Semantic Analysis — Gospel of John (Koine Greek → Korean)
Methodology
This document analyzes every load-bearing theological term in the entire Gospel of John, chapter by chapter, with the core passage (John 3:1-21) given full verse-by-verse treatment. For each term the following fields are provided where applicable: Original (Greek), Transliteration, Literal meaning, Semantic range, English variants (as found across major English versions), Contextual theological meaning, and Korean rendering with risk tier.
Any term already fixed in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json is reused exactly as recorded there; this document does not re-litigate those renderings but notes where John’s usage adds nuance requiring translator awareness. New terms specific to John’s theological vocabulary (the Logos, the “I Am” sayings, the Paraclete, born-again, eternal life, etc.) are assigned new risk tiers consistent with the baseline’s Critical/High/Medium/Low framework and with attention to the same Korean shamanistic (무속신앙), Confucian (유교), and Buddhist/Daoist (불교/도교) collision patterns the baseline documents.
Chapters that introduce no new load-bearing theological vocabulary beyond terms already treated are explicitly noted as such, per the full-book coverage mandate.
PART A — Core Passage: John 3:1-21 (Verse-by-Verse)
John 3:1
Greek: Ἦν δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τῶν Φαρισαίων, Νικόδημος ὄνομα αὐτῷ, ἄρχων τῶν Ἰουδαίων
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning (Jn 3) | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| Φαρισαῖος | Pharisaios | ”separated one” | A Jewish religious-legal sect stressing Torah observance and oral tradition | ”Pharisee” | Identifies Nicodemus’s religious party — a man of high religious standing and learning, not a irreligious outsider | 바리새인 (barisaein) | Low — established transliteration; no collision |
| ἄρχων | archōn | ”ruler, one who begins/leads” | Civic or religious official; here a member of the Sanhedrin | ”ruler,” “leader,” “member of the council” | Marks Nicodemus’s elite social-religious authority, heightening the irony that Israel’s teacher does not understand new birth (v.10) | 지도자/관리 (jidoja/gwalli), KRV: 관원 (gwanwon) | Low — historical-social term, no doctrinal collision |
John 3:2
Greek: οὗτος ἦλθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν νυκτὸς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ῥαββί, οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἐλήλυθας διδάσκαλος· οὐδεὶς γὰρ δύναται ταῦτα τὰ σημεῖα ποιεῖν ἃ σὺ ποιεῖς, ἐὰν μὴ ᾖ ὁ θεὸς μετ’ αὐτοῦ
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| Ῥαββί | Rhabbi | ”my great one / my master” (from Heb. rav) | Honorific address to a recognized religious teacher | ”Rabbi,” “Teacher,” “Master” | Nicodemus addresses Jesus with the highest human-teacher honorific he knows — respectful but as yet inadequate (cf. v.10 reversal) | 랍비 (rabbi) | Low — established transliteration |
| διδάσκαλος | didaskalos | ”teacher, instructor” | One who teaches; can denote any human teacher or, elevated, a divinely sent one | ”teacher,” “master" | "A teacher come from God” — recognition of divine commissioning, not yet full recognition of divine identity | 선생/교사 (seonsaeng), here “하나님께로부터 오신 선생” | Medium — must not be softened toward a generic guru/spiritual-master framing (cf. baseline’s caution against 도사 for “apostle”) |
| σημεῖον (pl. σημεῖα) | sēmeion | ”sign, mark, token” | An event pointing beyond itself to a deeper reality; in John, Jesus’s miracles function as revelatory signs of his identity, not mere wonders | ”sign,” “miracle,” “miraculous sign” | The signs testify to God’s presence with Jesus; foundational to John’s entire signs-theology (cf. 20:30-31) | 표적 (pyojeok) | Medium — 표적 (a “sign” pointing to a deeper truth) must be kept distinct from a shamanistic power-display (영력, cf. baseline power_of_god warning) or a mere magic trick (마술); the sign points to Christ’s identity, not to the wonder-worker’s personal power |
John 3:3
Greek: ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν, οὐ δύναται ἰδεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι | amēn amēn legō soi | ”truly, truly, I say to you” | A doubled Hebraic asseveration unique to John’s Gospel, prefacing weighty revelatory statements | ”Verily, verily,” “Truly, truly,” “I tell you the truth” | Marks the statement as a solemn, authoritative divine pronouncement | 진실로 진실로 너[네]게 이르노니 (jinsillo jinsillo neo-ege irononi) | Low — established KRV formula throughout John’s Gospel; must be rendered identically at every occurrence (25 times in John) for cross-document consistency |
| γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν | gennēthē anōthen | ”be born from above / be born again” | ἄνωθεν carries a genuine double sense in Greek: (1) “again, a second time,” and (2) “from above, from heaven.” John exploits this ambiguity deliberately — Nicodemus hears sense (1) and misunderstands (v.4); Jesus means both, but especially (2) | “born again,” “born anew,” “born from above” | The theological anchor of the New Birth doctrine: a spiritual re-creation originating from God, not a repeatable natural birth or a human achievement | 거듭나다 (geodeumnada) — established KRV compound verb (“again” + “be born”) | Critical — 거듭나다 captures the “again” sense well but the “from above” (heavenly-origin) sense is not lexically present in the Korean verb; translator notes/teaching must supply the “from above” nuance explicitly so the doctrine is not reduced to a repeatable rebirth resembling Buddhist 윤회 (reincarnation) or 환생 (rebirth) — both explicitly forbidden framings already established in the baseline for resurrection, and equally forbidden here. New birth is a ONE-TIME, Spirit-wrought re-creation from God, never a cyclical rebirth |
| βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ | basileia tou theou | ”kingdom of God” | God’s sovereign reign | ”kingdom of God” | Entry into God’s reign is conditioned on new birth, not birthright, ritual, or ethnic status | 하나님의 나라 (Hananim-ui nara) — reuse baseline term exactly | Low (per baseline: Korea has no live competing “divine kingdom” state ideology) |
John 3:4
Greek: λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Νικόδημος· Πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος γεννηθῆναι γέρων ὤν; μὴ δύναται εἰς τὴν κοιλίαν τῆς μητρὸς αὐτοῦ δεύτερον εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεννηθῆναι;
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| γεννηθῆναι | gennēthēnai | ”to be born” | Physical/biological birth | ”to be born” | Nicodemus’s literalistic misunderstanding — he hears only the physical-repetition sense of ἄνωθεν | 나다/태어나다 (nada/taeeonada) | Low — ordinary vocabulary, risk lies in the theological term above (ἄνωθεν), not here |
| κοιλία | koilia | ”womb, belly” | Physical organ of gestation | ”womb” | Underscores the impossibility of a literal second physical birth, sharpening the need for a spiritual reading | 태(胎)/모태 (tae/motae) | Low |
John 3:5
Greek: ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς· Ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, ἐὰν μή τις γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος, οὐ δύναται εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ὕδωρ | hydōr | ”water” | Ranges across interpretive traditions: physical birth (amniotic fluid), John’s baptism of repentance, ceremonial/Levitical purification, or eschatological cleansing (Ezek. 36:25-27, in view alongside πνεῦμα) | “water” | Most commonly read in Protestant exposition (consistent with the doctrine slate for this curriculum) as pointing to cleansing/purification accompanying Spirit-wrought regeneration, echoing OT promises of a new heart | 물 (mul) | High — must not be taught as if this “water” refers to a shamanistic purification rite (cf. baseline’s caution on 부정을 씻다 in the holy entry) nor collapsed into a sacramental works-based requirement detached from the Spirit’s own action; teaching must keep ὕδωρ καὶ πνεύματος as a single, Spirit-centered regenerating event, not a two-step ritual-then-spiritual formula |
| πνεῦμα | pneuma | ”wind, breath, spirit” | The single Greek word covers natural wind/breath and the divine Spirit — a wordplay John exploits fully in v.8 | ”Spirit,” “spirit” | Here: the Holy Spirit as the active regenerating agent | 성령 (seongnyeong) — reuse baseline term exactly | Critical (per baseline holy_spirit entry) — never 신령 or 신 alone; the Spirit here is the personal divine agent of new birth, not a channeled or possessing spirit-force as in shamanistic 굿 ritual |
| εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ | eiselthein eis tēn basileian tou theou | ”to enter into the kingdom of God” | Full participation in God’s reign, parallel to “see” in v.3 | ”enter the kingdom of God” | Restates v.3’s condition with an entrance metaphor, intensifying the necessity | 하나님의 나라에 들어가다 | Low (reuses kingdom_of_god, 하나님의 나라) |
John 3:6
Greek: τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τῆς σαρκὸς σάρξ ἐστιν, καὶ τὸ γεγεννημένον ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος πνεῦμά ἐστιν
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| σάρξ | sarx | ”flesh” | Physical human nature; in Pauline/Johannine usage often also carries the sense of fallen, merely-human, God-independent existence | ”flesh,” “human nature,” “sinful nature” | Natural human birth produces only natural human life, incapable by itself of spiritual life or kingdom entry — an ontological, not merely moral, contrast with πνεῦμα | 육신/육 (yuksin/yuk) | High — must be distinguished from the incarnational σάρξ of John 1:14 (성육신, the Word becoming flesh, which is theologically positive — the assumption of true humanity); here σάρξ denotes fallen human origin/capacity, a different register of the same word requiring contextual translator awareness |
| πνεῦμα (2nd occurrence, “that which is born of the Spirit”) | pneuma | ”spirit” | Here: the spiritual life produced by the Holy Spirit’s regenerating work | ”spirit” | The believer’s new nature, spiritual in origin and character, contrasted with mere flesh | 영 (yeong) | Medium — distinct from 성령 (the Holy Spirit himself); here it denotes the resulting spiritual nature/life in the believer. Must not be confused with a generic “spirit-nature” concept from shamanistic anthropology (e.g., a person’s 혼/넋, folk-soul concepts) |
John 3:7
Greek: μὴ θαυμάσῃς ὅτι εἶπόν σοι· Δεῖ ὑμᾶς γεννηθῆναι ἄνωθεν
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| δεῖ | dei | ”it is necessary, one must” | Divine/moral necessity, a term John uses for God’s ordained plan (cf. 3:14, 3:30, 20:9) | “must,” “it is necessary” | New birth is not optional or one path among several — it is the sole necessary condition for kingdom entry | ~해야 하다/반드시 ~하여야 하리라 | High — must retain the force of absolute necessity, not mere recommendation, paralleling other δεῖ statements in John (e.g., 3:14 “the Son of Man must be lifted up”) |
| ἄνωθεν (2nd occurrence) | anōthen | see v.3 | see v.3 | ”again,” “from above” | Reiterated for emphasis; now addressed to “you” (plural — Nicodemus and, by extension, all Israel/all people) | 거듭 (geodeum), within 거듭나다 | Critical — same note as v.3; the plural address broadens the doctrine to universal necessity, which the Korean rendering must not narrow |
John 3:8
Greek: τὸ πνεῦμα ὅπου θέλει πνεῖ, καὶ τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ ἀκούεις, ἀλλ’ οὐκ οἶδας πόθεν ἔρχεται καὶ ποῦ ὑπάγει· οὕτως ἐστὶν πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| πνεῦμα / πνεῖ | pneuma / pnei | ”wind” / “it blows” (same root, verb form) | Wordplay: πνεῦμα = both “wind” and “Spirit”; the verb πνέω (“to blow”) reinforces the wind sense while the noun simultaneously carries the Spirit sense | ”wind” (object) referring to “Spirit” (subject matter) | The Spirit’s regenerating work is sovereign and perceptible in effect but not controllable or fully traceable by human observation — mirroring the wind’s freedom | 바람 (baram, “wind”) for the illustration; 성령 (seongnyeong) for “Spirit” in the application clause | Medium — the Greek wordplay (one word for both wind and Spirit) cannot be reproduced in Korean, where 바람 and 영/성령 are unrelated words; a translator note should flag this loss so the illustrative logic (unseen but perceptible-by-effect) is preserved explicitly in teaching material rather than relying on wordplay alone |
John 3:9
Greek: ἀπεκρίθη Νικόδημος καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Πῶς δύναται ταῦτα γενέσθαι;
No new load-bearing theological terms; reiterates Nicodemus’s incomprehension (πῶς, “how”). Low risk, ordinary interrogative vocabulary: 어찌/어떻게.
John 3:10
Greek: ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Σὺ εἶ ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ καὶ ταῦτα οὐ γινώσκεις;
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ὁ διδάσκαλος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ | ho didaskalos tou Israēl | ”the teacher of Israel” (definite article — THE recognized teacher) | A title suggesting Nicodemus’s standing as an authoritative expositor of the Hebrew Scriptures | ”the teacher of Israel,” “Israel’s teacher” | Ironic rebuke: Israel’s foremost religious scholar should have recognized new-birth/Spirit-renewal themes already present in the OT (e.g., Ezek. 36:25-27) | 이스라엘의 선생 | Medium — 이스라엘 reuses baseline term exactly; the irony must be preserved in translation register (a mild rebuke, not harsh) |
John 3:11
Greek: ἀμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω σοι ὅτι ὃ οἴδαμεν λαλοῦμεν καὶ ὃ ἑωράκαμεν μαρτυροῦμεν, καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἡμῶν οὐ λαμβάνετε
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία | martyreō / martyria | ”to testify, bear witness” / “testimony, witness” | Legal/courtroom language of eyewitness testimony; a governing theme across John’s entire Gospel (the Baptist’s witness, the Father’s witness, the Spirit’s witness, the works’ witness, Scripture’s witness) | “testify,” “bear witness” / “testimony,” “witness” | Jesus speaks as an eyewitness of heavenly realities (contrast with Nicodemus’s mere theorizing); the rejection of this testimony anticipates the unbelief theme developed through v.18-21 | 증언하다/증거하다 (jeungeonhada/jeunggeohada) / 증거 (jeunggeo) | Medium — must retain courtroom/eyewitness force, not soften into “opinion” or “impression”; this term recurs as a major structural motif across the whole Gospel (see John 1, 5, 8, 15 below) |
John 3:12
Greek: εἰ τὰ ἐπίγεια εἶπον ὑμῖν καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε, πῶς ἐὰν εἴπω ὑμῖν τὰ ἐπουράνια πιστεύσετε;
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐπίγειος / ἐπουράνιος | epigeios / epouranios | ”earthly (things)” / “heavenly (things)“ | Contrast pair distinguishing this-worldly illustrations (like the new-birth/wind analogy) from the higher heavenly realities Jesus is about to disclose (his own heavenly origin, the cross, salvation) | “earthly things” / “heavenly things” | Sets up the escalation to vv.13-17’s heavenly-origin Christology | 땅의 일/땅에 속한 것 — 하늘의 일/하늘에 속한 것 | Medium — must not collapse into a simple physical/spiritual dualism that devalues the earthly; both are real, but the heavenly truths exceed ordinary human categories |
| πιστεύω | pisteuō | ”to believe, trust, have faith in” | Trust placed in a person or a report; John’s Gospel verb-form of the baseline noun faith (πίστις, 믿음) | “believe,” “have faith,” “trust” | The verbal cognate of the entire Gospel’s central category — assent plus reliant trust, always oriented toward Jesus’s person and testimony | 믿다 (mitda) — verb form of baseline 믿음 | High (reuse baseline faith risk tier) — trust specifically in Christ’s person and testimony, not generic religious belief (미신) nor confidence in fortune-telling (사주팔자), per baseline note |
John 3:13
Greek: καὶ οὐδεὶς ἀναβέβηκεν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰ μὴ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καταβάς, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀναβαίνω / καταβαίνω | anabainō / katabainō | ”to go up/ascend” / “to go down/descend” | Movement between heaven and earth | ”ascended” / “descended,” “came down” | Establishes Jesus’s unique heavenly origin and pre-existence prior to his earthly ministry — direct support for the Deity and Pre-existence of Christ doctrine | 올라가다 / 내려오다 | High — must convey a real, unique pre-existent heavenly origin, not a legendary heaven-descended founder-figure motif as in Korea’s own Dangun/Hwanung founding myth (cf. baseline son_of_god note); Christ’s descent is unique, not one of several culture-hero patterns |
| υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | huios tou anthrōpou | ”son of man” | A messianic self-designation drawn from Daniel 7:13-14, denoting a divine-human figure who receives everlasting dominion — NOT a mere synonym for “a human being" | "Son of Man” | Jesus’s favored self-title in all four Gospels, combining genuine humanity with transcendent, heaven-descended authority | 인자 (inja) — established KRV term (人子) | High — must be taught as a title with divine-authority freight (Daniel 7 background), not reduced to “a human” or “the human one” in a merely anthropological sense |
John 3:14
Greek: καὶ καθὼς Μωϋσῆς ὕψωσεν τὸν ὄφιν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, οὕτως ὑψωθῆναι δεῖ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ὑψόω | hypsoō | ”to lift up, raise high; to exalt” | Deliberate double meaning John exploits throughout the Gospel (12:32-34): physical lifting up on the cross AND exaltation/glorification | ”lifted up,” “exalted” | Ties Christ’s crucifixion (Numbers 21:4-9 typology) directly to his glorification — the cross is simultaneously his humiliation and his enthronement | 들리다/높이 들리다 (deullida) | High — the double sense (lifted up on a cross = exalted in glory) is theologically essential (substitutionary death doctrine intersecting with glorification); Korean 들리다 can carry both a literal “raised up” sense and, contextually, honor, but the connection must be made explicit in teaching material since it is not automatic in the bare verb |
| ὄφις | ophis | ”serpent, snake” | The bronze serpent of Numbers 21, a divinely appointed instrument of healing for those who looked upon it in faith | ”serpent,” “snake” | Typological foreshadowing: as Israel looked to the raised serpent for physical healing from the plague, all who look to the raised Christ receive eternal life | 뱀 (baem) | Medium — requires OT background note (Numbers 21) for full comprehension; not independently risky in Korean but assumes moderate OT narrative literacy (per baseline tone guidance) |
| ἔρημος | erēmos | ”wilderness, desert” | The setting of Israel’s wilderness wandering | ”wilderness,” “desert” | Anchors the typology historically in the Exodus narrative | 광야 (gwangya) | Low |
John 3:15
Greek: ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων ἐν αὐτῷ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων | pas ho pisteuōn | ”everyone who believes” | Universal scope, no ethnic or social qualifier | ”whoever believes,” “everyone who believes” | The universal offer of eternal life through faith — a key text for the Eternal Life through Faith doctrine and for the Universal Scope of the Gospel doctrine (cf. baseline Romans risk note on this pattern) | 믿는 자마다 (mitneun jamada) | High — must retain unqualified universality; do not allow any rendering that could be read through Korea’s ethnic-nationalist 단일민족 lens (cf. baseline universal_scope_of_gospel warning, directly transferable here) |
| ζωὴ αἰώνιος | zōē aiōnios | ”eternal life, life of the age (to come)“ | Qualitatively new, God-given life beginning in the present and continuing forever — in John 17:3 explicitly defined as relational knowledge of the Father and the Son, not merely unending duration | ”eternal life,” “everlasting life” | The central soteriological goal-term of John’s Gospel, appearing 17 times; the Gospel’s stated purpose (20:31) is that readers “believe… and have life in his name” | 영생 (yeongsaeng) — established Korean Protestant term (永生) | Critical — this is a NEW term not present in the baseline Romans package and must be added to translation memory at Critical risk. Two specific Korean collision risks: (1) Buddhist/folk soteriology treats endless continued existence as the problem to be escaped (cf. baseline’s rejection of 해탈/윤회 for salvation), so 영생 must be taught as itself the gift, in relationship with the Father through the Son — not confused with an undesirable endless cycle; (2) Korean shamanistic and Daoist-influenced folk religion contains a live, still-popular current of 불로장생 (bulnojangsaeng, “unaging long life,” immortality/longevity-elixir seeking, prominent in folk tales, historical Daoist practice, and popular culture). 영생 must be explicitly distinguished from 불로장생: eternal life is relational union with God secured through faith in Christ’s death and resurrection, not an unaging extension of mortal biological life sought through spiritual technique |
| ἀπόλλυμι | apollymi | ”to destroy, perish, be lost” | Ruin/destruction, standing opposite ζωή in John’s binary soteriological framework | ”perish,” “be lost,” “be destroyed” | The negative pole of the Gospel’s central choice: perish or have eternal life | 멸망하다 (myeolmanghada) | Medium — must retain the sense of ultimate spiritual ruin/loss before God, not merely misfortune or bad luck (cf. baseline sin note on 액운) |
John 3:16
Greek: οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν τὸν μονογενῆ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν μὴ ἀπόληται ἀλλ’ ἔχῃ ζωὴν αἰώνιον
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀγαπάω | agapaō | ”to love” | Self-giving, willed love, not primarily emotional affection; John’s preferred verb for both divine love and the love commanded among believers | ”loved,” “love” | The theological ground of the entire Gospel — God’s initiating, sacrificial love for a rebellious world, motivating the sending of the Son. The direct textual anchor of the “God’s Love for the World” doctrine | 사랑하다 (saranghada) | High — this is the Gospel’s single most quoted verse; must retain a self-giving, sacrificial sense, not a sentimental or merely emotional register. NOTE: Korean does not lexically distinguish ἀγαπάω from φιλέω the way Greek does (both ordinarily render as 사랑하다); this creates no problem here but becomes a specific translation issue in John 21:15-17 (see below) |
| κόσμος | kosmos | ”world, ordered universe, humanity, the world-system in rebellion against God” | A genuinely dual-use Johannine term: (1) the created world/all humanity, object of God’s love (as here); (2) the organized system of human society in opposition to God and under the sway of “the ruler of this world” (see John 12, 14, 16) | “world” | Here: sense (1) — the whole of humanity, without ethnic restriction, is the object of God’s redemptive love | 세상 (sesang) | High — this is a NEW term requiring addition to translation memory. Must be disambiguated by context in every occurrence: God’s love is for sense-(1) “the world” (humanity as created and fallen, the object of rescue), never an endorsement of sense-(2) “the world” as a hostile system to be loved on its own terms (cf. 1 John 2:15, and John 15:18-19 below). Teaching materials must make this distinction explicit since a single Korean word (세상) covers both senses just as the Greek does |
| μονογενής | monogenēs | ”only-begotten, one-of-a-kind, unique” | From μόνος (“only”) + γένος (“kind/offspring”); denotes uniqueness of kind/relationship, not merely birth order. Applied to Christ, it expresses his unique, eternal relationship to the Father, distinct from any other sonship (including believers’ adoptive sonship) | “only begotten,” “one and only,” “unique” | Central Christological term for the Deity and Pre-existence of Christ doctrine, appearing at John 1:14, 1:18, 3:16, 3:18 | 독생자 (dokjaengja) — established Korean Protestant term (獨生子) | Critical — must be taught as denoting Christ’s unique, eternal Sonship (qualitatively different in kind from believers’ adoptive sonship, baseline adoption/양자), not merely “an only child” in the ordinary family-inheritance sense that could be confused with Korea’s historic instrumental adoption practice (cf. baseline adoption note on 제사-continuation adoption). Christ’s is the ONE eternal, natural Sonship; believers’ adoption (양자) is a distinct, gracious, non-natural sonship granted through him |
| δίδωμι | didōmi | ”to give” | Voluntary, gracious giving | ”gave” | The Father’s giving of the Son is the supreme act of grace (cf. baseline grace, 은혜) — a non-transactional, unearned gift | 주다 (juda) | Medium — should be read in harmony with baseline grace (은혜) as unearned, unconditional gift, never a reciprocal exchange (기복신앙 pattern) |
John 3:17
Greek: οὐ γὰρ ἀπέστειλεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν υἱὸν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἵνα κρίνῃ τὸν κόσμον, ἀλλ’ ἵνα σωθῇ ὁ κόσμος δι’ αὐτοῦ
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀποστέλλω | apostellō | ”to send, send out with a commission” | Commissioned sending, cognate with ἀπόστολος (baseline apostle, 사도) | “sent” | The Father’s sending of the Son is purposive and gracious — the mission’s aim is salvation, not condemnation | 보내다 (bonaeda) | Medium — reuse the sending motif consistently with baseline mission (선교) vocabulary family |
| κρίνω | krinō | ”to judge, decide, condemn” | Ranges from neutral “evaluate” to judicial “condemn”; here used in the negative sense of condemnatory judgment, which is NOT God’s primary purpose in sending the Son | ”condemn,” “judge” | Clarifies that the incarnation’s primary purpose is salvific, though judgment remains a real and unavoidable consequence for unbelief (cf. v.18) | 심판하다 (simpanhada) | High — NEW term for translation memory. Johannine judgment/κρίσις must be taught as relational — based on one’s response to Christ (belief/unbelief) — never as impersonal karmic retribution (인과응보, ingwaeungbo), a deeply entrenched Korean Buddhist-folk concept of automatic moral cause-and-effect operating apart from any personal God. This is a significant, specific collision risk requiring explicit doctrinal safeguarding |
| σῴζω | sōzō | ”to save, rescue, deliver” | Deliverance from peril/destruction | ”save,” “saved” | The stated positive purpose of the Son’s mission: the world’s salvation through him | 구원하다 (guwonhada) — verb form of baseline 구원 | Critical (reuse baseline salvation risk tier) — never 해탈; salvation here is through Christ specifically (“through him,” δι’ αὐτοῦ), reinforcing the exclusivity already flagged in the baseline |
John 3:18
Greek: ὁ πιστεύων εἰς αὐτὸν οὐ κρίνεται· ὁ δὲ μὴ πιστεύων ἤδη κέκριται, ὅτι μὴ πεπίστευκεν εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ μονογενοῦς υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἤδη κέκριται | ēdē kekritai | ”is already judged/condemned” (perfect tense — a settled, present state) | The perfect tense stresses an already-existing, settled condition, not merely a future verdict | ”is condemned already,” “stands condemned already” | Unbelief is not neutral; it already places a person under judgment prior to any final eschatological verdict — a present-tense reality, central to the Judgment/Belief doctrine | 이미 심판을 받은 것이니라 | High — must retain the perfect-tense force of a present, settled condition, not merely a future threat |
| ὄνομα | onoma | ”name” | In Hebrew/Johannine usage, “the name” represents the whole person and identity, not merely a label | ”name” | To believe “in the name” of the Son is to trust the full revealed identity and person of Christ | 이름 (ireum) | Medium — must not be read as a magical invocation-formula (as in some folk-religious naming/incantation practices) but as trust in Christ’s revealed person |
| μονογενὴς υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ | monogenēs huios tou theou | ”the only-begotten Son of God” | Combines μονογενής (see v.16) with the baseline term son_of_god | ”the only begotten Son of God,” “God’s one and only Son” | Full title reinforcing both uniqueness and deity | 하나님의 독생자 | Critical — combine baseline 하나님의 아들 concept with 독생자; ensure consistency of this compound phrase wherever it recurs (1:14, 1:18, 3:16, 3:18) |
John 3:19
Greek: αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ κρίσις, ὅτι τὸ φῶς ἐλήλυθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον καὶ ἠγάπησαν οἱ ἄνθρωποι μᾶλλον τὸ σκότος ἢ τὸ φῶς· ἦν γὰρ αὐτῶν πονηρὰ τὰ ἔργα
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| κρίσις | krisis | ”judgment, verdict, crisis-point of decision” | The noun form of κρίνω; here defines the very nature of judgment itself | ”judgment,” “verdict,” “condemnation” | Judgment is defined relationally: it consists in humanity’s preference for darkness over the light that has come — the judgment is self-incurred, not arbitrary | 심판 (simpan) | High — see v.17 note; this verse is the single clearest textual definition of Johannine judgment and must be handled with theologian review per the doctrine risk registry pattern |
| φῶς | phōs | ”light” | Physical light and, metaphorically, moral/spiritual illumination, truth, and God’s revealed presence in Christ (cf. John 1:4-9, 8:12, 9:5) | “light” | Christ himself as the light who exposes and confronts sin by his coming into the world | 빛 (bit) | Medium — NEW term for translation memory. Must be taught as a moral-spiritual antithesis (light = truth/righteousness exposing sin; darkness = culpable rebellion), not softened into Korea’s yin-yang-adjacent folk-cosmological balance concept of 음양 (eumyang), where light and dark are complementary, non-morally-loaded cosmic forces held in equilibrium rather than opposed. John’s dualism is moral and culpable, not a balance to be maintained |
| σκότος / σκοτία | skotos / skotia | ”darkness” | Moral and spiritual darkness — opposition to God’s revealed truth | ”darkness” | Humanity’s preferred sphere due to evil deeds; a willed, culpable love of darkness, not mere ignorance | 어둠 (eodum) | Medium — same collision note as φῶς above |
| ἔργα πονηρά | erga ponēra | ”evil deeds/works” | Morally wicked actions | ”evil deeds,” “evil works” | The root cause of light-aversion; ties judgment to actual moral conduct, not merely intellectual disbelief | 악한 행위 | Medium — standard moral vocabulary, low collision risk beyond ensuring “evil” (πονηρός) is not reduced to misfortune/bad luck framing |
John 3:20
Greek: πᾶς γὰρ ὁ φα�ῦλα πράσσων μισεῖ τὸ φῶς καὶ οὐκ ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς, ἵνα μὴ ἐλεγχθῇ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| φαῦλος | phaulos | ”worthless, base, evil” | Morally inferior/corrupt conduct | ”evil,” “wicked,” “worthless” | Near-synonym reinforcing πονηρά in v.19 | 악을 행하는 자 | Low-Medium |
| μισέω | miseō | ”to hate” | Strong aversion, willed rejection | ”hates” | Deliberate, active avoidance of the light — unbelief is morally culpable, not passive or accidental | 미워하다 (miwohada) | Medium — must retain the active, willed sense (not “happens to dislike”) |
| ἐλέγχω | elenchō | ”to expose, convict, reprove” | Bringing hidden wrongdoing to light for correction or condemnation; the same verb used of the Spirit’s convicting work in John 16:8 | ”exposed,” “reproved,” “convicted” | Sinners avoid the light precisely because it exposes their deeds — anticipates the Spirit’s convicting ministry (John 16, below) | 드러나다/책망 받다 (deureonada) | Medium — connects thematically to the Holy Spirit’s later convicting work (John 16:8); consistency of rendering across both passages recommended |
John 3:21
Greek: ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἔρχεται πρὸς τὸ φῶς, ἵνα φανερωθῇ αὐτοῦ τὰ ἔργα ὅτι ἐν θεῷ ἐστιν εἰργασμένα
| Term | Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia | ”truth” | Reality as disclosed by God; in John, truth is ultimately personal, embodied in Christ (14:6), not merely propositional accuracy | ”truth" | "Doing the truth” — living in a manner consistent with, and coming to, God’s revealed reality/light | 진리 (jilli) | High — NEW term for translation memory. Must be distinguished from a generic Confucian or philosophical notion of abstract moral/cosmic truth (道/도) detached from a personal God; in John, truth is always personally anchored in Christ (cf. John 14:6, “I am… the truth”) |
| φανερόω | phaneroō | ”to make visible, manifest, reveal” | Bringing something hidden into open visibility | ”manifest,” “revealed,” “clearly seen” | The believer’s deeds, done in dependence on God, are shown openly to have their source in God — the positive counterpart to v.20’s exposure of evil | 나타나다/드러나다 | Low-Medium |
| ἐν θεῷ εἰργασμένα | en theō eirgasmena | ”having been worked/done in God” | Perfect passive participle — deeds accomplished in reliance on and union with God, not self-generated moral achievement | ”wrought in God,” “done through God,” “done in God” | Guards against reading v.21 as self-righteous moral effort; even “doing the truth” is God-enabled, harmonizing with the doctrine of grace | 하나님 안에서 행한 것 | High — must not be read as human moral self-achievement (cf. baseline caution on 의리/도를 닦음 self-cultivation framings under righteousness and justification); the deeds are enabled by and done in dependence on God |
PART B — Whole-Book Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis
John 1 — Prologue, the Word, and the Witness of John the Baptist
This chapter introduces the Gospel’s foundational Christological vocabulary and several terms load-bearing for the entire book.
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| λόγος | logos (1:1,14) | “word, message, reasoned account” | In Greek philosophy, an impersonal ordering principle of the universe; in John, personalized and identified as eternally pre-existent, distinct from yet fully God, and the agent of creation | ”Word,” “the Word” | THE central term for the Deity and Pre-existence of Christ doctrine: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (1:1) | 말씀 (malsseum) — established KRV term | Critical — NEW term for translation memory, and arguably the single highest-stakes new term in this curriculum. 말씀 (“word/speech,” with an honorific register already built in) safely avoids the most dangerous alternative: rendering Logos as 도 (Do, “the Way”), the term used in Confucian and Daoist philosophy for an impersonal cosmic ordering principle, and — critically — the term at the center of a well-known Korean new-religious-movement recruitment phrase, “도를 아십니까?” (“Do you know the Way?”), associated with syncretistic cult proselytizing. NEVER render Logos as 도. 말씀 must be taught as a personal, eternal, divine Being — not an abstract principle, force, or “the Way” of impersonal cosmic order |
| ἐν ἀρχῇ | en archē (1:1) | “in the beginning” | Deliberate echo of Genesis 1:1 (LXX ἐν ἀρχῇ) | “in the beginning” | Asserts the Word’s pre-existence before creation itself, not merely before his earthly ministry | 태초에 (taechoe) | High — must retain the Genesis-echo force, establishing absolute (not merely relative) pre-existence |
| θεός (predicate, 1:1) | theos | ”God” (anarthrous predicate nominative) | Grammatically distinguishes “the Word was with God [ὁ θεός, the person of the Father]” from “the Word was God [θεός, sharing full deity]” without collapsing the Word into the Father (avoiding modalism) | “the Word was God,” “the Word was divine” | The clearest single-verse assertion of Christ’s full deity in the NT | 하나님 (Hananim) — reuse baseline exactly | Critical — must render such that the Word is God in nature/essence while remaining distinct in person from the Father; avoid any translation softening (“was divine,” “was a god”) that the Korean phrasing might accidentally suggest; standard KRV rendering “말씀은 하나님이시니라” preserves this correctly and must be followed |
| σὰρξ ἐγένετο | sarx egeneto (1:14) | “became flesh” | The eternal Word’s assumption of genuine human nature | ”became flesh,” “was made flesh” | Direct textual anchor of the Incarnation doctrine | 육신이 되어 (yuksin-i doeeo) → 성육신 (seongyuksin) — reuse baseline incarnation term exactly | Critical/High (reuse baseline) — never 화신 (a repeatable Buddhist avatar-manifestation); this is the primary NT proof-text underlying the baseline’s incarnation entry |
| σκηνόω | skēnoō (1:14) | “to pitch a tent, to tabernacle, to dwell” | Echoes the OT tabernacle, God’s dwelling presence among Israel | ”dwelt,” “tabernacled,” “made his dwelling” | The incarnate Word is God’s presence dwelling among his people, fulfilling the tabernacle/temple typology | 거하시매 (georhasimae) | Medium — should retain, where possible in teaching notes, the tabernacle-dwelling echo, though the bare verb 거하다 does not carry it lexically |
| δόξα | doxa (1:14) | “glory” | God’s visible radiant presence and honor | ”glory" | "We beheld his glory” — the incarnate Word’s glory is witnessed, not merely asserted | 영광 (yeonggwang) — reuse baseline exactly | High (reuse baseline glory risk tier) |
| χάρις καὶ ἀλήθεια | charis kai alētheia (1:14, 17) | “grace and truth” | A hendiadys echoing God’s OT covenant character (Exod. 34:6, ḥesed we’emet) | “grace and truth,” “full of grace and truth” | Christ, not Moses/the Law, is the definitive source of grace and truth (1:17 explicitly contrasts him with the Law) | 은혜와 진리 (eunhye-wa jilli) | Critical — combines baseline grace (은혜, Critical) with new term truth (진리); John 1:17 explicitly sets law (율법, baseline term) against grace and truth as fulfillment, not opposition — teach as continuity/fulfillment, not law’s rejection |
| μονογενής | monogenēs (1:14, 1:18) | see John 3:16 above | same | ”only begotten,” “one and only” | First occurrences of this key Christological term | 독생자 | Critical (see full treatment under John 3:16) |
| πλήρωμα | plērōma (1:16) | “fullness” | Complete abundance, with no lack | ”fullness" | "Of his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” — believers’ grace flows from Christ’s inexhaustible fullness | 충만함 (chungmanham) | Medium |
| μαρτυρία / μαρτυρέω | martyria/martyreō (1:7-8,15,19,32,34) | see John 3:11 above | same | ”testimony,” “witness,” “bear witness” | John the Baptist’s entire role in ch.1 is defined as witness-bearing to the Light — establishing the Gospel’s witness-motif from its opening verses | 증언/증거 | Medium (see John 3:11 for full treatment) |
| φῶς / σκοτία | phōs/skotia (1:4-9) | see John 3:19 above | same | ”light” / “darkness" | "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” — establishes the light/darkness dualism developed throughout the Gospel and resolved in John 3:19-21 | 빛 / 어둠 | Medium (see John 3:19 for full treatment) |
| τέκνα θεοῦ | tekna theou (1:12) | “children of God” | The right/status granted to those who receive Christ and believe in his name | ”children of God,” “sons of God” | Distinct from Christ’s own unique μονογενής sonship; believers become children by reception/faith, not by natural generation | 하나님의 자녀 | High — must be distinguished from Christ’s unique natural Sonship (μονογενής) per v.13’s contrast (“not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh… but of God”); connects to baseline adoption (양자) doctrine |
| ἐξουσία | exousia (1:12) | “authority, right, power” | The legal right/standing granted | ”right,” “power,” “authority” | The right to become God’s children is granted, not earned | 권세 (gwonse) | Low-Medium |
| ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ | amnos tou theou (1:29, 36) | “the Lamb of God” | Sacrificial imagery combining Passover lamb and Isaiah 53’s suffering servant/sacrificial lamb typology | ”Lamb of God” | John the Baptist’s declaration identifies Jesus as the one who takes away the sin of the world through sacrificial death — direct anchor for Christ’s Substitutionary Death doctrine | 하나님의 어린양 (Hananim-ui eorinyang) — established KRV term | High — the substitutionary sacrifice must be taught as God’s own unique provision for sin (a once-for-all, sufficient sacrifice), explicitly distinguished from Korean shamanistic gut-ritual animal offerings made by humans to appease capricious spirits; here God himself provides the Lamb, reversing the direction of the shamanistic pattern entirely |
| Ῥαββί | Rhabbi (1:38) | see John 3:2 | same | ”Rabbi” | 랍비 | Low | |
| Μεσσίας | Messias (1:41) | “Messiah” (Aramaic/Hebrew transliterated into Greek, then explicitly glossed as Χριστός) | The Anointed One awaited by Israel | ”Messiah” | John explicitly equates the transliterated Semitic title with the Greek Χριστός, both already pointing to the same referent as baseline’s messiah term | 메시아 (Mesia) with gloss “곧 그리스도라” (= 그리스도) | Medium (reuse baseline messiah/그리스도 framework); when John’s text itself transliterates Μεσσίας, Korean should likewise transliterate 메시아 and then gloss it as 그리스도, matching the text’s own bilingual structure |
| υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ / βασιλεὺς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ | huios tou theou / basileus tou Israēl (1:49) | “Son of God” / “King of Israel” | Nathanael’s confession, an early full recognition of Jesus’s identity | ”Son of God” / “King of Israel” | Establishes both titles early in the Gospel, developed fully later (esp. ch.18-20) | 하나님의 아들 / 이스라엘의 왕 | Critical/High — reuse baseline son_of_god exactly |
John 2 — Cana and the Temple Cleansing
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| σημεῖον | sēmeion (2:11, 2:23) | see John 3:2 | same | ”sign” | The Cana miracle is explicitly called the “beginning of signs,” manifesting Christ’s glory and producing belief in the disciples — establishing the signs-and-belief pattern for the whole Gospel | 표적 | Medium (see John 3:2 for full treatment) |
| δόξα | doxa (2:11) | see John 1:14 | same | ”glory" | "manifested his glory” | 영광 | High (reuse baseline) |
| ναός / ἱερόν | naos/hieron (2:14-21) | “sanctuary/inner shrine” / “temple precincts” | ναός denotes specifically the inner sanctuary (used by Jesus of his own body in 2:21); ἱερόν denotes the broader temple complex | ”temple,” “sanctuary” | Jesus’s cryptic statement (“destroy this temple,” referring to his body) links the physical temple’s destruction/rebuilding typologically to his death and resurrection — an early, veiled announcement of the Death and Resurrection doctrine | 성전 (seongjeon) | Medium — distinct from a Buddhist temple (절, already excluded in baseline church entry) and from a shamanistic shrine (당집); here denotes the literal Jerusalem sanctuary, later reapplied typologically to Christ’s body |
| ζῆλος | zēlos (2:17) | “zeal” | Fervent devotion, here quoting Psalm 69:9 | ”zeal” | Explains Jesus’s temple-cleansing action as righteous zeal for God’s house | 열심/열정 (yeolsim) | Low |
| ἐγείρω | egeirō (2:19-22) | “to raise up” | Used here of raising the temple/body after destruction — the same verb family used of bodily resurrection elsewhere | ”raise up,” “raise" | "In three days I will raise it up” — an early resurrection prediction tied to the temple metaphor | 일으키다/다시 세우다, cf. 부활 | High — connects forward to baseline resurrection (부활); disciples only understood this “after he was raised from the dead” (2:22), reinforcing the doctrine’s centrality |
John 3:22-36 — Remainder of Chapter 3 (Beyond the Core Passage)
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| νυμφίος | nymphios (3:29) | “bridegroom” | Marital imagery applied to the Messiah | ”bridegroom” | John the Baptist identifies Christ as the bridegroom and himself as the friend/best man, expressing joyful subordination | 신랑 (sinnang) | Low-Medium |
| αὐξάνω / ἐλαττόω | auxanō/elattoō (3:30) | “to increase” / “to decrease/diminish” | Contrast pair | ”must increase… must decrease” | John the Baptist’s model of self-effacing witness, “He must increase, but I must decrease” | 흥하다/성하다 / 쇠하다 | Low |
| ὁ ἄνωθεν ἐρχόμενος | ho anōthen erchomenos (3:31) | “the one coming from above” | Reiterates ἄνωθεν’s “from above” sense (cf. v.3, 7) applied now directly to Christ’s own origin | ”he who comes from above” | Reinforces Christ’s heavenly pre-existence, complementing v.13 | 위로부터 오시는 이 | High — connects directly to the Deity/Pre-existence doctrine; here ἄνωθεν unambiguously means “from above” (not “again”), confirming that sense was operative in vv.3,7 as well |
| ὀργὴ τοῦ θεοῦ | orgē tou theou (3:36) | “the wrath of God” | God’s settled, righteous judicial opposition to sin | ”wrath of God" | "Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” — judgment/unbelief doctrine restated in the chapter’s closing verse | 하나님의 진노 (Hananim-ui jino) | High — must be taught as personal, righteous judicial response to unbelief, not an impersonal karmic force (same caution as κρίσις above) |
John 4 — The Samaritan Woman
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ὕδωρ ζῶν | hydōr zōn (4:10-14) | “living water” | Flowing/fresh water, metaphorically the Spirit-given life Christ provides, permanently satisfying | ”living water” | Contrasted with well water that leaves one thirsty again; whoever drinks the water Christ gives “will never thirst” — ties to Eternal Life doctrine | 생수 (saengsu) | Medium — NEW term; must be understood as a metaphor for the permanently satisfying, Spirit-given life in Christ, not a magical elixir (cf. caution against 불로장생/longevity-elixir folk concepts flagged under eternal_life above) |
| προσκυνέω | proskyneō (4:20-24) | “to worship, bow down to” | Physical/spiritual act of reverent submission | ”worship" | "God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” — true worship is not tied to a particular sacred location (Jerusalem or Gerizim) but to spiritual reality | 예배하다/경배하다 (yebaehada/gyeongbaehada) | Medium — NEW term; must be distinguished from ritual worship of ancestors (제사, cf. baseline father critical note) or spirit-appeasement in shamanistic practice (굿); true worship is relational engagement with the personal, spiritual God, not location-bound ritual performance |
| πνεῦμα καὶ ἀλήθεια | pneuma kai alētheia (4:23-24) | “spirit and truth” | The manner of true worship — inward, Spirit-enabled, and grounded in revealed truth | ”in spirit and in truth” | Programmatic statement on the nature of acceptable worship | 영과 진리 | Medium — combines 영 (or 성령, depending on interpretation of πνεῦμα here as human spirit vs. Holy Spirit — most commentators read a general sense of inward/spiritual worship) with 진리 (baseline-adjacent new term, see John 3:21) |
| Μεσσίας | Messias (4:25) | see John 1:41 | same | ”Messiah” | The Samaritan woman’s own messianic expectation, confirmed by Jesus (“I who speak to you am he”) | 메시아 | Medium (see John 1:41) |
| σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσμου | sōtēr tou kosmou (4:42) | “Savior of the world” | A title asserting universal saving significance | ”Savior of the world” | The Samaritans’ confession after personal encounter, extending v.16’s “world”-directed love into an explicit title | 세상의 구주 (sesang-ui guju) | Critical — NEW term 구주 (guju, “Savior,” used as a title distinct from the abstract noun 구원/salvation) must be added to translation memory at Critical risk, paired with 세상 (world, see John 3:16); must retain universal scope, resisting any ethnic-particularist softening (cf. baseline universal_scope_of_gospel) |
| θερισμός | therismos (4:35-38) | “harvest” | Metaphor for the ripeness of people for the gospel message | ”harvest” | Missional urgency — connects to baseline mission (선교) doctrine, with the caution against achievement-metric framing already noted in the baseline transferring directly to John’s harvest language | 추수 (chusu) | Medium — apply baseline mission caution: emphasize gospel urgency/compassion, not numbers-driven achievement culture |
John 5 — Healing at Bethesda; the Son’s Authority
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἴσος τῷ θεῷ | isos tō theō (5:18) | “equal with God” | Full ontological equality, not mere resemblance or delegated status | ”equal with God” | The Jewish leaders correctly perceive (and reject) that Jesus’s claim to call God his own Father implies equality with God — a key Deity of Christ text | 하나님과 동등 (Hananim-gwa dongdeung) | Critical — must retain full ontological equality; this is one of the clearest texts for the Deity of Christ doctrine and should be flagged for theologian review at every occurrence |
| ζωὴν ἔχειν ἐν ἑαυτῷ | zōēn echein en heautō (5:26) | “to have life in himself” | Self-existent life, not derived or contingent | ”life in himself” | The Father has granted the Son to have life in himself, just as the Father does — a strong pre-existence/deity claim | 자기 안에 생명을 가지다 | Critical — self-existence is a divine attribute; must not be softened to “the Son was given life” in a merely creaturely sense |
| ἀνάστασις ζωῆς / ἀνάστασις κρίσεως | anastasis zōēs / anastasis kriseōs (5:29) | “resurrection of life” / “resurrection of judgment” | Two distinct final bodily resurrections, one to life, one to condemnation | ”resurrection of life” / “resurrection of judgment (damnation)“ | Ties baseline resurrection (부활) directly to final judgment/κρίσις, extending the doctrine eschatologically | 생명의 부활 / 심판의 부활 | High — reuse baseline 부활 exactly; combine with 심판 (judgment, new term, see John 3:19) |
| τιμάω | timaō (5:23) | “to honor” | Rendering due respect/reverence | ”honor" | "That all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father” — equal honor due to the Son as to the Father, reinforcing Trinitarian unity | 공경하다 (gonggyeonghada) | High — equal honor to Father and Son is a strong deity claim; must not be diluted into mere respect for a subordinate figure |
| μαρτυρία (fourfold witness) | martyria (5:31-39) | see John 3:11 | same | ”testimony,” “witness” | John the Baptist’s witness, Jesus’s works, the Father’s witness, and the Scriptures all testify to Christ’s identity — a structured legal-witness argument | 증거/증언 | Medium (see John 3:11) |
John 6 — Bread of Life Discourse
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐγώ εἰμι | egō eimi (6:20, 6:35, 6:48, 6:51) | “I am” | In John, ranges from an ordinary self-identifying statement (“it is I,” 6:20) to the predicated “I am [X]” sayings (bread of life, etc.) to the absolute, unpredicated divine-name echo (see ch.8, 13, 18 below) | “I am,” “It is I” | First of the seven predicated “I Am” statements: “I am the bread of life” — establishes the pattern developed through chs. 8, 10, 11, 14, 15 | 나는 ~이다 / 내니 두려워하지 말라 (6:20) | Critical (for the full “I Am” sayings pattern as a whole — see consolidated note under John 8 below, and the glossary) |
| ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς | artos tēs zōēs (6:35, 48) | “bread of life” | Sustaining, life-giving nourishment, applied metaphorically to Christ himself as the sole source of spiritual life | ”bread of life” | First “I Am” predicate; connects Eternal Life doctrine to the Exodus manna typology (6:31-33, 49-51) | 생명의 떡 (saengmyeong-ui tteok) | High — must be read as a metaphor for reliance on Christ himself for spiritual sustenance/eternal life, not physical bread-multiplication alone, nor confused with any ritual food-offering practice |
| σάρξ μου / τρώγω | sarx mou / trōgō (6:51-58) | “my flesh” / “to eat, gnaw, munch” | Graphic, deliberately provocative eating-language applied to Christ’s self-giving death; τρώγω is an unusually vivid verb for “eat,” heightening the offense | ”eat my flesh” | Foreshadows the substitutionary self-giving of Christ’s body in death, appropriated by faith (interpreted by most Protestant traditions, consistent with this curriculum’s doctrine slate, as a vivid metaphor for saving faith rather than literal cannibalism or a sacramental transformation claim) | 내 살을 먹다 | High — must be taught carefully as metaphorical appropriation by faith of Christ’s substitutionary death, explicitly not literal eating, and not read through the lens of any folk-religious ritual food-offering-to-spirits practice |
| σκανδαλίζω | skandalizō (6:61) | “to cause to stumble, offend” | Giving cause for rejection/falling away | ”offended,” “take offense,” “cause to stumble” | The disciples’ reaction to the hard teaching; anticipates the theme of belief/unbelief as a real, costly choice | 걸려 넘어지다/실족하다 | Medium |
| ῥήματα ζωῆς αἰωνίου | rhēmata zōēs aiōniou (6:68) | “words of eternal life” | Peter’s confession | ”words of eternal life” | Confirms that Christ’s teaching itself is the very substance of eternal life, tying John 6 back to the ζωὴ αἰώνιος doctrine | 영생의 말씀 | Critical (reuse 영생 exactly as established at John 3:15-16) |
John 7 — Feast of Tabernacles
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ποταμοὶ ὕδατος ζῶντος | potamoi hydatos zōntos (7:38) | “rivers of living water” | Extends the living-water metaphor (cf. ch.4) with an outward-flowing, overflowing image | ”rivers of living water” | Explicitly glossed by the narrator (7:39) as referring to the Holy Spirit, “whom those who believed in him were later to receive” — direct anchor connecting the Spirit’s future outpouring to the Eternal Life/living water motif | 생수의 강 | High — reuse 생수 (ch.4); explicitly clarified in-text as referring to 성령 (baseline term), so the metaphor must not be left purely material |
| πνεῦμα (not yet given) | pneuma (7:39) | see John 3:5 | same | ”Spirit" | "For as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” — ties the Spirit’s outpouring to Christ’s glorification (death, resurrection, ascension), connecting three doctrines (Spirit, Deity/glory, Death-Resurrection) in one verse | 성령 | Critical (reuse baseline exactly) |
| κρίσις δικαία | krisis dikaia (7:24) | “righteous judgment” | Judging rightly, by substance rather than mere appearance | ”righteous judgment,” “right judgment" | "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” — distinguishes godly discernment from superficial or hypocritical judgment | 공의로운 판단 | Medium — distinct nuance from the soteriological κρίσις of ch.3,5; here an ethical exhortation to discernment, not final judgment |
| σχίσμα | schisma (7:43) | “division, split” | Social/religious division of opinion | ”division” | The crowd’s divided response to Jesus — recurring belief/unbelief theme playing out communally | 분쟁/분열 | Low |
John 8 — Light of the World; “Before Abraham Was, I Am”
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐγώ εἰμι τὸ φῶς τοῦ κόσμου | egō eimi to phōs tou kosmou (8:12) | “I am the light of the world” | Second major predicated “I Am” statement | ”I am the light of the world” | Directly picks up the φῶς/σκοτία dualism from John 1 and John 3:19-21, now personally identified with Christ himself | 나는 세상의 빛이다 | Critical — part of the seven “I Am” statements; consistent rendering required across all seven occurrences (bread of life, light of the world, door, good shepherd, resurrection and life, way/truth/life, true vine) |
| ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐλευθερώσει ὑμᾶς | hē alētheia eleutherōsei hymas (8:32) | “the truth will set you free” | Liberation through knowledge of/abiding in Christ’s word | ”the truth will set you free” | Connects truth (see ch.3:21) to freedom from bondage to sin | 진리가 너희를 자유롭게 하리라 | High — reuse 진리; freedom here is specifically freedom from sin’s bondage (8:34, δοῦλος τῆς ἁμαρτίας), not political or generic personal-liberation freedom |
| δοῦλος τῆς ἁμαρτίας | doulos tēs hamartias (8:34) | “slave of sin” | Total bondage to habitual sin | ”slave to sin,” “servant of sin” | Only the Son can grant true freedom from this bondage — connects to baseline sin (죄) | 죄의 종 | High — reuse baseline 죄; must retain the totalizing “slave” metaphor, not softened to “influenced by sin” |
| τέκνα Ἀβραάμ | tekna Abraam (8:39) | “children of Abraham” | Physical descent vs. true spiritual likeness/obedience | ”children of Abraham” | Jesus distinguishes physical lineage from genuine spiritual sonship evidenced by Abraham-like faith and conduct — an important text for guarding against any ethnic-privilege misreading of covenant status | 아브라함의 자손 | High — connects to the Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Universal Scope doctrines; must not be read as endorsing ethnic privilege |
| ὁ πατὴρ ὁ διάβολος | ho patēr ho diabolos (8:44) | “the father, the devil” | Spiritual paternity determined by moral/spiritual likeness, not physical descent | ”your father the devil” | A severe statement distinguishing true children of God from those who, despite religious pedigree, follow the devil’s character (lying, murder) | 마귀를 아비로 삼은 자 | High — sensitive polemical text requiring careful, non-inflammatory but doctrinally faithful rendering; theologian review recommended |
| ἐγὼ εἰμι (absolute) | egō eimi (8:24, 28, 58) | “I am” (unpredicated — no complement) | The absolute, unpredicated form directly echoes the LXX rendering of God’s self-revelation to Moses (Exodus 3:14, ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν, “I AM WHO I AM”) and Isaiah’s divine self-identifications (LXX Isa. 43:10, ἐγὼ εἰμι) | “I am he,” “I am,” (KRV/most versions add “he” for English/Korean grammatical completeness, while the Greek deliberately omits any predicate) | John 8:58, “before Abraham was, I am” — the clearest, most direct claim to divine self-existent identity in the Gospel; provoked an immediate stoning attempt (8:59) for blasphemy | KRV renders: “아브라함이 나기 전부터 내가 있느니라” (using 있다, “to exist/be,” rather than a mere copula, to preserve the self-existence claim) | Critical — this is the single highest-stakes phrase in the entire “I Am” pattern. The Korean rendering must use 있다 (to BE/exist) rather than an ordinary predicate-completion structure, to echo the divine self-existence of Exodus 3:14 (LXX ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν) rather than reading as an ordinary comparative statement about age or precedence. This must be flagged for mandatory theologian review at every occurrence (8:24, 8:28, 8:58, 13:19, 18:5-6, 18:8) |
| λιθάζω | lithazō (8:59, cf. 10:31-33) | “to stone” | Capital punishment for blasphemy under Jewish law | ”stone,” “picked up stones to stone him” | The crowd’s reaction confirms they understood 8:58 as a direct claim to deity (worthy of the blasphemy penalty) | 돌로 치다 | Low — historical-narrative detail, but theologically significant as confirming contemporaries’ understanding of the “I am” claim as a deity claim |
John 9 — The Man Born Blind
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| τυφλός | typhlos (throughout ch.9) | “blind” | Physical blindness, extensively developed as a metaphor for spiritual blindness/unbelief vs. sight/belief | ”blind” | The healed man’s growing spiritual sight (from “a man called Jesus” to “Lord, I believe,” 9:38) is contrasted with the Pharisees’ willful spiritual blindness (9:39-41) — a sustained dramatization of the Judgment/Belief doctrine | 맹인/소경 (maengin/sogyeong) — 눈먼 자 for the metaphorical sense | Medium-High — must preserve the physical-to-spiritual metaphor arc; spiritual blindness here is willful and culpable (9:41, “if you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains”), not mere ignorance |
| τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ | ta erga tou theou (9:3-4) | “the works of God” | God’s redemptive purposes displayed through the healing | ”the works of God” | Reframes suffering’s purpose away from a simple sin-punishment causality (9:2-3) toward the display of God’s works | 하나님의 일/역사 | Medium — helpfully counters a mechanical sin-causes-suffering (or karmic) framework; worth noting alongside the κρίσις/인과응보 caution above |
| Σιλωάμ (ἑρμηνεύεται Ἀπεσταλμένος) | Silōam (“meaning Sent,” 9:7) | “Siloam” (proper name, explicitly glossed by John as meaning “Sent”) | John explicitly notes the etymological meaning “Sent" | "Siloam (which means Sent)“ | A subtle Christological pun: Jesus himself is “the Sent One” (cf. ἀποστέλλω throughout the Gospel); washing in “Sent” pool pictures reliance on the Sent Son | 실로암(번역하면 “보냄을 받았다”는 뜻) | Low — proper name with built-in gloss; preserve John’s own explanatory aside |
| ἀποσυνάγωγος | aposynagōgos (9:22) | “put out of the synagogue” | Formal religious excommunication | ”put out of the synagogue,” “expelled from the synagogue” | Reflects the real social cost of confessing Christ in this Gospel’s setting — relevant to the cost of faith/witness theme | 출교(黜敎)/회당에서 쫓겨남 | Medium — historical-social term; helps contextualize costly discipleship |
| προσκυνέω | proskyneō (9:38) | see John 4:20-24 | same | ”worshiped him” | The healed man worships Jesus directly — an implicit deity claim (worship reserved for God alone in Jewish monotheism) | 경배하다 | High — worship directed to Jesus is a significant deity-of-Christ data point; must retain the same weight as other worship-of-Jesus texts (cf. Thomas, ch.20) |
John 10 — The Good Shepherd; “I and the Father Are One”
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἡ θύρα τῶν προβάτων | hē thyra tōn probatōn (10:7,9) | “the door/gate of the sheep” | Third “I Am” predicate | ”I am the door/gate for the sheep” | Christ as the sole legitimate access point to salvation and pasture | 나는 [양의] 문이다 | Critical (part of the seven “I Am” statements) |
| ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός | ho poimēn ho kalos (10:11,14) | “the good/noble shepherd” | Fourth “I Am” predicate; καλός implies “model, exemplary, noble,” not merely “nice" | "I am the good shepherd” | Distinguished from the “hired hand” (μισθωτός) by willingness to lay down his life for the sheep — direct anchor for the Substitutionary Death doctrine | 나는 선한 목자다 | Critical — part of the seven “I Am” statements AND directly tied to the atonement doctrine (10:11, “lays down his life for the sheep”); καλός must retain the sense of self-sacrificial excellence, not mere pleasantness |
| μισθωτός | misthōtos (10:12-13) | “hired hand” | A worker paid for service, without ownership-level commitment | ”hired hand,” “hireling” | Contrast figure highlighting the shepherd’s unique, sacrificial ownership-level care | 삯꾼 (sakkkun) | Low |
| ἓν ποίμνιον, εἷς ποιμήν | hen poimnion, heis poimēn (10:16) | “one flock, one shepherd” | Unity of Jew and Gentile believers under Christ’s singular shepherding | ”one flock and one shepherd” | Anticipates the Unity of Jews and Gentiles doctrine developed further in the epistles/Romans (cf. baseline) | 한 무리[떼]와 한 목자 | Medium-High — connects to baseline unity_of_jews_and_gentiles framework |
| ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν | egō kai ho patēr hen esmen (10:30) | “I and the Father are one” | ἕν is neuter (“one thing,” essential unity), not masculine (“one person”) — asserting unity of essence/nature and purpose while the persons remain distinct | ”I and the Father are one” | The clearest single-statement text for the Unity of the Father and the Son doctrine; the Jewish leaders again immediately understand this as a deity claim and attempt to stone him (10:31-33, explicitly “because you, being a man, make yourself God”) | 나와 아버지는 하나이다 (nawa abeojineun hana-ida) | Critical — NEW term for translation memory requiring careful safeguarding. Must be taught as unity of divine essence/nature (not mere moral agreement or alliance, a common liberal-theological softening) and must NOT be conflated with Korean folk-monistic or Buddhist non-dual concepts of the ultimate oneness of all reality (e.g., popular renderings of Buddhist non-duality, 불이/무아, or generic “all is one” spirituality found in some Korean new religious movements). This is a Trinitarian unity-in-distinction claim: Father and Son are one in essence while remaining distinct persons — neither two separate gods nor a single undifferentiated being. Must be flagged for mandatory theologian review at every occurrence, alongside its parallel in John 17:11, 17:21-22 |
| βλασφημία | blasphēmia (10:33) | “blasphemy” | Claiming divine prerogatives falsely (in the accusers’ view) | “blasphemy” | The charge brought against Jesus precisely because his hearers correctly understood his self-unity-with-God claim | 신성모독 (sinseongmodok) | Medium — historical-legal term, useful for confirming the deity-claim reading of 10:30 |
John 11 — The Raising of Lazarus
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή | hē anastasis kai hē zōē (11:25) | “the resurrection and the life” | Fifth “I Am” predicate | ”I am the resurrection and the life” | Christ does not merely perform resurrections or promise future resurrection — he IS resurrection and life in his own person; whoever believes in him, though he die, will live | 나는 부활이요 생명이니 | Critical — part of the seven “I Am” statements; reuse baseline 부활 exactly, combined with 생명 (life; distinct from but related to 영생, eternal life). Directly and explicitly anchors both the Resurrection and the Eternal Life through Faith doctrines in a single verse |
| κοιμάομαι | koimaomai (11:11-13) | “to sleep” | Euphemism for death common in both Greek and Jewish usage, given fresh meaning by the certainty of resurrection | ”fallen asleep,” “asleep” | Jesus’s euphemistic description of Lazarus’s death, later clarified plainly (“Lazarus is dead,” 11:14) — the euphemism itself testifies to death’s temporary, reversible nature for believers | 잠들다 (jamdeulda) | Low-Medium — a gentle, hope-filled euphemism; should not be flattened to ordinary “sleep” without the resurrection-hope context |
| δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ | doxa tou theou (11:4, 40) | see John 1:14 | same | ”the glory of God” | The purpose of Lazarus’s death and raising: “that the Son of God may be glorified through it” — again linking glory/deity to a decisive sign | 하나님의 영광 | High (reuse baseline) |
| ἐδάκρυσεν | edakrysen (11:35) | “he wept, shed tears” (shortest verse in the NT) | Genuine human emotional grief | ”Jesus wept” | Confirms the full and genuine humanity of Christ (anti-docetic significance, complementing the incarnation doctrine) | 예수께서 눈물을 흘리시더라 | Medium — theologically significant for affirming Christ’s true humanity alongside his deity (hypostatic union balance) |
| προφητεύω | prophēteuō (11:51) | “to prophesy” | Unwitting prophetic speech, here from the high priest Caiaphas | ”prophesied” | Caiaphas unknowingly prophesies the substitutionary, vicarious nature of Christ’s death (“that one man should die for the people”) — an ironic textual anchor for the Substitutionary Death doctrine | 예언하다 — reuse baseline 예언 | Medium (reuse baseline prophecy) — note the irony of an unwitting prophecy from a hostile figure |
John 12 — Triumphal Entry; Greeks Seek Jesus; Judicial Hardening
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου | ho kokkos tou sitou (12:24) | “the grain of wheat” | Agricultural metaphor: a single seed must die to multiply into a harvest | ”grain of wheat,” “kernel of wheat” | Christ’s death is fruitful, not merely tragic — a metaphor for the Substitutionary Death and Resurrection doctrine’s life-producing effect | 밀알 (millal) | Medium |
| ψυχή | psychē (12:25) | “life, soul” | Can denote physical life or the whole inner self | ”life,” “soul" | "Whoever loves his life loses it… whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” — connects self-denial to ζωὴ αἰώνιος | 목숨/생명 | Medium — distinguish from the Greek philosophical immortal-soul concept and from Korean folk-soul concepts (혼/넋); here it denotes one’s whole self/life-orientation, tied to eternal life through self-denying faith |
| δοξάζω | doxazō (12:23, 28) | “to glorify” | Verb form of δόξα | ”glorify,” “be glorified" | "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” — Jesus’s death itself, paradoxically, is the hour of his glorification | 영광을 받다/영화롭게 하다 | High (verb form of baseline 영광) |
| ὑψωθῶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς | hypsōthō ek tēs gēs (12:32-34) | “I am lifted up from the earth” | Recalls John 3:14’s ὑψόω | ”lifted up from the earth” | Explicit narrator’s gloss: “This he said to show by what kind of death he was going to die” — confirms the double meaning of ὑψόω (crucifixion = exaltation) established at John 3:14 | 내가 땅에서 들리면 | High (reuse John 3:14 note) |
| ὁ ἄρχων τοῦ κόσμου τούτου | ho archōn tou kosmou toutou (12:31) | “the ruler of this world” | A title for Satan, reflecting his (limited, soon-to-be-overthrown) dominion over the fallen world-system (κόσμος sense 2, cf. John 3:16 note) | “ruler of this world,” “prince of this world" | "Now the ruler of this world will be cast out” — Christ’s death/exaltation is simultaneously a decisive defeat of the satanic world-system | 이 세상의 임금(통치자) | Medium-High — must be clearly identified as a title for the devil, not a legitimate divine or human authority; connects to κόσμος sense (2) established at John 3:16 |
| τυφλόω | typhloō (12:40, quoting Isa. 6:10) | “to blind” | Judicial hardening — God’s active response to persistent unbelief | ”blinded,” “hardened” | Explains the pattern of Jewish unbelief despite abundant signs, citing Isaiah’s judicial-hardening prophecy | 눈을 멀게 하다 | High — a difficult text requiring careful, non-fatalistic handling: this is a judicial response to prior willful unbelief (cf. John 3:19’s “loved darkness”), not an arbitrary predetermination unrelated to human responsibility; theologian review recommended |
| δόξα ἀνθρώπων | doxa anthrōpōn (12:43) | “the glory/praise of people” | Human approval/social honor, contrasted with δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ | ”the glory/praise of man" | "They loved the glory of man more than the glory of God” — a sobering contrast relevant to Korea’s status-and-achievement-conscious culture (cf. baseline glory note on 출세/명예) | 사람의 영광 | Medium — connects directly to baseline glory caution against 출세 (career/social success) and 명예 (secular honor) |
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| νίπτω | niptō (13:1-17) | “to wash” | Here specifically foot-washing, a servant’s menial task | ”wash,” “washed their feet” | Christ’s self-humbling act models servant-leadership and points ahead to the cleansing accomplished through his death | 씻다/발을 씻기다 | Medium — the humility of a divine person performing a servant’s task is theologically significant (kenosis-adjacent); should retain the shock value of the act |
| δοῦλος | doulos (13:16, also 8:34, 15:15) | “slave, bondservant” | Total, unconditional service | ”servant,” “slave" | "A servant is not greater than his master” — models humble discipleship after Christ’s own example | 종 (jong) | Medium — should retain the fuller force of “slave/bondservant” rather than a merely voluntary employee-like “servant,” while distinguishing from Confucian hierarchical-status servitude (cf. baseline obedience_of_faith caution) |
| ἐντολὴ καινή | entolē kainē (13:34) | “a new commandment” | A fresh, Christ-centered ethical mandate | ”new commandment" | "Love one another, just as I have loved you” — the distinguishing mark of discipleship, explicitly modeled on Christ’s own sacrificial love | 새 계명 (sae gyemyeong) | Medium-High — must retain the “as I have loved you” standard (sacrificial, Christ-patterned love), not reduce to generic ethical niceness; connects the ἀγαπάω term (John 3:16) into ethical practice |
| παραδίδωμι | paradidōmi (13:2, 13:21) | “to hand over, betray, deliver up” | Same verb family used both of Judas’s betrayal AND, elsewhere in the NT, of the Father “handing over/giving up” the Son (Rom 8:32, already baseline-adjacent) — a term worth flagging for its double theological resonance | ”betray,” “hand over” | Introduces the betrayal narrative that leads directly to the crucifixion, tying human treachery into God’s sovereign redemptive plan | 팔다/넘겨주다/배반하다 | Medium — note the term’s dual resonance (human betrayal vs. divine “giving up” of the Son) though John 13 uses it in the betrayal sense specifically |
John 14 — “I Am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”; the Paraclete Promised
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἡ ζωή | hē hodos kai hē alētheia kai hē zōē (14:6) | “the way and the truth and the life” | Sixth “I Am” predicate, compound | ”I am the way, and the truth, and the life" | "No one comes to the Father except through me” — the exclusivity claim central to both the Eternal Life doctrine and the Unity of Father and Son doctrine | 나는 길이요 진리요 생명이니 | Critical — part of the seven “I Am” statements; combines 길 (way, new low-risk term), reused 진리 (truth, John 3:21), and 생명 (life); must retain the exclusive “no one comes to the Father except through me” force without qualification |
| μονή | monē (14:2) | “dwelling place, abode, room” | A permanent, prepared abode | ”mansions” (KJV), “rooms,” “dwelling places" | "In my Father’s house are many rooms… I go to prepare a place for you” — assures believers of secure, permanent future dwelling with God | 거할 곳/처소 (georhal got/cheoso) | Low-Medium |
| Παράκλητος | Paraklētos (14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7) | “one called alongside [to help]” — advocate, helper, comforter, counselor | A legal-advocate/helper term (paralleled in 1 John 2:1 applied to Christ himself as our “Advocate” before the Father); in John 14-16, the title for the Holy Spirit’s post-ascension ministry | ”Counselor,” “Comforter,” “Helper,” “Advocate” | THE central term for the Holy Spirit as Counselor doctrine: the Spirit continues Christ’s own presence and ministry with the disciples after his departure | 보혜사 (bohyesa) — established Korean Protestant term (保惠師) | Critical — NEW term for translation memory. Must be taught as the third Person of the Trinity, personally continuing Christ’s own advocacy and presence — NOT a generic spirit-guide, ancestral spirit, or helper-spirit as understood in Korean shamanism (where a mudang may claim to channel or be aided by various helper-spirits, 신령/수호신 등). This risk directly parallels and extends the baseline’s holy_spirit Critical-risk caution against 신령 and spirit-possession framing; 보혜사 is a distinct compound term but the underlying doctrinal safeguard (personal, divine, non-channeled) is identical |
| τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας | to pneuma tēs alētheias (14:17) | “the Spirit of truth” | A further title for the Paraclete | ”the Spirit of truth” | Distinguishes the Spirit from “the world,” which cannot receive him — connects Spirit, truth, and the world-dualism themes | 진리의 영/성령 | Critical (combines baseline 성령 with new term 진리) |
| ἐν ἐμοὶ ὁ πατὴρ κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ | en emoi ho patēr kagō en autō (14:10-11) | “the Father is in me and I in the Father” | Mutual indwelling — a distinct but related expression of the Father-Son unity alongside 10:30’s “one" | "the Father is in me and I am in the Father” | Reinforces the Unity of the Father and the Son doctrine through mutual-indwelling language, complementing the essence-unity language of 10:30 | 아버지께서 내 안에 계시고 내가 아버지 안에 있다 | Critical (same doctrinal weight as John 10:30; theologian review required) |
| εἰρήνη | eirēnē (14:27) | “peace" | "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you, not as the world gives" | "peace” | Distinguishes Christ’s peace from ordinary this-worldly peace/absence-of-conflict — parallels baseline peace (화평) distinction from generic 평안 | 화평 — reuse baseline exactly | Medium (reuse baseline peace) |
John 15 — The True Vine; Love and the World’s Hatred
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή | hē ampelos hē alēthinē (15:1, 5) | “the true/genuine vine” | Seventh and final “I Am” predicate | ”I am the true vine” | Union with Christ as the sole source of spiritual fruitfulness — “apart from me you can do nothing” | 나는 참포도나무다 | Critical — final term in the seven “I Am” statements pattern; the completed set (bread of life, light of the world, door, good shepherd, resurrection and life, way/truth/life, true vine) should be treated as a single consistent glossary family, cited together in the core glossary |
| κλῆμα | klēma (15:2-6) | “branch” | The believer, in organic dependent union with the vine | ”branch,” “branches” | Fruitfulness/barrenness contingent entirely on abiding union with Christ | 가지 (gaji) | Low-Medium |
| μένω | menō (15:4-10) | “to abide, remain, dwell” | Continuous, dependent relational union | ”abide,” “remain,” “continue in" | "Abide in me, and I in you” — the key relational verb of ch.15, describing the ongoing, dependent, love-sustained relationship between Christ and believer | 거하다 (georhada) | Medium-High — NEW term for translation memory. This positive, relational “abiding/remaining/clinging-in-dependence” is the theological opposite of the Buddhist ideal of non-attachment/non-clinging (무집착, 집착을 버림), where continued attachment to anything is viewed negatively as the root of suffering. Teaching must make explicit that biblical “abiding” in Christ is a positively commanded, life-giving relational dependence, not a form of attachment to be transcended or released |
| καρπός | karpos (15:2-8, 16) | “fruit” | The visible product of abiding union with Christ (character, works, converts) | “fruit” | Evidence and purpose of the abiding relationship | 열매 (yeolmae) | Low |
| φίλοι | philoi (15:13-15) | “friends” | From φιλέω-family vocabulary; relational intimacy replacing servant-status | ”friends" | "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends… I have called you friends” — connects sacrificial love to relational elevation of the disciples | 친구 (chingu) | Low-Medium |
| ὁ κόσμος μισεῖ | ho kosmos misei (15:18-19) | “the world hates [you]“ | κόσμος sense (2), the hostile world-system (cf. John 3:16 note) | “the world hates you” | Confirms that the world’s hatred of believers mirrors its prior hatred of Christ — believers should not be surprised at hostility | 세상이 너희를 미워하다 | Medium — must correctly apply κόσμος sense (2) here, distinct from sense (1) used at John 3:16; the two senses must not be conflated in the reader’s mind |
John 16 — The Paraclete’s Ministry; Sorrow Turned to Joy
No major new theological terms beyond an extension of John 14-15’s Paraclete vocabulary and the following:
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐλέγξει τὸν κόσμον | elenxei ton kosmon (16:8) | “he will convict/expose the world” | Same verb ἐλέγχω as John 3:20 | ”convict the world,” “convince the world” | The Paraclete’s ministry includes convicting the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (κρίσις) — ties Spirit, sin, righteousness, and judgment doctrines together in one verse | 책망하다/깨닫게 하다 | High — combines the Paraclete (보혜사) with ἐλέγχω (John 3:20) and κρίσις (John 3:19); the Spirit’s convicting work is personal and relational, not an impersonal moral-cause-effect mechanism |
| ὁδηγήσει εἰς πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν | hodēgēsei eis pasan tēn alētheian (16:13) | “he will guide you into all truth” | Progressive, Spirit-led illumination | ”guide you into all truth” | Reuses 진리; the Spirit’s guiding ministry does not originate new revelation independent of Christ (“he will not speak on his own authority… he will glorify me,” 16:13-14) | 진리 가운데로 인도하다 | Medium (reuse 진리 and 성령) |
| χαρά / θλῖψις | chara / thlipsis (16:20-22, 33) | “joy” / “tribulation, affliction” | Contrast pair | ”joy” / “tribulation,” “trouble" | "In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart; I have overcome the world” — the Gospel’s penultimate note of hope before the passion narrative | 기쁨 / 환난 | Low |
| νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον | nenikēka ton kosmon (16:33) | “I have overcome/conquered the world” | Perfect tense — an already-accomplished victory over κόσμος sense (2), the hostile world-system | ”I have overcome the world” | Christ’s victory, secured even before the cross event narrated in ch.19, over the world’s opposition | 내가 세상을 이기었다 | Medium-High — must retain perfect-tense “already accomplished” force; connects to the Substitutionary Death and Resurrection doctrine as the ground of this victory |
John 17 — The High Priestly Prayer
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| δοξάζω (throughout) | doxazō (17:1, 4-5, 10, 22, 24) | see John 12:23 | same | ”glorify" | "Glorify your Son… glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (17:5) — an explicit pre-existence claim, directly supporting the Deity and Pre-existence doctrine | 영광을 받게 하다 | Critical — 17:5 is one of the clearest pre-existence texts in the Gospel (glory shared with the Father “before the world existed”); flag for theologian review |
| ζωὴ αἰώνιος (defined) | zōē aiōnios (17:3) | see John 3:15-16 | same | ”eternal life" | "This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” — the Gospel’s own explicit definition of eternal life as relational knowledge of God, not mere unending existence | 영생 | Critical — this verse is the definitional anchor for the entire eternal_life/영생 entry; must be taught alongside John 3:15-16 as the authoritative in-text definition, reinforcing that 영생 is relational (knowing God), not to be confused with 불로장생 longevity concepts (see John 3:16 note) |
| ἁγιάζω | hagiazō (17:17, 19) | “to sanctify, make holy” | Verb form of baseline sanctification/holy | ”sanctify" | "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” — ties Sanctification doctrine explicitly to God’s revealed truth/word | 거룩하게 하다 — reuse baseline 거룩한/성화 root | High (reuse baseline) |
| ἵνα ὦσιν ἕν | hina ōsin hen (17:11, 21-22) | “that they may be one” | Prayer for believers’ unity, explicitly modeled on and grounded in the Father-Son unity of 10:30/14:10-11 | ”that they may be one, even as we are one” | Extends the Unity of Father and Son doctrine into a prayer for the unity of the church, grounded in (not identical to) the Trinitarian unity | 그들도 하나가 되게 하옵소서 | Critical — must retain the “even as we are one” grounding, i.e., believers’ unity is patterned on, and made possible by union with, the Father-Son unity — not a mere call for institutional or emotional harmony independent of that theological ground |
John 18 — Arrest and Trial
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐγώ εἰμι | egō eimi (18:5-6, 8) | see John 8:24,58 | same | ”I am he” | When Jesus identifies himself to the arresting party, “they drew back and fell to the ground” — most interpreters read this as another echo of the divine self-identification force of ἐγώ εἰμι, dramatically displayed even at the moment of his voluntary arrest | 내니라 (nae-nira) | Critical — reuse the same theological caution as John 8:58; the physical reaction of the arresting party (falling backward) is textual evidence supporting the divine-self-disclosure reading |
| ἡ βασιλεία ἡ ἐμὴ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου | hē basileia hē emē ouk estin ek tou kosmou toutou (18:36) | “my kingdom is not of/from this world” | Distinguishes Christ’s kingship from an earthly political kingdom | ”my kingdom is not of this world” | Clarifies the nature of Christ’s kingship before Pilate — relevant to kingdom_of_god vocabulary but specifically Christ’s own kingdom | 내 나라는 이 세상에 속한 것이 아니니라 | Medium (reuse 하나님의 나라 vocabulary family; note the specific “my kingdom” personal-possessive framing here) |
| ἀλήθεια | alētheia (18:37-38) | see John 3:21, 14:6 | same | ”truth" | "Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate’s cynical reply, “What is truth?” — dramatic irony, as Truth himself stands before him | 진리 | High (reuse) |
John 19 — Crucifixion
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| σταυρόω | stauroō (throughout ch.19) | “to crucify” | Roman method of execution | ”crucify,” “crucified” | The historical means of Christ’s substitutionary death | 십자가에 못 박다 (sipjjaga-e mot bakda) | High — must retain full historical-physical reality (anti-docetic), foundational to the Substitutionary Death doctrine |
| τετέλεσται | tetelestai (19:30) | “it has been finished/accomplished/completed” (perfect tense — a completed, abiding state) | Can denote a debt fully paid, a task fully completed, a sacrifice fully offered | ”It is finished,” “It is accomplished,” “It is completed” | Christ’s final word from the cross, declaring the fully sufficient, once-for-all completion of the redemptive work — the definitive textual anchor for Christ’s Substitutionary Death doctrine’s sufficiency | 다 이루었다 (da irueotda) — established KRV rendering | Critical — must retain the perfect-tense sense of a completed, sufficient, once-for-all accomplishment (not merely “the ordeal is over”); this is among the most theologically weighted single words in the Passion narrative and should be flagged for mandatory theologian review |
| βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων | basileus tōn Ioudaiōn (19:19-22) | “King of the Jews” | The titulus placed on the cross by Pilate, intended mockingly but truthfully descriptive | ”King of the Jews” | Ironic proclamation of Christ’s true kingship at the very moment of his apparent defeat | 유대인의 왕 | Medium — theological irony should be preserved in teaching notes (mockery that states literal truth) |
| αἷμα καὶ ὕδωρ | haima kai hydōr (19:34) | “blood and water” | Physical detail from the spear-thrust confirming actual death | ”blood and water” | Confirms the reality and completeness of Christ’s physical death (anti-docetic); some traditions also see sacramental/typological symbolism here (not the primary curriculum doctrine focus) | 피와 물 | Medium — primarily anchors the reality of Christ’s genuine death, supporting the full historicity of the Substitutionary Death and subsequent Resurrection |
John 20 — Resurrection Appearances
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἐγήγερται / ἀνέστη (implied throughout) | egēgertai (cf. 20:9) | see baseline resurrection | same | ”risen,” “has risen” | The empty tomb and appearances confirm the bodily Resurrection doctrine as historical fact, not metaphor or vision alone | 부활하셨다 — reuse baseline 부활 exactly | Critical (reuse baseline) |
| εἰρήνη ὑμῖν | eirēnē hymin (20:19, 21, 26) | “peace to you” | The risen Christ’s repeated greeting | ”Peace be with you” | Reuses baseline peace (화평), here specifically the risen Christ’s own benediction, dispelling fear and commissioning the disciples | 너희에게 평강[화평]이 있을지어다 | Medium (reuse baseline peace; note that KRV commonly uses 평강 in this specific greeting formula — flag for consistency decision, defaulting to established KRV usage in this exact liturgical greeting while retaining 화평 for the doctrinal “peace with God” concept per baseline) |
| λάβετε πνεῦμα ἅγιον | labete pneuma hagion (20:22) | “receive the Holy Spirit” | An enacted, symbolic anticipation of the full Pentecostal outpouring (Acts 2) | “Receive the Holy Spirit” | Connects the Resurrection appearance directly to the giving of the Spirit/Paraclete promised in ch.14-16 | 성령을 받으라 — reuse baseline 성령 | Critical (reuse baseline holy_spirit) |
| ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου | ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou (20:28) | “my Lord and my God” | Thomas’s confession — the Gospel’s climactic, unambiguous confession of Christ’s full deity, combining both baseline Critical terms lord and god in direct address to Jesus | ”My Lord and my God!” | The single most direct worship-confession of Jesus’s deity in the Gospel, deliberately positioned just before the Gospel’s purpose statement (20:30-31) | 나의 주님이시요 나의 하나님이시니이다 (na-ui junim-isiyo na-ui Hananim-isinieda) | Critical — combines baseline 주님 and 하나님, both already Critical risk, applied directly to Jesus in personal address and worship; this must be flagged for mandatory theologian review as the Gospel’s climactic Deity-of-Christ confession |
| πιστεύω (purpose statement) | pisteuō (20:29, 20:31) | see John 3:12, 15 | same | ”believe" | "These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” — the Gospel’s own explicit purpose statement, tying together Messiah, Son of God, faith, and eternal life doctrines in one summary verse | 믿다 — reuse 믿음/믿다 | Critical — John 20:31 functions similarly to Romans 1:16-17 as this curriculum’s thesis-statement verse; per baseline consistency-rule precedent (identical rendering required for thesis verses across all documents), this verse’s Korean rendering must be fixed and used identically throughout all Phase 2 materials |
John 21 — Epilogue: Peter’s Restoration
| Term | Greek/Translit. | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Contextual Meaning | Korean Rendering | Risk |
|---|
| ἀγαπᾷς με / φιλεῖς με | agapas me / phileis me (21:15-17) | “do you love [agapao] me” / “do you love [phileo] me” | John deliberately alternates between ἀγαπάω (self-giving, willed love) and φιλέω (warm affection, friendship-love) across this threefold exchange between Jesus and Peter; the precise significance of the alternation is debated among scholars, but the literary device is deliberate | ”Do you love me?” (both verbs typically rendered identically in English translations, losing the distinction) | Peter’s threefold restoration after his threefold denial; the shift in verbs (and Peter’s own consistent reply using φιλέω) has been read as either a meaningful semantic distinction or elegant stylistic variation without doctrinal weight — commentators differ | 네가 나를 사랑하느냐 (both instances) | Medium-High — NEW translation issue for translation memory. Korean, like most English versions, does not have two ordinary verbs cleanly paralleling ἀγαπάω/φιλέω (both would ordinarily render as 사랑하다); the wordplay is therefore necessarily lost in the base translation. A translator’s note documenting the underlying Greek alternation is recommended for teaching materials on this passage so the literary nuance is not simply invisible to Korean readers, even though the base text translation itself cannot practically reproduce it without artificial paraphrase |
| βόσκε τὰ ἀρνία μου / ποίμαινε τὰ πρόβατά μου | boske ta arnia mou / poimaine ta probata mou (21:15-17) | “feed my lambs” / “shepherd my sheep” | Pastoral commissioning language, echoing the Good Shepherd motif of ch.10 | ”Feed my lambs” / “Tend/shepherd my sheep” | Peter’s restoration is immediately followed by a pastoral commission, applying the Good Shepherd’s own care-pattern to Peter’s future ministry | 내 어린 양을 먹이라 / 내 양을 치라 | Medium — connects back to 목자 (shepherd) vocabulary of John 10 |
| ἀκολούθει μοι | akolouthei moi (21:19, 22) | “follow me” | A discipleship-summons, echoing Christ’s original call | ”Follow me” | Closes the Gospel with a renewed personal call to discipleship, regardless of others’ paths (21:22, concerning John) | 나를 따르라 | Low-Medium |
Summary of Chapters with No New Load-Bearing Vocabulary
All 21 chapters of John contain theologically load-bearing content relevant to this curriculum’s doctrine slate; no chapter is without new or reinforcing vocabulary. Chapters 6-21 each substantially reinforce and extend vocabulary introduced in chapters 1-5 (especially πιστεύω/믿다, κόσμος/세상, ζωὴ αἰώνιος/영생, φῶς-σκότος/빛-어둠, δόξα/영광, and the μαρτυρία/증거 witness-motif) while each also contributing at least one distinct new load-bearing term or doctrinal nuance, as documented above (most notably the seven “I Am” statements distributed across chs. 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, and the Paraclete material concentrated in chs. 14-16). No chapter is therefore marked “no new vocabulary” — every chapter is reviewed and its distinct contribution is recorded above, satisfying full-book coverage.
See 08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated glossary table of all terms identified above, with final risk-tier assignments for translation_memory.json integration in Phase 2.