Core Glossary
Jonah — Core Glossary (Hmong Language Package)
Risk Tier Definitions (inherited verbatim from Romans baseline)
- Critical — doctrinally load-bearing term with a strong, specific collision with Hmong traditional religion (animism/shamanism/ancestor veneration/fate) that could invert or neutralize the doctrine if unaddressed.
- High — real potential for confusion with a specific traditional-religious concept/practice; manageable with a documented disambiguating strategy.
- Medium — partial semantic mismatch, register gap, or comprehension gap (unfamiliar referent), with no direct collision with a competing religious system.
- Low — already-stable, safe rendering with minimal ambiguity.
Provenance key:
- [INHERITED] — term and Hmong rendering reused exactly from
assets/translation_memory.json(Romans baseline); must not be altered. - [EXTENDED] — term exists in the Romans baseline but is applied to a new Jonah-specific sense/context requiring an additional disambiguation note.
- [NEW] — term has no Romans-baseline entry; candidate rendering proposed here for Phase 2 TM-revision review; not yet permanent.
Divine Persons & Names
| # | English Term | Hebrew (translit.) | Hmong Rendering | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Provenance / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God (Elohim) | אֱלֹהִים Elohim | Vajtswv | Low | All | all | [INHERITED] From Romans TM #1. |
| 2 | LORD (covenant name) | יְהוָה YHWH | tus Tswv | Low-Medium | D1, D4 | 1, 2, 3, 4 | [EXTENDED] From Romans TM #2 (kyrios). New note: Jonah 3 deliberately shifts from YHWH (3:1) to generic Elohim (3:5-10) once addressing/describing Nineveh’s response — both collapse to the single Hmong term Vajtswv/tus Tswv, so the YHWH→Elohim theological nuance (universal God accessible even without covenant-name revelation, supporting D1) must be preserved via teaching note, not lexical choice. |
| 3 | word of the LORD | דְּבַר־יְהוָה devar-YHWH | Vajtswv Txoj Lus | Low | D2, D3 | 1, 3 | [INHERITED/EXTENDED] Reuses the general Hmong Christian idiom noted in the Romans TM front matter; denotes a living commissioning-event here, distinct from Vaj Lug Kub (Scripture, the written collection). |
| 4 | Jonah (proper name) | יוֹנָה Yonah (LXX Ἰωνᾶς Iōnas) | Yaunas (candidate) | Low | D5 | all | [NEW] Proper noun. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: confirm against established Hmong OT tradition.] |
| 5 | Nineveh (proper name) | נִינְוֵה Nineveh (LXX Νινευή Nineuē) | Ninave (candidate) | Low | D1, D3 | 1, 3, 4 | [NEW] Proper noun. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: confirm established rendering.] |
| 6 | Tarshish (proper name) | תַּרְשִׁישׁ Tarshish | Tasis (candidate) | Low | D3 | 1, 4 | [NEW] Proper noun. Low priority; comprehension-level only. |
Sovereignty over Creation (Doctrine 4)
| # | English Term | Hebrew (translit.) | Hmong Rendering | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Provenance / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | creation / created order | (implicit; cf. oseh hayam vehayabashah) | tej uas raug tsim los | Low | D4 | 1, 4 | [INHERITED] Romans TM creation. |
| 8 | Creator of sea and land | עֹשֵׂה הַיָּם וְהַיַּבָּשָׁה oseh hayam vehayabashah | Vajtswv, tus tsim dej hiavtxwv thiab av qhuav | Low | D4 | 1 | [EXTENDED] Builds on #7 with explicit Creator-agency phrasing; Jonah’s own confession (1:9). |
| 9 | great wind / great storm | רוּח־גְּדוֹלָה / סַעַר גָּדוֹל ruach-gedolah / sa’ar gadol | cua daj cua dub loj, always anchored to Vajtswv tso (the LORD hurled) | Medium-High | D4 | 1 | [NEW] Must not be left unattributed, to avoid a nature-spirit reading; parallels the Romans-baseline power/hwjchim mandatory-qualifier pattern. |
| 10 | flee from the presence of the LORD | וַיִּבְרַח מִלִּפְנֵי יְהוָה vayivrach millifnei YHWH | tsis kam mus ua raws li Vajtswv Txoj Lus, thiaj tig mus rau lwm qhov | High | D3, D4 | 1 | [NEW] Idiom for resigning a commission, not literal territorial escape; risks reinforcing a territorial-spirit worldview if read literally — must be taught with explicit anti-territorial-limitation note. |
| 11 | cast lots | וַיַּפִּלוּ גּוֹרָלוֹת vayapilu goralot | muab ntawv rho xaiv | Medium-High | D4 | 1 | [NEW] Reports a pagan divinatory practice neutrally; requires a note that this is not a model for believer practice, given real risk of legitimizing Hmong divination customs. |
| 12 | God appointed (fish/plant/worm/wind) | וַיְמַן… vayeman (root manah) | Vajtswv tau npaj/txib (fixed phrase, all 4 occurrences) | High | D4 | 1, 4 | [NEW — CRITICAL STRUCTURAL TERM] The book’s fourfold literary signature of total divine sovereignty over creation (great fish 1:17; plant 4:6; worm 4:7; wind 4:8). Must be rendered identically at every occurrence. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: lock exact phrase before Phase 2.] |
| 13 | he had said he would do… did not do it | אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר לַעֲשׂוֹת… וְלֹא עָשָׂה | Vajtswv tsis muab tej uas Nws tau hais los ua tiag | Medium | D2, D4 | 3 | [NEW] Confirms prophetic announcement as morally-contingent, not fatalistic decree; parallels Romans-baseline forbidden-substitution logic re: hmoov (fate) vocabulary for foreknowledge/election. |
Repentance & Divine Mercy (Doctrine 2)
| # | English Term | Hebrew (translit.) | Hmong Rendering | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Provenance / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | believed God | וַיַּאֲמִינוּ בֵּאלֹהִים vaya’aminu belohim | kev ntseeg / ntseeg | Medium | D1, D2 | 3 | [INHERITED] Romans TM faith_believe. Object here is generic “Elohim” — see #2’s YHWH/Elohim note. |
| 15 | fast | צוֹם tsom | kev yoo mov | Medium | D2 | 3 | [NEW] Must be distinguished from ritual food-offering/appeasement (fij dab); reuse Romans-baseline living_sacrifice disambiguation strategy. |
| 16 | sackcloth / ashes | שַׂק / אֵפֶר saq / epher | khaub ncaws pluj ntawm kev quaj ntsuag / tshauv | Low-Medium | D2 | 3 | [NEW] Comprehension gap only; explanatory gloss required, no doctrinal collision. |
| 17 | proclaim / message | קְרָא / קְרִיאָה qara / qeriah | tshaj tawm rau / tej lus uas yuav tshaj tawm | Medium | D1, D5 | 1, 3 | [NEW] Cross-references NT κήρυγμα Ἰωνᾶ (Luke 11:32). Must not merge with hais lus foom (curse-incantation) vocabulary. |
| 18 | decree/edict | טַעַם ta’am | tsab lus samhwm | Low | D1 | 3 | [NEW] Ordinary administrative term, no collision. |
| 19 | turn from evil way (human repentance) | שׁוּב מִן־דֶּרֶךְ הָרָעָה shuv min-derekh ra’ah | thim tawm ntawm txoj kev phem (candidate) | Critical | D2, D3 | 3 | [NEW — CENTRAL TERM] Must be kept lexically distinct from Romans-baseline renewal_of_the_mind (hloov siab tshiab) and sanctification (kev raug ua kom dawb huv). [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: no permanent OT repentance TM entry exists yet.] |
| 20 | God relents / turns from anger | שׁוּב וְנִחַם shuv venicham | Vajtswv hloov Nws txoj kev txiav txim (candidate) | Critical | D2 | 3, 4 | [NEW — CENTRAL TERM] Must never imply God sins, is morally inconsistent, or is ritually manipulated like a capricious ancestor-spirit; always taught alongside wrath_of_god (Romans TM, inherited) with explicit appeasement-contrast. |
| 21 | wickedness / evil (moral sense) | רָעָה ra’ah (moral) | kev txhaum / txoj kev phem | High | D2 | 1, 3 | [EXTENDED] Parallels Romans-baseline sin_act_and_condition; here specifically Nineveh’s national violence/wickedness. |
| 22 | calamity / disaster (consequential sense) | רָעָה ra’ah (consequential) | kev puas tsuaj | Critical | D2 | 3, 4 | [NEW — CRITICAL POLYSEMY SPLIT] Same Hebrew word as #21 but a distinct referent (threatened judgment, not moral fault); collapsing #21 and #22 into one Hmong word destroys 3:10’s wordplay and risks implying “God repented of Nineveh’s sin.” Parallels the Romans-baseline flesh_neutral / flesh_moral split methodology. |
| 23 | violence (in their hands) | חָמָס chamas | kev nyiag nyeg thiab kev tsim txom | Medium | D2 | 3 | [NEW] Names Nineveh’s specific national sin; kept distinct from generic kev txhaum to preserve concreteness. |
| 24 | who knows? | מִי יֹדֵעַ mi yodea | Leejtwg paub tau | Low-Medium | D2 | 3 | [NEW] Guards against a ritual-guarantee/appeasement reading; preserve intact in teaching. |
| 25 | fierce anger / wrath of God | חֲרוֹן אַף charon aph | kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv | High | D2 | 3, 4 | [INHERITED] Romans TM wrath_of_god — identical collision risk (capricious spirit-anger appeasement) already documented in baseline; qualifier “ntawm Vajtswv” mandatory. |
| 26 | perish | אָבַד avad | puas tsuaj / tuag tag | Low | D2 | 3 | [NEW] Stable, low-risk. |
| 27 | gracious (chanun) | חַנּוּן channun | muaj lub siab zoo tshua neeg (candidate) | Medium-High | D1, D2 | 4 | [NEW] Deliberately distinct from Romans TM grace (txiaj ntsim, transactional unmerited-favor sense) since channun here names a character-disposition; must not be flattened into #29. |
| 28 | compassionate (rachum) | רַחוּם rachum | muaj kev khuv leej | Medium | D1, D2 | 4 | [EXTENDED] Reuses Romans TM mercy (txoj kev khuv leej, #eleos). |
| 29 | grace (charis, Romans-baseline, for cross-reference only) | χάρις charis | txiaj ntsim | Critical | — | (Romans only; cited for contrast) | [INHERITED, contrast note] koob hmoov remains permanently forbidden per Romans baseline; same prohibition extends to this package. |
| 30 | slow to anger | אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם erekh apayim | tsis chim sai | Low-Medium | D2 | 4 | [NEW] Descriptive phrase, comprehension-level. |
| 31 | steadfast love (chesed) | חֶסֶד chesed | kev hlub ruaj khov [raws li tej lus cog tseg] | High | D2 | 2, 4 | [NEW] Deliberately distinct from Romans TM love (kev hlub, agapē, general affection) to preserve covenant-loyalty nuance. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: permanent chesed rendering for future OT curricula.] |
| 32 | vow | נֶדֶר neder | lus cog tseg [rau Vajtswv] | Low-Medium | D2 | 2 | [EXTENDED] Reuses Romans TM promise pattern (lus cog tseg). |
| 33 | pity / compassion (chus — spare) | חוּס chus | muaj kev khuv leej thiab tsis kam rhuav tshem | Medium-High | D1 | 4 | [EXTENDED] Reuses Romans TM mercy with added “sparing” nuance; forms 4:2/4:10-11 inclusio. |
Human Reluctance vs. God’s Universal Love (Doctrine 3)
| # | English Term | Hebrew (translit.) | Hmong Rendering | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Provenance / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | fear (terror vs. reverence) | יָרֵא / יִרְאָה גְדוֹלָה yare / yir’ah gedolah | ntshai (terror) / hwm thiab pehawm tus Tswv (reverence) | Medium | D1, D3 | 1 | [EXTENDED] Worship sense reuses Romans TM worship_serve_cultic mandatory-object rule (pehawm tus Tswv, never bare pehawm). |
| 35 | it displeased Jonah greatly / he was angry | וַיֵּרַע… וַיִּחַר לוֹ vayera… vayichar lo | Yaunas chim heev, thiab nws txaus siab tsis tau li | Medium (lexical) / High (doctrinal) | D3 | 4 | [NEW] Central irony term: prophet’s anger vs. God’s mercy; must be explicitly taught, not merely translated. |
| 36 | take my life | קַח־נָא אֶת־נַפְשִׁי qach-na et-nafshi | tso kuv txoj sia povtseg | Medium | D3 | 4 | [NEW] Nephesh (“life/self”) should not be automatically merged with Romans TM human_spirit_soul (ntsuj plig, pneuma); distinct OT anthropological term. |
| 37 | 120,000 persons / right hand from left | מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים אֶלֶף… בֵּין־יְמִינוֹ לִשְׂמֹאלוֹ | ib puas nees nkaum txhiab leej tibneeg… tsis paub cais sab xis sab laug | Low-Medium | D1, D3 | 4 | [NEW] Closing merism; comprehension-level idiom. |
| 38 | much cattle / man and beast | בְּהֵמָה רַבָּה / הָאָדָם וְהַבְּהֵמָה | tsiaj txhu coob coob / tibneeg thiab tsiaj txhu | Low | D1, D4 | 3, 4 | [NEW] Extends compassion/sovereignty scope to animals; transparent merism. |
| 39 | booth | סֻכָּה sukkah | tsev pheeb suab me | Low | D3 | 4 | [NEW] Comprehension-level, no collision. |
| 40 | the plant (qiqayon) | קִיקָיוֹן qiqayon | tsob ntoo/nroj tsuag uas hlav sai | Low-Medium | D3, D4 | 4 | [NEW] Botanically unfamiliar, parallels Romans-baseline olive-tree entry #60; illustrative note required. |
| 41 | worm | תּוֹלַעַת tola’at | kaub / kab | Low | D3, D4 | 4 | [NEW] No collision. |
| 42 | east wind / scorching wind | רוּחַ קָדִים ruach qadim | cua tuaj sab hnub tuaj / cua kub nkeeg | Low | D3, D4 | 4 | [NEW] No collision. |
Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection (Doctrine 5)
| # | English Term | Hebrew (translit.) / Greek (NT cross-ref) | Hmong Rendering | Risk | Doctrine(s) | Chapters | Provenance / Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | great fish | דָּג גָּדוֹל dag gadol | tus ntses loj | Low-Medium | D5 | 1 | [NEW] Avoid over-specifying species (not necessarily “whale”); comprehension-level only. |
| 44 | three days and three nights | שְׁלֹשָׁה יָמִים וּשְׁלֹשָׁה לֵילוֹת shloshah yamim ushloshah leilot; NT Gk. τρεῖς ἡμέρας καὶ τρεῖς νύκτας treis hēmeras kai treis nyktas (Matt 12:40) | peb hnub peb hmo | Critical (teaching) | D5 | 1 | [NEW] Explicit basis of the sign-of-Jonah typology; must always be cross-referenced to Matthew 12:40 in teaching material. |
| 45 | belly of the fish / belly of Sheol | בְּמְעֵי הַדָּגָה / בֶּטֶן שְׁאוֹל bime’ei hadagah / beten she’ol | hauv plab ntses, ib yam li nyob hauv qhov ntxa/thaj chaw ntawm cov tuag | Critical | D5 | 2 | [NEW] Highest collision risk in the book: must not be rendered with hu plig/ua neeb (shamanic soul-retrieval) vocabulary. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: theologian sign-off required before Phase 2.] |
| 46 | sign (of Jonah) | NT Gk. σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ sēmeion Iōna (Matt 12:39; Luke 11:29) — no direct Hebrew equivalent in Jonah itself | lub cim ntawm Yaunas (candidate) | High | D5 | (cross-testament) | [NEW] Term is introduced via NT Greek typological reading, not the Hebrew text itself; must be explicitly flagged as a cross-testament theological connection, not a term native to Jonah. |
| 47 | salvation belongs to the LORD | יְשׁוּעָתָה לַיהוָה yeshuatah la-YHWH | kev cawm dim yog los ntawm tus Tswv xwb | High | D2, D5 | 2 | [INHERITED/EXTENDED] Romans TM salvation_save; same mandatory Christ-anchoring rule and shamanic soul-rescue contrast applies. |
| 48 | word of the LORD (2nd time) | דְּבַר־יְהוָה… שֵׁנִית devar-YHWH… shenit | Vajtswv Txoj Lus… zaum ob | Low | D2, D5 | 3 | [EXTENDED] See #3; recurrence marks divine forbearance toward the reluctant sign-bearing prophet. |
| 49 | overthrown | נֶהְפָּכֶת nehepakhet | raug rhuav tshem | Medium | D1, D2 | 3 | [NEW] Echoes Sodom’s destruction vocabulary (Gen 19:25); Nineveh 3 functions as a deliberate counter-narrative. |
| 50 | forty days | אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם arba’im yom | plaub caug hnub | Low | D2 | 3 | [NEW] Stable numeral; biblical testing/grace-period pattern. |
| 51 | idols / vain things | הַבְלֵי־שָׁוְא havlei-shav | tej dab mlom uas tsis muaj qabhau | High | D1, D2 | 2 | [INHERITED/EXTENDED] Romans TM idol (dab mlom) — same collision risk already documented in baseline; doctrinally correct as-is. |
Full-Book Coverage Confirmation
- Chapter 1 — reviewed; new terms #4-13, #34, #43-44 surfaced (flight idiom, storm/creation vocabulary, lots-casting, the manah structural verb, great fish, three days/nights).
- Chapter 2 — reviewed; new terms #31-32, #45, #47, #51 surfaced (Sheol/belly imagery, chesed, vow, salvation-doxology, idols).
- Chapter 3 (= core passage, Jonah 3:1-10) — fully covered verse-by-verse in
analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md§1; terms #14-24, #48-50 correspond to this chapter, including the Critical repentance/relenting pair (#19-20) and the Critical moral/consequential ra’ah polysemy split (#21-22). - Chapter 4 — reviewed; new terms #27-30, #33, #35-42, #46 surfaced (the five-part divine-attribute creed of 4:2, Jonah’s anger, booth/plant/worm/wind, the sign-of-Jonah cross-testament term, the closing compassion/merism).
No chapter contributes zero new theological vocabulary in this book; all four chapters are load-bearing for at least one of the five assigned doctrines.
Critical Risk Terms
Election Choose
Approved rendering: kev xaiv (Vajtswv xaiv raws li nws lub siab nyiam)
Transliteration: eklogē (Gk., cross-ref)
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Rejected alternatives: hmoov (impersonal fate/fortune) vocabulary — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Cited here for cross-reference: the same hmoov-prohibition logic is extended in Jonah to the ‘conditional_prophecy’ entry below (God’s forty-day announcement is morally contingent, not an unalterable fate-decree) and to the ‘cast_lots’ entry (a reported pagan practice, never a legitimate model of learning God’s will).
Grace
Approved rendering: txiaj ntsim
Transliteration: charis (Gk., cross-ref)
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: koob hmoov (fortune/blessing tied to fate and ritual correctness) — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged, permanent prohibition on koob hmoov carried forward. Cited here as a fixed boundary marker: Hebrew channun (‘gracious,’ a character-disposition, Jonah 4:2) must be kept lexically DISTINCT from this transactional unmerited-favor term — see ‘gracious_channun’ below.
Repentance Turn From Evil Way
Approved rendering: thim tawm ntawm txoj kev phem
Transliteration: shuv min-derekh ra’ah
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy; Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
Rejected alternatives: hloov siab tshiab (Romans-baseline renewal_of_the_mind) — rejected, a distinct post-conversion sanctification concept, kev raug ua kom dawb huv (Romans-baseline sanctification) — rejected, ritual-purity-adjacent, not a repentance term, reparable social/ritual-apology framing (ordinary Hmong custom) — rejected, flattens whole-life moral reorientation before God into a one-time social restitution
CENTRAL NEW ENTRY. The OT’s primary repentance-verb (root shuv), commanded in the king’s decree (3:8) and confirmed as accomplished (3:10). No permanent OT repentance TM entry exists in the Romans baseline since Romans does not narrate this construction. Must be kept lexically distinct from ‘divine_relenting’ below — Nineveh’s shuv (human repentance) is answered by God’s nicham (relenting), and the two must never collapse into one word. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: theologian sign-off required before Phase 2 permanent lock.]
Divine Relenting
Approved rendering: Vajtswv hloov Nws txoj kev txiav txim [rau qhov kev puas tsuaj]
Transliteration: shuv venicham / vayinachem
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: any phrasing implying God Himself sins, regrets a moral fault, or is ritually persuaded/manipulated like a capricious appeased ancestor-spirit — FORBIDDEN
CENTRAL NEW ENTRY. The book’s central divine-mercy term (root nacham, 3:9-10; cf. Numbers 23:19, 1 Samuel 15:29 using the same root to deny God is a man who changes moral character). Anthropomorphic language for a real change in God’s stated course of action in response to genuine repentance, NOT a change in His eternal character. Must always be taught alongside ‘wrath_of_god’ with the explicit contrast: Nineveh’s repentance is a moral condition God freely honors, never a ritual technique that compels Him. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: no permanent TM entry for divine ‘relenting’ exists in the Romans baseline; theologian sign-off required before Phase 2.]
Calamity Consequential Raah
Approved rendering: kev puas tsuaj
Transliteration: ra’ah (consequential sense)
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: collapsing this and ‘wickedness_moral_raah’ into one Hmong word — FORBIDDEN, destroys the 3:10 wordplay and produces the doctrine-inverting reading ‘God repented of Nineveh’s sin’
CRITICAL NEW ENTRY. Same Hebrew word (ra’ah) as ‘wickedness_moral_raah’ but a distinct referent: God’s threatened calamity/judgment (3:10b), not Nineveh’s moral fault. This is the single most theologically load-bearing polysemy in the core passage. Parallels the Romans-baseline flesh_neutral/flesh_moral disambiguation methodology (sarx). Reuses the idiom already used for katakrima (no_condemnation) for the consequential sense specifically. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: confirm split preserved consistently through Jonah 3-4 before Phase 2.]
Divine Attribute Formula Composite
Approved rendering: El-channun verachum atah, erekh apayim, verav-chesed, venicham al-hara’ah — assembled in Hmong from ‘gracious_channun’ + ‘compassionate_rachum’ + ‘slow_to_anger’ + ‘steadfast_love_chesed’ + ‘divine_relenting’
Transliteration: El-channun verachum atah, erekh apayim, verav-chesed, venicham al-hara’ah
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy; God’s Compassion for the Nations; The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Rejected alternatives: collapsing any of the five sub-terms into a near-synonym of another — FORBIDDEN, unravels the coherence of the creed
NEW ENTRY. The Exodus 34:6-7 covenant-attribute creed, quoted verbatim by Jonah not in praise but in complaint (4:2) — the theological rationale explaining why he fled. The single densest doctrinal verse in the book. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: theologian sign-off required on this composite as a fixed liturgical/creedal unit before Phase 2.]
Flee From Presence Of Lord
Approved rendering: tsis kam mus ua raws li Vajtswv Txoj Lus, thiaj tig mus rau lwm qhov
Transliteration: vayivrach… millifnei YHWH
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation; Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
Rejected alternatives: a literal, territorial-escape rendering of ‘fled from the presence of the LORD’ — FORBIDDEN, would imply YHWH’s power/presence is geographically limited like a household or field spirit
CRITICAL NEW ENTRY. Idiom for resigning a commission/relationship (1:3), not literal geographic escape — the narrative itself immediately disproves a literal reading (1:4). Highest-grounded collision risk for Doctrine 4: Hmong traditional religion holds territorially-bound spirits. Must always be paired with explicit teaching that Jonah’s flight fails precisely because no place is outside God’s presence/authority.
Three Days And Three Nights
Approved rendering: peb hnub peb hmo
Transliteration: shloshah yamim ushloshah leilot; NT Gk. treis hēmeras kai treis nyktas (Matt 12:40)
Doctrine: Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection
Rejected alternatives: presenting this phrase as a mere survival-story detail without the Matthew 12:40 cross-reference — rejected, forfeits the doctrine’s entire textual basis
CRITICAL TEACHING NEW ENTRY. Lexically Low risk (transparent numeral phrase) but Critical doctrinal-teaching risk: the explicit basis Christ Himself cites for His own burial and resurrection pattern (Matthew 12:40). Must ALWAYS carry the explicit cross-reference to Matthew 12:40 in any teaching material.
Belly Of Fish Sheol
Approved rendering: hauv plab ntses, ib yam li nyob hauv qhov ntxa/thaj chaw ntawm cov tuag
Transliteration: bime’ei hadagah / beten she’ol
Doctrine: Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection
Rejected alternatives: hu plig / ua neeb (shamanic soul-retrieval vocabulary) — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN, would turn Jonah’s God-ordained deliverance into a shamanic soul-rescue narrative, a bare transliteration of ‘Sheol’ — rejected, theologically opaque and forfeits the needed contrast-teaching
HIGHEST COLLISION RISK IN THE BOOK. Sheol is the Hebrew realm of the dead, a shadowy underworld, NOT synonymous with hell/eternal punishment. Directly collides with the active Hmong concept of a shaman (txiv neeb) ritually journeying into the land of the dead to retrieve a lost soul. Must be taught with explicit contrast: Jonah’s deliverance is God’s sovereign act alone, not a retrieval achieved through shamanic technique. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: theologian confirmation of this Sheol-rendering strategy mandatory before Phase 2.]
High Risk Terms
Idol
Approved rendering: dab mlom
Transliteration: eidōlon (Gk., cross-ref) / cf. Heb. havlei-shav
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations; Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: generic ‘statue’ softening — rejected
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Used in Jonah 2:8 (‘havlei-shav,’ vain idols) with the added qualifier ‘uas tsis muaj qabhau’ (worthless); doctrinally correct as-is per the Romans-baseline convention, no softening permitted.
Wrath Of God
Approved rendering: kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: charon aph / orgē theou
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: unqualified ‘npau taws’ associated only with capricious spirit/ancestor anger — rejected without explicit contrast teaching
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Renders Hebrew charon appo (‘fierce anger,’ Jonah 3:9, 4:2). Must always be taught alongside the new ‘divine_relenting’ entry below with the explicit contrast that Nineveh’s repentance is a moral condition God freely honors, never a ritual technique that compels Him.
Salvation Save
Approved rendering: kev cawm dim / cawm
Transliteration: yeshuah (Heb.) / sōtēria / sōzō (Gk.)
Doctrine: Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection; Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: unanchored ‘dim’ (escape) parallel to shamanic ua neeb soul-rescue — rejected without explicit Christ-anchoring
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Anchors Jonah 2:9’s doxological climax ‘yeshuatah la-YHWH’ (‘salvation belongs to the LORD’) — see the dedicated ‘salvation_belongs_to_lord’ entry below for the full composite phrase.
Worship Serve Cultic
Approved rendering: pehawm / pab teev
Transliteration: yare (Heb., reverence sense) / latreuō (Gk.)
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations
Rejected alternatives: bare, unanchored pehawm — FORBIDDEN, identical verb used for pehawm dab (ancestor/spirit veneration)
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged mandatory-object rule. Applied to the pagan sailors’ shift from generic terror to reverent worship of YHWH specifically (Jonah 1:16) — must always be rendered ‘pehawm tus Tswv’, never bare.
Power
Approved rendering: hwjchim
Transliteration: dynamis (Gk., cross-ref)
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Rejected alternatives: bare, unqualified hwjchim — FORBIDDEN, identical to a shaman’s (txiv neeb) ritual power
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged mandatory qualifier. Extended in Jonah to storm-causation: any description of the storm’s force as ‘hwjchim’ must be qualified as ‘Vajtswv hwjchim’ or, preferably, anchored via the ‘great_wind_storm’ entry’s ‘Vajtswv tso’ construction below.
Foreknow Predestine
Approved rendering: twb paub ua ntej lawm / twm chaw ua ntej lawm
Transliteration: proginōskō / proorizō (Gk., cross-ref)
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Rejected alternatives: hmoov (fate) vocabulary — rejected, same collision risk as election_choose
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Cited for cross-reference alongside ‘conditional_prophecy’ below.
Human Spirit Soul
Approved rendering: ntsuj plig
Transliteration: pneuma (Gk., cross-ref)
Doctrine: Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
Rejected alternatives: Vaj Ntsuj Plig — forbidden for this referent, reserved exclusively for the Holy Spirit
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Cited here specifically to mark a boundary: Jonah 4:3,8’s ‘nephesh’ (‘take my life’) must NOT automatically be rendered with this term, since nephesh denotes the broader OT ‘life/self,’ not the anthropological spirit-component specifically — see ‘take_my_life_nephesh’ below.
Sign Of Jonah
Approved rendering: lub cim ntawm Yaunas
Transliteration: sēmeion Iōna (NT Gk., Matt 12:39; Luke 11:29)
Doctrine: Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection
NEW ENTRY. This term is introduced via NT Greek typological reading, not the Hebrew text of Jonah itself, and must ALWAYS be explicitly flagged in teaching material as a cross-testament theological connection (Matt 12:39-41; Luke 11:29-32), never presented as native Jonah-text vocabulary.
Wickedness Moral Raah
Approved rendering: kev txhaum / txoj kev phem
Transliteration: ra’ah (moral sense)
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
NEW ENTRY, part of the Critical polysemy split (see ‘calamity_consequential_raah’). Nineveh’s moral wickedness/violence (1:2, 3:8, 3:10a) — the object of Nineveh’s repentance. Parallels the Romans-baseline sin_act_and_condition collision (Hmong custom frames wrongdoing as reparable social/ritual fault, not objective moral wickedness). Must be kept lexically DISTINCT from the consequential sense below.
Steadfast Love Chesed
Approved rendering: kev hlub ruaj khov [raws li tej lus cog tseg]
Transliteration: chesed
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: kev hlub (Romans-baseline agapē, general affection) used interchangeably — rejected, chesed is covenant-loyalty-love, a distinct category, txiaj ntsim (grace) used interchangeably — rejected, same distinction as above
NEW ENTRY. No Romans-baseline entry exists (Romans’s love vocabulary is agapē only). Appears in Jonah’s prayer (2:8, ‘chasdam’) and the 4:2 creed (‘rav-chesed’). Denotes God’s persistent covenant loyalty despite repeated provocation — highly relevant to Doctrine 2. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: establish this as a permanent chesed-rendering for future Hmong OT curricula.]
Jonah Anger Displeasure
Approved rendering: Yaunas chim heev, thiab nws txaus siab tsis tau li
Transliteration: vayera el-Yonah… vayichar lo
Doctrine: Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
Rejected alternatives: framing as a normal, acceptable shamanic-style ‘negotiating posture’ toward a manageable deity — FORBIDDEN
NEW ENTRY. The book’s sharpest statement of Doctrine 3: the prophet’s anger versus God’s mercy. Must be explicitly taught as the book’s central irony and as culpable, not modeled, behavior.
God Appointed Manah
Approved rendering: Vajtswv tau npaj/txib
Transliteration: vayeman (root manah)
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Rejected alternatives: any inconsistent rendering across the four occurrences — FORBIDDEN, erases the book’s deliberate literary signature
CRITICAL STRUCTURAL NEW ENTRY. A key structural verb repeated exactly four times: the great fish (1:17), the plant (4:6), the worm (4:7), the east wind (4:8). Must be rendered IDENTICALLY at all four occurrences to preserve this literary signature demonstrating God’s total, direct sovereignty over every element of creation. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: lock the exact phrase before Phase 2.]
Salvation Belongs To Lord
Approved rendering: kev cawm dim yog los ntawm tus Tswv xwb
Transliteration: yeshuatah la-YHWH
Doctrine: Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection; Repentance and Divine Mercy
NEW ENTRY, extends inherited ‘salvation_save’. The doxological climax of Jonah’s prayer (2:9); yeshuah shares its root with the Hebrew name Yeshua (Jesus). Must always be anchored to tus Tswv/Yexus Khetos as sole agent, per the inherited Romans-baseline rule, and explicitly contrasted with shamanic soul-rescue.
Idols Vain Things
Approved rendering: tej dab mlom uas tsis muaj qabhau
Transliteration: havlei-shav
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations; Repentance and Divine Mercy
NEW ENTRY, extends inherited ‘idol’. Literally ‘vapors/breaths of emptiness’ (2:8); Jonah contrasts those who forsake chesed for worthless idols with his own renewed reliance on YHWH.
Medium Risk Terms
Faith Believe
Approved rendering: kev ntseeg / ntseeg
Transliteration: aman (Heb.) / pistis (Gk.)
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy; God’s Compassion for the Nations
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged rendering. In Jonah 3:5 the object is generic ‘Elohim’ rather than the covenant name; per the Romans-baseline rule this verb must always be anchored explicitly to its object — here, the Ninevites’ first Gentile mass-conversion response to God’s word delivered through Jonah.
Mercy
Approved rendering: txoj kev khuv leej
Transliteration: eleos (Gk.) / cf. Heb. rachum, chus
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations; Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: txiaj ntsim (grace) used interchangeably for mercy — rejected, mercy and grace are theologically distinct emphases
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Reused in Jonah for Hebrew rachum (‘compassionate,’ 4:2) and extended with a ‘sparing’ nuance for chus (4:10-11) — see ‘compassionate_rachum’ and ‘pity_compassion_chus’ below, both kept lexically distinct from this base entry’s simple compassion sense.
Call Out Proclaim
Approved rendering: tshaj tawm rau
Transliteration: qera aleha
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations; Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection
Rejected alternatives: hais lus foom (curse-incantation vocabulary) — rejected, would suggest a self-fulfilling ritual utterance rather than a conditional divine warning
NEW ENTRY. Jonah’s commissioned proclamation (1:2, 3:2). Bridges to NT Greek kērygma Iōna (‘the preaching of Jonah,’ Luke 11:32), directly cited by Christ.
Three Days Journey
Approved rendering: peb hnub taug kev
Transliteration: mahalakh shloshet yamim
Doctrine: Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection
NEW ENTRY. Measure of Nineveh’s breadth (3:3); Medium risk of losing the intentional literary echo with the fish’s ‘three days and three nights’ (1:17) unless cross-referenced by teaching note.
Overthrown
Approved rendering: raug rhuav tshem
Transliteration: nehepakhet
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy; God’s Compassion for the Nations
NEW ENTRY. Deliberate echo of the identical verb used of Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction (Genesis 19:25); Nineveh 3 functions as a counter-narrative since, unlike Sodom, it repents and is spared. Comprehension-level risk only; no animistic collision identified.
Fast Tsom
Approved rendering: kev yoo mov
Transliteration: tsom
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: framing as a ritual food-offering/appeasement rite directed at ancestor spirits (fij dab) — rejected
NEW ENTRY. Must be taught as an expression of genuine sorrow/turning, explicitly distinguished from ancestor-spirit appeasement offerings, per the Romans-baseline living_sacrifice disambiguation strategy.
Violence Chamas
Approved rendering: kev nyiag nyeg thiab kev tsim txom
Transliteration: chamas
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: generic kev txhaum (sin) substituted without distinction — rejected, loses the specificity of Nineveh’s named national sin
NEW ENTRY. Nineveh’s specific named national sin (3:8), also the term for the ‘violence’ that filled the earth before the Flood (Genesis 6:11); names concrete, behavioral repentance, not merely emotional or ritual turning.
Compassionate Rachum
Approved rendering: muaj kev khuv leej
Transliteration: rachum
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
NEW ENTRY. Reuses the Romans-baseline mercy entry (txoj kev khuv leej / eleos); part of the 4:2 composite formula, kept lexically distinct from ‘gracious_channun’ and ‘pity_compassion_chus’, each a separate Hebrew root within the same creed.
Fear Terror Vs Reverence
Approved rendering: ntshai (terror) / hwm thiab pehawm tus Tswv (reverence)
Transliteration: yare / vayire’u… yir’ah gedolah
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations; Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
NEW ENTRY. Ordinary terror (1:5,10) shifts to reverent awe of YHWH specifically (1:16) once the sailors learn He made sea and land; the worship sense reuses the Romans-baseline worship_serve_cultic mandatory-object rule.
Take My Life Nephesh
Approved rendering: tso kuv txoj sia povtseg
Transliteration: qach-na et-nafshi
Doctrine: Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
Rejected alternatives: automatic substitution with ‘ntsuj plig’ (Romans-baseline human_spirit_soul, pneuma) — rejected, nephesh denotes ‘life/self’ broadly, a distinct OT anthropological category
NEW ENTRY. Jonah’s death-wish at God’s mercy toward Nineveh (4:3,8); the low point of Doctrine 3’s portrait of human reluctance.
Conditional Prophecy
Approved rendering: Vajtswv tsis muab tej uas Nws tau hais los ua tiag
Transliteration: asher-diber la’asot… velo asah
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy; The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Rejected alternatives: hmoov (fate) vocabulary implying an unalterable decree — FORBIDDEN, same collision as the Romans-baseline election/foreknowledge prohibition
NEW ENTRY. Confirms that Jonah’s forty-day announcement (3:4) was implicitly conditional, as covenant-lawsuit oracles generally are (cf. Jeremiah 18:7-8); must be taught explicitly against a fatalistic reading, extending the Romans-baseline election_choose/foreknow_predestine forbidden-substitution logic.
Low Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Vajtswv
Transliteration: Elohim / theos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: Ntuj (impersonal sky/heaven) — rejected, lacks personal deity sense, dab (spirit) — rejected, denotes false/lesser spirit
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. In Jonah this single Hmong term must carry both the covenant name YHWH and the generic Elohim — see ‘yhwh_elohim_narrative_shift’ below for the required teaching-note handling of that Hebrew-internal distinction.
Jesus Christ
Approved rendering: Yexus Khetos
Transliteration: Iēsous Christos
Doctrine: Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Required anchor point whenever the ‘sign of Jonah’ typology or ‘salvation belongs to the LORD’ (2:9) is connected explicitly to the gospel in any Christ-centered lesson.
Creation
Approved rendering: tej uas raug tsim los
Transliteration: ktisis (Gk., cross-ref)
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Extended in Jonah with explicit Creator-agency phrasing — see ‘creator_of_sea_and_land’ below.
Promise
Approved rendering: lus cog tseg
Transliteration: epangelia (Gk., cross-ref)
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged pattern. Reused for Jonah’s vow (Heb. neder, 2:9) — see ‘vow_neder’ below.
Scripture
Approved rendering: Vaj Lug Kub
Transliteration: graphē (Gk., cross-ref)
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Must be kept contextually distinct from ‘Vajtswv Txoj Lus’ (word of the LORD, the living spoken commissioning-event in Jonah 1:1, 3:1), which denotes speech, not the written collection.
Love
Approved rendering: kev hlub
Transliteration: agapē (Gk., cross-ref)
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Cited here as a fixed boundary marker: Hebrew chesed (‘steadfast love,’ Jonah 2:8, 4:2) must be kept lexically DISTINCT from this general-affection term — see ‘steadfast_love_chesed’ below.
Nations Gentiles
Approved rendering: lwm Haiv Neeg
Transliteration: ethnē (Gk., cross-ref)
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Available for teaching-note use when framing Nineveh’s status as a Gentile/pagan city, though the book itself names Nineveh directly rather than using this generic category term.
Word Of The Lord
Approved rendering: Vajtswv Txoj Lus
Transliteration: devar-YHWH
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy; Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
NEW ENTRY. Established general Hmong Christian idiom reused for the prophetic commissioning-event (Jonah 1:1, 3:1, ‘the second time’). Must remain contextually distinct from ‘Vaj Lug Kub’ (Scripture, the written collection) — this denotes a living, spoken commissioning-event, not a text.
Second Time
Approved rendering: zaum ob
Transliteration: shenit
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
NEW ENTRY. Ordinary numeral idiom marking that God’s commission to Jonah is repeated (3:1) rather than reassigned — divine forbearance toward the reluctant prophet.
Arise Go Imperative
Approved rendering: sawv, mus
Transliteration: qum lekh
Doctrine: Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
NEW ENTRY. Identical imperative pair given at 1:2 and 3:2; must be rendered with the exact same Hmong phrase at both occurrences to preserve the deliberate verbatim-repetition effect (this is the SAME mission Jonah once fled, not a new one).
Jonah Proper Name
Approved rendering: Yaunas
Transliteration: Yonah (LXX Iōnas)
Doctrine: Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection
NEW ENTRY, candidate transliteration. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: confirm against established Hmong Old Testament tradition before permanent lock.] No doctrinal collision; used as the book’s citation-convention short title (see 12_ai_translation_requirements.md §7).
Nineveh Proper Name
Approved rendering: Ninave
Transliteration: Nineveh (LXX Nineuē)
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations
NEW ENTRY, candidate transliteration. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: confirm established rendering.] Theological weight (Nineveh as representative of ‘the nations’) is carried by teaching context, not the proper-noun form itself.
Tarshish Proper Name
Approved rendering: Tasis
Transliteration: Tarshish
Doctrine: Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
NEW ENTRY, candidate transliteration. [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED.] Low priority; comprehension-level geographic reference for Jonah’s flight destination.
Decree Edict
Approved rendering: tsab lus samhwm
Transliteration: ta’am
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations
NEW ENTRY. The Aramaic-influenced administrative loanword underlying the king of Nineveh’s official proclamation (3:7), making the fast civic and binding, not merely private piety. Ordinary administrative vocabulary; no collision.
Great City Leitwort
Approved rendering: lub nroog loj
Transliteration: ha’ir hagedolah
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations
NEW ENTRY. Part of the book’s recurring ‘great’ (gadol) Leitwort (great city, wind, storm, fish, evil, displeasure); a translator’s note on this recurring intensifier is recommended for whole-book teaching coherence.
Forty Days
Approved rendering: plaub caug hnub
Transliteration: arba’im yom
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
NEW ENTRY. Stable numeral; biblical testing/grace-period pattern (Flood, Sinai, Elijah, wilderness, Christ’s temptation) recommended for teaching note but not a lexical risk.
King Of Nineveh
Approved rendering: vaj ntxwv ntawm Ninave
Transliteration: melekh Nineveh
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations; Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
NEW ENTRY. Stable proper title; the highest human authority in the feared pagan empire personally humbling himself proves the doctrine’s universal scope.
Throne Robe Ashes
Approved rendering: lub zwm txwv / tsoos tsho vaj ntxwv / tshauv
Transliteration: kisse / addereth / epher
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
NEW ENTRY. Symbols of royal status voluntarily surrendered (3:6); concrete imagery transfers cleanly, comprehension gap only since ashes-sitting is not a Hmong ritual practice.
From Greatest To Least
Approved rendering: txij li tus loj kawg mus txog tus me kawg
Transliteration: migedolam ve’ad-qetanam
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations
NEW ENTRY. Transparent merism for the entire social spectrum; reinforces that God’s compassion is for the whole pagan population, not a righteous remnant only.
Man And Beast Merism
Approved rendering: tibneeg thiab tsiaj txhu
Transliteration: ha’adam vehabehemah / behemah rabbah
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation; God’s Compassion for the Nations
NEW ENTRY. Inclusive merism extending fasting/mourning to livestock (3:7-8) and closed by ‘much cattle’ (4:11); extends compassion and sovereignty scope to animals under human care.
Perish
Approved rendering: puas tsuaj / tuag tag
Transliteration: nobed (root avad)
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
NEW ENTRY. The stated alternative to repentance (3:9), echoing ‘overthrown’ (3:4). Stable, low-risk term.
Booth Sukkah
Approved rendering: tsev pheeb suab me
Transliteration: sukkah
Doctrine: Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
NEW ENTRY. Jonah’s self-made, improvised shade-shelter (4:5), contrasted with God’s better-provided plant; comprehension-level term, no collision.
Worm Tolaat
Approved rendering: kab / kaub
Transliteration: tola’at
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
NEW ENTRY. God’s third ‘appointed’ agent (4:7); no collision, must retain the ‘god_appointed_manah’ phrasing for structural consistency.
East Wind
Approved rendering: cua tuaj sab hnub tuaj / cua kub nkeeg
Transliteration: ruach qadim / ruach charishit
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
NEW ENTRY. God’s fourth and final ‘appointed’ agent (4:8), completing the fourfold manah pattern; comprehension-level only.
Much Cattle
Approved rendering: tsiaj txhu coob coob
Transliteration: behemah rabbah
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation; God’s Compassion for the Nations
NEW ENTRY. Closes the merism opened in 3:7-8; the book’s final scope-marker (4:11), extending compassion/sovereignty scope to animals.
Creator Of Sea And Land
Approved rendering: Vajtswv, tus tsim dej hiavtxwv thiab av qhuav
Transliteration: oseh hayam vehayabashah
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
NEW ENTRY. Jonah’s own confession of YHWH’s identity as sovereign Creator (1:9), even while fleeing; builds on the inherited ‘creation’ entry with explicit Creator-agency phrasing. Central proof-text for Doctrine 4.
Low-Medium Risk Terms
Lord
Approved rendering: tus Tswv
Transliteration: YHWH / kyrios
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation; God’s Compassion for the Nations
Rejected alternatives: Yehauvas (sectarian NWT-style divine-name substitution) — permanently forbidden
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Applied to God’s covenant name YHWH throughout Jonah’s narrative frame (1:1,4,9,17; 3:1,3; 4:2,4,6,10).
The Message Proclamation
Approved rendering: tej lus uas yuav tshaj tawm
Transliteration: haqeriah
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations
NEW ENTRY. Cognate noun of ‘call_out_proclaim’; reinforces that the message’s content is divinely given, not Jonah’s own improvised warning.
Exceedingly Great City
Approved rendering: lub nroog loj kawg nkaus
Transliteration: ir-gedolah lelohim
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Rejected alternatives: a rendering implying Nineveh was already devoted/consecrated to Vajtswv — rejected, the Hebrew idiom is a superlative, not a claim of cultic devotion
NEW ENTRY. Literally ‘a city great to/for God’ — a Hebrew superlative idiom, not a claim Nineveh belonged to God cultically.
Sackcloth Ashes Mourning
Approved rendering: khaub ncaws pluj ntawm kev quaj ntsuag
Transliteration: saq
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
NEW ENTRY. Coarse mourning garment; comprehension gap only, no native Hmong sackcloth-mourning custom exists, requires explanatory gloss.
Call Out Mightily
Approved rendering: hu thiab quaj thov nrog zog
Transliteration: yiqre’u vechozqah
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: hu plig (ritually calling back a wandering soul) — FORBIDDEN, would suggest shamanic soul-summoning rather than plea to God
NEW ENTRY. Urgent, fervent, communal petition (3:8) commanded in the king’s decree; must never be rendered with shamanic spirit-summoning vocabulary, consistent with the Romans-baseline prohibition on ‘hu’ for calling on the Lord.
Who Knows Formula
Approved rendering: Leejtwg paub tau
Transliteration: mi yodea
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: paraphrasing away the uncertainty into a guaranteed-outcome statement — rejected, would enable a ritual-appeasement misreading
NEW ENTRY. Rhetorical formula (3:9) expressing hope without presumption; must be preserved intact in teaching precisely because it protects against a magical/ritual-transaction misreading of the whole episode — the king explicitly disclaims any guaranteed technique that forces God’s hand.
Slow To Anger
Approved rendering: tsis chim sai
Transliteration: erekh apayim
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
NEW ENTRY. Part of the 4:2 composite formula; descriptive phrase explaining Jonah’s foreknowledge of exactly why he fled in ch.1 (he knew God would show this patience to Israel’s enemies).
Vow Neder
Approved rendering: lus cog tseg [rau Vajtswv]
Transliteration: neder
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy
Rejected alternatives: a manipulative bargain-vow directed at appeasing a spirit for favor — rejected
NEW ENTRY. Reuses the Romans-baseline promise vocabulary pattern. Jonah’s promised thank-offering upon deliverance (2:9) is a proper, God-ward response of gratitude, not a cause of his deliverance.
Persons 120000 Merism
Approved rendering: ib puas nees nkaum txhiab leej tibneeg… tsis paub cais sab xis sab laug
Transliteration: me’ah ve’esrim elef adam… lo-yada bein-yemino lismolo
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations; Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love
NEW ENTRY. The book’s closing, unresolved appeal (4:11); comprehension-level idiom, no animistic collision identified. Deliberately leaves Jonah’s (and the reader’s) reluctance unresolved.
Plant Qiqayon
Approved rendering: tsob ntoo/nroj tsuag uas hlav sai
Transliteration: qiqayon
Doctrine: Human Reluctance versus God’s Universal Love; The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Rejected alternatives: a specific transliterated botanical loanword — rejected, species identity is disputed even in Hebrew scholarship and would falsely imply certainty
NEW ENTRY. Botanically unfamiliar (traditionally castor-oil plant or gourd vine), parallel to the Romans-baseline olive-tree comprehension gap; a mandatory illustrative note referencing a locally familiar fast-growing gourd or squash vine is recommended. Must retain the ‘god_appointed_manah’ phrasing for lexical consistency.
Great Fish
Approved rendering: tus ntses loj
Transliteration: dag gadol
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation; Jonah as a Sign Foreshadowing Christ’s Resurrection
Rejected alternatives: over-specifying the species (e.g., ‘whale’) — rejected, the Hebrew text does not specify
NEW ENTRY. The sea creature God appointed to swallow Jonah (1:17); comprehension-level only.
Yhwh Elohim Narrative Shift
Approved rendering: Vajtswv / tus Tswv (single Hmong term for both Hebrew names)
Transliteration: YHWH (3:1) shifting to Elohim (3:5,8,9,10)
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations
Rejected alternatives: inventing two separate Hmong divine names to preserve the Hebrew distinction — rejected, would introduce an unwarranted new theological category not supported by existing Hmong Christian usage
NEW TEACHING-NOTE ENTRY, not a lexical rendering. Jonah 3 deliberately shifts from the covenant name YHWH (3:1) to the generic Elohim (3:5-10) once Nineveh’s own response is narrated — signaling God’s universal accessibility to pagans even without covenant-name revelation. This nuance is NOT recoverable lexically in Hmong (both collapse to ‘Vajtswv’/‘tus Tswv’) and must be preserved via explicit teaching note in every lesson touching Jonah 3.
Medium-High Risk Terms
Gracious Channun
Approved rendering: muaj lub siab zoo tshua neeg
Transliteration: channun
Doctrine: Repentance and Divine Mercy; God’s Compassion for the Nations
Rejected alternatives: txiaj ntsim (Romans-baseline grace, a transactional unmerited-favor sense) used interchangeably — rejected, channun here names a character-disposition, not a transactional gift, collapsing into ‘compassionate_rachum’ — rejected, distinct Hebrew root within the same composite formula
NEW ENTRY. Part of the Exodus 34:6-7 divine-attribute creed quoted verbatim by Jonah in complaint (4:2). Descriptive phrase deliberately kept distinct from txiaj ntsim to avoid overloading the Romans-baseline grace term. Part of the five-part composite formula — see ‘divine_attribute_formula_composite’ below.
Pity Compassion Chus
Approved rendering: muaj kev khuv leej thiab tsis kam rhuav tshem
Transliteration: chasta / achus
Doctrine: God’s Compassion for the Nations
NEW ENTRY. The book’s closing rhetorical question (4:10-11), forming an inclusio with 4:2’s rachum; direct textual basis for Doctrine 1 — God’s compassion, which Jonah begrudges extending even to a plant’s convenience, extends by necessary implication to 120,000 people and their animals.
Great Wind Storm
Approved rendering: cua daj cua dub loj / txhawv cua loj
Transliteration: ruach-gedolah / sa’ar gadol
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Rejected alternatives: leaving the storm’s cause unattributed — rejected, risks a nature-spirit reading of the storm
NEW ENTRY. The storm YHWH directly hurled (1:4, ‘veYHWH heitil’); must always be explicitly anchored as ‘Vajtswv tso’ (which the LORD hurled), extending the Romans-baseline power/hwjchim qualifier pattern to meteorological agency.
Cast Lots
Approved rendering: muab ntawv rho xaiv
Transliteration: vayapilu goralot
Doctrine: The Sovereignty of God over Creation
Rejected alternatives: presenting lot-casting as a legitimate, modelable means of learning God’s will — FORBIDDEN
NEW ENTRY. The pagan sailors’ divination practice (1:7); a neutral narrative report of a pagan custom, not a model for believers. Must always be flagged as a reported, sovereignly overruled pagan practice, given the real risk of legitimizing existing Hmong divination customs if left uncommented.