Core Glossary
Joshua — Core Glossary (Hmong Language Package)
Legend:
- Status: REUSED = fixed Romans TM string, reproduced exactly, no alternate rendering permitted.
- Status: NEW = proposed Joshua-specific rendering, logged for mandatory TM-revision review before being treated as permanent.
- Risk tiers follow the baseline definitions in
assets/bible_term_registry.json(registry_metadata.risk_tier_definitions): Critical / High / Medium / Low.
| # | Category | English Term | Original (Hebrew, unless noted) | Transliteration | Hmong Rendering | Status | Risk | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Divine Persons & Names | God | אֱלֺהִים | elohim | Vajtswv | REUSED | Low | all | Exact Romans TM entry god. |
| 2 | Divine Persons & Names | LORD (covenant name) | יְהוָה | YHWH | tus Tswv | REUSED | Low | all | Exact Romans TM entry lord; never substitute a phonetic divine-name transliteration (cf. forbidden NWT-style substitution documented in the Romans requirements). |
| 3 | Divine Persons & Names | Living God | אֱלֺהִים חַי | elohim chai | Vajtswv uas muaj txoj sia | NEW | Medium | 3 | Positive contrast term against idol; builds on REUSED eternal_life root. |
| 4 | Divine Warrior / Holy War | Captain of the LORD’s host | שַׂר־צְבָא־יְהוָה | sar tseva YHWH | tus Thawj Coj ntawm Vajtswv Cov Tub Rog | NEW | Critical | 5 | Direct collision risk with Hmong shamanic spirit-general invocation (dab tub rog); mandatory theologian review every occurrence. |
| 5 | Divine Warrior / Holy War | The LORD fought for Israel | נִלְחַם / נָתַן בְּיָד | lacham / natan be-yad | Vajtswv tau ua rog pab cov Yixalayees | NEW | Critical | 6, 10, 11, 23 | Must never be generalized into a template for personal spiritual warfare/ritual combat with spirits; anchors “Holy War and Divine Judgment” doctrine. |
| 6 | Holy War & Judgment | Devoted to destruction / the ban | חֵרֶם | cherem | khoom uas raug muab cais rau Vajtswv kom puas tsuaj tag nrho | NEW | Critical | 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 | Highest-risk new term in the book; must be distinguished from fij sacrificial-offering vocabulary and from any normative-ethics reading. Mandatory theologian review, every occurrence. |
| 7 | Gospel & Salvation Core | Salvation / save (typological, cities of refuge) | (miqlat root, related concept) | miqlat | kev cawm dim / cawm | REUSED (root) | High | 20 | REUSED Romans TM salvation_save root, but flagged: do NOT anchor to Yexus Khetos in this OT-type context; teach as anticipatory type only. |
| 8 | Peoples & Groups | Rahab | רָחָב | Rachav | Lahaj | NEW | Low (proper noun) | 2, 6 | Ad hoc transliteration; log for TM-revision as a permanent proper-name entry. |
| 9 | Peoples & Groups | Amorites | אֱמֺרִי | Emori | cov Amaus | NEW | Low (proper noun) | 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 24 | Ad hoc transliteration following existing jew/greek naming convention. |
| 10 | Faith & Inclusion | The LORD your God is God in heaven and on earth | אֱלֺהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ | — | Vajtswv uas nyob saum ntuj thiab hauv av | NEW | High | 2 | Central confessional anchor for “Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith.” |
| 11 | Faith & Inclusion | Kindness / covenant loyalty | חֶסֶד | chesed | kev hlub ruaj khov | NEW | Medium | 2 | Kept distinct from REUSED mercy (txoj kev khuv leej) and grace (txiaj ntsim). |
| 12 | Faith & Inclusion | Oath / sworn pledge | שָׁבַע | shava’ | lus twv cog tseg | NEW | Medium | 2, 6, 9 | Distinguished from REUSED promise (lus cog tseg — divine unilateral pledge); this is bilateral human oath. |
| 13 | Faith & Inclusion | Scarlet cord / sign | תִּקְוַת חוּט הַשָּׁנִי | — | txoj hlua liab | NEW | Low | 2, 6 | Concrete sign-image, no collision. |
| 14 | Grace & Faith | Faith / believe | (conceptual; not a single recurring Hebrew lexeme in Joshua) | — | kev ntseeg / ntseeg | REUSED | Medium | 2, 24 | Exact Romans TM entry faith_believe; always anchored to its object (YHWH/His acts). |
| 15 | Grace & Faith | Promise | (concept; various, e.g. Gen covenant referenced) | — | lus cog tseg | REUSED | Low | 1, 21, 23, 24 | Exact Romans TM entry promise. |
| 16 | Covenant & Law | Covenant | בְּרִית | berith | kev cog lus (ntawm Vajtswv thiab nws Haiv Neeg) | NEW | Critical | 9, 24 | Core term for “Covenant Renewal at Shechem”; kept distinct from promise — bilateral, oath-sealed, binding on both parties. |
| 17 | Covenant & Law | Law of Moses / Book of the Law | תּוֹרַת מֺשֶׁה / סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה | torah / sefer | Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes) | REUSED | Critical | 1, 8, 23, 24 | Exact Romans TM entry law_mosaic_divine; mandatory qualifier retained at every occurrence. Physical scroll: NEW compound “Phau Ntawv Kevcai,” Low-Medium risk. |
| 18 | Covenant & Law | Circumcision | מוּל | milah | kev txiav (raws li Txoj Kevcai Mauxes) | REUSED | Medium | 5 | Exact Romans TM entry circumcision. |
| 19 | Covenant & Law | Statutes and ordinances | חֺק וּמִשְׁפָּט | choq / mishpat | kevcai thiab kev txiav txim | NEW | Medium | 24 | Echoes REUSED Law root for continuity; low collision beyond documented kevcai caution. |
| 20 | Covenant & Law | Witness (stone) | עֵד | ed | pob zeb ua timkhawv | REUSED (root) | Low-Medium | 24 | Extends REUSED Romans TM witness entry (tus timkhawv) to an inanimate object. |
| 21 | Land & Inheritance | Promised Land | אֶרֶץ (+ promise context) | erets | thaj av uas Vajtswv cog lus tseg | NEW | High | 1, 13, 21, 24 | Positive bridge via Hmong ancestral-land reverence, but risk of syncretistic drift into ancestral-land veneration if not anchored to God’s redemptive gift. Central to “God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise.” |
| 22 | Land & Inheritance | Inheritance / portion | נַחֲלָה | nachalah | qub txeeg qub teg | REUSED | Medium | 13-19, 21 | Extends Romans TM heir entry to its cognate land-allotment noun sense. |
| 23 | Land & Inheritance | Rest | מְנוּחָה / שָׁקַט | menuchah / shaqat | kev so / thaj av uas tau kev so | NEW | High | 1, 11, 14, 21, 22, 23 | Lexically low-collision but doctrinally High risk: must be explicitly taught as typological anticipation of ultimate salvation-rest, not flattened to mere military peace. Anchors “Rest in the Promised Land as a Type of Salvation Rest.” |
| 24 | Land & Inheritance | Cities of refuge | עִיר מִקְלָט | ir miqlat | lub nroog cawm siav | NEW | Medium-High | 20 | Strong positive typological bridge to salvation; must not be christologically anchored the way NT salvation_save is — flag as OT type only. |
| 25 | Land & Inheritance | Blood avenger | גֺּאֵל הַדָּם | go’el haddam | tus tshawb nrhiav pauj ntshav | NEW | Medium | 20 | Cultural double-edge: strong comprehension bridge to Hmong blood-feud custom, but text’s point is God’s law restrains vengeance — must teach the corrective, not just the parallel. |
| 26 | Ritual & Symbol | Ark of the Covenant | אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית | aron habberith | Lub Phijxab ntawm Kev Cog Lus | NEW | High | 3, 4, 6 | Collides with Hmong household spirit-shelf objects (xwm kab); must be taught as covenant-presence symbol, never an independently-powerful totem. |
| 27 | Ritual & Symbol | Altar | מִזְבֵּחַ | mizbeach | lub thaj | NEW | High | 8, 22 | Shares lexical territory with ancestral spirit-altars (thaj teev dab); always anchor explicitly (“lub thaj rau Vajtswv”). |
| 28 | Ritual & Symbol | Sanctify yourselves / Holy ground | קִדַּשׁ / קֺדֶשׁ | qadash / qodesh | ua kom dawb huv / thaj chaw dawb huv | REUSED (root) | High | 3, 5 | Extends Romans TM sanctification root; inherits documented folk ritual-purity collision. |
| 29 | Ritual & Symbol | Passover | פֶּסַח | pesach | Kev Cai Hla Dhau | NEW | Medium | 5 | Shares kevcai root collision pattern already documented for baptism/circumcision; brief, non-recurring role limits doctrinal weight. |
| 30 | Ritual & Symbol | Memorial stones | אֲבָנִים / זִכָּרוֺן | zikkaron | pob zeb ua chaw nco txog | NEW | Low-Medium | 4 | Positive bridge via Hmong material/oral memory-marker tradition. |
| 31 | False Worship | Other gods / gods of the fathers | הָאֱלֺהִים / אֱלֺהֵי הָאֱמֺרִי | ha-elohim / elohei ha-Emori | lwm tus dab / lwm tus vajtswv | NEW | Critical | 24 | Direct collision with Hmong ancestral/household/nature spirit-service (dab); this collision IS the passage’s evangelistic point — mandatory theologian-reviewed teaching note required. |
| 32 | False Worship | Idol | (general concept; cf. Rahab’s contrast, ch. 2) | — | dab mlom | REUSED | High | 2 (contrastive) | Exact Romans TM entry idol, used here contrastively against Rahab’s true confession. |
| 33 | Human Response | Fear the LORD | יָרֵא | yare’ | ntshai thiab hwm Vajtswv | NEW | High | 4, 24 | Must be distinguished from ntshai dab (fear of ancestral/nature spirits); reverent awe, not anxious placation. |
| 34 | Human Response | Serve / worship (cultic) | עָבַד | avad | pehawm / pab teev (+ Vajtswv object) | REUSED | High | 22, 24 | Exact Romans TM entry worship_serve_cultic; object always stated. |
| 35 | Human Response | Choose (human choice of whom to serve) | בָּחַר | bachar | xaiv seb koj yuav pehawm leej twg | NEW | High | 24 | Deliberately built to avoid collision with the REUSED Critical-risk election_choose entry (God’s sovereign choice of people); never abbreviated to the fixed election formula. Mandatory theologian review recommended when both senses appear in the same lesson. |
| 36 | Human Response | Sincerity and truth / wholeheartedness | תָּמִים / אֱמֶת | tamim / emet | kev dawb siab thiab qhov tseeb | NEW | Medium | 24 (also cf. 14’s “wholly followed”) | emet component partially draws on REUSED truth entry (qhov tseeb). |
| 37 | Human Response | Wholly followed the LORD | מִלֵּא לְלֶכֶת אֱחֲרֵי | mille’ | mloog Vajtswv lus tag nrho lub siab | NEW | Medium | 14 | Positive exemplar term (Caleb); thematically linked to tamim (24:14). |
| 38 | Human Response | Cleave / hold fast to the LORD | דָּבַק | davaq | lawv nraim thiab nrog ruaj Vajtswv | NEW | Medium | 23 | Do not merge rendering with REUSED in_christ_union_formula (nyob hauv Khetos) — conceptually related, textually distinct. |
| 39 | Human Response | Love the LORD | אָהַב | ahav | kev hlub | REUSED | Low | 23 | Exact Romans TM entry love, object stated as Vajtswv. |
| 40 | Human Response | Ancestors / fathers | אָבוֹת | avot | koj tej yawg koob / niam txiv thaum ub | NEW | High | 24 | Must distinguish rejection of ancestral spirit-service from disrespect of ancestors as persons/lineage — a culturally essential distinction. |
| 41 | Human Response | House / household (Joshua’s) | בַּיִת | bayit | kuv thiab kuv tsev neeg | NEW | Medium-High | 24 | Positive bridge via Hmong household-head religious authority, but must not erase individual accountability taught elsewhere in ch. 24. |
| 42 | Courage & Presence | Be strong and of good courage | חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ | chazaq / amats | khov kho thiab tawv siab | NEW | Medium-High | 1, 10, 23 | Must always co-occur with the “LORD is with you” presence-clause; never self-generated bravado. Anchors “Courage through God’s Presence.” |
| 43 | Courage & Presence | The LORD is with you | יְהוָה עִמָּךְ | ’im | Vajtswv nrog nraim koj | NEW | Medium | 1, 3 | Co-occurs mandatorily with the courage term above. |
| 44 | General Vocabulary | Meditate | הָגָה | hagah | xav txog tsis tu ncua | NEW | Low | 1 | Comprehension-level only. |
| 45 | General Vocabulary | Cross over (the Jordan) | עָבַר | avar | hla | NEW | Low | 1, 3, 4 | Straightforward. |
| 46 | General Vocabulary | This day | הַיּוֺם | ha-yom | hnub no | NEW | Low | 24 (repeated) | Preserve consistently at every ch. 24 occurrence for rhetorical urgency. |
| 47 | General Vocabulary | Blessing (ordinary, covenantal) | בְּרָכָה | berakhah | koob hmoov | REUSED (per reservation clause) | Low | 8 | Confirms the Romans TM’s own reservation of “koob hmoov” for ordinary material blessing — correct and permitted usage here. |
| 48 | General Vocabulary | Curse (covenantal) | קְלָלָה | qelalah | kev tsis tau koob hmoov / kev raug foom tsis zoo | NEW | Medium | 8 | Teach as covenantal consequence, not capricious ancestral-spirit displeasure. |
| 49 | General Vocabulary | Sin / transgression (corporate consequence) | חָטָא / מַעַל | chata’ / ma’al | txhaum / kev txhaum | REUSED | High | 7 | Exact Romans TM entry sin_act_and_condition; ch. 7’s corporate-guilt dimension reinforces (does not contradict) the Original Sin federal-headship doctrine already Critical in the Romans package. |
| 50 | General Vocabulary | Sun stood still | שֶׁמֶשׁ עָמָד | ’amad | lub hnub tau nres tsis txav | NEW | Low-Medium | 10 | Comprehension-level miracle-narrative term. |
| 51 | General Vocabulary | Levites (proper noun) | לֵוִי | Levi | cov Levis | NEW | Low (proper noun) | 21 | Stable transliteration, parallel register to REUSED jew/greek entries. |
| 52 | General Vocabulary | Tribal unity | (concept, 22:10-29) | — | kev sib koom ua ib | NEW | Low-Medium | 22 | Related to but must remain distinct from REUSED body_of_christ metaphor; no typological merge without disclaimer. |
Coverage Confirmation
All 24 chapters of Joshua are represented above or explicitly logged as contributing no new terms:
- Chapters with dedicated new/reused terms: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24.
- Chapters explicitly reviewed and logged as introducing no new theological vocabulary (reusing only already-tabled terms): Chapter 12 (summary king-list; reuses
land,the LORD gave/fought,as commandedfrom chs. 1-11) and Chapters 15-19 (tribal boundary lists; reuseinheritance/nachalahfrom ch. 13 and stable tribal-name vocabulary).
No Critical or High risk term already fixed in assets/translation_memory.json has been altered anywhere in this glossary. All NEW entries are logged per 12_ai_translation_requirements.md §9 for mandatory human theologian and/or native-speaker review before being treated as permanent Language Package renderings.
Critical Risk Terms
Law Mosaic Divine
Approved rendering: Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes)
Transliteration: nomos (Rom TM) / torah (Heb)
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘Txoj Kevcai’ without qualifier — rejected, collapses into kev cai dab qhuas, imported loanword — rejected
Inherited from Romans package exactly; mandatory qualifier retained without exception. Joshua reuses this at chs.1,8,23,24 in a ceremonial covenant-renewal setting (assembly, oath, monument-stone) that structurally resembles ritual observance more closely than Romans’ epistolary contexts do — the qualifier is therefore even more essential here; flag ch.24 for heightened vigilance.
Election Choose
Approved rendering: kev xaiv (Vajtswv xaiv raws li nws lub siab nyiam)
Transliteration: eklogē / eklegomai (Rom TM)
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: hmoov (impersonal fate/fortune) vocabulary — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN
Inherited from Romans package exactly; this fixed formula describes GOD’s sovereign choice of persons and must NEVER be used, abbreviated, or echoed for Joshua 24:15’s human choice of whom to serve — see NEW entry ‘choose_whom_you_will_serve’ below, which is deliberately built around a different verb shape to prevent this exact collision. Mandatory theologian review whenever both senses appear in the same lesson.
Grace
Approved rendering: txiaj ntsim
Transliteration: charis (Rom TM)
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Rejected alternatives: koob hmoov (fortune/blessing tied to fate and ritual correctness) — PERMANENTLY FORBIDDEN for this sense
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Retained here specifically as the fixed boundary-term against which the NEW ‘chesed_covenant_loyalty’ entry (ch.2, Rahab) and ‘mercy’ entry must be kept distinct; grace/mercy/chesed form a three-way semantic neighborhood unique to this Joshua package that did not arise in Romans.
Captain Of The Lords Host
Approved rendering: tus Thawj Coj ntawm Vajtswv Cov Tub Rog
Transliteration: sar tseva YHWH
Doctrine: Courage through God’s Presence
Rejected alternatives: borrowing existing Hmong shamanic spirit-general/spirit-soldier vocabulary (dab tub rog) — FORBIDDEN, would assimilate this theophanic figure into ritual spirit-invocation, transliterated Hebrew military title — rejected, doctrinally inert, comprehension failure
NEW. Joshua 5:14-15, widely read as a Christophany paralleling Exodus 3. Direct collision risk with Hmong shamanic cosmology (ua neeb ritual practice invoking spirit-generals for protection). Mandatory theologian review required at every occurrence; teaching note must frame this as a unique self-revelation of the divine Warrior who commands worship (holy ground, remove sandals), never one who is bargained with.
Lord Fought For Israel
Approved rendering: Vajtswv tau ua rog pab cov Yixalayees / Vajtswv muab rau hauv cov Yixalayees txhais tes
Transliteration: lacham / natan be-yad
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Rejected alternatives: any phrasing implying Israel ritually induced or negotiated divine intervention — FORBIDDEN, mirrors shamanic ritual-combat efficacy (ua neeb tuag rog)
NEW. Recurring refrain, Joshua 6,10,11,23 (10:8,10,14,19,30,32,42; 11:6,8). Theological frame for every conquest narrative; must never be generalized into a template for personal ‘spiritual warfare’ fought through ritual technique. Israel must always be rendered as recipient, never initiator, of the action. Mandatory theologian review.
Cherem Devoted To Destruction
Approved rendering: khoom/tej uas raug muab cais rau Vajtswv kom puas tsuaj tag nrho
Transliteration: cherem
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Rejected alternatives: fij (sacrifice/offering) vocabulary — FORBIDDEN, would conflate judicial destruction with atoning/appeasement offering, ritual curse-transfer/spirit-appeasement framing — FORBIDDEN, presenting as a normative pattern for ongoing ethics or warfare — FORBIDDEN
NEW. Highest-risk term in the book (Joshua 6,7,8,10,11). No native Hmong lexical equivalent exists; this periphrastic construction was built specifically for this concept. Mandatory theologian review required for every occurrence, with an explicit teaching note: cherem is a unique, temporally-bounded act of divine judicial judgment at a specific redemptive-historical moment, categorically distinct from Christ’s atonement, ongoing Christian ethics, or any repeatable ritual.
Covenant Berith
Approved rendering: kev cog lus (ntawm Vajtswv thiab nws Haiv Neeg)
Transliteration: berith
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: lus cog tseg (promise, REUSED) substituted for berith — FORBIDDEN, erases the unilateral/bilateral distinction the doctrine depends on
NEW. Core term for the Covenant Renewal at Shechem doctrine, Joshua 9 (Gibeonite treaty) and 24 (Shechem). This is a genuine vocabulary gap inherited structurally from Romans, which never needed to distinguish a bilateral oath-sealed covenant from a unilateral divine pledge. Mandatory theologian review; recommend priority formal TM-revision review given this gap will recur in any future Old Testament curriculum.
Other Gods Ancestral
Approved rendering: lwm tus dab / lwm tus vajtswv
Transliteration: ha-elohim / elohei ha-Emori
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: softening to generic ‘idols’ (dab mlom) — FORBIDDEN, mutes the direct ancestral-spirit-service collision that IS the passage’s evangelistic point
NEW. Joshua 24:14-15. Unlike ‘idol’ (dab mlom, a carved image), this term denotes living, served spiritual beings, mapping with unusual directness onto the Hmong category of dab (ancestral, household, and nature spirits served for protection and blessing). This IS a deliberate, intended collision, not an accident to be smoothed over — the sole exception in this Language Package to the general dab-avoidance pattern. Mandatory theologian-reviewed teaching note required at every occurrence framing this as a direct historical-and-cultural parallel to hearers’ own family religious practice.
High Risk Terms
Worship Serve Cultic
Approved rendering: pehawm / pab teev
Transliteration: latreuō (Rom TM) / avad (Heb)
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: bare, unanchored pehawm — FORBIDDEN, identical verb used for pehawm dab (ancestor/spirit veneration)
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Joshua 24:14-15 contains the highest-density concentration of this verb in the whole Language Package (four occurrences in two verses, directly contrasting pehawm Vajtswv against pehawm [other gods]); every occurrence must independently carry its object with no elliptical shortcuts.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: kev raug ua kom dawb huv
Transliteration: hagiasmos (Rom TM) / qadash-qodesh (Heb)
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Rejected alternatives: treating dawb huv as a repeatable ritual-cleansing state — rejected
Inherited from Romans package exactly (root). Reused/extended in Joshua for ‘sanctify yourselves’ (3:5, 7:13) and ‘holy ground’ (5:15) — see NEW entry ‘holy_ground’ below for the place-specific compound.
Idol
Approved rendering: dab mlom
Transliteration: eidōlon (Rom TM)
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Rejected alternatives: generic ‘statue’ softening — rejected
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Reused contrastively in Joshua 2 against Rahab’s true confession of YHWH’s sovereignty; must never be substituted for the NEW ‘other_gods_ancestral’ entry below, which denotes living served spirits, not carved images.
Salvation Save
Approved rendering: kev cawm dim / cawm
Transliteration: sōtēria / sōzō (Rom TM)
Doctrine: Rest in the Promised Land as a Type of Salvation Rest
Rejected alternatives: unanchored ‘dim’ (escape) parallel to shamanic ua neeb soul-rescue — rejected without explicit anchoring
Inherited from Romans package exactly (root). REUSED with a documented EXCEPTION for Joshua ch.20 (cities of refuge, see NEW entry below): unlike the Romans mandate that this term always anchor to Yexus Khetos, the ch.20 occurrence must NOT be Christ-anchored — it is an Old Testament type only. This exception is a structural addition to (not a contradiction of) the Romans mandate and must be flagged explicitly in any Phase 2 content using this root in Joshua.
Power
Approved rendering: hwjchim
Transliteration: dynamis (Rom TM)
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Rejected alternatives: bare, unqualified hwjchim — FORBIDDEN, identical to a shaman’s (txiv neeb) ritual power
Inherited from Romans package exactly; mandatory ‘Vajtswv hwjchim’ qualifier retained without exception. Joshua’s conquest narratives (6:20; 10:11-14) are the most concrete, visible demonstrations of this power anywhere in Scripture, which raises (not lowers) the temptation to drop the qualifier for narrative flow — flag every conquest miracle-narrative occurrence for explicit enforcement.
Wrath Of God
Approved rendering: kev npau taws ntawm Vajtswv
Transliteration: orgē theou (Rom TM)
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Rejected alternatives: unqualified ‘npau taws’ associated only with capricious spirit/ancestor anger — rejected without explicit contrast teaching
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Joshua’s judgment narratives (Jericho, Ai, the Canaanite cities) are the most vivid narrative enactment of this doctrine anywhere in either Testament; every occurrence must carry the same ‘not appeasable by ritual, judicial not capricious’ contrast-teaching already mandated in Romans, now applied to concrete historical judgment.
Sin Act And Condition
Approved rendering: txhaum / kev txhaum
Transliteration: hamartia (Rom TM) / chata’-ma’al (Heb)
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Joshua 7 (Achan) surfaces a positive extension: corporate/representative guilt-consequence (the whole camp implicated, 7:1,11-12), reinforcing rather than contradicting the federal-headship caution already Critical in the Romans Original Sin doctrine — a valuable cross-Testament teaching bridge.
God In Heaven And Earth
Approved rendering: Vajtswv uas nyob saum ntuj thiab hauv av
Transliteration: elohim ba-shamayim u-va-‘arets
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
NEW. Rahab’s confession, Joshua 2:11 — a Gentile’s theologically precise, universal-sovereignty statement of faith prior to the conquest. Central confessional anchor for the doctrine; must be taught explicitly as evidence that saving faith is available to Gentile outsiders apart from ethnic Israelite identity, not treated as incidental praise from a minor character.
Promised Land
Approved rendering: thaj av uas Vajtswv cog lus tseg
Transliteration: erets / natan (latet)
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘thaj av’ with no promise-qualifier — FORBIDDEN, risks collapsing into ancestral-land-as-spirit-dwelling veneration
NEW. Joshua 1,13,21,24. Built on the REUSED ‘promise’ entry. Strong positive bridge via Hmong reverence for ancestral/clan land, but this very resonance creates syncretism risk: without explicit anchoring to God’s unilateral covenant grant, hearers may assimilate the Promised Land into ancestral-land-veneration categories requiring ongoing ritual maintenance for ancestor spirits. Always retain the full compound; never abbreviate to bare ‘thaj av’ for this referent.
Rest In The Promised Land
Approved rendering: kev so / thaj av uas tau kev so
Transliteration: menuchah / shaqat
Doctrine: Rest in the Promised Land as a Type of Salvation Rest
Rejected alternatives: treating ‘kev so’ as requiring no further comment — rejected, the term’s ordinary/low register makes it the easiest doctrine in the book to under-teach
NEW. Joshua 1,11,14,21,22,23 (11:23; 14:15; 21:43-45; 22:4; 23:1). Lexically low-collision (an entirely ordinary, everyday Hmong word) but doctrinally High risk: without deliberate teaching, defaults to ‘peace after war,’ a true but doctrinally thin reading that misses the Hebrews 3-4 typological trajectory toward eschatological salvation-rest. Must be paired with an explicit typological teaching note connecting to the REUSED ‘eternal_life’ entry — typological/canonical connection only, never direct lexical equivalence. Must also preserve the book’s own already/not-yet tension (see ‘land_not_yet_possessed’ below).
Cities Of Refuge
Approved rendering: lub nroog cawm siav
Transliteration: ir miqlat
Doctrine: Rest in the Promised Land as a Type of Salvation Rest
Rejected alternatives: anchoring ‘cawm’ here to Yexus Khetos as in the mandatory Romans salvation_save rule — FORBIDDEN in this specific context, would be anachronistic for an OT legal-institutional type
NEW. Joshua 20. Deliberately built on the REUSED ‘salvation_save’ root to create a strong positive typological bridge; this creates a documented STRUCTURAL EXCEPTION to the Romans mandatory Christ-anchor rule — every occurrence must carry an explicit ‘OT TYPE ONLY — do not anchor to Yexus Khetos’ marker so future curriculum-writers do not mistake the absent Christ-anchor for a violation of the Romans baseline.
Ark Of The Covenant
Approved rendering: Lub Phijxab ntawm Kev Cog Lus
Transliteration: aron habberith
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Rejected alternatives: presenting as an independently-powerful totem — FORBIDDEN, would collide with Hmong household spirit-shelf (xwm kab) veneration
NEW. Joshua 3,4,6. Collides with Hmong household spirit-shelf objects and ancestral ritual objects; must be taught explicitly as a symbol of the living God’s covenant presence and guidance, distinguished from any object venerated for its own sake.
Altar
Approved rendering: lub thaj
Transliteration: mizbeach
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Rejected alternatives: bare unqualified ‘lub thaj’ — FORBIDDEN, shares direct lexical territory with ancestral spirit-altars (thaj teev dab)
NEW. Joshua 8 (Mount Ebal altar), 22 (Transjordan memorial altar controversy). Must always be explicitly anchored (‘lub thaj rau Vajtswv’) and taught in contrast to ancestor/spirit altars, following the same disambiguation strategy already used for hwjchim and pehawm in the Romans TM.
Holy Ground
Approved rendering: thaj chaw dawb huv
Transliteration: qodesh
Doctrine: Courage through God’s Presence
NEW, extends the REUSED ‘sanctification’ root to a place. Joshua 5:15. Inherits the documented folk ritual-purity collision (dawb huv also = ritual purity from spirit-contamination); teach as derivative holiness from divine presence, not an inherently powerful location.
Fear The Lord
Approved rendering: ntshai thiab hwm Vajtswv
Transliteration: yare’
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘ntshai’ with no ‘hwm’ (honor/reverence) qualifier — rejected, risks reading as anxious placation of an unpredictable spirit
NEW. Joshua 4:24; 24:14. Must be explicitly distinguished from ntshai dab (fear of ancestral/nature spirits motivating ritual appeasement in Hmong tradition); this is reverent, worshipful submission to a covenant-keeping God, never anxious placation.
Choose Whom You Will Serve
Approved rendering: xaiv seb koj yuav pehawm leej twg
Transliteration: bachar
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: bare noun ‘kev xaiv’ — FORBIDDEN, would activate the fixed Critical-risk Romans TM election_choose formula describing GOD’s sovereign choice of persons, collapsing this human covenantal decision into divine-election language
NEW. Joshua 24:15. Deliberately built around the ‘serve’ verb rather than a bare election-shaped noun to avoid the exact collision named above. Never abbreviate to match the election formula. Mandatory theologian review recommended whenever both senses (divine election and human covenantal choice) appear in the same lesson.
Ancestors Fathers
Approved rendering: koj tej yawg koob / niam txiv thaum ub
Transliteration: avot
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: framing as disrespect of ancestors as persons/lineage — FORBIDDEN, the text calls for rejection of ancestral spirit-SERVICE specifically, not disrespect of ancestors generally
NEW. Joshua 24:14-15. Ancestor-reverence is a foundational Hmong cultural value; this term must be handled with the explicit distinction that the command targets spirit-service, not honor for ancestors as persons or lineage — essential for responsible cross-cultural preaching of this verse.
Courage Be Strong
Approved rendering: khov kho thiab tawv siab
Transliteration: chazaq we’ematz
Doctrine: Courage through God’s Presence
Rejected alternatives: standalone use with no co-occurring presence-clause — FORBIDDEN, defaults to self-generated bravado or shamanically-empowered boldness
NEW. Joshua 1:6,7,9,18; 10:25; 23:6. Positive bridge to Hmong warrior-courage values, but Hmong traditional battle-courage is frequently reinforced by invoking ancestral/spirit allies through ritual; this term must NEVER appear without the immediately co-occurring ‘lord_is_with_you’ clause, enforced as a structural atomic-unit qualifier pair (mirroring the Romans TM’s hwjchim -> Vajtswv hwjchim rule).
Medium Risk Terms
Faith Believe
Approved rendering: kev ntseeg / ntseeg
Transliteration: pistis / pisteuō (Rom TM)
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Reused in Joshua chs.2 (Rahab) and 24 (Shechem); always anchored explicitly to its object (YHWH and His historical saving acts), per the Romans mandate.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: kev txiav (raws li Txoj Kevcai Mauxes)
Transliteration: peritomē (Rom TM) / milah (Heb)
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Inherited from Romans package exactly, no modification permitted. Reused in Joshua 5:2-9, covenant-sign restoration at Gilgal before the conquest begins.
Mercy
Approved rendering: txoj kev khuv leej
Transliteration: eleos (Rom TM)
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Rejected alternatives: txiaj ntsim (grace) used interchangeably — rejected
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Kept lexically distinct in Joshua from the NEW ‘chesed_covenant_loyalty’ entry below (2:12,14): mercy, grace, and chesed form a three-way distinction that must be taught explicitly, not flattened.
Living God
Approved rendering: Vajtswv uas muaj txoj sia
Transliteration: elohim chai
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
NEW. Joshua 3:10. Built on the REUSED Romans TM eternal_life root. Positive contrast term against ‘dab mlom’ (idol) and against the NEW ‘other_gods_ancestral’ entry, reinforcing that Israel’s God genuinely acts in history unlike a carved image or an invoked spirit.
Chesed Covenant Loyalty
Approved rendering: kev hlub ruaj khov
Transliteration: chesed
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Rejected alternatives: txiaj ntsim (grace) used interchangeably — rejected, grace is unmerited favor toward the guilty, chesed is oath-bound covenant loyalty, txoj kev khuv leej (mercy) used interchangeably — rejected, mercy is compassion toward the miserable, not the same as sworn loyalty
NEW. Joshua 2:12,14 — the mutual, oath-bound loyalty Rahab requests and receives from the spies. Genuine three-way semantic-neighborhood gap not present in Romans (grace/mercy/chesed); gap analysis recommends elevating teaching-emphasis priority given ch.2’s centrality to Doctrine 4, even though lexical collision risk itself is only Medium.
Oath Sworn Pledge
Approved rendering: lus twv cog tseg
Transliteration: shava’
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
NEW. Joshua 2:12,17,20; 6:22-25 (fulfillment); 9 (Gibeon). Distinguished from the REUSED ‘promise’ entry (unilateral divine pledge) by the added ‘twv’ (swear), marking mutual, binding human oath-taking. Positive bridge to existing Hmong clan/marriage oath-keeping values; the one-word distinguishing marker is subtle and should be reinforced with an explicit teaching note at first occurrence rather than relying on the lexical marker alone.
Statutes And Ordinances
Approved rendering: kevcai thiab kev txiav txim
Transliteration: choq u-mishpat
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
NEW. Joshua 24:25. Deliberately echoes the REUSED Txoj Kevcai root for continuity with Mosaic Law; marginally increases the ambient kevcai-root density in ch.24 (now co-occurring with Txoj Kevcai and, if cross-referenced, Kev Cai Hla Dhau) — recommend explicit lesson-level signposting distinguishing all kevcai-rooted terms present in the same lesson.
Inheritance Portion
Approved rendering: qub txeeg qub teg
Transliteration: nachalah
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
NEW, extends the REUSED ‘heir’ entry to its cognate noun sense. Joshua 13-19,21 — the permanent, allotted tribal land-shares assigned by lot. Strong positive resonance with Hmong patrilineal lineage-inheritance custom; minor risk that this resonance implies the land is earned/deserved by blood-descent merit rather than granted by grace-based promise — pair with explicit teaching that the land-inheritance rests on God’s oath to Abraham, not Israel’s merit.
Blood Avenger
Approved rendering: tus tshawb nrhiav pauj ntshav
Transliteration: go’el haddam
Doctrine: Rest in the Promised Land as a Type of Salvation Rest
NEW. Joshua 20:3,5,9. Maps closely onto real Hmong customary blood-feud/clan-vengeance practice — a strong comprehension bridge, but the text’s point is that God’s law restrains and regulates vengeance through due process, not that it endorses clan-vengeance customs wholesale; this corrective must be taught explicitly alongside the term, not left implicit.
Passover Joshua
Approved rendering: Kev Cai Hla Dhau
Transliteration: pesach
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
NEW. Joshua 5:10-11, kept at Gilgal immediately before the conquest begins, linking exodus deliverance to land entry. Shares the kevcai-root collision pattern already documented for baptism/circumcision in the Romans TM; brief, non-recurring role in Joshua limits doctrinal weight to a comprehension-level note.
Sincerity And Truth
Approved rendering: kev dawb siab thiab qhov tseeb
Transliteration: tamim / emet
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
NEW. Joshua 24:14. Undivided, whole-hearted devotion demanded alongside ‘serving the LORD.’ The emet component partially draws on the REUSED ‘truth’ concept from Romans (qhov tseeb, though not itself a fixed TM entry). Should be taught alongside ‘wholly_followed_the_lord’ (ch.14, Caleb) as thematically linked.
Wholly Followed The Lord
Approved rendering: mloog Vajtswv lus tag nrho lub siab
Transliteration: mille’ lalekhet ‘acharei
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Rejected alternatives: framing as a meritorious standard that earns land/inheritance — rejected, the land-gift itself remains grace/promise-based
NEW. Joshua 14:8-9,14 — Caleb’s commendation for undivided covenant loyalty amid the wilderness generation’s unfaithfulness. Positive exemplar term thematically linked to ‘sincerity_and_truth’ (24:14); pair with explicit teaching distinguishing Caleb’s reward for faithfulness within the covenant from any suggestion obedience is the ground of the land-gift.
Cleave Hold Fast To The Lord
Approved rendering: lawv nraim thiab nrog ruaj Vajtswv
Transliteration: davaq
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Rejected alternatives: merging rendering with the REUSED Romans TM ‘in_christ_union_formula’ (nyob hauv Khetos) — FORBIDDEN, one is an OT covenant-loyalty exhortation, the other a NT mystical-union formula; conceptually related but must remain textually distinct
NEW. Joshua 23:8 — Joshua’s exhortation to hold fast to YHWH, resisting the surrounding nations’ religious pull.
Lord Is With You
Approved rendering: Vajtswv nrog nraim koj
Transliteration: YHWH ‘immakh
Doctrine: Courage through God’s Presence
NEW. Joshua 1:5,9; 3. Must always co-occur with ‘courage_be_strong’ within the same sentence or immediately adjacent clause per the doctrine’s requirement that courage flow FROM divine presence, never precede or replace it.
Curse Covenantal
Approved rendering: kev tsis tau koob hmoov / kev raug foom tsis zoo
Transliteration: qelalah
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Rejected alternatives: framing as capricious ancestral-spirit displeasure requiring ritual appeasement — rejected
NEW. Joshua 8:33-34; also anticipated in 23:14-16’s warning of removal from the land for idolatry. Must be taught as covenantal consequence for disobedience to YHWH’s law, not capricious spirit-displeasure.
Book Of The Law Scroll
Approved rendering: Phau Ntawv Kevcai
Transliteration: sefer hattorah
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
NEW compound built on the REUSED law_mosaic_divine root, distinguishing the physical scroll-object sense (Joshua 1:8; 8:34; 24:26) from the abstract ‘Txoj Kevcai (ntawm Vajtswv / Mauxes)’ legal-content sense. Comprehension-level distinction only.
Land Not Yet Possessed
Approved rendering: tsis tau tso tawm/ntes tag
Transliteration: (implicit, 13:1,13; cf. 15:63; 16:10; 17:12-13; 23:4-5,12-13)
Doctrine: Rest in the Promised Land as a Type of Salvation Rest
Rejected alternatives: silently omitting this tension to present the conquest as instantly and totally complete — rejected, an important corrective against triumphalist over-reading
NEW descriptive phrase. Theologically significant for the already/not-yet tension between promise and partial fulfillment developed through Joshua; must be used explicitly as the textual anchor for teaching ‘rest’ as already-inaugurated-but-not-yet-consummated.
Low Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Vajtswv
Transliteration: theos (Rom TM) / elohim (Heb, Joshua)
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 exactly, no modification. Reused throughout Joshua (all chapters) as the standard rendering for אֱלֹהִים (elohim).
Lord
Approved rendering: tus Tswv
Transliteration: kyrios (Rom TM) / YHWH (Heb, Joshua)
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Rejected alternatives: phonetic Hebrew transliteration (e.g. ‘Yehauvas’) — permanently forbidden per the Romans package’s divine-name-substitution rule, extended here to the OT covenant name
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Reused throughout Joshua (all chapters) for יְהוָה, the personal covenant name of Israel’s God; never substitute a phonetic transliteration.
Jesus Christ
Approved rendering: Yexus Khetos
Transliteration: Iēsous Christos
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Not a Joshua-text referent, but required for teaching notes that draw typological/Christophanic connections (e.g., the Captain of the LORD’s host, ch.5; cities of refuge, ch.20) — such teaching notes must anchor to this exact rendering, never a paraphrase.
Promise
Approved rendering: lus cog tseg
Transliteration: epangelia (Rom TM); Heb concept, patriarchal covenant
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Reused in Joshua (chs.1,21,23,24) for God’s unilateral covenant pledge of the land to Abraham’s descendants; kept lexically distinct from the NEW ‘covenant_berith’ entry below, which is bilateral and oath-sealed.
Heir
Approved rendering: tus qub txeeg qub teg
Transliteration: klēronomos (Rom TM)
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
Inherited from Romans package exactly (root). Extended in Joshua to the cognate noun sense ‘inheritance/allotted portion’ — see NEW entry ‘inheritance_portion’ below for the land-allotment-specific usage across chs.13-19,21.
Witness
Approved rendering: tus timkhawv
Transliteration: martys (Rom TM)
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Extended in Joshua 24:26-27 to an inanimate object (the memorial stone) — see NEW entry ‘witness_stone’ below.
Love
Approved rendering: kev hlub
Transliteration: agapē (Rom TM) / ahav (Heb)
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Reused in Joshua 23:11, object explicitly stated as Vajtswv.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis
Transliteration: zōē aiōnios (Rom TM)
Doctrine: Rest in the Promised Land as a Type of Salvation Rest
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Serves as the necessary typological anchor-point for teaching Joshua’s ‘rest’ vocabulary (see NEW entry ‘rest_in_the_promised_land’ below) as anticipatory of ultimate salvation-rest; the connection must be taught as typological/canonical, never as direct lexical equivalence.
Nations Gentiles
Approved rendering: lwm Haiv Neeg
Transliteration: ethnē (Rom TM)
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Cross-referenced when teaching Rahab’s Gentile inclusion (ch.2) as a canonical parallel to Romans’ Jew/Gentile inclusion argument.
Jew
Approved rendering: cov Yudas
Transliteration: Ioudaios (Rom TM)
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Not a Joshua-text referent itself, but its proper-noun transliteration convention (cov + ethnic name) is the direct precedent extended to Joshua’s own new peoples (see ‘amorites’, ‘levites’ below).
Greek
Approved rendering: cov Kilis
Transliteration: Hellēn (Rom TM)
Doctrine: General / Cross-cutting
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Same convention-precedent role as ‘jew’ above for Joshua’s new ethnic/tribal proper nouns.
Rahab
Approved rendering: Lahaj
Transliteration: Rachav
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
NEW proper-noun transliteration (Joshua 2,6), following the /r/→/l/ Hmong phonological convention already used for other foreign names in the established tradition. Logged as a permanent proper-name candidate for TM-revision review.
Amorites
Approved rendering: cov Amaus
Transliteration: Emori
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
NEW proper-noun transliteration (chs.3,5,9,10,11,12,24), following the established Romans TM convention for peoples (‘cov Yudas’, ‘cov Kilis’).
Scarlet Cord Sign
Approved rendering: txoj hlua liab
Transliteration: tiqvat chut hashani
Doctrine: Rahab and the Inclusion of the Nations by Faith
NEW. Joshua 2:18,21; 6:22-25 (fulfillment). Concrete sign-image, no traditional-religion collision; may be taught as a sign of deliverance without asserting an unwarranted direct lexical equivalence to any specific New Testament sign.
Meditate On The Law
Approved rendering: xav txog tsis tu ncua
Transliteration: hagah
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
NEW. Joshua 1:8 — continual, verbalized reflection on the Law as the source of prosperity/success. Comprehension-level only.
Cross Over Jordan
Approved rendering: hla
Transliteration: avar
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
NEW. Joshua 1,3,4 — physical crossing of the Jordan into the land, the enacted fulfillment-in-progress of the land promise. Straightforward, no collision.
This Day
Approved rendering: hnub no
Transliteration: ha-yom
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
NEW. Joshua 24:2,14,15,25,27 — emphatic decision-moment marker repeated throughout ch.24 to press urgency; must be preserved consistently at every occurrence to retain the rhetorical drumbeat.
Blessing Covenantal
Approved rendering: koob hmoov
Transliteration: berakhah
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
NEW usage note (term itself already exists in the Romans TM’s ‘grace’ alternatives_rejected field, reserved exclusively for ordinary material blessing). Joshua 8:33-34’s public reading of covenant blessings confirms this is precisely such an ordinary-blessing context — ‘koob hmoov’ is CORRECT and PERMITTED here, a useful positive confirmation that the Romans reservation strategy functions as designed. Must never be extended from this ordinary-blessing sense to the Critical-risk grace referent.
Sun Stood Still
Approved rendering: lub hnub tau nres tsis txav
Transliteration: shemesh ‘amad
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
Rejected alternatives: presenting as a repeatable prayer-formula for controlling nature — rejected
NEW. Joshua 10:12-14. Comprehension-level miracle-narrative term; teach as a unique historical sign of divine sovereignty over creation.
Levites
Approved rendering: cov Levis
Transliteration: Levi
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
NEW proper-noun transliteration, parallel register to the REUSED jew/greek entries. Joshua 21 — the priestly tribe’s distinctive city-based inheritance.
Valley Of Achor
Approved rendering: Lub Hav Kev Ceeblaj (Akhau)
Transliteration: emeq Akhor
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
NEW proper-name/place-name gloss. Joshua 7:26. Wordplay on Achan’s name and the disaster his hidden sin caused; preserve via footnote where possible, comprehension-level only.
Hailstones
Approved rendering: tej pob zeb nag lawv hlob (nag lawv)
Transliteration: avanim gedolot
Doctrine: Holy War and Divine Judgment
NEW. Joshua 10:11 — YHWH’s direct meteorological intervention in the battle for Gibeon. Straightforward descriptive term, no collision.
Low-Medium Risk Terms
Witness Stone
Approved rendering: pob zeb ua timkhawv
Transliteration: ed
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
NEW, extends the REUSED ‘witness’ entry to an inanimate object. Joshua 24:26-27. Minor comprehension-level risk of association with Hmong ancestral memorial-stone/spirit-marker practices; clarify the stone functions as legal/textual witness against future covenant violation, not as a site of ongoing veneration.
Memorial Stones
Approved rendering: pob zeb ua chaw nco txog
Transliteration: avanim / zikkaron
Doctrine: God’s Faithfulness to the Land Promise
NEW. Joshua 4:6-7,21-24. Twelve stones set up to teach future generations about the Jordan crossing. Positive cultural bridge via Hmong oral/material memory-marker tradition; comprehension-level only.
Tribal Unity
Approved rendering: kev sib koom ua ib
Transliteration: (concept, 22:10-29, no single lexeme)
Doctrine: Obedience and the Conquest
Rejected alternatives: importing the REUSED Romans TM ‘body_of_christ’ unity metaphor without a typological disclaimer — rejected, this is an OT tribal-unity context, not the NT ecclesial-body metaphor
NEW. Joshua 22 — the near civil war averted over the Transjordan tribes’ memorial altar, resolved as tribal unity is preserved. Related to but must remain distinct from the NT body-of-Christ metaphor.
Medium-High Risk Terms
Household Of Joshua
Approved rendering: kuv thiab kuv tsev neeg
Transliteration: bayit (‘anokhi u-veiti)
Doctrine: Covenant Renewal at Shechem
Rejected alternatives: presenting household-head declaration as removing individual accountability — rejected, must be taught alongside the whole assembly’s own individual answerability in vv.16-24
NEW. Joshua 24:15. Strong positive rhetorical bridge via Hmong household/clan religious authority vested in the head of household; must be paired with the individual-accountability teaching implicit throughout ch.24.