Core Glossary
Core Glossary: 2 John
This glossary covers every load-bearing theological term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, spanning the entire book of 2 John (its single chapter, vv.1-13). Terms already established in the Romans baseline translation_memory.json are marked REUSED and carry forward their recorded Kurdish rendering and risk tier unchanged. Terms newly identified in 2 John are marked NEW and are proposed here for addition to translation memory, with full risk justification. This glossary must be consulted alongside the Romans baseline glossary — it does not replace it.
Section A: Reused Terms (from Romans Baseline — Unchanged)
| Term | Kurdish Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | 2 John References | Reuse Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | Xwedê | Critical | Deity of Christ | 1:3, 1:9 | Unchanged from baseline. |
| Jesus | Îsa | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 1:3, 1:7 | Unchanged from baseline. |
| Christ/Messiah | Mesîh | Critical | Messianic Promise | 1:3, 1:7, 1:9 | Unchanged from baseline. |
| Father | Bav | Critical | Adoption into God’s Family / Deity of Christ | 1:3, 1:4, 1:9 | Unchanged from baseline; reinforced here by 2 John’s repeated Father-Son pairing. |
| Son (of God) | Kurê Xwedê | Critical | Sonship of Christ | 1:3, 1:9 | Applies even where the Greek gives bare “ὁ υἱός” (the Son) without the explicit “of God” qualifier (v.9); the full Critical doctrine still governs. |
| Grace | Kerem | High | Grace | 1:3 | Unchanged; note the tripartite “grace, mercy, peace” formula here is unique to 2 John within this glossary’s scope. |
| Peace | Aştî | Medium | Peace with God | 1:3 | Unchanged; here paired with grace and mercy rather than appearing alone. |
| Elect / Election (adj.) | Hilbijartî (adjectival form of Hilbijartin) | High | Effectual Calling / Election | 1:1, 1:13 | Adjectival, personal-address use (“elect lady,” “elect sister”); retains the baseline’s caution re: democratic-election collision (Hilbijartin is also the standard word for elections/voting), applied here at reduced but non-zero intensity since the referent is a person/congregation rather than the abstract soteriological doctrine. |
| Fellowship / Participation (κοινωνία root) | — (see New Terms; do NOT reuse baseline Hevaltî here) | High | Christian Fellowship (baseline) / inverted sense in 2 John | 1:11 | The Romans baseline’s positive Hevaltî must NOT be applied to 2 John 1:11’s negative “shares in his evil works” — see New Terms section for the required distinct rendering. |
Section B: New Terms Established for 2 John
| Term | Greek (Transliteration) | Proposed Kurdish Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | 2 John References | Rejected Alternative(s) | Risk Justification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elder (office/title) | πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) | Rihspî | Critical | (New: Apostolic/Pastoral Authority — cross-references baseline’s Sainthood doctrine) | 1:1 | Pîr | The baseline documents “pîr” as the term for a hereditary Sufi spiritual master with shrine veneration and intercessory status — a live, socially significant category in parts of Kurdistan. Using it for the letter’s plain pastoral-apostolic self-designation would import an unwarranted hereditary/mystical-authority framework, compounding the same risk the baseline already flags for “saints.” Rihspî (native “white-beard,” respected community elder) avoids this collision. |
| Lady / Madam (address) | κυρία (kyria) | Xanim | Critical | (New: Addressee Identity — interpretive ambiguity, individual vs. congregation) | 1:1, 1:5 | Any “Xudan”-based form | κυρία is grammatically the feminine of κύριος, the very word rendered Xudan for Christ’s exclusive supreme Lordship (Critical, Romans 10:9). Any Xudan-based rendering here would visually/aurally dilute that exclusivity by applying lordship-family vocabulary to a human addressee. Xanim is a fully distinct root carrying no lordship connotation. |
| Truth | ἀλήθεια (alētheia) | Rastî | High | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4 | Heq | Heq (from Arabic haqq) is one of the 99 Islamic divine names (Al-Haqq), risking “truth” being heard primarily as a divine attribute/name rather than the specific, receivable apostolic content about Christ. Rastî (native, “rightness/straightness”) is the safer, non-divine-name option. Must be kept distinct from Adalet (righteousness, baseline) so the two doctrines are not merged — note the baseline itself rejected Rastî for righteousness precisely because it is “too thin” for that forensic sense; here that same thinness is the correct fit. |
| Love | ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω (agapē / agapaō) | Hezkirin (noun) / hez kirin (verb) | High | Walking in Truth and Love | 1:1, 1:3, 1:5, 1:6 | Evîn | Evîn is the term of Kurdish classical/folk romantic-mystical love (e.g., the epic Mem û Zîn) and the same register the Romans baseline itself flags as a resource for Sufi “lover/beloved” intimacy language. Using Evîn for ἀγάπη risks the reader hearing romantic passion or mystical divine-union rather than John’s committed, command-linked, others-serving love. Hezkirin is the safer, general-register term; warmth should be supplied through descriptive phrasing (e.g., tying love explicitly to obedience per v.6) rather than through a loaded lexical choice. |
| Commandment | ἐντολή (entolē) | Emir | Critical | (New: cross-references baseline’s Law doctrine for the “commandment vs. legalism” caution) | 1:4, 1:5 (x2), 1:6 (x2) | Ferman | Ferman is the most direct native Kurdish noun for “decree/commandment” but carries an exceptionally heavy connotation in Kurdish cultural memory, especially for Yazidi communities, as the term for historical persecution edicts (traditionally “72-74 fermans,” including the 2014 genocide as “the 74th ferman”). Using the same word for God’s/Christ’s loving commandment risks a severe, unnecessary collision. Emir (a common, non-inflammatory Kurdish word for command/order) avoids this. |
| Deceiver | πλάνος (planos) | Xapînok | High | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | 1:7 (x2) | — | Native Kurdish term (from xapandin, to deceive) retaining active, culpable misleading; must not be softened to merely “one who is mistaken.” |
| Antichrist | ἀντίχριστος (antichristos) | Dijî-Mesîh | Critical | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | 1:7 | — | Directly collides with the extensively developed Sunni Islamic eschatological figure al-Masih ad-Dajjal (“the false messiah/Antichrist”), a single future world-deceiving figure with specific narrative details. 2 John’s usage is present-tense, plural/typological, and defined strictly by denial of the incarnation — not a future individual matching Dajjal’s narrative. This distinction must be taught explicitly at first occurrence. |
| Confess | ὁμολογέω (homologeō) | eşkere got / îtiraf kirin | High | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation | 1:7 | — | Shares root/function with the Lordship-confession vocabulary at Romans 10:9 (must remain consistent with that rendering per baseline cross-document rules). Regional Islamic culture’s paradigmatic confession-act is the shahada; this parallel is a teaching asset (concept of a confessional test is intelligible) but risks the specific incarnational content being assimilated to a generic monotheistic confession rather than John’s specific christological claim. |
| Flesh (incarnational) | σάρξ (sarx), in “ἐρχόμενον ἐν σαρκί” | laş | Critical | Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation (directly invokes baseline’s Incarnation/Tecessud doctrine) | 1:7 | — | Anchors directly to the baseline’s Critical Tecessud (Incarnation) entry. Must guard against both (a) the mainstream Sunni tawhid-based denial that God took on real flesh, and (b) the Kurdish-specific inverted risk of Yazidi theology’s divine-manifestation-through-holy-humans framework causing over-easy assimilation of the incarnation as one more recurring instance rather than a unique, unrepeatable event. |
| Teaching of Christ | διδαχή τοῦ Χριστοῦ (didachē tou Christou) | Hînkirina Mesîh | Critical | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:9 (x2), 1:10 | — | Must not be assimilated to the baseline’s Şerîeta Mûsa (Law of Moses) rule-code pattern, nor to a generic Islamic ta’lim/teaching framework. Denotes specifically the apostolic doctrinal content concerning Christ (centrally, the incarnation of v.7); “abiding” in it is relational perseverance, not legal compliance. |
| Abide / Remain | μένω (menō) | man | Critical | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:9 (x2) | — | Hallmark Johannine verb for persevering, settled continuance (cf. John 15). The letter’s positive/negative test of true faith hinges on this verb; native Kurdish “man” (to remain/stay) is the direct, unloaded equivalent. |
| Going beyond / Progressing past (the teaching) | προάγω (proagō) | descriptive phrase: yê ku derbasî tiştên din dibe | High | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:9 | — | No single Kurmanji word carries the precise pejorative “claims doctrinal progress beyond the received teaching” sense; a descriptive phrase is required. Directly engages the naskh (abrogation) tension already flagged in the Romans baseline for Fulfillment of Prophecy — here made polemically explicit (“progressing beyond” is condemned, not commended), requiring deliberate teaching against the regional default. |
| From the beginning | ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς (ap’ archēs) | ji destpêkê ve | High | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:5, 1:6 | — | Establishes the fixed, non-evolving apostolic deposit — reinforces the προάγω entry’s naskh-tension note. |
| House / Household (hospitality) | οἰκία (oikia) | mal | Critical | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:10 | — | Direct collision with mêvandarî, one of the most deeply held values in Kurdish tribal/social culture (near-sacred hospitality obligation even to strangers). 2 John’s instruction is a narrow, doctrinally-triggered exception (withholding platform-giving hospitality from a specific kind of false teacher), not a general command to inhospitality; this distinction must be taught explicitly to prevent both rejection of the instruction as culturally unthinkable and its over-application beyond the narrow case in view. |
| Greeting (formal, “Rejoice!“) | χαίρειν (chairein) | silav (in “silavê nedin wî”) | High | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:10, 1:11 | — | Cuts against strong Kurdish social conventions around greeting exchange as a basic marker of respect. Must be taught as a narrow act of doctrinal non-endorsement of a specific false teacher’s mission, not license for general rudeness or withholding ordinary courtesy. |
| Share in / Participate in (negative sense) | κοινωνέω (koinōneō) | beşdar dibe | High | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment (inverted sense of baseline’s Christian Fellowship doctrine) | 1:11 | Hevaltî (baseline’s positive fellowship term — explicitly not reused here) | The baseline’s Hevaltî denotes positive, warm Christian communion and must not be reused for this verse’s negative sense (complicity in “wicked works”). A more neutral participatory verb, disambiguated by context, is required. Flag for cross-document consistency: κοινωνία-family vocabulary must not collapse into a single Kurdish rendering without contextual sense-checking across 1-2-3 John. |
| Evil / Wicked works | ἔργα πονηρά (erga ponēra) | karên xerab | Medium | Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment | 1:11 | — | Standard vocabulary; ensure moral weight (wickedness) is retained, not softened to mere “mistakes.” |
| Reward | μισθός (misthos) | Xelat | High | (New: cross-references baseline’s Grace doctrine — reward vs. merit distinction) | 1:8 | — | Must be taught alongside the baseline’s Critical grace/merit distinction (Romans 3-4, 11:5-6): this reward is the fruit of perseverance that grace produces, not a wage earned apart from grace — same caution as the baseline’s Sufi-keramet merit-thinking risk. |
| Joy | χαρά (chara) | şahî / kêfxweşî | Medium | (New: minor doctrine, Relational Joy) | 1:12 | — | Ensure the relational, fellowship-grounded sense (joy made complete only in realized face-to-face relationship) is retained, not flattened to generic “happiness.” |
| Mercy | ἔλεος (eleos) | Dilovanî | High | Grace (extends baseline’s Grace/Peace pairing to a triad) | 1:3 | Rehm (acceptable in informal registers, flagged) | Rehm shares its root directly with the Quranic divine epithet Ar-Rahman (“The Merciful”); this may function as either an asset (mercy already recognized as a core divine attribute) or a risk (generic Islamic-attribute framing rather than the specific mercy shown in Christ). Dilovanî (native, heart-based compound) is preferred as the more neutral primary rendering. |
| World | κόσμος (kosmos) | cîhan | Low | (New: minor, general vocabulary) | 1:7 | — | Standard, low-risk term; no significant collision identified. |
| Watch / Be on guard | βλέπω (blepō), imperative | hay ji xwe hebin / xwe biparêzin | Medium | Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ | 1:8 | — | Must retain connection to the preceding warning about deceivers (v.7), not read as generic self-care advice. |
Section C: Cross-Document Consistency Flags
The following terms require special attention when this glossary is used alongside the Romans baseline in Phase 2 processing:
- κοινωνία-family vocabulary (fellowship/participation): The baseline’s positive Hevaltî (Romans doctrine: Christian Fellowship) must never be applied to 2 John 1:11’s negative “shares in his evil works.” Translators must check sense (positive communion vs. negative complicity) before selecting a rendering.
- Truth (Rastî) vs. Righteousness (Adalet): Both derive from related but distinct Kurdish semantic fields; 2 John’s heavy use of ἀλήθεια (5 occurrences) makes consistent, careful distinction from the baseline’s Adalet essential.
- Confession vocabulary (ὁμολογέω): Must remain consistent with whatever specific verb is used for the Romans 10:9 “Jesus is Lord” confession, per the baseline’s cross-document consistency rule, since 2 John 1:7’s confession of the incarnation functions as a parallel doctrinal test.
- ἐκλεκτός/Hilbijartin family: Both the baseline’s soteriological “election” doctrine and 2 John’s personal-address “elect lady/sister” usage share the same root; maintain the same base rendering (Hilbijartin/Hilbijartî) for recognizability, while noting the reduced doctrinal intensity of the personal-address use.
- “Antichrist” (Dijî-Mesîh) vs. Islamic Dajjal tradition: Requires explicit first-occurrence teaching note distinguishing 2 John’s present-tense, typological usage from the Sunni eschatological Dajjal figure, comparable in required care to the baseline’s handling of “Messiah” and “Resurrection.”
- “Elder” (Rihspî) vs. “Pîr”: This is a new, book-specific instance of the same Sufi-shrine-master collision the baseline already documents for “saints” — both entries should be reviewed together in any future doctrine risk registry update for 2 John.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Xwedê
Transliteration: Xwedê
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Allah
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. 2 John 1:9 sharpens the stakes: ‘does not have God’ is a direct relational-possession test tied to right teaching about the Son (Sonship and Deity of Christ Reinforced). Xwedê here denotes the same triune God the Father, not a generic monotheistic deity-concept compatible with any confession of the Son.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Îsa
Transliteration: Îsa
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. 2 John 1:7 requires this name to be held as part of a single indivisible confessional unit with ‘Mesîh’ and ‘laş’ (flesh) — ‘Îsa Mesîh hatiye di laş de’ — never paraphrased or split across clauses.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Mesîh
Transliteration: Mesîh
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Used in 2 John for both ‘Christ’ and ‘Messiah’ senses (1:3, 1:7, 1:9). Must remain part of the fixed confessional unit with Îsa and laş at 1:7, and paired consistently with ‘Hînkirina Mesîh’ (teaching of Christ) at 1:9-10.
Father
Approved rendering: Bav
Transliteration: Bav
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. 2 John’s repeated Father-Son pairing (1:3, 1:4, 1:9) intensifies rather than introduces the baseline’s tawhid-anthropomorphism risk; the co-location of Father and Son as joint source of grace/mercy/peace (1:3) must be preserved exactly.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Kurê Xwedê
Transliteration: Kurê Xwedê
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: ὁ υἱός (τοῦ πατρός)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Applies even where the Greek gives the bare ‘ὁ υἱός’ (the Son, 1:9) without an explicit ‘of God’ qualifier — the full Critical doctrine still governs the bare form. Must not be softened to a merely honorary or adoptive sonship.
Commandment
Approved rendering: Emir
Transliteration: emir
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Rejected alternatives: Ferman
Original: ἐντολή
Category: Ethics
NEW TERM. A common, non-inflammatory Kurdish word for command/order (of Arabic origin but generalized, non-inflammatory register). ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN alternative: Ferman. Although the most direct native Kurdish noun for ‘decree/commandment,’ Ferman carries an exceptionally heavy connotation in Kurdish cultural memory, especially for Yazidi communities, as the term for historical persecution edicts (traditionally ‘72-74 fermans,’ including the 2014 genocide as ‘the 74th ferman’). Using it for God’s/Christ’s loving commandment (occurring 5 times across vv.4-6) would be a severe, unnecessary collision on par with the baseline’s Namûs prohibition for Law.
Elder
Approved rendering: Rihspî
Transliteration: rihspî
Doctrine: Apostolic and Pastoral Authority (Eldership)
Rejected alternatives: Pîr, Şêx
Original: πρεσβύτερος
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Native Kurdish, literally ‘white-beard,’ the traditional term for a respected community/tribal elder whose counsel carries social weight — the letter’s self-designation (1:1) grounding all following instructions. Reject Pîr: the Romans baseline documents ‘pîr’ as a hereditary Sufi spiritual master with shrine veneration and intercessory status, a structurally significant category in parts of Kurdistan; applying it here would import an unwarranted hereditary/mystical-authority framework onto a plain pastoral-apostolic office. Also reject Şêx (sheikh): a Sufi/tribal religious-lineage title directly associated in Yazidi tradition with Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir, the same figure implicated in the Incarnation-assimilation risk documented for this book.
Lady
Approved rendering: Xanim
Transliteration: xanim
Doctrine: Divine Election and Addressee Identity
Rejected alternatives: any Xudan-based form
Original: κυρία
Category: Church
NEW TERM. A fully distinct-root native Kurdish honorific for ‘lady/madam.’ κυρία is grammatically the feminine of κύριος, the very word rendered Xudan for Christ’s exclusive supreme Lordship (Critical, Romans 10:9). Any Xudan-based rendering here is ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN, as it would visually/aurally suggest a lordship title for a human addressee, diluting the exclusivity flagged Critical for Christ’s Lordship. Flag for theologian review to confirm the individual-vs-congregation reading of the addressee before finalizing pronoun/number agreement throughout the letter.
Antichrist
Approved rendering: Dijî-Mesîh
Transliteration: dijî-Mesîh
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: Antîkrîst (opaque transliteration, rejected)
Original: ἀντίχριστος
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Transparent native compound (dijî, ‘against’ + Mesîh). MAJOR RISK: mainstream Sunni Islamic eschatology holds an extensively developed doctrine of al-Masih ad-Dajjal (‘the false messiah,’ commonly rendered ‘the Antichrist’ in English-language Islamic literature) — a single future world-deceiving figure with fixed narrative details (appearance, forty-day reign, defeat by a returning Îsa). Kurdish readers, especially Sunni-background, will likely map Dijî-Mesîh directly onto Dajjal expectations. MUST be explicitly corrected at first occurrence: 2 John’s usage (1:7) is present-tense, plural/typological, and defined strictly by denial of the incarnation, not by Dajjal’s narrative details. Mandatory teaching note required at every occurrence.
Flesh Incarnational
Approved rendering: laş
Transliteration: laş
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Original: σάρξ (ἐν σαρκί)
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Standard Kurdish term for physical body, chosen over a more clinical medical term to retain the raw physicality John insists on (‘Jesus Christ come in the flesh,’ 1:7). Anchors directly to the Romans baseline’s Critical Tecessud (Incarnation) doctrine and its dual risk profile: (1) mainstream Sunni tawhid-based denial that God would take on real flesh; (2) the Kurdish-specific inverted risk that Yazidi theology’s belief in the divine (Melek Taus) manifesting repeatedly through holy human figures (e.g., Sheikh Adi) causes over-ready assimilation of ‘coming in the flesh’ as one more recurring instance rather than a unique, unrepeatable event. Must form an indivisible confessional unit with Îsa and Mesîh — never paraphrased or split.
Teaching Of Christ
Approved rendering: Hînkirina Mesîh
Transliteration: hînkirina Mesîh
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Rejected alternatives: talîm (Arabic-derived instructional loanword, forbidden)
Original: ἡ διδαχὴ τοῦ Χριστοῦ
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Transparent native compound (from hîn kirin, ‘to teach/instruct’). Denotes specifically the apostolic doctrinal content concerning who Christ is and what he has done, centrally his incarnation (v.7). Must not be assimilated to the baseline’s Şerîeta Mûsa (Law of Moses) rule-code pattern, nor to a generic Islamic ta’lim/talîm instructional register (Qur’anic-school connotation); ‘abiding’ in it is relational perseverance, not legal compliance.
Abide
Approved rendering: man
Transliteration: man
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Original: μένω
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Native Kurdish verb ‘to remain/stay/abide,’ a hallmark Johannine verb (cf. John 15) denoting persevering, settled continuance, not mere temporary presence (1:9). Must always be paired explicitly with its object (‘di Hînkirina Mesîh de,’ ‘in the teaching of Christ’) to prevent a generic, unloaded reading; the letter’s entire positive/negative test of true faith hinges on this verb.
House
Approved rendering: mal
Transliteration: mal
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Original: οἰκία
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Standard Kurdish term for house/home, carrying the full weight of household, family, and honor. Used in the phrase ‘child mala xwe negirin’ (‘do not take him into your house,’ 1:10). Direct collision with mêvandarî, one of the most deeply held values in Kurdish tribal and social culture — hospitality even to a stranger or enemy is treated as near-sacred, and its refusal can be a serious social/honor violation. This is a narrow, doctrinally-triggered exception (withholding platform-giving hospitality from a specific incarnation-denying false teacher), not a general command to inhospitality; every occurrence must carry an explicit scoping clause naming the specific class of person in view.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: Kerem
Transliteration: kerem
Doctrine: Grace
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. First term of 2 John 1:3’s unique tripartite grace-mercy-peace greeting; the baseline’s Sufi ‘keramet’ elite-favor collision applies identically here, and must be taught alongside 1:8’s ‘reward’ (Xelat) so the reward is understood as grace’s fruit, not a merit displacing grace.
Election
Approved rendering: Hilbijartin
Transliteration: hilbijartin
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged base form. 2 John uses only the adjectival derivative ‘Hilbijartî’ (see separate entry ‘elect’ below) in personal address; the shared root is retained deliberately for cross-document recognizability of divine choosing, while the baseline’s democratic-election collision caution (hilbijartin is also the standard modern word for voting) still applies, though at reduced intensity in the personal-address use.
Truth
Approved rendering: Rastî
Transliteration: rastî
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Rejected alternatives: Heq
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. Native Kurdish ‘rightness/straightness’ (from ‘rast’), the controlling term of the letter (5 occurrences in 13 verses). Reject Heq (from Arabic haqq), one of the 99 Islamic divine names (Al-Haqq, ‘The Truth’) — using Heq risks ‘truth’ being heard as a divine attribute/name rather than the specific, receivable apostolic content about Christ. Must be kept sharply distinct from the baseline’s Adalet (righteousness) at every occurrence so the two doctrines are never merged, even though both terms can gloss loosely as ‘right(ness)’ in English.
Love
Approved rendering: Hezkirin
Transliteration: hezkirin
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
Rejected alternatives: Evîn
Original: ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. General, neutral Kurmanji noun/verb for love, used as noun Hezkirin and verb ‘hez kirin.’ Explicitly reject Evîn, the register of Kurdish classical Sufi and folk romantic-mystical love (Melayê Cizîrî, Ehmedê Xanî, the epic Mem û Zîn) — the same register the Romans baseline itself flags as a resource for Sufi lover/beloved intimacy poetry. Evîn risks the reader hearing romantic passion or mystical divine-union rather than John’s committed, command-linked, others-serving love (defined explicitly at 1:6 as obedience to Christ’s commandments). Warmth must be supplied through descriptive phrasing tied to obedience, not through a loaded lexical choice.
Mercy
Approved rendering: Dilovanî
Transliteration: dilovanî
Doctrine: Grace, Mercy, and Peace Blessing
Rejected alternatives: Rehm (flagged, informal-register only)
Original: ἔλεος
Category: God
NEW TERM. Native Kurdish heart-based compound (‘dil,’ heart), the second term of 2 John 1:3’s unique tripartite grace-mercy-peace greeting (a triad not found elsewhere in the NT epistolary greetings within this Language Package’s scope). The alternative Rehm shares its root directly with the Quranic divine epithet Ar-Rahman (‘The Merciful’), opening every surah’s basmala — this could function as either an asset or a risk of generic Islamic divine-attribute framing. Dilovanî is preferred as the neutral primary rendering; Rehm may appear only in informal registers with this association flagged.
Elect
Approved rendering: Hilbijartî
Transliteration: hilbijartî
Doctrine: Divine Election and Addressee Identity
Original: ἐκλεκτή / ἐκλεκτῆς
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM (adjectival derivative of the baseline’s ‘election’/Hilbijartin). Used of the letter’s addressee(s) — the ‘elect lady’ (1:1) and her ‘elect sister’ (1:13) — rather than as abstract soteriological doctrine. Retains the baseline’s caution that Hilbijartin is also the standard modern Kurdish word for democratic elections/voting, at reduced but real intensity since the referent is a person/congregation, not the doctrine of election itself. Supply light contextual framing at first occurrence (e.g., ‘a whom Xwedê hilbijartiye,’ ‘whom God has chosen’) to anchor divine choosing, not a vote.
Deceiver
Approved rendering: Xapînok
Transliteration: xapînok
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Original: πλάνος
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Native Kurdish (from xapandin, ‘to deceive/trick’), denoting an active, culpable misleader on the specific matter of Christ’s incarnation (1:7), not merely a mistaken teacher. Root is doctrinally safe; must not be softened in use to mean merely ‘one who is mistaken.‘
Confess
Approved rendering: eşkere got
Transliteration: eşkere got
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: îtiraf kirin (demoted to flagged secondary gloss only), şahidî dan (forbidden — see notes)
Original: ὁμολογέω
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. ‘Openly said/declared,’ the required PRIMARY rendering of ὁμολογέω (1:7). îtiraf kirin (a common Kurdish loanword for ‘confession/admission’) is permitted only as a flagged secondary explanatory gloss, never the default rendering, since it carries an Islamic register of admitting guilt/wrongdoing (cf. tawba), risking confession of the incarnation being framed as admitting a fault. şahidî dan (‘bear witness,’ root of shahada/şehadet) is FORBIDDEN for this term, since it risks the confession functioning as the equivalent of the fixed Islamic creedal testimony rather than John’s specific christological claim. Must remain consistent with whichever verb renders the Romans 10:9 Lordship confession, per baseline cross-document consistency rules.
Going Beyond
Approved rendering: yê ku derbasî tiştên din dibe
Transliteration: yê ku derbasî tiştên din dibe
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Original: προάγων
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Descriptive phrase (‘the one who passes on/beyond [the teaching]’); no single Kurmanji word carries the precise pejorative sense of προάγων (1:9). Directly engages the Islamic naskh (abrogation) tension already flagged in the Romans baseline for Fulfillment of Prophecy — here made polemically explicit and sharp, since ‘progressing beyond’ is condemned, not commended, running directly counter to a ‘later revelation supersedes earlier revelation’ framework common in the surrounding religious culture. Requires a mandatory first-occurrence explanatory note.
From The Beginning
Approved rendering: ji destpêkê ve
Transliteration: ji destpêkê ve
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Original: ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς
Category: Covenant
NEW TERM. Native compound (‘from the beginning’). Establishes doctrinal fixity — the command to love and the teaching of Christ are unchanging from their first apostolic delivery (1:5, 1:6). Reinforces the ‘going_beyond’ entry’s naskh-tension note and requires the same deliberate positive teaching, not assumed intuitive acceptance.
Greeting
Approved rendering: silav
Transliteration: silav
Doctrine: Hospitality and Doctrinal Discernment
Original: χαίρειν
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Standard, culturally loaded Kurdish greeting word (silav û rêz, ‘greetings and respect,’ a foundational social nicety), used in ‘silavê nedin wî’ (‘do not give him a greeting,’ 1:10-11). Cuts against strong Kurdish social conventions around greeting exchange as a basic marker of respect and peaceableness. Must be taught as a narrow act of doctrinal non-endorsement of a specific false teacher’s mission, not license for general rudeness or withholding ordinary courtesy.
Share In Evil
Approved rendering: beşdar dibe
Transliteration: beşdar dibe
Doctrine: Complicity in False Teaching (Inverted Fellowship)
Rejected alternatives: Hevaltî (baseline positive fellowship term — explicitly forbidden here)
Original: κοινωνέω (τοῖς ἔργοις…τοῖς πονηροῖς)
Category: Church
NEW TERM, shared conceptual root with the Romans baseline’s positive Christian Fellowship (Hevaltî) but an inverted, negative sense: ‘becomes a participant/party to’ another’s wicked works (κοινωνέω, 1:11). Hevaltî is ABSOLUTELY FORBIDDEN here, as it would soften real moral complicity into a warm-fellowship sense. Must always be paired explicitly with ‘karên xerab’ (evil works) so the negative valence is unambiguous. Flag: κοινωνία-family vocabulary must not collapse into a single Kurdish rendering across 1-2-3 John without contextual disambiguation.
Reward
Approved rendering: Xelat
Transliteration: xelat
Doctrine: Reward and Grace (Perseverance’s Fruit, Not Merit)
Original: μισθὸς πλήρης
Category: Salvation
NEW TERM. Standard Kurdish word for reward/prize (of Persian origin, non-transactional in common usage), the ‘full reward’ (misthos plērēs) for perseverance believers risk losing if led astray (1:8). Must be taught alongside the Romans baseline’s Critical grace/merit distinction: this reward is the fruit of perseverance that grace itself produces, not a wage earned apart from grace — the same caution the baseline requires around Sufi keramet-style merit thinking applies here.
Walk Ethical Metaphor
Approved rendering: meşîn li gorî [Rastî/Emrê wî]
Transliteration: meşîn li gorî
Doctrine: Walking in Truth and Love
NEW TERM (idiom fix identified in the linguistic gap analysis). Kurdish has no native idiom equivalent to the Hebraic/Johannine ‘walk in/according to’ (περιπατέω, vv.4, 6) as an ethical-conduct metaphor. Fixed rendering: ‘meşîn li gorî Rastî’ (‘to walk according to the truth’) / ‘meşîn li gorî emrên wî’ (‘to walk according to his commandments’). A literal ‘meşîn’ (to walk) alone reads as physical locomotion; requires a mandatory first-occurrence translator note marking the figurative, whole-life-conduct sense.
Grace Mercy Peace Triad
Approved rendering: kerem, dilovanî û aştî
Transliteration: kerem, dilovanî û aştî
Doctrine: Grace, Mercy, and Peace Blessing
NEW STRUCTURAL ENTRY. 2 John 1:3’s fixed three-term greeting sequence (grace, mercy, peace) does not occur anywhere in the Romans baseline and has no precedent collocation; individually Kerem, Dilovanî, and Aştî are each established, but this exact sequence and order must be fixed at every occurrence in this letter and reused unchanged in any future document within this curriculum using the same Johannine triad (cf. 1/3 John, Jude), rather than being re-derived.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: Aştî
Transliteration: aştî
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Third term of 2 John 1:3’s greeting; not developed doctrinally beyond the greeting formula in this letter, so the baseline’s political-peace-process resonance is a milder concern here than in Romans 5, but the same anchoring-to-God care applies.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: Hevaltî
Transliteration: hevaltî
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged root and sense — but flagged DO NOT REUSE for 2 John 1:11. The Romans baseline documents Hevaltî as the positive, warm Christian bond; 2 John 1:11’s ‘shares in his wicked works’ (κοινωνέω) is a striking negative use of the same conceptual root and requires the distinct new term ‘share_in_evil’ (beşdar dibe) instead. Hevaltî itself does not occur as a rendering anywhere in 2 John.
Evil Works
Approved rendering: karên xerab
Transliteration: karên xerab
Doctrine: Complicity in False Teaching (Inverted Fellowship)
Original: τὰ ἔργα τὰ πονηρά
Category: Sin
NEW TERM. Standard Kurdish phrase for wicked/evil deeds (1:11). Frames the false teacher’s doctrinal error as itself morally evil, not merely a mistake; ensure the moral weight (wickedness) is retained, not softened.
Joy
Approved rendering: şahî
Transliteration: şahî
Doctrine: Relational Joy in Fellowship
Original: χαρά (πεπληρωμένη)
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. Standard Kurdish noun for joy/gladness (kêfxweşî also acceptable), used at 1:12 for χαρὰ πεπληρωμένη (‘joy made complete’). Relationally grounded — complete only in realized face-to-face fellowship, not a generic emotional state. Ensure this relational, fellowship-grounded sense is not flattened to ordinary happiness.
Watch
Approved rendering: hay ji xwe hebin
Transliteration: hay ji xwe hebin
Doctrine: Perseverance in the Teaching of Christ
Original: βλέπετε ἑαυτούς
Category: Sanctification
NEW TERM. Standard Kurdish imperative construction (‘xwe biparêzin’ also acceptable) for βλέπετε ἑαυτούς (1:8), an imperative of vigilant self-examination in light of the danger of deceivers described in v.7. Must retain the connection to that preceding warning, not read as generic self-care advice.
Children
Approved rendering: zarok
Transliteration: zarok
Doctrine: Divine Election and Addressee Identity
NEW TERM (gap surfaced in the linguistic gap analysis, not previously in the core glossary or term registry). Standard neutral Kurdish for children/offspring (τέκνα, occurring at 1:1, 1:4, 1:13). If the ‘elect lady’ is read corporately (a congregation, per vv.7-11’s plural concerns), ‘children’ denotes members formed within that community, not biological descendants — a figurative sense that collides with the unusually strong weight Kurdish tribal (aşîret) culture places on literal lineage and kinship terms. Requires an explicit teaching note at first occurrence (1:1) establishing the corporate/figurative reading before the term recurs.
Low Risk Terms
World
Approved rendering: cîhan
Transliteration: cîhan
Doctrine: Warning against Deceivers Denying the Incarnation
Original: κόσμος
Category: Sin
NEW TERM. Standard Kurdish word for ‘world,’ the sphere into which ‘many deceivers have gone out’ (κόσμος, 1:7). No significant collision identified; retain the moral/theological sense (arena of false teaching’s spread), not merely a geographic one.
Sister
Approved rendering: xwişk
Transliteration: xwişk
Doctrine: Divine Election and Addressee Identity
NEW TERM (gap surfaced in the linguistic gap analysis). Standard Kurdish kinship term, used in its established Christian-fellowship figurative sense (a sister congregation/believer, 1:13), paralleling Kurdish Christian usage of ‘bira’ (brother) for fellow believers. Same figurative-vs-literal-kinship caution as ‘children’ applies at reduced intensity.
Referenced passages