Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Hebrews (English → Hebrew)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, spanning Hebrews 1–13. Terms already fixed in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [TM REUSE] and must be rendered exactly as recorded there — no alternative renderings are proposed for these. All other terms are new proposals for this curriculum, pending formal addition to translation memory in a later Phase 1 step.
Risk tiers follow the baseline convention:
- Critical — mistranslation destroys or alters essential doctrine; mandatory human theologian review every occurrence.
- High — significant theological confusion/syncretism risk; mandatory human theologian review.
- Medium — reduces clarity but preserves essential meaning; native speaker review recommended.
- Low — minor imprecision risk; automated review sufficient.
Section A — Terms Reused Exactly from Baseline Romans Translation Memory
| English term | Hebrew | Transliteration | Risk | Doctrine category | Chapters occurring | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gospel | הבשורה | ha-besorah | Medium | Gospel | 4:2 (implicit “good news”) | [TM REUSE] |
| grace | חסד | chesed | High | Grace | 2:9; 4:16; 10:29; 12:15, 28; 13:9 | [TM REUSE] |
| faith | אמונה | emunah | High | Faith of OT Saints | 3–4; 6; 10:22–39; 11 (entire chapter); 12:2 | [TM REUSE]; central to ch. 11 |
| righteousness | צדק | tzedek | Critical | Melchizedek typology | 1:9; 7:2 (Melchizedek’s name); 11:7, 33; 12:11 | [TM REUSE] |
| salvation | ישועה | yeshu’ah | Critical | Salvation / Once-for-All Sacrifice | 1:14; 2:3, 10; 5:9; 6:9; 9:28; 11:7 | [TM REUSE] |
| apostle | שליח | shaliach | Medium | Christ’s unique sending | 3:1 | [TM REUSE]; unusually applied to Christ himself here, not a human envoy |
| called / calling | קרוא / קריאה | karu / keri’ah | High | Effectual Calling | 3:1; 9:15; 11:8 | [TM REUSE] |
| holy | קדוש | kadosh | High | Sanctification / Priesthood | throughout; esp. 7:26; 9 (holy places); 12:14 | [TM REUSE] |
| sanctification | התקדשות | hitkadshut | High | Sanctification | 2:11; 10:10, 14, 29; 12:14; 13:12 | [TM REUSE] |
| resurrection | תחיית המתים | techiyat hametim | Critical | Resurrection | 6:2; 11:35; 13:20 | [TM REUSE] |
| lord | אדון | Adon | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 1:10; 2:3; 7:14; 13:20 | [TM REUSE] |
| son of God | בן האלוהים | ben ha-Elohim | Critical | Sonship / Deity of Christ | 1:2, 5, 8; 4:14; 5:5, 8; 6:6; 7:3, 28 | [TM REUSE]; central to ch. 1 |
| peace | שלום | shalom | Medium | Peace / God of Peace | 7:2 (Salem); 12:14; 13:20 | [TM REUSE] |
| thanksgiving | הודיה | hodayah | Low | Sacrifice of Praise | 13:15 | [TM REUSE] |
| fellowship | שותפות | shutafut | Low | Christian Fellowship | 13:16 | [TM REUSE] |
| church | קהילה | kehilah | Critical | Church as God’s People | 2:12; 12:23 | [TM REUSE]; must be framed through Romans 11 grafting-in logic, never replacement |
| kingdom of God | מלכות האלוהים | malchut ha-Elohim | High | Unshakeable Kingdom | 1:8 (throne); 12:28 | [TM REUSE] |
| law | תורה | Torah | Critical | Law / Old Covenant | 7:5, 12, 16, 19, 28; 8:4, 10; 9:19, 22; 10:1, 8, 28 | [TM REUSE]; frame as fulfilled/completed goal, never as attacked or abrogated |
| sin | חטא | chet | High | Universal Accountability / Atonement | throughout; 2:17; 3:13; 9:26, 28; 10:26; 12:1, 4 | [TM REUSE] |
| glory | כבוד | kavod | Medium | Deity of Christ | 1:3; 2:7, 9, 10; 3:3; 9:5; 13:21 | [TM REUSE] |
| messiah / christ | משיח | mashiach | Critical | Messianic Promise | 3:6, 14; 5:5; 6:1; 9:11, 14, 24, 28; 11:26 | [TM REUSE] |
| prophet | נביא | navi | Medium | Inspiration of Scripture | 1:1 | [TM REUSE] |
| prophecy | נבואה | nevu’ah | Low | Inspiration of Scripture | (implicit throughout OT citations) | [TM REUSE] |
| covenant | ברית | brit | High | New Covenant vs. Old | 7:22; 8 (entire); 9:4, 15–20; 10:16, 29; 12:24; 13:20 | [TM REUSE]; central book-wide term |
| intercession | הפגעה | hafga’ah | High | Christ’s Heavenly Intercession | 7:25 | [TM REUSE]; rooted in Isaiah 53:12, itself contested |
| david | דוד | David | Medium | Davidic Background (indirect) | (implicit in Psalm citations, e.g., 4:7) | [TM REUSE] |
| israel | ישראל | Yisra’el | Critical | New Covenant / Israel | 8:8, 10 (Jeremiah 31 citation) | [TM REUSE] |
| jesus | ישוע | Yeshua | Critical | Christology | throughout; never ישו | [TM REUSE]; absolute enforcement |
| god | אלוהים | Elohim | Critical | Deity of Christ | throughout | [TM REUSE] |
| holy spirit | רוח הקודש | Ruach HaKodesh | Critical | New Covenant Ministry | 2:4; 3:7; 6:4; 9:8, 14; 10:15 | [TM REUSE] |
| father | אבינו | Avinu | Medium | Sonship / Discipline | 1:5; 12:9 (“Father of spirits”) | [TM REUSE] |
| exhort | לעודד | le’oded | Low | Mutual Encouragement | 3:13; 10:25; 13:22 | [TM REUSE] |
| providence | השגחה פרטית | hashgachah pratit | Medium | God’s Sustaining Rule | 1:3 (“upholding all things”), implicit | [TM REUSE] |
Section B — New Terms Proposed for This Curriculum (Hebrews-Specific Extensions)
| English term | Hebrew | Transliteration | Risk | Doctrine category | Chapters | Rationale / Rejected alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| high priest | כהן גדול | kohen gadol | Critical | Christ as Great High Priest | 2:17; 3:1; 4:14–15; 5:1, 5, 10; 6:20; 7 (entire); 8:1, 3; 9 (entire, incl. core passage); 10:21 | No viable alternative exists; the exact hereditary Aaronic office term. Applying it to a non-Levite requires the ch.7 Melchizedek argument taught explicitly with every occurrence. |
| great high priest | כהן גדול נשגב / כהן גדול עליון | kohen gadol nisgav / elyon | Critical | Christ as Great High Priest | 4:14 | Extends “high priest” with the superlative μέγας; must not be shortened back to plain כהן גדול in this specific verse, since the emphatic form is deliberate. |
| Melchizedek | מלכי־צדק | Malki-Tzedek | High | Christ’s Non-Levitical Priesthood | 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7 (entire) | Proper name; alternatives_rejected: none — this is the fixed Hebrew Bible form (Genesis 14:18). Contains צדק (TM righteousness) as an internal asset. |
| new covenant | ברית חדשה | brit chadashah | High | New Covenant vs. Old | 8:8, 13; 9:15; 12:24 | Extends baseline “covenant” entry using Jeremiah 31:31’s own phrase; alternatives_rejected: none — the term is fixed by direct OT citation. |
| old / first covenant | הברית הישנה / הברית הראשונה | ha-brit ha-yeshanah / ha-rishonah | Critical | Old Covenant | 8:7, 13; 9:1, 15, 18 | Must never be framed as illegitimate or worthless in its own time; frame consistently through fulfillment/telos logic (cf. law entry). |
| tabernacle / tent | משכן | mishkan | Medium | Sanctuary Typology | 8:2, 5; 9:2–8, 11, 21; 13:10 | Direct Torah term (Exodus 25–40); must distinguish earthly mishkan from the “greater and more perfect” heavenly one. |
| holy place / Most Holy Place | קודש / קודש הקודשים | kodesh / kodesh ha-kodashim | Medium | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 8:2; 9:2–3, 8, 12, 24–25; 10:19; 13:11 | Direct Torah terms; restricted-access sense must be retained for the argument of ch. 9–10 to function. |
| mercy seat / atonement cover | כפורת | kapporet | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9:5 | Exact Exodus 25:17 term; inseparably tied to Yom Kippur in Jewish memory — Christ as priest, victim, and kapporet must be taught explicitly. |
| ark of the covenant | ארון הברית | aron ha-brit | Medium | Sanctuary Typology | 9:4 | Direct Torah term; must not be used for Noah’s ark (see below) — distinct Hebrew words required for one Greek word (kibōtos). |
| Noah’s ark | תבה | tevah | Medium | Faith of OT Saints | 11:7 | Distinct from ארון (see above); translator note required to prevent merging the two biblical images. |
| veil / curtain | פרוכת | parochet | Medium | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 6:19; 9:3; 10:20 | Direct Torah term for the sanctuary’s dividing curtain. |
| blood | דם | dam | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | throughout ch. 9–10, 12–13 | Central thematic term of the whole epistle; must retain full sacrificial-atoning weight, not a merely biological sense. |
| sacrifice / offering | קרבן | korban | Medium | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 5:1; 7:27; 8:3; 9:9, 23, 26; 10:1, 5, 8, 11–12, 26; 11:4; 13:15–16 | Direct Torah term; since the Jerusalem Temple no longer stands, contemporary Hebrew readers encounter קרבן primarily through Torah-reading rather than lived practice — an unusual reduction (not increase) in collision risk relative to most doctrines, but doctrinal weight (Christ’s sacrifice as final and singular) remains High in the composite once-for-all argument. |
| to offer (a sacrifice) | להקריב | lehakriv | Low-Medium | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 5:1, 3; 7:27; 8:3–4; 9:7, 14, 25, 28; 10:1–2, 8, 11–12; 11:4, 17 | Direct cognate of קרבן. |
| once for all / once | פעם אחת ולתמיד / אחת ולעולם | pa’am achat u-le-tamid / achat u-le-olam | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 7:27; 9:12, 26, 28; 10:2, 10 | The book’s central adverbial claim; note the root-overlap caution with קרבן הַתָּמִיד (the Mishnah’s Daily Whole Offering) — teach the resonance explicitly, do not let it cause confusion. |
| redemption | גאולה | ge’ulah | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9:12, 15 | Per baseline’s own note under “salvation,” ge’ulah is reserved from יְשׁוּעָה and defaults toward corporate/historical redemption (Exodus paradigm); applying it to Christ’s individual, completed, once-for-all redemption requires the same scope-correction as “salvation” received in Romans. |
| mediator | מתווך | metavech | High | New Covenant Mediation | 8:6; 9:15; 12:24 | Jewish prayer tradition emphasizes unmediated access to God; Christ’s mediatorship must be taught as grounded in his dual nature (fully God, fully human), not as an additional intermediary figure. |
| purify / purification | לטהר / טהרה | letaher / taharah | Medium | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 1:3 (implicit); 9:13–14, 22–23; 10:2 | Direct Levitical purity vocabulary (tahor/tamei); must extend beyond ritual/external purity to inward, definitive cleansing of conscience. |
| sprinkle / sprinkling | להזות / הזיה | lehazot / hazayah | Low-Medium | Old Covenant Ratification Rites | 9:13, 19, 21; 10:22; 11:28; 12:24 | Direct cognate of the Levitical הזיה ritual (Leviticus 14; Numbers 19). |
| conscience | מצפון | matzpun | Medium | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 9:9, 14; 10:2, 22; 13:18 | Modern Hebrew coinage with no direct Biblical Hebrew ancestor (Tanakh expresses the concept via לב, “heart”); functionally necessary, standard in Hebrew NT tradition, but benefits from an anchoring translator note. |
| inheritance | נחלה | nachalah | High | Perseverance and Assurance | 1:14; 6:12, 17; 9:15; 11:7–8 | Torah’s own land-allotment term (Numbers 26:53); applying it to an “eternal inheritance” requires both/and framing with Israel’s own covenantal land-inheritance, per the baseline’s “adoption” caution. |
| promise | הבטחה | havtachah | Low-Medium | Faith of OT Saints | 4:1; 6:12, 15, 17; 7:6; 8:6; 9:15; 10:23, 36; 11:9, 11, 13, 17, 33, 39 | Straightforward; central to ch. 6 and 11’s Abrahamic-promise argument. |
| boldness / confidence | ביטחון | bittachon | Medium | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 3:6; 4:16; 10:19, 35 | Distinct from אמונה (faith); note baseline explicitly rejected בטחון as an alternative for “faith” — the two words must remain visibly distinct across both curricula. |
| confession | הצהרת האמונה | hatzharat ha-emunah | Medium | Perseverance and Assurance | 3:1; 4:14; 10:23 | Must be kept distinct from וידוי (viduy), the Jewish liturgical term specifically for confession of sin (Yom Kippur’s Al Chet). |
| type / pattern / copy | תבנית | tavnit | Medium | Sanctuary Typology | 8:5; 9:9, 23–24; 10:1 | Echoes Exodus 25:9’s own “tavnit” — a strong positive resource; must not imply the earthly pattern was without value in its time. |
| shadow | צל | tzel | Medium | Old Covenant as Shadow | 8:5; 10:1 | Must not suggest the Law/Torah was worthless — preparatory, not valueless. |
| serve / cultic service | עבודה | avodah | High | Sanctuary Typology / Priesthood | 8:5; 9:1, 6, 9, 21; 10:2; 13:10 | Retains strong live Temple-restoration associations in Jewish liturgy (the Amidah’s avodah petition); frame as typologically fulfilled, not as a call for literal Temple-service restoration. |
| eternal | נצחי / עולם | nitzchi / olam | Medium | Eternal Redemption / Covenant | 5:9; 6:2; 9:12, 14–15; 13:8, 20 | Must convey full eternity, not merely “age-lasting,” wherever the theological weight requires it. |
| judgment | משפט | mishpat | Medium-High | Danger of Apostasy | 9:27; 10:27, 30; 12:23; 13:4 | Direct OT legal-theological term; individual post-mortem judgment here is sharper/more individually focused than the Jewish default communal-covenantal emphasis. |
| perfect / to perfect, complete | שלם / להשלים | shalem / lehashlim | High | Christ’s Qualification as High Priest | 2:10; 5:9; 7:19, 28; 9:9; 10:1, 14; 11:40; 12:23 | Consistent rendering family (root ש-ל-ם) conveys completion-toward-a-goal, distinct from תמים (reserved for sacrificial “without blemish”); must never imply the Torah or Levitical system was a flawed moral failure rather than a preparatory stage. |
| without blemish / unblemished | תמים / בלי מום | tamim / bli mum | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9:14 | Direct sacrificial-animal qualification term (Exodus 12:5) with a double resonance also touching Genesis 17:1’s call to Abraham; preserve both senses. |
| repentance | תשובה | teshuvah | High | Faith and Apostasy | 6:1, 6; 12:17 | One of Judaism’s richest, most central categories (teshuvah, Yamim Nora’im); Hebrews 6’s warning about apostates who cannot be “renewed again to repentance” sits in real tension with the Jewish default (repentance always available) and must be taught deliberately. |
| apostasy / falling away | נטישת האמונה | netishat ha-emunah | Critical | The Danger of Apostasy | 2:1–3; 3:12–19; 6:4–8; 10:26–31; 12:25 | Central warning-passage term across the whole book; requires one consistent, carefully-chosen rendering, always flagged for theologian review. |
| to sin willfully / deliberately | לחטוא במזיד | lachto b’mezid | Critical | The Danger of Apostasy | 10:26 | Reuses the precise Rabbinic legal category for intentional sin (מזיד, contrasted with שוגג, unintentional sin) — an excellent conceptual match, but doctrinal stakes (no further sacrifice remains) require theologian review. |
| angel | מלאך | mal’akh | High | Superiority over Angels | 1 (entire); 2:2, 5, 7, 9, 16; 12:22; 13:2 | Tanakh itself calls angelic beings “sons of God” (Genesis 6:2; Job 1:6); the Son’s categorical difference from this class must be made explicit, not assumed. |
| firstborn | בכור | bechor | High | Deity and Sonship of Christ | 1:6; 12:23 | Must not imply the Son is a created being originating at a point in time; frame as rank/primacy, not origin. |
| radiance / effulgence of glory | זיו כבודו | ziv kevodo | Critical | Deity of Christ | 1:3 | Classic co-eternal-with-the-Father image (Nicene “light from light”); must convey emanation of the same essence, not derivative reflection. |
| exact imprint (of his being) | חותם עצם מהותו | chotam etzem mahuto | Critical | Deity of Christ | 1:3 | Must not read as mere resemblance or delegated representation. |
| substance / essence (of God) | מהות | mahut | Critical | Deity of Christ | 1:3 | Context-sensitive: contrast with the distinct sense of the same Greek word (hypostasis) at 11:1 — flag both occurrences for consistency review. |
| assurance / substantiating ground (of hope) | תוקף / ממשות | tokef / mamashut | High | Faith of OT Saints / Perseverance | 11:1 | Same Greek word (hypostasis) as 1:3 but a distinct theological sense; must not be conflated with the “essence of God” rendering above. |
| propitiation / to make atonement | לכפר | lechaper | Critical | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 2:17 | Root כ-פ-ר is the very root of יום הכיפורים (Yom Kippur); every occurrence requires theologian review to keep the once-for-all, Christ-accomplished sense clear against the annual Levitical rite. |
| forgiveness / remission | סליחה / מחילת חטאים | selichah / mechilat chata’im | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9:22; 10:18 | Must convey full forensic release, not merely emotional pardon. |
| devil / Satan | השטן | ha-satan | Medium | Christ’s Victory over Death | 2:14 | Mainstream Rabbinic tradition presents Satan more as an accusing function under God’s authority (Job 1–2; Zechariah 3) than an independent cosmic antagonist; teach Hebrews’ framing with awareness of this difference in emphasis. |
| pioneer / founder (of salvation) | ראש / מוביל | rosh / movil | Medium-High | Christ as Forerunner | 2:10; 12:2 | Avoid חלוץ (“pioneer,” the Zionist-Halutz term) unless clearly footnoted, due to heavy secular-nationalist historical freight. |
| rest / Sabbath-rest | מנוחה / שבתון | menuchah / shabbaton | High | Perseverance and Assurance | 3:11, 18; 4:1, 3–5, 8–11 | Shabbat is a living, weekly-observed centerpiece of Jewish life; the eschatological “rest” must be framed as fulfillment/goal of the Sabbath sign, never as relativizing ongoing Sabbath observance. |
| word of God | דבר האלוהים | devar ha-Elohim | Low-Medium | Living and Active Scripture | 4:12; 13:7 | Strong positive OT resonance (Isaiah 55:11). |
| throne of grace | כס החסד | keis ha-chesed | Low-Medium | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 4:16 | Compound of reused terms; low independent risk. |
| tithe | מעשר | ma’aser | Low | Melchizedek’s Superiority | 7:2, 4, 6, 8–9 | Existing mitzvah-category term; low risk. |
| without genealogy | בלי יחוס משפחתי | bli yichus mishpachti | High | Melchizedek’s Superiority | 7:3 | Directly challenges the Aaronic priesthood’s genealogical-descent premise; must be explained, not merely asserted. |
| unchangeable / permanent (priesthood) | כהונה נצחית שאינה עוברת לאחר | kehunah nitzchit she-einah overet le-acher | High | Christ’s Permanent Priesthood | 7:24 | Contrasts with the Levitical succession broken by death. |
| guarantee / surety | ערבון / ערב | eravon / arev | Medium | Better Covenant | 7:22 | Positive resource: echoes Judah’s offer as ערב (arev) for Benjamin, Genesis 43:9. |
| better (comparative) | טוב יותר / נעלה | tov yoter / na’aleh | Medium | New Covenant vs. Old | 1:4; 6:9; 7:7, 19, 22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:16, 35, 40; 12:24 | Recurring Hebrews motif; must consistently avoid implying the earlier institutions were bad/worthless — frame as fulfillment, not devaluation. |
| obsolete / fading away | מתיישן / קרוב להתבטל | mityashen / karov le-hitbatel | Critical | Old Covenant Superseded in Type | 8:13 | Among the most supersession-adjacent NT statements; frame strictly as the sacrificial/priestly administration’s typological fulfillment, never Torah’s abrogation or Israel’s rejection. |
| strangers and exiles | גרים ותושבים | gerim ve-toshavim | Low-Medium | Faith of OT Saints | 11:13 | Near-exact quotation of the patriarchs’ own self-description (Genesis 23:4; Leviticus 25:23) — strong positive resource. |
| homeland / heavenly city | מולדת / עיר שבשמים | moledet / ir she-bashamayim | High | Faith of OT Saints | 11:14, 16 | מולדת carries strong contemporary Israeli-national resonance; applying it to a heavenly homeland requires care not to relativize attachment to the actual Land. |
| the Binding (testing) of Isaac / testing | לנסות / לבחון (עקדת יצחק) | lenasot / livchon (Akedat Yitzchak) | High | Faith of OT Saints | 11:17 | Direct reference to the Akedah, central to Rosh Hashanah liturgy; typological connection to the Father’s offering of the Son requires theologian-level care. |
| discipline | מוסר | musar | Low-Medium | Perseverance and Assurance | 12:5, 7, 8, 11 | Direct quotation of Proverbs 3:11–12’s own term for covenantal fatherly correction — strong positive resource. |
| Mount Sinai | הר סיני | Har Sinai | High | New Covenant vs. Old | 12:18–21 | Contrasted rhetorically with Mount Zion; must retain the weight of the Sinai theophany without diminishment. |
| Mount Zion | הר ציון | Har Tziyon | Critical | New Covenant vs. Old / Church and Israel | 12:22 | Root of “Zionism,” present in Israel’s national anthem, names contemporary Jerusalem’s spiritual-national center; presenting it as the heavenly gathering-place of the Church requires mandatory theologian review and explicit non-supersessionist framing. |
| blood of sprinkling / blood of Abel | דם ההזיה / דמו של הבל | dam ha-hazayah / damo shel Hevel | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 12:24 | Direct citation of Genesis 4:10; contrast (blood crying for vengeance vs. Christ’s blood speaking a “better word”) must remain recognizable. |
| unshakeable kingdom | מלכות שאינה מתמוטטת | malchut she-einah mitmotetet | Medium | Kingdom Mission | 12:28 | Extends TM kingdom_of_God entry. |
| hospitality | הכנסת אורחים | hachnasat orchim | Low | Christian Ethics | 13:2 | Celebrated Jewish mitzvah (Genesis 18) — strong positive resource. |
| altar | מזבח | mizbe’ach | Medium | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 13:10 | Metaphorical, not literal-cultic; requires a brief clarifying frame to avoid being read as claiming a rival physical altar. |
| camp (outside the) | מחנה | machaneh | Medium | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 13:11, 13 | Positive typological resource: Leviticus 16:27’s sin-offering carcass burned outside the camp. |
| sacrifice of praise | זבח תודה / קרבן תודה | zevach todah / korban todah | Low-Medium | Perseverance and Assurance | 13:15 | Echoes Leviticus 7:12’s thank-offering and Psalms’ todah vocabulary — strong positive resource. |
| shepherd (great shepherd) | רועה | ro’eh | Low | Christ’s Resurrection and Care | 13:20 | Strong positive resource (Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34). |
Section C — Terms Requiring Explicit Translator Notes (Cross-Reference)
The following terms, already detailed above, require a [TRANSLATOR NOTE] at every occurrence per the AI Translation Requirements’ footnote protocol, due to either (a) untranslatable wordplay, (b) dual-sense Greek terms requiring distinct Hebrew renderings, or (c) exceptionally weighted cultural/liturgical collision:
- διαθήκη as “covenant” vs. “last will/testament” (Hebrews 9:16–17) — Hebrew ברית cannot carry the “testament” sense; the wordplay must be footnoted, not translated.
- κιβωτός — requires תֵּבָה (Noah, 11:7) vs. אֲרוֹן (Ark of the Covenant, 9:4); one Greek word, two required Hebrew words.
- ὑπόστασις — requires מַהוּת (essence, 1:3) vs. תּוֹקֶף/מִמָּשׁוּת (assurance, 11:1); same Greek word, two distinct theological senses.
- ἐφάπαξ / κατ’ ἐνιαυτόν — the “once for all” vs. “year by year” (Yom Kippur) contrast is the structural spine of the core passage and must never be softened.
- ἀγενεαλόγητος (Melchizedek without genealogy) — directly confronts the genealogical premise of the Aaronic priesthood; requires explanatory framing every time.
- ὄρος Σιών (Mount Zion) — requires explicit non-supersessionist framing given the term’s intense contemporary Israeli national resonance.
- ἀναφέρω ἁμαρτίας πολλῶν (Hebrews 9:28, echoing Isaiah 53:12) — the identity of Isaiah 53’s servant is among the most contested points in Jewish-Christian exegesis; flag per the baseline’s intercession-doctrine precedent.
This glossary extends, and must remain fully consistent with, the baseline Romans translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json. All Section A terms are enforced exactly as recorded in the baseline; all Section B terms are proposed additions pending formal translation memory versioning in subsequent Phase 1/Phase 2 steps.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: צדק
Transliteration: tzedek
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: צדקה
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Melchizedek Typology / Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. צדק required over צדקה (narrowed to ‘charity’ in Modern Hebrew) outside direct Genesis 15:6 citation contexts. Hebrews-specific: uniquely embedded in Melchizedek’s own name (7:2, ‘king of righteousness’) and in Christ’s character (1:9) — a positive typological resource, but the general abstract sense must not collapse into the charity meaning.
Salvation
Approved rendering: ישועה
Transliteration: yeshu’ah
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: גאולה
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Yeshu’ah defaults toward corporate/national deliverance in Jewish thought; must retain individual, eternal, already-inaugurated force. Hebrews-specific: 9:28’s ‘will appear a second time… to save’ is the clearest two-comings salvation statement in the epistle (also 1:14; 2:3,10; 5:9; 6:9; 11:7).
Resurrection
Approved rendering: תחיית המתים
Transliteration: techiyat hametim
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Judaism affirms general future resurrection as a Principle of Faith; the fit-with-Messiah’s-job-description problem remains. Hebrews-specific: 13:20’s ‘brought again from the dead’ applied to ‘the great Shepherd’ connects the general Jewish hope to this specific historical event as its guarantee; also 6:2; 11:35.
Lord
Approved rendering: אדון
Transliteration: Adon
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Adonai is the traditional spoken substitute for the Tetragrammaton. Hebrews-specific: 1:10’s direct citation of Psalm 102 applying YHWH-address language to the Son is among the sharpest deity-of-Christ citations in the epistle; also 2:3; 7:14; 13:20.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: בן האלוהים
Transliteration: ben ha-Elohim
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ / υἱός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Tanakh’s existing ‘sons of God’ usage (angelic beings, Israel corporately) never denotes an individual sharing God’s own essence. Hebrews-specific: the epistle’s opening and structuring claim (1:2, 5, 8; 4:14; 5:5, 8; 6:6; 7:3, 28), acute given ch. 1’s direct comparison with angels, themselves called ‘sons of God’ in the Tanakh.
Church
Approved rendering: קהילה
Transliteration: kehilah
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: עדה
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Never use עדה. Hebrews-specific: 12:22-23’s placement of קהילה directly alongside ‘Mount Zion’ and ‘the heavenly Jerusalem’ maximizes the risk of an implied Israel-replacement reading; must be taught through the Romans 11 grafting-in framework at every occurrence (also 2:12, quoting Psalm 22:22).
Law
Approved rendering: תורה
Transliteration: Torah
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Torah is the central, beloved covenant gift, not a burden; frame the argument as fulfillment, never abrogation. Hebrews-specific: the highest-density concentration of this risk in the NT — 7:19 and 10:1’s claims that the Law ‘made nothing perfect’ and was a ‘shadow’ require the same fulfillment framing at every occurrence (7:5,12,16,19,28; 8:4,10; 9:19,22; 10:1,8,28).
Messiah
Approved rendering: משיח
Transliteration: mashiach
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Rambam’s messianic job description does not include a heavenly high-priestly ministry. Hebrews-specific: the entire priesthood argument (chs. 5-9) is a genuinely novel extension of messianic categories requiring explicit teaching, not assumption (3:6,14; 5:5; 6:1; 9:11,14,24,28; 11:26).
Israel
Approved rendering: ישראל
Transliteration: Yisra’el
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Names the reader’s own nation and central identity. Hebrews-specific: the extended Jeremiah 31:31-34 citation (8:8,10) explicitly promises the new covenant TO ‘the house of Israel and the house of Judah’ — a crucial textual anchor against any reading that treats the new covenant as displacing rather than fulfilling God’s promise to Israel.
Jesus
Approved rendering: ישוע
Transliteration: Yeshua
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ישו
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Must always be spelled ישוע with the final ayin; never ישו. Hebrews-specific: used throughout (2:9; 3:1; 4:14; 12:2,24; 13:8,12); absolute enforcement, no exceptions.
God
Approved rendering: אלוהים
Transliteration: Elohim
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. The Shema’s ‘Hashem Echad’ is central. Hebrews-specific: 1:8’s direct citation of Psalm 45:6 (‘Your throne, O God’) applied to the Son is one of the sharpest deity-of-Christ prooftexts in the NT and must be framed as compatible with, not departing from, absolute divine unity.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: רוח הקודש
Transliteration: Ruach HaKodesh
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Rabbinic tradition holds the Ruach HaKodesh ‘departed from Israel’ with the last prophets (Yoma 9b) and functions impersonally. Hebrews-specific: 3:7 and 10:15’s present-tense ‘the Holy Spirit says’ directly contradicts the departure claim and must be taught explicitly; also 2:4; 6:4; 9:8,14.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: התגלמות
Transliteration: hitgalmut
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: הגשמה
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. No long-settled native Hebrew Christian theological term exists; follow Delitzsch’s John 1:14 precedent where the noun alone under-conveys the event. Hebrews-specific: reintroduced at 2:14,17 (‘had to be made like his brothers in every respect… partook of flesh and blood’) and 4:15; 5:7-8; requires deliberate, carefully scaffolded phrasing rather than reliance on precedent.
High Priest
Approved rendering: כהן גדול
Transliteration: kohen gadol
Doctrine: Priesthood
Original: ἀρχιερεύς
Category: Priesthood
No viable alternative exists; the exact hereditary Aaronic office term (Exodus 28-29). Applying it to a non-Levite (Christ, of Judah’s tribe, 7:14) is the single most structurally disruptive claim in the epistle and requires the Melchizedekian-order argument (ch. 7) taught alongside every occurrence (2:17; 3:1; 4:14-15; 5:1,5,10; 6:20; 7 entire; 8:1,3; 9:11-28; 10:21).
Great High Priest
Approved rendering: כהן גדול נשגב
Transliteration: kohen gadol nisgav
Doctrine: Priesthood
Rejected alternatives: כהן גדול (plain form, insufficiently emphatic for 4:14)
Original: ἀρχιερέα μέγαν
Category: Priesthood
Extends high_priest with the superlative μέγας; used at Hebrews 4:14 to introduce the section developing Christ’s qualifications (chs. 5-10). Must not be flattened back to plain כהן גדול in this specific verse, since the emphatic form is a deliberate rhetorical marker.
Old Covenant
Approved rendering: הברית הישנה / הברית הראשונה
Transliteration: ha-brit ha-yeshanah / ha-rishonah
Doctrine: Covenant
Original: πρώτη διαθήκη / παλαιά
Category: Covenant
Must never be framed as illegitimate or worthless in its own redemptive-historical time; frame consistently through fulfillment/telos logic. Among the most supersession-adjacent phrases in the entire NT applied to Israel’s own covenant; mandatory theologian review at every occurrence (8:7,13; 9:1,15,18).
Apostasy
Approved rendering: נטישת האמונה
Transliteration: netishat ha-emunah
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy
Original: παραπίπτω / ἀφίστημι / ἀποστασία (thematic)
Category: The Danger of Apostasy
The central term of the book’s most severe recurring warning; requires one consistent, carefully-chosen rendering across all five warning passages (2:1-3; 3:12-19; 6:4-8; 10:26-31; 12:25), always flagged for mandatory theologian review, since inconsistent rendering would obscure the epistle’s unified warning structure.
Willful Sin
Approved rendering: לחטוא במזיד
Transliteration: lachto b’mezid
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy
Original: ἁμαρτάνειν ἑκουσίως
Category: The Danger of Apostasy
Reuses מזיד, the precise Rabbinic legal category for intentional sin (contrasted with שוגג, unintentional sin) — an excellent conceptual match, but the doctrinal stakes (‘no further sacrifice for sin remains’) require mandatory theologian review at every occurrence (10:26).
Radiance Of Glory
Approved rendering: זיו כבודו
Transliteration: ziv kevodo
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ἀπαύγασμα τῆς δόξης
Category: Deity of Christ
The classic co-eternal-with-the-Father image of Hebrews 1:3 (Nicene ‘light from light’); must convey emanation of the same essence, not mere reflected or derivative light. Among the epistle’s most theologically dense single phrases; mandatory theologian review at its every occurrence.
Exact Imprint
Approved rendering: חותם עצם מהותו
Transliteration: chotam etzem mahuto
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως
Category: Deity of Christ
The precise, stamped representation of God’s own underlying essence (1:3); must not read as mere resemblance or delegated representation. Carries the same theological weight as radiance_of_glory and must be reviewed together with it.
Divine Essence
Approved rendering: מהות
Transliteration: mahut
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ὑπόστασις (1:3 sense)
Category: Deity of Christ
The 1:3 sense of ὑπόστασις — God’s own essential being, exactly imprinted in the Son. Context-sensitive: the same Greek word carries a distinct sense (‘assurance/ground of hope’) at 11:1, rendered with a different Hebrew term (see assurance_hypostasis); both occurrences must be flagged for consistency review so translators do not conflate the essence-sense with the assurance-sense.
Propitiation
Approved rendering: לכפר
Transliteration: lechaper
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἱλάσκομαι
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
The chosen root (כ-פ-ר) is the very root of Yom Kippur (יום הכיפורים), the single most concentrated atonement-ritual in Jewish life; every occurrence requires mandatory theologian review to ensure the once-for-all, Christ-accomplished sense is clear against the backdrop of the annual, ongoing Levitical rite (2:17).
Obsolete
Approved rendering: מתיישן / קרוב להתבטל
Transliteration: mityashen / karov le-hitbatel
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: πεπαλαίωκεν / ἀφανισμός
Category: The New Covenant versus the Old
The declaration that God, by speaking of a ‘new’ covenant, has made the first one obsolete, ‘ready to vanish away’ (8:13). Among the most supersession-adjacent statements in the entire NT applied to Israel’s covenant; must be framed strictly as describing the typological/sacrificial administration’s fulfillment in Christ, never Torah’s abrogation or Israel’s covenantal rejection. Mandatory theologian review on every occurrence.
Mount Zion
Approved rendering: הר ציון
Transliteration: Har Tziyon
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ὄρος Σιών
Category: The New Covenant versus the Old
Not merely a biblical toponym for a Hebrew-speaking Israeli reader — it is the root of Tziyonut (Zionism), appears in the national anthem (Hatikvah), and names contemporary Jerusalem’s spiritual-national center. Presenting ‘Mount Zion’ as the heavenly, ecclesial gathering-place of ‘the assembly of the firstborn’ requires mandatory theologian review with explicit non-supersessionist framing, cross-referenced to Romans 11’s grafting-in logic (12:22).
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: אמונה
Transliteration: emunah
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: ביטחון
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Emunah is generally praxis-oriented (mitzvot-observance) in Jewish usage; must be anchored as personal trust, not implicitly bundled with observance as its necessary expression. Hebrews-specific: central to the entirety of ch. 11’s survey of OT saints and to ch. 3-4’s warnings against unbelief (3:12,19; 4:2); must be taught as forward-looking trust in an unseen, unfulfilled promise.
Called
Approved rendering: קרוא
Transliteration: karu
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλητός / κεκλημένοι
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Context-sensitive across senses. Hebrews-specific: 9:15’s ‘those who are called’ receive the promised eternal inheritance under the new covenant; 11:8 describes Abraham’s call to leave for an unknown land.
Calling
Approved rendering: קריאה
Transliteration: keri’ah
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Must convey sovereign summons, not human-initiated seeking. Hebrews-specific: 3:1 describes believers as ‘holy brothers, sharers in a heavenly calling.‘
Sanctification
Approved rendering: התקדשות
Transliteration: hitkadshut
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: קידוש
Original: ἁγιασμός / ἁγιάζω
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Never use קידוש (the Shabbat/holiday wine-blessing ritual). Hebrews-specific: uniquely holds both a completed, once-for-all sense (10:10, 14, accomplished through Christ’s single offering) and an ongoing pursuit (12:14) — both senses must be preserved without collapsing into either a single ritual moment or endless self-improvement; also 2:11; 10:29; 13:12.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: מלכות האלוהים
Transliteration: malchut ha-Elohim
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία (ἀσάλευτος)
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Distinguish from Jewish national/political sovereignty tied to the Land. Hebrews-specific: implicit in the throne-citation of 1:8; extended via the compound ‘unshakeable kingdom’ at 12:28 (see unshakeable_kingdom entry).
Sin
Approved rendering: חטא
Transliteration: chet
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Correct and well-established; risk is doctrinal framework (federal headship vs. yetzer hatov/hara). Hebrews-specific: unusually strong language about sin’s power to harden (3:13) and disqualify (12:1,4) sits against the mainstream Jewish view of real ongoing freedom to choose good.
Covenant
Approved rendering: ברית
Transliteration: brit
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. ברית is tightly bound to Brit Milah and Sinai in Jewish self-understanding. Hebrews-specific: the book’s central organizing category; additionally, 9:16-17 exploits a Greek wordplay (diathēkē as both ‘covenant’ and ‘last will/testament’) that ברית cannot carry — requires a mandatory [TRANSLATOR NOTE] distinguishing the covenant sense from the legal-will logic of that sub-argument, since Hebrew has no single word bridging both senses.
Intercession
Approved rendering: הפגעה
Transliteration: hafga’ah
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Original: ἐντυγχάνειν
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Rooted in Isaiah 53:12; the Servant’s identity remains contested (Rashi’s collective-Israel reading vs. individual Messiah). Hebrews-specific: 7:25’s ongoing heavenly advocacy and 9:24’s ‘appearing in the presence of God on our behalf’ inherit this same contested background, directly relevant also to 9:28’s echo of the same Isaiah verse.
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: ציות האמונה
Transliteration: tziyut ha-emunah
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Risk of being heard as continued mitzvot-observance rather than a transformed life flowing from faith. Hebrews-specific: relevant background framing for the entire ch. 7-10 argument that Gentile believers are not required to take on Torah’s ceremonial boundary-markers as a condition of the new covenant; no single Hebrews verse uses this exact phrase, but the caution applies throughout the New Covenant vs. Old doctrine cluster to prevent Hebrew-Roots-style misreadings documented in analysis/05_translation_landscape.md.
Melchizedek
Approved rendering: מלכי־צדק
Transliteration: Malki-Tzedek
Doctrine: Priesthood
Original: Μελχισέδεκ
Category: Priesthood
Fixed Hebrew Bible form (Genesis 14:18); no alternatives exist or are needed. Contains צדק (righteousness) and echoes שלם (Salem/peace) as positive internal assets. The argument’s function — establishing priestly legitimacy entirely apart from Levitical descent — must be explained, not merely cited (5:6,10; 6:20; 7:1-28).
New Covenant
Approved rendering: ברית חדשה
Transliteration: brit chadashah
Doctrine: Covenant
Original: καινὴ διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Jeremiah 31:31’s own phrase. The extended Jeremiah 31:31-34 citation in Hebrews 8 is the longest OT quotation in the NT and must match the received Masoretic Hebrew wording as closely as possible, since the audience will recognize it instantly (also 7:22; 9:15; 12:24).
Mercy Seat
Approved rendering: כפורת
Transliteration: kapporet
Doctrine: Sanctuary Typology
Original: ἱλαστήριον
Category: Sanctuary Typology
The exact Exodus 25:17 term, inseparable in Jewish memory from Yom Kippur. The composite claim that Christ functions simultaneously as priest, sacrifice, and (implicitly, per 9:5’s context) kapporet must be made explicit, not left implicit.
Blood
Approved rendering: דם
Transliteration: dam
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: αἷμα
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
The single most repeated theological noun in the core passage; must retain full sacrificial-atoning weight throughout, never reduced to a merely biological or clinical sense (chs. 9-10, 12-13).
Once For All
Approved rendering: פעם אחת ולתמיד
Transliteration: pa’am achat u-le-tamid
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Rejected alternatives: אחת ולעולם
Original: ἐφάπαξ / ἅπαξ
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
The book’s central adverbial claim. Shares its root (ת-מ-ד) with קרבן הַתָּמִיד, the Mishnah’s continual daily burnt offering — a genuine double-edged resonance requiring a mandatory [TRANSLATOR NOTE] so readers understand Christ’s sacrifice as the true, final ‘tamid’ ending repetition, not as itself ongoing or repeated (7:27; 9:12,26,28; 10:2,10).
Redemption
Approved rendering: גאולה
Transliteration: ge’ulah
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Rejected alternatives: ישועה (reserved for salvation per baseline)
Original: λύτρωσις / ἀπολύτρωσις
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Ge’ulah defaults toward corporate/historical redemption (the Exodus paradigm, the future Messianic ge’ulah) in Jewish thought; applying it to Christ’s individual, completed, once-for-all redemption requires the same scope-correction the baseline requires for ‘salvation’ (9:12,15).
Mediator
Approved rendering: מתווך
Transliteration: metavech
Doctrine: Covenant
Original: μεσίτης
Category: Covenant
Jewish prayer tradition strongly emphasizes unmediated access to God; Christ’s mediatorship must be taught as grounded precisely in his dual nature (fully God and fully human, cf. 2:14-18; 4:15), not as an additional intermediary figure compromising direct access (8:6; 9:15; 12:24).
Inheritance
Approved rendering: נחלה
Transliteration: nachalah
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: κληρονομία
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
The Torah’s own term for Israel’s tribal land-allotment (Numbers 26:53); applying it to an ‘eternal inheritance’ requires both/and framing so it does not appear to erase or relativize Israel’s own covenantal land-inheritance (1:14; 6:12,17; 9:15; 11:7-8).
Cultic Service
Approved rendering: עבודה
Transliteration: avodah
Doctrine: Sanctuary Typology
Original: λατρεία / λειτουργία
Category: Sanctuary Typology
Retains strong live Temple-restoration associations in Jewish liturgy (the Amidah’s avodah petition); must be framed as typologically fulfilled in Christ’s heavenly ministry, not as Hebrews being indifferent to or opposing the hope for restored Temple worship (8:5; 9:1,6,9,21; 10:2; 13:10).
Judgment
Approved rendering: משפט
Transliteration: mishpat
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy
Original: κρίσις
Category: The Danger of Apostasy
Direct OT legal-theological term; the certainty and universality of individual post-mortem judgment stated here is sharper and more individually focused than the Jewish default emphasis on communal/covenantal destiny (9:27; 10:27,30; 12:23; 13:4).
Perfect Complete
Approved rendering: שלם / להשלים
Transliteration: shalem / lehashlim
Doctrine: Christ as Great High Priest
Rejected alternatives: תמים (reserved for sacrificial ‘without blemish’ language)
Original: τέλειος / τελειόω
Category: Christ as Great High Priest
Consistent root-family (ש-ל-ם) conveying completion-toward-a-goal, distinct from correction-of-a-deficiency, since Torah itself is described in Psalm 19:8 as ‘temimah’ (perfect); must remain distinct from תמים to avoid conflating two different theological points (2:10; 5:9; 7:19,28; 9:9; 10:1,14; 11:40; 12:23).
Without Blemish
Approved rendering: תמים / בלי מום
Transliteration: tamim / bli mum
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἄμωμος
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Direct sacrificial-animal qualification language (Exodus 12:5) with a double resonance also touching Genesis 17:1’s call to Abraham (‘walk before me and be tamim’); preserve both senses (9:14).
Repentance
Approved rendering: תשובה
Transliteration: teshuvah
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy
Original: μετάνοια
Category: The Danger of Apostasy
One of Judaism’s richest, most central categories, generally understood as always available through prayer, charity, and turning. Hebrews 6:4-6 and 12:17’s warnings that some cannot be ‘renewed again to repentance’ sit in real tension with this default and must be taught deliberately, not assumed to carry identical weight.
Angel
Approved rendering: מלאך
Transliteration: mal’akh
Doctrine: Superiority over Angels
Original: ἄγγελος
Category: Superiority over Angels
The Tanakh itself calls angelic beings ‘sons of God’ (Genesis 6:2; Job 1:6); the Son’s categorical difference from this class must be made explicit at every occurrence in chapter 1, not assumed to map automatically onto the reader’s existing category (1:4-14; 2:2,5,7,9,16; 12:22; 13:2).
Firstborn
Approved rendering: בכור
Transliteration: bechor
Doctrine: Christology
Original: πρωτότοκος
Category: Christology
Must not be read as implying the Son is a created being originating at a point in time; frame consistently as rank/primacy, not chronological origin, especially given the direct co-eternal claims of 1:3 in the same chapter (1:6; 12:23).
Assurance Hypostasis
Approved rendering: תוקף / ממשות
Transliteration: tokef / mamashut
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ὑπόστασις (11:1 sense)
Category: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
The 11:1 sense of ὑπόστασις — the underlying ground/reality of confidence on which hope rests (‘faith is the hypostasis of things hoped for’). Same Greek word as 1:3 but a distinct theological sense; must not be conflated with the divine_essence rendering used there — flag both occurrences for consistency review.
Forgiveness
Approved rendering: סליחה / מחילת חטאים
Transliteration: selichah / mechilat chata’im
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἄφεσις
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Must convey full forensic release, not merely emotional pardon; reuses the baseline’s sin (חטא) vocabulary for consistency (9:22; 10:18).
Sabbath Rest
Approved rendering: מנוחה / שבתון
Transliteration: menuchah / shabbaton
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: κατάπαυσις / σαββατισμός
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
Shabbat is a living, weekly-observed centerpiece of Jewish life, not merely a historical concept; the eschatological ‘Sabbath-rest’ fulfilled in Christ must be framed as the goal/fulfillment Shabbat itself signals, never as relativizing or replacing ongoing Sabbath-keeping, especially for Messianic Jewish readers who continue to observe it (3:11,18; 4:1,3-11).
Without Genealogy
Approved rendering: בלי יחוס משפחתי
Transliteration: bli yichus mishpachti
Doctrine: Priesthood
Original: ἀγενεαλόγητος
Category: Priesthood
The Aaronic/Levitical priesthood (kehunah) has always depended entirely on documented patrilineal descent; a priesthood explicitly defined by the absence of such a genealogical record directly challenges this structural premise and must be explained, not merely asserted (7:3).
Unchangeable Priesthood
Approved rendering: כהונה נצחית שאינה עוברת לאחר
Transliteration: kehunah nitzchit she-einah overet le-acher
Doctrine: Priesthood
Original: ἀπαράβατος
Category: Priesthood
Christ’s priesthood, permanent and non-transferable, unlike the Levitical succession broken by each priest’s death; must convey permanence without implying the Levitical priesthood’s own historic legitimacy was fraudulent (7:24).
Homeland Heavenly City
Approved rendering: מולדת / עיר שבשמים
Transliteration: moledet / ir she-bashamayim
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: πατρίς / πόλις
Category: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Moledet carries strong contemporary Israeli-national resonance tied to the modern State of Israel and the Land; applying it typologically to a heavenly homeland the patriarchs sought ‘instead of’ returning to their earthly one requires careful framing so it is not heard as relativizing or spiritualizing away attachment to the actual Land (11:14,16).
Akedah Testing
Approved rendering: לנסות / לבחון (עקדת יצחק)
Transliteration: lenasot / livchon (Akedat Yitzchak)
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: δοκιμάζω / πειράζω
Category: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Direct reference to the Akedah (עקדת יצחק), one of the most theologically dense narratives in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish liturgy (read on Rosh Hashanah); its use here as a type implicitly foreshadowing the Father’s offering of the Son is a rich but sensitive typological connection requiring theologian-level care (11:17).
Mount Sinai
Approved rendering: הר סיני
Transliteration: Har Sinai
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ὄρος Σινά
Category: The New Covenant versus the Old
Must retain the full weight of the Sinai theophany without diminishment even as it is rhetorically contrasted with Mount Zion; this is the mountain of Torah’s own giving and must not be handled as merely a negative foil (12:18-21).
Blood Of Sprinkling
Approved rendering: דם ההזיה / דמו של הבל
Transliteration: dam ha-hazayah / damo shel Hevel
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: αἷμα ῥαντισμοῦ / αἷμα Ἄβελ
Category: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Direct citation of Genesis 4:10’s ‘the voice of your brother’s blood cries to me’; the contrast (Abel’s blood crying for vengeance vs. Christ’s blood speaking a ‘better word’ of mercy) is theologically rich but requires the allusion to remain clearly recognizable (12:24).
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: הבשורה
Transliteration: ha-besorah
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: חדשות טובות
Original: εὐαγγέλιον (implicit, cf. 4:2 εὐηγγελισμένοι)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Besorah is generic Hebrew for ‘good news’ of any kind; must be qualified as the specific proclamation of salvation through the Messiah. Hebrews-specific: reinforced at 4:2, where the wilderness generation’s failure to respond in faith to the besorah they heard functions as a direct negative warning example for the reader; anchor to salvation-proclamation in this context too.
Grace
Approved rendering: חסד
Transliteration: chesed
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: חן
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. חן was rejected because Modern Hebrew usage narrows it toward charm/cuteness; חסד carries the fuller covenant-loyalty sense but must be sharpened beyond covenant loyalty to favor given apart from Torah observance. Hebrews-specific: retains full weight at 2:9; 4:16; 10:29 (grace that can be ‘outraged’) and 12:15 (grace that can be ‘failed to obtain’) — these warning contexts require chesed to remain a distinct, spurnable divine gift, not a vague blessing.
Apostle
Approved rendering: שליח
Transliteration: shaliach
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Shlichut (the shaliach acts with the sender’s full authority) is a genuine positive resource. Hebrews-specific: 3:1 uniquely applies the term to Christ himself (‘the apostle… of our confession’) rather than to a human envoy sent by him — this distinctive shift of referent must be flagged so readers do not default to the human-sent-one sense.
Holy
Approved rendering: קדוש
Transliteration: kadosh
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Must retain moral/relational set-apartness, not only ritual purity. Hebrews-specific: risk is compounded because the same root also names the literal sanctuary chambers (קודש / קודש הקודשים, ch. 9); context must disambiguate person-holiness (3:1’s ‘holy brothers’; 12:14) from place-holiness.
Saints
Approved rendering: קדושים
Transliteration: kedoshim
Doctrine: Sainthood
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package (formalized here as a standalone translation_memory.json entry; previously established in the baseline’s Sainthood doctrine risk-registry entry but not given its own baseline TM record). Must not imply an ascetic or Torah-observant elite class. Hebrews-specific: 6:10 (‘ministered to the saints’); 13:24 (‘greet… all the saints’).
Peace
Approved rendering: שלום
Transliteration: shalom
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Shalom’s ubiquity as an everyday greeting risks diluting its theological weight. Hebrews-specific: embedded in Melchizedek’s title ‘king of Salem’ (7:2, Salem = שלם, root of shalom) — a positive wordplay resource; also 12:14; 13:20 (‘God of peace’).
Glory
Approved rendering: כבוד
Transliteration: kavod
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Must retain the weighty manifest-divine-presence sense, not colloquial ‘respect.’ Hebrews-specific: 1:3’s ‘radiance of the glory of God’ (see radiance_of_glory entry) and 2:7,9’s ‘crowned with glory and honor,’ citing Psalm 8.
Prophet
Approved rendering: נביא
Transliteration: navi
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Deuteronomy 18:15’s ‘prophet like Moses’ is a long-disputed prooftext. Hebrews-specific: 1:1 opens by contrasting the prophets’ partial speech with the Son’s final word — low independent term risk, but the comparative argument itself carries weight (see superiority-over-Moses doctrine).
Providence
Approved rendering: השגחה פרטית
Transliteration: hashgachah pratit
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: השגחה
Original: φέρων τὰ πάντα (1:3, ‘upholding all things’)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Use hashgachah pratit, not bare hashgachah (kosher-supervision reading). Hebrews-specific: uniquely predicated of the Son himself at 1:3 (‘upholding all things’), quietly reinforcing the deity-of-Christ claim of the same verse.
David
Approved rendering: דוד
Transliteration: David
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ (implicit via Psalm citations, e.g. 4:7)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Low independent risk; beloved shared figure. Hebrews-specific: referenced only indirectly through Psalm citations (e.g., Psalm 95 in ch. 3-4; Psalm 110 throughout, esp. ch. 1 and 7), not as a direct subject of the letter’s own argument.
Father
Approved rendering: אבינו
Transliteration: Avinu
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. ‘Avinu Malkeinu’ is a genuine positive liturgical resource. Hebrews-specific: 12:9’s discipline-context usage (‘Father of spirits’) parallels that liturgy but must not be flattened to the same register as 1:5’s eternal Father-Son relationship, which carries heavier Critical-adjacent Christological weight.
Tabernacle
Approved rendering: משכן
Transliteration: mishkan
Doctrine: Sanctuary Typology
Rejected alternatives: מקדש (Temple - different, later referent; too narrow for the wilderness tent)
Original: σκηνή
Category: Sanctuary Typology
Direct Torah term (Exodus 25-40); must be distinguished from the ‘greater and more perfect tent’ (heavenly antitype) so the reader does not collapse earthly copy and heavenly reality into one referent (8:2,5; 9:2-8,11,21; 13:10).
Holy Place Most Holy Place
Approved rendering: קודש / קודש הקודשים
Transliteration: kodesh / kodesh ha-kodashim
Doctrine: Sanctuary Typology
Original: τὰ ἅγια / ἅγια ἁγίων
Category: Sanctuary Typology
Direct Torah terms; the restricted-access sense (only the high priest, only once yearly) must be retained for the rhetorical force of 9:1-10 and 10:19-20 to function.
Ark Of Covenant
Approved rendering: ארון הברית
Transliteration: aron ha-brit
Doctrine: Sanctuary Typology
Original: κιβωτὸς τῆς διαθήκης
Category: Sanctuary Typology
Must never be used for Noah’s ark (see noahs_ark entry) — one Greek word (kibōtos) requires two distinct Hebrew words. The Ark’s typological ‘eclipse’ by Christ’s heavenly ministry must be taught, not assumed (9:4).
Noahs Ark
Approved rendering: תבה
Transliteration: tevah
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: ארון (reserved exclusively for the covenant Ark)
Original: κιβωτός
Category: Faith
Distinct Hebrew word required from ארון; a [TRANSLATOR NOTE] is required at 11:7 to prevent the two separate biblical images (Noah’s vessel and the covenant Ark of 9:4) from merging under a single Greek referent.
Veil
Approved rendering: פרוכת
Transliteration: parochet
Doctrine: Sanctuary Typology
Original: καταπέτασμα
Category: Sanctuary Typology
Direct Torah term for the sanctuary’s dividing curtain; must retain the restricted-access sense it once signified, now opened through Christ’s flesh (6:19; 9:3; 10:20).
Sacrifice Offering
Approved rendering: קרבן
Transliteration: korban
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: θυσία / προσφορά
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Direct Torah term. Since the Jerusalem Temple no longer stands, contemporary readers encounter this word primarily through Torah-reading rather than lived sacrificial practice — an unusual reduction in everyday-collision risk, but the composite once-for-all doctrinal argument remains theologically weighty; the fencing need shifts to preserving concreteness rather than avoiding trivialization (5:1; 7:27; 8:3; 9:9,23,26; 10:1-12,26; 11:4; 13:15-16).
To Offer
Approved rendering: להקריב
Transliteration: lehakriv
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: προσφέρω
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Direct cognate of korban; the frequency contrast (repeated Levitical offering vs. Christ’s singular self-offering) must be preserved through consistent verb choice across occurrences (5:1,3; 7:27; 8:3-4; 9:7,14,25,28; 10:1-2,8,11-12; 11:4,17).
Purification
Approved rendering: לטהר / טהרה
Transliteration: letaher / taharah
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: καθαρίζω / καθαρότης
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Direct Levitical purity vocabulary (tahor/tamei); must extend beyond ritual/external purity to inward, definitive cleansing of conscience, or the core passage’s central contrast (9:13-14 vs. 9:9) collapses (1:3 implicit; 9:13-14,22-23; 10:2).
Sprinkling
Approved rendering: להזות / הזיה
Transliteration: lehazot / hazayah
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ῥαντίζω / ῥαντισμός
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Direct cognate of the Levitical hazayah ritual (Leviticus 14; Numbers 19); low-medium linguistic risk but doctrinally tied to the once-for-all argument’s contrasts (9:13,19,21; 10:22; 11:28; 12:24).
Conscience
Approved rendering: מצפון
Transliteration: matzpun
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: συνείδησις
Category: Sanctification
Modern Hebrew philosophical coinage with no direct Biblical Hebrew ancestor (Tanakh expresses the concept via לב, ‘heart’ — e.g. Psalm 51’s ‘lev tahor’); functionally necessary and standard in Hebrew NT tradition, but benefits from an anchoring [TRANSLATOR NOTE] connecting it to the heart-concept for readers steeped in Tanakh idiom (9:9,14; 10:2,22; 13:18).
Promise
Approved rendering: הבטחה
Transliteration: havtachah
Doctrine: Faith
Original: ἐπαγγελία
Category: Faith
Central to the Abrahamic-promise argument developed in chapters 6 and 11; positive, straightforward term ties directly into a theme shared with mainstream Jewish self-understanding (4:1; 6:12,15,17; 7:6; 8:6; 9:15; 10:23,36; 11:9,11,13,17,33,39).
Boldness Confidence
Approved rendering: ביטחון
Transliteration: bittachon
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: παρρησία
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
Must remain visibly distinct from אמונה (faith) across both this curriculum and Romans, since the baseline explicitly rejected bittachon as a rendering for ‘faith’ due to its subjective-trust-feeling connotation; here it renders a different Greek term (parrēsia) and that distinction must be preserved consistently (3:6; 4:16; 10:19,35).
Confession
Approved rendering: הצהרת האמונה
Transliteration: hatzharat ha-emunah
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Rejected alternatives: וידוי (reserved for confession of sin, as in the Yom Kippur Al Chet)
Original: ὁμολογία
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
The shared, positive profession of faith the community is urged to hold fast; must be kept distinct from וידוי, the Jewish liturgical term specifically for confession of sin (3:1; 4:14; 10:23).
Type Pattern
Approved rendering: תבנית
Transliteration: tavnit
Doctrine: Sanctuary Typology
Original: ὑπόδειγμα / τύπος
Category: Sanctuary Typology
Echoes Exodus 25:9’s own ‘tavnit’ (the pattern shown to Moses); a strong positive resource, but must not imply the earthly pattern was without value in its own time (8:5; 9:9,23-24; 10:1).
Shadow
Approved rendering: צל
Transliteration: tzel
Doctrine: Covenant
Original: σκιά
Category: Covenant
The Law described as ‘a shadow of the good things to come’; must not suggest the Law/Torah was worthless in itself, only preparatory — same caution as the ‘law’ entry (8:5; 10:1).
Eternal
Approved rendering: נצחי / עולם
Transliteration: nitzchi / olam
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: αἰώνιος
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Must convey full eternity, not merely ‘age-lasting,’ wherever the theological weight of the passage requires it (5:9; 6:2; 9:12,14-15; 13:8,20).
Devil Satan
Approved rendering: השטן
Transliteration: ha-satan
Doctrine: Christ’s Victory over Death
Original: διάβολος
Category: Christ’s Victory over Death
Mainstream Rabbinic tradition presents Satan more as an accusing function under God’s sovereign authority (cf. Job 1-2; Zechariah 3) than as an independent cosmic antagonist; Hebrews’ framing (2:14, ‘holding the power of death’) should be taught with awareness of this difference in emphasis, not assumed identical.
Pioneer Founder
Approved rendering: ראש / מוביל
Transliteration: rosh / movil
Doctrine: Christology
Rejected alternatives: חלוץ (the Zionist-Halutz ‘pioneer’ term, heavy secular-nationalist historical freight)
Original: ἀρχηγός
Category: Christology
The leader/originator who blazes the trail into salvation ahead of ‘many brothers’ (2:10; 12:2). Avoid חלוץ unless clearly footnoted; prefer the blander but doctrinally safer רֹאשׁ or מוֹבִיל.
Word Of God
Approved rendering: דבר האלוהים
Transliteration: devar ha-Elohim
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Inspiration of Scripture
Strong positive OT resonance (Isaiah 55:11); the ‘living and active’ force must be preserved as piercing, judging agency, not sentimentalized poetic vitality (4:12; 13:7).
Throne Of Grace
Approved rendering: כס החסד
Transliteration: keis ha-chesed
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: θρόνος τῆς χάριτος
Category: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Compound of two already-established terms (throne + grace); believers may draw near confidently to this throne on the basis of Christ’s high priesthood (4:16).
Guarantee Surety
Approved rendering: ערבון / ערב
Transliteration: eravon / arev
Doctrine: Covenant
Original: ἔγγυος
Category: Covenant
Christ as the legal guarantor of a better covenant (7:22); positive resource, echoing Judah’s offer to be arev (guarantor) for Benjamin, Genesis 43:9.
Better Comparative
Approved rendering: טוב יותר / נעלה
Transliteration: tov yoter / na’aleh
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: κρείττων
Category: The New Covenant versus the Old
The recurring Hebrews motif (better covenant 7:22, better promises 8:6, better sacrifices 9:23, better country 11:16, etc. — thirteen occurrences); must consistently avoid implying the earlier institutions were bad or worthless in their own redemptive-historical moment, framed instead as fulfillment/goal logic (1:4; 6:9; 7:7,19,22; 8:6; 9:23; 10:34; 11:16,35,40; 12:24).
Strangers And Exiles
Approved rendering: גרים ותושבים
Transliteration: gerim ve-toshavim
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ξένοι καὶ παρεπίδημοι
Category: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Near-exact quotation of the patriarchs’ own self-description (Genesis 23:4; Leviticus 25:23) — a strong positive resource requiring little adaptation (11:13).
Discipline
Approved rendering: מוסר
Transliteration: musar
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: παιδεία
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
Direct quotation of Proverbs 3:11-12’s own term for covenantal fatherly correction — strong positive resource, comparatively low risk relative to most doctrines in this book (12:5,7,8,11).
Unshakeable Kingdom
Approved rendering: מלכות שאינה מתמוטטת
Transliteration: malchut she-einah mitmotetet
Doctrine: Kingdom
Original: βασιλεία ἀσάλευτος
Category: Kingdom
Extends the baseline kingdom_of_god entry; distinguish the gospel’s advancing spiritual reign from Jewish national/political sovereignty expectations tied to the Land, especially given this doctrine’s placement immediately after the Zion/Sinai contrast (12:28).
Altar
Approved rendering: מזבח
Transliteration: mizbe’ach
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: θυσιαστήριον
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Metaphorical, referring to the reality of Christ’s sacrifice rather than a physical cultic object; could be misread either as claiming a literal rival altar or as trivialized pure metaphor without sacrificial weight — requires a brief clarifying frame (13:10).
Camp
Approved rendering: מחנה
Transliteration: machaneh
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: παρεμβολή
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Positive typological resource: Leviticus 16:27’s sin-offering carcass burned outside the camp; the wilderness-encampment image (13:11,13) requires the typological connection made explicit.
Sacrifice Of Praise
Approved rendering: זבח תודה / קרבן תודה
Transliteration: zevach todah / korban todah
Doctrine: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: θυσία αἰνέσεως
Category: Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Echoes Leviticus 7:12’s thank-offering and the Psalms’ todah vocabulary — strong positive resource; reuse hodayah (thanksgiving) where natural (13:15).
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: הודיה
Transliteration: hodayah
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία (thematic; cf. θυσία αἰνέσεως, 13:15)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Strong positive overlap with Jewish liturgical thanksgiving. Hebrews-specific: expressed as an ongoing ‘sacrifice of praise’ at 13:15 (see sacrifice_of_praise entry).
Fellowship
Approved rendering: שותפות
Transliteration: shutafut
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: קהילה
Original: κοινωνία / μὴ ἐπιλανθάνεσθε
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Kept distinct from קהילה (church) to avoid conflation. Hebrews-specific: 13:16 commands sharing generously as an acceptable sacrifice to God.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: נבואה
Transliteration: nevu’ah
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία (implicit throughout OT citations)
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Shares root with navi; low independent risk. Hebrews-specific: underlies the epistle’s extensive OT citation practice throughout.
Exhort
Approved rendering: לעודד
Transliteration: le’oded
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Context-sensitive between entreaty and encouragement. Hebrews-specific: the community’s mutual responsibility ‘day after day’ (3:13) and especially ‘as the Day draws near’ (10:25); also 13:22.
Tithe
Approved rendering: מעשר
Transliteration: ma’aser
Doctrine: Priesthood
Original: δεκάτη
Category: Priesthood
Existing mitzvah-category term; Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek is cited as evidence of Melchizedek’s (and so Christ’s) priestly superiority (7:2,4,6,8-9).
Hospitality
Approved rendering: הכנסת אורחים
Transliteration: hachnasat orchim
Doctrine: Christian Ethics
Original: φιλοξενία
Category: Christian Ethics
Strong positive resource; a celebrated Jewish mitzvah (cf. Abraham’s hospitality, Genesis 18) (13:2).
Shepherd
Approved rendering: רועה
Transliteration: ro’eh
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: ποιμήν
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
The ‘great Shepherd of the sheep,’ describing the risen Christ; strong positive resource (Psalm 23; Ezekiel 34) (13:20).
Referenced passages