Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Matthew 1–28 (English → Italian)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, across the core passage (Matthew 5:1-12) and all 28 chapters of Matthew. It is organized in three parts:
- Table A — Baseline Romans terms reused exactly in Matthew, with Matthew-specific occurrence notes.
- Table B — New terms required for Matthew’s nine curriculum doctrines, not present in the baseline Romans package.
- Table C — Chapter coverage index, confirming full-book review per PRD Phase 1 mandate.
All Italian renderings in Table A must match the baseline translation_memory.json exactly; no alternative renderings are permitted. Risk tiers follow the baseline’s four-tier framework (Critical / High / Medium / Low) and drive the same Phase 2 review routing (Critical/High → human theologian; Medium → native speaker; Low → automated).
Table A — Baseline Terms Reused in Matthew
| Term (EN) | Original / Translit. | Italian (baseline, exact reuse) | Risk (baseline) | Key Matthew Chapters | Matthew-Specific Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gospel | εὐαγγέλιον / euangelion | vangelo | Low | 4, 9, 24, 26 | Stable; no new note. |
| grace | χάρις / charis | grazia | High | (implicit throughout, esp. parables of generosity) | Vineyard workers (ch. 20) illustrates grace vs. wage-earning logic; reinforce apart-from-merit reading. |
| faith | πίστις / pistis | fede | Medium | 8, 9, 14, 15, 17, 21 | Centurion (8), Canaanite woman (15), “little faith” (14) all reinforce; see Table B oligopistos. |
| righteousness | δικαιοσύνη / dikaiosynē | giustizia | Critical | 3, 5, 6, 21 | Matthean nuance flag: predominantly ethical/conduct sense (kingdom character) rather than Romans’ forensic-status sense; both use identical Italian word — must be disambiguated per occurrence. |
| called | κλητός / klētos | chiamato | High | 4, 5:9, 22 | Matt 22:14 uses a broader “invited” sense requiring harmonization note (see Table B eklektoi). |
| calling | κλῆσις / klēsis | chiamata | High | (general discipleship calling, ch. 4, 9-10) | Consistent with baseline; reserve “vocazione” only for explicit priestly/religious-life reference. |
| holy | ἅγιος / hagios | santo | Medium | 4:5, 7:6, 24:15, 27:52 | Stable. |
| sanctification | ἁγιασμός / hagiasmos | santificazione | Medium | (implicit, 5:48 “be perfect”) | Ties to Matthean τέλειος nuance (see Table B). |
| resurrection | ἀνάστασις / anastasis | risurrezione | Critical | 12, 17, 22, 27, 28 | Stable across sign-of-Jonah typology, Sadducee debate, and the Gospel’s climax. |
| lord | κύριος / kyrios | Signore | Critical | 3, 7:21-22, 8:2, 8:25, 12:8, 21:3, 28:18 | Recurs constantly; consistency required with Lordship of Christ doctrine. |
| son_of_god | υἱὸς θεοῦ / huios theou | Figlio di Dio | Critical | 3:17, 4:3-6, 14:33, 16:16, 17:5, 26:63, 27:40, 27:43, 27:54 | Must remain visually/grammatically distinct from the plural, lowercase “figli di Dio” (adoptive sonship of believers, Matt 5:9). |
| incarnation | ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο / ho logos sarx egeneto | incarnazione | Critical | 1:18-23 | Grounded in parthenos/Emmanouēl (Table B). |
| peace | εἰρήνη / eirēnē | pace | Medium | 5:9, 10:13, 10:34 | 10:34 (“not peace but a sword”) is rhetorical contrast; no softening. |
| thanksgiving | εὐχαριστία / eucharistia | ringraziamento | Low | 15:36, 26:27 | Stable. |
| church | ἐκκλησία / ekklēsia | chiesa | High | 16:18, 18:17 | Elevated stakes in Matthew due to direct connection to Petrine-primacy debate (see Table B petra/Petros, kleis). |
| kingdom_of_god | βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ / basileia tou theou | Regno di Dio | Medium | 6:33, 12:28, 19:24, 21:31, 21:43 | Must be explicitly taught as synonymous with the Matthew-dominant “Regno dei cieli” (Table B). |
| law | νόμος / nomos | legge | High | 5:17-19, 7:12, 22:36-40, 23:23 | Capitalize as “la Legge” for Torah references, per baseline convention. |
| sin | ἁμαρτία / hamartia | peccato | High | 1:21, 3:6, 9:2-6, 26:28 | Stable; reinforced by forgiveness-of-sins passages (ch. 9, 26). |
| gentiles | ἔθνη / ethnē | pagani | Medium | 4:15, 10:5, 10:18, 12:18, 12:21, 20:19 | Contrast with Table B panta ta ethnē (Great Commission): “pagani” is correct where Jews/Gentiles are contrasted, but forbidden in Matt 28:19 where ἔθνη is comprehensive. |
| glory | δόξα / doxa | gloria | High | 4:8, 6:29, 16:27, 17:5, 19:28, 24:30, 25:31 | Stable, reinforced by Transfiguration (ch. 17). |
| power_of_god | δύναμις θεοῦ / dynamis theou | potenza di Dio | Medium | 6:13 (doxology, some MSS), 22:29, 24:30, 26:64 | Distinct from exousia/authority (Table B) — capability vs. legitimate right. |
| messiah | Χριστός / Christos | Messia | High | 1:1, 1:16-17, 2:4, 11:2, 16:16, 16:20, 22:42, 24:5, 24:23, 26:63, 26:68, 27:17, 27:22 | Also functions as part of the proper name “Gesù Cristo”; both senses must remain visible. |
| prophet | προφήτης / prophētēs | profeta | Low | 2:5, 2:15, 2:17, 2:23, 3:3, 5:12, 5:17, 7:12, 8:17, 10:41, 11:9-13, 12:39, 13:35, 13:57, 21:4, 21:11, 21:46, 23:29-37, 24:15, 26:56, 27:9 | Very high frequency in Matthew due to fulfillment-quotation pattern; stable term throughout. |
| prophecy | προφητεία / prophēteia | profezia | Low | (implicit throughout fulfillment quotations) | See Table B plērōthē formula. |
| covenant | διαθήκη / diathēkē | alleanza | High | 26:28 | Elevated to Critical at this specific occurrence — Last Supper/Eucharistic institution; mandatory theologian review. |
| election | ἐκλογή / eklogē (root shared with ἐκλεκτός) | elezione | High | (conceptual background to 22:14, 24:22-31) | See Table B eklektoi for the specific Matthean term and its harmonization risk. |
| providence | πρόνοια / pronoia | provvidenza | High | (implicit, 6:25-34 “do not be anxious”) | Ties to Sermon on the Mount’s teaching on the Father’s care; no separate Matthean term required. |
| mission | ἀποστολή / πέμπω / apostolē / pempō | missione | Medium | 9:37-38, 10:5-16, 28:19-20 | Fully realized in the Great Commission (Table B). |
| david | Δαυίδ / Dauid | Davide | Low | 1:1, 1:6, 1:17, 1:20, 9:27, 12:3, 12:23, 15:22, 20:30-31, 21:9, 21:15, 22:42-45 | Stable proper name; see Table B huios Dauid for the distinct title usage. |
| israel | Ἰσραήλ / Israēl | Israele | Medium | 2:6, 2:20-21, 8:10, 9:33, 10:6, 10:23, 15:24, 15:31, 19:28, 27:9, 27:42 | Keep historical/theological referent distinct from modern nation-state, per baseline. |
| jesus | Ἰησοῦς / Iēsous | Gesù | Critical | throughout | Stable. |
| god | θεός / theos | Dio | Critical | throughout | Stable. |
| holy_spirit | πνεῦμα ἅγιον / pneuma hagion | Spirito Santo | Critical | 1:18, 1:20, 3:11, 3:16, 4:1, 12:28, 12:31-32, 28:19 | Reinforced by ch. 12 blasphemy-against-the-Spirit passage (Table B). |
| father | πατήρ / patēr | Padre | High | 5:16, 5:45, 5:48, 6:1-18 (Lord’s Prayer), 7:11, 7:21, 10:32-33, 11:27, 16:17, 18:10-19, 23:9, 26:39-42, 28:19 | Pervasive in the Sermon on the Mount; baseline’s clergy-title-adjacency caution applies throughout. |
| exhort | παρακαλέω / parakaleō (encouragement sense) | esortare | Low | (general) | Must be distinguished from the “comfort” sense of the same root at Matt 5:4 (see Table B paraklēthēsontai). |
| seed_of_david | σπέρμα Δαυίδ / sperma Dauid | discendente di Davide | Medium | 1:1-17 (genealogy) | Distinct from the Matthew-specific title term huios Dauid (Table B) — descent claim vs. acclamation title. |
Table B — New Terms Introduced for the Matthew Curriculum
| Term ID | Original / Translit. | Literal Meaning | Italian Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Key Chapters | Risk Reason (Italy-specific where applicable) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| disciple | μαθητής / mathētēs | learner, pupil | discepolo | Medium | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 5:1, 10, 28:19 | Stable but risks flattening to passive “student” sense unless “costly following” is reinforced throughout. |
| blessed | μακάριος / makarios | happy/fortunate (declarative) | beato/beati | Critical | Kingdom of Heaven; Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5:3-11 | ”Beato” is also the formal Catholic title for a person beatified on the path to sainthood; risks reframing a universal pronouncement over ordinary disciples as an elite ecclesiastical status. No lexical alternative exists (fixed by translation tradition) — requires mandatory theological annotation. |
| poor_in_spirit | πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι | destitute in spirit | povero in spirito | Medium | Kingdom of Heaven | 5:3 | Risk of collapsing to purely economic poverty without the qualifier. |
| kingdom_of_heaven | βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν / basileia tōn ouranōn | reign of the heavens | Regno dei cieli | High | The Kingdom of Heaven | 3:2, 4:17, 5:3, 5:10, 5:19-20, 6:33 (as “Regno di Dio”), 13 (parables), 18:1-4, 19:14, 19:23, 23:13 | Colloquial Italian “il cielo”/“andare in cielo” biases readers toward a purely future, post-mortem-destination reading, obscuring the present, in-breaking-reign sense. Must be explicitly taught as synonymous with baseline kingdom_of_god/Regno di Dio. |
| paraklēthēsontai | παρακαλέω (comfort sense) / paraklētheēsontai | will be consoled | saranno consolati | Medium | Kingdom of Heaven (Beatitudes) | 5:4 | Same Greek root as baseline exhort/esortare but a distinct sense; must not be rendered “esortare.” |
| meek | πραΰς / praus | gentle, controlled strength | mite | Low-Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5:5, 11:29, 21:5 | Risk of reading as passive weakness rather than controlled strength. |
| inherit | κληρονομέω / klēronomeō | receive as allotted possession | erediteranno | Medium | Kingdom of Heaven; Adoption (cross-reference) | 5:5, 19:29, 25:34 | Must be tied conceptually to baseline adoption/adozione filiale. |
| mercy | ἔλεος / eleos | active compassion for the needy | misericordia / misericordiosi | Low | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5:7, 9:13, 18:21-35 | Distinct from but complementary to baseline grace/grazia; positively reinforced by Italian Divine Mercy devotional culture. |
| pure_in_heart | καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ | undivided moral integrity | puri di cuore | Low | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5:8, 15:1-20 | Contrasted with ritual/ceremonial purity — key to ch. 15 tradition controversy. |
| peacemakers | εἰρηνοποιοί / eirēnopoioi | active reconcilers | operatori di pace | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5:9 | Avoid “pacifisti” (secular political-activist connotation). |
| sons_of_god_adoptive | υἱοὶ θεοῦ / huioi theou (plural) | adoptive sons of God | figli di Dio (lowercase, plural) | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees; Adoption (cross-reference) | 5:9 | Must never be confused with the baseline’s capitalized, singular son_of_god/Figlio di Dio (Christ’s unique Sonship). |
| reward | μισθός / misthos | wage/gracious recompense | ricompensa | Medium-High | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 5:12, 6:1-6, 6:16-18, 10:41-42, 19:29 | Risk of importing a merit-transactional reading; must be framed as the Father’s gracious response, never as wages earned to establish standing (cf. baseline Grace doctrine). |
| son_of_david | υἱὸς Δαυίδ / huios Dauid | son of David (title) | Figlio di Davide | Medium-High | Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David | 1:1, 1:20, 9:27, 12:23, 15:22, 20:30-31, 21:9, 21:15 | Distinct from baseline seed_of_david (descent claim); functions as a fixed messianic title of acclamation and must be capitalized/marked as such. |
| virgin | παρθένος / parthenos | virgin | vergine | Critical | Jesus as the Promised Messiah; Incarnation (cross-reference) | 1:18-23 | Also the standard Catholic Marian devotional title (“la Vergine”); must keep Matthew’s own miraculous-conception claim distinct from later Marian dogmatic developments (Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity, Assumption) not addressed by this text. |
| immanuel | Ἐμμανουήλ / Emmanouēl | ”God with us” | Emmanuele | Medium | Jesus as the Promised Messiah; Incarnation (cross-reference) | 1:23, 28:20 (echoed) | Forms a deliberate literary bracket with 28:20; teaching material should draw the connection explicitly. |
| fulfillment_formula | ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθέν / hina plērōthē to rhēthen | that it might be fulfilled | affinché si compisse / perché si adempisse | High | Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy | 1:22, 2:15, 2:17, 2:23, 4:14, 5:17, 8:17, 12:17, 13:35, 21:4, 26:54, 26:56, 27:9 | Words themselves stable across traditions; risk is under-explanation given low OT narrative literacy — every occurrence needs OT cross-reference. |
| authority | ἐξουσία / exousia | legitimate delegated right/power | autorità | Medium | The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 7:28-29, 8:9, 9:6, 9:8, 10:1, 21:23-27, 28:18 | Must be consistently distinguished from scribal/derived authority; climaxes at 28:18 as unqualified, universal authority (Critical at that occurrence). |
| repent | μετανοέω / μετάνοια / metanoeō / metanoia | total reorientation of mind and life | convertirsi / conversione | High | Fulfillment of Prophecy; Kingdom of Heaven | 3:2, 4:17, 11:20-21, 12:41 | ”Pentirsi/pentimento” risks defaulting to the sacrament of Confession/Penance; “convertirsi” better preserves whole-life reorientation without sacramental mediation. |
| baptize | βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα / baptizō / baptisma | to immerse; ritual washing | battezzare / battesimo | High | The Great Commission | 3:6-16, 28:19 | Italy’s near-universal Catholic infant-baptism sacramental culture defaults the term to a different theological framework than the believer’s-response sense operative in Matt 28:19-20. |
| worship | προσκυνέω / proskyneō | prostrate in homage/adoration | adorare (never venerare) | Critical | Jesus as the Promised Messiah; Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 2:11, 8:2, 9:18, 14:33, 15:25, 20:20, 28:9, 28:17 | Catholic theology formally distinguishes adorazione (latria, due God alone) from venerazione (dulia, due saints/Mary); rendering toward Christ must always be “adorare” to keep him in the God-alone worship category. |
| tradition | παράδοσις / paradosis | that which is handed down (human) | tradizione (degli uomini/degli antichi) | Critical | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees; Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 15:1-9 | Must retain the qualifier (“of men/of the elders”) to avoid appearing to critique capital-T Catholic Sacred Tradition, a positive, authoritative doctrinal category in Catholic theology of revelation. |
| rock_peter | πέτρα / Πέτρος / petra / Petros | bedrock / “little rock” (proper name) | roccia / Pietro | Critical | The Church and Church Discipline; Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 7:24-27, 16:18 | Direct proof-text for the Catholic doctrine of Petrine primacy/papacy (physically headquartered in Italy); Waldensian/evangelical tradition reads “this rock” as Peter’s confession or Christ himself. Mandatory theologian review. |
| keys_of_kingdom | κλεῖς / kleis | keys | chiavi | High | The Church and Church Discipline | 16:19 | The crossed-keys emblem is the literal heraldic symbol of the Vatican/papacy — an unusually concrete Italy-specific visual reinforcement of the Petrine-primacy reading. |
| bind_and_loose | δέω / λύω / deō / lyō | to bind / to loose | legare / sciogliere | High | The Church and Church Discipline | 16:19, 18:18 | Catholic sacramental theology ties this directly to priestly absolution in Confession; this curriculum’s emphasis is the gathered church’s corporate disciplinary authority (Matt 18 context) — distinct emphasis requiring disambiguation. |
| son_of_man | υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου / huios tou anthrōpou | son of man (Daniel 7 title) | il Figlio dell’uomo | Critical | Judgment and the End of the Age; Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 8:20, 9:6, 12:8, 16:13, 16:27-28, 17:22, 20:28, 24:27-44, 25:31, 26:64 | Reads to an untrained ear as mere self-humbling human self-reference, inverting its actual force as a Daniel 7 claim to divine authority and future judgeship. |
| ransom | λύτρον / lytron | price paid for release/redemption | riscatto | Critical | Discipleship and Cost; (Atonement, cross-doctrine) | 20:28 | Contemporary Italian usage defaults to a kidnapping-ransom news register, risking reduction of substitutionary atonement to a transactional captor-payment scenario. |
| mystery_of_kingdom | μυστήριον / mystērion | hidden truth now disclosed | misteri (del Regno) | Medium-High | The Kingdom of Heaven | 13:11 | Collision with “i Misteri del Rosario,” a major fixed Catholic Marian devotional category; must clarify no connection. |
| cornerstone | κεφαλὴ γωνίας / kephalē gōnias | head of the corner | pietra angolare | Medium | Jesus as the Promised Messiah (rejection motif) | 21:42 | Ties forward to later NT Christological usage; flag for cross-curriculum consistency. |
| called_chosen_matthean | κλητοί / ἐκλεκτοί / klētoi / eklektoi | invited / chosen out | chiamati / eletti | High | Judgment and the End of the Age; (cross-reference to baseline Effectual Calling) | 22:14, 24:22, 24:24, 24:31 | Matt 22:14 uses “called” in a broader “invited” sense than Romans’ effectual-calling sense; requires theologian harmonization note to avoid apparent contradiction with baseline. |
| love_agape | ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω / agapē / agapaō | committed, willed, self-giving love | amore (preferred over carità) | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 22:37-39 | ”Carità” imports the Tridentine “fede operante per carità” merit-cooperation freight already flagged in the baseline; “amore” avoids this. |
| hypocrite | ὑποκριτής / hypokritēs | hypocrite, actor/pretender | ipocrita | Low | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 6:2, 6:5, 6:16, 15:7, 23:13-29 | Stable, unambiguous. |
| end_of_the_age | συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος / synteleia tou aiōnos | completion of the age | la fine di questa era | High | Judgment and the End of the Age | 24:3, 13:39-40, 28:20 | ”La fine del mondo” (dominant colloquial idiom) is colored by secular apocalyptic pop culture, risking a cosmic-annihilation misreading rather than an age-transition sense. |
| parousia | παρουσία / parousia | coming, arrival | venuta | Medium | Judgment and the End of the Age | 24:3, 24:27, 24:37, 24:39 | Must retain the specific technical sense (Christ’s future glorious return), not generic “arrival.” |
| eternal_punishment | κόλασις αἰώνιος / kolasis aiōnios | eternal chastisement | punizione eterna / castigo eterno | High | Judgment and the End of the Age | 25:46 | Catholic doctrine of Purgatory (temporary postmortem purification) risks softening the text’s clear statement of final, unending judgment. |
| eternal_life | ζωὴ αἰώνιος / zōē aiōnios | eternal life | vita eterna | Low | Judgment and the End of the Age | 19:16-29, 25:46 | Stable, uncontested across Catholic and Protestant Italian tradition. |
| great_commission_nations | πάντα τὰ ἔθνη / panta ta ethnē (with μαθητεύσατε) | make disciples of all nations | fate discepoli di tutte le nazioni | Critical | The Great Commission | 28:19 | Must render as “nazioni,” never as baseline gentiles/“pagani” — ἔθνη here is comprehensive of every people group including culturally Christian Italy itself, not a contrast term excluding Israel/Christendom. |
| all_authority | πᾶσα ἐξουσία / pasa exousia | all authority | ogni autorità / tutta l’autorità | Critical | The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching; The Great Commission | 28:18 | Absolute, universal, unqualified authority — consistent with baseline Lordship of Christ cautions against any softening. |
| yoke | ζυγός / zygos | agricultural yoke | giogo | Low-Medium | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 11:29-30 | Less immediate image for urban modern Italian readers; brief explanatory framing recommended. |
| cross_discipleship | σταυρός / stauros | execution stake | croce | Medium | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 10:38, 16:24 | Secular Italian idiom “portare la propria croce” (bear one’s burden) risks flattening the specific call to costly, exclusive allegiance into generic stoic endurance. |
| confess_deny | ὁμολογέω / ἀρνέομαι / homologeō / arneomai | to confess / to deny | confessare / rinnegare | Medium | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 10:32-33, 16:16, 26:69-75 | Mild proximity of “confessare” to sacramental Confession; context (public acknowledgment of Christ) sufficiently disambiguates. |
| little_ones | μικροί / mikroi | vulnerable, low-status believers | piccoli | Low-Medium | The Church and Church Discipline | 18:6, 18:10, 18:14 | Not exclusively children; denotes vulnerable members of the believing community. |
| new_covenant_institution | διαθήκη (Last Supper) / diathēkē | covenant (blood of the) | (nuova) alleanza | Critical (elevated occurrence) | The Church and Church Discipline; (Eucharistic theology, cross-doctrine) | 26:28 | Directly touches the Catholic/Protestant Eucharistic theology divide (transubstantiation vs. memorial/spiritual presence); mandatory theologian review at this occurrence. |
Table C — Chapter Coverage Index
| Chapter | New Load-Bearing Terms Introduced | Reused Terms | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | son_of_david, virgin, immanuel | Christ/Messia | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 2 | fulfillment_formula, worship (proskyneō) | son_of_david, David, Israel | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 3 | repent, baptize, kingdom_of_heaven (first proclamation) | holy_spirit, son_of_god | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 4 | (temptation, devil — Low risk descriptive) | called, kingdom_of_heaven | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 5 | blessed, poor_in_spirit, kingdom_of_heaven (full), paraklēthēsontai, meek, inherit, mercy, pure_in_heart, peacemakers, sons_of_god_adoptive, reward, salt/light, fulfillment (plērōsai), law, oath, perfect | righteousness (Matthean nuance) | Reviewed — core passage, full treatment |
| 6 | almsgiving, fasting, mammon | father/Padre (Lord’s Prayer), kingdom_of_god | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 7 | narrow gate, false prophets, rock (first occurrence), authority | prophet | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 8 | — | authority, faith | No new theological vocabulary; reuses ch. 1-7 terms |
| 9 | forgive/forgiveness, mercy (reuse) | authority, sin | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 10 | cross_discipleship, confess_deny | apostle, peace | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 11 | yoke, rest | messiah (John’s question) | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 12 | Sabbath, blasphemy against the Spirit, sign of Jonah | lord, holy_spirit | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 13 | parable, mystery_of_kingdom | kingdom_of_heaven | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 14 | (little faith — compositional from baseline faith) | son_of_god | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 15 | tradition, defile | son_of_david (Canaanite woman) | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 16 | rock_peter, keys_of_kingdom, bind_and_loose, (suffer) | messiah, son_of_god, church | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 17 | — | glory, son_of_god, (suffer, from ch.16) | No new theological vocabulary; reuses ch. 1-16 terms |
| 18 | little_ones | church, bind_and_loose, forgive | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 19 | divorce (ἀπολύω) | eternal_life (introduced fully ch.25), reward | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 20 | ransom, son_of_man (full treatment) | grace (vineyard parable) | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 21 | Hosanna, cornerstone | son_of_david, kingdom_of_god, fulfillment_formula | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 22 | called_chosen_matthean, love_agape | resurrection | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 23 | hypocrite | kingdom_of_heaven | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 24 | end_of_the_age, parousia | eklektos (reuse from ch.22, reinforced) | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 25 | eternal_punishment, eternal_life | inherit | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 26 | new_covenant_institution (elevated risk), cup, betray | covenant/alleanza (baseline), sin | Reviewed — new terms present |
| 27 | — | son_of_god, lord (ironic), sin | No new theological vocabulary; reuses ch. 1-26 terms |
| 28 | great_commission_nations, all_authority | resurrection, baptize, holy_spirit, father, son_of_god, immanuel (echoed) | Reviewed — new terms present |
Coverage confirmation: All 28 chapters of Matthew reviewed first to last. Chapters 8, 17, and 27 are explicitly confirmed as introducing no new theological vocabulary, reusing terms established in prior chapters.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: giustizia
Transliteration: giustizia (di Dio)
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: virtù
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; no substitute permitted. CRITICAL MATTHEAN NUANCE: unlike Romans’ predominantly forensic-status sense, Matthew (5:6, 5:10, 5:20, 6:33, 21:32) predominantly uses the identical word ‘giustizia’ for lived, ethical kingdom conduct/character. Every Matthew occurrence requires an explicit sense-flag (status vs. conduct) so that 5:20 (‘la vostra giustizia superi quella degli scribi e dei farisei’) is never read as a merit condition for a kingdom the Beatitudes (5:3, 5:10) already present as freely given.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Figlio di Dio
Transliteration: Figlio di Dio
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; capitalized singular only. Recurs at 3:17, 4:3-6, 14:33, 16:16, 17:5, 26:63, 27:40, 27:43, 27:54. Must remain visually and grammatically distinct from the plural, lowercase ‘figli di Dio’ describing believers’ adoptive sonship (Matt 5:9) — see ‘sons_of_god_adoptive’ entry below.
Blessed
Approved rendering: beato / beati
Transliteration: beato / beati
Doctrine: The Beatitudes and Kingdom Blessing
Rejected alternatives: felici (loses declarative doctrinal weight; breaks with entire Italian Bible translation tradition)
Original: μακάριος
Category: Kingdom
New term. Fixed, unavoidable rendering across every Italian Bible tradition, but ‘un beato’ is also the specific ecclesiastical title conferred in beatificazione, the formal step preceding canonization. No lexical alternative exists, so mandatory theological annotation is required at every occurrence (5:3-11) clarifying that Jesus pronounces objective blessedness over ordinary disciples in eight everyday conditions, not conferring formal ecclesiastical status on an elite few — compounds the baseline’s existing High-risk ‘saints’ flag.
Virgin
Approved rendering: vergine
Transliteration: parthenos
Doctrine: Virgin Conception and Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: giovane donna (loses the miraculous-conception claim)
Original: παρθένος
Category: Christology
New term. Two risks converge: the verse must clearly affirm the miraculous conception excluding ordinary paternity, and ‘la Vergine’ is also the standard Catholic Marian devotional title carrying later dogmatic developments (Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity, Assumption) not addressed by Matthew 1 itself. Keep the text’s own claim distinct from those further Marian dogmas without diluting the miracle.
Worship
Approved rendering: adorare
Transliteration: proskyneō
Doctrine: Worship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: venerare (relocates Christ into the saints’/Mary’s dulia devotional category)
Original: προσκυνέω
Category: Christology
New term. Catholic theology formally distinguishes adorazione (latria, worship due God alone) from venerazione (dulia/hyperdulia, honor to saints and Mary). Toward Jesus (2:11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9, 17) this must ALWAYS render as ‘adorare,’ NEVER ‘venerare.‘
Tradition
Approved rendering: tradizione (degli uomini / degli antichi)
Transliteration: paradosis
Doctrine: Human Tradition versus the Commandment of God
Rejected alternatives: tradizione (bare, unqualified — risks reading as an attack on capital-T Catholic Sacred Tradition)
Original: παράδοσις
Category: Covenant
New term. In Catholic theology, capital-T ‘la Tradizione’ is a positive, authoritative dual source of revelation (Trent; Vatican II’s Dei Verbum). Matt 15:1-9’s critique targets specifically human tradition, so the qualifier (‘degli uomini,’ ‘degli antichi’) must NEVER be dropped.
Rock Peter
Approved rendering: roccia / Pietro
Transliteration: petra / Petros
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: πέτρα / Πέτρος
Category: Church
New term. Foundational proof-text for the Catholic doctrine of Petrine primacy/papacy, physically headquartered in Italy — the single most Italy-specific flashpoint in this curriculum. The Waldensian/evangelical reading (‘this rock’ = Peter’s confession or Christ himself) must be presented alongside the Catholic reading, not silently assumed away. Mandatory theologian review at every occurrence (16:18).
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: il Figlio dell’uomo
Transliteration: huios tou anthrōpou
Doctrine: Son of Man and Final Judgment
Original: υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
New term. The fixed Italian phrase reads to an untrained ear as merely humble, humanizing self-reference, inverting its actual force as a Daniel 7:13-14 claim to divine authority and future judgeship. Given low OT narrative literacy, every occurrence (8:20; 9:6; 12:8; 16:13, 27-28; 17:22; 20:28; 24:27-44; 25:31; 26:64) requires brief explanatory framing.
Ransom
Approved rendering: riscatto
Transliteration: lytron
Doctrine: Ransom and Atonement
Original: λύτρον
Category: Salvation
New term. Contemporary Italian ‘riscatto’ dominantly evokes a kidnapping ransom (news-register usage, ‘pagare un riscatto per un ostaggio’), risking reduction of Christ’s substitutionary atoning death (20:28) to a transactional captor-payment scenario; requires explicit theological framing at every use.
Great Commission Nations
Approved rendering: fate discepoli di tutte le nazioni
Transliteration: panta ta ethnē
Doctrine: The Great Commission
Rejected alternatives: di tutti i pagani (FORBIDDEN — wrongly implies the Commission targets only currently non-Christian populations abroad)
Original: πάντα τὰ ἔθνη (with μαθητεύσατε)
Category: Church
New term. Must render as ‘nazioni,’ NEVER as the baseline’s ‘gentiles’/‘pagani’: at Matt 28:19 ἔθνη is comprehensive of every people group, including culturally Christian/Catholic Italy itself, not a contrast term excluding Israel/Christendom as elsewhere in Matthew.
All Authority
Approved rendering: ogni autorità / tutta l’autorità
Transliteration: pasa exousia
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: πᾶσα ἐξουσία
Category: Christology
New term. The capstone statement of the Authority doctrine (28:18) and the direct warrant for the Great Commission; must be rendered as unqualified, total authority, consistent with the baseline’s Lordship of Christ cautions against any softening.
New Covenant Institution
Approved rendering: (nuova) alleanza
Transliteration: diathēkē (Last Supper occurrence)
Doctrine: Institution of the New Covenant (the Lord’s Supper)
Rejected alternatives: patto (more contract-like, per baseline preference)
Original: διαθήκη (Last Supper occurrence)
Category: Covenant
New term entry marking the elevated-risk occurrence of the baseline covenant term at Matt 26:28 (‘il mio sangue, il sangue dell’alleanza’). Directly touches the Catholic/Waldensian-evangelical Eucharistic theology divide (transubstantiation vs. memorial/spiritual presence); mandatory theologian review. Teaching material must state the words of institution accurately without adjudicating the Eucharistic-theology debate beyond the text’s own words.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: grazia
Transliteration: grazia
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: favore
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Not a frequent explicit noun in Matthew, but structurally present in the workers-in-the-vineyard parable (20:1-16); the master’s payment logic must be read as grace-generosity, not contractual wage-fairness, preserving the apart-from-merit sense.
Called
Approved rendering: chiamato
Transliteration: chiamato
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Matt 22:14 (‘molti sono chiamati, ma pochi eletti’) uses a broader ‘invited’ sense than Romans’ effectual calling; every occurrence of this parable must carry a theologian harmonization note distinguishing general invitation from effectual, salvation-securing calling.
Calling
Approved rendering: chiamata
Transliteration: chiamata
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: vocazione (clergy-narrowing risk)
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Reserve ‘vocazione’ only for explicit priestly/religious-life reference; Matthew’s calling of the Twelve (4:18-22; 9:9-13) and of all disciples must use ‘chiamata’.
Lord
Approved rendering: Signore
Transliteration: Signore
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: padrone
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Matt 12:8 (‘il Figlio dell’uomo è signore del sabato’) and 7:21-22 (‘Signore, Signore’) both risk the everyday ‘Mr./sir’ flattening; the ironic ‘Re dei Giudei’ (27:37) must render identically to its earlier occurrence (2:2) to preserve narrative irony.
Church
Approved rendering: chiesa
Transliteration: chiesa
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Elevated stakes in Matthew versus Romans: 16:18 and 18:17 are the Gospel’s foundational texts for both the Catholic Petrine-primacy/papacy claim and the Waldensian/evangelical corporate-discipline reading, given the Vatican’s physical location in Italy.
Law
Approved rendering: legge
Transliteration: legge
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; capitalize as ‘la Legge’ for Torah references. Matt 5:17-19 (‘non sono venuto per abolire la Legge… ma per portarla a compimento’) and 22:36-40 (the Great Commandment as the Law’s summary) directly engage Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees; Italy’s Thomistic natural-law tradition continues to shape how ‘legge’ is heard.
Sin
Approved rendering: peccato
Transliteration: peccato
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Reinforced by the forgiveness-of-sins healing (9:2-6) and the Last Supper’s atonement language (26:28); the baseline’s ‘che peccato!’ colloquial-drift caution applies equally in Matthew’s narrative contexts.
Covenant
Approved rendering: alleanza
Transliteration: alleanza
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: patto (more contract-like)
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package (‘alleanza,’ not ‘patto’). ELEVATED TO CRITICAL AT ITS SINGLE MATTHEAN OCCURRENCE, 26:28 (‘questo è il mio sangue, il sangue dell’alleanza’), the institution of the Lord’s Supper — this directly touches the Catholic/Waldensian-evangelical Eucharistic theology divide and requires mandatory theologian review at this verse specifically. See ‘new_covenant_institution’ below.
Election
Approved rendering: elezione
Transliteration: elezione
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Original: ἐκλογή
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. The cognate adjective ἐκλεκτός (‘chosen/elect’) appears in Matthew at 22:14 and 24:22, 24, 31 with differing nuance; see ‘called_chosen_matthean’ below for the harmonization risk with baseline effectual calling.
Kingdom Of Heaven
Approved rendering: Regno dei cieli
Transliteration: basileia tōn ouranōn
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Original: βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν
Category: Kingdom
New term. Both CEI and Riveduta render this identically and non-negotiably. Colloquial Italian ‘il cielo’/‘andare in cielo’ (reinforced by funeral rites and Giorno dei Morti customs) biases readers toward hearing this as only a future post-mortem destination rather than God’s present, in-breaking reign (12:28). Teaching material must state explicitly that ‘Regno dei cieli’ and ‘Regno di Dio’ (baseline term) name the identical reality under two names.
Sons Of God Adoptive
Approved rendering: figli di Dio
Transliteration: huioi theou (plural)
Doctrine: Adoptive Sonship of Believers
Rejected alternatives: Figlio di Dio (capitalized singular — forbidden here)
Original: υἱοὶ θεοῦ (plural)
Category: Salvation
New term. Must never be confused with the baseline’s capitalized, singular ‘Figlio di Dio’ (Critical). Render lowercase and plural, ‘figli di Dio,’ consistent with the baseline Adoption doctrine (‘adozione filiale’), at Matt 5:9.
Son Of David
Approved rendering: Figlio di Davide
Transliteration: huios Dauid
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Rejected alternatives: discendente di Davide (descent-only, insufficient for the acclamation-title use)
Original: υἱὸς Δαυίδ
Category: Christology
New term. Distinct from the baseline’s lowercase, descent-focused ‘discendente di Davide’; must be capitalized as a title of address (1:1, 20; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9, 15) or risk flattening the messianic acclamation into a bare biological note.
Fulfillment Formula
Approved rendering: affinché si compisse / perché si adempisse
Transliteration: hina plērōthē to rhēthen
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
Original: ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθέν
Category: Covenant
New term. Both CEI and Riveduta render the words themselves consistently; the real risk is under-explanation, since readers with low OT narrative literacy will not recognize the OT texts cited unless each occurrence (1:22; 2:15, 17, 23; 4:14; 5:17; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:54, 56; 27:9) is paired with explicit OT cross-reference.
Repent
Approved rendering: convertirsi / conversione
Transliteration: metanoeō / metanoia
Doctrine: Repentance
Rejected alternatives: pentirsi / pentimento (sacramental-Confession risk)
Original: μετανοέω / μετάνοια
Category: Salvation
New term. The natural cognate ‘pentirsi/pentimento’ is strongly associated in Italian Catholic usage with the sacramento della Penitenza/Confessione, requiring priestly mediation, contrition, and absolution — a sacramental-mediation framework the text itself does not require. ‘Convertirsi/conversione’ preserves whole-life reorientation and matches CEI’s own rendering at 3:2, 4:17.
Baptize
Approved rendering: battezzare / battesimo
Transliteration: baptizō / baptisma
Doctrine: Baptism
Original: βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα
Category: Church
New term. Italy’s near-universal Catholic infant-baptism sacramental culture defaults ‘battesimo’ to a sacrament conferring regenerating grace on an infant; the Great Commission’s usage (28:19-20) requires reading baptism as a believer’s identifying response following discipleship. Flag every occurrence (3:6-16; 28:19) for which framework the surrounding teaching material assumes.
Keys Of Kingdom
Approved rendering: chiavi
Transliteration: kleis
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: κλεῖς
Category: Church
New term. The crossed-keys image is the literal heraldic emblem of the papacy and Vatican City itself, visible on the Vatican flag and coat of arms — an unusually concrete, Italy-specific visual reinforcement of the Petrine-primacy reading; flag alongside ‘rock_peter’ (Matt 16:19).
Bind And Loose
Approved rendering: legare / sciogliere
Transliteration: deō / lyō
Doctrine: Church Discipline (Binding and Loosing)
Original: δέω / λύω
Category: Church
New term. Catholic sacramental theology historically ties this directly to priestly absolution in Confession. This curriculum’s emphasis is the gathered church’s corporate disciplinary authority (Matt 18:15-20 context) — a related but distinct emphasis requiring disambiguation from individual priestly absolution at both occurrences (16:19; 18:18).
Called Chosen Matthean
Approved rendering: chiamati / eletti
Transliteration: klētoi / eklektoi
Doctrine: Effectual Calling versus General Invitation
Original: κλητοί / ἐκλεκτοί
Category: Salvation
New term. Matt 22:14 (‘molti sono chiamati, ma pochi eletti’) must be flagged for theologian-level harmonization with the baseline’s Effectual Calling doctrine (Rom 8:28-30; 9:11-12), since Matthew’s broader ‘invited’ sense could otherwise appear to contradict Romans’ narrower, effectual usage.
End Of The Age
Approved rendering: la fine di questa era
Transliteration: synteleia tou aiōnos
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Rejected alternatives: la fine del mondo (unqualified — colored by secular apocalyptic pop culture)
Original: συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος
Category: Eschatology
New term. ‘La fine del mondo,’ the dominant everyday Italian idiom, is heavily colored by secular apocalyptic pop culture (disaster films, internet end-times predictions), risking a cosmic-catastrophe misreading of Matt 24:3’s age-transition sense. Prefer ‘la fine di questa era/epoca’; gloss carefully if ‘fine del mondo’ is used.
Eternal Punishment
Approved rendering: punizione eterna / castigo eterno
Transliteration: kolasis aiōnios
Doctrine: Eternal Punishment and Eternal Life
Original: κόλασις αἰώνιος
Category: Eschatology
New term. Catholic doctrine of Purgatorio (temporary, purifying postmortem punishment for the already-saved) gives Italian readers a strong cultural category of temporary postmortem punishment that could bleed into and soften this phrase at Matt 25:46; must state plainly that this judgment is final and unending, grammatically parallel in the same verse to ‘vita eterna.‘
Medium Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: fede
Transliteration: fede
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Matthew introduces the compositional derivative ‘di poca fede’ (ὀλιγόπιστος, 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8); no separate glossary risk beyond the baseline term itself.
Holy
Approved rendering: santo
Transliteration: santo
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Appears in ‘città santa’ (4:5; 27:53), ‘luogo santo’ (24:15), and the Trinitarian ‘Spirito Santo’ formula; no new nuance.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: santificazione
Transliteration: santificazione
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἁγιασμός
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Not an explicit noun in Matthew, but conceptually anchors 5:48’s call to be ‘perfetto’ (complete/mature, not sinlessly flawless); keep distinct from static, self-directed moral self-improvement.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: risurrezione
Transliteration: risurrezione
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Confirmed historically at Matthew’s climax (28:1-10) and debated theologically with the Sadducees (22:23-33); anticipated typologically via the ‘sign of Jonah’ (12:39-41), requiring OT narrative background.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: incarnazione
Transliteration: incarnazione
Doctrine: Incarnation
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Grounded in Matthew 1:18-23 via the virgin conception (see ‘virgin’ and ‘immanuel’ entries); risk of secular flattening via ‘incarnare un personaggio’ as in baseline, now reinforced by the concrete narrative of the virgin birth.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: Regno di Dio
Transliteration: Regno di Dio
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Matthew alternates this with ‘Regno dei cieli’ (6:33; 12:28; 19:24; 21:31; 21:43); teaching material must state explicitly that these are the identical reality under two names, not two kingdoms — see new term ‘kingdom_of_heaven’ below.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: pagani
Transliteration: pagani
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: genti
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, but FORBIDDEN at Matt 28:19: there ἔθνη is comprehensive of every people including culturally Christian Italy itself, and must render as ‘nazioni,’ never ‘pagani.’ Elsewhere (4:15; 10:5, 18; 12:18, 21; 20:19) the contrastive Jew/Gentile sense correctly uses ‘pagani.’ See ‘great_commission_nations’ below.
Glory
Approved rendering: gloria
Transliteration: gloria
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Climaxes at the Transfiguration (17:1-8) and the Son of Man’s future coming ‘in gloria’ (16:27; 24:30; 25:31); reinforces rather than alters baseline dual liturgical/secular resonance.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: potenza di Dio
Transliteration: potenza di Dio
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Distinct from ἐξουσία/‘autorità’ (legitimate right) — δύναμις is capability/might (22:29; 24:30; 26:64), a distinction Matthew’s own vocabulary preserves.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Messia
Transliteration: Messia
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. In Matthew, Χριστός increasingly functions as part of the proper name ‘Gesù Cristo’ (1:1, 1:16-18) as well as a title of confession (16:16, 16:20; 26:63, 68); both senses must remain visible, not collapsed into a mere surname.
Providence
Approved rendering: provvidenza
Transliteration: provvidenza
Doctrine: Providence
Original: πρόνοια
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. No separate Matthean noun, but the concept undergirds the Sermon’s teaching on the Father’s care (6:25-34, ‘non affannatevi’); Manzoni’s literary ‘la Provvidenza’ remains the same cultural reference point flagged in the baseline.
Mission
Approved rendering: missione
Transliteration: missione
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Original: ἀποστολή / πέμπω
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Anticipated at 9:37-38 and the sending of the Twelve (10:5-16), fully realized in the Great Commission (28:19-20); see ‘great_commission_nations’ for the Critical-risk terminology specific to that climactic passage.
Israel
Approved rendering: Israele
Transliteration: Israele
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Keep the historical/theological referent (2:6, 20-21; 8:10; 10:6, 23; 15:24, 31; 19:28) distinct from the modern nation-state.
God
Approved rendering: Dio
Transliteration: Dio
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Stable throughout Matthew.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Spirito Santo
Transliteration: Spirito Santo
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Reinforced by the virgin conception (1:18, 20), Jesus’ baptism (3:16), and the blasphemy-against-the-Spirit warning (12:31-32), a pastorally sensitive passage requiring mandatory theologian care; also anchors the Trinitarian baptismal formula (28:19).
Father
Approved rendering: Padre
Transliteration: Padre
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Pervasive throughout the Sermon on the Mount, especially the Lord’s Prayer (6:9), where the fixed liturgical form ‘Padre nostro che sei nei cieli’ is shared identically across Catholic and Protestant Italian tradition; the baseline’s clergy-title-adjacency caution (‘Padre’ as a priest’s title) applies throughout.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: discendente di Davide
Transliteration: discendente di Davide
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: stirpe di Davide (literary but acceptable)
Original: σπέρμα Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. In Matthew this descent claim underlies the genealogy (ch. 1) but is functionally distinct from the Matthew-specific acclamation title ‘Figlio di Davide’ (see ‘son_of_david’ below) — descent claim versus messianic title of address.
Disciple
Approved rendering: discepolo
Transliteration: discepolo
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Rejected alternatives: studente/allievo (too passive)
Original: μαθητής
Category: Discipleship
New term. Stable and shared across Catholic and evangelical Italian usage, but risks flattening toward a passive ‘student of a doctrine’ sense unless the costly, active, lifelong-following sense is reinforced throughout the Gospel (5:1; ch. 10; 16:24-26; 28:19).
Poor In Spirit
Approved rendering: povero in spirito
Transliteration: ptōchoi tō pneumati
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: povero (bare, economic-poverty risk)
Original: πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι
Category: Kingdom
New term. ‘Povero’ alone risks being read as purely economic poverty, a sympathetic and live category in Italian social discourse; the qualifier ‘in spirito’ must never be dropped (Matt 5:3).
Comforted
Approved rendering: saranno consolati
Transliteration: paraklēthēsontai
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven (Beatitudes)
Rejected alternatives: esortare (wrong sense — encouragement, not consolation)
Original: παρακαλέω (future passive, comfort sense)
Category: Kingdom
New term. Same Greek root as baseline ‘exhort’/‘esortare,’ but here the ‘console/comfort’ sense; using ‘esortare’ at Matt 5:4 would badly distort the beatitude. Flag for consistency checking wherever the παρακαλέω word family occurs.
Meek
Approved rendering: mite
Transliteration: praus
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: πραΰς
Category: Ethics
New term. Standard, stable rendering, but everyday Italian usage can carry a passive, weak connotation; teaching material must clarify this is controlled strength submitted to God (used of Jesus himself, 11:29; 21:5), not timidity.
Inherit
Approved rendering: erediteranno
Transliteration: klēronomeō
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Original: κληρονομέω
Category: Kingdom
New term. Must be tied conceptually to the baseline’s Adoption doctrine (‘adozione filiale’) — inheritance flows from sonship, not merit; recurs at 19:29 and 25:34 tying the Beatitudes forward to final judgment.
Peacemakers
Approved rendering: operatori di pace
Transliteration: eirēnopoioi
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Rejected alternatives: pacifisti (modern secular-political-activist connotation)
Original: εἰρηνοποιοί
Category: Ethics
New term. ‘Operatori di pace’ avoids the modern political connotation of ‘pacifisti’ while retaining the active, reconciling sense required by Matt 5:9.
Reward
Approved rendering: ricompensa
Transliteration: misthos
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Rejected alternatives: salario/paga (too transactional)
Original: μισθός
Category: Discipleship
New term. Risks importing a merit-transactional reading if not consistently taught alongside the baseline Grace doctrine; recurs at 6:1-6, 6:16-18, 10:41-42, 19:29 and must always be framed as flowing from, not displacing, grace already granted.
Immanuel
Approved rendering: Emmanuele
Transliteration: Emmanouēl
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Original: Ἐμμανουήλ
Category: Christology
New term. Forms a deliberate literary bracket with Matt 28:20 (‘io sono con voi tutti i giorni’); teaching material should draw this connection explicitly, glossed as ‘Dio con noi.‘
Authority
Approved rendering: autorità
Transliteration: exousia
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Christology
New term. Anchors the entire Authority doctrine (7:28-29; 8:9; 9:6, 8; 10:1; 21:23-27), climaxing at 28:18’s unqualified, universal authority — see ‘all_authority’ for that Critical-risk occurrence. Must consistently be distinguished from the scribes’ derived, institutional authority and from δύναμις/‘potenza’ (capability).
Mystery Of Kingdom
Approved rendering: misteri (del Regno)
Transliteration: mystērion
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: mistero (bare — collides more directly with Misteri del Rosario without the disambiguating qualifier)
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Kingdom
New term. ‘I misteri’ is also the fixed devotional term for the Misteri del Rosario (Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious, Luminous), a central and widely known Catholic Marian devotional structure. Teaching material must clarify Matt 13:11’s ‘misteri del Regno’ refers to Jesus’ parabolic teaching, with no connection to the Rosary’s mysteries.
Cornerstone
Approved rendering: pietra angolare
Transliteration: kephalē gōnias
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Original: κεφαλὴ γωνίας
Category: Christology
New term. Ties forward to later NT Christological usage (Eph 2:20; 1 Pet 2:6-7); at Matt 21:42 it functions within the rejection motif — flag for cross-curriculum consistency with future NT materials.
Love Agape
Approved rendering: amore
Transliteration: agapē / agapaō
Doctrine: Love as the Fulfillment of the Law
Rejected alternatives: carità (imports Tridentine ‘fede operante per carità’ merit-cooperation freight)
Original: ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω
Category: Ethics
New term. ‘Carità,’ the historic rendering matching the KJV’s ‘charity,’ is strongly associated with the Tridentine framework already flagged in the baseline (obedience_of_faith, justification) and with the narrower modern sense of charitable almsgiving. ‘Amore’ preserves the full-orbed covenantal love of the Great Commandment (22:37-39).
Parousia
Approved rendering: venuta
Transliteration: parousia
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Original: παρουσία
Category: Eschatology
New term. Must retain the specific technical sense (Christ’s future, visible, glorious return) at 24:3, 27, 37, 39, kept distinct from a generic sense of ‘arrival.‘
Cross Discipleship
Approved rendering: croce
Transliteration: stauros
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: σταυρός
Category: Discipleship
New term. The common Italian idiom ‘portare la propria croce’ has drifted into a general secular idiom for enduring any hardship (illness, difficult family situations), risking flattening of Jesus’ specific call to costly, exclusive allegiance (10:38; 16:24) into generic stoic endurance.
Confess Deny
Approved rendering: confessare / rinnegare
Transliteration: homologeō / arneomai
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: ὁμολογέω / ἀρνέομαι
Category: Discipleship
New term. ‘Confessare’ carries mild proximity to the sacrament of Confession, but the object here (public acknowledgment of Christ before others, 10:32-33) sufficiently disambiguates context; flag for consistency with Peter’s confession (16:16) and denial (26:69-75).
Little Ones
Approved rendering: piccoli
Transliteration: mikroi
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: μικροί
Category: Church
New term. ‘Piccoli’ defaults toward literal children in ordinary usage; occurs at 18:6, 10, 14 within the Church Discipline discourse and denotes vulnerable, low-status believers within the community broadly, not exclusively children.
Low Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: vangelo
Transliteration: vangelo
Doctrine: Gospel
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Matthew consistently pairs this with ‘of the kingdom’ (‘il vangelo del Regno,’ 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; 26:13), reinforcing rather than altering the baseline sense.
Peace
Approved rendering: pace
Transliteration: pace
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Matt 10:34 (‘non sono venuto a portare la pace, ma la spada’) is a rhetorical contrast about the cost of discipleship, not a retraction of the peace Christ brings; must not be softened.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: ringraziamento
Transliteration: ringraziamento
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Occurs at the feeding of the crowds (15:36) and the Last Supper (26:27); note the root proximity to ‘Eucaristia’ at 26:27, though ‘ringraziamento’ itself remains stable for the verb’s ordinary sense here.
Prophet
Approved rendering: profeta
Transliteration: profeta
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Exceptionally high frequency in Matthew due to the recurring fulfillment-quotation pattern; stable across all occurrences.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: profezia
Transliteration: profezia
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Undergirds the entire ‘fulfillment formula’ pattern; no separate lexical risk beyond ensuring OT cross-reference is supplied at each occurrence.
David
Approved rendering: Davide
Transliteration: Davide
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Extremely frequent in Matthew’s genealogy and messianic acclamations; see ‘son_of_david’ for the distinct title usage built on this proper name.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Gesù
Transliteration: Gesù
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Stable throughout Matthew.
Exhort
Approved rendering: esortare
Transliteration: esortare
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, for the encouragement/urging sense ONLY. MUST NOT be used for Matt 5:4’s comfort sense of the same Greek root — see ‘comforted’ below; the two senses require distinct Italian renderings.
Mercy
Approved rendering: misericordia / misericordiosi
Transliteration: eleos
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: ἔλεος
Category: Ethics
New term. Stable term positively reinforced by prominent Catholic Divine Mercy devotional culture; recurs at 9:13 (‘voglio misericordia, non sacrifici’) and the unforgiving-servant parable (18:21-35).
Pure In Heart
Approved rendering: puri di cuore
Transliteration: katharoi tē kardia
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ
Category: Ethics
New term. Contrasted explicitly with ritual purity at 15:1-20 (tradition-of-the-elders controversy), directly feeding Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees.
Hypocrite
Approved rendering: ipocrita
Transliteration: hypokritēs
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: ὑποκριτής
Category: Ethics
New term. Stable, unambiguous term across Italian usage; anchors ch. 23’s negative case study for Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: vita eterna
Transliteration: zōē aiōnios
Doctrine: Eternal Punishment and Eternal Life
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Eschatology
New term. Well-established and uncontested across Catholic and Protestant Italian catechesis; occurs at 19:16-29 and in direct antithesis with eternal punishment at 25:46.
Yoke
Approved rendering: giogo
Transliteration: zygos
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: ζυγός
Category: Discipleship
New term. The agricultural crossbeam joining draft animals is a less immediate image for urban modern Italian readers than for the original agrarian audience; the word itself is stable, but brief explanatory framing is recommended at 11:29-30.
Referenced passages