Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Matthew 1–28 (English → Japanese)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, drawn from every chapter of Matthew. Each entry records: the Japanese rendering, transliteration, risk tier, associated doctrine, whether the term is a Baseline Reuse (already fixed in the Romans translation_memory.json, to be used exactly without modification) or a New Term (proposed for this curriculum, pending addition to translation memory per the Phase 2 protocol in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md), first occurrence in Matthew, and a concise risk rationale.
Enforcement note: Baseline Reuse terms are locked — the Japanese rendering shown here is copied verbatim from the baseline package and must never be altered. New Term entries are proposals for this curriculum and require the standard theologian-review escalation before being written into translation memory, per baseline protocol (Critical/High → theologian review; Medium → native speaker review; Low → automated review).
A. Baseline Reuse Terms (locked renderings, cited from Matthew occurrences)
| Term | Japanese | Translit. | Risk | Doctrine | First Matthew occurrence(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | 神 | Kami | Critical | God | 1:23; throughout | Qualify with 唯一のまことの神 at doctrinally weighty statements (e.g., 5:8, “they shall see God”). |
| Jesus | イエス | Iesu | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 1:1, 21, 25 | Name meaning (“YHWH saves”) explicitly glossed at 1:21 — strong Salvation-doctrine anchor. |
| Christ / Messiah | キリスト | Kirisuto | Critical | Messianic Promise | 1:1, 16-18; 16:16, 20 | Requires heavy explanatory teaching per baseline note (biblical illiteracy, not syncretism). |
| Holy Spirit | 聖霊 | Seirei | Critical | Sanctification / Incarnation | 1:18, 20; 3:16; 28:19 | Never 霊 alone; full baseline caution applies at every occurrence, esp. 12:31-32 (blasphemy against the Spirit) and 28:19 (Trinitarian formula). |
| Incarnation (concept) | 受肉 | juniku | Critical | Incarnation | 1:18-23 (concept) | Never 化身/権化; grounds the virgin conception narrative. |
| Son of God | 神の子 | Kami no Ko | Critical | Sonship / Deity of Christ | 3:17; 4:3, 6; 14:33; 16:16; 26:63; 27:40, 43, 54 | Never 現人神; must remain visibly distinct from the plural “sons of God” (believers, 5:9) and from “Son of Man” (人の子, new term below). |
| Lord | 主 | Shu | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 7:21-22; 21:3; 22:44 | Sabbath lordship claim at 12:8 is a key extension. |
| Resurrection | 復活 | fukkatsu | Critical | Resurrection of Christ | 22:23-33 (concept); 28:6-7 (event) | Full baseline caution (never 輪廻転生; actively counter pop-culture “comeback” dilution) — climactic use at 28:6-7. |
| Faith | 信仰 | shinkou | High | Faith | 8:10; 9:2, 22; 15:28; 17:20 | ”Little faith” (ὀλιγόπιστος) recurs at 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8 — a related compound worth flagging in teaching, though not a separate glossary term. |
| Righteousness | 義 | gi | Critical | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 3:15; 5:6, 10, 20; 6:33; 21:32 | Matthew-specific nuance: conduct/character fulfilling God’s will, not merely forensic status; must not contradict justification-by-faith teaching. |
| Salvation | 救い | sukui | Critical | Salvation | 1:21 (concept); 10:22; 24:13 | Name-meaning gloss at 1:21 is a strong teaching anchor. |
| Apostle | 使徒 | shito | Low | Apostleship | 10:2 | Direct reuse, no new risk. |
| Called / Calling | 召された / 召し | mesareta / meshi | High | Divine Calling / Effectual Calling | 4:21; 22:14 | 22:14 pairs directly with 選ばれた (chosen); reinforce against competitive “selection” (受験/選抜) framing. |
| Holy | 聖い | kiyoi (聖) | High | Sanctification | 6:9 (hallowed); 7:6 | Homophone risk with new term 清い (“pure,” also kiyoi) — see below; verify correct kanji. |
| Church | 教会 | kyoukai | Medium | Church and Church Discipline | 16:18; 18:17 | Never 寺/神社; anchors the Church-discipline doctrine together with new “bind/loose” terms. |
| Kingdom of God | 神の国 | Kami no Kuni | High | Kingdom Mission | 6:33; 12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43 | The rare exception to Matthew’s usual “kingdom of heaven”; use baseline term exactly at these five verses only. |
| Law | 律法 | ritsuhou | Medium | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 5:17-18; 7:12; 22:36-40; 23:23 | Root of new compound 律法学者 (scribes, below). |
| Sin | 罪 | tsumi | High | Universal Human Accountability | 1:21; 3:6; 6:12; 9:2-6; 26:28 | Guard against reduction to shame (恥) or social inconvenience (迷惑) per baseline note. |
| Gentiles | 異邦人 | ihoujin | Medium | Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Great Commission | 4:15; 10:5, 18; 28:19 (“all nations,” ἔθνη) | Great Commission’s “all nations” is the Gospel’s climactic universal-scope statement. |
| Glory | 栄光 | eikou | Medium | Deity of Christ | 16:27; 19:28; 24:30; 25:31 | Recurs heavily in Son-of-Man/judgment contexts (chs. 24-25). |
| Prophet / Prophecy | 預言者 / 預言 | yogensha / yogen | Medium | Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy | 1:22; 2:5, 15, 17, 23; 5:12; 7:15 (false prophets); 13:14, 35; 21:4; 27:9 | Verify 預 kanji, not 予, at every occurrence — extremely frequent in Matthew’s fulfillment-formula citations, making this the single highest-repetition homophone risk in the whole book. |
| Covenant | 契約 | keiyaku | High | Davidic Covenant | 26:28 | Actively restore relational/sacrificial sense against commercial-contract default, especially at the Last Supper. |
| Election | 選び | erabi | High | Effectual Calling | 22:14; 24:22, 24, 31 | Paired with 召された at 22:14; reinforce against competitive-selection (受験/選抜) framing. |
| Mission | 宣教 | senkyou | Medium | The Great Commission | 10 (sending of the Twelve); 24:14; 28:19-20 | Frame with awareness of Japan’s low historical receptivity and Kirishitan-persecution memory, per baseline note. |
| David | ダビデ | Dabide | Medium (Low per baseline entry) | Davidic Covenant | 1:1, 6, 17, 20; 9:27; 12:3, 23; 22:42-45 | Root of two new Matthew-specific compounds: ダビデの子 (Son of David) and, contextually, the Davidic-covenant background. |
| Israel | イスラエル | Isuraeru | Medium | Unity of Jews and Gentiles | 2:6, 20-21; 8:10; 10:6, 23; 15:24 | Direct reuse. |
| Father | 父 | chichi | Medium (High per doctrine registry) | Adoption / Sonship | 5:16, 45; 6:9; 11:25-27; 28:19 | Central to the Sermon on the Mount and the Great Commission’s Trinitarian formula; baseline’s “absent father” cultural caution applies throughout. |
| Peace (relational, with God) | 平安 | heian | Medium | Peace with God | (Not directly lexicalized in Matthew’s Greek text; retained for cross-reference) | Distinguish sharply from the two new Matthew-specific peace terms below (平和, social/political; the “sword not peace” saying, 10:34). |
| Thanksgiving | 感謝 | kansha | Low | Thanksgiving | 14:19; 15:36; 26:27 | Grace/thanks before feeding miracles and the Last Supper. |
B. New Terms Introduced by Matthew (proposed renderings, pending translation-memory addition)
| Term | Original Greek | Translit. | Japanese | Translit. | Risk | Doctrine | First occurrence | Rationale summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom of heaven | βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν | basileia tōn ouranōn | 天の御国 | Ten no Mikuni | Critical | The Kingdom of Heaven | 3:2; dominant term (~32x) | Distinct from baseline 神の国; carries its own State-Shinto-era risk via 天 (heavenly imperial-descent mythology, 天孫降臨). Must always be anchored to the doctrinal sense; never left to stand alone. |
| Son of Man | ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | ho huios tou anthrōpou | 人の子 | Hito no Ko | Critical | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching / Judgment | 8:20; ~30x throughout | Under-loaded risk: reads as generic “a human being” in Japanese, with no built-in link to the Daniel 7 apocalyptic Judge sense; requires heavy positive teaching, inverse risk pattern to 神の子. |
| Son of David (title) | υἱὸς Δαυίδ | huios Dauid | ダビデの子 | Dabide no Ko | High | Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David | 1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9, 15; 22:42-45 | Distinct from baseline’s Romans-specific “seed of David” (ダビデの子孫); a recurring messianic address/confession requiring OT Davidic-covenant background. |
| Ransom | λύτρον | lytron | 贖い | akanai | Critical | Atonement (underlying multiple listed doctrines) | 20:28 | New atonement term not covered by baseline; risk of commercial-transaction flattening and severe biblical illiteracy given no OT sacrificial background assumed. |
| Repent / repentance | μετανοέω / μετάνοια | metanoeō / metanoia | 悔い改める / 悔い改め | kuiaratameru / kuiaratame | High | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 3:2; 4:17 | Risk of collapse into shame-culture social apology/self-reflection (反省, 謝る) rather than a decisive turn toward God. |
| Baptize / baptism | βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα | baptizō / baptisma | バプテスマ | baputesuma | High | The Great Commission | 3:6, 11, 13-16; 28:19 | Prefer transliteration over 洗礼, which carries a secular idiomatic dilution risk (“undergo an ordeal”) parallel to 復活’s pop-culture “comeback” problem. |
| Disciple / make disciples | μαθητής / μαθητεύω | mathētēs / mathēteusate | 弟子 / 弟子とする | deshi / deshi to suru | High | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus / Great Commission | 4:18-22 (deshi); 28:19 (deshi to suru) | Useful but risky cultural bridge to Japanese master-disciple apprenticeship (師弟関係) and Buddhist monastic lineage; must be taught as exclusive, whole-life allegiance to Christ. |
| Authority (of Jesus’ teaching) | ἐξουσία | exousia | 権威 | ken’i | High | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 7:29; climaxes at 28:18 (“all authority”) | Founding lexical anchor of a named curriculum doctrine; distinguish inherent, self-authenticating authority from derived/tradition-based authority (scribes). |
| Hypocrite | ὑποκριτής | hypokritēs | 偽善者 | gizensha | Critical | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 23 (throughout); also 6:2, 5, 16 | Direct collision with Japan’s normalized tatemae/honne (public facade / private reality) social convention; requires deliberate theologian-guided teaching. |
| Pharisees | Φαρισαῖοι | Pharisaioi | パリサイ人 | Parisai-jin | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 3:7; 5:20; 9:11; 23 | Guard against flattening into an anachronistic byword for “hypocrite” in general. |
| Scribes | γραμματεῖς | grammateis | 律法学者 | ritsuhou gakusha | Low-Medium | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 2:4; 5:20; 7:29 | Compound built on baseline 律法; low collision risk. |
| Love (agape) | ἀγαπάω / ἀγάπη | agapaō / agapē | 愛 | ai | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5:44 (enemies); 22:37-39 (Greatest Commandment) | Guard against collapse into romantic-love or Buddhist “attachment” (愛執) associations. |
| Perfect | τέλειος | teleios | 完全な | kanzen na | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5:48 | Risk of legalistic-perfectionism misreading (完璧/flawlessness) vs. intended Godlike comprehensive maturity/faithfulness. |
| Forgive | ἀφίημι | aphiēmi | 赦す | yurusu (赦) | Critical | Church Discipline / Grace | 6:12, 14-15; 18:21-35; 26:28 | Homophone/kanji risk with 許す (“permit,” also yurusu) — verify 赦 kanji at every occurrence, especially unwritten/spoken teaching contexts. |
| Judgment | κρίσις | krisis | 裁き | sabaki | High | Judgment and the End of the Age | 5:21-22; throughout | Distinguish from impersonal karmic retribution (因果応報) — personal, moral verdict from a holy God. |
| Gehenna / hell | γέεννα | geenna | ゲヘナ | Gehena | Critical | Judgment and the End of the Age | 5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33 | Avoid 地獄’s heavy Buddhist multi-realm cosmology and Enma-Daiō judge-figure associations; teach as final, personal, once-for-all judgment. |
| Hades | Ἅδης | Hadēs | ハデス | Hadesu | High | Judgment and the End of the Age | 11:23; 16:18 | Japanese pop-culture familiarity with Greek mythology (e.g., the anime Saint Seiya) risks framing Hades as a mythological deity/realm rather than the biblical realm of the dead. |
| Satan / devil | Σατανᾶς / διάβολος | Satanas / diabolos | サタン / 悪魔 | Satan / akuma | Critical | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus (temptation narrative) | 4:1-11; 13:39 | Anime/manga fantasy-villain trivialization risk; also a genuine but must-be-qualified narrative parallel to the Buddhist tempter-figure Mara at the Buddha’s enlightenment. |
| Demon / evil spirit | δαιμόνιον | daimonion | 悪霊 | akuryou | High | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 4:24; 8:16, 28-34; 9:32-34; 12:22-28 | Parallel risk to baseline’s caution on 霊 alone (Holy Spirit): risks absorption into Japan’s mainstream folk-spirit/exorcism/horror-genre framework. |
| Temptation | πειρασμός / πειράζω | peirasmos / peirazō | 誘惑 | yuuwaku | Medium | Discipleship | 4:1, 3; 6:13 | Distinguish neutral testing from Satanic temptation to sin — both covered by one Greek root. |
| Wrath (of God) | ὀργή | orgē | 怒り | ikari | High | Judgment and the End of the Age | 3:7 | Risk of assimilation to impersonal Shinto tatari (curse of an offended kami/spirit) rather than personal, righteous, escapable-through-repentance divine judgment. |
| Worship | προσκυνέω | proskyneō | 礼拝する | reihai suru | Medium | Jesus as the Promised Messiah | 2:11; 4:9-10; 14:33; 28:9, 17 | Distinguish from generic shrine-visit devotional practice (参拝). |
| Magi | μάγοι | magoi | 博士 | hakase | High | Great Commission (Gentile inclusion seed) | 2:1 | Risk of onmyōji (Japanese court-astrologer/exorcist) framing rather than Gentile scholars providentially guided to worship the true King. |
| Immanuel | Ἐμμανουήλ | Emmanouēl | インマヌエル | Immanueru | High | Incarnation | 1:23 | Must be actively taught as theological content (“God with us”), forming an inclusio with 28:20. |
| Virgin | παρθένος | parthenos | 処女 | shojo | Medium | Incarnation / Fulfillment of Prophecy | 1:23 | Standard term; requires OT (Isa 7:14) fulfillment background for a biblically illiterate readership. |
| Pure in heart | καθαρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ | katharos tē kardia | 清い | kiyoi (清) | Critical | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5:8 | Homophone/kanji risk with baseline 聖い (“holy,” also kiyoi) — verify 清 kanji; same risk class as 預言/予言. |
| Mercy | ἔλεος / ἐλεήμων | eleos / eleēmōn | あわれみ | awaremi | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5:7; 9:13; 18:33 | Never 慈悲 (specific Buddhist compassion term, personified in 観音菩薩); must be anchored in God’s own mercy toward sinners. |
| Peacemaker / peace (social) | εἰρηνοποιός / εἰρήνη | eirēnopoios / eirēnē | 平和をつくる者 / 平和 | heiwa o tsukuru mono / heiwa | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 5:9; 10:34 | Distinguish from baseline’s 平安 (relational peace with God) and from Japan’s specific post-WWII secular political pacifism (平和主義). |
| Reward | μισθός | misthos | 報い | mukui | Medium-High | Grace (underlying) / Discipleship | 5:12; 6:1-6; 20:1-16 | Risk of collapse into folk-Buddhist causal retribution (因果応報); teach as gracious divine recompense, not merit-payout. |
| Mammon | μαμωνᾶς | mamōnas | マモン | Mamon | Medium | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 6:24 | Personification must be preserved (a rival master/god), not flattened to plain “money.” |
| Soul / life | ψυχή | psychē | いのち / 魂 | inochi / tamashii | High | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 10:28, 39; 16:25-26 | 魂 risks Shinto ancestor-spirit/Buddhist rebirth associations; いのち preferred as primary rendering in discipleship-cost contexts. |
| Confess | ὁμολογέω | homologeō | 告白する | kokuhaku suru | Medium-High | Lordship of Christ (cross-reference) | 10:32-33 | Public, costly declaration of allegiance; directly reinforces the baseline’s Romans 10:9 confession anchor. |
| Rest | ἀνάπαυσις | anapausis | 休み / 安らぎ | yasumi / anaraki | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 11:28-29 | Distinguish grace-rest from Japan’s wellness/relaxation-marketing sense of 安らぎ/癒し (already flagged under baseline “peace”). |
| Yoke | ζυγός | zygos | くびき | kubiki | Medium | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 11:29-30 | Requires rabbinic “yoke of Torah” background explanation; low destination-culture collision risk. |
| Sabbath | σάββατον | sabbaton | 安息日 | ansokubi | Medium | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching / Lordship of Christ | 12:1-14 | Risk of secular “day off” reduction rather than holy, God-instituted rest and worship. |
| Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit | βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα | blasphēmia eis to Pneuma | 聖霊への冒涜 | Seirei he no boutoku | Critical | Judgment and the End of the Age | 12:31-32 | Extends baseline’s Critical Holy Spirit caution; must be taught precisely to avoid false despair or false confidence. |
| Sign (of Jonah) | σημεῖον | sēmeion | しるし | shirushi | Medium | Fulfillment of Prophecy / Resurrection | 12:39-40 | Requires Jonah background; typologically anchors the Resurrection. |
| Temple | ἱερόν / ναός | hieron / naos | 神殿 | shinden | High | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 12:6; 21:12-13; 24:1-2 | Shares kanji 神 with baseline God-term; must not be conflated with Shinto 神社 (shrine), which baseline already forbids for “church.” |
| Parable | παραβολή | parabolē | たとえ | tatoe | Low | The Kingdom of Heaven | 13 (throughout) | Standard, well-established term. |
| Mystery (of the kingdom) | μυστήριον | mystērion | 奥義 / 秘密 | ōgi / himitsu | High | The Kingdom of Heaven | 13:11 | Risk of assimilation to Japanese esoteric Buddhism’s mikkyō (密教) secret-initiation framework. |
| End of the age | συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος | synteleia tou aiōnos | 世の終わり | yo no owari | Critical | Judgment and the End of the Age | 13:39-40, 49; 24:3; 28:20 | Direct resonance risk with Aum Shinrikyo’s apocalyptic doomsday teaching and the 1995 subway attack — Japan’s most significant modern religious-violence memory; requires explicit historical-contextual framing. |
| Tradition (of the elders) | παράδοσις | paradosis | 言い伝え / 伝承 | iitsutae / denshō | Medium | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching | 15:1-9 | Must clarify Jesus critiques tradition that nullifies God’s Word, not teaching authority as such. |
| Defile | κοινόω | koinoō | 汚す | kegasu | High | Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees | 15:11, 18-20 | Direct parallel to baseline’s Shinto ritual-purity (穢れ/kegare) caution on “holy” — Jesus’ point is precisely a challenge to externalized purity frameworks. |
| Keys of the kingdom / bind / loose | κλεῖδας / δέω / λύω | kleidas / deō / lyō | 御国の鍵 / 縛る / 解く | mikuni no kagi / shibaru / toku | High | The Church and Church Discipline | 16:19; 18:18 | Delegated, Spirit-empowered authority under Christ’s Lordship, not autonomous ecclesiastical power; minor talismanic-magic-key pop-culture risk. |
| Take up (one’s) cross (metaphorical) | ἄρας τὸν σταυρὸν | aras ton stauron | 十字架を負う | jūjika o ou | High | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 16:24 | Secular idiomatic dilution risk (“bear a burden”) parallel to 復活’s “comeback” problem; must be distinguished from the literal cross of ch. 27. |
| Deny oneself | ἀπαρνέομαι ἑαυτόν | aparneomai heauton | 自分を捨てる | jibun o suteru | Medium | Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus | 16:24 | Distinguish radical self-renunciation from ordinary Japanese polite self-deprecation conventions. |
| Transfigured | μετεμορφώθη | metemorphōthē | 姿が変わる / 変貌する | sugata ga kawaru / henbou suru | High | Deity of Christ / Sonship of Christ | 17:2 | Risk of folkloric shape-shifting (henge/kitsune/tanuki) framing rather than revelatory unveiling of pre-existing divine glory. |
| Point out (a) fault | ἔλεγξον | elegxon | 指摘する / 忠告する | shiteki suru / chūkoku suru | Medium | The Church and Church Discipline | 18:15 | Must be taught within Jesus’ graduated, restorative process, not public shaming. |
| Hosanna | Ὡσαννά | Hōsanna | ホサナ | Hosana | Medium | Jesus as the Promised Messiah | 21:9, 15 | Transliteration carries no inherent meaning in Japanese; requires brief Ps 118/Hebrew “save now” gloss. |
| Coming / Parousia | παρουσία | parousia | 再臨 | sairin | High | Judgment and the End of the Age | 24:3, 27, 37, 39 | Formal/unfamiliar vocabulary (biblical-illiteracy risk); distinguish from shinshūkyō “second coming”/living-messiah claims. |
| Tribulation | θλῖψις | thlipsis | 苦難 | kunan | Medium | Judgment and the End of the Age | 24:9, 21, 29 | Standard term; anchor within God’s sovereign purposive plan (cf. providence). |
| Eternal life | ζωὴ αἰώνιος | zōē aiōnios | 永遠のいのち | eien no inochi | Medium | Judgment and the End of the Age | 19:16, 29; 25:46 | Clarify qualitative, relational life with God, not merely unending duration. |
| Eternal punishment | κόλασις αἰώνιος | kolasis aiōnios | 永遠の罰 | eien no batsu | High | Judgment and the End of the Age | 25:46 | Personal, moral, judicial sentence — not impersonal karmic retribution. |
| All authority | πᾶσα ἐξουσία | pasa exousia | すべての権威 | subete no ken’i | Critical | Authority of Jesus’ Teaching / Great Commission | 28:18 | Climactic, cosmic-scope extension of the ch. 7 “authority” entry; top-priority Great Commission anchor verse. |
C. Cross-Cutting Technical Risk Notes (apply across multiple terms/chapters)
| Risk pattern | Terms affected | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Kanji homophone collision | 聖い (holy) vs. 清い (pure); 赦す (forgive) vs. 許す (permit); 預言/預言者 (prophecy/prophet, baseline) vs. 予言/予言者 (fortune-telling) | Orthographic risk unique to Japanese: identical pronunciation, different kanji, silently swappable via IME auto-conversion, spoken/unwritten teaching, or careless typesetting. Every instance must be visually verified in final text and flagged in any audio/video teaching material. |
| Buddhist-concept substitution risk | 慈悲 (rejected for mercy/あわれみ); 地獄 (used with extreme caution vs. ゲヘナ); 密教/mikkyō framing (mystery/奥義); 修行, 悟り, 解脱, 功徳 (already forbidden in baseline for sanctification/justification/salvation/grace) | Recurring pattern across both Testaments’ curricula: a natural-sounding Sino-Japanese theological compound that imports a specific, well-formed competing Buddhist doctrine rather than the biblical concept. |
| Shinto ritual-purity/spirit-world substitution risk | 汚す/defile (vs. 穢れ/kegare); 神殿/temple (shared kanji with 神); 悪霊/demon (vs. folk exorcism tradition); 怒り/wrath (vs. 祟り/tatari); 天の御国/kingdom of heaven (vs. 天孫降臨 imperial-descent mythology) | Recurring pattern: terms sharing vocabulary or narrative shape with Shinto ritual-purity, spirit-world, or imperial-mythology concepts, risking doctrinal collapse into folk-religious categories. |
| Secular pop-culture/idiomatic dilution risk | 十字架を負う/take up cross (vs. generic “bear a burden”); バプテスマ preferred over 洗礼 (vs. “undergo an ordeal” idiom); 復活/resurrection (baseline, “comeback”); 報い/reward (vs. 因果応報 folk-karma idiom) | Recurring pattern: the doctrinally correct term is also common, deflated secular/idiomatic vocabulary; correct word choice alone is insufficient — teaching must actively restore doctrinal weight. |
| Modern national-trauma resonance risk | 世の終わり/end of the age (vs. Aum Shinrikyo apocalypticism); 教祖 (baseline, forbidden for apostle/guru) | Recurring pattern, specific to modern Japanese religious history: doomsday/cult-founder vocabulary carries genuine, still-recent national trauma associations requiring careful historical framing, not casual use. |
| Social-convention collision risk | 偽善者/hypocrite (vs. tatemae/honne); 迫害/persecution and public reproach (vs. 恥/haji shame-culture); 罪/sin (baseline, vs. 迷惑) | Recurring pattern: Japan’s social-harmony conventions (和, wa; tatemae/honne; face-preservation) can either obscure or, if taught explicitly against, powerfully illuminate the biblical concept’s moral seriousness before God. |
This glossary must be loaded alongside the baseline translation_memory.json before Phase 2 translation of any Matthew curriculum segment. New Terms listed in Section B require formal addition to translation memory (with version increment and theologian review for Critical/High entries) before being used in Phase 2 output, per the protocol defined in 12_ai_translation_requirements.md.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Kami
Doctrine: God / Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 八百万の神の一柱としての神, 神様
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew intensifies the baseline risk by repeatedly staging Jesus’ identity against a Jewish monotheistic backdrop for readers with no such background; qualify with 唯一のまことの神 at doctrinally weighty statements (5:8 ‘they shall see God’; 27:46 the cry of dereliction).
Jesus
Approved rendering: イエス
Transliteration: Iesu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ / Salvation
Rejected alternatives: ゼズス
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 1:21 explicitly glosses the name’s saving meaning (‘YHWH saves’) — teach this explicitly rather than treating イエス as an opaque foreign proper noun, given Japan’s cultural association of ‘Kirisuto’ with commercialized Christmas.
Messiah
Approved rendering: キリスト
Transliteration: Kirisuto
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Rejected alternatives: 救世主
Original: Χριστός / מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew opens (1:1) and structures its genealogy/fulfillment apparatus around this title; requires heavy explanatory teaching since most secular Japanese readers know ‘Kirisuto’ only as a foreign cultural brand, not a Jewish fulfillment category.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊
Transliteration: Seirei
Doctrine: Incarnation / Sanctification / Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: 霊, 幽霊
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package exactly; never 霊 alone. Matthew’s occurrences at the virgin conception (1:18,20), Jesus’ baptism (3:16), the unforgivable-sin warning (12:31-32), and the Trinitarian formula (28:19) are all Critical-weight uses.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: 受肉
Transliteration: juniku
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: 化身, 権化
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο (cf. Matt 1:18-23)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew’s virgin-conception narrative (1:18-23) is the Gospel’s primary incarnation text; never 化身/権化 (a kami’s or bodhisattva’s provisional, repeatable manifestation per honji suijaku theology).
Son Of God
Approved rendering: 神の子
Transliteration: Kami no Ko
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ / Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 現人神, 神の化身
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package exactly; never 現人神 (the pre-1946 living-god emperor doctrine, renounced in Hirohito’s 1946 Ningen-sengen). Used singularly at 3:17; 4:3,6; 14:33; 16:16; 26:63; 27:40,43,54. MUST remain visibly distinct from the plural, derivative ‘sons of God’ given to believers at 5:9, which is rendered 神の子ども, never 神の子.
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: shu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 主君, ご主人様
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 12:8 (‘the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath’) extends this into a direct claim of authority over Torah institutions; 21:3 and 22:44 (Ps 110 riddle) press exclusive Lordship further. 主君 (feudal liege-lord) bridge, if used, must not reduce this to political fealty.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: 復活
Transliteration: fukkatsu
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 輪廻転生, カムバック
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package exactly; never 輪廻転生. The Sign of Jonah (12:39-40) typologically anticipates it, and 28:6-7 is its climactic narration — arguably the single most important application of this term in the whole curriculum; actively restore weight against 復活’s pop-culture ‘comeback’ overuse.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: 義
Transliteration: gi
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Rejected alternatives: 道徳, 正義感
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew’s usage (3:15; 5:6,10,20; 6:33; 21:32) leans toward conduct/character fulfilling God’s will more than Romans’ strictly forensic sense; must be taught as flowing from grace, not the Bushido moral-courage virtue sense of 義, and must never be presented as contradicting justification by faith (Romans’ forensic 義と認められること).
Salvation
Approved rendering: 救い
Transliteration: sukui
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 解脱, 極楽往生
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package exactly; never 解脱. Matthew 1:21’s explicit name-gloss (‘he will save his people from their sins’) is the Gospel’s foundational Salvation anchor; use extreme caution with any 極楽往生 Pure Land bridge language exactly as the baseline specifies.
Grace
Approved rendering: 恵み
Transliteration: megumi
Doctrine: Grace and Forgiveness
Rejected alternatives: 恩返しが要る恵み, 功徳
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Underlies Matthew’s Grace and Forgiveness doctrine even where the Greek word itself is not lexicalized: the unforgiving-servant parable (18:21-35) and the workers-in-the-vineyard reward saying (20:1-16) are direct narrative embodiments of this term’s on-giri (恩・義理) non-transactional caution. Never imply grace or God’s response creates a repayment debt.
Kingdom Of Heaven
Approved rendering: 天の御国
Transliteration: Ten no Mikuni
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: 天国, 神国日本
Original: βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν
Category: Kingdom
NEW TERM, distinct from the baseline’s 神の国. Matthew’s dominant phrase (~32 occurrences), reflecting Jewish reverential circumlocution for the divine name. 天 (‘heaven’) carries its own State Shinto/imperial-mythology resonance via 天孫降臨 (tenson kōrin, the mythological ‘descent from heaven’ legitimating the imperial line’s claimed divine origin from Amaterasu) — part of the same ideological complex behind 神国日本. Must always be anchored to its doctrinal sense (God’s present and coming spiritual reign) and never left to stand alone. First occurrence 3:2.
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: 人の子
Transliteration: Hito no Ko
Doctrine: The Son of Man Title and Authority
Original: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. In ordinary Japanese, 人の子 reads simply as ‘a human being’ or ‘someone’s child,’ with no built-in link to the Daniel 7:13-14 apocalyptic Judge-figure sense the title carries in Matthew. Inverse risk pattern to 神の子 (under-loading rather than over-loading with wrong associations). Requires heavy, ground-up positive teaching at every occurrence (~30x), not just correct word choice. First occurrence 8:20.
Ransom
Approved rendering: 贖い
Transliteration: akanai
Doctrine: Atonement as Ransom
Original: λύτρον
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM not covered by the baseline. Constructed Sino-Japanese compound (贖 = redeem/atone), deliberately avoiding a plain commercial-payment word. Risks: (1) reduction to a literal commercial cash transaction implying Satan or death as a literal creditor; (2) severe biblical illiteracy given no assumed OT sacrificial/kinsman-redeemer background. Occurs 20:28. Route for mandatory theologian review at every occurrence.
Hypocrite
Approved rendering: 偽善者
Transliteration: gizensha
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: ὑποκριτής
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Japanese social convention openly distinguishes 建前 (tatemae, public-facing stated position) from 本音 (honne, actual private feelings) as a normal, socially competent skill for maintaining harmony (和) — not inherently a moral failing. Jesus’ charge (ch. 23; also 6:2,5,16) risks being softened/normalized through this lens rather than heard as a serious moral indictment. Requires deliberate theologian-guided teaching material.
Forgive
Approved rendering: 赦す
Transliteration: yurusu
Doctrine: Grace and Forgiveness / The Church and Church Discipline
Original: ἀφίημι
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM. 赦す (yurusu, ‘to forgive [a debt/offense/sin]’) is an exact homophone with 許す (‘yurusu,’ ‘to permit/allow’), differing only in kanji — IME auto-conversion or unwritten spoken teaching could substitute 許す, subtly shifting ‘God forgives your sins’ into ‘God permits/tolerates your sins.’ ALWAYS VERIFY THE 赦 KANJI. Central to the Lord’s Prayer (6:12,14-15), the unforgiving-servant parable (18:21-35, Matthew’s strongest direct challenge to on-giri merit-repayment logic), and the covenant-blood saying (26:28).
Gehenna
Approved rendering: ゲヘナ
Transliteration: Gehena
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Rejected alternatives: 地獄
Original: γέεννα
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. NEVER use 地獄 (jigoku) — an extremely well-established, richly detailed Buddhist cosmology (multiple hell-realms, the judge-figure 閻魔大王/Enma Daiō, deeply embedded in folklore, manga, and temple art) with a multi-life karmic-rebirth structure. This package uses the transliteration ゲヘナ, taught as final, personal, once-for-all judgment before the one true God, paralleling the baseline’s distinction of 救い from 解脱/極楽往生. Occurs 5:22,29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33.
Satan
Approved rendering: 悪魔
Transliteration: akuma
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare: Satan and Demons
Original: Σατανᾶς / διάβολος
Category: Spiritual Beings
NEW TERM (also transliterated サタン where the proper name is used). Two distinct risks: (1) 悪魔 is a stock fantasy-villain figure across anime/manga/games, risking trivialization into fiction; (2) the Buddha’s own enlightenment narrative includes a tempter figure, Mara, narratively similar to Matt 4:1-11 — a useful but must-be-qualified parallel, since Mara is typically read as symbolic/impersonal inner desire, whereas Satan is a real, personal being defeated by Christ’s obedience. Central at 4:1-11; 13:39.
Pure In Heart
Approved rendering: 清い
Transliteration: kiyoi
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: καθαρὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. 清い (kiyoi, ‘pure’) is an exact homophone with the baseline’s 聖い (kiyoi, ‘holy’), differing only in kanji (清 vs 聖) — the same orthographic risk class as 預言/予言. IME auto-conversion or unwritten teaching could silently shift ‘pure in heart’ toward ‘holy in heart.’ ALWAYS VERIFY THE 清 KANJI. Occurs at the Core Passage, Matthew 5:8.
Blasphemy Against Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 聖霊への冒涜
Transliteration: Seirei he no boutoku
Doctrine: Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
Original: βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα
Category: God
NEW TERM, extending the baseline’s Critical Holy Spirit caution (never 霊 alone). Must be taught precisely as a settled, willful rejection of the Spirit’s testimony to Christ, not any single sin or moment of doubt, to avoid inducing false despair or false assurance. Occurs 12:31-32.
End Of The Age
Approved rendering: 世の終わり
Transliteration: yo no owari
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Original: συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Japan’s modern religious history includes the internationally infamous Aum Shinrikyo, whose explicit apocalyptic/doomsday teaching drove the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack — a still-vivid national trauma, already connected in the baseline to the negative associations of 教祖 (cult guru). Requires explicit historical-contextual framing at EVERY occurrence, not just first use. Occurs 13:39-40,49; 24:3; 28:20.
All Authority
Approved rendering: すべての権威
Transliteration: subete no ken’i
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching / The Great Commission
Original: πᾶσα ἐξουσία
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. The climactic, cosmic-scope extension of the 権威 entry — the top-priority Great Commission anchor verse (28:18) requiring careful, weighty theologian-reviewed teaching, not a passing mention.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: 信仰
Transliteration: shinkou
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: 信心, 宗教心
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Personal trust in Christ specifically, not Japan’s syncretistic ‘both-and’ shrine-and-temple religious sentiment; Matthew’s recurring ‘little faith’ idiom (ὀλιγόπιστος, 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8) should be taught as wavering trust, not a separate doctrinal category.
Called
Approved rendering: 召された
Transliteration: mesareta
Doctrine: Divine Calling / Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: 運命づけられた, 天職
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 22:14 pairs 召された directly with 選ばれた (chosen) in a single verse; reinforce against Japan’s competitive exam/hiring ‘selection’ culture (受験, 選抜).
Calling
Approved rendering: 召し
Transliteration: meshi
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 天職
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew’s calling of the first disciples (4:21) models a personal, relational summons; never 運命 (impersonal fate) alone.
Holy
Approved rendering: 聖い
Transliteration: kiyoi
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 清らか, 穢れがない
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 6:9’s ‘hallowed be your name’ is the verb-form extension. CRITICAL ADJACENT RISK: exact homophone (kiyoi) with the new term 清い (‘pure,’ Matt 5:8), differing only by kanji (聖 vs 清) — verify correct kanji at every occurrence, especially near the Beatitudes.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: 神の国
Transliteration: Kami no Kuni
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: 神国日本
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew uses this exact phrase only five times (6:33; 12:28; 19:24; 21:31,43), preferring instead his own dominant phrase 天の御国 (see new term below). Retain the baseline’s existing caution regarding pre-1945 State Shinto’s 神国日本 slogan at all five occurrences.
Sin
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: tsumi
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability (Sin)
Rejected alternatives: 恥, 迷惑をかけること
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 1:21 (Jesus ‘saves his people from their sins’), 6:12 (Lord’s Prayer), and 26:28 (covenant blood ‘for the forgiveness of sins’) are key uses; guard against reduction to shame (恥) or social inconvenience (迷惑).
Covenant
Approved rendering: 契約
Transliteration: keiyaku
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant / Atonement as Ransom
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 26:28’s ‘blood of the covenant’ at the Last Supper is the Gospel’s single most theologically weighty use; actively restore the relational, sacrificial sense against 契約’s everyday commercial-contract default.
Election
Approved rendering: 選び
Transliteration: erabi
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: 合格, 選抜
Original: ἐκλογή
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 22:14 and 24:22,24,31 use ‘chosen/elect’ vocabulary directly; reinforce against Japan’s competitive exam/hiring ‘selection’ culture (受験, 選抜).
Providence
Approved rendering: 摂理
Transliteration: setsuri
Doctrine: Providence and the Father’s Care
Rejected alternatives: 運命, 宿命
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 6:25-34 and 10:29-31 (‘do not be anxious’) connect thematically to this doctrine via a distinct Greek lexeme (μεριμνάω, rendered 心配する); 摂理 itself may be used in teaching commentary to name the underlying doctrine even though it is not the verse-level rendering. Never 運命/宿命.
Son Of David
Approved rendering: ダビデの子
Transliteration: Dabide no Ko
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Original: υἱὸς Δαυίδ
Category: Christology
NEW TERM, distinct from the baseline’s Romans-specific ‘seed of David’ (ダビデの子孫). A recurring messianic confession/address (1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9,15; 22:42-45) requiring supplied OT Davidic-covenant background, not mere genealogical trivia.
Repentance
Approved rendering: 悔い改める
Transliteration: kuiaratameru
Doctrine: Repentance
Original: μετανοέω / μετάνοια
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM. Japan’s shame-culture vocabulary for social-repair regret (反省, hansei; 謝る, ayamaru) risks being substituted conceptually for a decisive turn toward God in view of the coming kingdom, not primarily social face-repair. First occurs 3:2; 4:17.
Baptism
Approved rendering: バプテスマ
Transliteration: baputesuma
Doctrine: Baptism
Rejected alternatives: 洗礼
Original: βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα
Category: Church
NEW TERM. The native alternative 洗礼 carries a dilution risk: the idiom 「洗礼を受ける」 has secularized into ‘undergo an ordeal/initiation,’ parallel to the baseline’s 復活 ‘comeback’ caution. This package follows Shinkaiyaku convention in preferring the transliteration バプテスマ, reserving 洗礼 only for carefully qualified doctrinal contexts. Central at 3:6,11,13-16 and the Trinitarian formula of 28:19.
Disciple
Approved rendering: 弟子
Transliteration: deshi
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus / The Great Commission
Original: μαθητής / μαθητεύω
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. 弟子 is deeply embedded in Japanese apprenticeship culture (師弟関係, martial arts/crafts) and Buddhist monastic training under a master — a useful bridge but a real risk of reducing gospel discipleship to skill-apprenticeship or lineage transmission rather than exclusive, grace-founded allegiance to Christ. First occurs 4:18-22; imperative form 弟子とする intensifies the risk at 28:19.
Authority
Approved rendering: 権威
Transliteration: ken’i
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Christology
NEW TERM, the founding lexical anchor of this named curriculum doctrine. Must be distinguished from derived, tradition-citing social/institutional rank (e.g., corporate seniority) common in Japanese hierarchical culture; climaxes at 7:28-29 and 28:18.
Judgment
Approved rendering: 裁き
Transliteration: sabaki
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Original: κρίσις
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Must be distinguished from the impersonal karmic mechanism (因果応報, inga ōhō) familiar from folk-Buddhist-influenced popular Japanese ethical intuition — a personal, moral verdict from a holy God, not a mechanical cosmic ledger. First occurs 5:21-22.
Hades
Approved rendering: ハデス
Transliteration: Hadesu
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Original: Ἅδης
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Japanese pop-culture familiarity with Greek mythology (e.g., the anime Saint Seiya) risks framing Hades as a mythological deity/realm rather than the biblical realm of the dead. Occurs 11:23; 16:18.
Demon
Approved rendering: 悪霊
Transliteration: akuryou
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare: Satan and Demons / The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: δαιμόνιον
Category: Spiritual Beings
NEW TERM. Parallels the baseline’s Critical caution on 霊 alone (Holy Spirit): 悪霊 risks absorption into Japan’s mainstream folk-spirit/exorcism (お祓い)/horror-genre framework rather than being taught as a personal being genuinely subject to Christ’s superior authority. Recurs 4:24; 8:16,28-34; 9:32-34; 12:22-28.
Wrath
Approved rendering: 怒り
Transliteration: ikari
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age / Universal Human Accountability (Sin)
Original: ὀργή
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Japan’s animistic folk framework includes 祟り (tatari), misfortune inflicted by an offended kami/ancestral spirit — an impersonal, almost mechanical retribution concept. Risk that God’s wrath is processed as tatari (unpredictable spirit-lashing) rather than the righteous, personal, escapable-through-repentance judgment of a holy God. First occurs 3:7.
Magi
Approved rendering: 博士
Transliteration: hakase
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David / Great Commission (Gentile-inclusion seed)
Original: μάγοι
Category: Mission
NEW TERM. Japan has its own well-known historical astrologer-diviner class, the 陰陽師 (onmyōji, e.g., the famous Abe no Seimei, a major contemporary anime/manga/film figure). Rendering as 博士 risks importing this occult-mystic frame rather than Gentile scholars providentially guided to worship the true King. Occurs 2:1.
Immanuel
Approved rendering: インマヌエル
Transliteration: Immanueru
Doctrine: Incarnation
Original: Ἐμμανουήλ
Category: Christology
NEW TERM (transliterated proper name), glossed 「神は私たちとともにいる」 (‘God is with us’). Must be actively taught as literal theological content, not skipped over as a mere name; forms a deliberate literary inclusio with 28:20 (‘I am with you always’). Occurs 1:23.
Mercy
Approved rendering: あわれみ
Transliteration: awaremi
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Rejected alternatives: 慈悲
Original: ἔλεος / ἐλεήμων
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. NEVER use 慈悲 (jihi), the specific Buddhist term for the compassion of Buddhas/bodhisattvas, famously personified in 観音菩薩 (Kannon Bosatsu, ‘Goddess of Mercy’) — this recasts biblical mercy as a generic virtue of enlightened beings rather than God’s own character. あわれみ carries this risk to a lesser but real degree and must be anchored in God’s mercy toward sinners. Occurs at the Core Passage, Matthew 5:7; also 9:13; 18:33.
Peacemaker
Approved rendering: 平和をつくる者
Transliteration: heiwa o tsukuru mono
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: εἰρηνοποιός
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Must be distinguished from the baseline’s 平安 (personal peace with God, Romans 5:1) and from Japan’s specific, historically weighty secular-political pacifism (平和主義, post-WWII constitutional pacifist identity, Hiroshima/Nagasaki peace-memorial culture). Occurs at the Core Passage, Matthew 5:9.
Reward
Approved rendering: 報い
Transliteration: mukui
Doctrine: Grace and Forgiveness / Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: μισθός
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. 報い carries strong resonance with the folk-Buddhist idiom 因果応報 (inga ōhō, ‘cause and effect,’ karmic reward/retribution, widely known even among secular Japanese). Must be taught as gracious divine response within a relationship of grace, not a mechanical karmic payout — echoing the on-giri transactional risk flagged for 恵み. Occurs at the Core Passage, Matthew 5:12; also 6:1-6; 20:1-16.
Soul
Approved rendering: いのち
Transliteration: inochi
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Rejected alternatives: 魂 (reserved, qualified use only)
Original: ψυχή
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. 魂 (tamashii) is deeply embedded in Shinto ancestor-veneration (spirits enshrined and honored at Obon) and Buddhist rebirth cosmology, risking a reading through those frameworks. いのち (a broader, less spirit-world-marked term) is preferred as the primary rendering in discipleship-cost contexts (10:28,39; 16:25-26), reserving 魂 only where the body/soul distinction itself must be preserved (e.g., 10:28’s body/soul contrast).
Confess
Approved rendering: 告白する
Transliteration: kokuhaku suru
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ (cross-reference)
Original: ὁμολογέω
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. Must be taught as a public, costly declaration of allegiance, directly reinforcing the baseline’s Romans 10:9 Lordship confession anchor (イエスは主です) — not a private inward sentiment. Occurs 10:32-33.
Temple
Approved rendering: 神殿
Transliteration: shinden
Doctrine: Temple and True Worship / The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: ἱερόν / ναός
Category: Church
NEW TERM. 神殿 shares the kanji 神 with the Critical God-term and, unqualified, risks conflation with Shinto 神社 (shrine), already forbidden by the baseline for ‘church.’ Must be clearly taught as the historical Jerusalem Temple of the one true God, not a generic ‘kami’s shrine/palace.’ Occurs 12:6; 21:12-13; 24:1-2.
Mystery Of Kingdom
Approved rendering: 奥義
Transliteration: ougi
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Rejected alternatives: 秘密
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Kingdom
NEW TERM. Japan’s esoteric Buddhist tradition (密教, mikkyō, e.g. the Shingon school founded by Kūkai) involves secret teachings transmitted only to ritually initiated disciples. 奥義 risks being read as a secret technique earned through initiation rather than God’s sovereign, gracious revelation freely disclosed to those he calls. 秘密 was considered and rejected as too flat/generic. Occurs 13:11.
Defile
Approved rendering: 汚す
Transliteration: kegasu
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: κοινόω
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Direct parallel to the baseline’s Shinto ritual-purity caution on ‘holy’: Japanese religious vocabulary for impurity is dominated by 穢れ (kegare, ceremonial pollution remedied through purification rites, 祓い/harae). Jesus’ teaching in 15:11,18-20 is itself a direct challenge to exactly this externalized purity framework; translators must avoid a rendering that uncritically imports the kegare frame while teaching the contrast explicitly.
Keys Of Kingdom
Approved rendering: 御国の鍵
Transliteration: mikuni no kagi
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: κλεῖδας / δέω / λύω
Category: Church
NEW TERM, paired with the verbs 縛る (bind) / 解く (loose). Must be taught as delegated, Spirit-empowered authority exercised under Christ’s Lordship for gospel order, not autonomous ecclesiastical power; minor risk of talismanic ‘magic key’ framing given Japan’s fantasy/RPG pop-culture vocabulary. Occurs 16:19; 18:18.
Take Up Cross
Approved rendering: 十字架を負う
Transliteration: juujika o ou
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: ἄρας τὸν σταυρὸν αὐτοῦ
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. The Japanese idiom 「十字架を負う／背負う」 has entered general secular usage meaning simply ‘to bear a burden/responsibility’ (e.g., a business person’s difficult project) — a dilution risk parallel to the baseline’s 復活 caution. Must be sharply distinguished from the literal historical crucifixion narrated in ch. 27. Occurs 16:24.
Transfigured
Approved rendering: 変貌する
Transliteration: henbou suru
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: μετεμορφώθη
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Japanese folklore is rich with shape-shifting tropes (化け creatures, shape-shifting foxes 狐/kitsune and raccoon-dogs 狸/tanuki, the broader 変化/henge motif pervasive in folk tales and media). Risk of processing this as a folkloric shape-change of nature rather than revelation of pre-existing divine glory; requires explicit teaching that this is unveiling, not metamorphosis. Occurs 17:2.
Parousia
Approved rendering: 再臨
Transliteration: sairin
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Original: παρουσία
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Formal, unfamiliar vocabulary (a biblical-illiteracy risk, similar to the baseline’s 摂理/providence note); additionally, Japan’s history of new religious movements (新宗教) includes groups making ‘second coming’/living-messiah claims, so teaching should distinguish Christ’s unique, universally visible return from any human claimant. Occurs 24:3,27,37,39.
Eternal Punishment
Approved rendering: 永遠の罰
Transliteration: eien no batsu
Doctrine: Eternal Life and Eternal Punishment
Original: κόλασις αἰώνιος
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Must be clearly taught as a personal, moral, judicial sentence from a holy God, explicitly distinguished from impersonal, self-generated karmic retribution (因果応報), the same risk flagged for ‘reward’ and ‘judgment.’ Occurs 25:46.
Medium Risk Terms
Church
Approved rendering: 教会
Transliteration: kyoukai
Doctrine: Church as God’s People / Church and Church Discipline
Rejected alternatives: 寺, 神社
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package exactly; never 寺/神社. Matthew 16:18 and 18:17 are the Gospel’s foundational church-discipline anchor texts, paired with the newly catalogued keys/bind/loose vocabulary.
Law
Approved rendering: 律法
Transliteration: ritsuhou
Doctrine: Fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets
Rejected alternatives: 空気を読むこと, 法律
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package exactly; never 法律. Matthew 5:17-18 (‘I have not come to abolish the Law… but to fulfill it’) and 22:36-40 (Greatest Commandment) are central load-bearing uses; avoid reducing to Japan’s unwritten social-harmony code (空気を読むこと).
Gentiles
Approved rendering: 異邦人
Transliteration: ihoujin
Doctrine: Great Commission / Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: 外人
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew’s genealogy (1:5, Ruth/Tamar), the Magi (ch. 2), and the Great Commission’s ‘all nations’ (28:19) all press this term’s universal scope; avoid the insider/outsider (内・外) framing of casual 外人.
Glory
Approved rendering: 栄光
Transliteration: eikou
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 名誉
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Recurs heavily in Son-of-Man/judgment contexts (16:27; 19:28; 24:30; 25:31); avoid collapsing into 名誉 (secular honor/reputation).
Prophet
Approved rendering: 預言者
Transliteration: yogensha
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 予言者, 占い師
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew’s fulfillment-formula citations (1:22; 2:5,15,17,23; 13:14,35; 21:4; 27:9) make this the single highest-repetition occurrence of the 預言者/予言者 homophone risk in the whole Gospel; always verify the 預 kanji.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: 預言
Transliteration: yogen
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 予言, 占い
Original: προφητεία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Same 預言/予言 homophone caution applies at every fulfillment quotation throughout Matthew.
Mission
Approved rendering: 宣教
Transliteration: senkyou
Doctrine: The Great Commission
Rejected alternatives: 布教
Original: ἀποστολή / πέμπω
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 10 (sending of the Twelve), 24:14, and 28:19-20 (Great Commission) are the Gospel’s key mission texts; frame with the baseline’s existing awareness of the Kirishitan-persecution memory and Japan’s low historical receptivity.
Israel
Approved rendering: イスラエル
Transliteration: Isuraeru
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 2:6,20-21; 8:10; 10:6,23; 15:24 all use this proper name in redemptive-historical, not modern-political, sense.
Father
Approved rendering: 父
Transliteration: chichi
Doctrine: Providence and the Father’s Care / Adoption
Rejected alternatives: 家長
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Central to the Sermon on the Mount (5:16,45; 6:9) and the Great Commission’s Trinitarian formula (28:19); the baseline’s caution about Japan’s culturally distant ‘absent salaryman father’ trope and formal 家長 associations applies throughout.
Peace
Approved rendering: 平安
Transliteration: heian
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: 安心, 癒し
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Retained for cross-reference; must be sharply distinguished in Matthew from the new socio-relational term 平和 (peacemaking, 5:9) and the ‘not peace but a sword’ saying (10:34), a third distinct register of the same Greek word.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: ダビデの子孫
Transliteration: Dabide no shison
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Retained for CONTRAST purposes: Matthew does not use this Romans-specific phrase (σπέρμα Δαυίδ); it instead uses its own recurring messianic title ‘Son of David’ (see new term son_of_david, ダビデの子). Translators must not conflate the two phrases — they are lexically and stylistically distinct even though thematically related.
Pharisees
Approved rendering: パリサイ人
Transliteration: Parisai-jin
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: Φαρισαῖοι
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM (proper noun). Guard against anachronistic flattening into a mere byword for ‘hypocrite,’ which would lose the specific historical/theological nuance; must not be taught as a blanket condemnation of Judaism as such. Recurs 3:7; 5:20; 9:11; ch. 23.
Scribes
Approved rendering: 律法学者
Transliteration: ritsuhou gakusha
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: γραμματεῖς
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM, a compound built on the baseline’s 律法. Low-to-moderate collision risk; serves as the foil for Jesus’ inherent authority against derived, tradition-citing authority. Recurs 2:4; 5:20; 7:29.
Love Agape
Approved rendering: 愛
Transliteration: ai
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: ἀγαπάω / ἀγάπη
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Japanese 愛 carries strong modern romantic/affectionate associations from loanword/media culture, and its earlier Buddhist usage (愛執, aishū) carries a negative connotation of clinging attachment. Teaching must specify agapē as willed, self-giving love modeled on God’s own character, extended even to enemies (5:44) and central to the Greatest Commandment (22:37-39).
Perfect
Approved rendering: 完全な
Transliteration: kanzen na
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: τέλειος
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Japanese 完全 strongly connotes flawless completeness (完全犯罪, 完璧), risking a legalistic, performance-based misreading of Matt 5:48’s ‘be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.’ Teach as Godlike, comprehensive covenant faithfulness/maturity, not sinless perfectionism.
Temptation
Approved rendering: 誘惑
Transliteration: yuuwaku
Doctrine: Spiritual Warfare: Satan and Demons / Discipleship
Original: πειρασμός / πειράζω
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. The single Greek root (πειρασμός/πειράζω) covers both neutral testing and malicious temptation toward sin; teaching must distinguish God’s/life’s purposive testing from Satan’s temptation. First occurs 4:1,3; also 6:13.
Worship
Approved rendering: 礼拝する
Transliteration: reihai suru
Doctrine: Temple and True Worship / Jesus as the Promised Messiah
Original: προσκυνέω
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Must be distinguished from generic Shinto shrine-visit devotional practice (参拝, sanpai) or Buddhist temple devotion (拝む, ogamu). Recurs at 2:11; 4:9-10; 14:33; 28:9,17.
Virgin
Approved rendering: 処女
Transliteration: shojo
Doctrine: Incarnation / Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
Original: παρθένος
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Standard, low-collision term; must be taught alongside the Isaiah 7:14 fulfillment claim, since most secular readers lack OT background. Occurs 1:23.
Mammon
Approved rendering: マモン
Transliteration: Mamon
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Rejected alternatives: お金
Original: μαμωνᾶς
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (transliterated Aramaic loanword). The personification (a rival master/god demanding total allegiance) must be preserved, not flattened into plain お金 (money), or the idolatry warning is lost. Occurs 6:24.
Rest
Approved rendering: 安らぎ
Transliteration: anaraki
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: ἀνάπαυσις
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Must be connected to the freedom of grace, not Japan’s wellness/relaxation-goods marketing sense of 安らぎ/癒し, already flagged under the baseline’s ‘peace’ entry. Occurs 11:28-29.
Yoke
Approved rendering: くびき
Transliteration: kubiki
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: ζυγός
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Requires explanatory background (agricultural image, rabbinic ‘yoke of Torah’ concept) for a biblically illiterate readership; no significant destination-culture collision. Occurs 11:29-30.
Sabbath
Approved rendering: 安息日
Transliteration: ansokubi
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ / The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: σάββατον
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM. Main risk is reduction to a merely secular ‘day off’ concept, given Japan’s non-Sabbatarian six/seven-day work culture, rather than a holy, God-instituted day of rest and worship over which Jesus claims Lordship (12:8). Occurs 12:1-14.
Sign Of Jonah
Approved rendering: しるし
Transliteration: shirushi
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy / Resurrection of Christ
Original: σημεῖον
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Requires OT (Jonah) background explanation for biblically illiterate readers; typologically anchors the Resurrection (Jonah’s three days in the fish prefigure Jesus’ three days in the tomb). Occurs 12:39-40.
Tradition Of Elders
Approved rendering: 言い伝え
Transliteration: iitsutae
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: παράδοσις
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Ensure it is clear Jesus critiques tradition that nullifies God’s Word specifically, not tradition or teaching authority as such. Occurs 15:1-9.
Deny Oneself
Approved rendering: 自分を捨てる
Transliteration: jibun o suteru
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: ἀπαρνέομαι ἑαυτόν
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. Must be distinguished from Japan’s milder, socially expected self-effacing modesty conventions in interpersonal etiquette — this is radical, total re-orientation of ultimate allegiance, not polite self-deprecation. Paired with 16:24.
Point Out Fault
Approved rendering: 指摘する
Transliteration: shiteki suru
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: ἔλεγξον
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Must be taught within Jesus’ graduated, restorative process (private, then small group, then whole church, 18:15-17), not as public shaming — a real risk given Japan’s strong social sensitivity to public shame (恥, haji, already flagged under the baseline’s ‘sin’ entry). Occurs 18:15.
Hosanna
Approved rendering: ホサナ
Transliteration: Hosana
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Original: Ὡσαννά
Category: Christology
NEW TERM (transliteration). Carries no inherent meaning in Japanese on its own; requires a brief explanation of its Hebrew ‘save us’ meaning and Psalm 118 background. Occurs 21:9,15.
Tribulation
Approved rendering: 苦難
Transliteration: kunan
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Original: θλῖψις
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Should be anchored within God’s sovereign, purposive plan (cf. the baseline’s providence doctrine) rather than taught as meaningless or fatalistic suffering. Occurs 24:9,21,29.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: 永遠のいのち
Transliteration: eien no inochi
Doctrine: Eternal Life and Eternal Punishment
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Requires clarification that this is qualitative, relational life with God, not merely unending temporal existence. Occurs 19:16,29; 25:46.
Sword Not Peace
Approved rendering: 平和ではなく剣を
Transliteration: heiwa dewa naku ken o
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: εἰρήνη / μάχαιρα
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (full-clause paraphrase, deliberately not a single-word gloss). A third distinct sense of ‘peace’ in Matthew, requiring careful contextual glossing to avoid apparent contradiction with the peacemaking blessing of 5:9 and the baseline’s relational 平安; here εἰρήνη refers to social/familial harmony that discipleship may disrupt. Occurs 10:34.
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: 使徒
Transliteration: shito
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: 教祖
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 10:2 lists the Twelve; no new risk beyond the baseline’s existing caution against 教祖 (guru/cult-founder, post-Aum Shinrikyo associations).
David
Approved rendering: ダビデ
Transliteration: Dabide
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant / Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Original: דָּוִד
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew’s genealogy (1:1,6,17) and recurring ‘Son of David’ address (9:27; 12:23; 22:42-45) make David’s covenant background essential explanatory content for biblically illiterate readers.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: 感謝
Transliteration: kansha
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package exactly. Matthew 14:19; 15:36; 26:27 (feeding miracles and the Last Supper) use the cognate verb form; no significant risk.
Parable
Approved rendering: たとえ
Transliteration: tatoe
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Original: παραβολή
Category: Kingdom
NEW TERM. Standard, well-established Bible-translation term for Jesus’ primary kingdom-teaching mode throughout ch. 13; minimal collision risk.
Harvest
Approved rendering: 収穫
Transliteration: shuukaku
Doctrine: The Great Commission
Original: θερισμός
Category: Mission
NEW TERM. Standard agricultural metaphor (‘the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few’) with minimal collision risk, supporting the Great Commission doctrine. Occurs 9:37-38.
Cornerstone
Approved rendering: 礎の石
Transliteration: ishizue no ishi
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Original: κεφαλὴ γωνίας
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Standard architectural metaphor for Christ as the rejected-yet-foundational stone of God’s building (Ps 118 citation); minimal collision risk. Occurs 21:42.
King Of The Jews
Approved rendering: ユダヤ人の王
Transliteration: Yudaya-jin no ou
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Original: βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Requires brief historical/political explanation of the title’s ironic use as mockery at Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, which is nonetheless theologically true. Occurs 27:11,29,37.
Referenced passages