Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Judges (न्यायियों)
A. Terms Reused Exactly from the Baseline TM (No Change)
| # | English Term | Greek (LXX) | Hindi (from baseline) | Baseline Risk | Judges Occurrences | Usage Note for Judges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God | θεός | परमेश्वर | Critical | Throughout | Used generically alongside यहोवा (see B1); no change to baseline rendering. |
| 2 | Covenant | διαθήκη | वाचा | High | 2:1-2, 2:20 | The Sinai covenant broken by Israel; identical sense to baseline. |
| 3 | Idolatry (general) | εἰδωλολατρία (concept) | मूर्तिपूजा | High | Throughout (2:11-13, 17:1-18:31, etc.) | General category term for the book’s central sin; specific idol-objects get new terms below (B12-B15). |
| 4 | Gentiles/Nations | ἔθνη | अन्यजाति | Medium | 2:21-23; 3:1-4 | Refers here to remaining Canaanite nations as a covenant-testing snare, not the Pauline missiological sense; flag usage-shift for translators. |
| 5 | Wrath of God | — (ὠργίσθη θυμῷ) | परमेश्वर का क्रोध / यहोवा का क्रोध | High | 2:12,14,20; 3:8; 10:7 | Reuse baseline vocabulary; substitute परमेश्वर with यहोवा where the divine covenant name is explicit in context (see B1). |
| 6 | Slavery/Servitude | δουλεύω / δοῦλος | दासत्व / दास | Medium | 2:7 (positive); 3:8,14; 4:2-3; 10:8 (negative — to oppressors) | Distinguish covenant-service-to-God (positive, 2:7) from forced servitude to foreign oppressors (negative) by context; same Hindi term serves both per baseline convention. |
| 7 | Promise/Covenant pledge | ἐπαγγελία (concept, cf. covenant oath 2:1) | प्रतिज्ञा | High | 2:1 | God’s sworn word to the fathers, referenced as the basis of the covenant-lawsuit in 2:1-3. |
| 8 | Mercy/Compassion | ἔλεος (concept, cf. 2:18 relenting) | दया | Medium | 2:18 (conceptually) | The LORD’s compassionate response to groaning; do not confuse with the distinct new term for “relented” (B10). |
| 9 | Peace (land had rest) | εἰρήνη-adjacent (ἡσύχασεν) | शांति | Medium | 3:11,30; 5:31; 8:28 | Narrower politico-military “rest” sense; flag distinction from baseline’s relational peace-with-God doctrine. |
| 10 | Anathema/curse-oath (related sense) | ἀνάθεμα-type herem/oath | शापित हो / शपथ (contextual) | High | 21:5 | Related to but distinct from the baseline Galatians sense (God’s judicial curse on gospel-distorters); here a communal military curse-oath. Do not conflate renderings without a clarifying note. |
B. New Terms Proposed for This Curriculum
| # | English Term | Greek (LXX) | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Hindi Rendering | Hindi Transliteration | Doctrine | Risk | Key Occurrences | Notes / Alternatives Rejected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | LORD (divine covenant name, YHWH) | κύριος (=YHWH) | kyrios | ”the LORD,” rendering the Tetragrammaton | यहोवा | Yahowā | Apostasy/Covenant Unfaithfulness; underlies all six curriculum doctrines | Critical | Throughout (formulaic) | MUST be kept distinct from the baseline’s प्रभु, which is reserved for NT Lordship-of-Christ contexts. Established BSI Hindi OT convention. Mixing the two terms would blur the OT covenant-name/NT confessional-title distinction the Hindi Bible tradition maintains. Theologian review mandatory for consistent application across all 21 chapters. |
| B2 | Judge (the book’s title office) | κριτής / κριταί | kritēs / kritai | ”one who judges/decides” | न्यायी | nyāyī | The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges; God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers | Critical | Book title; 2:16-19; 3:10; 4:4; 10:2-3; 12:7-14; 15:20; 16:31 | Established BSI book title “न्यायियों.” Must not be confused with न्यायाधीश (modern court judge) or a guru/ascetic-teacher figure. Denotes a charismatic, Spirit-raised, temporary, non-hereditary military-and-civic deliverer. Gloss on first use in every document. |
| B3 | Did evil in the sight of the LORD (structural refrain) | ἐποίησαν τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιον κυρίου | epoiēsan to ponēron enōpion kyriou | ”they did the evil thing before the LORD” | यहोवा की दृष्टि में बुरा किया | Yahowā kī dṛṣṭi meṃ burā kiyā | The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance | Critical | 2:11; 3:7,12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1 | Must be rendered identically at every occurrence (grammatical subject may vary) to preserve the visible cyclical structure. Antithetical counterpart to B5. Theologian review mandatory. |
| B4 | King | βασιλεύς | basileus | ”king, monarch” | राजा | rājā | The Absence of a Righteous King | High | 8:22-23; 9:6ff; 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25 | New baseline term for this curriculum. Distinguish from baseline’s kingship_of_jesus (यीशु का राजत्व); Abimelech (ch.9) functions as the negative anti-type of the true king Israel needs. |
| B5 | Everyone did what was right in his own eyes (structural refrain) | ἀνὴρ τὸ εὐθὲς ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ ἐποίει | anēr to euthes en ophthalmois autou epoiei | ”each man did the straight/right thing in his own eyes” | जो अपनी दृष्टि में उचित जान पड़ता वही करता था | jo apanī dṛṣṭi meṃ ucita jāna paṛatā vahī karatā thā | The Absence of a Righteous King; Moral Decline and the Need for a Righteous King | Critical | 17:6; 21:25 (full form); 18:1; 19:1 (“no king” only) | Full form MUST match verbatim at 17:6 and 21:25 per cross-document consistency rules (same standard as the baseline’s Romans 8:28 rule). This is the book’s closing thesis statement. Theologian review mandatory. |
| B6 | No king in Israel | οὐκ ἦν βασιλεὺς ἐν Ισραηλ | ouk ēn basileus en Israēl | ”there was no king in Israel” | इस्राएल में कोई राजा नहीं था | Isrāela meṃ koī rājā nahīṃ thā | The Absence of a Righteous King | Critical | 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25 | Companion refrain to B5; render consistently across all four occurrences. |
| B7 | Angel of the LORD | ἄγγελος κυρίου | angelos kyriou | ”messenger of the LORD” | यहोवा का दूत | Yahowā kā dūta | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness; God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers | Critical | 2:1,4; 6:11-22; 13:3-21 | Distinct from a generic angelic messenger; a theophanic figure speaking in the LORD’s own voice. Many interpreters read this as a pre-incarnate Christophany, paralleling baseline Critical cautions on incarnation/deity of Christ. Theologian review mandatory on every occurrence. |
| B8 | Spirit of the LORD came upon (empowerment formula, variant 1) | πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐγένετο ἐπ’ αὐτόν | pneuma kyriou egeneto ep’ auton | ”the Spirit of the LORD came to be upon him” | यहोवा का आत्मा उस पर आया | Yahowā kā ātmā usa para āyā | The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges | Critical | 3:10; 11:29 | Temporary, task-specific empowerment, distinct from the NT indwelling Holy Spirit (baseline पवित्र आत्मा) though theologically continuous. NEVER शक्ति (per baseline power_of_god prohibition). |
| B9 | Spirit of the LORD clothed him (empowerment formula, variant 2) | πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐνέδυσεν | pneuma kyriou enedysen | ”the Spirit of the LORD clothed [him]“ | यहोवा के आत्मा ने उसे ढाँप लिया / उस पर छा गया | Yahowā ke ātmā ne use ḍhāṃpa liyā | The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges | Critical | 6:34 | Vivid “garment” image of empowerment; same guardrails as B8. |
| B10 | Spirit of the LORD rushed/leaped upon him (empowerment formula, variant 3) | πνεῦμα κυρίου ἥλατο ἐπ’ αὐτόν | pneuma kyriou hēlato ep’ auton | ”the Spirit of the LORD leaped/rushed upon him” | यहोवा का आत्मा उस पर बल से उतर आया | Yahowā kā ātmā usa para bala se utara āyā | The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges | Critical | 14:6,19; 15:14 | Sudden, forceful empowerment; most vulnerable to शक्ति/Shakti misreading given Samson’s violent-strength contexts. Theologian review mandatory. |
| B11 | The LORD relented / was moved to pity | μετεμελεῖτο κύριος | metemeleito kyrios | ”the LORD changed his mind / was moved to compassion” | यहोवा को तरस आया | Yahowā ko tarasa āyā | God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers; Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | High | 2:18; (conceptually 10:16) | MUST NOT be rendered with the baseline’s मन फिराव (reserved for human repentance from sin); God’s relenting here is compassionate response to suffering, not moral change. Mandatory translator note against implying divine fallibility. |
| B12 | Savior/Deliverer (of a judge) | σωτήρ | sōtēr | ”one who saves/rescues” | उद्धारकर्ता / छुड़ानेवाला | uddhārakartā / chuṛānevālā | God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers | Critical | 3:9,15 | Shares root with baseline’s सोतेरिया/उद्धार (salvation) but denotes temporal, repeatable, partial military deliverance through flawed human agents — a deliberate type/shadow of the ultimate Savior. Mandatory translator note distinguishing the two; theologian review required. |
| B13 | Vow | εὐχή | euchē | ”solemn pledge to God” | मन्नत / प्रण | mannata / praṇa | God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers | Critical | 11:30-31,35,39 | High cultural-collision risk: मन्नत माँगना (transactional vow-making) is a widespread, normalized Hindu/folk-religious devotional practice in India. Mandatory translator note distinguishing biblical vow-caution (cf. Numbers 30; Ecclesiastes 5:4-5) from culturally normalized manauti practice. Theologian review required. |
| B14 | Nazirite | ναζιραῖος | nazairaios | ”one separated/consecrated by special vow” | नाज़ीर | nāzīra | The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges | High | 13:5,7; 16:17 | Established Hindi Bible transliteration. Distinct from baseline’s general holy/पवित्र and sainthood/पवित्र जन (corporate call to all believers); this is a specific, regulated, individual vow-consecration (Numbers 6). Gloss on first use. |
| B15 | Carved image / graven idol | γλυπτόν | glypton | ”a carved/graven thing” | खुदी हुई मूर्ति | khudī huī mūrti | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | High | 17:3-4; 18:14,17-18,20,30-31 | Fixed pair with B16; render consistently wherever paired. |
| B16 | Molten/cast image | χωνευτόν | chōneuton | ”a molten/cast thing” | ढाली हुई मूर्ति | ḍhālī huī mūrti | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | High | 17:3-4; 18:14,17-18,20,30-31 | Fixed pair with B15. |
| B17 | Household gods / teraphim | θεραφιν | theraphin | domestic idols used in divination/ancestral veneration | तराफीम (गृह-देवता) | tarāphīma (gṛha-devatā) | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | High | 17:5; 18:14,17-18,20 | Direct collision risk with the Indian practice of household/family deity shrines (कुल देवता, गृह मंदिर). Mandatory clarifying note that these are condemned, illegitimate objects. |
| B18 | Ephod (as idolatrous object) | ἐπωμίς | epōmis | priestly vestment/object | एपोद | epoda | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | High | 8:27; 17:5; 18:14,17-18,20 | Requires gloss explaining original legitimate priestly use (Exodus 28) before its fall into idolatrous misuse; risk of being read as a generic devotional object if left unglossed. |
| B19 | Baal(s) | Βααλ / Βααλιμ | Baal / Baalim | Canaanite storm-god (proper noun) | बाल देवता | Bāla devatā | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | High | 2:11,13; 3:7; 6:25-32; 8:33; 10:6 | Retain the named, specific deity rather than generalizing to “false gods,” to preserve historical specificity of Israel’s syncretism. Gloss on first occurrence. |
| B20 | Ashtaroth / Ashtoreth | Ἀστάρτη / Ἀσταρτηφ | Astartē / Astartēph | Canaanite fertility-goddess (proper noun) | अश्तोरेत | Aśtoreta | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | High | 2:13; 10:6 | Paired consistently with Baal; retain proper name. |
| B21 | Played the harlot after other gods (spiritual adultery) | ἐξεπόρνευσαν ὀπίσω θεῶν ἑτέρων | exeporneusan opisō theōn heterōn | ”they prostituted themselves after other gods” | अन्य देवताओं के पीछे व्यभिचार करना | anya devatāoṃ ke pīche vyabhicāra karanā | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | Critical | 2:17; 8:27,33 | Figurative, covenant-marital-infidelity sense (standing prophetic-literature convention) must be unmistakable by context/footnote, not read as a literal sexual-sin accusation, while retaining full covenant-betrayal force. Theologian review mandatory. |
| B22 | Forsook (the LORD) | ἐγκατέλιπον | enkatelipon | ”abandoned one who trusted/depended on you” | त्याग दिया / छोड़ दिया | tyāga diyā / choṛa diyā | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | High | 2:12,13; 10:6,10 | Relational-betrayal force; must not be softened to mere “stopped following.” |
| B23 | Did not know the LORD | οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὸν κύριον | ouk egnōsan ton kyrion | ”did not know [relationally/experientially]“ | यहोवा को नहीं जानते थे | Yahowā ko nahīṃ jānate the | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | High | 2:10 | Relational/experiential knowing (γινώσκω), not mere information; parallels baseline’s caution on विश्वास as trust-in-a-person. |
| B24 | Cried out to the LORD | ἀνεβόησαν / ἐκέκραξαν πρὸς κύριον | aneboēsan / ekekraxan pros kyrion | ”they cried aloud to the LORD” | यहोवा की दुहाई दी / यहोवा को पुकारा | Yahowā kī duhāī dī / Yahowā ko pukārā | The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance | High | 3:9,15; 4:3; 6:6-7; 10:10 | Pivot-verb of the whole cycle; render consistently at every occurrence as the recognizable trigger of divine response. |
| B25 | Raised up (a judge/deliverer) | ἤγειρεν (κύριος) | ēgeiren (kyrios) | “raised up, caused to stand” | खड़ा किया / उठाया | khaṛā kiyā / uṭhāyā | The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges; God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers | High | 2:16,18; 3:9,15; 11:29 (implied) | Sovereign divine initiative; connects to baseline’s election/calling vocabulary (परमेश्वर का चुनाव, बुलाहट). |
| B26 | Delivered/sold into the hand of | παρέδωκεν / ἀπέδοτο εἰς χεῖρας | paredōken / apedoto eis cheiras | ”handed over / sold into the hands of” | हाथ में सौंप दिया / बेच दिया | hātha meṃ saumpa diyā / beca diyā | The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance | High | 2:14; 3:8; 4:2; 6:1; 10:7; 13:1 | God must remain the grammatical subject/agent of the handing-over; not a passive “they fell to” construction. |
| B27 | The LORD was with the judge | ἦν κύριος μετὰ τοῦ κριτοῦ | ēn kyrios meta tou kritou | ”the LORD was with the judge” | यहोवा न्यायी के साथ था | Yahowā nyāyī ke sātha thā | God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers | High | 2:18; (cf. 1:19 of Judah) | Marker of divine enablement, not innate human ability; keep phrasing consistent across occurrences. |
| B28 | Turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers (decline formula) | ἀπέστρεψαν καὶ διέφθειραν ὑπὲρ τοὺς πατέρας αὐτῶν | apestrepsan kai diephtheiran hyper tous pateras autōn | ”they turned back and were corrupted beyond their fathers” | वे फिर मुड़ गए और अपने पुरखाओं से भी अधिक भ्रष्ट हो गए | ve phira muṛa gaye aura apane purakhāoṃ se bhī adhika bhraṣṭa ho gaye | Moral Decline and the Need for a Righteous King | High | 2:19 | The comparative (“worse than their fathers”) is structurally essential; must not be flattened to a simple repetition-statement. |
| B29 | Practices / habits (of apostasy) | ἐπιτηδεύματα | epitēdeumata | ”habitual deeds/customs” | कुकर्म / चालचलन | kukarma / cālacalana | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | Medium | 2:19 | Negative moral coloring; distinguish from neutral “customs.” |
| B30 | Stubborn/hard way | ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ σκληρά | hē hodos hē sklēra | ”the hard/stiff way” | हठीली चाल | haṭhīlī cāla | Moral Decline and the Need for a Righteous King | Medium | 2:19 | Closes the “way” inclusio begun in 2:17 (“the way their fathers walked”); connotes willful obstinacy. |
| B31 | Inheritance / allotted land | κληρονομία | klēronomia | ”inherited portion” | निज भाग / विरासत | nija bhāga / virāsata | (background to Cycle/Covenant doctrines) | Medium | 2:6,9; throughout ch.1 | Covenant-gift language, not merit-earned possession; connects to baseline’s वारिस/heir family. |
| B32 | Prophetess | προφῆτις | prophētis | feminine of “prophet” | भविष्यद्वक्त्री | bhaviṣyadvaktrī | (background; Divine Calling) | Medium | 4:4 | Full prophetic-and-judicial authority (Deborah); not a diminished role. |
| B33 | Altar | θυσιαστήριον | thysiastērion | ”place of sacrifice” | वेदी | vedī | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | Medium | 6:24-32; 21:4 | Same word serves both the legitimate altar to the LORD and Baal’s altar in ch.6; context alone marks the moral distinction. |
| B34 | Concubine | παλλακή | pallakē | secondary wife of lower standing | उपपत्नी | upapatnī | Moral Decline and the Need for a Righteous King | High | 19:1-2,9,24-29 | Sensitive content; full narrative honesty required without sensationalizing. Flag for combined native-speaker and theologian review. |
| B35 | Priest (irregular/private) | ἱερεύς | hiereus | one who offers sacrifice/serves a shrine | याजक | yājaka | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | Medium | 17:5,10,12-13; 18:19-20 | Must be framed as an illegitimate, unauthorized private priesthood, not a neutral arrangement. |
| B36 | Levite | Λευίτης | Leuitēs | member of the priestly tribe | लेवीय | levīya | (background) | Low | 17:7-13; 18:3-30; 19:1-20:6 | Note ironic deployment in chs.17-18 (enabling idolatry) vs. tragic figure in ch.19. |
| B37 | Assembly/congregation (tribal, OT sense) | ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | ”gathering, assembly” | सभा | sabhā | (background; contrast with Church doctrine) | Medium-High | 20:1-2; 21:5,8,13,16 | MUST NOT use baseline’s कलीसिया (reserved for the NT church); flag to prevent anachronistic conflation. |
| B38 | Curse-oath / vow of the assembly | (herem/oath language, ἀνάθεμα-adjacent) | — | a communal, binding curse-sanction oath | शपथ / शाप की शपथ | śapatha / śāpa kī śapatha | (background; related to baseline anathema) | High | 21:1,5,7,18 | Related to but distinct from baseline’s Galatians anathema sense (God’s judicial curse on gospel-distorters); keep the two senses distinct in cross-references. |
| B39 | Provoked to anger | παρώργισαν | parōrgisan | ”incited to wrath” | क्रोधित किया | krodhita kiyā | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | Medium | 2:12 | Pairs with B5/wrath entries; reuse established wrath vocabulary for the verb’s object (यहोवा/परमेश्वर). |
| B40 | Bowed down (to idols) | προσεκύνησαν | prosekynēsan | ”prostrated themselves in homage” | दण्डवत किया / प्रणाम किया | daṇḍavata kiyā / praṇāma kiyā | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | High | 2:12,17,19; 8:33 | Worship-posture directed at idols; must not be softened to a merely social gesture. |
| B41 | Test/prove (the nations as a test) | πειράζω | peirazō | ”to test, put to proof” | परखना | parakhanā | (background) | Medium | 2:22; 3:1,4 | Personal, purposive divine testing with a stated pedagogical aim; distinguish from karmic/fatalistic trial concepts. |
| B42 | Drove out / dispossessed (failure to) | ἐξῆραν / ἐξωλέθρευσαν (negated) | exēran / exōlethreusan | ”drove out, utterly destroyed” | पूरी तरह से निकाल दिया (negated: नहीं निकाला) | pūrī taraha se nikāla diyā | (background; seeds the whole book’s crisis) | High | 1:19,21,27-33 | Refrain of incomplete conquest; render consistently across ch.1’s occurrences. |
| B43 | Groaning | στεναγμός | stenagmos | ”groan, sigh” | कराह | karāha | The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance | Low | 2:18 | Low risk; pairs with B24 (crying out). |
| B44 | Riddle | πρόβλημα | problēma | ”a problem/riddle posed” | पहेली | pahelī | (background; literary device) | Low | 14:12-19 | Cultural/literary device; no significant doctrinal risk. |
| B45 | Samson’s hair (Nazirite sign) | τρίχες | trichēs | ”hair” | बाल | bāla | The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges | High | 16:17,19-20 | Mandatory note against a magical/talismanic reading; strength is tied to covenant-vow faithfulness and the LORD’s presence (16:20), not to hair as an intrinsic power-object. |
| B46 | Dagon | Δαγων | Dagōn | Philistine deity (proper noun) | दागोन | dāgona | Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness | Medium | 16:23 | Reinforces the named-rival-deity pattern (cf. B19-B20). |
| B47 | Elders | πρεσβύτεροι | presbyteroi | ”older men, leaders” | प्राचीन / पुरनिये | prācīna / puraniye | (background) | Low | 2:7 | No significant doctrinal risk. |
| B48 | Generation | γενεά | genea | ”a body of contemporaries” | पीढ़ी | pīṛhī | (background) | Low | 2:10 | No significant doctrinal risk. |
C. Risk Summary for This Curriculum’s New Terms
| Risk Tier | Count (New Terms, Section B) | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 11 (B1-B3, B5-B10, B12-B13, B21) | Human theologian — every occurrence |
| High | 21 (B4, B14-B20, B22-B24, B26-B27, B34, B38, B40, B42, B45) | Human theologian |
| Medium | 13 (B25, B28-B33, B35, B37, B39, B41, B46) | Native speaker review (B37 also requires theologian awareness for the कलीसिया/सभा distinction) |
| Low | 5 (B36, B43, B44, B47, B48) | Automated review |
Total new terms proposed for addition to translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json: 48 (Section B) plus 10 reused/annotated baseline terms (Section A).
Both this glossary and 07_semantic_analysis.md must be loaded alongside the baseline translation_memory.json, bible_term_registry.json, doctrine_risk_registry.json, and 12_ai_translation_requirements.md before any Phase 2 translation of Judges begins. The single highest-priority addition for the pre-flight checklist is the यहोवा/प्रभु distinction (B1), since it governs the correct rendering of “the LORD” at every one of its scores of occurrences throughout the book.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वर
Transliteration: Parameśvara
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / Divine Name (background)
Rejected alternatives: ईश्वर, भगवान
Original: θεός / אֱלֹהִים
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. In Judges, used generically alongside the new covenant-name term यहोवा (see yahweh entry); no change to this baseline rendering. यहोवा, not परमेश्वर, carries the overwhelming majority of ‘the LORD’ occurrences in this book.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: पवित्र आत्मा
Transliteration: Pavitra Ātmā
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: ब्रह्म, परमात्मा, देव-आत्मा
Inherited from Romans package. Must be kept distinct from Judges’ OT Spirit-of-the-LORD empowerment formulas (spirit_came_upon, spirit_clothed, spirit_rushed_upon), which denote temporary, external, task-specific empowerment rather than the NT indwelling Trinitarian Spirit, though both name the same divine Person across redemptive history.
Lord
Approved rendering: प्रभु
Transliteration: Prabhu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ (contrast term)
Rejected alternatives: स्वामी, ईश्वर
Inherited from Romans package. MUST NOT be used to render the OT covenant name (יהוה/κύριος) anywhere in Judges; reserved exclusively for NT confessional Lordship-of-Christ contexts. See the new term yahweh (यहोवा), which governs the overwhelming majority of Judges’ occurrences of ‘the LORD.’ This is the single highest-priority fencing rule in the entire Judges Language Package.
Salvation
Approved rendering: उद्धार
Transliteration: uddhāra
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers (contrast term)
Rejected alternatives: मुक्ति, मोक्ष, छुटकारा
Inherited from Romans package. Judges’ new terms deliverer_savior (उद्धारकर्ता), cried_out_to_the_lord, and raised_up_judge form a deliberate but NON-identical typological echo of this term. NEVER conflate a judge’s temporal, repeatable, partial deliverance with उद्धार itself without the mandatory distinguishing translator note carried on deliverer_savior.
Yahweh
Approved rendering: यहोवा
Transliteration: Yahowā
Doctrine: Divine Name (Underlies All Curriculum Doctrines)
Rejected alternatives: प्रभु, ईश्वर, स्वामी
Original: κύριος (LXX rendering of Hebrew יהוה)
Category: God
NEW CRITICAL TERM for this curriculum. Renders LXX κύριος = Hebrew יהוה. MUST be kept strictly distinct from the baseline’s प्रभु, reserved for NT confessional Lordship-of-Christ contexts. Established BSI Hindi OT transliteration. Mixing यहोवा and प्रभु would erase the Hindi Bible tradition’s own maintained distinction between the divine covenant name and the NT title. Governs the overwhelming majority (~150+) of ‘the LORD’ occurrences across all 21 chapters. Theologian review mandatory for consistent application book-wide.
Judge Office
Approved rendering: न्यायी
Transliteration: nyāyī
Doctrine: The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges
Rejected alternatives: न्यायाधीश, गुरु, दूत, संदेशवाहक
Original: κριτής / κριταί
Category: Leadership
Book title term (न्यायियों). A charismatic, Spirit-raised, temporary, non-hereditary military-and-civic deliverer, never a hereditary monarch. Must not be confused with न्यायाधीश (a modern Western-style court judge) nor assimilated to a guru/ascetic-teacher figure. Requires a contextual gloss on first use in every Phase 2 document explaining the office’s temporary, charismatic, non-monarchic character. Direct load-bearing term for ‘The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges’ and ‘God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers.‘
Did Evil In Sight Of The Lord
Approved rendering: …ने वह किया जो यहोवा की दृष्टि में बुरा था
Transliteration: …ne vaha kiyā jo Yahowā kī dṛṣṭi meṃ burā thā
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Original: ἐποίησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ τὸ πονηρὸν ἐνώπιον κυρίου
Category: Sin
The book’s central structural refrain (2:11; 3:7,12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1). Must be rendered with IDENTICAL wording at all seven occurrences (only the grammatical subject may vary) so the cyclical literary pattern remains visible to Hindi readers, exactly as the baseline requires verbatim consistency for रोमियों 8:28. Stands in deliberate structural antithesis to did_right_in_own_eyes. Mandatory theologian review for book-wide consistency-checking.
Did Right In Own Eyes
Approved rendering: जो अपनी दृष्टि में उचित जान पड़ता वही करता था
Transliteration: jo apanī dṛṣṭi meṃ ucita jāna paṛatā vahī karatā thā
Doctrine: The Absence of a Righteous King
Original: ἀνὴρ τὸ εὐθὲς ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς αὐτοῦ ἐποίει
Category: Kingship
The book’s closing thesis refrain (17:6; 21:25 in full form). MUST match verbatim at 17:6 and 21:25 per the baseline’s cross-document consistency rule (same standard as रोमियों 8:28). Stands in structural antithesis to did_evil_in_sight_of_the_lord: the evaluative standard shifts from यहोवा की दृष्टि (2:11) to अपनी दृष्टि (17:6; 21:25) — both refrains must use the parallel ’…की दृष्टि में’ grammatical frame. Theologian review mandatory.
No King In Israel
Approved rendering: इस्राएल में कोई राजा नहीं था
Transliteration: Isrāela meṃ koī rājā nahīṃ thā
Doctrine: The Absence of a Righteous King
Original: οὐκ ἦν βασιλεὺς ἐν Ισραηλ
Category: Kingship
Companion refrain to did_right_in_own_eyes (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). Render identically at all four occurrences. Because राजा carries generally positive Hindi connotations, translators must rely on narrative context (idolatry, civil war, atrocity) rather than lexical choice to convey that this absence is a crisis, not a value-neutral historical fact.
Angel Of The Lord
Approved rendering: यहोवा का दूत
Transliteration: Yahowā kā dūta
Doctrine: The Angel of the LORD as Theophany
Rejected alternatives: देवदूत (generic angel)
Original: ἄγγελος κυρίου
Category: God
A theophanic messenger-figure who speaks in the LORD’s own first-person voice and receives worship-directed responses (2:1-5; 6:11-22; 13:3-21). Must never be flattened to a generic angelic messenger (देवदूत). Many interpreters read this figure as a pre-incarnate Christophany, paralleling the baseline’s Critical cautions on incarnation and deity of Christ. Theologian review mandatory on every occurrence.
Spirit Came Upon
Approved rendering: यहोवा का आत्मा उस पर आया
Transliteration: Yahowā kā ātmā usa para āyā
Doctrine: The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges
Rejected alternatives: शक्ति (forbidden)
Original: πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐγένετο ἐπ’ αὐτόν
Category: Spirit Empowerment
Spirit-empowerment formula variant 1 (3:10, Othniel; 11:29, Jephthah): temporary, task-specific empowerment, distinct from but continuous with the NT indwelling Holy Spirit. NEVER शक्ति, per the baseline power_of_god prohibition. Theologian review mandatory.
Spirit Clothed
Approved rendering: यहोवा के आत्मा ने उसे ढाँप लिया / उस पर छा गया
Transliteration: Yahowā ke ātmā ne use ḍhāṃpa liyā / usa para chā gayā
Doctrine: The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges
Rejected alternatives: शक्ति (forbidden)
Original: πνεῦμα κυρίου ἐνέδυσεν
Category: Spirit Empowerment
Spirit-empowerment formula variant 2 (6:34, Gideon). Vivid ‘clothing’ image of empowerment; same शक्ति-prohibition and personal-Spirit guardrails as spirit_came_upon. Prioritize clarity that a personal divine Spirit is acting upon the judge, not that the judge has donned an impersonal supernatural force.
Spirit Rushed Upon
Approved rendering: यहोवा का आत्मा उस पर बल के साथ उतर आया
Transliteration: Yahowā kā ātmā usa para bala ke sātha utara āyā
Doctrine: The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges
Rejected alternatives: शक्ति (forbidden)
Original: πνεῦμα κυρίου ἥλατο ἐπ’ αὐτόν
Category: Spirit Empowerment
Spirit-empowerment formula variant 3 (14:6,19; 15:14, Samson). Sudden, forceful onset; the most vulnerable of the three formulas to a Shakti/siddhi misreading given Samson’s violent-strength contexts. Must keep the empowerment personal (यहोवा का आत्मा as agent) and purposive (per the narrator’s framing at 14:4). Theologian review mandatory.
Deliverer Savior
Approved rendering: उद्धारकर्ता / छुड़ानेवाला
Transliteration: uddhārakartā / chuṛānevālā
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Salvation
A judge functioning as a temporal military deliverer raised up by the LORD (3:9,15, Othniel and Ehud). Shares its root with उद्धार (salvation) but denotes temporal, repeatable, partial military rescue through flawed human agents, not the once-for-all eternal उद्धार secured by Christ. Mandatory translator note at every occurrence distinguishing this typological, this-life deliverance from the NT’s exclusive divine Savior; must not be read as avatar-descent or merit-based (पुण्य/siddhi) attainment. Theologian review required.
Vow
Approved rendering: मन्नत / प्रण
Transliteration: mannata / praṇa
Doctrine: Rash Vows and Transactional Religion
Original: εὐχή / ηὔξατο εὐχήν
Category: Cultic Practice
Jephthah’s rash vow (11:30-31,35,39). मन्नत माँगना is an extremely common, culturally normalized transactional-vow practice in Indian popular devotion. Mandatory translator note on every occurrence distinguishing Scripture’s own cautionary framing (cf. Numbers 30; Ecclesiastes 5:4-5) from normalized manauti practice; do not let the rendering read as endorsement of rash vow-making. Theologian review required.
Played The Harlot After Gods
Approved rendering: अन्य देवताओं के पीछे व्यभिचार करना
Transliteration: anya devatāoṃ ke pīche vyabhicāra karanā
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: उनसे विश्वासघात करना (too weak — ‘were unfaithful’)
Original: ἐξεπόρνευσαν ὀπίσω θεῶν ἑτέρων
Category: Apostasy
The prophetic-marital idiom for covenant-breaking idolatry (2:17; 8:27,33): Israel as the LORD’s wife pursuing other lovers. The figurative sense must be unmistakable by context/footnote so it is not read as a literal accusation of sexual sin, while the full covenant-betrayal force must not be softened. Theologian review mandatory every occurrence.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: अनुग्रह
Transliteration: anugraha
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers
Rejected alternatives: कृपा, दया, वरदान, भाग्य, कर्म-फल, पुण्य
Inherited from Romans package. Must remain explicit (never कृपा here) wherever the text credits divine enablement — e.g. ‘the LORD was with the judge’ — rather than a judge’s own merit, heroism, or accumulated पुण्य.
Faith
Approved rendering: विश्वास
Transliteration: viśvāsa
Doctrine: background
Rejected alternatives: श्रद्धा, आस्था, भरोसा
Inherited from Romans package. Judges rarely uses abstract ‘faith’ vocabulary directly, but the term remains reserved for personal trust in यहोवा, implicitly contrasted with the generation that ‘did not know the LORD’ (2:10).
Covenant
Approved rendering: वाचा
Transliteration: vācā
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: अनुबंध, समझौता
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Names the Sinai covenant referenced at 2:1-2,20 as the broken basis of the Angel of the LORD’s covenant-lawsuit speech; no change to rendering.
Law
Approved rendering: व्यवस्था
Transliteration: vyavasthā
Doctrine: background (Covenant)
Rejected alternatives: धर्म, शरीयत, नियम
Inherited from Romans package. Judges assumes but rarely names the Mosaic law directly; reserved for any explicit Torah references. NEVER धर्म.
Sin
Approved rendering: पाप
Transliteration: pāpa
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: अधर्म, अशुद्धता
Inherited from Romans package. Names Israel’s covenant-breaking idolatry throughout Judges’ apostasy refrain (2:11-13,17; 3:7,12; etc.).
Glory
Approved rendering: महिमा
Transliteration: mahimā
Doctrine: background (Deity of Christ family)
Rejected alternatives: देव-ज्योति, प्रकाश
Inherited from Romans package. Minor independent usage in Judges; retained for cross-curriculum consistency, e.g. in connection with theophany narratives (Angel of the LORD).
Election
Approved rendering: परमेश्वर का चुनाव
Transliteration: Parameśvara kā cunāva
Doctrine: background (Divine Calling family)
Rejected alternatives: भाग्य, नियति, किस्मत
Inherited from Romans package. Connects to the new term raised_up_judge (खड़ा किया/उठाया): the LORD’s sovereign initiative in appointing judges is of a kind with, though distinct in mode from, his sovereign election of individuals to salvation in the NT.
Providence
Approved rendering: परमेश्वर का विधान
Transliteration: Parameśvara kā vidhāna
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: भाग्य, कर्म का नियम
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies divine testing (see tested_by_the_nations, परखना) and God’s overarching governance of the sin-judgment-deliverance cycle; never भाग्य/कर्म-adjacent phrasing.
Sovereignty
Approved rendering: परमेश्वर की संप्रभुता
Transliteration: Parameśvara kī samprabhutā
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: भाग्य, नियति
Inherited from Romans package. Guards against any भाग्य/नियति-style (fate/destiny) reading of the cycle of sin and deliverance, or of the remaining nations as Israel’s ‘karma.‘
Redemption
Approved rendering: छुटकारा
Transliteration: chuṭakārā
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers
Rejected alternatives: मुक्ति, मोक्ष
Inherited from Romans package. Related but distinct from the new term deliverer_savior (उद्धारकर्ता); a mandatory translator note must distinguish Judges’ narrower temporal military rescue from the fuller छुटकारा/उद्धार redemption-in-Christ sense.
Wrath Of God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वर का क्रोध / यहोवा का क्रोध
Transliteration: Parameśvara kā krodha / Yahowā kā krodha
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: बदला
Original: ὠργίσθη θυμῷ κύριος
Category: Judgment
Inherited from Romans package. In Judges substitute यहोवा for परमेश्वर where the covenant name is explicit in context (2:12,14,20; 3:8; 10:7), yielding यहोवा का क्रोध. Retains the baseline caution against बदला (personal revenge): righteous judicial anger executed through the very oppressors Israel failed to drive out, not capricious rage.
Worship
Approved rendering: आराधना
Transliteration: ārādhanā
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: पूजा
Inherited from Romans package. Reserved exclusively for legitimate worship of यहोवा. Idolatrous devotion to Baal/Ashtoreth/teraphim etc. deliberately uses पूजा instead (see baal, ashtaroth, teraphim entries) to sharpen, not blur, the contrast the baseline worked to establish.
Idolatry
Approved rendering: मूर्तिपूजा
Transliteration: mūrtipūjā
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Original: εἰδωλολατρία (concept)
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. General category term for Judges’ dominant recurring sin; specific idol-objects (teraphim, ephod, carved/molten images, named deities) receive dedicated new entries below, since each carries a distinct Indian cultural-collision profile that मूर्तिपूजा alone does not disambiguate.
Holy
Approved rendering: पवित्र
Transliteration: pavitra
Doctrine: background (Sanctification family)
Rejected alternatives: शुद्ध, निर्मल
Inherited from Romans package. Distinct from the new Nazirite consecration term (नाज़ीर), an individual, regulated vow-status, not the corporate holiness shared by all God’s people.
Saints
Approved rendering: पवित्र जन
Transliteration: pavitra jana
Doctrine: background
Rejected alternatives: संत, संतजन
Inherited from Romans package. Rare direct usage in Judges’ narrative; retained for cross-curriculum consistency wherever corporate holy-people language occurs.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: पवित्रीकरण
Transliteration: pavitrikaraṇa
Doctrine: background
Rejected alternatives: सफाई, शुद्धिकरण
Inherited from Romans package. No major independent occurrence in Judges; retained for cross-curriculum consistency.
Repentance
Approved rendering: मन फिराव
Transliteration: mana phirāva
Doctrine: God’s Compassionate Relenting (Distinguished from Repentance)
Rejected alternatives: पश्चाताप
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL CROSS-REFERENCE: must NEVER be applied to यहोवा’s compassionate relenting (see new term lord_relented, यहोवा को तरस आया). मन फिराव is reserved exclusively for human turning from sin; applying it to God would imply divine fallibility, contradicting divine impeccability.
Kingship Of Jesus
Approved rendering: यीशु का राजत्व
Transliteration: Yīśu kā rājatva
Doctrine: The Absence of a Righteous King (contrast term)
Inherited from Romans package. Deliberate positive contrast for Judges’ new king entry (राजा): Abimelech’s fratricidal self-made kingship (ch.9) functions as the negative anti-type of the true king named here; Gideon’s refusal (8:22-23) affirms only यहोवा rightly holds this office in Judges’ own narrative horizon.
Anathema
Approved rendering: शापित हो
Transliteration: śāpita ho
Doctrine: Covenant Curse-Sanctions and Communal Oath-Taking (contrast term)
Inherited from Galatians extension of the package. Must be kept distinct from Judges’ new curse_oath_assembly term (शपथ / शाप की शपथ, 21:1-18): a self-imposed human tribal oath, not God’s own judicial verdict on gospel-distorters. Do not conflate the two senses in cross-referencing notes.
Promise
Approved rendering: प्रतिज्ञा
Transliteration: pratijñā
Doctrine: background (Covenant)
Rejected alternatives: वरदान, वचन (alone, ambiguous with mere spoken word)
Inherited from Galatians extension of the package. Cited at 2:1 as the basis of the Angel of the LORD’s covenant-lawsuit speech (‘the promise… I swore to your fathers’). वरदान remains forbidden per the baseline Galatians ruling — it would make the covenant pledge merit-conditioned.
Curse
Approved rendering: श्राप / श्रापित
Transliteration: śrāpa / śrāpita
Doctrine: Covenant Curse-Sanctions and Communal Oath-Taking (contrast term)
Inherited from Galatians extension of the package. Kept distinct from Judges’ new curse_oath_assembly term (21:1-18) and from anathema (शापित हो); the OT covenant-curse background of 2:15 and the Mizpah tribal oath are both contextually distinct from the Galatians-specific judicial-verdict-on-gospel-distorters sense.
King
Approved rendering: राजा
Transliteration: rājā
Doctrine: The Absence of a Righteous King
Original: βασιλεύς
Category: Kingship
New baseline term for this curriculum. Distinct from kingship_of_jesus (यीशु का राजत्व). राजा carries broadly positive/neutral connotations in Hindi (dharmarāja/Rama-rājya ideal) that must NOT be built into the word itself; the crisis (absence of a RIGHTEOUS king) must be carried by narrative co-text — Abimelech’s fratricide (ch.9), Gideon’s refusal (8:22-23) — not by lexical loading, which would corrupt राजा for its baseline positive Christological usage elsewhere.
Lord Relented
Approved rendering: यहोवा को तरस आया
Transliteration: Yahowā ko tarasa āyā
Doctrine: God’s Compassionate Relenting (Distinguished from Repentance)
Rejected alternatives: मन फिराव (forbidden here)
Original: μετεμελεῖτο κύριος
Category: God
God’s compassionate relenting in response to Israel’s groaning (2:18; conceptually 10:16). MUST NOT be rendered with मन फिराव, reserved exclusively for human repentance from sin — applying it to God would wrongly imply divine fallibility. Mandatory translator note; theologian review required.
Nazirite
Approved rendering: नाज़ीर
Transliteration: nāzīra
Doctrine: Nazirite Consecration and the Spirit’s Empowerment
Original: ναζιραῖος
Category: Cultic Practice
Established Hindi Bible transliteration (13:5,7; 16:17). A specific, regulated, individually undertaken consecration (Numbers 6), distinct from the baseline’s general holy/पवित्र and sainthood/पवित्र जन (corporate call to all believers). Gloss on first use.
Carved Image
Approved rendering: खुदी हुई मूर्ति
Transliteration: khudī huī mūrti
Doctrine: Household Idolatry and Private, Self-Made Religion
Original: γλυπτόν
Category: Idolatry
Fixed pair with molten_image (17:3-4; 18:14,17-18,20,30-31); render consistently as a pair wherever they co-occur, mirroring the source’s own formulaic repetition.
Molten Image
Approved rendering: ढाली हुई मूर्ति
Transliteration: ḍhālī huī mūrti
Doctrine: Household Idolatry and Private, Self-Made Religion
Original: χωνευτόν
Category: Idolatry
Fixed pair with carved_image; see that entry. Always appears alongside खुदी हुई मूर्ति in the source.
Teraphim
Approved rendering: तराफीम (गृह-देवता)
Transliteration: tarāphīma (gṛha-devatā)
Doctrine: Household Idolatry and Private, Self-Made Religion
Original: θεραφιν
Category: Idolatry
Household/domestic idols used for divination or ancestral veneration (17:5; 18:14,17-18,20). Direct collision risk with the still-thriving Indian practice of कुल देवता/गृह मंदिर veneration. MANDATORY clarifying note REQUIRED AT EVERY OCCURRENCE (not a one-time gloss) that these are condemned, illegitimate objects. Theologian review mandatory, every occurrence.
Ephod
Approved rendering: एपोद
Transliteration: epoda
Doctrine: Household Idolatry and Private, Self-Made Religion
Original: ἐπωμίς
Category: Idolatry
A priestly vestment/object turned to illegitimate cultic use — Gideon’s gold ephod (8:27) and Micah’s private ephod (17:5; 18:14,17-18,20). Requires a gloss on first use explaining its original legitimate priestly function (Exodus 28) before narrating its fall into idolatrous misuse.
Baal
Approved rendering: बाल देवता
Transliteration: Bāla devatā
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: सामान्य ‘झूठे देवता’ (generalized ‘false gods’, rejected)
Original: Βααλ / Βααλιμ
Category: Idolatry
The Canaanite storm-god, chief rival deity throughout Judges (2:11,13; 3:7; 6:25-32; 8:33; 10:6). ALWAYS render with the देवता suffix, with zero exceptions, to avoid the phonetic/visual homograph collision with बाल (‘hair’, see samsons_hair). Retain the named, specific deity rather than generalizing, to preserve the historical specificity of Israel’s syncretism.
Ashtaroth
Approved rendering: अश्तोरेत
Transliteration: Aśtoreta
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Original: Ἀστάρτη / Ἀσταρτηφ
Category: Idolatry
The Canaanite fertility-goddess, consistently paired with Baal (2:13; 10:6). Retain the proper name paired consistently with बाल देवता.
Forsook The Lord
Approved rendering: त्याग दिया / छोड़ दिया
Transliteration: tyāga diyā / choṛa diyā
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: अनुसरण बंद कर दिया (too weak — ‘stopped following’)
Original: ἐγκατέλιπον
Category: Apostasy
Israel’s abandonment of the LORD who had delivered them (2:12,13; 10:6,10). Semantically stronger than ‘stopped following’ — implies betrayal of one who trusted or depended on you; must retain relational-betrayal force.
Did Not Know The Lord
Approved rendering: यहोवा को नहीं जानते थे
Transliteration: Yahowā ko nahīṃ jānate the
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Original: οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τὸν κύριον
Category: Apostasy
The generational hinge-cause of the book’s decline (2:10). Relational/experiential knowing (γινώσκω, Hebrew יָדַע), not mere informational awareness — parallels the baseline’s caution that विश्वास is trust in a person, not assent to information.
Cried Out To The Lord
Approved rendering: यहोवा की दुहाई दी / यहोवा को पुकारा
Transliteration: Yahowā kī duhāī dī / Yahowā ko pukārā
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Original: ἀνεβόησαν / ἐκέκραξαν πρὸς κύριον
Category: Cycle of Sin and Deliverance
The pivot-verb of the whole cycle (3:9,15; 4:3; 6:6-7; 10:10): distress precedes crying-out, which precedes deliverance. Must be rendered consistently at every occurrence as the recognizable trigger of divine response.
Raised Up Judge
Approved rendering: खड़ा किया / उठाया
Transliteration: khaṛā kiyā / uṭhāyā
Doctrine: The Spirit’s Empowering of Judges
Original: ἤγειρεν κύριος
Category: Deliverance
The LORD’s sovereign act of raising up a judge/deliverer (2:16,18; 3:9,15; 11:29 implied). Connects to the baseline’s election/calling vocabulary (परमेश्वर का चुनाव, बुलाहट): sovereign divine initiative, not human self-appointment — matters directly for contrasting legitimate judges with Abimelech’s self-made kingship (ch.9).
Delivered Into The Hand
Approved rendering: हाथ में सौंप दिया / बेच दिया
Transliteration: hātha meṃ saumpa diyā / beca diyā
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Rejected alternatives: शत्रु के अधीन हो गए (passive, rejected — must keep God as agent)
Original: παρέδωκεν / ἀπέδοτο εἰς χεῖρας
Category: Judgment
God’s active handing-over of Israel to plundering oppressors as judgment (2:14; 3:8; 4:2; 6:1; 10:7; 13:1). God must remain the grammatical subject/agent; rendering as a passive ‘they fell under enemy power’ would obscure that judgment is actively executed by God, not merely permitted misfortune.
Lord Was With The Judge
Approved rendering: यहोवा न्यायी के साथ था
Transliteration: Yahowā nyāyī ke sātha thā
Doctrine: God’s Grace through Flawed Deliverers
Original: ἦν κύριος μετὰ τοῦ κριτοῦ
Category: Deliverance
The formula marking that a judge’s effectiveness derives from divine accompanying presence, not innate ability (2:18; cf. 1:19 of Judah). Keep phrasing consistent across occurrences so the recurring marker of divine enablement — not the judge’s heroism — remains visible.
Turned Back More Corrupt
Approved rendering: वे फिर मुड़ गए और अपने पुरखाओं से भी अधिक भ्रष्ट हो गए
Transliteration: ve phira muṛa gaye aura apane purakhāoṃ se bhī adhika bhraṣṭa ho gaye
Doctrine: Moral Decline and the Need for a Righteous King
Rejected alternatives: उन्होंने भी पाप किया (flattened, rejected — loses the comparative)
Original: ἀπέστρεψαν καὶ διέφθειραν ὑπὲρ τοὺς πατέρας αὐτῶν
Category: Moral Decline
The book’s key structural note that each generation’s relapse outpaces the last (2:19). The comparative (‘worse than their fathers’) is structurally essential to showing a downward spiral, not a stable loop; must not be flattened to a simple repetition-statement.
Concubine
Approved rendering: उपपत्नी
Transliteration: upapatnī
Doctrine: Civil War and National Disintegration
Original: παλλακή
Category: Moral Decline
A secondary wife of lower legal/social standing; the Levite’s concubine at the center of the Gibeah atrocity (19:1-2,9,24-29). Sensitive content requiring careful, non-sensationalized handling with full narrative honesty (no euphemism). Flag for combined native-speaker and theologian review.
Curse Oath Assembly
Approved rendering: शपथ / शाप की शपथ
Transliteration: śapatha / śāpa kī śapatha
Doctrine: Covenant Curse-Sanctions and Communal Oath-Taking
Original: (herem/oath language, ἀνάθεμα-adjacent)
Category: Judgment
The communal, binding curse-oath sworn at Mizpah against Benjamin and against any Israelite who failed to join the assembly (21:1,5,7,18). Related to but distinct from the baseline’s Galatians anathema (शापित हो, God’s own judicial curse-verdict); here a self-imposed communal military curse-oath. Theologian review required to keep the two senses distinct.
Bowed Down To Idols
Approved rendering: दण्डवत किया / प्रणाम किया
Transliteration: daṇḍavata kiyā / praṇāma kiyā
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: आदर से झुकना (too weak — merely social gesture)
Original: προσεκύνησαν
Category: Idolatry
The bodily posture of prostration/homage, here wrongly directed at Baal, Ashtaroth, and other gods (2:12,17,19; 8:33). Must not be softened into a merely social or ceremonial gesture; this is worship-posture wrongly directed.
Drove Out Dispossessed
Approved rendering: उन्होंने पूरी तरह से नहीं निकाला
Transliteration: unhoṃne pūrī taraha se nahīṃ nikālā
Doctrine: Incomplete Conquest and Covenant Testing
Original: ἐξῆραν / ἐξωλέθρευσαν (negated)
Category: Covenant
The recurring refrain of each tribe’s incomplete, partial conquest of the land (1:19,21,27-33). The narrative seed of the entire book’s crisis — the undriven-out nations become 2:3’s ‘snare.’ Must be rendered consistently across all ch.1 occurrences.
Samsons Hair
Approved rendering: बाल
Transliteration: bāla
Doctrine: Nazirite Consecration and the Spirit’s Empowerment
Original: τρίχες
Category: Cultic Practice
Samson’s uncut hair, the outward sign of his lifelong Nazirite consecration (16:17,19-20). MANDATORY theological/translator note required: the narrative’s own theology (16:20 — ‘he did not know that the LORD had left him’) locates the cause of lost strength in the LORD’s withdrawn empowerment, not in hair as an intrinsic power-object. HOMOGRAPH WARNING: identical script/sound to बाल देवता (Baal, minus देवता); never abbreviate in a way that could be misread as a Baal reference.
Medium Risk Terms
Gentiles
Approved rendering: अन्यजाति
Transliteration: anyajāti
Doctrine: Incomplete Conquest and Covenant Testing
Rejected alternatives: विदेशी
Inherited from Romans package. USAGE-SHIFT WARNING: in Judges 2:21-23; 3:1-4 this denotes the remaining named Canaanite nations functioning as a covenant-testing snare, NOT the Pauline missiological sense of ‘the nations’ as evangelistic targets. Do not import Pauline connotations into this OT narrative usage.
Mercy
Approved rendering: दया
Transliteration: dayā
Doctrine: God’s Compassionate Relenting (Distinguished from Repentance)
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies the LORD’s compassionate disposition at 2:18; kept conceptually distinct from the new term lord_relented (यहोवा को तरस आया), which names God’s specific responsive action, not his general character attribute.
Church
Approved rendering: कलीसिया
Transliteration: kalīsiyā
Doctrine: Civil War and National Disintegration (contrast term)
Rejected alternatives: मंदिर, गिरजाघर
Inherited from Romans package. MUST NOT be used for Judges’ pre-monarchic tribal assembly (see new term assembly_tribal, सभा). This note exists specifically to block the translation-memory reflex of substituting कलीसिया wherever the Greek ἐκκλησία (‘assembly’) appears in the LXX text of Judges.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वर का राज्य
Transliteration: Parameśvara kā rājya
Doctrine: The Absence of a Righteous King (background)
Rejected alternatives: ईश्वर का राष्ट्र
Inherited from Romans package. Conceptually underlies Gideon’s refusal of kingship (8:22-23, ‘the LORD shall rule over you’), though the exact phrase does not occur in Judges; useful for study-note cross-referencing of the absence-of-a-king doctrine.
Peace
Approved rendering: शांति
Transliteration: śānti
Doctrine: background (contrast with peace-with-God)
Rejected alternatives: चैन, सुकून
Inherited from Romans package. USAGE-SHIFT WARNING: in Judges (3:11,30; 5:31; 8:28) this denotes narrower politico-military ‘the land had rest,’ not the baseline’s relational peace-with-God doctrine (रोमियों 5:1). A contextual note distinguishing the two senses is required at first occurrence (3:11).
Slavery
Approved rendering: दासत्व / दास
Transliteration: dāsatva / dāsa
Doctrine: Servitude to Foreign Oppressors versus Willing Service to God
Inherited from Galatians extension of the package. In Judges the same word family carries BOTH willing covenant-service to the LORD (2:7, positive) and forced servitude to foreign oppressors (3:8,14; 4:2-3; 10:8, negative). This dual-use is source-intentional irony — refusing loving service to God results in coerced servitude to lesser powers — and must NOT be resolved into two different Hindi words.
Israel
Approved rendering: इस्राएल
Transliteration: Isrāela
Doctrine: background
Inherited from Romans package. Proper name, BSI-established form; used pervasively throughout Judges as the covenant nation under discussion.
David
Approved rendering: दाऊद
Transliteration: Dāūda
Doctrine: The Absence of a Righteous King (background)
Inherited from Romans package. Not a figure within Judges’ own narrative timeframe, but the book’s crisis (absence of a righteous king) canonically anticipates David’s eventual kingship; retained for cross-reference use in study notes.
Practices Habits
Approved rendering: कुकर्म
Transliteration: kukarma
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Rejected alternatives: चालचलन (too neutral)
Original: ἐπιτηδεύματα
Category: Apostasy
Israel’s entrenched idolatrous habits/customs, refused to abandon (2:19). Carries negative moral coloring in prophetic usage; must be distinguished from a neutral ‘customs’ rendering.
Stubborn Way
Approved rendering: हठीली चाल
Transliteration: haṭhīlī cāla
Doctrine: Moral Decline and the Need for a Righteous King
Original: ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ σκληρά
Category: Moral Decline
Israel’s obstinate path, closing the ‘way’ inclusio begun at 2:17 (2:19). Connotes willful obstinacy (cf. the Pentateuch’s ‘stiff-necked’ idiom).
Inheritance
Approved rendering: निज भाग / विरासत
Transliteration: nija bhāga / virāsata
Doctrine: Incomplete Conquest and Covenant Testing
Original: κληρονομία
Category: Covenant
Israel’s allotted covenant land, received by promise rather than earned by conquest-merit (2:6,9; throughout ch.1). Connects to the baseline’s वारिस/heir family; must not read as merit-earned possession.
Prophetess
Approved rendering: भविष्यद्वक्त्री
Transliteration: bhaviṣyadvaktrī
Doctrine: Prophetic and Judicial Female Leadership
Original: προφῆτις
Category: Leadership
Deborah’s office, combining prophetic speech and judicial leadership over Israel (4:4). Feminine form of भविष्यद्वक्ता; must convey full prophetic-and-judicial authority, not a diminished, merely intercessory, or advisory role.
Altar
Approved rendering: वेदी
Transliteration: vedī
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Original: θυσιαστήριον
Category: Cultic Practice
Used of both the legitimate altar to the LORD and Baal’s altar in the same chapter (6:24-32; also 21:4). The same Hindi word must serve both senses, exactly as the source does; the moral distinction is carried entirely by narrative context, never by inventing two different Hindi terms.
Priest Irregular
Approved rendering: याजक
Transliteration: yājaka
Doctrine: Household Idolatry and Private, Self-Made Religion
Original: ἱερεύς
Category: Idolatry
A young Levite hired for wages to serve as Micah’s private, unauthorized priest (17:5,10,12-13; 18:19-20). Must be framed as an irregular and illegitimate priesthood, not a neutral or admirable arrangement.
Assembly Tribal
Approved rendering: सभा
Transliteration: sabhā
Doctrine: Civil War and National Disintegration
Rejected alternatives: कलीसिया (forbidden here)
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Leadership
The gathered tribal military-and-judicial assembly of pre-monarchic Israel (20:1-2; 21:5,8,13,16). Renders the same Greek lexeme (ἐκκλησία) the baseline reserves for कलीसिया (NT church) — MUST render as सभा, NOT कलीसिया, to avoid anachronistically importing NT ecclesiology. Flagged explicitly to block the translation-memory reflex toward कलीसिया.
Provoked To Anger
Approved rendering: क्रोधित किया
Transliteration: krodhita kiyā
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Original: παρώργισαν
Category: Apostasy
Israel’s idolatry described as actively inciting the LORD to wrath (2:12). Pairs with wrath_of_god; reuse established wrath vocabulary for the verb’s object (यहोवा/परमेश्वर).
Tested By The Nations
Approved rendering: परखना
Transliteration: parakhanā
Doctrine: Divine Testing of Israel through the Remaining Nations
Rejected alternatives: भाग्य/नियति-adjacent phrasing (forbidden)
Original: πειράζω
Category: Providence
The remaining Canaanite nations left deliberately ‘to test Israel by them’ (2:22; 3:1,4). Personal, purposive divine testing with a stated pedagogical aim; must be distinguished from Hindu concepts of karmic trial or impersonal fate/destiny.
Dagon
Approved rendering: दागोन
Transliteration: dāgona
Doctrine: Apostasy and Covenant Unfaithfulness
Original: Δαγων
Category: Idolatry
The Philistine deity in whose temple Samson dies (16:23-30). Reinforces the named-rival-deity pattern established with baal and ashtaroth.
Low Risk Terms
Prophet
Approved rendering: भविष्यद्वक्ता
Transliteration: bhaviṣyadvaktā
Doctrine: Prophetic and Judicial Female Leadership (background)
Rejected alternatives: ज्योतिषी
Inherited from Romans package. Masculine form; see the new feminine term prophetess (भविष्यद्वक्त्री) for Deborah (4:4), which must convey equally full prophetic authority, not a diminished form.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: भविष्यवाणी
Transliteration: bhaviṣyavāṇī
Doctrine: background
Rejected alternatives: भविष्यफल
Inherited from Romans package. Minor occurrence in Judges; retained for consistency.
Levite
Approved rendering: लेवीय
Transliteration: levīya
Doctrine: background
Original: Λευίτης
Category: Leadership
A member of the priestly tribe of Levi (17:7-13; 18:3-30; 19:1-20:6). Transliterate consistently. Note ironic deployment across chs.17-18 (enabling idolatry) vs. tragic figure in ch.19.
Groaning
Approved rendering: कराह
Transliteration: karāha
Doctrine: The Cycle of Sin, Judgment, and Deliverance
Original: στεναγμός
Category: Cycle of Sin and Deliverance
Israel’s groaning under oppression, which moves the LORD to compassion (2:18). Pairs naturally with cried_out_to_the_lord; low independent risk.
Riddle
Approved rendering: पहेली
Transliteration: pahelī
Doctrine: background (Narrative)
Original: πρόβλημα
Category: Narrative
Samson’s wedding-feast riddle (14:12-19). Cultural/literary device with no significant doctrinal risk.
Elders
Approved rendering: प्राचीन / पुरनिये
Transliteration: prācīna / puraniye
Doctrine: background
Original: πρεσβύτεροι
Category: Leadership
The older generation of leaders who outlived Joshua and continued serving the LORD (2:7). No significant doctrinal risk.
Generation
Approved rendering: पीढ़ी
Transliteration: pīṛhī
Doctrine: background
Original: γενεά
Category: Narrative
A body of contemporaries, an age-cohort (2:10, the generation that did not know the LORD). No significant doctrinal risk; supports the generational-transition structure of 2:6-10.
Fleece Sign
Approved rendering: ऊन का गद्दा / भेड़ की खाल
Transliteration: ūna kā gaddā / bheṛa kī khāla
Doctrine: background (Narrative)
Original: πόκος
Category: Narrative
The wool fleece Gideon uses to request a confirming sign from the LORD (6:36-40). Vocabulary is low risk, but flag pastorally: descriptive narrative, not a prescriptive model for discerning God’s will generally.
Shibboleth
Approved rendering: शिब्बोलेत
Transliteration: śibboleta
Doctrine: background (Narrative)
Original: Shibboleth (Hebrew loanword)
Category: Narrative
A dialect test-word distinguishing Ephraimites from Gileadites, with lethal consequences (12:5-6). Transliterate as a proper noun/loanword; the passage’s intra-Israelite violence is thematically connected to the moral-decline doctrine and anticipates chs.19-21.
Chariots Of Iron
Approved rendering: लोहे के रथ
Transliteration: lohe ke ratha
Doctrine: Tribal Allotment and Genealogical Record-Keeping
Original: ἅρματα σιδηρᾶ
Category: Narrative
The superior military technology of the Canaanites that limits Judah’s conquest despite the LORD’s presence (1:19). The text does not resolve the tension it creates (does iron limit God’s power, or expose weak faith?); translators should not resolve it either.
Referenced passages