Philemon — Full-Book Semantic Analysis (Hmong Language Package)

0. Scope and Method Note

Philemon is a single-chapter letter of 25 verses. The PRD’s full-book-coverage mandate (“every chapter first to last”) is therefore satisfied by covering every verse of this one chapter, not by a multi-chapter survey. No chapter is skipped or silently omitted: this document explicitly treats vv.1-7 (greeting and thanksgiving), vv.8-21 (the core passage, given verse-by-verse treatment as mandated), and vv.22-25 (closing requests, greetings, benediction). Section 2 below is therefore titled “Chapter 1 — sections outside the core passage” rather than being organized by chapter number, since chapter number is invariant throughout.

Every term already fixed in the baseline Hmong Romans assets/translation_memory.json is reused verbatim below; such terms are marked [TM-INHERITED]. Terms with no prior Romans TM entry are marked [NEW] and are proposed here for formal addition to the Language Package’s TM in Phase 2, subject to the same Critical/High-risk lock-in convention as the Romans baseline.

Key structural observation for this book: Philemon never uses a dedicated Greek verb for “forgive” (ἀφίημι) or “reconcile” (καταλλάσσω/καταλλαγή). The doctrines of Forgiveness and Reconciliation are carried entirely through legal/economic metaphor (ἐλλογέω “charge to my account,” ὀφείλω “owe,” ἀδικέω “wrong”) and through the relational/status vocabulary (κοινωνός “partner,” ἀδελφός “brother,” δοῦλος “slave”). Any curriculum content that introduces the word “forgive” (Hmong: zam txim) in teaching Philemon is a theological extrapolation, not a direct lexical translation, and must be flagged as such (see §1, v.18-19 below and the glossary).

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1. Core Passage Verse-by-Verse: Philemon 1:8-21

v.8 — “Therefore, though I could be very bold and command you to do what is proper…”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
παρρησία	parrēsia	”all-speech,” freedom/boldness of speech	boldness, confidence, openness (often of speaking before authority)	boldness, confidence, freely	Paul names the authority he has as an apostle to command Philemon, in order to set it aside deliberately in v.9	[NEW] kev tso siab hais (bold/confident speech) — Low-Medium risk; comprehension-level only, sets up the appeal/command contrast
ἐπιτάσσω	epitassō	to order/arrange upon, to command	command, direct with authority	command, order, instruct	Names the mode of address Paul explicitly refuses to use — establishes doctrine 4 (Intercession/Appeal) by negative contrast	[NEW] hais kom ua / txib kom ua — Low risk; must be kept visibly distinct from v.9’s thov (appeal) so the contrast is not flattened

v.9 — “yet for love’s sake I would rather appeal to you—I, Paul, an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
ἀγάπη	agapē	love	selfless, covenantal love	love, charity	The ground/motive of Paul’s appeal — displaces “command” as the operative category; central to doctrine 5 (Grace-Motivated Obedience)	[TM-INHERITED] kev hlub — Low risk
παρακαλῶ	parakalō (1sg. of parakaleō)	to call alongside, to summon for help; to beseech/exhort/comfort	appeal, beg, urge, exhort, comfort	I appeal, I beseech, I urge, I exhort	Paul’s chosen rhetorical mode; the verb anchoring doctrine 4 (Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another) — repeated in v.10	[NEW] thov — Medium risk; must be kept distinct from ordinary command-verbs (hais kom) and must retain its pleading, not-demanding, force across every occurrence
πρεσβύτης (var. πρεσβευτής)	presbytēs (var. presbeutēs)	old man (var.: ambassador/envoy)	elder/aged man; or, per textual variant, “ambassador”	old man, aged one; (var.) ambassador	Either reading strengthens Paul’s rhetorical self-lowering/self-authorizing before an appeal, not a command	[NEW] tus laus (old man) — Low risk; flag textual-variant note only, no doctrinal collision
δέσμιος	desmios	one bound, a prisoner	prisoner, captive, one in chains	prisoner, captive	Paul identifies his literal imprisonment as for Christ, i.e., a chosen, honored bondage — deliberately juxtaposed against Onesimus’s involuntary chattel-slave status later in the letter	[NEW] tus raug khi (rau Yexus Khetos) — Medium risk; must be kept lexically distinct from qhev (δοῦλος, TM-inherited) even though both involve “boundness,” since one is chosen apostolic suffering and the other is involuntary slavery

v.10 — “I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
τέκνον	teknon	child, offspring	child (literal or spiritual/figurative)	child, son	Onesimus is Paul’s spiritual child, converted through Paul’s ministry while imprisoned	[NEW] kuv tus tub (kev ntseeg) — Medium risk; comprehension gap (spiritual paternity is not a native category) — must be distinguished in teaching from Romans’ adoption_as_sons (raug muab coj los ua me tub), which is a legal-adoption metaphor for the believer’s status before God, not an apostle’s evangelistic fathering of a convert
ἐγέννησα (aor. of γεννάω)	egennēsa	I begot, I fathered	to beget, to bring forth, to cause spiritual birth	I have become his father, I fathered him, I brought him to faith	Paul’s claim of spiritual paternity over Onesimus — grounds the family/brotherhood language that follows in v.16	[NEW] uas kuv coj los ntseeg (Vajtswv) — Medium risk; must NOT be rendered with nkag (spirit-possession verb, permanently forbidden per Romans baseline §3.1 for a different but adjacent context) — keep as calm, non-possession begetting/bringing-to-faith phrasing
ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς	en tois desmois	in the bonds/chains	in imprisonment	in my imprisonment, in my chains	Same desmios root as v.9; situates the spiritual birth inside Paul’s literal captivity	[NEW] see tus raug khi note above; risk Medium as above
Ὀνήσιμος	Onēsimos	(proper name, from ὀνίνημι, “to profit/benefit”) — “Useful One” / “Profitable”	proper name	Onesimus	Name is programmatic: means “Useful,” directly set up for the wordplay of v.11 and v.20	[NEW — proper name] Aunexima (tentative RPA transliteration) — [TRANSLATOR REVIEW NEEDED: verify against the existing printed Hmong Bible (Vaj Lug Kub Npaiv Npaum / HWB) established transliteration for “Onesimus” before treating this as permanent]

v.11 — “Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
ἄχρηστος	achrēstos	useless, unprofitable	not useful, worthless	useless, unprofitable, good-for-nothing	Describes Onesimus’s former condition (likely as a runaway/negligent slave) — sets up the gospel-transformation contrast central to doctrine 3 (Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power)	[NEW] tsis muaj qab hau (of no benefit/use) — Low-Medium risk; comprehension-level
εὔχρηστος	euchrēstos	useful, profitable	beneficial, serviceable	useful, profitable, serviceable	Describes Onesimus’s transformed condition after conversion — the direct antonym, and a pun on his own name (Onēsimos = “useful”)	[NEW] muaj qab hau — Low-Medium risk; craft note: the Greek name-pun (Onesimus/“Useful” ↔ achrēstos/euchrēstos) is entirely lost in Hmong transliteration and MUST be preserved via an explicit footnote in any curriculum content, not silently dropped, or the rhetorical heart of v.11 (and v.20) disappears

v.12 — “I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
ἀναπέμπω	anapempō	to send back/up	to send back, return	I am sending back, I return	The concrete legal act at the center of the letter: Paul is returning a slave, but reframing the meaning of the return	[NEW] xa rov qab — Low risk
σπλάγχνα	splagchna	bowels, inward parts (Greek idiom for the seat of emotion/compassion)	inmost affections, heart, deep feeling	heart, very heart, inmost affections	Paul calls Onesimus “my very heart” — the strongest affection-term in the letter, repeated in v.20 for Paul’s own request	[NEW] lub siab (the liver/heart, the established Hmong idiomatic seat of emotion and will — consistent with the Romans-baseline convention already used for syneidēsis and thelēma theou) — Low-Medium risk; good cross-cultural bridge, comprehension-level only

v.13 — “I wanted to keep him with me, that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
διακονέω	diakoneō	to serve, minister, wait upon	to serve, minister, assist	serve, minister to, help	Same root family as Romans TM’s diakonos/“deacon” (tus pab tu pawg ntseeg); here a general service-verb, not the church office	[NEW] pab (Povlauj) — Low risk; do not force the formal office-rendering tus pab tu pawg ntseeg onto this general verb use

v.14 — “but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
ἑκούσιος	hekousios	voluntary, of one’s own accord	freely chosen, willing	voluntary, of your own free will, willingly	Names the quality of response Paul is seeking from Philemon — the linchpin of doctrine 5 (Grace-Motivated Obedience)	[NEW] kev zoo siab pub (a giving that comes from a glad/willing heart) — High risk: Hmong social and ritual obligation (duty owed to clan elders, customary reciprocity) is default-framed as compulsory, expected, and socially enforced; without deliberate contrast-teaching, “voluntary goodness” risks being heard as just another instance of expected clan duty rather than the free, grace-shaped response Paul is explicitly distinguishing it from
ἀνάγκη	anankē	necessity, compulsion, constraint	compulsion, force, obligation by necessity	compulsion, necessity, force	The explicit foil to hekousios — what Paul refuses to impose	[NEW] kev raug yuam (being forced/compelled) — High risk; same collision class as hekousios above — the pair must always appear together as an explicit binary contrast, never hekousios alone, or the force of the distinction collapses

v.15 — “For this perhaps is why he was separated from you for a while, that you might have him back forever”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
χωρίζω	chōrizō	to separate, divide, depart	separate, part from	was separated, departed	Frames Onesimus’s flight/absence within divine providence, not mere accident or crime	[NEW] raug ncaim ntawm... ib nyuag ntu — Low-Medium risk; comprehension-level, ties to providence theme
αἰώνιος	aiōnios	age-long, eternal, without end	eternal, everlasting, forever	forever, eternal, permanently	Contrasts the temporary separation with a permanent, transformed relationship — echoes but is distinct from Romans TM’s eternal_life (txoj sia nyob mus ib txhis), here modifying “have him back” rather than “life”	[NEW] mus ib txhis — Low risk (same root as the Romans-baseline eternal-life phrase, reused consistently)

v.16 — “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but even more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
δοῦλος	doulos	slave, bondservant	slave, bondservant, servant	slave, bondservant, servant	The verse’s central term — Onesimus’s actual, unremoved legal/social status; the letter never asks Philemon to pretend Onesimus is not a slave, but to see more than that status	[TM-INHERITED] qhev — High risk (per Romans baseline): this is the single most doctrinally load-bearing occurrence of qhev outside Romans 1 and 6, since the entire letter turns on the tension between Onesimus being genuinely qhev and genuinely kwvtij hlub (brother) at once — see next entry
ἀδελφὸς ἀγαπητός	adelphos agapētos	beloved brother	dear brother, dearly loved kinsman	beloved brother, dear brother	The transformed relational status Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus into — the anchor term for doctrine 2 (Christian Brotherhood across Social Status) and doctrine 3 (Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power)	[NEW] kwvtij hlub — High risk: Hmong kinship vocabulary (kwvtij) is bounded by clan/lineage (xeem) membership; extending full sibling-status language across a master-slave, non-blood, non-clan line is a radical, gospel-specific claim that traditional Hmong kinship categories do not naturally accommodate. Without explicit teaching, kwvtij hlub risks being heard either as empty politeness (domesticating the claim) or as culturally implausible (resisting it). The paradox — Onesimus is simultaneously and truly both qhev and kwvtij hlub — must be preserved, not resolved by softening either term
σάρξ	sarx	flesh	physical/social/human relationship, as opposed to spiritual	in the flesh, humanly speaking	Here a neutral sense (ordinary human/social relationship), matching Romans TM’s neutral-flesh entry, not the moral/sinful-nature sense	[TM-INHERITED] lub cev nqaij tawv (neutral sense only — must NOT be rendered with the moral-sense periphrasis kev xav/kev ua raws li lub cev nqaij tawv) — Critical risk category inherited; correct sub-entry selection required
κύριος (ἐν κυρίῳ)	kyrios (en kyriō)	Lord (in the Lord)	the Lord, master; here the divine title, “in the Lord” = in the shared reality of belonging to Christ	in the Lord	Notably, Paul does NOT use kyrios here for Philemon’s mundane mastery over Onesimus — that social fact is left unnamed in this verse. kyrios is reserved for Christ, reminding both master and slave that they share one ultimate Tswv	[TM-INHERITED] tus Tswv — Low risk; important teaching note: this verse deliberately places the human master-slave relationship (σάρξ) alongside the shared-Lordship relationship (ἐν κυρίῳ) without ever calling Philemon kyrios over Onesimus — curriculum content should highlight, not blur, this asymmetry

v.17 — “So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
κοινωνός	koinōnos	partner, participant, one who shares	partner, associate, sharer	partner, companion	Paul asks Philemon to extend to Onesimus the same reception he would give Paul himself — full equal standing, not conditional tolerance	[NEW] tus koom nrog (co-participant/partner) — High risk: asking a master to receive his own slave as a full social equal/partner directly confronts Hmong village/lineage status hierarchy; risk that the term is heard as rhetorical courtesy rather than Paul’s intended substantive claim of equal standing
προσλαμβάνω	proslambanō	to take to oneself, receive, welcome	receive, welcome, accept	receive him, welcome him, accept him	The concrete action requested — hospitality/reception language	[NEW] tos txais — Low risk

v.18 — “If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
ἀδικέω	adikeō	to wrong, do injustice to	wrong, injure, treat unjustly	wronged, did wrong, injured	Names the possible offense (likely theft/flight) without specifying it — root shares Romans TM’s unrighteousness (adikia) family	[NEW, related to TM-INHERITED root] ua txhaum rau (built on TM’s kev tsis ncaj ncees/adikia root) — Low-Medium risk
ὀφείλω	opheilō	to owe, be indebted	owe a debt (literal or figurative)	owes, is indebted	Names any outstanding literal debt — same root family as Romans TM’s debtor (opheiletēs/tus tshuav nqi)	[TM-INHERITED root] tshuav nqi — Low risk; reuse Romans debtor-family vocabulary for consistency
ἐλλογέω	ellogeō	to charge to one’s account, to enter into a ledger	to reckon/charge/debit to an account	charge it to me, put it on my account	The letter’s central forgiveness-mechanism: Paul offers to absorb Onesimus’s debt himself — a legal/economic metaphor deliberately parallel to Romans’ forensic accounting-verb logizomai (suav/suav tias, Critical risk, reserved for imputed righteousness)	[NEW, deliberately anchored to TM-INHERITED root] suav rau kuv tus nqi — Medium-High risk: translators must reuse the suav root already fixed for reckon_impute in the Romans TM rather than choosing an unrelated commercial-loanword verb, in order to preserve the deliberate echo between “charge Onesimus’s debt to Paul” and “Christ’s righteousness reckoned/imputed to the believer.” Losing this echo does not invert doctrine outright but forfeits a major teaching opportunity for doctrine 1 (Forgiveness and Reconciliation)

v.19 — “I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me your very self”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
ἔγραψα τῇ ἐμῇ χειρί	egrapsa tē emē cheiri	I wrote with my own hand	autograph/personal-signature formula	I write this with my own hand	Legal-guarantee formula — Paul personally underwrites the debt, like a signed promissory note	[NEW] kuv sau tus kaw tes ntawm kuv tim ntsis — Low risk; comprehension-level legal-idiom bridge (a signed pledge), no collision
ἀποτίσω	apotisō (fut. of apotinō)	I will pay back, repay in full	repay, pay off a debt	I will repay, I will pay it back	Paul’s binding promise to personally settle any remaining debt — reinforces the ellogeō metaphor of v.18	[NEW] kuv yuav them — Low risk
προσοφείλω	prosopheilō	to owe besides, owe in addition	owe furthermore	you owe me besides, you owe me in addition	Paul reminds Philemon that he himself is spiritually indebted to Paul (presumably for his own conversion) — turns the debt-metaphor back on Philemon himself	[NEW] tshuav nqi ntxiv rau kuv — Low-Medium risk; reuses debtor-family vocabulary

v.20 — “Yes, brother, let me benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
ὀναίμην	onaimēn (opt. of oninēmi)	may I have joy/profit/benefit	may I benefit, may I be helped	let me have some benefit, may I profit	A direct verbal echo of “Onesimus” (both from the same root, onin-/“profit”) — Paul puns on the name a second time, asking to be “Onesimus-ed” by Philemon’s compliance	[NEW] thov kom kuv tau qab hau — Low-Medium risk; craft note: repeat the wordplay flag from v.11 — this second Greek pun on Onesimus’s name is again untranslatable directly into Hmong and must be preserved via footnote
ἀναπαύω … σπλάγχνα	anapauō … splagchna	refresh/give rest to … the inward parts/heart	give rest, refresh, relieve	refresh my heart, give my heart rest	Direct verbal repetition of v.7 (where Philemon has already “refreshed the hearts of the saints”) — Paul asks Philemon to do for him personally what Philemon habitually does for others	[NEW] pub kom lub siab tau so (reusing lub siab from v.7/v.12) — Low-Medium risk

v.21 — “Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I say”

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
πεποιθώς	pepoithōs (perf. ptc. of peithō)	having been persuaded, trusting, confident	confidence, trust in a person’s character	confident, trusting, persuaded	Paul’s stated ground for expecting compliance — confidence in Philemon’s character, not a legal demand	[NEW] ntseeg siab tias — Low-Medium risk; must be kept distinct from kev ntseeg (saving faith in Christ, TM-inherited) so that interpersonal confidence in a person’s character is not blended with the soteriological faith-category
ὑπακοή	hypakoē	obedience, compliance	obedience, submission, compliance	obedience, compliance	Here a standalone “your obedience,” NOT the Romans compound hypakoē pisteōs (“obedience of faith,” TM-inherited as kev mloog lus ntawm kev ntseeg) — this is Philemon’s expected free compliance with Paul’s appeal, grounded in love (v.9), not law or clan duty	[NEW] kev mloog lus (root reused from the Romans compound, but used standalone here) — High risk: default Hmong mloog lus carries strong hierarchical-duty connotation (children/subordinates obeying elders/clan heads as social obligation); if this connotation is not explicitly countered by teaching that ties v.21’s obedience back to v.9’s love-not-command appeal, the letter’s central rhetorical strategy (appeal, not command) collapses into ordinary hierarchical compliance, inverting doctrine 5 (Grace-Motivated Obedience)

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2. Chapter 1 — Sections Outside the Core Passage (Full-Book Coverage)

Philemon has only one chapter; the following verses (1-7, 22-25) complete full coverage of that chapter alongside the core passage above. No content is omitted.

vv.1-3 — Greeting

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
Παῦλος	Paulos	Paul (proper name)	proper name	Paul	Author’s self-identification	[TM-adjacent, established transliteration per baseline §5] Povlauj — Low risk
δέσμιος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ	desmios Christou Iēsou	prisoner of Christ Jesus	one bound for/belonging to Christ	prisoner of Christ Jesus	Paul’s chosen self-title for this letter (not “apostle,” unusually) — his imprisonment is for Christ, framing the whole appeal	[NEW] tus raug khi rau Yexus Khetos — Medium risk (see v.9 note); sets the tone of voluntary, honored bondage from the letter’s first words
ἀδελφός	adelphos	brother	brother, fellow believer	brother	Applied here to Timothy (fellow-worker) — establishes the brotherhood vocabulary later extended radically to Onesimus in v.16	[NEW] kwvtij — see v.16 for full risk discussion; Low risk in this ordinary ministry-partner usage
συνεργός	synergos	fellow worker	co-laborer, colleague	fellow worker, co-worker	Applied to Philemon himself (v.1) and Epaphras/others (v.24)	[NEW] tus koom tes ua haujlwm — Medium risk (disambiguation note): the Romans baseline explicitly rejected koom tes as a softening mistranslation of doulos (servant/slave, Romans 1:1) — that rejection applies only to doulos. Here synergos is a genuinely different Greek word, and koom tes-family vocabulary is the correct rendering for it. Translators must not let the Romans-baseline rejection bleed into refusing this term here.
ἀδελφή	adelphē	sister	sister, fellow female believer	sister	Applied to Apphia (v.2)	[NEW] viv ncaus (a sister, kinship term) — Low risk
συστρατιώτης	systratiōtēs	fellow soldier	comrade-in-arms (metaphor for shared spiritual struggle)	fellow soldier	Applied to Archippus (v.2)	[NEW] tus tub rog nrog kuv ua ke — Low risk; comprehension-level metaphor
ἐκκλησία κατ’ οἶκόν σου	ekklēsia kat’ oikon sou	the assembly according to your house	the church that meets in your house	the church in your house	Names the house-church setting — the letter is addressed not only to Philemon privately but to the gathered congregation, raising the social stakes of Philemon’s public response	[NEW] pawg ntseeg uas sib sau ua ke hauv koj tsev — Low-Medium risk; pawg ntseeg itself already implicit in the Romans-baseline deacon_servant note and now formally established as the Hmong Philemon term for “church/assembly”
χάρις, εἰρήνη, θεὸς πατὴρ ἡμῶν, κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός	charis, eirēnē, theos patēr hēmōn, kyrios Iēsous Christos	grace, peace, God our Father, Lord Jesus Christ	(standard epistolary greeting formula)	grace and peace…	Identical opening-greeting formula to Romans and other Pauline letters	[TM-INHERITED, all four] txiaj ntsim, kev thaj yeeb, Vajtswv/Leej Txiv, tus Tswv/Yexus Khetos — Critical/Low per existing baseline entries; no change

vv.4-7 — Thanksgiving and Prayer

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
εὐχαριστῶ	eucharistō	I give thanks	thanksgiving	I thank, I give thanks	Standard Pauline thanksgiving opening	[TM-INHERITED] ua tsaug — Low risk
ἀγάπη, πίστις	agapē, pistis	love, faith	love, faith	love, faith	Philemon’s reputation for love and faith toward the saints and the Lord Jesus	[TM-INHERITED, both] kev hlub, kev ntseeg — Low/Medium per baseline
ἅγιοι	hagioi	holy ones, saints	believers, the set-apart people of God	saints, holy ones	The Christian community Philemon has served	[NEW] cov ntseeg dawb huv (the holy/set-apart believers) — Low risk; builds on the already-established dawb huv (holiness) vocabulary from the Romans-baseline sanctification entry, here used adjectivally for believers rather than the abstract sanctification process
κοινωνία τῆς πίστεως	koinōnia tēs pisteōs	fellowship/sharing of the faith	the shared partnership that flows from common faith	the fellowship of your faith, your partnership in the faith	Names the shared-faith partnership Paul prays will become “effective” — the conceptual seed of v.17’s koinōnos request regarding Onesimus	[NEW] kev sib koom ua ib los ntawm kev ntseeg — High risk: same collision class as v.17’s koinōnos — see full discussion there; this is the doctrinal seed-planting occurrence
ἐνεργής	energēs	active, effective, operative	effective, powerful in effect	effective, working, active	Paul prays that Philemon’s shared faith-partnership will become active, i.e., will bear fruit — anticipates the letter’s actual request	[NEW] ua haujlwm tau zoo (be effective/productive) — Low risk
ἐπίγνωσις	epignōsis	full/precise knowledge	thorough knowledge, recognition	knowledge, full knowledge	Recognition of every good thing in believers	[NEW] kev paub tseeb — Low risk
χαρά, παράκλησις	chara, paraklēsis	joy, comfort/encouragement	joy; comfort, encouragement, exhortation	joy; comfort/encouragement	Paul’s emotional response to reports of Philemon’s love	[NEW, both Low risk] kev zoo siab (joy); kev txhawb siab (comfort/encouragement)
σπλάγχνα, ἀναπαύω	splagchna, anapauō	inward parts/heart; give rest/refresh	heart/affections; to refresh, give rest	heart; refresh	Philemon has “refreshed the hearts of the saints” — the identical phrase Paul later (v.20) asks Philemon to do for him personally regarding Onesimus	[NEW] lub siab; pub kom ... tau so — see full discussion at v.12/v.20; Low-Medium risk, key repeated motif linking the letter’s opening praise to its closing request

vv.22-25 — Closing: Hospitality Request, Greetings, Benediction

Greek	Transliteration	Literal Meaning	Semantic Range	English Variants	Contextual Theological Meaning	Hmong Rendering & Risk
ἑτοίμαζέ μοι ξενίαν	hetoimaze moi xenian	prepare for me a guest-lodging	prepare a guest room/lodging	prepare a guest room for me, prepare a place for me to stay	Paul’s confident hope of a future visit — implicitly a further check on Philemon’s public accountability for how he treats Onesimus	[NEW] npaj chav rau kuv nyob — Low risk; comprehension-level hospitality custom, transfers cleanly to Hmong hospitality norms
προσευχή	proseuchē	prayer	prayer, petition	prayers	Repeats v.4’s prayer-theme; Paul asks to be given to them through their prayers	[NEW] kev thov Vajtswv — Low risk
συναιχμάλωτος	synaichmalōtos	fellow prisoner-of-war, fellow captive	co-captive (military-origin metaphor)	fellow prisoner	Applied to Epaphras (v.23) — a stronger, more vivid captivity-image than plain desmios	[NEW] tus nrog kuv raug kaw — Low-Medium risk; comprehension-level; may soften the specifically military captive-image, no doctrinal collision
ἀσπάζομαι	aspazomai	to greet, salute	greet, send greetings	greet, send greetings	Standard closing greeting formula	[NEW] xa lus nug — Low risk
συνεργός (repeat)	synergos	fellow worker	co-laborer	fellow worker	Applied to Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke (v.24)	[NEW] see vv.1-3 entry; tus koom tes ua haujlwm — Low risk
χάρις…μετὰ τοῦ πνεύματος ὑμῶν	charis…meta tou pneumatos hymōn	grace…with your spirit	closing grace-benediction, referencing the human spirit of the recipients	grace be with your spirit	Final benediction; note πνεῦμα here is the ANTHROPOLOGICAL human spirit of the letter’s recipients (plural “your,” referring to Philemon’s household/church), not the Holy Spirit	[TM-INHERITED — careful sub-entry selection required] txiaj ntsim (grace, Critical) + ntsuj plig (human_spirit_soul entry — must NOT receive the “Vaj” prefix, since this is the recipients’ own spirit, not the Holy Spirit) — Critical/High risk category inherited from Romans baseline; correct disambiguation is essential here as the letter’s very last theological term

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3. Doctrine-to-Term Cross-Reference Summary

Doctrine	Primary Anchor Terms
1. Forgiveness and Reconciliation	ἐλλογέω (charge to account), ἀδικέω (wronged), ὀφείλω/προσοφείλω (owe), χάρις (grace) — NB: no dedicated Greek “forgive”/“reconcile” lexeme occurs in this letter; doctrine is carried entirely by economic/legal metaphor
2. Christian Brotherhood across Social Status	ἀδελφὸς ἀγαπητός (beloved brother), κοινωνός/κοινωνία (partner/partnership), σάρξ (neutral, “in the flesh”)
3. Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power	δοῦλος (slave, TM-inherited High risk), ἄχρηστος/εὔχρηστος (useless/useful wordplay), ὑπὲρ δοῦλον (“more than a slave”)
4. Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another	παρακαλῶ (appeal) vs. ἐπιτάσσω (command), πεποιθώς (confidence)
5. Grace-Motivated Obedience	ἑκούσιος vs. ἀνάγκη (voluntary vs. compulsion), ὑπακοή (obedience, standalone), ἀγάπη (love as ground)

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4. Chapter Coverage Log (Full-Book Mandate Compliance)

• Philemon 1 (entire book, vv.1-25): Fully reviewed. vv.8-21 treated as core passage with full verse-by-verse analysis (§1). vv.1-7 and vv.22-25 treated with equivalent term-level analysis (§2). No verse or section skipped. Since Philemon contains only one chapter, this single chapter’s complete coverage constitutes full-book coverage per the PRD mandate.