Predestination in Christ | 1 | προορίζω/προορισμός (Critical) |
| The Church as the Body of Christ | 1, 3, 4, 5 | σῶμα Χριστού, κεφαλή, πλήρωμα, ἀνακεφαλαίωσις |
| Unity of Jews and Gentiles in One New Humanity | 2, 3 | καινός ἄνθρωπος, μεσότοιχον, συμπολίτες, οἰκεῖοι, πολιτεία |
| The Mystery of Christ Revealed | 1, 3, 5, 6 | μυστήριον (Critical), οἰκονομία |
| Spiritual Warfare and the Armor of God | 2, 6 | πανοπλία, ἀρχαί/ἐξουσίαι, κοσμοκράτορες (Critical), μεθοδεία, ἄρχων τῆς ἐξουσίας τοῦ ἀέρος |
| Household Codes and Christ-Centered Relationships | 5, 6 | ὑποτάσσομαι (High), κεφαλή, δοῦλοι/κύριοι (High), παιδεία |
| Gifts for Building Up the Church | 4 | καταρτισμός, οἰκοδομή, ministry-office terms |
| Walking in Newness of Life | 2, 4, 5 | περιπατέω, παλαιὸς/νέος ἄνθρωπος, καρπὸς τοῦ φωτός, πληρούσθε ἐν Πνεύματι |
This document must be read together with 08_core_glossary.md, which consolidates every term above (baseline-reused and newly identified) into a single risk-tiered glossary for Phase 2 translation memory seeding.