Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Philemon
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified across the entire book of Philemon (analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md), organized by doctrine area. Terms marked (reused) are fixed in the baseline translation_memory.json/bible_term_registry.json and MUST be rendered exactly as recorded there; no deviation is permitted regardless of new context. Terms not marked reused are new to this curriculum and require entry into translation memory before Phase 2 processing, per the Phase 2 pre-flight instructions in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md.
Risk tiers follow the baseline’s four-tier framework: Critical (theologian review mandatory, every occurrence), High (theologian review required), Medium (native speaker review recommended), Low (automated review sufficient).
1. Forgiveness and Reconciliation
| Greek Term | Transliteration | Hindi Rendering | Risk | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἐλλογάω | ellogaō | मेरे नाम/हिसाब में लिख लेना | Critical | New term. Shares root with ἐλογίσθη (Romans 4:3), the basis of the baseline’s Critical imputed_righteousness entry (आरोपित धार्मिकता). Paul’s offer to have Onesimus’s debt imputed to himself enacts imputation theology in miniature. Never render as mere “forgive” or “let it go” — the accounting/ledger register must survive translation. Mandatory theologian review with explanatory translator note citing the imputed_righteousness cross-reference. |
| ὀφείλω | opheilō | ऋणी होना / एहसानमंद होना | Medium | New term. Debt metaphor structuring vv.18-19. ऋण carries a secondary Hindu ethical association (debt to ancestors/gods) that is not itself forbidden but should be handled with awareness; the debt here is personal, concrete, and cancelable — unlike impersonal karmic debt. |
| ἀδικέω | adikeō | अन्याय करना / अपराध करना | Medium | New term. Interpersonal wrongdoing against Philemon specifically; distinct from पाप (sin against God, baseline sin). |
| ἀποτίνω | apotinō | चुका देना | Low | New term. Concrete repayment pledge; no significant collision risk. |
| προσοφείλω | prosopheilō | स्वयं ऋणी होना | Medium | New term. Philemon’s spiritual debt to Paul (his own conversion), layered against Onesimus’s financial debt — two distinct debts on one ledger; keep distinguishable. |
| χάρις | charis | अनुग्रह | High (reused) | Baseline term. Frames the letter’s opening (v.3) and closing (v.25) benediction and underlies the entire logic of gracious reconciliation Paul models and requests. |
| ἀγάπη | agapē | प्रेम | High (reused) | Reused from the Galatians extension of the baseline TM. Stated motive-basis of the whole appeal (v.9). |
| σπλάγχνα | splangchna | हृदय | High | New term. “Inmost affection/heart” — recurs at vv.7, 12, 20, forming an emotional inclusio central to the doctrine’s relational depth. Must render consistently across all three occurrences. |
| ἀναπαύω | anapauō | चैन देना / विश्राम देना | Medium | New term. “Refresh” (vv.7, 20); consistency across both occurrences required to preserve the letter’s structural echo. |
2. Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
| Greek Term | Transliteration | Hindi Rendering | Risk | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| δοῦλος | doulos | दास | Critical (reused) | Reused exactly from the Galatians extension of the baseline TM (दासत्व / दास). The letter’s central social-status term; India’s caste-stratified social context makes any softening or erasure of this term’s force especially consequential. Mandatory theologian review, every occurrence. |
| ἀδελφὸς ἀγαπητός | adelphos agapētos | प्रिय भाई | High | New compound term. The letter’s positive theological answer to δοῦλος (v.16) — a former slave received as a full “beloved brother,” echoing the baseline’s Galatians unity_in_christ doctrine applied to a concrete case. |
| ἀδελφός | adelphos | भाई | Medium | New term (bare form). Frames the letter’s relational vocabulary from v.1 onward; consistency across all occurrences (address term and climactic status-term at v.16) required. |
| κοινωνός | koinōnos | सहभागी | Medium | New term. “Partner” (v.17) — the relational basis on which Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus “as me.” Related to but distinct from संगति (fellowship, baseline fellowship). |
| προσλαμβάνω | proslambanō | ग्रहण करना / अपनाना | Medium | New term. “Receive/welcome” (v.17) — must carry full warmth, not grudging tolerance. |
| ἄχρηστος / εὔχρηστος | achrēstos / euchrēstos | अनुपयोगी / उपयोगी | Medium | New term pair. Wordplay on Onesimus’s name (“useless” → “useful”), the letter’s clearest statement of transformed worth/status (v.11). Flag wordplay for translator awareness even though it cannot be reproduced letter-for-letter. |
| Ὀνήσιμος | Onēsimos | उनेसिमुस | Low (name) / Medium (wordplay) | Proper name meaning “useful.” Established Hindi Bible transliteration. Name-based wordplay recurs at vv.11, 20 (ὀνίνημι) — flag for native speaker review. |
| πρόσωπον-type impartiality principle | — | — | — | Cf. baseline Galatians impartiality_of_god entry; no distinct Greek lexeme in Philemon, but the doctrine (no status-based spiritual hierarchy) is directly enacted at v.16-17. Note for teaching material cross-reference only. |
3. Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
| Greek Term | Transliteration | Hindi Rendering | Risk | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| δοῦλος | doulos | दास | Critical (reused) | See entry above (Doctrine 2); the same term anchors both doctrines. |
| δεσμός | desmos | बन्धन | Medium | New term. Paul’s literal Roman imprisonment (vv.10,13); बन्धन also carries a live Hindu bondage/saṃsāra connotation — context (Paul’s literal captivity “for the gospel”) should keep the sense clear, but a brief translator note is advisable. |
| δέσμιος | desmios | बन्दी | Medium | New term. “Prisoner [for Christ]” (vv.1, 9, 10, 13); consistently distinct from ordinary criminal imprisonment. |
| συναιχμάλωτος | synaichmalōtos | सहबन्दी | Low | New term. “Fellow prisoner” (v.23), of Epaphras. |
| ἄχρηστος / εὔχρηστος | achrēstos / euchrēstos | अनुपयोगी / उपयोगी | Medium | See entry above (Doctrine 2). The gospel reframes a slave’s worth without altering his legal status per se — theological transformation precedes/exceeds legal manumission. |
| ἐλευθερία-adjacent concept | — | (no distinct lexeme in Philemon) | — | Note for teachers: Philemon never uses ἐλευθερία (cf. baseline Galatians freedom entry, स्वतंत्रता) explicitly; the letter enacts freedom-in-relationship without using the technical vocabulary. Do not import स्वतंत्रता into the Hindi text where the Greek does not use it — this would overstate the letter’s explicit claim regarding legal manumission, which Paul notably leaves unstated. |
4. Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
| Greek Term | Transliteration | Hindi Rendering | Risk | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| παρακαλέω | parakaleō | विनती करना | High | New application of the baseline exhort entry’s beseeching sense (vv.9,10). This is the letter’s key verb naming Paul’s chosen rhetorical mode. Never रेंडर as प्रोत्साहित करना (encourage) here — that sense is reserved for building-up contexts per the baseline’s own note. |
| παρρησία | parrēsia | निडरता | High | New term. Authority/boldness Paul possesses but deliberately sets aside (v.8) in favor of love-based appeal — the letter’s rhetorical hinge. |
| ἐπιτάσσω | epitassō | आज्ञा देना | Low | New term. The coercive option explicitly declined (v.8). |
| πρεσβύτης / πρεσβευτής | presbytēs / presbeutēs | वृद्ध पुरुष | Medium | New term; genuine manuscript variant (“old man” vs. “ambassador”). Translator note required flagging the textual-critical choice. |
| πείθω / πεποιθώς | peithō / pepoithōs | भरोसा रखते हुए | Medium | New term. Distinct root from πίστις (faith); भरोसा is acceptable here though rejected elsewhere as an alternative for πίστις — translator note required to prevent confusion between the two distinct Greek roots. |
| κοινωνός | koinōnos | सहभागी | Medium | See entry above (Doctrine 2); Paul’s appeal is grounded in existing partnership. |
| προσευχή | proseuchē | प्रार्थना | Low | New term. Standard prayer vocabulary framing the letter (vv.4, 22); connects to baseline prayer_and_intercession doctrine (Medium, native speaker review) though the lexeme itself is low-risk. |
5. Grace-Motivated Obedience
| Greek Term | Transliteration | Hindi Rendering | Risk | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἑκούσιον | hekousion | स्वेच्छा से | High | New term. The letter’s clearest positive statement of voluntary, love-motivated response (v.14); must not be heard as dharma-like dutiful compliance nor as a merit-earning free choice. Theologian review required alongside ἀνάγκη. |
| ἀνάγκη | anankē | मजबूरी / विवशता | High | New term. The negative term of the v.14 antithesis with ἑκούσιον; if the contrast blurs, the doctrine collapses. Theologian review required. |
| γνώμη | gnōmē | सहमति | Medium | New term. Philemon’s own free consent, which Paul insists must govern the outcome (v.14). |
| ὑπακοή | hypakoē | आज्ञाकारिता | High | New application of the baseline root (cf. obedience_of_faith, विश्वास की आज्ञाकारिता). The letter’s summary term (v.21) for obedience flowing from love/confidence, not command — must not imply Paul commanded and Philemon merely complied. |
| χάρις | charis | अनुग्रह | High (reused) | Baseline term; the grace-logic (opening v.3, closing v.25) that frames Philemon’s expected voluntary response throughout. |
| χαρίζομαι | charizomai | अनुग्रह से सौंपा जाना | Medium | New term, cognate of χάρις. “I shall be graciously granted/restored to you” (v.22) — even Paul’s own release runs on grace-vocabulary. |
| ἐπίγνωσις | epignōsis | पूरी समझ | Medium | New term. ज्ञान deliberately avoided as primary rendering due to its Hindu jñāna-mārga (liberating self-realization) association; समझ keeps the sense relational/practical. |
| ἐνεργής | energēs | सक्रिय / प्रभावशाली | Low-Medium | New term, cognate of the baseline’s faith_working_through_love verb family. Faith that produces visible, effective good. |
| γεννάω | gennaō | जन्म देना | High | New term. Spiritual “begetting” through gospel proclamation (v.10); must never drift toward पुनर्जन्म (reincarnation) per the baseline’s standing prohibition, and must stay distinct from (while consistent with) the baseline new_birth entry (नया जन्म). |
6. General / Reused Baseline Terms (No New Risk Beyond Baseline)
These terms occur in Philemon and MUST use the exact baseline rendering; they are listed here for completeness of book coverage, not because they introduce new risk.
| Greek Term | Hindi Rendering (reused) | Risk (inherited) | Occurrence(s) in Philemon |
|---|---|---|---|
| θεός | परमेश्वर | Critical | v.3, v.4 |
| πατήρ | पिता | Critical | v.3 |
| κύριος | प्रभु | Critical | v.3, v.5, v.16, v.20, v.25 |
| Ἰησοῦς | यीशु | Critical | throughout |
| Χριστός | मसीह | Critical | throughout |
| πίστις | विश्वास | High | v.5 |
| ἅγιοι | पवित्र जन | High | v.5, v.7 |
| εἰρήνη | शांति | Medium | v.3 |
| εὐαγγέλιον | सुसमाचार | High | v.13 |
| κοινωνία | संगति | Low | v.6 |
| ἐκκλησία | कलीसिया | Medium | v.2 |
| εὐχαριστέω | धन्यवाद | Low | v.4 |
| ἀγαπητός | प्रिय | Low | v.1, v.16 |
| ξενία (concept) | अतिथि-सत्कार / अतिथि कक्ष | Low | v.22 |
7. New Proper Names and Minor Terms (Low Risk)
| Greek Term | Transliteration | Hindi Rendering | Risk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Φιλήμων | Philēmōn | फिलेमोन | Low | Established transliteration; recipient of the letter. |
| Ὀνήσιμος | Onēsimos | उनेसिमुस | Low (Medium for wordplay) | See Doctrine 2/3 entries above. |
| Ἀπφία | Apphia | अप्फिया | Low | Named recipient, v.2. |
| Ἄρχιππος | Archippos | अर्खिप्पुस | Low | Named recipient, v.2. |
| Ἐπαφρᾶς | Epaphras | इपफ्रास | Low | Named companion, v.23. |
| Μᾶρκος, Ἀρίσταρχος, Δημᾶς, Λουκᾶς | Markos, Aristarchos, Dēmas, Loukas | मरकुस, अरिस्तर्खुस, देमास, लूका | Low | Named companions, v.24; established Hindi Bible transliterations. |
| τέκνον | teknon | पुत्र | Medium | Spiritual fatherhood metaphor, v.10. |
| χωρίζω | chōrizō | अलग होना | Low | v.15. |
| αἰώνιος (relational sense) | aiōnios | सदा के लिये | Medium | v.15; distinct application from baseline eternal_life, applied to a restored relationship’s permanence rather than the doctrine of eternal life itself. |
| πνεῦμα (human spirit) | pneuma | आत्मा | Medium | v.25 closing benediction; must be distinguished by translator note from पवित्र आत्मा (Holy Spirit, baseline Critical entry). |
| ἀγαθός | agathos | भलाई | Low | v.6, v.14. |
| χαρά | chara | आनन्द | Medium | v.7; established Hindi Christian usage despite Vedantic sat-chit-ānanda association. |
| παράκλησις | paraklēsis | प्रोत्साहन | Low-Medium | v.7. |
| κατέχω | katechō | रोक रखना | Low | v.13. |
| διακονέω | diakoneō | सेवा करना | Low-Medium | v.13. |
| ἀναπέμπω | anapempō | वापस भेजना | Low | v.12. |
| ἐλπίς / ἐλπίζω | elpis / elpizō | आशा | Low | v.22. |
| ὀνίνημι | oninēmi | लाभ पाना | Medium | v.20; final wordplay on Onesimus’s name. |
Full-book coverage confirmation: Every load-bearing theological term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md across Philemon 1:1-25 (the entire book) is represented in this glossary. Philemon has no additional chapters; this single table set constitutes complete book coverage.
Critical Risk Terms
Lord
Approved rendering: प्रभु
Transliteration: Prabhu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: स्वामी, ईश्वर
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Philemon 1:3,5,16,20,25. Must convey exclusive, supreme Lordship throughout the letter’s greetings and benediction. NEVER यहोवा (documented NWT-HI drift).
God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वर
Transliteration: Parameśvara
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ईश्वर, भगवान
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Philemon 1:3,4 in the standard epistolary greeting/thanksgiving formula.
Father
Approved rendering: पिता
Transliteration: Pitā
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: ब्रह्मा, सृष्टिकर्ता
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Philemon 1:3 greeting formula.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: पवित्र आत्मा
Transliteration: Pavitra Ātmā
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: ब्रह्म, परमात्मा, देव-आत्मा
Inherited from Romans package. Not itself a lexeme used in Philemon, but essential for the mandatory translator note at 1:25 distinguishing πνεῦμα there (Philemon’s own human spirit — see the new pneuma_human_spirit entry below) from this Critical Holy Spirit entry. आत्मा is shared vocabulary between the two and must never be confused.
Jesus
Approved rendering: यीशु
Transliteration: Yīśu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ईसा, ईशू
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs throughout Philemon.
Messiah
Approved rendering: मसीह
Transliteration: Masīha
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: अभिषिक्त व्यक्ति, देव-दूत
Inherited from Romans package. Renders Χριστός throughout Philemon (1:1,6,8,9,20,23,25) as part of the title ‘Christ Jesus.‘
Ellogao
Approved rendering: मेरे नाम/हिसाब में लिख लेना
Transliteration: mere nām/hisāb meṃ likh lenā
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rejected alternatives: माफ़ कर दो (bare forgive, erases the ledger/accounting register), मुझसे ले लेना (ERV-HI pattern; collapses the imputation metaphor into a generic payment transfer)
Original: ἐλλόγα
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Philemon 1:18. Shares its Greek root (λέγω/λογίζομαι family) with ἐλογίσθη in Romans 4:3, underlying the baseline’s Critical imputed_righteousness entry (आरोपित धार्मिकता). Paul’s offer to have Onesimus’s debt credited to his own account is a lived, small-scale enactment of imputation theology. Mandatory theologian review with an explanatory translator note cross-referencing imputed_righteousness on every occurrence.
Doulos
Approved rendering: दास
Transliteration: dāsa
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Rejected alternatives: नौकर (softens legal bondage into paid employment; documented ERV-HI drift, forbidden), सेवक (demeaning menial-labor connotation), गुलाम (modern political/colonial-slavery connotation, distracts from the Greco-Roman household setting)
Original: δοῦλον
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Philemon 1:16, the single highest-stakes term in the book. Same Hindi word as the baseline’s Galatians-extension slavery entry, but risk tier ESCALATED to Critical for this curriculum given the concrete named individual-case and India’s caste-collision stakes. Must not be softened (erasing the status-reversal claim) nor overstated as demanding legal manumission (which the Greek leaves unstated). Mandatory theologian review, every occurrence.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: सुसमाचार
Transliteration: susamācar
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: खुशखबरी, शुभ सन्देश
Inherited from Romans package (baseline translation_memory.json). Established BSI OV term; do not use colloquial alternatives. Occurs in Philemon 1:13 (‘imprisoned for the gospel’), tying Paul’s captivity directly to gospel proclamation.
Grace
Approved rendering: अनुग्रह
Transliteration: anugraha
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: कृपा, दया, वरदान, भाग्य, कर्म-फल, पुण्य
Inherited from Romans package. Must convey unmerited favor apart from human merit. Frames Philemon’s opening (1:3) and closing (1:25) benediction and underlies the entire logic of gracious reconciliation Paul models and requests. Never कृपा in this frame.
Faith
Approved rendering: विश्वास
Transliteration: viśvāsa
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: श्रद्धा, आस्था, भरोसा
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Philemon 1:5 (‘your faith toward the Lord Jesus’); object of faith must remain explicit. NOTE: भरोसा is rejected here for πίστις but IS sanctioned for a DIFFERENT Greek root (πείθω) at 1:21 — see the new peitho_pepoithos entry below; the two uses must never be confused.
Saints
Approved rendering: पवित्र जन
Transliteration: pavitra jana
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: संत, संतजन
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Philemon 1:5,7 (‘love for all the saints’).
New Birth
Approved rendering: नया जन्म
Transliteration: nayā janma
Doctrine: Regeneration
Rejected alternatives: पुनर्जन्म
Inherited from Romans package. Referenced for contrast with the new gennao entry (जन्म देना, Philemon 1:10): γεννάω describes Paul’s evangelist-begetting role in Onesimus’s conversion, distinct from but never contradicting this entry’s naming of the believer’s own regeneration. The standing prohibition on पुनर्जन्म applies identically to both entries.
Splangchna
Approved rendering: हृदय
Transliteration: hṛdaya
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rejected alternatives: मन (too clinical/generic, loses visceral intensity), दिल (colloquial/Urdu-inflected register, inconsistent with the letter’s formal tone)
Original: σπλάγχνα
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Philemon 1:7,12,20 — a three-occurrence inclusio binding the whole letter, climaxing in ‘refresh my heart in Christ’ (1:20). All three occurrences MUST render identically; no stylistic variation permitted.
Adelphos Agapetos
Approved rendering: प्रिय भाई
Transliteration: priya bhāī
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: सहविश्वासी (generic ‘fellow believer,’ loses full family-belonging force), सम्मानजनक परन्तु असमान सम्बोधन (an honorary-but-unequal courtesy address)
Original: ἀδελφὸν ἀγαπητόν
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:16, a fixed compound (always in this order, never split by other modifiers). The letter’s positive theological answer to doulos, echoing the baseline Galatians unity_in_christ doctrine applied to one real, named case. Mandatory theologian review.
Parakaleo
Approved rendering: विनती करना
Transliteration: vinatī karanā
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: प्रोत्साहित करना (baseline’s reserved building-up sense; using it here would wrongly suggest mere encouragement rather than personal pleading), आग्रह करना (sounds like polite social insistence, understates the humility of the appeal)
Original: παρακαλῶ
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Philemon 1:9,10. Paul’s chosen rhetorical mode — appeal rather than command. Never use प्रोत्साहित करना here. Theologian review required for both occurrences.
Parresia
Approved rendering: निडरता
Transliteration: niḍaratā
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: अधिकार (overstates as a bare authority-claim, losing the rhetorical nuance of a right deliberately not exercised), हिम्मत (too casual/colloquial for the register)
Original: παρρησίαν
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Philemon 1:8. Authority Paul possesses but deliberately sets aside for love-based appeal (1:9). Must be tightly paired with the concessive ‘yet, for love’s sake’ or the verse reads as mere politeness rather than a real renounced right.
Hekousion
Approved rendering: स्वेच्छा से
Transliteration: svecchā se
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: अपनी इच्छा से (acceptable variant phrasing; standardized to स्वेच्छा से for this curriculum’s consistency), उचित कर्तव्य निभाना (dharma-duty framing; forbidden — would recast voluntary love-response as religious obligation)
Original: ἑκούσιον
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:14, the positive term of the ἑκούσιον/ἀνάγκη antithesis. Must always co-occur with the ananke entry in the same sentence or immediately adjacent clause; never presented as a standalone virtue. Theologian review required alongside ananke.
Ananke
Approved rendering: मजबूरी / विवशता
Transliteration: majabūrī / vivaśatā
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: दबाव (too mild/generic for ‘compulsion,’ understates the antithesis with hekousion)
Original: ἀνάγκην
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:14, the negative term of the antithesis, explicitly what Paul refuses to impose. If the contrast with hekousion blurs, the doctrine of grace-motivated obedience collapses into an unremarkable statement. Theologian review required alongside hekousion.
Hypakoe
Approved rendering: आज्ञाकारिता
Transliteration: ājñākāritā
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: अनुसरण (mere following/imitation, too weak to carry ‘obedience’)
Original: ὑπακοῇ
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:21, the letter’s summary term. Structurally parallel to (but contextually distinct from) the baseline obedience_of_faith compound (विश्वास की आज्ञाकारिता). Must never imply Paul commanded and Philemon merely complied — a mandatory gloss on first use should tie this back explicitly to vv.8-9’s renunciation of ἐπιτάσσω. Theologian review recommended.
Gennao
Approved rendering: जन्म देना
Transliteration: janma denā
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: पुनर्जन्म (reincarnation; absolutely forbidden per the baseline’s standing prohibition on this term for any birth/rebirth metaphor)
Original: ἐγέννησα
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:10. Paul’s spiritual-fatherhood claim over Onesimus’s conversion — the evangelist’s begetting role, adjacent to but distinct from the baseline new_birth doctrine (the convert’s own regeneration). Must also stay distinct from the Hindu guru-śiṣya ‘second birth’ (dvija) tradition. Theologian review required.
Agape
Approved rendering: प्रेम
Transliteration: prema
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀγάπην
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Philemon 1:9 (cf. 1:5,7). The stated motive-basis of Paul’s whole appeal, displacing available authority (parresia, 1:8) with love as the operative category. Rendering प्रेम is consistent with the pattern already used within the baseline’s Galatians-extension entries (gave_himself_for_me, faith_working_through_love, brotherly_love), though no standalone ‘agape’ key existed in the baseline TM until this curriculum added one; must not be softened to a generic ‘affection’ that loses its status as the letter’s explicitly named operative principle.
Medium Risk Terms
Church
Approved rendering: कलीसिया
Transliteration: kalīsiyā
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: मंदिर, गिरजाघर
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Philemon 1:2, ‘the church in your house’ — the house-church setting warrants a brief cultural note for readers unfamiliar with home-based congregational meeting.
Peace
Approved rendering: शांति
Transliteration: śānti
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: चैन, सुकून
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Philemon 1:3 greeting formula.
Slavery
Approved rendering: दासत्व / दास
Transliteration: dāsatva / dāsa
Doctrine: Freedom
Inherited from the Galatians extension of the baseline package. For this curriculum, the specific application to Onesimus (Philemon 1:16, δοῦλος) is tracked separately under the new doulos entry below at an ESCALATED Critical risk tier, reflecting the concrete, named, individual-case stakes and India’s caste-collision risk. This general entry’s Medium tier continues to govern abstract slavery/freedom-antithesis discourse elsewhere; it does not apply to Philemon’s central doulos term.
Opheilo
Approved rendering: ऋणी होना / एहसानमंद होना
Transliteration: ṛṇī honā / ehasānamanda honā
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ὀφείλει
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Philemon 1:18-19. ऋण carries a live secondary Hindu-ethical sense (pitṛ-ṛṇa/devatā-ṛṇa, debt to ancestors/gods discharged across a lifetime); context must keep the debt concrete, interpersonal, and cancelable by another’s payment.
Adikeo
Approved rendering: अन्याय करना
Transliteration: anyāya karanā
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rejected alternatives: पाप करना (would conflate interpersonal wrongdoing against Philemon with the baseline sin entry’s vertical, God-ward sense)
Original: ἠδίκησέν
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Philemon 1:18. Names Onesimus’s offense against Philemon specifically; keep distinct from पाप (sin against God).
Prosopheilo
Approved rendering: स्वयं ऋणी होना
Transliteration: svayaṃ ṛṇī honā
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: προσοφείλεις
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Philemon 1:19. Philemon’s own spiritual debt to Paul (his conversion), layered against Onesimus’s financial debt — two distinct debts on one ledger; keep distinguishable.
Anapauo
Approved rendering: चैन देना / विश्राम देना
Transliteration: caina denā / viśrāma denā
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀνάπαυσόν
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Philemon 1:7,20. Echo verb (‘refresh’); both occurrences must render identically to preserve the letter’s structural echo.
Achrestos Euchrestos
Approved rendering: अनुपयोगी / उपयोगी
Transliteration: anupayogī / upayogī
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: ἄχρηστον / εὔχρηστον
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Philemon 1:11. Wordplay on the name Ὀνήσιμος (‘useful’); sense-translated, with the pun itself flagged for translator/teacher awareness rather than reproduced.
Desmos
Approved rendering: बन्धन
Transliteration: bandhana
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: δεσμοῖς
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Philemon 1:10,13. Paul’s literal Roman imprisonment. बन्धन also carries a live Hindu bondage/saṃsāra connotation; a translator note distinguishing literal captivity ‘for the gospel’ from cosmic/karmic bondage is advisable. Must always co-occur with a gospel-referent phrase in the same clause; never left as a bare abstract noun in this letter.
Desmios
Approved rendering: बन्दी
Transliteration: bandī
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Rejected alternatives: कैदी (purely civil-criminal register, obscures the ‘for Christ’ badge-of-honor sense)
Original: δέσμιος
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Philemon 1:1,9,10,13 — ‘a prisoner of Christ Jesus.’ Established Hindi Christian usage (cf. ‘मसीह यीशु का बन्दी’); must consistently distinguish gospel-suffering imprisonment from ordinary criminal imprisonment across all four occurrences.
Adelphos
Approved rendering: भाई
Transliteration: bhāī
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: बन्धु (too archaic/literary against the letter’s warm, intimate register)
Original: ἀδελφός / ἀδελφή
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:1,2 (feminine बहन for Apphia),7,20; climactically 1:16. Consistency across all occurrences required so the cumulative relational weight lands at the v.16 climax.
Koinonos
Approved rendering: सहभागी
Transliteration: sahabhāgī
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: साझीदार (commercial-partnership overtone undersells relational/spiritual partnership), साथी (too generic, under-specifies the formal partnership sense)
Original: κοινωνόν
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:17. Keep visibly distinct from the baseline fellowship entry (संगति, κοινωνία) — this is the concrete-partner noun, not the abstract-participation noun.
Proslambano
Approved rendering: ग्रहण करना / अपनाना
Transliteration: grahaṇa karanā / apanānā
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: προσλαβοῦ
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:17. Must carry warmth and full acceptance, not grudging tolerance.
Oninemi
Approved rendering: लाभ पाना
Transliteration: lābha pānā
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ὀναίμην
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:20. Closes the name-pun on Ὀνήσιμος opened at 1:11; flag for native speaker review alongside achrestos_euchrestos and onesimos.
Presbytes Presbeutes
Approved rendering: वृद्ध पुरुष
Transliteration: vṛddha puruṣa
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: πρεσβύτης / πρεσβευτής
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Philemon 1:9. Genuine one-letter Greek manuscript variant (‘old man’ vs. ‘ambassador’). A translator note flagging the textual-critical choice is required on this occurrence; do not silently resolve without disclosure.
Peitho Pepoithos
Approved rendering: भरोसा रखते हुए
Transliteration: bharosā rakhate hue
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: विश्वास (would conflate this distinct Greek root, πείθω, with πίστις/faith, already fixed as विश्वास in the baseline)
Original: πεποιθὼς
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Philemon 1:21. भरोसा is a baseline-rejected alternative for πίστις but is sanctioned here for a different Greek root; mandatory disambiguating translator note required distinguishing this from saving faith.
Gnome
Approved rendering: सहमति
Transliteration: sahamati
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: γνώμης
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:14. Philemon’s own free consent, which Paul insists must govern the outcome, not Paul’s apostolic pressure.
Charizomai
Approved rendering: अनुग्रह से सौंपा जाना / लौटाया जाना
Transliteration: anugraha se saumpā jānā / lauṭāyā jānā
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: बिना अनुग्रह-सन्दर्भ के केवल यात्रा-कथन (a bare factual travel statement with no audible अनुग्रह echo)
Original: χαρισθήσομαι
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:22. Even Paul’s own hoped-for release from prison runs on grace-vocabulary; must audibly echo अनुग्रह so the grace-thread bookending the letter (1:3, 1:25) remains visible.
Energes
Approved rendering: सक्रिय / प्रभावशाली
Transliteration: sakriya / prabhāvśālī
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἐνεργὴς
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:6. Cognate of ἐνεργέω used in the baseline’s faith_working_through_love (ἐνεργουμένη); should echo that baseline rendering pattern where feasible — faith that produces visible, effective good, never inert.
Teknon
Approved rendering: पुत्र
Transliteration: putra
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: τέκνου
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:10. Spiritual-fatherhood metaphor, not a literal genealogical claim; context (ἐγέννησα, ‘whom I fathered’) must remain attached. Elevates a runaway slave to the status of Paul’s own ‘child,’ challenging the master/slave hierarchy.
Aionios Relational
Approved rendering: सदा के लिये
Transliteration: sadā ke liye
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: αἰώνιον
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:15. Distinct application from the baseline’s Critical eternal_life entry (अनन्त जीवन) — here modifying a restored human relationship’s permanence, not the doctrine of eternal life itself. Must not evoke a cyclical/impersonal notion of ‘forever.‘
Chara
Approved rendering: आनन्द
Transliteration: ānanda
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: χαράν
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:7. आनन्द is loaded in Hindu philosophy (sat-chit-ānanda) but is established Hindi Christian usage; keep tightly attached to its relational object (Philemon’s love for the saints) so it reads as personal joy over a specific person’s action, not a metaphysical bliss-state.
Epignosis
Approved rendering: पूरी समझ
Transliteration: pūrī samajha
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: ज्ञान (jñāna; strong Hindu association with liberating self-realization/jñāna-mārga, deliberately avoided)
Original: ἐπίγνωσις
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:6. समझ keeps the term relational/practical rather than mystical-attainment-adjacent.
Pneuma Human Spirit
Approved rendering: आत्मा
Transliteration: ātmā
Doctrine: God
Original: πνεύματος
Category: God
Philemon 1:25 closing benediction, ‘the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit’ — Philemon’s own human spirit, NOT the Holy Spirit. आत्मा is shared vocabulary with the baseline’s Critical holy_spirit entry (पवित्र आत्मा); mandatory translator note required distinguishing this occurrence (lacking the modifier पवित्र, following ‘your’) from both the Holy Spirit and any Advaitic ātman-identity reading.
Low Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: संगति
Transliteration: saṃgati
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: दोस्ती, भाईचारा
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Philemon 1:6, ‘the fellowship of your faith.’ Keep lexically distinct from the new koinonos entry (सहभागी) below, which renders a different Greek root (κοινωνός, concrete partner) at 1:17.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: धन्यवाद
Transliteration: dhanyavāda
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at Philemon 1:4, ‘I thank my God always.‘
Exhort
Approved rendering: प्रोत्साहित करना
Transliteration: protsāhita karanā
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Inherited from Romans package. Its own note (‘use विनती for beseeching; प्रोत्साहित for building up’) is directly activated by this book: Philemon 1:9-10’s παρακαλέω is the beseeching sense and MUST use the new parakaleo entry’s विनती करना, NEVER this rendering. Retained here as the building-up sense for cross-reference only; not used in Philemon’s core appeal.
Hospitality
Approved rendering: अतिथि-सत्कार
Transliteration: atithi-satkāra
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs conceptually at Philemon 1:22; see the new xenia entry below for the concrete guest-room application (अतिथि कक्ष), distinct from this abstract-virtue baseline entry.
Amen
Approved rendering: आमीन
Transliteration: āmīna
Doctrine: Worship
Inherited from the Galatians extension. Some manuscript traditions and liturgical print editions append a closing Amen to Philemon 1:25; transliterate as आमीन if present in the source text used for a given Phase 2 run.
Apotino
Approved rendering: चुका देना
Transliteration: cukā denā
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀποτίσω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Philemon 1:19. Paul’s concrete repayment pledge underwriting the ellogao offer.
Anapempo
Approved rendering: वापस भेजना
Transliteration: vāpasa bhejanā
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀνέπεμψά
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Philemon 1:12. Paul voluntarily returning Onesimus, not harboring a fugitive.
Synaichmalotos
Approved rendering: सहबन्दी
Transliteration: sahabandī
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: συναιχμάλωτος
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Philemon 1:23, of Epaphras; a stronger compound than δέσμιος.
Katecho
Approved rendering: रोक रखना
Transliteration: roka rakhanā
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: κατέχειν
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Philemon 1:13. Paul admits he wanted to retain Onesimus’s service.
Diakoneo
Approved rendering: सेवा करना
Transliteration: sevā karanā
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: διακονῇ
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Philemon 1:13. Consistent with the baseline सेविका/सेवक (deacon) word-family; ensure this reads as dignified gospel service, not demeaning menial slave-labor.
Onesimos
Approved rendering: उनेसिमुस
Transliteration: Unesimusa
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: Ὀνήσιμος
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Established Hindi Bible transliteration for the proper name (meaning ‘useful, profitable’). Wordplay preservation flagged Medium at vv.11,20; the name itself is Low risk.
Epitasso
Approved rendering: आज्ञा देना
Transliteration: ājñā denā
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: ἐπιτάσσειν
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Philemon 1:8. The coercive option Paul explicitly declines to use.
Proseuche
Approved rendering: प्रार्थना
Transliteration: prārthanā
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: προσευχή
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Philemon 1:4,22. Standard prayer vocabulary framing the letter; connects to the baseline’s prayer_and_intercession doctrine (Medium, native speaker review) though the lexeme itself is low-risk.
Agathos
Approved rendering: भलाई
Transliteration: bhalāī
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἀγαθόν
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:6,14. Generic term made doctrinally freighted by the surrounding hekousion/ananke contrast at 1:14.
Chorizo
Approved rendering: अलग होना / जुदा होना
Transliteration: alaga honā / judā honā
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἐχωρίσθη
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Philemon 1:15. Onesimus’s flight, reframed within God’s providential purpose; the tentative τάχα (‘perhaps’) must not be flattened into a confident causal claim.
Paraklesis
Approved rendering: प्रोत्साहन
Transliteration: protsāhana
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: παράκλησιν
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:7. Cognate of παρακαλέω; consistent with the baseline exhort verb-form प्रोत्साहित करना; sets relational warmth before Paul’s appeal begins.
Xenia
Approved rendering: अतिथि कक्ष
Transliteration: atithi kakṣa
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ξενίαν
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:22. Concrete lodging/guest-room sense, distinct from the baseline hospitality entry’s abstract virtue (अतिथि-सत्कार).
Elpis Elpizo
Approved rendering: आशा
Transliteration: āśā
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ἐλπίζω
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:22. Confident expectation grounded in God’s faithfulness, not uncertain wishing; standard, neutral Hindi Christian usage.
Synergos
Approved rendering: सहकर्मी
Transliteration: sahakarmī
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: συνεργός
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:1,24. Gospel-partnership language framing the community around Philemon’s house church.
Systratiotes
Approved rendering: सहसैनिक
Transliteration: sahasainika
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: συστρατιώτης
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:2, of Archippus. Vivid but low-doctrinal-risk military metaphor for costly shared ministry.
Agapetos
Approved rendering: प्रिय
Transliteration: priya
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Philemon 1:1 (of Philemon), 1:16 (climactically of Onesimus). Paul establishes the term’s warmth early so its later application to a slave carries full force.
Philemon Name
Approved rendering: फिलेमोन
Transliteration: Philemona
Doctrine: Church
Original: Φιλήμων
Category: Church
Proper name; the letter’s recipient, a slave-owning house-church leader. Established Hindi Bible transliteration.
Apphia Name
Approved rendering: अप्फिया
Transliteration: Apphiā
Doctrine: Church
Original: Ἀπφία
Category: Church
Philemon 1:2. Named co-recipient, likely Philemon’s wife. Established Hindi Bible transliteration.
Archippus Name
Approved rendering: अर्खिप्पुस
Transliteration: Arkhippusa
Doctrine: Church
Original: Ἄρχιππος
Category: Church
Philemon 1:2. Named co-recipient, ‘our fellow soldier.’ Established Hindi Bible transliteration.
Epaphras Name
Approved rendering: इपफ्रास
Transliteration: Ipaphrāsa
Doctrine: Church
Original: Ἐπαφρᾶς
Category: Church
Philemon 1:23. Paul’s fellow prisoner, named in the closing greetings. Established Hindi Bible transliteration.
Companions Names
Approved rendering: मरकुस, अरिस्तर्खुस, देमास, लूका
Transliteration: Marakusa, Aristarkhusa, Demāsa, Lūkā
Doctrine: Church
Original: Μᾶρκος, Ἀρίσταρχος, Δημᾶς, Λουκᾶς
Category: Church
Philemon 1:24. Proper names of Paul’s named fellow workers in the closing greetings. Established Hindi Bible transliterations.
Referenced passages