Semantic Analysis

Semantic Analysis — Acts (Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων), Koine Greek

Methodology and Baseline Reuse Notice

This analysis covers the entire book of Acts, chapters 1–28, in the original Koine Greek. The core passage, Acts 2:1–41 (the Pentecost narrative and Peter’s sermon), receives full verse-by-verse treatment. Every other chapter receives a chapter-level treatment of its load-bearing theological terms. Where a chapter introduces no new theological vocabulary beyond terms already treated, this is stated explicitly.

Baseline reuse rule: Any term already recorded in the Romans translation_memory.json baseline (e.g., 神, イエス, 聖霊, 福音, 恵み, 信仰, 義, 救い, 使徒, 召された, 召し, 聖い, 聖徒, 復活, 主, 神の子, 異邦人, 律法, 罪, 契約, 選び, とりなし, 摂理, 宣教, 栄光, ダビデ, イスラエル) is reused exactly in this document with no re-derivation. Only the Acts-specific contextual nuance is added where relevant. New terms specific to the Acts curriculum doctrines are analyzed in full (original word, transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning, and destination-language rendering risk).

PART 1 — Core Passage: Acts 2:1–41 (Verse-by-Verse)

Acts 2:1

Greek: Καὶ ἐν τῷ συμπληροῦσθαι τὴν ἡμέραν τῆς πεντηκοστῆς ἦσαν πάντες ὁμοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό.

Term: Πεντηκοστή (Pentēkostē) — Transliteration: Pentēkostē. Literal meaning: “fiftieth [day],” referring to the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot), celebrated fifty days after Passover. Semantic range: a specific named Jewish festival with OT roots (Leviticus 23:15–21; Deuteronomy 16:9–12), later given new significance as the day the Spirit was poured out. English variants: “Pentecost,” “the Feast of Weeks.” Contextual theological meaning: this is not an arbitrary date — the Spirit’s outpouring on the very day Israel celebrated the giving of the harvest (and, in later Jewish tradition, the giving of the Law at Sinai) signals a new covenant reality superseding the old. Japanese rendering & risk: 五旬節 (gojunsetsu, established Shinkaiyaku term) — Medium risk. Secular Japanese readers have zero prior exposure to this festival (a biblical-illiteracy gap, not a competing-concept gap); OT background must be taught explicitly, not assumed. ペンテコステ (Pentekosute, transliteration) may be used as a supplementary gloss but 五旬節 is the anchor term for continuity with the Old Testament festival calendar taught elsewhere in curriculum materials.
Term: ὁμοῦ ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό (homou epi to auto) — “together, in the same place.” Semantic range: unified physical and spiritual gathering. English variants: “together,” “in one place,” “with one accord.” Theological meaning: unity of the gathered believers as the precondition for the Spirit’s outpouring — foundational to the doctrine of the Church as Community. Japanese rendering & risk: 一つになって / 一つ所に集まって (hitotsu ni natte) — Low risk, but must be distinguished in later teaching from 和 (wa, generic social harmony) — this is Spirit-produced unity in Christ, not conflict-avoidance harmony.

Acts 2:2

Greek: καὶ ἐγένετο ἄφνω ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἦχος ὥσπερ φερομένης πνοῆς βιαίας.

Term: πνοή βιαία (pnoē biaia) — “violent wind/breath.” Semantic range: πνοή shares its root with πνεῦμα (“spirit/wind/breath”) — the same word family used for the Holy Spirit. English variants: “sound of a mighty rushing wind,” “violent wind.” Theological meaning: the audible sign accompanying the Spirit’s arrival, echoing OT theophany imagery (e.g., 1 Kings 19:11; Ezekiel 37:9–14) and playing on the wind/breath/spirit wordplay foundational to πνεῦμα ἅγιον. Japanese rendering & risk: 激しい風 (hageshii kaze) — Medium risk. The wind/spirit wordplay present in Greek (and Hebrew ruach) does not carry over into Japanese (風, kaze, “wind” vs 霊, rei, “spirit” are unrelated words), so the etymological connection must be explained in teaching notes rather than assumed recoverable from the text itself.

Acts 2:3

Greek: καὶ ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός, καὶ ἐκάθισεν ἐφ᾽ ἕνα ἕκαστον αὐτῶν.

Term: γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρός (glōssai hōsei pyros) — “tongues as of fire.” Literal meaning: γλῶσσα primarily means the physical organ “tongue,” and by extension “language.” Here it describes the visible shape of the flame, while anticipating the wordplay with “speaking in tongues” (v. 4). Semantic range: physical tongue; language/speech; a flame shaped like a tongue. English variants: “tongues of fire,” “divided tongues, as of fire.” Theological meaning: visible, individualized manifestation of the Spirit resting on each believer — divine presence, not mass ecstatic phenomenon experienced only corporately. Japanese rendering & risk: 舌のようなもの、火のような (shita no you na mono, hi no you na) — Medium risk. Fire imagery in Japanese religious tradition is associated with Shinto purification fire rites (護摩, goma, a fire ritual borrowed into esoteric Buddhism) and with ancestral-spirit hi-no-tama (fireball spirit lore); teaching should clarify this is a unique sign of the Spirit’s descent, not a folk-fire phenomenon.

Acts 2:4

Greek: καὶ ἐπλήσθησαν πάντες πνεύματος ἁγίου, καὶ ἤρξαντο λαλεῖν ἑτέραις γλώσσαις καθὼς τὸ πνεῦμα ἐδίδου ἀποφθέγγεσθαι αὐτοῖς.

Term: ἐπλήσθησαν πνεύματος ἁγίου (eplēsthēsan pneumatos hagiou) — “were filled with the Holy Spirit.” Semantic range: πληρόω/πίμπλημι, “to fill completely, to saturate.” English variants: “filled with,” “full of.” Contextual theological meaning: a distinct, repeatable empowering experience of the already-present Holy Spirit (reused as 聖霊, Critical risk per baseline), enabling bold proclamation — foundational to the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and Pentecost. Japanese rendering & risk: 聖霊に満たされた (Seirei ni mitasareta) — High risk. Must be distinguished from Japan’s animistic vocabulary of spirit-possession (霊が取り憑く, rei ga toritsuku, “a spirit possesses [someone],” associated in popular culture with malevolent or ambiguous folk spirits) — being “filled with” the Holy Spirit is empowering communion with the personal third Person of the Trinity, not possession by an ambiguous folk spirit-entity.
Term: ἑτέραις γλώσσαις (heterais glōssais) — “other/different tongues [languages].” Semantic range: here, in context of vv. 6–11, clearly known human languages understood by hearers of many nations — distinct from the ecstatic, uninterpreted “tongues” discussed later in Acts 10:46, 19:6, and 1 Corinthians 14. English variants: “other tongues,” “other languages.” Theological meaning: reversal of Babel’s language confusion (Genesis 11) — the gospel goes out in every tongue, foreshadowing the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles and the Great Commission Fulfilled. Japanese rendering & risk: 他国の言葉 (tagoku no kotoba, “other nations’ languages”) — High risk. This specific Pentecost phenomenon (understood known languages) must be terminologically distinguished from 異言 (igen, glossolalia/ecstatic speech used for Acts 10:46, 19:6, and Pauline texts), or Japanese readers unfamiliar with charismatic theology debates may conflate two distinct phenomena described in Acts under overlapping vocabulary. Teaching notes must flag this distinction explicitly at first occurrence.

Acts 2:5–8

Greek (v.5): Ἦσαν δὲ εἰς Ἰερουσαλὴμ κατοικοῦντες Ἰουδαῖοι… (v.6) …ἤκουον εἷς ἕκαστος τῇ ἰδί�ᳳ διαλέκτῳ λαλούντων αὐτῶν.

Term: Ἰουδαῖοι (Ioudaioi) — “Jews.” Semantic range: ethnic-religious identity, the covenant people. English variants: “Jews,” “Judeans.” Theological meaning: the diaspora Jewish audience gathered for Pentecost, setting up the Jew/Gentile theme that runs through Acts (reuse 異邦人 as counterpart term). Japanese rendering & risk: ユダヤ人 (Yudayajin) — Low risk, established term; care needed in later chapters (esp. Acts 13, 18, 28) to avoid supersessionist-sounding language when Jewish rejection of the gospel is described.
Term: ἰδίᳳ διαλέκτῳ (idia dialektō) — “in his own dialect/language.” Semantic range: mother tongue, native language, as opposed to a shared trade language (κοινή). Theological meaning: God addresses each hearer in their heart-language — not a generic universal tongue but specific, personal communication, anticipating the universal, boundary-crossing scope of the gospel. Japanese rendering & risk: 自分の国の言葉 (jibun no kuni no kotoba) — Low risk.

Acts 2:9–11

Greek: Πάρθοι καὶ Μῆδοι καὶ Ἐλαμῖται… (list of nations) …ἀκούομεν λαλούντων αὐτῶν ταῖς ἡμετέραις γλώσσαις τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ θεοῦ.

Term: τὰ μεγαλεῖα τοῦ θεοῦ (ta megaleia tou theou) — “the mighty/great works of God.” Semantic range: God’s great deeds of salvation history. English variants: “the wonderful works of God,” “the mighty works of God.” Theological meaning: the content of the Spirit-given speech is not ecstatic nonsense but doxological proclamation of God’s saving acts — an early model of Spirit-empowered gospel proclamation to Jews and Gentiles alike (note the geographic list spans the whole known diaspora world, anticipating “the ends of the earth,” Acts 1:8). Japanese rendering & risk: 神の大いなるみわざ (Kami no ooinaru miwaza) — Low risk; ensure 神 carries qualifying language per baseline Critical entry when introduced in doctrinal summary material.

Acts 2:12–13

Greek: διηπόρουν… ἕτεροι δὲ διαχλευάζοντες ἔλεγον ὅτι Γλεύκους μεμεστωμένοι εἰσίν.

Term: διαχλευάζοντες (diachleuazontes) — “mocking, jeering.” Theological meaning: the first recorded response to Spirit-filled proclamation is mockery/misunderstanding, foreshadowing the Persecution and Bold Witness theme. Japanese rendering & risk: あざけって (azakette) — Low risk.

Acts 2:14–15

Greek: Σταθεὶς δὲ Πέτρος… ἀπεφθέγξατο αὐτοῖς… Οὐ γάρ, ὡς ὑμεῖς ὑπολαμβάνετε, οὗτοι μεθύουσιν.

Term: ἀπεφθέγξατο (apephthegxato) — “declared, spoke out, uttered [solemnly/authoritatively].” Same root verb used in v.4 for Spirit-given utterance. Theological meaning: Peter’s sermon is itself continuous with the Spirit’s speaking through the disciples — apostolic proclamation flows from and is empowered by the same Spirit, foundational to Apostolic Authority and Miracles. Japanese rendering & risk: 声を張り上げて言った (koe wo hariagete itta) — Low risk.

Acts 2:16–18

Greek: ἀλλὰ τοῦτό ἐστιν τὸ εἰρημένον διὰ τοῦ προφήτου Ἰωήλ… ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα, καὶ προφητεύσουσιν οἱ υἱοὶ ὑμῶν καὶ αἱ θυγατέρες ὑμῶν…

Term: τὸ εἰρημένον διὰ τοῦ προφήτου (to eirēmenon dia tou prophētou) — “that which was spoken through the prophet.” Reuses baseline 預言者 (yogensha, prophet) and ties to the Fulfillment of Prophecy doctrine. Japanese rendering & risk: verify the 預 kanji (not 予) per baseline homophone warning — Medium risk (orthographic).
Term: ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ πνεύματός μου (ekcheō apo tou pneumatos mou) — “I will pour out from my Spirit.” Semantic range: ἐκχέω, “to pour out lavishly, in abundance.” English variants: “pour out my Spirit.” Contextual theological meaning: the Joel 2 prophecy of universal, status-blind Spirit outpouring is declared fulfilled at this moment — the Holy Spirit and Pentecost doctrine’s central proof text, and a key statement of universal gospel scope. Japanese rendering & risk: わたしの霊を注ぐ (watashi no rei wo sosogu) — Critical risk. NEVER render 霊 (rei) alone as final form here; must read わたしの聖霊を注ぐ or retain sufficient surrounding qualification, since 霊 alone risks folk-spirit associations per baseline Holy Spirit entry. Established Shinkaiyaku practice retains 霊 within this OT-quotation poetic register but this document recommends an explanatory anchor (e.g., a footnote or introductory clause identifying this Spirit as 聖霊, the same Spirit filling the believers in v.4) at first curriculum use.
Term: προφητεύσουσιν (prophēteusousin) — “they will prophesy.” Reuse baseline 預言 (yogen). Japanese rendering & risk: 預言する — Medium risk (homophone with 予言, fortune-telling, per baseline).

Acts 2:19–20

Greek: καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ σημεῖα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κάτω… πρὶν ἐλθεῖν ἡμέραν Κυρίου τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἐπιφανῆ.

Term: τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα (terata kai sēmeia) — “wonders and signs.” Semantic range: τέρας, an awe-inducing marvel; σημεῖον, a sign pointing to a deeper meaning/authenticating a message. English variants: “signs and wonders,” “miracles and signs.” Contextual theological meaning: authenticating divine activity, central to the doctrine of Apostolic Authority and Miracles throughout Acts (used repeatedly: 2:22, 43; 4:30; 5:12; 14:3; 15:12). Japanese rendering & risk: しるしと不思議 (shirushi to fushigi) — Medium risk. 不思議 in everyday Japanese usage has been diluted toward “curious/mysterious” (as in casual conversation, “不思議だね”); teaching must restore weight as divinely authenticating acts, not mere curiosities — a dilution risk analogous to the baseline’s note on 復活’s pop-culture “comeback” overuse.
Term: ἡμέρα Κυρίου (hēmera Kyriou) — “the Day of the Lord.” Reuses baseline 主 (Lord). Theological meaning: eschatological day of divine judgment/salvation from OT prophetic tradition. Japanese rendering & risk: 主の日 (Shu no hi) — High risk, requiring OT eschatological background teaching (biblical illiteracy risk, not competing-concept risk).

Acts 2:21

Greek: καὶ ἔσται πᾶς ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου σωθήσεται.

Term: πᾶς ὃς ἂν ἐπικαλέσηται (pas hos an epikalesētai) — “everyone who calls upon.” Semantic range: ἐπικαλέομαι, “to call upon, invoke, appeal to” — the same verb underlying Romans 10:13’s citation of this identical Joel text. Theological meaning: unconditional universality of gospel access — foundational proof text for the doctrine of the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles. Japanese rendering & risk: 主の御名を呼び求める者はみな (Shu no minna wo yobimotomeru mono wa mina) — High risk. Must retain unqualified “everyone/all” language per the baseline’s Universal Scope of the Gospel rule (must not soften toward an insider/outsider, uchi-soto framing).
Term: σωθήσεται (sōthēsetai) — “will be saved.” Reuses baseline 救い/救われる (Critical risk). Theological meaning: salvation available to all who call, regardless of ethnic or social status — must never shade toward 解脱 or 極楽往生 per baseline prohibition.

Acts 2:22

Greek: Ἰησοῦν τὸν Ναζωραῖον, ἄνδρα ἀποδεδειγμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς ὑμᾶς δυνάμεσι καὶ τέρασι καὶ σημείοις οἷς ἐποίησεν διὰ αὐτοῦ ὁ θεός.

Term: δυνάμεσι (dynamesi) — “mighty works/powers.” Reuses baseline 神の力 (Kami no chikara, power of God, Medium risk). Contextual theological meaning: Jesus’ miracles as divine attestation, foundational to Apostolic Authority and Miracles. Japanese rendering & risk: carry forward baseline warning against 気 or パワー — Medium risk.
Term: ἄνδρα ἀποδεδειγμένον ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ (andra apodedeigmenon apo tou theou) — “a man attested/certified by God.” Theological meaning: full genuine humanity (“a man,” ἄνηρ) combined with divine authentication — an important balance point for the Humanity of Christ doctrine alongside the Deity of Christ, both established in the Romans baseline. Japanese rendering & risk: 神によって証明された人 (Kami ni yotte shoumei sareta hito) — Medium risk.

Acts 2:23

Greek: τοῦτον τῇ ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει τοῦ θεοῦ ἔκδοτον διὰ χειρὸς ἀνόμων προσπήξαντες ἀνείλατε.

Term: ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ καὶ προγνώσει τοῦ θεοῦ (hōrismenē boulē kai prognōsei tou theou) — “determined plan and foreknowledge of God.” Reuses baseline 摂理 (providence, High risk). Theological meaning: the crucifixion as within God’s sovereign plan, not a tragic accident overtaking him — critical for holding together divine sovereignty and human responsibility (Judas/the crowd act freely and are morally responsible; cf. v.23b “you… killed”). Japanese rendering & risk: 神の定めた計画と予知 (Kami no sadameta keikaku to yochi) — High risk; 予知 (“foreknowledge/precognition”) risks sounding like fortune-telling clairvoyance (占い-adjacent) if not anchored to 摂理’s sense of purposive personal governance; recommend pairing with 摂理 terminology established in Romans baseline.

Acts 2:24

Greek: ὃν ὁ θεὸς ἀνέστησεν, λύσας τὰς ὠδῖνας τοῦ θανάτου, καθότι οὐκ ἦν δυνατὸν κρατεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ.

Term: ἀνέστησεν (anestēsen) — “raised up.” Reuses baseline 復活/よみがえらせた (Resurrection of Christ, High risk). Japanese rendering & risk: carry forward baseline warning: NEVER 輪廻転生; actively restore doctrinal weight against 復活’s secular “comeback” overuse — High risk, central proof text.

Acts 2:25–28

Greek (Psalm 16 citation): Προεῖδον τὸν Κύριον ἐνώπιόν μου διὰ παντός… ὅτι οὐ καταλείψεις τὴν ψυχήν μου εἰς ᾅδην, οὐδὲ δώσεις τὸν ὅσιόν σου ἰδεῖν διαφθοράν.

Term: ᾅδης (Hadēs) — “Hades,” the realm of the dead. Semantic range: in LXX usage translates Hebrew Sheol, the shadowy abode of the dead — distinct from later Greco-Roman mythological Hades and from a place of eternal torment. English variants: “Hades,” “the grave,” “hell” (in some older translations, imprecisely). Theological meaning: Christ’s soul was not abandoned to death’s domain — foundational to Resurrection of Christ doctrine. Japanese rendering & risk: 黄泉 (yomi) or 死の国 (shi no kuni, “land of the dead”) — High risk. 黄泉 is the term for the underworld in Japan’s own indigenous Shinto/Kojiki mythology (the land Izanami descends to); using it risks importing Shinto underworld cosmology. Recommend the more neutral descriptive 死者の世界 (shisha no sekai, “the world of the dead”) over 黄泉, with explanatory note distinguishing biblical Sheol/Hades from Shinto Yomi mythology.
Term: ὁ ὅσιός σου / διαφθοράν (ho hosios sou / diaphthoran) — “your Holy One… decay/corruption.” Theological meaning: bodily resurrection before decay set in — insists on a physical, historical event. Japanese rendering & risk: 聖なる方…滅び (Kiyoki mono… horobi) — Medium risk, reinforcing bodily (not merely spiritual) resurrection against any drift toward disembodied afterlife concepts.

Acts 2:29–31

Greek: …περὶ τοῦ πατριάρχου Δαυίδ… προϊδὼν ἐλάλησεν περὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

Term: πατριάρχης Δαυίδ (patriarchēs Dauid) — reuses baseline ダビデ. Theological meaning: David’s own tomb (known, occupied) proves the psalm cannot refer to David himself, establishing it as prophecy of the Messiah’s resurrection — ties Fulfillment of Prophecy, Davidic Covenant, and Messianic Promise together. Japanese rendering & risk: Medium risk, requiring OT covenant background teaching per baseline’s Davidic Covenant notes.
Term: τῆς ἀναστάσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ (tēs anastaseōs tou Christou) — reuses baseline 復活 and キリスト. Japanese rendering & risk: Critical risk combination — both terms individually flagged Critical/High in baseline; their conjunction here is the doctrinal hinge of the sermon.

Acts 2:32

Greek: τοῦτον τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἀνέστησεν ὁ θεός, οὗ πάντες ἡμεῖς ἐσμεν μάρτυρες.

Term: μάρτυρες (martyres) — “witnesses.” Literal meaning: one who testifies to what they have seen/experienced; the same word root later narrows to “martyr” (one who testifies even unto death, cf. Acts 22:20 of Stephen). Semantic range: legal witness testimony; eyewitness; (later NT/patristic development) one who dies for testimony. English variants: “witnesses,” “martyrs” (anachronistic if applied here). Contextual theological meaning: apostolic authority rests on firsthand eyewitness testimony to the resurrection — foundational to both Apostolic Authority and the Great Commission (“you will be my witnesses,” Acts 1:8). Japanese rendering & risk: 証人 (shounin) — High risk. Must be distinguished from a courtroom-only sense (証人 also names a legal trial witness in ordinary Japanese usage, risking a merely juridical reading) and must be connected forward to 殉教者 (junkyousha, martyr, lit. “one who dies for their teaching”) introduced at Stephen’s death (Acts 7) — the same conceptual root, an important teaching point since Japanese vocabulary formally separates “witness” (証人) and “martyr” (殉教者) where Greek uses one word family.

Acts 2:33

Greek: τῇ δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑψωθεὶς, τήν τε ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου λαβὼν παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐξέχεεν τοῦτο.

Term: τῇ δεξιᾷ τοῦ θεοῦ ὑψωθείς (tē dexia tou theou hypsōtheis) — “exalted to/at the right hand of God.” Semantic range: ascension and heavenly enthronement, position of supreme authority. Theological meaning: directly ties the Ascension (treated fully in ch. 1) to Christ’s present exercise of Lordship and to the sending of the Spirit — Lordship of Christ doctrine. Japanese rendering & risk: 神の右に上げられて (Kami no migi ni agerarete) — High risk; must not be read as a spatial/literal seating arrangement but as an idiom of supreme co-regent authority (per Psalm 110, quoted next in vv.34–35).
Term: ἡ ἐπαγγελία τοῦ πνεύματος τοῦ ἁγίου (hē epangelia tou pneumatos tou hagiou) — “the promise of the Holy Spirit.” Reuses baseline 聖霊. Theological meaning: the Spirit’s outpouring fulfills a specific divine promise (Joel 2, and Jesus’ own promise in Acts 1:4–5), tying the Holy Spirit and Pentecost doctrine directly to covenant faithfulness. Japanese rendering & risk: 聖霊の約束 (Seirei no yakusoku) — Critical risk per baseline Holy Spirit entry.

Acts 2:34–35

Greek (Psalm 110 citation): Εἶπεν [ὁ] Κύριος τῷ κυρίῳ μου· Κάθου ἐκ δεξιῶν μου, ἕως ἂν θῶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν σου.

Term: Κύριος… τῷ κυρίῳ μου (Kyrios… tō kyriō mou) — “the LORD… to my Lord.” Reuses baseline 主. Theological meaning: David himself, under inspiration, distinguishes YHWH from “my Lord” (the Messiah) — an OT proof of the Messiah’s divine status, undergirding both Deity of Christ and Lordship of Christ. Japanese rendering & risk: 主は私の主に言われた — Critical risk; this double-主 construction (LORD/Lord) requires careful typographic/contextual clarity in Japanese since both are rendered with the same character 主, unlike English’s capitalization convention (LORD vs Lord); recommend a translator’s note distinguishing YHWH from the addressed “my Lord.”

Acts 2:36

Greek: ἀσφαλῶς οὖν γινωσκέτω πᾶς οἶκος Ἰσραὴλ ὅτι καὶ Κύριον αὐτὸν καὶ Χριστὸν ἐποίησεν ὁ θεός, τοῦτον τὸν Ἰησοῦν ὃν ὑμεῖς ἐσταυρώσατε.

Term: Κύριον… καὶ Χριστὸν ἐποίησεν (Kyrion… kai Christon epoiēsen) — “made [him] both Lord and Christ.” This is the climactic christological confession of the sermon, joining the reused baseline terms 主 and キリスト. Contextual theological meaning: not that Jesus became divine at this point (an adoptionist misreading to guard against) but that his eternal Lordship/Messiahship was publicly vindicated/installed through resurrection and exaltation — this is the hinge verse for Lordship of Christ and Messianic Promise doctrines. Japanese rendering & risk: 神はこの方を主とし、またキリストとされたのです (Kami wa kono kata wo Shu to shi, mata Kirisuto to sareta no desu) — Critical risk. Requires an explanatory theologian’s note guarding against an adoptionist reading (the moment vindicates and publicly installs, not originates, his divine Lordship), echoing the same caution the baseline records for Romans 1:4 (Deity/Sonship of Christ, Critical).
Term: ὃν ὑμεῖς ἐσταυρώσατε (hon hymeis estaurōsate) — “whom you crucified.” Theological meaning: direct confrontation producing conviction (v.37) — must be preserved without softening, as the necessary prelude to the call to repentance.

Acts 2:37

Greek: Ἀκούσαντες δὲ κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν, εἶπόν τε πρὸς τὸν Πέτρον καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἀποστόλους· Τί ποιήσωμεν, ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί;

Term: κατενύγησαν τὴν καρδίαν (katenygēsan tēn kardian) — “were pierced/cut to the heart.” Semantic range: κατανύσσομαι, a vivid image of being sharply stabbed/stung emotionally. Theological meaning: genuine conviction of guilt before God, not merely social shame — critical for the Universal Human Accountability doctrine established in the Romans baseline and directly relevant to the shame/guilt cultural risk already flagged for 罪 (sin). Japanese rendering & risk: 心を強く突き刺された (kokoro wo tsuyoku tsukisareta) — High risk. Given Japan’s shame-orientation (per baseline sin entry), this visceral image must be taught as guilt/conviction before a holy God, not as public loss of face (恥) or causing 迷惑 to the crowd — the conviction is internal and God-directed even though the setting is public.

Acts 2:38

Greek: Πέτρος δὲ πρὸς αὐτούς· Μετανοήσατε, [φησίν] καὶ βαπτισθήτω ἕκαστος ὑμῶν… εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑμῶν, καὶ λήμψεσθε τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος.

Term: μετανοήσατε (metanoēsate) — “repent!” Literal meaning: μετά (“change”) + νοέω (“perceive/think”) — a change of mind/whole-person reorientation, not mere regret. Semantic range: turning away from sin toward God; a decisive reorientation of the whole person’s direction, not simply an emotional response. English variants: “repent,” “turn,” “change your mind.” Contextual theological meaning: the necessary human response to gospel conviction — central to the Repentance and Baptism doctrine, and the first of the “twin acts” (repent + be baptized) forming the normative conversion pattern in Acts. Japanese rendering & risk: 悔い改めなさい (kuiaratamenasai) — High risk. Must be distinguished from two Japanese near-neighbors: (1) 反省 (hansei, “self-reflection/regret”), the common secular term for owning a mistake — frequently invoked in Japanese corporate and social apology culture (e.g., public apology press conferences) — which lacks any necessary reference to God or reorientation of life direction; and (2) 懺悔 (zange), a Buddhist(-influenced) ritual confession term. Biblical repentance is a decisive Godward reorientation of the whole person, not a socially-performed acknowledgment of fault or ritual absolution act.
Term: βαπτισθήτω (baptisthētō) — “let him be baptized” (passive imperative). Literal meaning: from βάπτω/βαπτίζω, “to dip, immerse.” Semantic range: ritual water immersion; here, Christian baptism marking public identification with Christ and entrance into the believing community. English variants: “be baptized.” Contextual theological meaning: the outward, public sign accompanying inward repentance and forgiveness — Repentance and Baptism doctrine’s central proof text. Japanese rendering & risk: バプテスマを受けなさい (Baputesuma wo ukenasai) — High risk. Water-rite vocabulary risks conflation with Shinto ritual purification (清め/禊, harae/misogi) which addresses ceremonial defilement (穢れ) rather than forgiveness of sin before a holy, personal God — the same category distinction the baseline flags for 聖い (holy) vs. Shinto ritual purity. 洗礼 (senrei, “baptism,” literally “washing rite”) is an acceptable variant already in ecumenical Japanese Christian usage but carries the same risk and requires the same clarifying teaching.
Term: εἰς ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν (eis aphesin tōn hamartiōn) — “for/unto the forgiveness of sins.” Reuses baseline 罪 (sin, High risk). Theological meaning: the goal/result of repentance-and-baptism is forgiveness, not the earning mechanism of it (grace remains logically prior — cf. Romans baseline Grace entry, Critical). Japanese rendering & risk: 罪の赦しのために (tsumi no yurushi no tame ni) — Critical risk, requiring careful catechesis to avoid an implicit works-righteousness reading in which baptism itself earns forgiveness (relevant to the Justification apart from the Law doctrine’s core concern) — repentance and baptism are the God-ordained response of faith, not meritorious acts that generate forgiveness apart from grace.
Term: τὴν δωρεὰν τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος (tēn dōrean tou hagiou pneumatos) — “the gift of the Holy Spirit.” δωρεά, “a free gift” (same root family as Romans’ χάρισμα vocabulary). Reuses baseline 聖霊. Theological meaning: the Spirit is given, not earned — reinforces the grace/non-transactional principle at the heart of the Grace doctrine, now applied specifically to Spirit-reception. Japanese rendering & risk: 聖霊の賜物 (Seirei no tamamono) — reuses baseline 賜物 (spiritual gifts, Medium risk) — Critical risk in combination, given both component terms’ individual Critical/High ratings; must be taught as a free gift, resisting the on-giri reciprocity risk flagged for grace generally.

Acts 2:39

Greek: ὑμῖν γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἐπαγγελία καὶ τοῖς τέκνοις ὑμῶν καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς εἰς μακράν, ὅσους ἂν προσκαλέσηται Κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν.

Term: πᾶσι τοῖς εἰς μακράν (pasi tois eis makran) — “all who are far off.” Semantic range: geographically and/or ethnically distant peoples — an allusion forward to Gentile inclusion (cf. Ephesians 2:13, 17, same phrase). Theological meaning: the promise’s scope explicitly extends beyond the immediate Jewish audience — a direct textual anchor for the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles doctrine. Japanese rendering & risk: 遠く離れているすべての人々 (tooku hanarete iru subete no hitobito) — High risk. Must retain full universality per the baseline’s Universal Scope of the Gospel rule; avoid any translation choice that reads as merely “foreigners currently residing nearby” (a weaker sense) rather than the sweeping ethnic/geographic inclusivity intended.
Term: ὅσους ἂν προσκαλέσηται Κύριος (hosous an proskalesētai Kyrios) — “as many as the Lord… will call.” Reuses baseline 召された/召し (High risk). Theological meaning: divine, sovereign initiative in salvation — Effectual Calling doctrine. Japanese rendering & risk: 主が召してくださる人々 — High risk per baseline (must not read as impersonal fate/運命 or competitive selection/選抜).

Acts 2:40

Greek: ἑτέροις τε λόγοις πλείοσιν διεμαρτύρατο καὶ παρεκάλει αὐτοὺς λέγων· Σώθητε ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς τῆς σκολιᾶς ταύτης.

Term: διεμαρτύρατο (diemartyrato) — “testified/solemnly witnessed.” Same μάρτυς root as v.32. Japanese rendering & risk: 証しした (shoushi shita) — Medium risk; reinforce witness terminology consistency across the book.
Term: παρεκάλει (parekalei) — reuses baseline 勧める (exhort, Low risk). Japanese rendering & risk: 勧めた — Low risk.
Term: τῆς γενεᾶς τῆς σκολιᾶς (tēs geneas tēs skolias) — “this crooked generation.” Theological meaning: urgency of the call to be saved out of a morally corrupt cultural moment — ties Universal Human Accountability forward to a call for individual decision. Japanese rendering & risk: この曲がった時代 (kono magatta jidai) — Medium risk; avoid a tone that reads as generational social criticism divorced from personal sin-accountability.

Acts 2:41

Greek: Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ ἐβαπτίσθησαν, καὶ προσετέθησαν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ψυχαὶ ὡσεὶ τρισχίλιαι.

Term: ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸν λόγον (apodexamenoi ton logon) — “having received the word.” Theological meaning: faith-response to apostolic preaching, precedent for the normative Repentance/Baptism/Reception-of-word pattern. Japanese rendering & risk: 御言葉を受け入れた (mikotoba wo ukeireta) — Medium risk.
Term: προσετέθησαν (prosetethēsan) — “were added [to their number].” Semantic range: incorporation into an existing community, not merely individual salvation in isolation. Theological meaning: conversion results immediately in visible incorporation into the Church as Community — the corporate dimension of salvation, developed further in vv.42–47 (see Chapter 2 continuation, Part 2 below). Japanese rendering & risk: 仲間に加えられた (nakama ni kuwaerareta) — Medium risk; avoid drifting toward 仲間意識 (generic in-group solidarity, flagged Low-risk-but-noted in baseline fellowship entry) — this is incorporation into the covenant community of the Spirit, not mere social club membership.

PART 2 — Whole-Book Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis

Acts 1 — Preparation for Pentecost

Term: ἀνάληψις / ἀνελήμφθη (analēpsis / anelēmphthē) — “ascension / was taken up.” Literal meaning: to be lifted/taken up. Semantic range: bodily, visible, historical departure to heaven, distinct from death or disappearance. English variants: “ascension,” “taken up,” “received up.” Theological meaning: Christ’s bodily ascension to a position of cosmic authority, the necessary basis for his present Lordship and for the Spirit’s sending (cf. 2:33) — foundational, though not itself a listed curriculum doctrine, it undergirds Apostolic Authority, Lordship of Christ, and the Great Commission. Japanese rendering & risk: 天に上げられた (ten ni agerareta, “was taken up to heaven”); doctrinal noun form 昇天 (shouten) — High risk. Must be distinguished from Daoist/immortal-ascension motifs found in East Asian folk religion (仙人が天に昇る, “immortals ascending to heaven”) and from generic Buddhist/Shinto afterlife-departure imagery; Christ’s ascension is a unique, bodily, historical event to a specific throne of authority, not a mythic apotheosis.
Term: βασιλεία (Israel) restored (Acts 1:6) — reuses baseline 神の国 (Kingdom of God, High risk). Contextual theological meaning: the disciples’ nationalistic misunderstanding (“will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”) is directly corrected by Jesus toward a Spirit-empowered global mission (v.8), not a political/territorial restoration. Japanese rendering & risk: High risk; this passage is an especially important anchor point for the baseline’s warning about 神の国’s historical association with pre-1945 State Shinto ultranationalist ideology (神国日本) — the text itself corrects a nationalistic-restoration expectation, making it a natural teaching opportunity to clarify the doctrine against that very risk.
Term: μάρτυρες …ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς (martyres… heōs eschatou tēs gēs) — “witnesses… to the end of the earth.” Reuses 証人 (witness, established above) plus new term: ἔσχατος τῆς γῆς, “the end/farthest part of the earth.” Semantic range: the entire inhabited world, no geographic limit. Theological meaning: the programmatic statement of the Great Commission Fulfilled doctrine — the structural outline of the whole book of Acts (Jerusalem → Judea/Samaria → the nations). Japanese rendering & risk: 地の果てまで (chi no hate made) — Medium risk; ensure this is read as a literal global scope statement rather than a poetic hyperbole, since the book’s narrative arc (chs. 1–28) is structured precisely around its fulfillment.
Term: κλῆρος / ἔλαχεν ὁ κλῆρος (klēros / casting lots, Acts 1:26) — “lot/inheritance.” Note: this term family (κλῆρος) later underlies “inheritance” language elsewhere in the NT (reuse concept near baseline adoption entry). Here it refers to the literal casting of lots to select Matthias. Japanese rendering & risk: くじ (kuji) — Low-Medium risk; くじ carries strong associations with Japanese festival/shrine lot-drawing (おみくじ, omikuji, fortune-slips drawn at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples) — a superficial resemblance requiring a brief clarifying note that this is a Spirit-guided decision-method within the apostolic community, not a fortune-telling or luck-based Shinto/Buddhist religious practice.

Acts 2 (continuation beyond core passage): Acts 2:42–47

Term: τῇ διδαχῇ τῶν ἀποστόλων καὶ τῇ κοινωνίᳳ (tē didachē tōn apostolōn kai tē koinōnia) — “the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship.” Reuses baseline 交わり (fellowship, Low risk) alongside 使徒 (apostle). Theological meaning: the four marks of the earliest church community (teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, prayers) — the primary NT proof text for the Church as Community doctrine. Japanese rendering & risk: Medium risk; per baseline caution, distinguish from 仲間意識 (generic group solidarity) — this is doctrinally-anchored fellowship centered on apostolic teaching, not social cohesion for its own sake.
Term: τῇ κλάσει τοῦ ἄρτου (tē klasei tou artou) — “the breaking of bread.” Semantic range: shared communal meals, likely including (or anticipating) the Lord’s Supper. English variants: “breaking of bread,” “the Lord’s Supper” (in later liturgical development). Japanese rendering & risk: パンを裂くこと (pan wo saku koto) — Medium risk; distinguish from the merely social meal-sharing sense and from Japanese communal-meal customs (会食, kaishoku) that carry no inherent sacramental/covenantal meaning.
Term: εἶχον ἅπαντα κοινά (eichon hapanta koina) — “had all things in common.” Semantic range: voluntary, Spirit-motivated sharing of possessions for the needy within the community — not an enforced economic system. English variants: “held everything in common,” “shared everything.” Theological meaning: radical, voluntary generosity flowing from unity in Christ — Church as Community doctrine. Japanese rendering & risk: 持ち物を共有していた (mochimono wo kyouyuu shite ita) — Medium risk. Given Japan’s strong group-harmony (和) and historically collectivist social-economic memory (including 20th-century associations with state-imposed collectivism in neighboring regions), this must be clearly taught as voluntary, Spirit-motivated generosity arising from love, not an enforced or ideological communal-property system.
Term: ὁμοθυμαδόν / ἀγαλλιάσει καὶ ἀφελότητι καρδίας (homothymadon / agalliasei kai aphelotēti kardias) — “with one accord… with gladness and simplicity/sincerity of heart.” Japanese rendering & risk: 喜びと真心をもって (yorokobi to magokoro wo motte) — Low risk.
Term: προσετίθει… τοὺς σωζομένους (prosetithei… tous sōzomenous) — “added… those being saved.” Reuses baseline 救い. Japanese rendering & risk: Critical risk per baseline salvation entry, now applied to ongoing (present-tense, “being saved”) daily growth of the community.

Acts 3 — Healing and Repentance Preaching

Term: ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (en tō onomati Iēsou Christou) — “in the name of Jesus Christ” (healing the lame man, v.6). Semantic range: acting under and by the delegated authority of a person, not a magical incantation-formula. English variants: “in the name of.” Theological meaning: apostolic miracles are performed by Christ’s authority, not the apostles’ own power — Apostolic Authority and Miracles doctrine. Japanese rendering & risk: イエス・キリストの名によって (Iesu Kirisuto no na ni yotte) — High risk. Must be clearly distinguished from magical name-invocation formulas found in Japanese folk-magic and esoteric practice (陰陽師 onmyouji spell traditions, and modern occult/pop-culture “chant the name for power” tropes); this is submission to and authorized action under Christ’s Lordship, not an incantation with inherent verbal power.
Term: μετανοήσατε… καὶ ἐπιστρέψατε (metanoēsate… kai epistrepsate, v.19) — “repent… and turn back/be converted.” Reuses 悔い改め established above, plus new term ἐπιστρέφω, “to turn back, be converted.” Japanese rendering & risk: 悔い改めて、立ち返りなさい (kuiaratamete, tachikaerinasai) — High risk, same considerations as v.38 above.
Term: ὁ παῖς αὐτοῦ (ho pais autou, “his servant,” referring to Jesus, v.13, 26) — Semantic range: an Isaianic Suffering Servant title (cf. Isaiah 52:13 LXX). Theological meaning: identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s Servant prophecies — Fulfillment of Prophecy doctrine. Japanese rendering & risk: 主のしもべ (Shu no shimobe) — Medium risk; requires OT Isaiah background teaching (biblical-illiteracy risk).

Acts 4 — Boldness Under Pressure

Term: παρρησία (parrēsia, vv.13, 29, 31) — “boldness, confidence, freedom of speech.” Literal meaning: πᾶν + ῥῆσις, “all speech” — originally a civic/political term for the free citizen’s right to speak openly in public assembly. Semantic range: confident, unashamed, public speech; freedom from fear or restraint. English variants: “boldness,” “confidence,” “openly.” Contextual theological meaning: Spirit-given confidence to proclaim the gospel publicly despite threat of punishment — central to the Persecution and Bold Witness doctrine. Japanese rendering & risk: 大胆に (daitan ni) — High risk. Japan’s strong cultural discouragement of standing out or drawing negative social attention (出る杭は打たれる, “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down”; and broader wa-harmony social pressure) risks making 大胆 read as socially inappropriate assertiveness or arrogance rather than Spirit-empowered, God-directed courage under threat. Teaching must frame this boldness as flowing from having been with Jesus (v.13) and filled with the Spirit (v.31), not personality-driven confidence.
Term: κατ᾽ ἴδιον οὐδὲν ἔλεγεν εἶναι, ἀλλ᾽ ἦν αὐτοῖς ἅπαντα κοινά (v.32) — reuses “all things common” theme from 2:44; reinforces Church as Community. Japanese rendering & risk: Medium risk, same as Acts 2 note above.
Term: οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν ἄλλῳ οὐδενὶ ἡ σωτηρία (v.12, “there is salvation in no one else”) — reuses baseline 救い. Theological meaning: exclusivity of salvation in Christ’s name alone — directly relevant to Justification apart from the Law and to the whole Gospel to Jews and Gentiles doctrine (no other means, for anyone). Japanese rendering & risk: Critical risk per baseline; must retain the exclusivity claim without softening.

Acts 5 — Ananias and Sapphira; Continued Boldness

Term: ψεύσασθαι… τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον (pseusasthai… to Pneuma to Hagion, v.3, “lied to the Holy Spirit”) — Theological meaning: sin against the Holy Spirit is treated as sin against a personal divine being present within the community, not an abstract force — reinforces the personhood of the Spirit central to the baseline’s Critical Holy Spirit entry. Japanese rendering & risk: 聖霊を欺いた (Seirei wo azamuita) — Critical risk per baseline.
Term: φόβος μέγας (phobos megas, v.5, 11, “great fear”) — Semantic range: awe/dread at God’s holiness manifest within the community, not casual anxiety. Japanese rendering & risk: 大きな恐れ (ooki na osore) — Medium risk; distinguish from ordinary fear/anxiety vocabulary — this is reverential fear of a holy God acting within the church.
Term: πειθαρχεῖν τῷ θεῷ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνθρώποις (v.29, “obey God rather than men”) — Theological meaning: the principle underlying civil disobedience for conscience’s sake — relevant to Persecution and Bold Witness and anticipating Acts 13’s principle (later echoed in Romans 13’s civil-authority teaching, already in the baseline curriculum). Japanese rendering & risk: 人に従うより神に従うべきです (hito ni shitagau yori Kami ni shitagau beki desu) — High risk; care needed given Japan’s strong hierarchical-obedience culture (already flagged under baseline’s Obedience of Faith entry) — this text explicitly relativizes human hierarchical authority under God’s higher authority, a genuinely counter-cultural point requiring careful, non-inflammatory framing.

Acts 6 — The Seven and Stephen

Term: διακονία (diakonia, v.1, “service/ministry” [of tables]) — Semantic range: practical service, table-waiting, ministry in the broadest sense (root of “deacon”). English variants: “distribution,” “service,” “ministry.” Theological meaning: the church organizing structured, Spirit-qualified service alongside apostolic preaching — Church as Community and (nascent) Apostolic Authority doctrines. Japanese rendering & risk: 奉仕 (houshi) — Low-Medium risk; distinguish from generic secular volunteerism (also 奉仕活動 in Japanese civic usage) — this is Spirit-directed ministry within the believing community.
Term: πλήρης πίστεως καὶ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου (v.5, “full of faith and the Holy Spirit,” of Stephen) — reuses 信仰 and 聖霊; combination emphasizes qualification for ministry rests on Spirit-fullness, not mere administrative competence. High risk combination per baseline.

Acts 7 — Stephen’s Speech and Martyrdom

Term: ὑμεῖς πάντοτε τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ Ἁγίῳ ἀντιπίπτετε (v.51, “you always resist the Holy Spirit”) — Theological meaning: resisting the Spirit’s conviction is a persistent pattern of unbelief, not a single act — reinforces Universal Human Accountability. Japanese rendering & risk: いつも聖霊に逆らっています (itsumo Seirei ni sakaratte imasu) — High risk, Holy Spirit combination per baseline.
Term: ἐλιθοβόλουν τὸν Στέφανον (v.59, “they stoned Stephen”), paired with v.60’s dying testimony — establishes the μάρτυς (witness) → martyrdom connection flagged in the core passage’s Acts 2:32 entry. This is the narrative fulfillment of that terminological link. Japanese rendering & risk: ステファノに石を投げつけた (Sutefano ni ishi wo tsuketsuketa) — High risk; theologically, this is the book’s first fulfillment of “witness” (証人) becoming “martyr” (殉教者), the pivotal scene for the Persecution and Bold Witness doctrine — recommend introducing 殉教 (junkyou, martyrdom) explicitly here with a note tying it back to μάρτυς in Acts 1:8 and 2:32.

Acts 8 — Philip, Samaria, Simon the Sorcerer, the Ethiopian Eunuch

Term: μαγεία / ὁ μάγος (mageia / ho magos, vv.9–24, Simon “the sorcerer”) — “magic/sorcery” and “sorcerer/magician.” Semantic range: occult power-manipulation practices, distinct from and opposed to the Holy Spirit’s gracious, non-purchasable gift. English variants: “sorcery,” “magic,” “magic arts.” Theological meaning: Simon’s attempt to buy the Spirit’s power (v.18–19) is directly condemned — a vivid contrast case for the Grace doctrine’s non-transactional nature, applied here to spiritual power rather than salvation per se. Japanese rendering & risk: 魔術 (majutsu) — High risk. Japan retains a living cultural memory of indigenous occult/divination traditions (陰陽師 onmyouji, folk exorcism, fortune-telling); this passage must be taught as a condemnation of manipulative, purchasable spiritual power generally (of which Japanese folk magic is one culturally proximate example, not the only referent) versus the Spirit’s freely-given, non-transactional gift — directly reinforcing the baseline Grace entry’s on-giri warning, now in the domain of spiritual power rather than salvation.
Term: ἐπέθηκαν τὰς χεῖρας (v.17, “laid hands on them”) — “laying on of hands.” Semantic range: a physical gesture accompanying prayer for the impartation of blessing, commissioning, or the Spirit. English variants: “laid hands on,” “the laying on of hands.” Theological meaning: an apostolic means (not a magical mechanism) by which the Spirit is given/ministry is commissioned — Apostolic Authority and Miracles doctrine, and later Holy Spirit and Pentecost doctrine (also Acts 19:6). Japanese rendering & risk: 手を置いた (te wo oita); established Japanese church usage also employs 按手 (anshu) for ordination contexts — Medium-High risk. Must be distinguished from Buddhist esoteric hand-laying blessing rites (加持, kaji, in Shingon/Tendai practice) which are understood to transmit ritual power through the practitioner’s own spiritual attainment; the biblical gesture is a prayerful sign accompanying God’s sovereign giving of the Spirit, not a technique that itself transmits power.
Term: κωλύειν τι αὐτὸν βαπτισθῆναι; (v.36, “what prevents me from being baptized?”) — reuses バプテスマ established above; here applied to the first explicitly Gentile-adjacent convert (an Ethiopian, likely proselyte or God-fearer) — an early anticipation of Gospel to Jews and Gentiles, ahead of the fuller Cornelius narrative in ch. 10.

Acts 9 — Conversion of Paul (Saul)

Term: ἐπιστροφή / μετεστράφη (context, cf. Acts 9:1–19 narrative; formal noun ἐπιστροφή appears at Acts 15:3) — “conversion, turning.” Literal meaning: a decisive turning/reversal of direction. Semantic range: radical, God-initiated reversal of life-orientation, from persecutor to proclaimer. English variants: “conversion.” Contextual theological meaning: this is the paradigm conversion narrative in Acts, functioning as the curriculum’s central case study for the Conversion of Paul doctrine, and paired directly with themes of divine calling, grace, and apostolic commissioning. Japanese rendering & risk: 回心 (kaishin) — High risk. This is the standard Japanese Christian theological term but is a Buddhist-adjacent Sino-Japanese compound (回 “turn/return” + 心 “heart/mind”) whose general sense (“a change of heart”) is also used in ordinary secular Japanese for any decisive change of opinion or attitude (e.g. a change of political view); teaching must clarify this is a Spirit-wrought, God-initiated total reorientation toward Christ, not a merely psychological attitude shift achieved by the person’s own reflection.
Term: Κύριε, τίς εἶ; (Kyrie, tis ei, v.5, “Lord, who are you?”) — reuses baseline 主; Saul’s address of “Lord” here likely functions initially as a generic term of respect toward an overpowering heavenly figure (“sir/master”), only later resolving into full confession of Christ’s exclusive Lordship. High risk; a useful teaching moment distinguishing the polite-address sense of κύριε from the full theological confession sense established in Romans 10:9 and Acts 2:36.
Term: σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς (skeuos eklogēs, v.15, “a chosen instrument/vessel of election”) — Literal meaning: σκεῦος, “vessel, container, instrument”; ἐκλογή reuses baseline 選び (election, High risk). Semantic range: a person set apart and equipped by God’s sovereign choice for a specific purpose. Theological meaning: Paul’s apostleship originates in God’s sovereign, unmerited choice, not Paul’s own merit or effort (he was, after all, actively persecuting the church) — a vivid illustration of Grace and Election doctrines together, and foundational to Apostolic Authority. Japanese rendering & risk: 選びの器 (erabi no utsuwa) — High risk per baseline election entry; must not be read through Japan’s competitive-selection/exam-culture lens (受験, 選抜) — Paul is chosen despite, not because of, merit.
Term: ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν… ὡς λεπίδες (v.18, “as if scales… from his eyes”) — physical detail marking Paul’s restored sight, paired symbolically with spiritual illumination; ties forward to Acts 26:18’s “open their eyes” language. Japanese rendering & risk: うろこのようなものが目から落ちた (uroko no you na mono ga me kara ochita) — Low risk, vivid narrative detail.

Acts 10 — Cornelius and Gentile Inclusion

Term: κοινός (koinos, vv.14–15, 28, “common/unclean”) — Literal meaning: “common, shared, ordinary” — in Jewish ceremonial usage extended to mean “ritually defiled/profane” as opposed to set-apart (ἅγιος). Semantic range: ceremonially impure food; by extension in this narrative, applied metaphorically to Gentile persons as “unclean” in Jewish ceremonial categories, which God’s vision explicitly overturns. English variants: “common,” “unclean,” “impure.” Contextual theological meaning: the abolition of OT ceremonial food/purity distinctions as a marker of who may be approached with the gospel — the central proof text for the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles doctrine and closely tied to Justification apart from the Law (ceremonial law no longer determines access to God’s people). Japanese rendering & risk: 汚れたもの / きよくないもの (kegareta mono / kiyokunai mono) — High risk. This directly intersects the baseline’s caution on 聖い (holy): Shinto’s kegare (穢れ, ritual impurity/pollution) concept and its restoration through purification ritual (禊, 祓い) is a live cultural category in Japan. Peter’s vision must be taught as the abolition of an Old Testament ceremonial distinction fulfilled in Christ — not as commentary on, or bridge to, the ongoing Shinto kegare/harae purity system, which addresses a different (ritual pollution) category entirely from covenant/ceremonial law.
Term: οὔκ ἔστιν προσωπολήπτης ὁ θεός (v.34, “God is not one to show partiality/favoritism”) — Literal meaning: πρόσωπον (“face”) + λαμβάνω (“take/receive”) — “one who takes/receives according to the face,” i.e., judges by external status. Semantic range: impartiality regardless of ethnicity, social class, or status. Theological meaning: direct doctrinal statement undergirding the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles and Universal Scope of the Gospel doctrines. Japanese rendering & risk: 神は人を偏り見ない方です (Kami wa hito wo katayorimi nai kata desu) — High risk; must be preserved as an unqualified universal statement, resisting any softening toward Japan’s uchi-soto (insider/outsider) social categories, per the baseline’s Universal Scope rule.
Term: ἡ δωρεὰ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐκκέχυται (v.45, “the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out,” on Gentiles) — reuses core-passage vocabulary from 2:17, 38; the deliberate echo signals that Gentile reception of the Spirit is identical in kind to the Jewish Pentecost experience — no “second-class” spiritual status. Critical risk per baseline Holy Spirit entry, now doctrinally load-bearing for Gentile equality.

Acts 11 — Jerusalem’s Response; Antioch

Term: Χριστιανοί (Christianoi, v.26, “Christians” — first NT occurrence of the term) — Literal meaning: “belonging to/followers of Christ,” likely originally a term coined by outsiders at Antioch. English variants: “Christians.” Theological meaning: the emergence of a distinct communal identity, no longer merely a sect within Judaism — relevant to Church as Community and the broader Gospel to Jews and Gentiles narrative arc. Japanese rendering & risk: クリスチャン (Kurisuchan) — Low risk; established loanword in modern Japanese with broad (if often superficial) secular recognition, similar to the baseline’s note on キリスト as a familiar-but-shallow cultural reference — some explanatory teaching is still useful to move beyond the culturally generic Western-associated sense of “Christian.”
Term: τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ (v.23, “the grace of God” [evident at Antioch]) — reuses baseline 恵み (Critical risk). Japanese rendering & risk: carry forward baseline non-transactional clarification requirement.

Acts 12 — Peter’s Deliverance; Herod’s Death

No new theological vocabulary beyond terms already established (persecution, angelic deliverance narrative details, prayer/intercession reusing baseline とりなし). Chapter reviewed: reuses Persecution and Bold Witness (ch. 4–8) and Prayer/Intercession (Romans baseline) vocabulary; the narrative itself (Peter’s escape, James’s martyrdom, Herod’s judgment) illustrates rather than introduces new load-bearing terms.

Acts 13 — First Missionary Journey; Justification Preached at Antioch

Term: ἀφορίσατε δή μοι (v.2, “set apart for me,” of the Spirit commissioning Barnabas and Saul) — reuses concept near baseline 聖い/sanctification family; ties Holy Spirit’s direct agency to Apostolic commissioning. Japanese rendering & risk: 選び出しなさい / 聖別しなさい (sentei sase nasai) — Medium-High risk; distinguish Spirit-directed setting-apart for mission from ascetic self-withdrawal (修行).
Term: ἐν τούτῳ πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων δικαιοῦται (v.39, “by this one everyone who believes is justified”) — reuses baseline 義と認められること (justification, Critical risk) and 信仰 (faith, High risk). Theological meaning: Paul’s Antioch sermon is the first full statement in Acts of the Justification apart from the Law doctrine — that justification comes through faith in Christ, not observance of the Mosaic law, directly anticipating the Jerusalem Council’s ruling in ch. 15 and the fuller Pauline exposition later systematized in Romans. Japanese rendering & risk: この方によって、信じるすべての人が義と認められるのです — Critical risk; must retain forensic “counted/declared righteous” sense per baseline, resisting any drift toward “become morally good.”
Term: οὐκ ἐδικαιώθητε ἐν νόμῳ Μωυσέως (v.39 continued, “you could not be justified by the law of Moses”) — reuses baseline 律法 (law, Medium risk). Critical risk in combination with justification — this is the direct textual pairing that establishes Justification apart from the Law as a distinct curriculum doctrine.
Term: φῶς ἐθνῶν (v.47, citing Isaiah 49:6, “a light for the Gentiles”) — reuses baseline 異邦人 and 栄光-adjacent light imagery. Theological meaning: OT prophetic mandate for Gentile mission, Fulfillment of Prophecy meeting Gospel to Jews and Gentiles. Japanese rendering & risk: 異邦人の光 (ihoujin no hikari) — Medium risk.

Acts 14 — Lystra and Iconium

No new load-bearing theological terms; this chapter reuses vocabulary already established under Apostolic Authority and Miracles (signs/healing, ch. 3), Persecution and Bold Witness (stoning of Paul, echoing ch. 7’s stoning language), and Grace (v.26, “commended to the grace of God,” reusing baseline 恵み). One notable narrative point for cultural-collision awareness: the crowd’s attempt to worship Paul and Barnabas as the gods Zeus and Hermes (vv.11–13) is a vivid illustration of the baseline’s Deity of Christ / God entries’ core concern (distinguishing the true God from polytheistic deification of humans) but introduces no new vocabulary requiring fresh glossary entries — reuse baseline 神 (Critical) with its qualifying-language requirement when teaching this episode.

Acts 15 — The Jerusalem Council

Term: περιτομή (peritomē, vv.1, 5, “circumcision”) — Literal meaning: the physical rite of circumcision, sign of the Abrahamic/Mosaic covenant. Semantic range: here, metonymy for the whole question of Gentile obligation to Mosaic law. English variants: “circumcision.” Contextual theological meaning: the council’s central question — whether Gentile believers must be circumcised and keep the Mosaic law to be saved — is resolved decisively in the negative, the Council’s ruling forming the narrative and doctrinal capstone of Justification apart from the Law. Japanese rendering & risk: 割礼 (katsurei) — Medium risk, primarily a biblical-illiteracy gap: the physical rite and its covenantal significance require full explanation for secular Japanese readers with no background concept to draw on.
Term: τῷ Πνεύματι τῷ Ἁγίῳ καὶ ἡμῖν (v.28, “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us”) — Theological meaning: collaborative divine-human authority in church governance — ties Holy Spirit doctrine to Apostolic Authority in an ecclesial-decision-making context. Japanese rendering & risk: 聖霊と私たちは、…決めました — Critical risk per baseline Holy Spirit entry.
Term: τῇ χάριτι τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ πιστεύομεν σωθῆναι (v.11, “we believe we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus”) — reuses baseline 恵み and 救い together; Peter’s own summary statement of the council’s theological rationale. Critical risk combination.

Acts 16 — Lydia, the Philippian Jailer, Household Salvation

Term: οἶκος (oikos, v.31–34, “household” — “you will be saved, you and your household”) — Literal meaning: “house, household,” including family members and (in the ancient household structure) servants. Semantic range: a family/household economic-social unit under one head. English variants: “household,” “house,” “family.” Contextual theological meaning: whole-household response to the gospel is a recurring Acts pattern (cf. Cornelius’s household, ch. 10; Crispus, ch. 18), but the salvation itself remains individually appropriated by faith — the household framing describes the scope of gospel proclamation and response, not automatic corporate salvation transferred by the head of household’s faith alone. Japanese rendering & risk: 家族 (kazoku) — Medium risk. Japan’s traditional 家 (ie) household-continuity system (in which family status, obligation, and even religious affiliation historically passed corporately through the household head, e.g., the Edo-period terauke temple-registration system) risks a collectivist misreading in which the household head’s faith is assumed automatically to secure salvation for all members without their own individual faith-response — teaching must clarify that each household member who is described as believing/being baptized (v.34, “he… believed in God, he and all his household,” with the household also rejoicing) does so through their own faith-response, even though the gospel’s proclamation and reception often move through natural household lines.
Term: τί με δεῖ ποιεῖν ἵνα σωθῶ; (v.30, “what must I do to be saved?”) — reuses baseline 救い; direct thematic echo of Acts 2:37’s “what shall we do?” — establishing this question-and-answer pattern as the normative Acts conversion template. Critical risk per baseline.

Acts 17 — Athens and the Areopagus

Term: ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ (agnōstō theō, v.23, “to an unknown god”) — Literal meaning: “unknown/unrecognized god” — the inscription Paul finds on an Athenian altar. Semantic range: pagan religious uncertainty/hedging against offending an unrecognized deity. Theological meaning: Paul uses this altar as a rhetorical bridge to proclaim the one true God who alone can be truly known — directly engaging the Gospel to Jews and Gentiles doctrine in its most explicitly cross-cultural, philosophically pagan setting in Acts. Japanese rendering & risk: 知られていない神に (shirarete inai kami ni) — Critical risk. This passage is an unusually apt and important teaching bridge for Japan’s own religious landscape: the yaoyorozu no kami (eight-million-kami) tradition, in which countless deities are honored without exhaustive individual knowledge or exclusive commitment, closely parallels the Athenian religious hedge Paul addresses. This can be a genuinely effective teaching bridge — but per the baseline’s Critical 神 entry, must be handled carefully so that Paul’s proclamation of “the God who made the world” (v.24) is clearly presented as the one, singular, true Creator categorically distinct from and unknown among the many kami, not as “one more kami now identified and added to the pantheon.” Recommend explicit qualifying language (唯一のまことの神) at this passage’s first teaching use, exactly as the baseline requires for doctrinally weighty God-statements.
Term: εἴδωλα (eidōla, v.16, “idols”) — reuses concept adjacent to baseline God/Deity-of-Christ entries. Japanese rendering & risk: 偶像 (guuzou) — High risk; requires care in a culture where physical religious images (Buddhist statues, Shinto shrine objects) are common and generally not viewed by adherents as objects of primitive superstition but as respected cultural/religious heritage — teaching should distinguish the theological critique of idolatry (misdirected worship) from cultural disrespect toward Japanese religious heritage or its practitioners.
Term: τὴν ἄγνοιαν… ὁ θεὸς… τὰ νῦν παραγγέλλει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις μετανοεῖν (v.30, “the times of ignorance… God commands all people to repent”) — reuses 悔い改め established above, now applied universally to “all people” (πάντας/πανταχοῦ) — reinforcing Universal Human Accountability and Universal Scope of the Gospel together. High risk.

Acts 18 — Corinth

No new load-bearing theological terms beyond established vocabulary (συναγωγή, synagogue, treated below at ch. 19 for full definition; grace, faith, and gospel proclamation reusing baseline terms). Note narrative detail: Gallio’s ruling that the dispute is an internal Jewish religious matter (v.15) touches on Church/Synagogue distinction, relevant to Gospel to Jews and Gentiles, but introduces no new vocabulary.

Acts 19 — Ephesus

Term: τὸ βάπτισμα Ἰωάννου / εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ (vv.3–5, John’s baptism vs. baptism “into the name of the Lord Jesus”) — reuses バプテスマ established above. Theological meaning: distinguishes a preparatory repentance-baptism (John’s) from full Christian baptism identifying the believer with Christ and accompanied by Spirit-reception (v.6) — refines the Repentance and Baptism doctrine with an important historical-theological nuance. High risk, requiring careful sequencing in teaching to avoid conflating the two baptisms as identical in meaning.
Term: ἐλάλουν τε γλώσσαις καὶ ἐπροφήτευον (v.6, “spoke in tongues and prophesied”) — reuses γλῶσσα vocabulary; here likely the ecstatic/prophetic-utterance sense rather than the known-foreign-language sense of Acts 2 (see core passage note on the 他国の言葉/異言 distinction). Japanese rendering & risk: 異言を語り、預言をした (igen wo katari, yogen wo shita) — High risk, same terminological-distinction concern flagged at Acts 2:4.
Term: ἡ συναγωγή (hē synagōgē, “synagogue,” recurring throughout Acts, e.g. 13:5, 14, 14:1, 17:1, 18:4, 19:8) — Literal meaning: “a gathering, assembly” — the Jewish congregational/worship institution. English variants: “synagogue.” Theological meaning: the consistent starting point of Paul’s missionary strategy (proclaim first in the synagogue) — relevant to Gospel to Jews and Gentiles and Great Commission Fulfilled. Japanese rendering & risk: 会堂 (kaidou) — Low-Medium risk; established term, but should be kept distinct from 教会 (church, baseline Medium risk) to preserve the historical Jewish-institutional identity of the synagogue as distinct from the emerging Christian church.
Term: βιβλία… τῆς περιεργίας (v.19, “books of magic arts” [burned]) — reuses μαγεία concept from ch. 8. Japanese rendering & risk: 魔術の書 (majutsu no sho) — High risk, same considerations as Simon Magus narrative.

Acts 20 — Paul’s Farewell at Miletus

Term: πᾶσαν τὴν βουλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ (v.27, “the whole counsel/purpose of God”) — Literal meaning: βουλή, “counsel, plan, purpose” — reuses concept from Acts 2:23’s ὡρισμένῃ βουλῇ, and adjacent to baseline 摂理 (providence). English variants: “the whole counsel of God,” “the whole plan/purpose of God.” Theological meaning: faithful apostolic ministry requires proclaiming the entirety of God’s revealed purpose, not a partial or convenient selection — relevant to Apostolic Authority. Japanese rendering & risk: 神のみこころのすべて (Kami no mikokoro no subete) — Medium-High risk.
Term: ἐπισκόπους / ποιμαίνειν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ (vv.28, “overseers”; “shepherd/pastor the church of God”) — Literal meaning: ἐπίσκοπος, “overseer, one who watches over”; ποιμαίνω, “to shepherd, tend as a flock.” Semantic range: pastoral oversight and care, drawing on agricultural shepherd imagery largely unfamiliar to Japan’s non-pastoral agricultural tradition. English variants: “overseer,” “bishop” (later ecclesiastical development), “elder” (πρεσβύτερος, used interchangeably with ἐπίσκοπος in this passage, cf. v.17). Theological meaning: church leadership as sacrificial, watchful care over God’s flock, purchased with Christ’s own blood (v.28b) — ties Church as Community and Apostolic Authority together. Japanese rendering & risk: 監督 (kantoku, overseer — note: this same word is used generically in Japanese for a sports team “manager/coach” or film “director,” a secular-dilution risk) / 長老 (chourou, elder) / 群れを牧しなさい (mure wo boku shinasai, “shepherd the flock”) — Medium risk. The shepherd/flock metaphor is a biblical-illiteracy gap for Japan (no strong indigenous pastoral-herding tradition to draw on, unlike Middle Eastern or European agrarian contexts), requiring explanatory teaching of the image itself, while 監督’s secular “coach/director” overtones require a clarifying note to avoid a merely managerial, non-sacrificial reading of pastoral oversight.

Acts 21 — Paul’s Arrest Warnings; Temple Riot

No new load-bearing theological terms; reuses 聖霊-guided prophecy (Agabus, v.11), 異邦人 (Gentiles, in the temple-riot accusation), and 神殿 (temple, introduced fully at ch. 22 note below). Chapter reviewed: illustrates Persecution and Bold Witness and Apostolic Authority themes already established.

Acts 22 — Paul’s Defense; Conversion Retold

Term: ἐβαπτίσθην (v.16, Paul’s own baptism recounted) — reuses established バプテスマ vocabulary; second full narration of the Conversion of Paul doctrine (cf. ch. 9), reinforcing consistency requirements per the theological-consistency principle established in the baseline requirements document.
Term: πολίτης Ῥωμαῖος (v.25–28, Paul’s Roman citizenship) — not itself a theological term but relevant background for the Persecution and Bold Witness doctrine’s civil-authority dimension; no new glossary entry required, reuses Romans baseline’s civil-authority awareness (Romans 13 already covered in the baseline curriculum).

Acts 23 — The Sanhedrin Plot

Term: τὸ συνέδριον (to synedrion, “the Sanhedrin/council”) — Literal meaning: “a sitting-together, council” — the Jewish high court/ruling council in Jerusalem. English variants: “Sanhedrin,” “the council,” “the Jewish high court.” Theological meaning: the institutional Jewish authority opposing the apostolic mission — relevant to Persecution and Bold Witness. Japanese rendering & risk: 議会 (gikai, generic council/assembly) or サンヘドリン (transliteration) — Low-Medium risk; 議会 alone risks reading as a modern secular parliamentary body; recommend サンヘドリン with explanatory gloss (ユダヤの最高法院, “the supreme Jewish court”) for doctrinal clarity, distinguishing it from a modern legislature.

Acts 24 — Paul Before Felix

Term: περὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἐγκρατείας καὶ τοῦ κρίματος τοῦ μέλλοντος (v.25, “concerning righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment”) — reuses baseline 義 (righteousness, Critical risk). Japanese rendering & risk: carries forward the baseline’s Bushido-virtue collision warning: Paul’s message here is not an appeal to Felix to cultivate personal moral courage/virtue (the Bushido sense the baseline flags) but a proclamation of God’s righteous standard and coming judgment — requires the same distinguishing note the baseline mandates whenever 義 appears in a justification/moral-accountability context.
Term: τῆς ὁδοῦ (tēs hodou, v.22, “the Way,” referring to the Christian movement, cf. also 9:2; 19:9, 23; 24:14; 22) — Literal meaning: ὁδός, “road, way, path.” Semantic range: a designation for the whole Christian movement as a distinct “way of life/belief,” likely originating as an outsider-observer’s term (cf. 24:14, where Paul embraces it: “the Way, which they call a sect”). English variants: “the Way.” Theological meaning: early Christian self- and outsider-identity terminology, prior to the settling of “Christian” as the standard term (cf. Acts 11:26) — relevant to Church as Community. Japanese rendering & risk: この道 (kono michi) — High risk. This is a genuinely valuable and risky cultural intersection point: Japanese religious/philosophical vocabulary is saturated with 道 (dō) as a term for a disciplined life-path (茶道 sadō/tea ceremony, 剣道 kendō/swordsmanship, 柔道 jūdō, and religiously, 神道 Shintō itself, literally “the way of the kami”). This can function as a genuine and evocative teaching bridge — early Christianity was likewise known as “the Way” — but must be carefully anchored to its specific content (faith in the risen, exclusive Lord Jesus) rather than left to imply a generic disciplined spiritual practice interchangeable with other named “Ways” in Japanese religious culture, especially given the term’s direct etymological overlap with 神道 (Shintō) itself.

Acts 25 — Paul Before Festus; Appeal to Caesar

No new load-bearing theological terms; reuses established civil-authority and persecution vocabulary (chs. 22–24). Chapter reviewed: legal-narrative chapter with no new theological terms.

Acts 26 — Paul Before Agrippa

Term: ἀνοῖξαι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν, τοῦ ἐπιστρέψαι ἀπὸ σκότους εἰς φῶς (v.18, “to open their eyes, to turn from darkness to light”) — reuses 回心-adjacent conversion vocabulary and imagery echoing the physical restoration-of-sight detail from Acts 9:18. Theological meaning: conversion as illumination and reorientation from a state of spiritual blindness/darkness — reinforces Conversion of Paul doctrine and connects it to the broader Gospel to Jews and Gentiles commissioning (“to open the eyes… of the Gentiles,” v.17–18). Japanese rendering & risk: 目を開かせ、闇から光に立ち返らせる (me wo akase, yami kara hikari ni tachikaeraseru) — Medium risk; darkness/light imagery is broadly cross-cultural and low-collision, but should be anchored specifically to spiritual/moral blindness before God rather than generalized “enlightenment” language that could echo Buddhist 悟り (satori) per the baseline’s general caution against Buddhist-enlightenment framing for conversion/illumination concepts.
Term: κλῆρον ἐν τοῖς ἡγιασμένοις (v.18, “an inheritance among those who are sanctified”) — reuses baseline 聖徒/聖化 (saints/sanctification, High risk) plus κλῆρος (“inheritance/lot,” cf. Acts 1:26 note). High risk per baseline; reinforces that all believers — Jew and Gentile alike, per this commissioning text’s audience — share equally in this inheritance, echoing the baseline’s Adoption entry’s positive inheritance-rights framing.

Acts 27 — The Shipwreck

No new load-bearing theological terms; this chapter (Paul’s sea voyage and shipwreck) contains providential-care narrative themes reusing baseline 摂理 (providence) but introduces no new theological vocabulary requiring fresh glossary entries. Chapter reviewed and confirmed: narrative/travel chapter only.

Acts 28 — Rome; Great Commission Fulfilled

Term: κηρύσσων τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ… ἀκωλύτως (vv.30–31, “proclaiming the kingdom of God… unhindered”) — reuses baseline 神の国 (Kingdom of God, High risk). Theological meaning: the book’s closing image — the gospel now proclaimed at the empire’s very center, “unhindered” despite Paul’s imprisonment — functions as the narrative capstone of the Great Commission Fulfilled doctrine, textually completing the trajectory launched in Acts 1:8 (“to the end of the earth”). Japanese rendering & risk: 妨げられることなく、神の国を宣べ伝えた (samatagerareru koto naku, Kami no Kuni wo nobetsutaeta) — High risk per baseline 神の国 entry; this closing statement should receive the same doctrinal anchoring (to God’s spiritual reign, not political/territorial power) that the baseline requires, made especially important since this is the book’s final theological statement and thus disproportionately shapes the reader’s takeaway impression of “kingdom of God” for the whole curriculum.

End of semantic analysis. All terms cross-referenced in analysis/08_core_glossary.md.

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