Semantic Analysis

Semantic Analysis — Matthew 1–28 (English → Hungarian)

Methodology

This analysis follows PRD Phase 1 Step 1. It covers:

Part 1 — Core Passage, Matthew 5:1–12 (the Beatitudes): full verse-by-verse treatment of every load-bearing term.
Part 2 — Chapter-by-Chapter Study, Matthew 1–28: every chapter of the whole book, documenting every new load-bearing theological term introduced in that chapter. Chapters that introduce no new theological vocabulary state this explicitly and name the earlier chapter(s) whose terms are reused.

Baseline compliance. Any term already fixed in the baseline Romans Language Package (translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json) is reused with its exact recorded Hungarian rendering: e.g. Isten (God), Jézus (Jesus), Messiás (Messiah), Dávid (David), Izrael (Israel), Atya (Father), Szentlélek (Holy Spirit), Isten Fia (Son of God), Isten országa (kingdom of God), egyház (church), törvény (law), bűn (sin), pogányok (Gentiles), próféta/prófécia (prophet/prophecy), szövetség (covenant), kiválasztás (election), közbenjárás (intercession), feltámadás (resurrection), Úr (Lord), igazság (righteousness), megigazulás (justification), kegyelem (grace), hit (faith), üdvösség (salvation), evangélium (gospel), apostol (apostle), elhívott/elhívás (called/calling), szent/szentek (holy/saints), megszentelődés (sanctification), örökbefogadás (adoption), dicsőség (glory), buzdítani (exhort), Dávid leszármazottja (seed of David), beszámított igazság (imputed righteousness), misszió (mission). Where a Matthean term is lexically or theologically distinct from a Romans baseline entry (e.g., “kingdom of heaven” vs. “kingdom of God,” “Son of David” as a messianic address vs. “seed of David” as lineage), it is treated as a new, related entry and cross-referenced.

PART 1 — CORE PASSAGE: Matthew 5:1–12 (The Beatitudes)

Matthew 5:1

“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.”

ὄρος (oros) — “mountain”

Literal meaning: a mountain or hill.
Semantic range: literal elevation; in Matthew’s narrative pattern, also a typological echo of Sinai (Moses/Torah) and a recurring site of revelation (4:8; 17:1; 28:16).
English variants: mountain, hill, mount.
Contextual theological meaning: sets Jesus as a new, greater lawgiver/revealer delivering authoritative teaching, foundational to the curriculum doctrine “The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching.”
Hungarian rendering: hegy. Risk: Low. No lexical ambiguity, but the teaching notes should make the Sinai typology explicit since Hungarian readers will not supply it automatically.

ἐκάθισεν (ekathisen), from καθίζω (kathizō) — “sat down”

Literal meaning: to sit, take a seated position.
Semantic range: ordinary sitting; also the technical posture of an authoritative teacher/rabbi delivering formal instruction (contrast casual speech while standing).
English variants: sat down, took his seat.
Contextual theological meaning: signals formal, authoritative teaching — directly load-bearing for “The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching.”
Hungarian rendering: leült. Risk: Low. Standard, but translator notes should flag the teaching-posture significance so it is not read as an incidental detail.

μαθηταί (mathētai) — “disciples”

Literal meaning: learners, students bound to a teacher.
Semantic range: the inner circle of committed followers, as distinct from the wider “crowds” (ὄχλοι) who overhear; ranges narrower (the Twelve) to broader (all who follow) across Matthew.
English variants: disciples, students, followers, learners.
Contextual theological meaning: foundational term for “Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus,” reappearing through chapters 4, 10, 16, 18, 28.
Hungarian rendering: tanítvány(ok). Risk: Medium. Standard term, but must be kept distinct from the broader crowd (sokaság/nép) so that the Beatitudes are read as instruction primarily for committed followers, with the crowd as overhearing audience (5:1–2; cf. 7:28).

Matthew 5:2

“And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:”

ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken), from διδάσκω (didaskō) — “taught”

Literal meaning: to teach, instruct.
Semantic range: formal, authoritative instruction (as opposed to mere storytelling or casual advice).
English variants: taught, instructed, was teaching.
Contextual theological meaning: introduces the Sermon on the Mount as authoritative teaching, the first great block of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew; ties directly to 7:28–29 (“the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority”).
Hungarian rendering: tanított. Risk: Low, but pair consistently with the hatalom (authority) term family developed in chapters 7–9 below.

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

μακάριος (makarios) — “blessed”

Literal meaning: fortunate, blessed, in a state of flourishing/favor.
Semantic range: not primarily an emotional state (“happy”) but a pronouncement of God’s favor and eschatological well-being upon a person or class of persons; distinct from Greek eudaimonia (self-achieved happiness).
English variants: blessed, happy, fortunate.
Contextual theological meaning: opens all eight (nine, counting v.11’s expansion) Beatitude declarations; a divine verdict, not a felt emotion, pronounced over those who by worldly standards appear disadvantaged.
Hungarian rendering: boldog. Risk: High. This is the historic, Károli-tradition rendering used in every major Hungarian Bible (“Boldogok a lelki szegények…”) and must be retained for continuity of the whole Beatitudes tradition. However, “boldog” in ordinary modern Hungarian primarily means subjective happiness/contentment, which risks collapsing Jesus’ objective, eschatological pronouncement of divine favor into a psychological feeling-state. Teaching notes must clarify: this is God’s declared verdict of blessing on a person’s standing, not a report of their emotional condition — the mourner of v.4 is explicitly not “happy” in the ordinary sense while still being pronounced boldog.

πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι (ptōchoi tō pneumati) — “poor in spirit”

Literal meaning: destitute/beggarly with respect to spirit.
Semantic range: πτωχός denotes utter material destitution (a beggar), not mere modest means; “in spirit” locates this poverty in one’s standing before God — spiritual bankruptcy/humility, complete dependence on God, not economic poverty alone and not mere low self-esteem.
English variants: poor in spirit, poor of spirit, humble before God.
Contextual theological meaning: the entry qualification for the kingdom is a posture of complete spiritual destitution and dependence, not achievement — a direct conceptual bridge to “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees,” which likewise begins from humility rather than self-sufficient law-keeping.
Hungarian rendering: lelki szegények (established Károli-tradition phrase). Risk: Medium. Must not be softened to “alázatosak” (the humble) alone, which loses the “destitute/beggarly” force of πτωχός, nor read as commending material poverty as such.

βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν (basileia tōn ouranōn) — “kingdom of heaven”

Literal meaning: the kingdom/reign/rule of the heavens.
Semantic range: Matthew’s characteristic phrase (used ~32 times) for God’s sovereign, in-breaking reign; functionally identical to “kingdom of God” (βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ), which Matthew also uses on occasion (12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43) — most scholarship treats the two phrases as synonymous, with Matthew’s preference reflecting Jewish reverential avoidance of the divine name rather than a distinct celestial kingdom.
English variants: kingdom of heaven, kingdom of God, the reign of heaven.
Contextual theological meaning: the central organizing doctrine of Matthew’s Gospel — God’s inaugurated-yet-future sovereign rule, present already in Jesus’ words and works and consummated at the end of the age (see ch. 13, 24–25 below). This is the anchor term for the curriculum doctrine “The Kingdom of Heaven.”
Hungarian rendering: mennyek országa. Risk: High. This is a NEW registry entry, distinct in wording from the baseline’s Isten országa (kingdom of God, Romans 14:17), though referring to the same reality. The risk is that Hungarian readers — accustomed to the baseline’s “Isten országa” from the Romans curriculum — could infer two different kingdoms (a present institutional/spiritual “Isten országa” versus a future, purely heavenly “mennyek országa”). Translator notes must state explicitly, at first occurrence, that these are the same divine reign under Matthew’s characteristic Jewish idiom, and that Matthew’s occasional use of Isten országa (12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43) must be rendered identically to the baseline term with a cross-reference note.

Matthew 5:4

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

πενθοῦντες (penthountes), from πενθέω (pentheō) — “those who mourn”

Literal meaning: to grieve, lament, mourn (often over death or loss).
Semantic range: mourning over personal loss; in prophetic usage (echoing Isaiah 61:2–3, which this Beatitude alludes to) also grief over sin, brokenness, and the fallen state of the world/Israel.
English variants: mourn, grieve, lament, weep.
Contextual theological meaning: those who grieve honestly over sin and brokenness — their own and the world’s — rather than the stoic or triumphalist, are the ones promised comfort.
Hungarian rendering: sírnak / gyászolnak. Risk: Low. Standard Károli-tradition rendering “akik sírnak.”

παρακληθήσονται (paraklēthēsontai), from παρακαλέω (parakaleō) — “shall be comforted”

Literal meaning: to call alongside, hence to comfort, console, or encourage.
Semantic range: comfort/consolation (the dominant sense here) or exhortation/encouragement (the dominant sense in the baseline Romans entry, “exhort” → buzdítani).
English variants: comforted, consoled, encouraged.
Contextual theological meaning: divine consolation, ultimately eschatological (fully realized at the kingdom’s consummation), promised to the grieving.
Hungarian rendering: megvigasztaltatnak / megvigasztalódnak. Risk: Medium-High — disambiguation flag. The same Greek root (παρακαλέω) underlies the baseline Romans term “exhort” (buzdítani). Translators must NOT render this occurrence as buzdítani (encourage/exhort); the comfort sense requires megvigasztal. This is a context-sensitive term requiring a translator note at every occurrence distinguishing “comfort” (Matthew 5:4) from “exhort” (the Romans baseline sense) so that translation-memory enforcement does not mechanically force the wrong gloss.

Matthew 5:5

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

πραεῖς (praeis), from πραΰς (praus) — “meek”

Literal meaning: gentle, mild, not easily provoked.
Semantic range: gentleness of strength under control (not weakness or passivity); the term describing Moses (Numbers 12:3 LXX) and, of Jesus himself, in Matthew 11:29 and 21:5.
English variants: meek, gentle, humble.
Contextual theological meaning: a Christlike disposition of strength held in restraint before God and others, standing in deliberate contrast to worldly self-assertion — directly relevant to “Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus.”
Hungarian rendering: szelíd(ek). Risk: Low. Standard, well-understood term; avoid a rendering implying weakness or timidity (“gyámoltalan”).

κληρονομήσουσι (klēronomēsousi), from κληρονομέω (klēronomeō) — “shall inherit”

Literal meaning: to receive as an heir, to inherit.
Semantic range: legal/familial inheritance; in biblical usage, the promised inheritance of the land (echoing Psalm 37:11) extended eschatologically to the whole renewed earth.
English variants: inherit, receive as inheritance, possess.
Contextual theological meaning: connects to the baseline doctrine of adoption (örökbefogadás) — believers as heirs with full inheritance rights — now applied to the coming renewed creation.
Hungarian rendering: öröklik / örökségül bírják (Károli-tradition phrase). Risk: Medium. Must retain the legal-inheritance sense rather than a vague “will have” or “will get,” to preserve the conceptual link to adoption/heirship doctrine.

Matthew 5:6

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες (peinōntes kai dipsōntes) — “hunger and thirst”

Literal meaning: to be physically hungry/thirsty.
Semantic range: literal bodily need used metaphorically for intense, all-consuming longing.
English variants: hunger and thirst, crave, long for.
Contextual theological meaning: total, urgent desire — not casual interest — for God’s righteousness.
Hungarian rendering: éheznek és szomjúhoznak. Risk: Low.

δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē) — “righteousness”

Literal meaning: rightness, justice, right standing/conduct.
Semantic range: as in the Romans baseline, forensic right standing before God received by faith; but in Matthew’s ethical-teaching contexts (5:6, 5:10, 5:20, 6:33) the dominant sense shifts toward practiced, lived-out righteousness — right conduct that conforms to God’s revealed will — without excluding the underlying gift-relationship with God.
English variants: righteousness, justice, right conduct, uprightness.
Contextual theological meaning: this verse’s craving for δικαιοσύνη anchors the curriculum doctrine “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees” (developed fully at 5:20), where Jesus contrasts an external, performance-based righteousness with the wholehearted, kingdom righteousness his disciples are to hunger for.
Hungarian rendering: igazság (reuse of the exact baseline term). Risk: Critical (inherited Critical status from baseline, EXTENDED here). The baseline flagged igazság/megigazulás as Critical because Hungarian Reformed and Catholic traditions read the term through forensic-declaration vs. infused-transformation frameworks respectively. Matthew’s ethical usage (righteousness as a way of life to be hungered for and practiced, 5:6, 5:20, 6:33) risks being read by Reformed-formed readers as merely restating forensic megigazulás, and by Catholic-formed readers as confirmation of meritorious, infused righteousness. Translator notes must clarify that Matthew here emphasizes lived righteousness flowing from relationship with God, neither collapsing into pure forensic status nor into merit accumulation — paralleling the caution already built into the baseline’s “obedience_of_faith” entry.

χορτασθήσονται (chortasthēsontai), from χορτάζω (chortazō) — “shall be satisfied”

Literal meaning: to be filled, satisfied (originally of feeding animals fodder, χόρτος).
Semantic range: full satisfaction of hunger; used elsewhere in Matthew for the literal feeding of crowds (14:20; 15:37).
English variants: satisfied, filled, fed full.
Contextual theological meaning: complete, eschatological satisfaction of the longing for righteousness.
Hungarian rendering: megelégíttetnek. Risk: Low.

Matthew 5:7

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

ἐλεήμονες (eleēmones), from ἔλεος/ἐλεέω (eleos/eleeō) — “merciful” / “mercy”

Literal meaning: showing compassionate kindness toward those in need or distress, especially those who could be justly condemned or ignored.
Semantic range: compassion, pity, kindness shown to the undeserving or suffering — distinguished from χάρις (grace, unmerited favor toward the guilty in a legal/salvific sense) by its stronger emphasis on compassionate action toward visible suffering or need, though the two concepts overlap.
English variants: merciful, compassionate, kind; mercy, compassion, pity.
Contextual theological meaning: a disposition of active compassion the disciple extends to others, reflecting and echoing the mercy God extends to them (cf. Matthew 9:13, 12:7, quoting Hosea 6:6, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”; 18:33’s parable of the unforgiving servant).
Hungarian rendering: irgalmasak (adjective); irgalmasság (noun). Risk: High — NEW registry entry requiring careful distinction from the baseline’s kegyelem (grace). Because both irgalom/irgalmasság and kegyelem can be loosely used in everyday Hungarian devotional speech for “God’s mercy/grace,” translators must keep them terminologically distinct: kegyelem is reserved for the baseline’s unmerited-favor/salvation sense (χάρις), while irgalom/irgalmasság renders ἔλεος, the compassion shown toward suffering or need. Conflating the two in Matthew risks blurring the Critical grace-doctrine boundary already established for Romans.

Matthew 5:8

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ (katharoi tē kardia) — “pure in heart”

Literal meaning: clean/unmixed with respect to the heart (the seat of will, intention, and inner life in Hebrew thought, not merely emotion).
Semantic range: ritual cleanness (κατηαρός can denote ceremonial purity, as in ch. 15’s clean/unclean debates) transferred here to moral and volitional integrity — single-minded, undivided devotion and motive, not merely external conformity.
English variants: pure in heart, clean of heart, single-hearted, sincere.
Contextual theological meaning: contrasts with the Pharisees’ external religiosity critiqued throughout Matthew (especially ch. 15, 23); undivided inward integrity as the condition for beholding God.
Hungarian rendering: tiszta szívűek. Risk: Medium. Must not be reduced to ritual/ceremonial cleanness (a risk given ch. 15’s clean/unclean vocabulary uses the same root tiszta); translator notes should distinguish moral/volitional purity here from ceremonial purity elsewhere.

ὄψονται τὸν Θεόν (opsontai ton Theon) — “shall see God”

Literal meaning: will see/behold God.
Semantic range: unmediated, direct beholding of God, culminating the eschatological hope (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:12, 1 John 3:2).
English variants: see God, behold God, look upon God face to face.
Contextual theological meaning: the ultimate promised reward — unmediated communion with God — for those of integrated, undivided devotion.
Hungarian rendering: meglátják az Istent. Risk: Low.

Matthew 5:9

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

εἰρηνοποιοί (eirēnopoioi) — “peacemakers”

Literal meaning: makers of peace (εἰρήνη + ποιέω).
Semantic range: those who actively create/restore reconciled relationships, not merely those who avoid conflict; builds on the baseline’s béke (peace with God through justification) but here applied horizontally, between people.
English variants: peacemakers, reconcilers.
Contextual theological meaning: active, costly reconciling work modeled on God’s own reconciling work in Christ.
Hungarian rendering: békességre igyekvők (Károli-tradition) or modern békességteremtők. Risk: Medium.

υἱοὶ Θεοῦ κληθήσονται (huioi Theou klēthēsontai) — “shall be called sons of God”

Literal meaning: will be named/called sons of God.
Semantic range: adoptive, derivative sonship granted to believers who reflect God’s own character — grammatically identical in surface form to, but theologically and lexically distinct from, the unique title υἱὸς Θεοῦ (“the Son of God,” singular, definite, applied exclusively to Christ).
English variants: sons of God, children of God.
Contextual theological meaning: this is the exact distinction the baseline already protects at its son_of_god entry (“distinct from the adoptive ‘Isten gyermekei’ language Romans 8 applies to believers”). Matthew 5:9 is the Gospel’s own instance of that adoptive, plural sense.
Hungarian rendering: Isten fiainak neveztetnek (plural, generic sonship — NOT the fixed title Isten Fia). Risk: Critical. Any rendering that could be mistaken for the baseline’s singular, definite Christological title Isten Fia must be avoided; keep this plural/general and explicitly cross-reference the baseline’s warning against conflating adoptive sonship with Christ’s unique Sonship.

Matthew 5:10

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

δεδιωγμένοι (dediōgmenoi), from διώκω (diōkō) — “persecuted”

Literal meaning: to pursue, chase, hence to persecute or harass.
Semantic range: hostile pursuit ranging from social exclusion and verbal abuse to violent persecution; recurs in 5:11–12, 44; 10:23; 23:34.
English variants: persecuted, pursued, harassed.
Contextual theological meaning: opposition faced specifically because of righteous, kingdom-shaped living — foundational to “Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus.”
Hungarian rendering: üldözöttek / üldözik őket. Risk: Medium.

ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης (heneken dikaiosynēs) — “for righteousness’ sake”

(See δικαιοσύνη at 5:6 above.) Here righteousness is the cause of suffering, sharpening the contrast with any “prosperity” reading of blessing; reuse igazságért, Risk Critical (inherited).

βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν — repeated from 5:3, forming an inclusio bracketing the first and eighth Beatitudes. Reuse mennyek országa, Risk High (as above).

Matthew 5:11

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

ὀνειδίσωσιν (oneidisōsin), from ὀνειδίζω (oneidizō) — “revile”

Literal meaning: to reproach, insult, mock with shame-intent.
Semantic range: verbal shaming/insult, operating within the honor-shame social dynamics of the ancient Mediterranean world.
English variants: revile, insult, reproach, mock.
Contextual theological meaning: social shaming for allegiance to Jesus, part of the cost of discipleship.
Hungarian rendering: szidalmaznak. Risk: Low.

ψεῦδος (pseudos) implied in “πᾶν πονηρὸν … ψευδόμενοι” — “falsely”

Literal meaning: falsehood, lie.
Semantic range: deliberate slander, false accusation.
English variants: falsely, slanderously.
Contextual theological meaning: the disciple’s suffering is unjust and undeserved, sharpening the promised blessing.
Hungarian rendering: hazugságot mondanak. Risk: Low.

ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ (heneken emou) — “on my account” / “for my sake”

Literal meaning: because of me.
Semantic range: marks a decisive shift from “for righteousness’ sake” (v.10, a general ethical cause) to explicit Christ-centered cause — persecution because of allegiance to Jesus himself.
English variants: for my sake, on my account, because of me.
Contextual theological meaning: identifies Jesus as the object of the disciple’s ultimate loyalty and the direct cause of the world’s hostility, tightly binding “Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus” to explicit Christology rather than generic virtue.
Hungarian rendering: én érettem / értem. Risk: High. Must not be flattened into a generic “for doing right” restatement of v.10; the Christ-centered “for my sake” is the theological hinge of the verse and must remain explicit.

Matthew 5:12

“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

χαίρετε καὶ ἀγαλλιᾶσθε (chairete kai agalliasthe) — “rejoice and be glad”

Literal meaning: rejoice (χαίρω) and exult/be exceedingly glad (ἀγαλλιάω, a stronger, often worship-associated term).
Semantic range: ordinary joy intensified to exultant, worshipful gladness.
English variants: rejoice and be glad, rejoice and exult.
Contextual theological meaning: the appropriate response to persecution is not resignation but active, worshipful joy grounded in eschatological reward — not stoicism or self-pity.
Hungarian rendering: örüljetek és örvendezzetek. Risk: Low.

μισθὸς πολύς (misthos polys) — “great reward”

Literal meaning: wage, pay, recompense (μισθός is the ordinary word for a laborer’s wage).
Semantic range: earned wage in secular usage; in this context, a promised divine recompense that must be carefully distinguished from earned merit — the reward is God’s gracious response to faithful endurance, not a wage secured by human achievement, paralleling the baseline’s grace-versus-merit caution.
English variants: reward, recompense, wage.
Contextual theological meaning: God’s generous response to persecuted faithfulness; care is needed so “wage” language does not imply merit-earned salvation, an issue directly analogous to the baseline’s Critical grace entry.
Hungarian rendering: jutalom. Risk: Medium. Because jutalom ordinarily connotes an earned prize, translator notes should note (as with the parable of the workers in the vineyard, ch. 20 below) that this reward flows from grace-empowered faithfulness, not autonomous merit — echoing but not resolving the baseline’s Reformed/Catholic grace-merit tension.

οἱ προφῆται οἱ πρὸ ὑμῶν (hoi prophētai hoi pro hymōn) — “the prophets who were before you”

(See próféta, baseline term, reused exactly.) Places the disciples’ suffering in continuity with the whole prophetic line, reinforcing “Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy” as a doctrine spanning the entire Gospel, not only its formula-quotations.
Hungarian rendering: próféták (baseline term reused). Risk: Low (inherited).

PART 2 — CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER STUDY, MATTHEW 1–28

Matthew 1 — Genealogy and Birth

Χριστός (Christos) — “Christ”

Literal meaning: “Anointed One” (Greek translation of Hebrew Mashiach).
Semantic range: functions in Matthew both as the OT-rooted title (= Messiah) and, increasingly through the Gospel and universally in Paul, as part of Jesus’ proper name (“Jesus Christ”).
English variants: Christ, the Christ, the Anointed One, Messiah.
Contextual theological meaning: Matthew 1:1 opens the Gospel by identifying Jesus as this promised figure, anchoring “Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David” from the very first verse.
Hungarian rendering: as part of the proper name, Jézus Krisztus (per the established Hungarian Bible-translation proper-name convention); as a title asserting messianic identity, Messiás (exact baseline term). Risk: Critical (inherited from baseline messiah entry). Translator notes: use Krisztus when the Greek functions as part of the composite name, and Messiás whenever the text is making the titular, fulfillment-claim (e.g., 1:17, 2:4, 16:16, 26:63).

παρθένος (parthenos) — “virgin”

Literal meaning: a virgin, an unmarried woman who has not had sexual relations.
Semantic range: in the Isaiah 7:14 quotation (Matthew 1:23) and the surrounding narrative, denotes Mary’s virginal conception of Jesus by the Holy Spirit, without human paternity.
English variants: virgin, maiden.
Contextual theological meaning: grounds the doctrine of the Incarnation (baseline term megtestesülés) in a miraculous, non-ordinary conception, directly relevant to the deity and unique Sonship of Christ.
Hungarian rendering: szűz. Risk: Critical. This word carries strong Marian-devotional freight in Hungarian Catholic piety (Szűz Mária, veneration, the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity and Immaculate Conception), while Hungarian Reformed tradition affirms the virgin conception described here without these later Catholic Marian developments. Translator notes must anchor the term strictly to the miraculous, Spirit-wrought conception of Christ asserted by Matthew’s text itself, without importing or denying either tradition’s fuller Marian doctrine.

Ἐμμανουήλ (Emmanouēl) — “Immanuel”

Literal meaning: Hebrew “God with us” (transliterated, not translated, into Greek and thence into most target languages).
Semantic range: a proper-name/title asserting God’s personal presence among his people.
English variants: Immanuel, Emmanuel.
Contextual theological meaning: identifies the child born of the virgin as God’s own presence with humanity — direct support for the Incarnation and deity of Christ.
Hungarian rendering: Immánuel, glossed at first occurrence as “Isten velünk” (God with us). Risk: High. Retain the transliterated proper name (per established Hungarian Bible convention) rather than only translating the meaning, so the name-quality of the title is not lost; the gloss must accompany it.

γέννησις / γεννάω (gennēsis/gennaō) — “birth / begat”

Literal meaning: to father/beget (genealogical) or to give birth.
Semantic range: ordinary genealogical descent language, structuring the whole chapter’s genealogy.
English variants: was the father of, begat, was born.
Contextual theological meaning: establishes Jesus’ legal and physical descent from Abraham and David, grounding “Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David.”
Hungarian rendering: nemzette / született. Risk: Low.

Matthew 2 — The Magi, the Flight to Egypt

No new theological-doctrine vocabulary beyond proper nouns (napkeleti bölcsek — magi/wise men, low risk; Betlehem, Heródes — proper names) and continued fulfillment-quotation formulas (see beteljesít, introduced fully at Matthew 4 below and used repeatedly here at 2:15, 17, 23). Reuses Messiás (1) and Immánuel-adjacent Incarnation doctrine (1).

Matthew 3 — John the Baptist; Jesus’ Baptism

μετάνοια / μετανοέω (metanoia/metanoeō) — “repentance / repent”

Literal meaning: a change of mind; turning around.
Semantic range: not mere regret but a fundamental reorientation of mind and life, turning from sin toward God, evidenced by changed conduct (“bear fruit,” 3:8).
English variants: repentance, repent, turn from sin, change one’s mind.
Contextual theological meaning: John’s and Jesus’ opening proclamation (3:2; 4:17) frames entry into the kingdom of heaven as beginning with repentance — foundational to both “The Kingdom of Heaven” and “Discipleship.”
Hungarian rendering: megtérés / megtér. Risk: High. Hungarian Catholic tradition closely associates repentance with the sacrament of Penance/Confession (bűnbánat, gyónás), a mediated, sacramental process; Hungarian Reformed tradition holds repentance as a direct, unmediated turning of heart before God, without sacramental confession to a priest. Matthew’s own usage (a decisive reorientation evidenced by changed living, not a specific ritual) should be translated on its own terms, with a note flagging this is the same doctrinal fault line as the baseline’s caution around megigazulás and sacramental process.

βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω (baptisma/baptizō) — “baptism / to baptize”

Literal meaning: to dip, immerse; the corresponding noun for the rite.
Semantic range: John’s baptism of repentance (3:6, 11); Jesus’ own baptism (3:13–17); later, Christian baptism in the triune name (28:19).
English variants: baptism, baptize, immerse.
Contextual theological meaning: marks entry into repentance and, by ch. 28, discipleship itself; theologically load-bearing for “The Great Commission.”
Hungarian rendering: keresztség (noun) / megkeresztel (verb). Risk: Critical — NEW registry entry (not present in the Romans baseline glossary, though Romans 6 alludes to baptismal union with Christ). Hungarian Catholic sacramental theology regards baptism as conferring regenerative grace ex opere operato; Hungarian Reformed theology regards baptism as a covenant sign and seal received by faith, not automatically regenerative. Both traditions practice infant baptism, unlike Baptist/Anabaptist minority traditions in Hungary, so translator notes should avoid assuming either credobaptist or paedobaptist polemics; describe Matthew’s own claims (repentance-baptism, Jesus’ baptism, and the ch. 28 commission to baptize) without adjudicating the sacramental debate.

πνεῦμα ἅγιον (pneuma hagion) and the divine voice “ὁ υἱός μου ὁ ἀγαπητός” — reuse baseline Szentlélek and Isten Fia/Sonship-of-Christ doctrine notes (Risk Critical, inherited). First explicit Trinitarian tableau in the book (Father’s voice, Son, Spirit descending), directly relevant to “Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David” and anticipating the Trinitarian formula of Matthew 28:19.

Matthew 4 — Temptation; Call of the First Disciples; Kingdom Preaching Begins

πειρασμός / πειράζω (peirasmos/peirazō) — “temptation / to tempt/test”

Literal meaning: a trial, test; to put to the test.
Semantic range: ranges from neutral “testing” to hostile “tempting to sin,” here explicitly the devil’s (ὁ διάβολος) attempt to induce Jesus to sin/distrust God.
English variants: temptation, testing, trial.
Contextual theological meaning: Jesus’ victorious resistance to temptation, citing Scripture (Deuteronomy) at each turn, models faithful reliance on God’s word — relevant to both Christology and discipleship.
Hungarian rendering: kísértés / megkísért. Risk: Medium.

μαθητής (mathētēs) — “disciple” — first narrative occurrence of the call (4:18–22); see full treatment at 5:1 above. Risk Medium (as above).

βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν — Jesus’ own preaching begins here (4:17, 23) with the identical phrase treated fully at 5:3. Risk High (as above).

Matthew 5 (beyond the core passage, vv.13–48) — Salt, Light, the Law, and the Antitheses

πληρόω (plēroō) — “to fulfill”

Literal meaning: to fill up, complete.
Semantic range: in Matthew’s fulfillment-quotation formula (1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:56, etc.) it denotes the OT Scripture reaching its intended, prophesied completion in Jesus; at 5:17 (“I have not come to abolish the Law… but to fulfill it”) it denotes Jesus bringing the Law and Prophets to their intended goal and full meaning, not annulling them.
English variants: fulfill, complete, bring to full expression.
Contextual theological meaning: the single most structurally important verb in Matthew for both “Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy” and Jesus’ own claim regarding the Law, directly feeding “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees” (5:20 follows immediately).
Hungarian rendering: beteljesít (Jesus fulfilling/completing the Law and Prophets) / beteljesedik (a prophecy being fulfilled, passive). Risk: High. Must not be rendered as “abolish and replace” nor as “merely predict and later happen” (a thin, mechanical reading) but as bringing to full, intended completion — a nuance easily flattened in translation.

Φαρισαῖοι (Pharisaioi) and γραμματεῖς (grammateis) — “Pharisees” and “scribes”

Literal meaning: proper names for two overlapping first-century Jewish groups: the Pharisees, a lay renewal movement emphasizing rigorous Torah observance and oral tradition; the scribes, professional legal scholars/copyists of the Law.
Semantic range: throughout Matthew, frequently paired as Jesus’ principal religious-authority opponents (5:20; 15:1–9; 23:1–36).
English variants: Pharisees, scribes, teachers of the law, legal experts.
Contextual theological meaning: the foil against which “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees” is defined — an external, meticulous, tradition-bound righteousness contrasted with the internal, wholehearted righteousness Jesus requires.
Hungarian rendering: farizeusok, írástudók. Risk: Low (proper group names, well established in Hungarian Bible tradition), but pastoral care is needed so these terms are not used as a generic slur for “legalists” or (worse) read anti-Judaically; teaching notes should clarify these are first-century historical groups, and that Jesus’ critique targets specific practices, not Jewish people as such.

δικαιοσύνη ὑμῶν πλεῖον τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων (5:20) — “your righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees”

Reuses δικαιοσύνη/igazság (see 5:6 above). This is the verse that names the curriculum doctrine “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees” directly. Risk: Critical (inherited/extended). Translator notes must state clearly that “exceeding” righteousness is a matter of internal wholeheartedness (5:21–48’s “You have heard… but I say to you” antitheses on anger, lust, oaths, retaliation, enemy-love) rather than a greater quantity of external rule-keeping — a reading that would collapse into exactly the externalism Jesus critiques.

τέλειος (teleios) — “perfect” (5:48, “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”)

Literal meaning: complete, mature, whole, having reached its intended end (same root family as πληρόω above).
Semantic range: moral/relational wholeness and maturity, not flawless sinlessness in a legalistic sense.
English variants: perfect, complete, mature, whole.
Contextual theological meaning: the goal of kingdom-righteousness — wholehearted, undivided love (5:44–47) reflecting God’s own character.
Hungarian rendering: tökéletes. Risk: Medium. Must avoid implying flawless legal perfectionism (a risk especially given the Critical grace/merit tension already documented in the baseline); teaching notes should tie this to relational wholeness and Christlike love, not a checklist of sinlessness.

Matthew 6 — The Lord’s Prayer, Fasting, Treasures, Mammon, Anxiety

Πάτερ ἡμῶν (Pater hēmōn) — “Our Father” — reuse baseline Atya, Risk Critical (inherited).

ἐπιούσιος (epiousios) — “daily” (bread)

Literal meaning: disputed even among ancient interpreters; likely “for the coming day” or “necessary for existence.”
Semantic range: sufficiency for immediate need, trust for provision one day at a time.
English variants: daily, for today, sufficient.
Contextual theological meaning: models dependent trust in God’s provision (Providence, baseline gondviselés).
Hungarian rendering: mindennapi (established Hungarian Lord’s Prayer phrase, “mindennapi kenyerünket”). Risk: Low (fixed liturgical phrase across Hungarian traditions).

ὀφείλημα (opheilēma) — “debt/trespass” (forgive us our debts)

Literal meaning: a debt owed.
Semantic range: financial debt used metaphorically for moral/sin-debt.
English variants: debts, trespasses, sins.
Contextual theological meaning: ties forgiveness received to forgiveness extended (6:12, 14–15) — anticipates ch. 18’s forgiveness parable.
Hungarian rendering: adósság (in the fixed liturgical Lord’s Prayer, Hungarian tradition renders this clause as “bocsásd meg a mi vétkeinket,” using vétek rather than a literal “debt”). Risk: Medium. Note the established liturgical wording differs slightly from a literal debt-rendering; retain the fixed liturgical form for the Prayer itself while noting the debt-metaphor in teaching material.

μαμωνᾶς (mamōnas) — “mammon”

Literal meaning: an Aramaic loanword for wealth/property, personified here as a rival master.
Semantic range: wealth, riches, possessions treated as an object of ultimate trust/service rivaling God.
English variants: mammon, money, wealth.
Contextual theological meaning: “No one can serve two masters… You cannot serve God and mammon” (6:24) — wealth as a false-god rival to God’s exclusive claim on the disciple’s allegiance.
Hungarian rendering: Mammon (retained as a transliterated loanword/personification, per the Károli-tradition rendering “Nem szolgálhattok Istennek és a Mammonnak”). Risk: Medium. Do not flatten to a generic “money” or “vagyon,” which would lose the personification of wealth as a rival god — an important idol-critique for a contemporary Hungarian audience.

Matthew 7 — Judging, the Narrow Gate, False Prophets, the Two Builders

No major new theological-doctrine terms beyond continued use of established vocabulary (tanítvány, hatalom [see ch. 8 below for full authority treatment], próféta in “false prophets,” próféta hamis = hamis próféták, low risk). Note 7:28–29 (“he taught as one having authority, and not as their scribes”) functions as the narrative bracket closing the Sermon on the Mount and anticipating the full ἐξουσία (authority) treatment at Matthew 8–9 below.

Matthew 8–9 — Miracles; the Centurion’s Faith; Calling of Matthew; Authority

ἐξουσία (exousia) — “authority”

Literal meaning: the right/power to act, delegated or inherent.
Semantic range: ranges from human institutional authority (a centurion’s authority over soldiers, 8:9) to Jesus’ own unique, divine authority to teach (7:29), forgive sins (9:6), heal, and command unclean spirits and even nature (8:27).
English variants: authority, power, right, jurisdiction.
Contextual theological meaning: the central term for the curriculum doctrine “The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching,” extended in these chapters to authority over sickness, demons, nature, and sin itself; culminates in the Great Commission’s “all authority… has been given to me” (28:18).
Hungarian rendering: hatalom. Risk: High. Hungarian hatalom carries strong political/institutional-power connotations in ordinary usage; translator notes must ensure Jesus’ hatalom is read as inherent, divine authority (backed by his identity as Son of God/Son of Man) rather than merely delegated political power or ecclesiastical office (a possible confusion given “Church and Church Discipline” material later in the book, ch. 16, 18).

πίστις (pistis) — “faith” (centurion’s faith, 8:10) — reuse baseline hit, Risk High (inherited). Contextual note: exemplary Gentile faith anticipates “Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy” and the Gospel’s universal, Gentile-inclusive horizon realized fully at 28:19.

ἔλεος (eleos) — “mercy” (“I desire mercy, not sacrifice,” 9:13, quoting Hosea 6:6) — reuse the irgalom/irgalmasság entry established at 5:7 above. Risk High (inherited).

Matthew 10 — Sending of the Twelve

ἀπόστολος (apostolos) — reuse baseline apostol, Risk Low (inherited). First formal naming of “the twelve apostles” (10:2) in Matthew.

New discipleship-cost vocabulary: σταυρός (stauros), “cross,” is not yet used here (first at 10:38, “take up his cross,” and fully at 16:24) — treated fully at ch. 16 below. 10:34–39 introduces the cost-of-discipleship theme (“not peace but a sword”; “whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”) that is the seed of the full “Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus” doctrine developed at ch. 16, 19–20.

Matthew 11 — John the Baptist’s Question; Jesus’ Yoke

ὁ ἐρχόμενος (ho erchomenos) — “the one who is to come”

Literal meaning: the coming one.
Semantic range: a messianic title drawn from OT expectation (cf. Psalm 118:26; Malachi 3:1) for the awaited deliverer.
English variants: the one who is to come, the coming one, the expected one.
Contextual theological meaning: John’s question (“Are you the one who is to come?”) directly engages “Jesus as the Promised Messiah,” inviting Jesus’ answer built entirely on fulfillment of prophetic signs (11:4–6, echoing Isaiah 35, 61).
Hungarian rendering: aki eljövendő / a Jövendő. Risk: High. Should be handled with the same rigor as Messiás, since it functions as an equivalent messianic title.

ζυγός (zygos) — “yoke”

Literal meaning: a wooden crossbar joining draft animals for shared labor.
Semantic range: metaphor for a burden of obligation, especially the “yoke of the Law” in Jewish tradition (the obligation to keep Torah, including the accumulated oral tradition); Jesus offers “my yoke,” contrasted as “easy” and “light” (11:29–30).
English variants: yoke, burden, obligation.
Contextual theological meaning: directly relevant to “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees” and “Discipleship” — Jesus’ authoritative teaching (ἐξουσία) replaces the burdensome legal tradition of the scribes/Pharisees with a relationally grounded, “light” discipleship.
Hungarian rendering: iga. Risk: Medium.

Matthew 12 — Sabbath Controversies; Sign of Jonah; Blasphemy Against the Spirit

σάββατον (sabbaton) — “Sabbath”

Literal meaning: the seventh-day Jewish rest day.
Semantic range: the weekly holy day of rest, here the site of controversy over its proper observance; Jesus claims “the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath” (12:8).
English variants: Sabbath, the Sabbath day.
Contextual theological meaning: another instance of Jesus’ authority (ἐξουσία) reinterpreting Torah observance, feeding both “Authority of Jesus’ Teaching” and “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees.”
Hungarian rendering: szombat. Risk: Low.

βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα (blasphēmia eis to Pneuma) — “blasphemy against the Spirit”

Literal meaning: defaming/reviling speech directed at the Holy Spirit.
Semantic range: Matthew 12:31–32 declares this the one unforgivable sin, distinguished from blasphemy against the Son of Man, which can be forgiven — evidently a willful, hardened attribution of the Spirit’s work to Satan.
English variants: blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the unforgivable sin.
Contextual theological meaning: a Critical pastoral-doctrinal term; must be handled so as not to produce unwarranted despair in troubled consciences (a known pastoral-care issue across Christian traditions) while preserving the text’s genuine severity.
Hungarian rendering: Szentlélek elleni káromlás. Risk: Critical. Requires careful teaching notes distinguishing this specific, willful sin from ordinary doubt or momentary unbelief, given its potential for pastoral harm if mishandled; flag every occurrence for theologian review, parallel to the baseline’s treatment of atonement/propitiation language.

Matthew 13 — Parables of the Kingdom

παραβολή (parabolē) — “parable”

Literal meaning: a placing-alongside; a comparison, illustrative story.
Semantic range: Jesus’ characteristic teaching form throughout this chapter (sower, weeds, mustard seed, leaven, hidden treasure, pearl, net) and elsewhere; conceals truth from the hardened while revealing it to the receptive (13:10–17).
English variants: parable, illustration, comparison, figure of speech.
Contextual theological meaning: the primary vehicle for “The Kingdom of Heaven” teaching throughout the Gospel.
Hungarian rendering: példázat. Risk: Low.

μυστήριον (mystērion) — “mystery” (“the secrets/mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,” 13:11)

Literal meaning: a secret, something hidden until revealed.
Semantic range: not an unsolvable puzzle but a previously hidden divine plan now disclosed to those given ears to hear, while remaining concealed from the hard-hearted.
English variants: mystery, secret, hidden truth now revealed.
Contextual theological meaning: kingdom truth is given by revelation, not deduced by human wisdom, and is received selectively depending on the hearer’s heart-disposition (the Sower parable) — central to “The Kingdom of Heaven.”
Hungarian rendering: titok. Risk: High. Hungarian Catholic usage of “titok/mysterium” (e.g., “hittitok,” rosary “olvasó titkai”) carries strong sacramental-mystery associations; translator notes should clarify this is a revealed-but-once-hidden truth about the kingdom’s present, veiled operation, not a sacramental mystery in the Catholic technical sense, nor an esoteric gnosis available only to initiates.

συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος (synteleia tou aiōnos) — “the end of the age” (13:39–40, 49; also 24:3)

Literal meaning: the completion/consummation of the age.
Semantic range: the eschatological culmination of the present era, when the kingdom’s hidden growth (weeds among wheat) is publicly resolved in final judgment.
English variants: end of the age, close of the age, consummation of the world.
Contextual theological meaning: first appearance of the vocabulary fully developed in “Judgment and the End of the Age” (chs. 24–25) and echoed in the Great Commission’s closing promise (28:20).
Hungarian rendering: a világ vége / e világkor végezete. Risk: High. Must not be flattened to a vague “someday” but tied to the specific, decisive, once-for-all judgment scene Matthew describes; consistency with ch. 24–25 and 28:20 renderings is required (see Theological Consistency Rules in the glossary file).

Matthew 14 — Feeding of the 5,000; Walking on Water; Death of John the Baptist

No new theological-doctrine vocabulary; reuses Isten Fia (14:33, “Truly you are the Son of God” — Sonship of Christ, Critical, inherited), hit/πίστις (14:31, Peter’s “little faith”), and continues themes from chs. 8–9 (authority over nature) and ch. 3 (John the Baptist). Explicitly noted as reviewed: no new registry entries required.

Matthew 15 — Tradition of the Elders; Clean and Unclean; the Canaanite Woman

παράδοσις (paradosis) — “tradition”

Literal meaning: that which is handed down/transmitted.
Semantic range: here specifically “the tradition of the elders” (15:2–6), the accumulated oral interpretive tradition surrounding Torah observance, which Jesus charges can be used to “void the word of God” (15:6) when elevated above or against Scripture’s actual intent.
English variants: tradition, human tradition, the tradition of the elders.
Contextual theological meaning: directly and sharply relevant to a live Hungarian doctrinal fault line — the Catholic doctrine of Sacred Tradition (Szent Hagyomány) as, together with Scripture, a jointly authoritative rule of faith, versus the Reformed sola scriptura principle that Scripture alone is the church’s final authority, human traditions being always subordinate and revisable.
Hungarian rendering: hagyomány (specifically emberi hagyomány, “human tradition,” to render “the tradition of the elders,” 15:2–6). Risk: Critical. This is a NEW registry entry requiring the same rigor as the baseline’s “inspiration_of_scripture” doctrine note. Jesus’ critique in this chapter targets a specific misuse of tradition (elevating it to nullify God’s actual command, 15:3–6) and must not be translated or taught as a blanket condemnation of all tradition as such, which would misrepresent the text to Catholic readers; nor should it be softened to avoid the real force of Jesus’ critique of tradition wrongly wielded, which would misrepresent the text to Reformed readers. Translate Jesus’ own, specific argument.

καθαρός / κοινός (katharos/koinos) — “clean / unclean (defiled)”

Literal meaning: ritually clean vs. common/defiled.
Semantic range: ceremonial purity categories under Torah, reinterpreted by Jesus as fundamentally a matter of the heart, not ingested food (15:11, 17–20).
English variants: clean, unclean, defiled, common.
Contextual theological meaning: relates to, but must be kept distinct from, the moral “pure in heart” of 5:8 (same root tiszta family in Hungarian) — here the referent is ceremonial food law, reinterpreted morally.
Hungarian rendering: tiszta / tisztátalan. Risk: Medium.

Matthew 16 — Peter’s Confession; the Church, the Keys, and the Cross

πέτρα (petra) — “rock” (“on this rock I will build my church,” 16:18)

Literal meaning: bedrock, a large mass of rock (distinct from πέτρος, “a stone,” Peter’s own name).
Semantic range: historically debated referent — Peter himself (in his role as confessing apostle), Peter’s confession (“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God,” 16:16) itself, or Christ as the true foundation (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:11; 10:4).
English variants: rock, foundation, bedrock.
Contextual theological meaning: the foundational verse for “The Church and Church Discipline”; Roman Catholic tradition reads this as establishing Peter’s (and his papal successors’) unique foundational and governing authority over the church; Hungarian Reformed tradition reads the “rock” as Peter’s confession of Christ’s identity, or Christ himself, with no unique, transferable Petrine office implied.
Hungarian rendering: kőszikla. Risk: Critical. This is the single sharpest ecclesiological fault line in the Hungarian Catholic-Reformed landscape, comparable in weight to the baseline’s treatment of election/predestination. Translate the verse’s own wording and immediate grammar without adjudicating the papal-authority question; flag every occurrence for theologian review.

κλεῖς τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν (kleis tēs basileias tōn ouranōn) — “the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (16:19)

Literal meaning: keys granting access/authority.
Semantic range: authority to open/shut, admit/exclude — closely tied to the following δέω/λύω (bind/loose) statement.
English variants: keys of the kingdom.
Contextual theological meaning: understood by Catholic tradition as conferring unique governing authority on Peter and his successors (the basis of the papacy); understood by Reformed tradition as authority given to the apostolic band (and by extension the church exercising discipline, cf. 18:18) to proclaim and apply the gospel’s terms of admission, not a unique transferable office.
Hungarian rendering: a mennyek országának kulcsai. Risk: Critical. Same fault line as kőszikla above; translate Matthew’s own wording without adjudicating.

δέω / λύω (deō/lyō) — “bind / loose” (16:19; repeated 18:18)

Literal meaning: to bind/tie; to loose/release.
Semantic range: rabbinic technical terms for authoritatively declaring something forbidden (bound) or permitted (loosed), or for excluding from/admitting to the community.
English variants: bind and loose, forbid and permit.
Contextual theological meaning: the operative language behind “The Church and Church Discipline,” repeated in the specifically congregational-discipline context of Matthew 18:15–18.
Hungarian rendering: megkötni és feloldani. Risk: Critical. Directly tied to the church-authority fault line above; also relevant to the sacrament of Reconciliation/absolution in Catholic practice (“feloldozás,” related vocabulary) versus the Reformed practice of congregational discipline without priestly absolution. Translate Matthew’s own two contexts (16:19’s apostolic authority; 18:18’s congregational discipline) precisely, flagging both for theologian review.

σταυρός (stauros) — “cross” (16:24, “take up his cross”)

Literal meaning: the Roman execution instrument, a wooden cross.
Semantic range: literal instrument of execution; metaphorically, self-denying, costly, public identification with Jesus even unto death.
English variants: cross, the cross.
Contextual theological meaning: the definitive image for “Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus,” directly preceding Jesus’ own first Passion prediction (16:21).
Hungarian rendering: kereszt (“felveszi a keresztjét,” “takes up his cross”). Risk: High. Standard, well-understood term across all Hungarian traditions, but risk lies in over-familiarity flattening its costly, self-denying force into a vague metaphor for “hardship in general” (a common colloquial Hungarian usage, “ez a keresztem,” “this is my cross to bear,” meaning any burden); teaching notes should recover the specifically Christ-identifying, potentially fatal, freely chosen sense.

ἀπαρνέομαι (aparneomai) — “deny” (self-denial, 16:24; also Peter’s denial, 26:34–75)

Literal meaning: to disown, refuse, deny utterly.
Semantic range: self-denial (renouncing one’s own will/safety for Christ’s sake) versus denial of Christ himself (Peter’s failure).
English variants: deny, disown, renounce.
Contextual theological meaning: two edges of the same term power both positive discipleship (self-denial) and its tragic failure (denying Christ) later in the book.
Hungarian rendering: megtagad. Risk: Medium.

Matthew 17 — Transfiguration

μεταμορφόω (metamorphoō) — “transfigured / transformed”

Literal meaning: to change form/appearance.
Semantic range: here, Jesus’ visible, radiant revelation of his hidden divine glory (17:2), momentarily unveiled before Peter, James, and John.
English variants: transfigured, transformed in appearance.
Contextual theological meaning: a preview of eschatological glory, confirming (with the divine voice, “This is my beloved Son… listen to him,” 17:5) both the deity of Christ and the authority of his teaching.
Hungarian rendering: elváltozott / megdicsőült. Risk: Medium. Should be linked to the baseline’s dicsőség (glory) term rather than treated as an isolated event; no significant syncretism risk in Hungarian culture (unlike some target cultures where “transformation” language could suggest shapeshifting deities), but teaching notes should still connect it to Christ’s ongoing, not merely episodic, glory.

Matthew 18 — Church Discipline; the Unforgiving Servant

ἁμαρτάνω (hamartanō) — “sins (against you)” — reuse baseline bűn (sin), Risk Medium (inherited); here specifically interpersonal sin within the community (18:15).

ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) — reuse baseline egyház, Risk Medium (inherited); 18:17’s “tell it to the church” is the New Testament’s second occurrence of this word (after 16:18) and grounds practical church discipline procedure for “The Church and Church Discipline.”

δέω/λύω — repeated from ch. 16 in the explicitly congregational-discipline context (18:18); see full treatment above. Risk Critical (inherited, extended context).

ὡς τὸν ἐθνικὸν καὶ τὸν τελώνην (hōs ton ethnikon kai ton telōnēn) — “as a Gentile and a tax collector” (18:17)

Literal meaning: treat as one outside the covenant community and as a socially despised collaborator/collector.
Semantic range: functions here as a description of formal exclusion from the fellowship of the professing community, the outcome of unrepented, unresolved sin after due process.
English variants: as a pagan/Gentile and a tax collector, as an outsider.
Contextual theological meaning: the practical consequence-clause of church discipline; reuses baseline pogányok (Gentiles) but in a discipline/exclusion context rather than the mission-to-the-nations sense developed elsewhere.
Hungarian rendering: mint a pogányt és a vámszedőt. Risk: High. Translator notes should clarify this describes formal, due-process exclusion from fellowship after repeated, unrepentant refusal to be reconciled — not casual social shunning — and should note the term’s positive counterpoint: such persons remain objects of mission and potential restoration, not permanently written off (cf. ch. 28’s mission to “all nations,” including former outsiders).

ἀφίημι (aphiēmi) — “forgive” (the Unforgiving Servant parable, 18:21–35; also 6:12, 14–15)

Literal meaning: to let go, release, send away; hence to forgive a debt or wrong.
Semantic range: interpersonal forgiveness of wrongs, modeled on and required by God’s own prior forgiveness of the believer’s far greater debt.
English variants: forgive, release, let go, pardon.
Contextual theological meaning: distinct from, though grounded in, the baseline’s forensic megigazulás (justification) — this is horizontal, interpersonal forgiveness that disciples owe one another because of the vertical forgiveness they have received from God, foundational to “The Church and Church Discipline.”
Hungarian rendering: megbocsát. Risk: High. Must not be conflated with the Critical, forensic megigazulás; nor should it be read through the Catholic sacrament of Reconciliation’s priestly absolution framework as the necessary means of interpersonal forgiveness, which the text does not specify. Translate the parable’s own logic: forgiven people forgive others.

Matthew 19 — Divorce; the Rich Young Man

No major new doctrinal-registry terms; extends discipleship-cost vocabulary (ch. 16 above) with “leaving all to follow” (19:27–29) and the “with God all things are possible” providence language (reuse baseline gondviselés-adjacent theme, though the specific term πρόνοια is not used here; treat as continuity with Romans 8:28’s providence doctrine). Marriage/divorce (γάμος/ἀπολύω) vocabulary is pastorally significant but not flagged as a Critical/High theological-registry risk term for this curriculum’s nine listed doctrines; noted here for completeness, reviewed, no new entry required.

Matthew 20 — Workers in the Vineyard; the Ransom Saying

λύτρον (lytron) — “ransom” (20:28, “the Son of Man came… to give his life as a ransom for many”)

Literal meaning: the price paid to redeem/release a slave or captive.
Semantic range: a substitutionary payment securing another’s freedom or release from bondage/debt/captivity.
English variants: ransom, redemption price, payment for release.
Contextual theological meaning: the Gospel’s clearest statement of the purpose of Christ’s death as substitutionary self-giving on behalf of “many,” foundational atonement doctrine underlying all nine curriculum doctrines but especially “Jesus as the Promised Messiah” and “Discipleship” (Jesus’ self-giving as the pattern for the disciple’s own self-giving service, 20:26–28).
Hungarian rendering: váltságdíj. Risk: Critical. Historically, “ransom” language has occasionally been misread (ransom-theory speculation about a payment made to a captor, e.g. Satan) rather than as Christ’s own voluntary, substitutionary self-gift to satisfy the debt/penalty of sin; translator notes must anchor the term to Christ’s voluntary self-giving for others’ release, not a transaction with a third party, and flag every occurrence for theologian review alongside the baseline’s atonement/propitiation escalation rule (Romans 3:25).

ἀντὶ πολλῶν (anti pollōn) — “for many”

Literal meaning: in the place of/instead of many.
Semantic range: substitution (“instead of”) combined with a scope (“many”) that has itself been debated (all humanity vs. a definite group) — directly touching the same grace/election sensitivities the baseline documents for Romans 9–11.
English variants: for many, in place of many, on behalf of many.
Contextual theological meaning: substitutionary atonement language with scope-implications that overlap the baseline’s Critical election/grace fault line.
Hungarian rendering: sokakért. Risk: Critical. Translate Matthew’s own wording (“many”) without resolving, in either direction, the scope-of-atonement question the wider Reformed/Catholic (and within Reformed thought, further Calvinist/Arminian) debate raises; flag for theologian review.

Parable of the workers in the vineyard (20:1–16) — no new lexical term, but doctrinally load-bearing for the baseline’s grace/merit tension (equal wages for unequal labor, “the last will be first”). Reuse baseline kegyelem-adjacent notes; treat this parable in teaching material exactly as the baseline treats Romans 4:4–5 and 11:5–6 — preserving the grace-versus-merit contrast without resolving the Reformed/Catholic tension.

Matthew 21 — Triumphal Entry; Cleansing the Temple; the Wicked Tenants

υἱὸς Δαυίδ (huios Dauid) — “Son of David”

Literal meaning: son/descendant of David.
Semantic range: as a genealogical fact (see Dávid leszármazottja, the baseline’s seed-of-David entry drawn from Romans 1:3), but here used as a direct messianic acclamation/address by crowds (“Hosanna to the Son of David!” 21:9; also 9:27; 15:22; 20:30–31), invoking the promised Davidic-king expectation.
English variants: Son of David.
Contextual theological meaning: this titular, acclamatory use is the direct textual anchor for the curriculum doctrine “Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David,” distinct in force from the baseline’s genealogical Dávid leszármazottja (used of a simple lineage fact in Romans 1:3).
Hungarian rendering: Dávid Fia. Risk: Critical — NEW registry entry, related to but distinct from the baseline’s Dávid leszármazottja. Must be capitalized and treated as a fixed messianic title (parallel in weight to Messiás and Isten Fia), not merely a lowercase genealogical description; translator notes should cross-reference the baseline seed-of-David entry while flagging this as the titular, worship-directed use.

ὡσαννά (hōsanna) — “Hosanna”

Literal meaning: Hebrew/Aramaic “save now!” or “save, we pray,” by the time of the NT functioning as a fixed liturgical acclamation rather than a literal plea.
Semantic range: a shout of praise/acclamation drawn from Psalm 118:25–26, addressed here to the Son of David.
English variants: Hosanna.
Contextual theological meaning: crowds’ (partial, soon-to-be-reversed) recognition of Jesus’ messianic identity.
Hungarian rendering: Hozsánna (established transliteration in Hungarian Bible tradition). Risk: Low.

ὁ λίθος ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες (21:42, quoting Psalm 118:22) — “the stone the builders rejected”

Reuse fulfillment of prophecy doctrine notes; the “rejected stone” now made “cornerstone” is a messianic/christological image distinct from, though related to, the kőszikla (rock) of ch. 16; translator notes should distinguish this OT-quotation “stone” (kő) image from the ecclesiological “rock” (kőszikla) of Matthew 16:18 to avoid conflating two separate images. Risk: Medium.

Matthew 22 — The Wedding Feast; Paying Taxes to Caesar; the Greatest Commandment

ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω (agapē/agapaō) — “love”

Literal meaning: selfless, willed love/affection, as opposed to erotic (ἔρως) or merely affectionate (φιλία) love, though the semantic boundaries between these Greek terms are not absolute.
Semantic range: in 22:37–39 (the Greatest Commandment, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18), a comprehensive, willed devotion to God with the whole person, and an active, willed good toward one’s neighbor.
English variants: love, charity (older English), devotion.
Contextual theological meaning: named by Jesus as the interpretive key to “the Law and the Prophets” (22:40) — directly relevant to both “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees” and “The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching,” since Jesus here authoritatively summarizes and reorders the whole of Torah.
Hungarian rendering: szeretet (noun) / szeret (verb). Risk: High — NEW registry entry (not present in the Romans baseline glossary, a notable gap given its centrality here). Hungarian szeretet covers a very broad semantic field (romantic love, familial affection, general fondness) in ordinary usage; translator notes must anchor Matthew 22:37–39’s usage to willed, comprehensive devotion to God and active goodwill toward neighbor, not romantic or merely emotional affection.

Matthew 23 — Woes Against the Scribes and Pharisees

ὑπόκρισις / ὑποκριτής (hypokrisis/hypokritēs) — “hypocrisy / hypocrite”

Literal meaning: originally, stage-acting, playing a role behind a mask.
Semantic range: a gap between outward religious performance and inward reality — the dominant charge of the seven “woes” of this chapter.
English variants: hypocrisy, hypocrite, pretense.
Contextual theological meaning: the negative counterpart to “Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees” — external religious performance without inward transformation.
Hungarian rendering: képmutatás (noun) / képmutató (adjective/noun). Risk: Medium. Standard, well-understood term; pastoral care needed (as at ch. 5 above) so the critique lands on specific practices described in the text, not as a blanket ethnic/religious slur.

Matthew 24 — The Olivet Discourse: Signs of the End

παρουσία (parousia) — “coming” (of the Son of Man, 24:3, 27, 37, 39)

Literal meaning: presence, arrival; in Hellenistic usage, often the formal, official arrival/visit of a king or dignitary.
Semantic range: the Second Coming of Christ, a visible, public, unmistakable event (likened to lightning, 24:27), as opposed to a secret or merely spiritual “coming.”
English variants: coming, arrival, advent, second coming.
Contextual theological meaning: the central term for “Judgment and the End of the Age,” describing the public, glorious return of Christ that concludes the present age.
Hungarian rendering: eljövetel (some Hungarian Bible traditions also use megjelenése, “his appearing”). Risk: High. Must be consistently distinguished in teaching material from the incarnational “coming” of Christ’s first advent and from generic “arrival” language, retaining its technical, eschatological force; consistency of rendering with ch. 25’s judgment scenes and 28:20’s “to the end of the age” is required.

θλῖψις (thlipsis) — “tribulation” (24:21, “great tribulation”)

Literal meaning: pressure, affliction, distress.
Semantic range: intense suffering/persecution, here specifically the unprecedented distress preceding the end.
English variants: tribulation, affliction, distress.
Contextual theological meaning: continuity with the persecution/suffering theme of “Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus,” intensified eschatologically.
Hungarian rendering: nyomorúság / megpróbáltatás. Risk: Medium.

συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος — repeated from ch. 13 (24:3); see full treatment above. Risk High (inherited).

Matthew 25 — Parables of Judgment: Virgins, Talents, Sheep and Goats

αἰώνιος (aiōnios) — “eternal”

Literal meaning: pertaining to an age (αἰών); by extension, without end, everlasting.
Semantic range: in 25:46, contrasts “eternal life” (ζωὴ αἰώνιος) with “eternal punishment” (κόλασιν αἰώνιον) in strictly parallel grammatical construction — the same adjective describing the duration of both destinies.
English variants: eternal, everlasting, age-long, unending.
Contextual theological meaning: the decisive term for “Judgment and the End of the Age,” directly bearing on the eternal destiny of the righteous and the unrighteous.
Hungarian rendering: örök (adjective, “örök élet,” “örök büntetés/kárhozat”). Risk: Critical. The grammatical parallelism between “eternal life” and “eternal punishment” must be preserved identically in Hungarian (both using örök) so that no reader could infer a shorter or qualitatively different duration for judgment than for life; this term must be flagged for theologian review at every occurrence given the doctrine’s weight and pastoral sensitivity.

κόλασις (kolasis) — “punishment” (25:46)

Literal meaning: punitive correction, penalty.
Semantic range: judicial punishment (distinct from the merely disciplinary sense the word can carry in some non-biblical usage).
English variants: punishment, penalty, chastisement.
Contextual theological meaning: final, judicial consequence for those who failed to show mercy to “the least of these my brothers” (25:31–46) — practical, ethical outworking, not abstract doctrine alone.
Hungarian rendering: büntetés (or the more traditional kárhozat, “damnation,” in some Hungarian Bible traditions). Risk: Critical. Flag every occurrence for theologian review, paired with the örök entry above.

τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν ἐλαχίστων (25:40, 45) — “the least of these my brothers”

Contextual theological meaning: ties final judgment to concrete, embodied compassion, echoing the “merciful” Beatitude (5:7) and the “mercy not sacrifice” theme (9:13, 12:7).
Hungarian rendering: legkisebb atyámfiai (Károli-tradition phrase) / modern legkisebb testvéreim. Risk: Medium.

Matthew 26 — The Last Supper; Gethsemane; Arrest; Peter’s Denial

τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης (26:28) — “my blood of the covenant”

Reuses baseline szövetség (covenant), Risk Critical (inherited), now applied specifically to the new covenant inaugurated by Christ’s sacrificial blood, “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” — directly connects the baseline’s covenant doctrine to atonement language (cf. ch. 20’s váltságdíj/ransom and sokakért/for many).
Hungarian rendering: vérem, a szövetség vére / szövetség vére. Risk: Critical. Translator notes should connect this explicitly to the Passover/Exodus covenant background and to the baseline’s covenant-theology caution (Hungarian Reformed federal theology’s developed covenant-of-grace framework vs. the absence of that systematic framework in Catholic tradition) without assuming either system as background.

ἀπαρνέομαι — Peter’s denial of Christ (26:69–75), the negative fulfillment of the term introduced positively at 16:24 (self-denial); see that entry. Risk Medium (inherited, extended).

No new doctrinal-registry terms beyond these; προσηύξατο (prayed), παραδίδωμι (betrayed/handed over — note this verb’s dual use for both Judas’s betrayal and God’s own purposive “handing over” of the Son, relevant to providence doctrine but not flagged as a separate Critical registry term for this curriculum) are reviewed and require no new entries beyond what is already documented.

Matthew 27 — Crucifixion, Death, and Burial

σταυρόω (stauroō) — “to crucify”

Literal meaning: to execute by nailing/binding to a cross.
Semantic range: the specific Roman method of execution used for Jesus; distinct from the metaphorical “cross” of discipleship (ch. 16) though obviously related in image.
English variants: crucify, put to death on a cross.
Contextual theological meaning: the historical, physical event at the center of the gospel’s saving message, presupposed by the ransom saying (ch. 20) and the covenant-blood saying (ch. 26), and vindicated by the resurrection (ch. 28).
Hungarian rendering: megfeszít. Risk: Critical. Standard, unambiguous term across all Hungarian Christian traditions; risk lies not in ambiguity but in ensuring the full doctrinal weight (substitutionary, covenant-inaugurating death) established in chs. 20 and 26 is carried into every occurrence, per the baseline’s atonement-language escalation rule.

βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων (27:11, 29, 37) — “King of the Jews”

Contextual theological meaning: an ironic, Pilate-authored title that nonetheless truthfully identifies Jesus’ messianic kingship — ties “Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David” to the crucifixion scene itself.
Hungarian rendering: a zsidók királya. Risk: Medium.

Υἱὸς Θεοῦ (27:54, the centurion’s confession, “Truly this was the Son of God”) — reuse baseline Isten Fia, Risk Critical (inherited); notable as a Gentile’s (the centurion’s) confession, echoing 8:10’s Gentile faith and anticipating 28:19’s mission to all nations.

Matthew 28 — The Resurrection and the Great Commission

ἀνάστασις / ἐγήγερται (anastasis/egēgertai) — reuse baseline feltámadás (resurrection), Risk Critical (inherited). Bodily, historical, once-for-all — no rival-tradition confusion risk in Hungarian culture, per baseline notes.

πᾶσα ἐξουσία (pasa exousia) — “all authority” (28:18)

Reuses ἐξουσία/hatalom established at ch. 8–9 above (Risk High, inherited), now intensified to totality (“all… in heaven and on earth”) as the explicit ground of the Great Commission — the climactic statement of “The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching,” now extended to a universal missionary mandate.

μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη (mathēteusate panta ta ethnē) — “make disciples of all nations” (28:19)

Literal meaning: μαθητεύω, “to make a disciple of,” here as an imperative; πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, “all the nations/peoples” (ἔθνη is the same root underlying the baseline’s pogányok/Gentiles, here in its more neutral “nations” sense — the baseline itself notes this exact distinction: “use ‘nemzetek’ (nations) where the more neutral sense is intended”).
Semantic range: an authoritative command to actively form disciples (not merely inform or persuade) across the whole ethnic-national scope of humanity, without distinction.
English variants: make disciples of all nations, evangelize/disciple all peoples.
Contextual theological meaning: the definitive, book-closing statement of “The Great Commission,” and the fulfillment of the universal-scope trajectory traced from the Gentile centurion (8:10) through the “Son of David” acclamations to this final, explicit mandate.
Hungarian rendering: tegyetek tanítvánnyá minden népet/nemzetet — using nemzetek/népek (per the baseline’s own guidance) rather than pogányok, since the neutral “all nations/peoples” sense is intended, not the “Gentiles-as-opposed-to-Jews” polemical sense. Risk: Medium. Cross-reference the baseline’s gentiles/nemzetek distinction explicitly in teaching notes.

βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος (28:19) — “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”

Reuses keresztség/megkeresztel (established at ch. 3 above, Risk Critical, inherited) together with the baseline’s Atya, Isten Fia (here simply “the Son,” Fiú, within the triune formula — note lowercase/lack-of-”Isten” prefix in the Greek’s shorthand “the Son” still refers to the same unique divine Sonship), and Szentlélek — the Gospel’s explicit Trinitarian formula.
Contextual theological meaning: grounds Christian baptism explicitly in the triune name, tying “The Great Commission” to the full Trinitarian doctrine established across the book (ch. 3’s baptism scene; ch. 1’s Immanuel/Incarnation; ch. 17’s transfiguration voice).
Hungarian rendering: megkeresztelvén őket az Atyának, a Fiúnak és a Szentléleknek nevében. Risk: Critical. Ensure “a Fiúnak” here is understood by the reader as referring to the same unique divine Son already established as Isten Fia elsewhere, not a separate or lesser title.

διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν (28:20) — “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”

Contextual theological meaning: ties the Great Commission back to “The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching” (his commands, ἐντολή) and forward to ongoing discipleship formation, not merely initial conversion.
Hungarian rendering: tanítva őket, hogy megtartsák mindazt, amit parancsoltam néktek. Risk: Medium.

ἕως τῆς συντελείας τοῦ αἰῶνος (28:20) — “to the end of the age”

Repeats the exact phrase established at ch. 13 and ch. 24 (a világ vége / e világkor végezete, Risk High, inherited). This is one of the Theological Consistency Rules requiring identical rendering across all occurrences (13:39–40, 49; 24:3; 28:20), since it forms an inclusio linking the kingdom parables, the Olivet Discourse, and the book’s final promise of Christ’s abiding presence.

End of Part 2. All 28 chapters of Matthew have been reviewed. Chapters introducing no new theological-registry vocabulary (2, 7 [beyond ἐξουσία anticipation], 14, 19) are explicitly noted as reviewed above, with their governing terms drawn from the chapters indicated. See 08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated per-term glossary table covering every term identified above, cross-referenced to the baseline Romans translation memory.

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