Semantic Analysis
Semantic Analysis — 1 Corinthians (Full Book) for Javanese
Methodology Note
This analysis covers 1 Corinthians chapters 1–16 in the original Koine Greek. Any term already recorded in the baseline Romans Language Package (translation_memory.json) is reused exactly with its established Javanese rendering and risk tier; this document does not re-argue those decisions but flags every recurrence so Phase 2 loads them correctly. New terms required by 1 Corinthians’ distinct doctrinal content (resurrection body, Lord’s Supper, tongues, love, idol meat, etc.) are analyzed fresh and assigned a risk tier following the same Critical/High/Medium/Low framework and the same class of Javanese cultural collision risks (kejawen mysticism, folk-spirit cosmology, ritual-meal practice, ascetic attainment, Islamic-majority vocabulary overlap, priyayi/wong cilik social hierarchy).
The core passage, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, receives full verse-by-verse treatment. Every other chapter receives a chapter-level study of its load-bearing theological terms. A chapter that introduces no new theological vocabulary states this explicitly and cites which earlier terms it reuses.
PART 1 — CORE PASSAGE: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 (Verse-by-Verse)
1 Corinthians 15:1
Greek: Γνωρίζω δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ὃ εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν, ὃ καὶ παρελάβετε, ἐν ᷀ᾧ καὶ ἑστήκατε
Term: εὐαγγέλιον (gospel)
- Transliteration: euangelion
- Literal meaning: good news, glad announcement
- Semantic range: any welcome news → the specific apostolic proclamation of salvation in Christ
- English variants: gospel, good news
- Contextual theological meaning: Paul reminds the Corinthians of the foundational, already-received apostolic message that grounds ch. 15’s resurrection argument
- Javanese rendering: Injil (reused exactly from baseline TM; risk Medium). No deviation permitted.
Term: παραλαμβάνω (received)
- Transliteration: paralambanō
- Literal meaning: to receive alongside, to take over (a tradition handed to one)
- Semantic range: receiving physical objects → receiving a body of authoritative teaching passed down
- English variants: received, accepted, taken hold of
- Contextual theological meaning: Paul emphasizes the gospel as fixed apostolic tradition received, not personal invention — critical for v.3’s “delivered/received” pairing
- Javanese rendering: nampi (to receive, formal krama: nampi/nampèni). Risk Medium — must be distinguished from the guru-murid model of receiving esoteric teaching (ngèlmu) transmitted progressively through a spiritual master, since Paul’s “received” is a fixed, once-given, publicly verifiable historical message.
Term: ἵστημι (stand, stand fast)
- Transliteration: histēmi
- Literal meaning: to stand, to be established
- Semantic range: physical standing → firm doctrinal standing/perseverance
- English variants: stand, stand firm, stand fast
- Contextual theological meaning: continuing steadfastness in the gospel already received
- Javanese rendering: jejeg wonten ing (standing firm in). Risk Low.
1 Corinthians 15:2
Greek: διὰ οὗ καὶ σῴζεσθε, τίνι λόγῳ εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν εἰ κατέχετε, ἐκτὸς εἰ μὴ εἰκῆ ἐπιστεύσατε.
Term: σῴζω (saved/being saved)
- Transliteration: sōzō
- Literal meaning: to rescue, deliver, keep safe
- Semantic range: physical rescue from danger → ongoing/eschatological deliverance through Christ
- English variants: saved, being saved, delivered
- Contextual theological meaning: present tense (σῴζεσθε) indicates salvation as an ongoing state resting on the gospel Paul preached
- Javanese rendering: kaslametan (reused exactly from baseline TM; risk Critical). MANDATORY translator note every occurrence: distinguish Christ’s once-for-all rescue from the recurring protective slametan ritual meal that shares the same root.
Term: κατέχω (hold fast)
- Transliteration: katechō
- Literal meaning: to hold down firmly, retain
- Semantic range: physical restraint → doctrinal retention/perseverance
- English variants: hold fast, retain, hold firmly
- Contextual theological meaning: perseverance in the received gospel as the condition demonstrating genuine faith
- Javanese rendering: ngugemi kanthi kukuh (hold fast firmly). Risk Low-Medium.
Term: πιστεύω (believed)
- Transliteration: pisteuō
- Literal meaning: to trust, to have faith in
- Semantic range: intellectual assent → personal, relational trust
- English variants: believe, trust, have faith
- Contextual theological meaning: the verb form of faith (πίστις); the object of belief must remain the gospel content of vv.3-5
- Javanese rendering: pitados (krama, reused exactly from baseline TM; risk Medium). Object of faith (the risen Christ) must always be explicit in context.
Term: εἰκῆ (in vain)
- Transliteration: eikē
- Literal meaning: without cause, purposelessly
- Semantic range: without reason → futile, empty of effect
- English variants: in vain, without effect, for nothing
- Contextual theological meaning: warns that faith not grounded in the historical resurrection is empty
- Javanese rendering: tanpa gawe (without effect/in vain). Risk Low.
1 Corinthians 15:3
Greek: παρέδωκα γὰρ ὑμῖν ἐν πρώτοις, ὃ καὶ παρέλαβον, ὅτι Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν κατὰ τὰς γραφάς
Term: παραδίδωμι (delivered)
- Transliteration: paradidōmi
- Literal meaning: to hand over, to pass on
- Semantic range: handing over a person/object → transmitting authoritative teaching
- English variants: delivered, handed down, passed on
- Contextual theological meaning: paired with παρελάβετε, this establishes a fixed creedal tradition Paul received and now transmits unchanged
- Javanese rendering: masrahaken (hand over/deliver, formal). Risk Medium — the same term family recurs in ch.11:23 for the Lord’s Supper tradition; consistency matters for the doctrine of apostolic tradition (§ ch.11 below).
Term: Χριστός (Christ)
- Transliteration: Christos
- Literal meaning: Anointed One (translating Hebrew Māšîaḥ)
- Semantic range: the specific OT messianic office → the personal name/title of Jesus
- English variants: Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One
- Contextual theological meaning: identifies Jesus as the promised Anointed One whose death and resurrection fulfill Scripture
- Javanese rendering: Kristus (established transliteration per baseline AI requirements transliteration standards). Risk Critical — must never be reduced to a generic honorific; always paired with Gusti Yesus (Gusti Yesus Kristus) in full confessional contexts to preserve the baseline’s rejection of Nabi Isa framing.
Term: ἀποθνήσκω (died)
- Transliteration: apothnēskō
- Literal meaning: to die
- Semantic range: literal physical death, used here of a real, historical death
- English variants: died, death
- Contextual theological meaning: affirms a real, historical, bodily death — foundational to the resurrection argument that follows
- Javanese rendering: séda (krama for “died,” used of an honored/exalted person). Risk Medium — krama seda (rather than plain mati) is required register for Christ’s death, consistent with the formal krama standard for all divine reference.
Term: ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν (for our sins)
- Transliteration: hyper tōn hamartiōn hēmōn
- Literal meaning: on behalf of / because of our sins
- Semantic range: substitution, representation, or cause — here substitutionary/atoning
- English variants: for our sins, on account of our sins, for the sake of our sins
- Contextual theological meaning: substitutionary atonement — Christ’s death addresses the guilt of dosa
- Javanese rendering: kangge dosa kita (for/on behalf of our sins), with dosa reused exactly from baseline TM (risk High, anchored to moral transgression against a personal God, not ritual impurity). Combined phrase risk Critical given its atonement content (per baseline escalation rule for atonement/propitiation language).
Term: κατὰ τὰς γραφάς (according to the Scriptures)
- Transliteration: kata tas graphas
- Literal meaning: according to the writings
- Semantic range: general citation → specific fulfillment of the OT prophetic corpus
- English variants: according to the Scriptures, as the Scriptures foretold
- Contextual theological meaning: anchors Christ’s death in OT prophetic fulfillment (cf. Romans doctrine “Fulfillment of Prophecy”)
- Javanese rendering: kados ingkang kaserat wonten ing Kitab Suci (as it is written in Holy Scripture). Risk High — same collision noted in the baseline’s Fulfillment of Prophecy doctrine: linear, one-time fulfillment, not the cyclical recurrence pattern of Javanese prophetic tradition (Jayabaya).
1 Corinthians 15:4
Greek: καὶ ὅτι ἐτάφη, καὶ ὅτι ἐγήγερται τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ κατὰ τὰς γραφάς
Term: θάπτω (buried)
- Transliteration: thaptō (perfect passive ἐτάφη)
- Literal meaning: to bury
- Semantic range: literal burial
- English variants: buried, was buried
- Contextual theological meaning: confirms the reality of Christ’s physical death — necessary premise for a bodily resurrection, not a spiritual departure
- Javanese rendering: kasarèkaken (krama, “was laid to rest/buried”). Risk Medium.
Term: ἐγείρω (raised)
- Transliteration: egeirō (perfect passive ἐγήγερται)
- Literal meaning: to raise up, to awaken
- Semantic range: raising from sleep/lying down → literal bodily resurrection from death
- English variants: raised, was raised, rose
- Contextual theological meaning: the perfect tense marks a completed event with continuing effect — the historical, bodily resurrection that grounds the whole chapter’s argument
- Javanese rendering: wungu saka pati (reused exactly from baseline TM; risk Critical). MANDATORY: never titisan or reinkarnasi. Every occurrence in ch.15 requires the standard translator note distinguishing bodily, once-for-all resurrection from the Javanese belief that an ancestor’s or deity’s spiritual quality is reborn in a later figure.
Term: τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ (the third day)
- Transliteration: tē hēmera tē tritē
- Literal meaning: on the third day
- Semantic range: specific historical/calendrical marker fulfilling OT typology (cf. Hosea 6:2, Jonah’s sign)
- English variants: the third day, on the third day
- Contextual theological meaning: fixes the resurrection as a datable historical event, not a timeless myth
- Javanese rendering: ing dinten kaping tiga. Risk Low.
1 Corinthians 15:5
Greek: καὶ ὅτι ὤφθη Κηφᾷ, εἶτα τοῖς δώδεκα
Term: ὁράω / ὤφθη (appeared)
- Transliteration: horaō / ōphthē (aorist passive)
- Literal meaning: to see; “he was seen by”
- Semantic range: ordinary sight → a real, objective, verifiable post-resurrection appearance
- English variants: appeared, was seen by, showed himself to
- Contextual theological meaning: establishes eyewitness testimony as the evidential backbone of the resurrection argument (repeated 5x in vv.5-8)
- Javanese rendering: ngetingal dhateng (appeared/showed himself to). Risk High — must be rendered as objective, bodily, witnessed appearance, not a visionary or spiritual-encounter experience comparable to a mystical vision (wahyu-type experience) or an ancestor-spirit visitation.
Term: Κηφᾷ / τοῖς δώδεκα (Cephas / the twelve)
- Transliteration: Kēphas / hoi dōdeka
- Literal meaning: Cephas (Aramaic “rock,” = Peter); “the twelve” (the twelve apostles)
- Semantic range: proper name and a fixed titled group
- English variants: Cephas/Peter; the Twelve
- Contextual theological meaning: names specific, identifiable, contemporaneously-checkable witnesses
- Javanese rendering: Kefas (retain transliteration, cross-referenced with Petrus where the same figure is named elsewhere) / para sekawan welas (the twelve). Risk Low.
1 Corinthians 15:6
Greek: ἔπειτα ὤφθη ἐπάνω πεντακοσίοις ἀδελφοῖς ἐφάπαξ, ἐξ ὧν οἱ πλείονες μένουσιν ἕως ἄρτι, τινὲς δὲ ἐκοιμήθησαν
Term: ἐφάπαξ (at one time / once for all)
- Transliteration: ephapax
- Literal meaning: once, at a single occasion
- Semantic range: a single simultaneous event
- English variants: at one time, all at once
- Contextual theological meaning: emphasizes a single, mass, simultaneous, verifiable sighting — not a private, repeatable visionary experience
- Javanese rendering: sepisan kemawon, sesarengan (at one single time, together). Risk Low.
Term: κοιμάομαι (fallen asleep)
- Transliteration: koimaomai
- Literal meaning: to sleep, to fall asleep
- Semantic range: literal sleep → euphemism for the death of a believer awaiting resurrection
- English variants: fallen asleep, died
- Contextual theological meaning: death is described as sleep because resurrection is certain — a term of hope, not annihilation or ancestral transition
- Javanese rendering: sampun tinggal donya kanthi tentrem or more literally sampun sare (“has fallen asleep”). Risk Medium — must be taught as resurrection hope in Christ, not absorbed into the Javanese ancestral-transition framework in which the deceased join the ranks of leluhur (venerated ancestors) to be honored at slametan/nyadran rites; the sleep metaphor points to future bodily waking, not to a continuing ancestral presence to be ritually appeased.
1 Corinthians 15:7
Greek: ἔπειτα ὤφθη Ἰακώβῳ, εἶτα τοῖς ἀποστόλοις πᾶσιν
Term: ἀπόστολος (apostles)
- Transliteration: apostolos
- Literal meaning: one sent out, a delegate/envoy
- Semantic range: general messenger → the specific office of the Twelve-plus-others directly commissioned by the risen Christ
- English variants: apostle, sent one
- Contextual theological meaning: designates the foundational, eyewitness-commissioned leadership of the early church
- Javanese rendering: utusan (reused exactly from baseline TM; risk Medium). Never rasul, which in the surrounding Islamic-majority context specifically denotes the line of messenger-prophets culminating in Muhammad.
1 Corinthians 15:8
Greek: ἔσχατον δὲ πάντων ὡσπερεὶ τῷ ἐκτρώματι ὤφθη κἀμοί
Term: ἔκτρωμα (untimely born)
- Transliteration: ektrōma
- Literal meaning: a miscarried or stillborn child; something born abnormally/prematurely
- Semantic range: literal obstetric term → figurative self-description of unworthiness/unexpectedness
- English variants: one untimely born, one born out of due time, an abnormal birth
- Contextual theological meaning: Paul’s radical self-abasement — his apostleship is entirely a matter of grace, not natural qualification or timing
- Javanese rendering: kados jabang bayi kang lair sadurunge wanci (like a child born before its time) — a descriptive phrase rather than a single word, since no single Javanese term carries the same self-deprecating force without sounding merely clinical. Risk Medium.
1 Corinthians 15:9
Greek: ἐγὼ γάρ εἰμι ὁ ἐλάχιστος τῶν ἀποστόλων, ὃς οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς καλεῖσθαι ἀπόστολος, διότι ἐδίωξα τὴν ἐκκλησίαν τοῦ θεοῦ
Term: ἐλάχιστος (least)
- Transliteration: elachistos
- Literal meaning: smallest, least
- Semantic range: superlative of smallness — physical or social ranking
- English variants: the least, the smallest
- Contextual theological meaning: Paul’s self-ranking below all other apostles, grounding his authority entirely in grace rather than merit or status
- Javanese rendering: ingkang paling asor (the very lowest/least). Risk Low-Medium — must not be read through a priyayi/wong cilik status lens implying Paul lacks real apostolic authority; the point is humility, not diminished office.
Term: διώκω (persecuted)
- Transliteration: diōkō
- Literal meaning: to pursue, to persecute
- Semantic range: chasing after → hostile persecution of a group
- English variants: persecuted, pursued with hostility
- Contextual theological meaning: recalls Paul’s pre-conversion opposition to the church, magnifying the grace that transformed him
- Javanese rendering: nguya-uya (to persecute/harass relentlessly). Risk Low.
Term: ἐκκλησία τοῦ θεοῦ (church of God)
- Transliteration: ekklēsia tou theou
- Literal meaning: the called-out assembly of God
- Semantic range: civic assembly → the new covenant gathered people of God
- English variants: church of God, assembly of God, congregation of God
- Contextual theological meaning: the concrete community Paul once persecuted and now serves — the same body in view throughout 1 Corinthians’ unity/factionalism teaching
- Javanese rendering: pasamuwanipun Gusti Allah (reused exactly from baseline TM root “pasamuwan”; risk Medium). Never punden (spirit-veneration shrine site).
1 Corinthians 15:10
Greek: χάριτι δὲ θεοῦ εἰμι ὅ εἰμι, καὶ ἡ χάρις αὐτοῦ ἡ εἰς ἐμὲ οὐ κενὴ ἐγενήθη, ἀλλὰ περισσότερον αὐτῶν πάντων ἐκοπίασα, οὐκ ἐγὼ δὲ ἀλλὰ ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ σὺν ἐμοί
Term: χάρις (grace)
- Transliteration: charis
- Literal meaning: favor, gift freely given
- Semantic range: social favor/goodwill → God’s unmerited saving and empowering favor
- English variants: grace, favor, unmerited gift
- Contextual theological meaning: appears three times in this verse alone — Paul’s entire identity, apostleship, and labor are attributed to grace, not personal merit or accumulated spiritual potency
- Javanese rendering: sih-rahmat (reused exactly from baseline TM; risk Critical). MANDATORY: never kasekten, wahyu, or utang budi. This verse is the single densest concentration of χάρις in 1 Corinthians and must be flagged for theologian review as a High-priority grace/merit contrast passage alongside Romans 4:4-5 and 11:5-6.
Term: κενή (in vain / empty)
- Transliteration: kenē
- Literal meaning: empty
- Semantic range: physically empty → without effect, fruitless
- English variants: in vain, without effect, empty
- Contextual theological meaning: grace received was not fruitless — it produced real labor and fruit
- Javanese rendering: tanpa damel (without effect). Risk Low.
Term: κοπιάω (worked hard/labored)
- Transliteration: kopiaō
- Literal meaning: to grow weary through labor; to toil
- Semantic range: physical exhaustion from work → ministry labor
- English variants: worked hard, labored, toiled
- Contextual theological meaning: the fruit of grace is not passivity but vigorous labor — yet even the labor itself is credited to grace “with me,” not to Paul’s own strength
- Javanese rendering: kerja kanthi rekasa (labored with great effort). Risk Low-Medium — must not be reframed as Paul earning or repaying the grace given (utang budi); the clause “not I, but the grace of God with me” must remain unambiguous in translation.
1 Corinthians 15:11
Greek: εἴτε οὖν ἐγὼ εἴτε ἐκεῖνοι, οὕτως κηρύσσομεν καὶ οὕτως ἐπιστεύσατε
Term: κηρύσσω (proclaim)
- Transliteration: kēryssō
- Literal meaning: to herald, to proclaim publicly as a herald announcing a king’s message
- Semantic range: public town-crier announcement → authoritative gospel proclamation
- English variants: proclaim, preach, herald
- Contextual theological meaning: the resurrection gospel is a public, authoritative announcement uniting all apostolic preaching regardless of the individual preacher
- Javanese rendering: martakaken (to proclaim/herald formally). Risk Medium — should carry the same authoritative, sent-royal-herald weight as Kratoning Gusti Allah proclamation language, not the tone of a private opinion shared informally.
Term: πιστεύω (believed) — recap
- See v.2 above. Reused: pitados. Risk Medium. Closes the pericope by returning to the same verb that opened the unit’s argument (v.2), reinforcing that the content believed is fixed and singular (vv.3-5), not variable by which apostle preached it.
PART 2 — CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER STUDY OF THE WHOLE BOOK
Chapter 1 — Christian Unity vs. Factionalism; The Cross as Wisdom and Power
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| calling | κλητός / κλῆσις | klētos / klēsis | summoned | general summons → salvific/vocational calling | called, calling | Paul’s apostolic calling and the Corinthians’ calling to be saints (1:1-2) | katimbalan / katimbalanipun Gusti Allah (reused from TM; risk High) — never wahyu |
| saints | ἅγιοι | hagioi | set-apart ones | ascetic elite → all believers | saints, holy ones | Corporate designation for every believer, not a venerated few | para suci (reused from TM; risk Medium) — never wali (Wali Songo veneration) |
| grace | χάρις | charis | unmerited favor | favor/gift range | grace | Opening greeting; grounds the whole letter | sih-rahmat (reused; risk Critical) |
| fellowship | κοινωνία | koinōnia | shared participation | social association → participation in Christ | fellowship | Called into fellowship with God’s Son (1:9) | patunggilan (reused; risk Low) |
| factions/divisions | σχίσμα | schisma | tear, split | a literal tear in cloth → a social/doctrinal rupture | division, quarreling, schism | The Corinthians split into rival groups around teachers (Paul/Apollos/Cephas) | NEW — pasulayan (dissension/faction). Risk High: Javanese patron-client loyalty patterns (bapakism, deference to a favored teacher or kyai-like figure) can reinforce exactly this dynamic; must be taught as sin against the unity of Christ’s one body, not ordinary social alignment. |
| wisdom | σοφία | sophia | skill, wisdom | practical skill → worldly philosophical wisdom vs. God’s wisdom in the cross | wisdom | Contrasted repeatedly with the cross’s apparent foolishness (1:17-25) | NEW — kawicaksanan. Risk High: risks collision with kejawen ngèlmu/kawruh sejati, esoteric wisdom attained through ascetic mystical discipline; God’s wisdom in the cross is revealed and given, not attained through spiritual practice. |
| foolishness | μωρία | mōria | foolishness | folly, absurdity | foolishness | The cross appears foolish to those perishing (1:18) | NEW — kabodhoan. Risk Low-Medium. |
| cross | σταυρός | stauros | execution stake | instrument of Roman execution → the atoning event and its message | cross, the message of the cross | The central saving event and message (1:17-18) | NEW — salib. Risk Medium-High: must be taught as the historical instrument of Christ’s one-time atoning death, not a talismanic power-object comparable to a sacred keris or heirloom carrying kasekten. |
| power of God | δύναμις θεοῦ | dynamis theou | God’s own might | God’s personal power → saving power displayed paradoxically through weakness/the cross | power of God | The cross is simultaneously “foolishness” and “the power of God” (1:18, 24) | panguwaosipun Gusti Allah (reused from TM; risk Critical) — never kasekten |
| mystery | μυστήριον | mystērion | hidden thing now disclosed | secret cult knowledge → God’s redemptive plan revealed to all through the gospel | mystery, hidden wisdom | Anticipates ch.2’s “mystery of God” theme (though the noun itself appears fully in ch.2) | NEW — wewadi. Risk High: see full treatment under Chapter 2. |
Chapter 2 — The Cross as Wisdom and Power (continued); Revelation by the Spirit
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mystery of God | μυστήριον τοῦ θεοῦ | mystērion tou theou | God’s hidden plan now disclosed | secret rite-knowledge → God’s redemptive plan openly revealed through the Spirit | mystery, secret truth | God’s wisdom, once hidden, is now revealed through the Spirit to all believers, not to an inner circle (2:1-10) | NEW — wewadinipun Gusti Allah. Risk High: sharp collision with kejawen and guru-murid traditions in which ngèlmu is secretly transmitted lineage-to-lineage from a spiritual master to select disciples; God’s mystery is publicly proclaimed and freely revealed to all who believe, not restricted esoteric transmission. |
| Spirit / spiritual | πνεῦμα / πνευματικός | pneuma / pneumatikos | breath, wind, spirit | impersonal life-force → the personal Holy Spirit; Spirit-given discernment | Spirit, spiritual | The Spirit alone searches the depths of God and gives believers Spirit-taught discernment (2:10-13) | Roh Suci (reused from TM; risk Critical) for the Spirit himself; NEW — rohani for the adjective “spiritual.” Risk Medium-High: rohani must denote Spirit-given, revelation-grounded discernment, not generic mystical intuition. |
| natural/unspiritual person | ψυχικὸς ἄνθρωπος | psychikos anthrōpos | soul-ish person | the merely soul-animated, unregenerate person, as opposed to Spirit-indwelt | natural man, unspiritual person | The person without the Spirit cannot receive or understand spiritual truths (2:14) | NEW — manungsa kajiwan. Risk High: Javanese kejawen tradition has an elaborate soul-anatomy (jiwa, nyawa, roh, sukma, rasa); “kajiwan” must be anchored strictly to Paul’s binary (Spirit-indwelt vs. not), not imported into that wider mystical taxonomy. |
| mind of Christ | νοῦς Χριστοῦ | nous Christou | Christ’s mind/understanding | Christ’s own perspective and purposes, given to believers through the Spirit | mind of Christ | Believers, having the Spirit, share in Christ’s own perspective (2:16) | NEW — pikiranipun Gusti Kristus. Risk Medium. |
Chapter 3 — Christian Unity vs. Factionalism (continued); Holiness of the Church
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| carnal/fleshly | σαρκικός | sarkikos | belonging to flesh | physical body → the immature, sin-dominated disposition causing the factions of ch.1 | carnal, fleshly, worldly | The Corinthians’ quarreling proves they are still acting according to the flesh, not the Spirit (3:1-3) | NEW — kadagingan. Risk Medium. |
| God’s temple | ναὸς θεοῦ | naos theou | God’s sanctuary/inner shrine | the literal Jerusalem temple sanctuary → the church corporately as God’s Spirit-indwelt dwelling | temple of God, God’s building | The corporate church, built on Christ, is the place where God’s Spirit dwells (3:16-17) | NEW — padaleman suci (“holy dwelling,” built on the “dalem” royal/honorific-residence root already used for Gusti Allah’s kraton). Risk High: must be sharply distinguished from punden, a village shrine site associated with a guardian spirit; God’s temple is the gathered people indwelt by the Holy Spirit, not a sacred site to be visited for blessing. |
| foundation / builders | θεμέλιος / οἰκοδομέω | themelios / oikodomeō | foundation stone / to build | literal construction imagery → gospel ministry built on Christ alone | foundation, build, builder | Christ alone is the foundation; ministers build on him with lasting or perishable work (3:10-15) | NEW — dhasar / mbangun. Risk Low. |
| fire will test | πῦρ δοκιμάσει | pyr dokimasei | fire will test/prove | metallurgical refining imagery → eschatological testing of ministry work | fire will test, tested by fire | Ministry work will be tested at judgment, distinguishing lasting fruit from worthless work (3:13) | NEW — geni bakal mbuktekaken. Risk Medium. |
Chapter 4 — Apostolic Ministry and Stewardship
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| stewards | οἰκονόμος | oikonomos | household manager | domestic estate-manager → entrusted minister of God’s mysteries | stewards, servants entrusted | Apostles are entrusted servants accountable to God, not celebrity teachers to be ranked (4:1-2) | NEW — juru tata (“entrusted manager”). Risk Low-Medium. |
| mysteries of God | μυστήρια θεοῦ | mystēria theou | God’s hidden things | see ch.2 mystery entry | mysteries of God | Reinforces ch.2’s revealed-not-attained mystery theme applied to apostolic ministry | Reuse wewadinipun Gusti Allah. Risk High (see ch.2). |
| kingdom of God | βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ | basileia tou theou | God’s reign | political/territorial kingdom → God’s sovereign reign in power | kingdom of God | ”The kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power” (4:20) | Kratoning Gusti Allah (reused from TM; risk Medium) |
| apostles | ἀπόστολος | apostolos | sent one | see 15:7 above | apostles | Paul’s defense of apostolic authority and suffering (4:9-13) | utusan (reused; risk Medium) |
Chapter 5 — Church Discipline and Holiness
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sexual immorality | πορνεία | porneia | fornication/sexual sin | broad sexual sin → the specific incestuous case in the church | sexual immorality, fornication | The specific unrepented sin the church has failed to discipline (5:1) | NEW — laku jina. Risk Medium. |
| hand over to Satan / removed from among you | παραδοῦναι τῷ Σατανᾷ / ἐξάρατε | paradounai tō Satana / exarate | deliver over to Satan / remove | judicial excommunication imagery | hand over to Satan, put out from among you | Church discipline that expels an unrepentant member for the sake of the church’s holiness and, ultimately, the sinner’s restoration (5:5,13) | NEW — pasrahaken dhateng Iblis / kabucal saking pasamuwan. Risk Medium-High: must be taught as protective, restorative church discipline, not a curse-invocation ritual comparable to folk practices of casting misfortune onto a person. |
| leaven / unleavened | ζύμη / ἄζυμος | zymē / azymos | yeast / without yeast | literal baking agent → pervasive corrupting influence vs. purity | leaven, unleavened | ”A little leaven leavens the whole lump” — corporate holiness metaphor (5:6-8) | NEW — ragi / tanpa ragi. Risk Low. |
| Christ our Passover | τὸ πάσχα ἡμῶν … Χριστός | to pascha hēmōn Christos | our Passover [lamb] | the OT Passover lamb sacrifice → Christ as the once-for-all sacrificial lamb | Christ our Passover Lamb | Typological fulfillment: Christ himself is the sacrificed Passover lamb (5:7) | NEW — Kurbaning Paskah kita, inggih Sang Kristus. Risk Medium-High: contemporary Indonesian/Javanese Christian usage of “Paskah” normally means the Easter/resurrection festival; a translator note is required clarifying that this verse invokes the OT Passover-lamb typology, not the later Easter celebration, to prevent semantic collapse of two distinct referents under one loanword. |
Chapter 6 — Church Discipline and Holiness (continued); the Body as Temple
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sanctified | ἡγιάσθητε | hēgiasthēte (from ἁγιάζω, hagiazō) | were made holy/set apart | ritual purification → definitive Spirit-wrought holiness at conversion | sanctified, made holy | ”You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified” (6:11) — the believer’s decisive transformation | NEW — kasucekaken (built on the established suci root; risk High, matching the Sanctification doctrine tier already set in the baseline). |
| justified | ἐδικαιώθητε | edikaiōthēte (from δικαιόω, dikaioō) | were declared righteous | see baseline Justification entry | justified | Same verse, same triad (6:11) | kaanggep bener dening Gusti Allah (reused exactly from TM; risk Critical) |
| washed | ἀπελούσασθε | apelousasthe (from ἀπολούω, apolouō) | were washed clean | literal bathing → cleansing from sin, associated with baptism | washed | Same verse, same triad (6:11) | NEW — kabirat. Risk Medium: distinguish from siraman, the Javanese ceremonial ritual bathing performed at weddings and other rites of passage; this washing is a decisive spiritual cleansing accomplished by Christ, not a repeatable purification ritual. |
| body / temple of the Holy Spirit | σῶμα / ναὸς τοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν ἁγίου πνεύματος | sōma / naos tou en hymin hagiou pneumatos | body / sanctuary of the Holy Spirit within you | the physical body → the individual believer’s body as God’s Spirit-indwelt dwelling | your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit | Grounds sexual ethics in the body’s sacred indwelling by the Spirit (6:19-20) | NEW — badan (body) + reuse padaleman root for “temple” → badan minangka padalemaning Roh Suci. Risk High (same punden collision as ch.3). |
| bought with a price | ἠγοράσθητε τιμῆς | ēgorasthēte timēs | you were bought for a price | commercial purchase/slave-redemption imagery → Christ’s atoning payment establishing his ownership/lordship over believers | bought with a price, redeemed | ”You are not your own… you were bought with a price” (6:19-20) | NEW — tinuku kanthi rega. Risk High: given the baseline’s documented sensitivity around utang budi (the Javanese social ethic of reciprocal debt-of-gratitude), this phrase must be carefully taught as establishing Christ’s rightful ownership and lordship, not as creating a repayable social debt the believer must discharge through works. |
Chapter 7 — Marriage and Singleness
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| marriage | γάμος | gamos | wedding, marriage | the marital union/institution | marriage | Paul’s extended teaching on marriage as a good but not obligatory calling (7:1-40) | NEW — palakrama. Risk Low-Medium. |
| unmarried / singleness | ἄγαμος | agamos | unmarried | celibate/single state, potentially a Spirit-enabled gift | unmarried, single | Singleness commended as a legitimate, even advantageous, calling for undivided devotion (7:8, 32-35) | NEW — mboten palakrama. Risk Low. |
| gift | χάρισμα | charisma | grace-gift | a Spirit-given enablement, here applied to one’s marital/celibate state | gift | ”Each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another” (7:7) | Reuse peparing Roh Suci framework (from TM spiritual_gifts entry; risk Medium) applied contextually to the state of marriage or singleness. |
| conjugal duty | ὀφειλή | opheilē | debt owed | commercial debt → the mutual marital obligation spouses owe each other | conjugal rights, marital duty | Spouses owe each other bodily devotion; neither has unilateral authority over their own body (7:3-4) | NEW — wajibing bebrayan. Risk Medium: note carefully to reviewers that although the Greek root is “debt,” this is a legitimate, positive mutual marital obligation, unlike the negative utang budi reciprocity flagged Critical under Grace — the two concepts must not be confused in teaching notes. |
| sanctified [through spouse] | ἡγίασται | hēgiastai | has been made holy/set apart | see ch.6 sanctified entry, applied to a believing spouse’s influence on an unbelieving spouse/children | sanctified, made holy | The unbelieving spouse is “sanctified” through the believing one in the sense of being set within a holy marriage’s sphere (7:14) | Reuse kasucekaken. Risk High (same as ch.6) — requires a clarifying note that this is not personal salvation but a relational/covenantal setting-apart. |
| virgin | παρθένος | parthenos | virgin, unmarried woman | unmarried and sexually chaste woman | virgin | Paul’s specific counsel to the unmarried (7:25-38) | NEW — prawan. Risk Low. |
Chapter 8 — Christian Liberty and Idol Meat
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| food sacrificed to idols | εἰδωλόθυτον | eidōlothyton | idol-sacrificed thing | meat from pagan temple sacrifices resold in the marketplace | food offered to idols, idol meat | The central practical case Paul addresses: whether believers may eat such meat (8:1-13) | NEW — kang sampun kasaosaken dhateng brahala. Risk High: directly analogous to sajen (ritual offerings) still presented at punden/danyang spirit-shrine sites in living Javanese practice; requires explicit pastoral framing distinguishing Paul’s first-century marketplace-meat question from the ongoing question of participation in contemporary spirit-offering practices, which Paul’s principle (love over mere liberty) still addresses but must not be flattened into. |
| knowledge | γνῶσις | gnōsis | knowing, knowledge | correct propositional information (e.g., “there is one God”) → can become prideful without love | knowledge | ”Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (8:1) | NEW — kawruh. Risk High: kejawen and kebatinan movements use kawruh for esoteric mystical gnosis attained through spiritual practice and lineage transmission; Paul’s γνῶσις here is ordinary doctrinal correctness (monotheism), which without love is spiritually worthless — the opposite trajectory from kawruh’s prestige-conferring esoteric attainment. A translator note distinguishing the two is required wherever this term is used. |
| conscience | συνείδησις | syneidēsis | co-knowledge, moral self-awareness | the inner faculty that approves or condemns one’s actions before God | conscience | The weaker believer’s conscience can be wounded by another’s exercise of liberty (8:7,10,12) | NEW — kalbu. Risk Medium-High: chosen deliberately over batin, since batin carries heavy kejawen freight as the seat of mystical inner sensing (rasa) cultivated through spiritual discipline for esoteric perception; kalbu keeps the moral-awareness sense without importing that mystical faculty. |
| liberty/right | ἐξουσία | exousia | authority, right | delegated authority → a believer’s legitimate freedom/right to act | liberty, right, freedom | Paul’s own right to eat such meat, voluntarily restrained for love’s sake (8:9) | NEW — wewenang. Risk Medium: must be distinguished from license — the right exists but is voluntarily restrained out of love. |
| stumbling block | πρόσκομμα | proskomma | a thing struck against | an obstacle causing someone to trip → causing a weaker believer to sin | stumbling block, cause to stumble | Liberty exercised carelessly can destroy a weaker believer’s faith (8:9,13) | NEW — sandhungan. Risk Low-Medium. |
Chapter 9 — Apostolic Rights and Self-Discipline
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| reward | μισθός | misthos | wages, pay | day-laborer’s wage → eschatological reward for faithful ministry | reward, wages | Paul’s voluntary forgoing of financial support for the sake of a greater reward (9:17-18) | NEW — pituwas. Risk Low. |
| self-control | ἐγκράτεια | egkrateia | self-mastery | athletic training discipline → disciplined self-mastery for gospel purposes | self-control, discipline | ”Every athlete exercises self-control… I discipline my body” (9:25-27) | NEW — ngempet dhiri. Risk High: strong collision risk with Javanese ascetic practice (tapa, tirakat, pasa) undertaken to attain personal spiritual potency (kasekten) or mystical perfection (kasampurnan); Paul’s self-discipline is for the sake of gospel service and an imperishable reward in Christ, never for accumulating personal spiritual power. |
| imperishable crown | στέφανος ἄφθαρτος | stephanos aphthartos | unfading wreath | the athlete’s perishable victory wreath → the believer’s eternal reward | imperishable crown, crown that will not fade | Contrasted with the temporary wreath given to athletic victors (9:25) | NEW — makuthaning kamenangan kang boten badhé rusak. Risk Low-Medium. |
| gospel | εὐαγγέλιον | euangelion | see 15:1 above | gospel | ”I do it all for the sake of the gospel” (9:23) | Reuse Injil. Risk Medium. |
Chapter 10 — Christian Liberty and Idol Meat (continued); Warnings from Israel’s History
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| idolatry | εἰδωλολατρία | eidōlolatria | idol-service | worship rendered to images/false gods | idolatry | ”Flee from idolatry” — the direct command following the wilderness warnings (10:14) | NEW — panyembahing brahala. Risk High: same live-practice collision as ch.8’s idol meat, intensified here since Paul explicitly links eating at pagan altars to fellowship with demons. |
| testing God | ἐκπειράζω | ekpeirazō | to test thoroughly | provoking God through unbelief/presumption, as Israel did in the wilderness | testing/tempting the Lord | Warning drawn from Israel’s wilderness rebellion (10:9) | NEW — nyobi Gusti Allah. Risk Medium. |
| the Rock was Christ | ἡ πέτρα … ὁ Χριστός | hē petra … ho Christos | the rock was Christ | OT wilderness rock-water miracle reinterpreted typologically as Christ himself | the Rock was Christ | Typological identification of Christ as present with and sustaining OT Israel (10:4) | NEW — Sela punika Sang Kristus. Risk Medium: requires OT narrative background note given assumed low OT literacy among first-generation believers, per the baseline audience profile. |
| table of the Lord / table of demons | τράπεζα κυρίου / τράπεζα δαιμονίων | trapeza kyriou / trapeza daimoniōn | the Lord’s table / the demons’ table | a shared sacrificial meal establishing fellowship with the deity/spirit to whom it is offered | the Lord’s table, the table of demons | ”You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons” (10:21) | NEW — mejanipun Gusti / mejanipun para dhemit. Risk High, directly setting up the Lord’s Supper doctrine of ch.11 and the demon-fellowship issue below. |
| demons | δαιμόνιον | daimonion | a lesser divine being/spirit | in NT usage, malevolent spiritual beings under Satan’s dominion, opposed to God, to be neither worshiped nor placated | demons | ”What pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God” (10:20) | NEW — para dhemit. Risk Critical: this is a live and significant syncretism risk. Javanese dhemit/lelembut are typically treated in kejawen cosmology as an ambivalent category of unseen beings to be respected, avoided, or ritually appeased with offerings (sajen) at shrine sites (punden, danyang) rather than confronted as rebellious powers hostile to God. The NT concept of δαιμόνια as fallen powers under Satan, to be renounced entirely rather than negotiated with, must be explicitly taught alongside this rendering. Requires mandatory theologian review wherever it occurs. |
Chapter 11 — Order in Worship; The Lord’s Supper
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| traditions | παράδοσις | paradosis | that which is handed down | general custom → specific authoritative apostolic teaching received from Christ | traditions, teachings passed on | ”Maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you” (11:2) | NEW — piwulang ingkang katampi. Risk Medium: distinguish from generic Javanese adat (customary tradition), a vast cultural category; apostolic paradosis is specific, Christ-derived, doctrinally authoritative teaching, not ancestral custom. |
| head / headship | κεφαλή | kephalē | head (body part) | literal anatomical head → relational authority/source, as in “the head of Christ is God” | head | The headship structure: God/Christ/man/woman (11:3) | NEW — sesirah. Risk Medium-High: must be taught as a theological structure of loving order, not absolutized through the lens of Javanese priyayi household hierarchy or read as license for domination. |
| head covering / veil | κατακαλύπτω / περιβόλαιον | katakalyptō / peribolaion | to cover the head / a covering, wrap | a first-century honor/shame head-covering custom | veil, head covering | Symbol of order and honor in worship, culturally coded (11:4-15) | NEW — kudhung. Risk Medium: must be clarified as a first-century honor-symbol principle applied thoughtfully to context, not a religious legal mandate parallel to the Islamic jilbab requirement prevalent in the surrounding culture; the theological point (order, not a specific garment) must be preserved. |
| the Lord’s Supper | κυριακὸν δεῖπνον | kyriakon deipnon | the Lord’s dinner/banquet | a literal shared communal meal → the sacred commemorative meal instituted by Christ | the Lord’s Supper | The corrective centerpiece of ch.11 (11:20-34) | NEW — Bujana Gusti (“the Lord’s Banquet”). Risk CRITICAL: this is the single highest new-term risk in the book. A shared communal ritual meal carrying deep social and spiritual weight is structurally identical in cultural shape to slametan, the Javanese communal ritual meal held to secure protection and ward off misfortune from ancestral and territorial spirits — the very same root-collision risk the baseline documents for kaslametan itself. Every occurrence of Bujana Gusti REQUIRES a mandatory translator note distinguishing it as a proclamation and remembrance of Christ’s finished, once-for-all atoning sacrifice, never a repeated ritual meal performed to secure ongoing protection or favor. Mandatory theologian review for every occurrence. |
| this do in remembrance of me | τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν | touto poieite eis tēn emēn anamnēsin | do this for my memorial | a memorial/commemorative act | do this in remembrance of me | The Supper’s instituted purpose: proclaiming Christ’s death until he comes (11:24-26) | NEW — pangéling-éling. Risk High: distinguish carefully from nyadran/kenduri, Javanese ancestor-commemoration ritual meals held to honor and maintain right relationship with the deceased; the Lord’s Supper commemorates a finished, sufficient atoning sacrifice, not an ongoing relationship needing ritual maintenance. |
| unworthy manner / discerning the body | ἀναξίως / διακρίνων τὸ σῶμα | anaxiōs / diakrinōn to sōma | unworthily / discerning the body | improper participation without recognizing the meal’s meaning and the unity of the gathered body | in an unworthy manner, discerning the body | Warning against careless or divisive participation (11:27-29) | NEW — kanthi mboten patut / mbedakaken Sarira. Risk Medium-High. |
Chapter 12 — Spiritual Gifts and the Body of Christ
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| spiritual gifts | χαρίσματα | charismata | grace-gifts | see baseline TM entry | spiritual gifts | Diverse Spirit-given enablements distributed for the common good (12:4-11) | Reuse peparing Roh Suci. Risk Medium (per TM, never kasekten). |
| body of Christ | σῶμα Χριστοῦ | sōma Christou | Christ’s body | literal physical body → the corporate, unified church as Christ’s one organic body | body of Christ | ”You are the body of Christ, and individually members of it” (12:27) | NEW — Sarira Kristus (also rendered Badanipun Gusti Kristus in less formal contexts). Risk High: this corporate-union image must be kept distinct from the kejawen manunggaling kawula gusti teaching (a pantheistic fusion of self and the Divine attainable through mystical practice), already flagged Critical in the baseline for the Incarnation; the body-of-Christ metaphor describes differentiated, functioning members united under one Head, not undifferentiated mystical merger. |
| members | μέλη | melē | limbs, body parts | individual body parts | members | Individual believers as differentiated, interdependent parts of the one body (12:12-26) | NEW — peranganing badan. Risk Low-Medium. |
| manifestation of the Spirit | φανέρωσις τοῦ πνεύματος | phanerōsis tou pneumatos | the Spirit’s disclosure/showing forth | visible display for the common good | manifestation of the Spirit | Each gift is a visible showing-forth of the Spirit given for the benefit of all (12:7) | NEW — pratandhaning Roh Suci. Risk Low-Medium. |
| discerning of spirits | διάκρισις πνευμάτων | diakrisis pneumatōn | distinguishing of spirits | the Spirit-given ability to distinguish genuine Spirit-inspired utterance from counterfeit/deceptive spiritual sources | distinguishing/discerning of spirits | One of the listed gifts (12:10) | NEW — mbedakaken roh-roh. Risk Critical: this gift is the direct doctrinal safeguard against the very cosmological confusion flagged under ch.10’s “demons” entry — believers are given Spirit-enabled discernment to distinguish the Holy Spirit’s genuine work from deceptive or false spiritual phenomena (including any local unseen-world source), rather than being left to negotiate ambiguously with an unseen-spirit world as in kejawen cosmology. Mandatory theologian review. |
| baptized into one body | ἐβαπτίσθημεν εἰς ἓν σῶμα | ebaptisthēmen eis hen sōma | we were baptized into one body | the initiatory rite uniting believers to Christ and each other by the one Spirit | baptized into one body | ”By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (12:13) | Reuse loanword baptis. Risk Medium: distinguish from siraman ceremonial ritual bathing. |
Chapter 13 — Love as the Greater Way
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| love | ἀγάπη | agapē | selfless, covenantal love | general affection → God’s own self-giving, unearned, covenantal love, here the standard measuring all gifts and conduct | love, charity | ”The greatest of these is love” — the interpretive lens for chs.12 and 14 (13:1-13) | NEW — katresnan. Risk High: Javanese social exchange carries a strong reciprocity ethic (the same utang budi dynamic flagged Critical under Grace) in which acts of kindness or generosity generate an obligation to repay; agapē love as described here is deliberately unearning and non-transactional (it “does not insist on its own way,” “keeps no record of wrongs”), and must be taught against that reciprocal-debt framework, as well as distinguished from mere romantic tresna affection. |
Chapter 14 — Order in Worship; Tongues and Prophecy
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tongues | γλῶσσα (γλωσσολαλία) | glōssa | tongue, language | a literal spoken tongue → the Spirit-given gift of speaking in an unlearned language, intended for edification when interpreted, exercised under self-control and order | speaking in tongues, tongues | Central subject of ch.14’s regulation of worship (14:2-19, 22-28) | NEW — basa Roh (“language/tongue of the Spirit”). Risk Critical: strong risk of conflation with Javanese trance-possession phenomena (ndadi, kejiman), in which a performer or participant enters trance and speaks or acts under the influence of an unidentified spirit (as in traditional kuda lumping/jaran kepang performance). Must be explicitly taught as a Spirit-given gift exercised in ordered self-control for the church’s edification — never uncontrolled ecstatic possession by an unidentified spirit. Mandatory theologian review. |
| prophecy | προφητεία | prophēteia | prophetic speech | see baseline TM entry | prophecy | Preferred over uninterpreted tongues for the assembly because it edifies without needing interpretation (14:1-5) | Reuse pameca. Risk Low (per TM). |
| interpretation | ἑρμηνεία | hermēneia | translation, interpretation | rendering an unclear utterance intelligible | interpretation | Required accompaniment to public tongues-speech (14:13,27-28) | NEW — pamaosing teges. Risk Low-Medium. |
| edification/building up | οἰκοδομή | oikodomē | building, construction | literal construction → spiritual strengthening of the church | edification, building up | The controlling purpose-test for every gift exercised in worship (14:3-5,12,26) | NEW — pambangunipun pasamuwan — conceptually continuous with the baseline’s Mutual Edification doctrine. Risk Low. |
| decently and in order | εὐσχημόνως καὶ κατὰ τάξιν | euschēmonōs kai kata taxin | becomingly and according to order | orderly, fitting public conduct | decently and in order | The chapter’s closing governing principle for worship (14:40) | NEW — kanthi tata lan urut. Risk Low: this actually resonates positively with the existing Javanese cultural value of tata krama (proper order/etiquette), a rare case where cultural congruence assists rather than risks the doctrine — still worth noting so translators do not over-flag it. |
Chapter 15 — The Resurrection of Christ and Believers (vv.12-58; vv.1-11 treated in Part 1 above)
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| firstfruits | ἀπαρχή | aparchē | the first portion of a harvest | an agricultural first-harvest offering → Christ as the first, guaranteeing installment of the full resurrection harvest to come | firstfruits | ”Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ” (15:20,23) | NEW — wowohan kapisan. Risk High: strong collision with Javanese agrarian ritual, particularly first-harvest offerings presented to Dewi Sri (the rice goddess) and associated spirits to secure continued fertility; Christ as “firstfruits” is a guarantee/pledge of the certain future resurrection harvest for all who are his, not an offering made to secure ongoing favor from a fertility deity. |
| imperishable/incorruptible | ἀφθαρσία | aphtharsia | not subject to decay | the resurrection body’s permanent, decay-proof state | imperishable, incorruptible | ”It is sown perishable, it is raised imperishable” (15:42,50-54) | NEW — boten bisa rusak. Risk Low-Medium. |
| natural body / spiritual body | σῶμα ψυχικόν / σῶμα πνευματικόν | sōma psychikon / sōma pneumatikon | soul-ish body / Spirit-ish body | the present mortal body animated by natural life → the future resurrection body, transformed and empowered by the Spirit, yet still a real body | natural body, spiritual body | ”It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body” (15:44) | NEW — badan kadonyan / badan rohani. Risk High: given the elaborate Javanese kejawen soul-anatomy (jiwa, nyawa, roh, sukma, rasa), this contrast must be explicitly anchored as a real, embodied contrast (present mortal body vs. future glorified body), not read as a shift from a “lower” bodily state to a disembodied “higher” spiritual/soul state as kejawen mystical anthropology might suggest. |
| last Adam | ἔσχατος Ἀδάμ | eschatos Adam | the final Adam | typological contrast between the first man (source of death) and Christ (source of resurrection life) | last Adam | ”As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (15:22,45) | NEW — Adam ingkang pungkasan. Risk Medium: requires OT background note (Genesis creation/fall) given assumed low OT literacy among first-generation believers. |
| sting of death | κέντρον τοῦ θανάτου | kentron tou thanatou | the goad/barb of death | a scorpion’s or insect’s stinger → death’s power to harm, now removed by Christ’s victory | sting of death | ”O death, where is your sting?” (15:55) | NEW — cucuking pati. Risk Low. |
| victory | νῖκος | nikos | victory | triumph, conquest | victory | ”Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:57) | NEW — kamenangan. Risk Low. |
Chapter 16 — Collection for the Saints; Closing Greetings
| Term | Original | Translit. | Literal meaning | Semantic range | English variants | Contextual theological meaning | Javanese rendering & risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| collection | λογεία | logeia | a collecting, gathering of funds | voluntary financial gathering for the Jerusalem saints | the collection, offering | Practical instruction on giving for the relief of the saints (16:1-4) | NEW — pisungsung. Risk Medium: must be clarified as voluntary, grace-motivated giving for fellow believers’ need, not an obligatory tribute or ritual offering (sesaji) presented to a ruler or spirit to secure favor or protection. |
| Maranatha | μαράνα θά | marana tha | ”Our Lord, come!” (Aramaic) | an early Aramaic liturgical prayer-cry for Christ’s return | Maranatha, “Our Lord, come” | Closing eschatological prayer (16:22) | NEW — Marana Tha (retain the Aramaic transliteration, consistent with the baseline’s treatment of Abba). Risk Low. |
| holy kiss | φίλημα ἅγιον | philēma hagion | a holy/sacred kiss | a first-century greeting custom expressing family affection among believers | holy kiss | ”Greet one another with a holy kiss” (16:20) | NEW — pangaras suci. Risk Low-Medium: primarily a cultural-adaptation note rather than a doctrinal risk — Javanese greeting custom does not typically use kissing, so a functionally equivalent warm greeting gesture may be substituted in practice while the phrase itself is retained in translation for textual fidelity. |
| grace of the Lord Jesus | ἡ χάρις τοῦ κυρίου Ἰησοῦ | hē charis tou kyriou Iēsou | see grace, Lord, Jesus entries | the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you | Closing benediction (16:23) | Reuse sih-rahmatipun Gusti Yesus. Risk Critical (grace, per TM). |
Coverage Confirmation
All sixteen chapters of 1 Corinthians have been reviewed. No chapter was silently omitted. Chapters 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 each introduce new load-bearing theological vocabulary as documented above. Chapters 2 and 4 also introduce new vocabulary (mystery/spiritual/natural-man in ch.2; stewards/mysteries-of-God/kingdom-of-God in ch.4) and are documented in full above — no chapter in this book was found to contain zero new theological vocabulary, given the letter’s density of distinct pastoral-doctrinal topics addressed chapter by chapter.