Semantic Analysis
Semantic Analysis: Revelation (Kurdish / Kurmanji Destination Language)
Curriculum: Revelation | Core passage: Revelation 21:1–8
Destination language: Kurdish (Kurmanji, Latin/Hawar script)
Method: Original Koine Greek analyzed term-by-term. Every term already fixed in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json is reused exactly as recorded there (marked “[BASELINE]” below); no alternative rendering is proposed for those terms. New terms required by Revelation’s distinct vocabulary (Lamb, beast, throne, Alpha/Omega, etc.) are analyzed fresh and assigned a Kurdish rendering and risk tier here, feeding 08_core_glossary.md and the forthcoming doctrine risk registry.
Risk tiers follow the baseline definitions: Critical (human theologian review, every occurrence), High (human theologian review), Medium (native speaker review), Low (automated review).
PART A — Core Passage: Revelation 21:1–8 (Verse-by-Verse)
Revelation 21:1
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.”
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning in Context | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| saw | εἶδον (eidon) | I saw / perceived | Visionary/apocalyptic seeing, marks genre as revealed vision, not ordinary observation | ”saw,” “beheld” | Signals the entire unit is apocalyptic vision-report; mistranslating as flat narration erases the symbolic-visionary genre marker central to “Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation” | Dîtin (min dît) | Medium — must retain vision-report framing so readers do not read the chapter as a literal newsreel |
| new | καινός (kainos) | New in kind/quality (not merely new in time, contrast with neos = new in time) | Renewed/transformed, qualitatively different, not simply “another one" | "new,” “renewed” | God does not discard and rebuild from nothing but transforms/renews creation — foundational to “The New Heaven and New Earth” doctrine | Nû | High — must not be flattened to a term implying mere replacement/discontinuity, nor “restored to original” continuity only; Kurdish “nû” is broad enough but needs doctrinal anchoring in teaching notes |
| heaven / earth | οὐρανός / γῆ (ouranos / gē) | Sky-realm / land-realm | Cosmos in its two great domains; can mean sky or the abode of God, land or the whole created order | ”heaven,” “sky,” “earth,” “world” | The totality of the created order being renewed, not merely a change of location for believers | Ezman / Erd | Low — standard cosmological vocabulary, no known competing doctrine |
| passed away | παρῆλθαν (parēlthan, from parerchomai) | Went by, came to an end | Completion/termination, can also mean “pass by” in a spatial sense | ”passed away,” “had passed,” “were gone” | The old created order’s decisive, completed end — not gradual improvement but eschatological transition | Derbas bûn / çûn | Low |
| sea | θάλασσα (thalassa) | Sea, ocean | Literal body of water; throughout Revelation also symbolic of chaos, the abyss, the nations, and the source from which the beast rises (13:1) | “sea” | The sea’s absence signals the final removal of chaos, threat, and separation — not a claim about literal geography | Derya | Medium — symbolic freight (chaos/abyss/beast-origin, cf. ch.13) must be signaled in teaching notes so it is not read as a merely incidental geographic detail |
Revelation 21:2
“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| holy | ἁγία (hagia) | Set apart, sacred | See baseline “holy” entry | — | Same moral/relational set-apartness as baseline Romans usage | Pîroz [BASELINE] | Medium (per baseline) |
| city | πόλις (polis) | City, organized community | Political/social community as well as a physical place | ”city” | The eschatological community of God’s people pictured as a city — corporate, not merely architectural | Bajar | Low |
| new Jerusalem | Ἱερουσαλὴμ καινή (Ierousalēm kainē) | New Jerusalem | The heavenly counterpart/fulfillment of earthly Jerusalem/Zion | ”new Jerusalem,” “heavenly Jerusalem” | The consummated dwelling of God with his redeemed people — a symbolic-theological reality, not a future earthly capital of a restored political state | Orşelîma Nû | High — given (a) Kurdish popular favorable sentiment toward Israel noted in the baseline “israel” entry, and (b) the intense contemporary political salience of Jerusalem/Zion in the region, this term risks being heard as endorsing a specific this-worldly geopolitical claim about the literal city of Jerusalem rather than the symbolic, consummated presence of God; must be anchored as it was for “kingdom_of_god” in the baseline |
| coming down | καταβαίνουσαν (katabainousan) | Descending | Movement from above to below; consistently in Revelation marks divine origin/gift, not human achievement | ”coming down,” “descending” | The city is God’s gift and initiative, not a human political or religious achievement — the mirror opposite of a “built kingdom” | Ji jor daketî / hatî xwarê | Medium |
| prepared | ἡτοιμασμένην (hētoimasmenēn) | Made ready, prepared | Passive voice — the action is done to the city/bride, not by it | ”prepared,” “made ready” | Passive/received readiness — grace-shaped preparation, not self-adornment or merit | Amade kirî | Medium |
| bride | νύμφην (nymphēn) | Bride | Betrothed/newly married woman; frequently covenantal-relational metaphor in the OT (Israel as bride) and NT (church as Christ’s bride) | “bride” | Doctrine: “The Church as Bride of Christ” — intimate covenant union, fidelity, and future consummation | Bûk | High — Kurdish tribal (aşîret) marriage customs (arranged marriage, bride-price/kalın, family-alliance function) risk framing this relationship as a transactional or family-alliance arrangement rather than a covenantal love-relationship freely secured by Christ; requires explicit teaching contrast, parallel to the baseline “covenant” caution about aşîret peyman |
| adorned | κεκοσμημένην (kekosmēmenēn, from kosmeō) | Ordered, adorned, made beautiful (root of “cosmos”) | Arrangement/decoration, implying order and beauty | ”adorned,” “beautifully dressed” | The bride’s beauty is bestowed, not self-generated — continuation of the “prepared” theme | Xemilandî | Low |
Revelation 21:3
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’”
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| throne | θρόνος (thronos) | Throne, seat of royal authority | Royal/judicial authority seat; the central staging-object of Revelation 4–22 | ”throne” | God’s (and, jointly, the Lamb’s — cf. 22:1,3) sovereign rule over history and the cosmos — core to “The Sovereignty of God over History” | Text | Medium — royal-authority imagery, low doctrinal collision on its own, but see 22:1 note on the joint throne of God and the Lamb (Critical) |
| dwelling place / dwell | σκηνή / σκηνώσει (skēnē / skēnōsei) | Tent, tabernacle / “will tabernacle, pitch tent” | OT tabernacle/Shekinah-presence imagery; echoes John 1:14 (“the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us”) | “dwelling place,” “tabernacle,” “he will dwell” | God’s own presence permanently and bodily among his people — the climax of the whole biblical storyline of God dwelling with humanity | Konê Xwedê / ew ê bi wan re bijî | High — must be taught with the OT tabernacle background explicitly supplied; without it, Kurdish readers may hear only a generic “God will be near,” missing the specific fulfillment-of-tabernacle/temple theology |
| people | λαός (laos) | People, covenant people | A people bound to God/a ruler by covenant, not merely an ethnic or national population | ”people,” “his people” | Covenant-people language recalling Exodus 6:7 and the prophets — corporate identity grounded in God’s covenant | Gel | Medium — must be distinguished from ethnic-national “people” (miletê Kurd) given the exceptionally strong ethnic-national self-identification in Kurdish culture; this is God’s trans-ethnic covenant people |
Revelation 21:4
“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| wipe away | ἐξαλείψει (exaleipsei) | Will wipe out, erase completely | Complete removal, not mere comfort alongside continued grief | ”wipe away,” “will wipe” | Total, tender, personal removal of sorrow by God himself — assurance imagery | Wê paqij bike / wê zuha bike | Low |
| tear | δάκρυον (dakryon) | Tear | Weeping, grief | ”tears” | Grief from the old order fully and finally ended | Hêstir | Low |
| death | θάνατος (thanatos) | Death | Physical death; in Revelation also personified as an end-time enemy finally destroyed (20:14) | “death” | Death itself is abolished, not merely postponed — ties to “Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil” | Mirin | High — must be read together with 20:14 and 21:8’s “second death” so that the ordinary word “mirin” is not flattened; the finality of death’s own defeat is the point |
| mourning / crying / pain | πένθος / κραυγή / πόνος (penthos / kraugē / ponos) | Grief / outcry / labor-pain, toil, suffering | The full range of the Fall’s consequences (cf. Genesis 3) | “mourning,” “crying,” “pain,” “grief” | The reversal of the Genesis curse — comprehensive removal of suffering’s every form | Şîn / Qîrîn / Êş | Low |
| former things | τὰ πρῶτα (ta prōta) | The first/former things | The old created order in its fallen state | ”former things,” “old order,” “what was before” | Not merely “the past” generically but the entire fallen order now definitively ended | Tiştên berê | Low |
Revelation 21:5
“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| he who was seated | ὁ καθήμενος (ho kathēmenos) | The one sitting/seated | Divine enthronement formula used throughout Revelation for God (and, distinctly, for the Lamb) | “he who was seated,” “the One on the throne” | Direct divine speech — God himself, not an intermediary, pronounces the renewal | Yê rûniştî li ser text | Medium |
| I am making all things new | καινὰ ποιῶ πάντα (kaina poiō panta) | I make all [things] new | Present tense — an ongoing/climactic act of renewal, not “I will make new things” (replacement) | “I am making all things new,” “Behold, I make all things new” | Renewal/transformation of the existing creation, continuous with but not identical to it — central “New Heaven/New Earth” claim | Ez her tiştî nû dikim | High — the present-tense force (“I am making,” not merely “I will make”) must be preserved so the renewal is understood as God’s own ongoing sovereign act rather than a future human-achieved utopia |
| write | γράψον (grapson) | Write! (imperative) | Command to record for transmission as authoritative Scripture | ”write,” “write this down” | Establishes the scriptural authority of what John records — ties to “Inspiration of Scripture” (baseline doctrine) | Binivîse | Medium |
| trustworthy and true | πιστοὶ καὶ ἀληθινοί (pistoi kai alēthinoi) | Faithful/reliable and true/genuine | Reliability of testimony; pistoi shares the root of pistis (faith) | “trustworthy and true,” “faithful and true” | Divine self-guarantee of the promise’s certainty — connects to “Assurance of God’s Final Victory” | Bawerî pê were kirin û rast in | Medium — note shared root with Îman (faith) [BASELINE]; care that “pistoi” here (reliability of words) is not confused with saving faith itself |
Revelation 21:6
“And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.’”
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| it is done | γέγοναν (gegonan) | It has come to pass, is accomplished | Perfect tense — completed, settled accomplishment | ”It is done,” “It is finished,” “They are come to pass” | The consummation is as certain as if already completed — echoes Christ’s “It is finished” (John 19:30) | Temam bû! | High — must not be softened into a mere future hope; the perfect tense conveys settled certainty |
| Alpha and Omega / beginning and end | Ἄλφα καὶ τὸ Ὦ / ἀρχὴ καὶ τέλος (Alpha kai to Ō / archē kai telos) | First and last letters of the Greek alphabet / beginning and end | Total, eternal sovereignty over all history — used of both God the Father (1:8; 21:6) and Christ (22:13) | “Alpha and Omega,” “the First and the Last,” “the beginning and the end” | A direct, unqualified deity claim: the same eternal title is applied to both the Father and Jesus Christ — the paradigm claim for “Deity of Christ” | Alfa û Omega / destpêk û dawî | Critical — this title’s identical application to God (21:6) and to Jesus (22:13) is itself the deity-of-Christ argument; must never be qualified, softened, or explained away as merely honorific. Must be taught alongside “Lord” (Xudan) and “Son of God” (Kurê Xwedê) [BASELINE] as one integrated claim |
| thirsty | διψῶντι (dipsōnti) | The one thirsting | Spiritual longing/need | ”thirsty,” “who thirsts” | Universal invitation to all who recognize spiritual need — ties to “Universal Scope of the Gospel” (baseline) | Tî | Low |
| spring of the water of life | πηγῆς τοῦ ὕδατος τῆς ζωῆς (pēgēs tou hydatos tēs zōēs) | Spring/fountain of the water of life | Life-giving, inexhaustible source; echoes John 4:14, Isaiah 55:1 | ”spring/fountain of the water of life” | Eternal life freely available from God himself, not earned or rationed | Kaniya ava jiyanê | Medium |
| without payment | δωρεάν (dōrean) | Freely, as a gift, without cost | Same semantic family as grace-vocabulary — a gift given, not a wage earned | ”without cost,” “freely,” “as a gift” | Direct echo of “grace” theology — salvation given, not purchased or merited | Belaş / bêpere | High — should be taught in explicit connection with Kerem (grace) [BASELINE] and its Sufi-keramet caution: this is God’s free gift to all who thirst, not an elite reward for advanced spiritual attainment |
Revelation 21:7
“The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the one who conquers | ὁ νικῶν (ho nikōn) | The one who overcomes/conquers/is victorious | Perseverance to the end through trial/persecution (cf. the seven letters, ch. 2–3) | “he who overcomes,” “the one who conquers,” “the victor” | Doctrine: “Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution” — final vindication of the one who remains faithful under pressure, not military or political conquest | Serkeftî | High — “serkeftin/serkeftî” (victory/the victorious one) is standard vocabulary of Kurdish political and armed-struggle rhetoric (Peshmerga and other movements’ victory-slogans); this promise of spiritual perseverance-unto-vindication risks being heard as a promise of national-political triumph, parallel to the baseline’s Rizgarî caution. Every occurrence needs explicit anchoring to faithful endurance in Christ, not political/military victory |
| inherit | κληρονομήσει (klēronomēsei) | Will inherit | Receiving as an heir, inheritance-right language | ”inherit,” “will have as an inheritance” | Ties directly to the baseline “adoption” doctrine — full inheritance-rights as sons, not partial or provisional status | Dê wê wek mîrat wergire | High — reuse the baseline “adoption” (Kurxwendin) framing: this must be taught against the Quranic/tribal aşîret default that treats non-biological sons as lacking full inheritance rights |
| son | υἱός (huios) | Son | Familial, legal-heir relationship; here of the redeemed believer’s status before God | ”son,” “child” | The believer’s adoptive sonship and full inheritance — distinct from, and dependent upon, Christ’s own unique divine Sonship (Kurê Xwedê) | Kur | Critical — must be sharply distinguished in teaching from Kurê Xwedê (Son of God) [BASELINE]: believers become adopted sons by grace; Christ alone is Son by eternal nature. Collapsing the two categories would corrupt both the Adoption doctrine and the Sonship-of-Christ doctrine |
Revelation 21:8
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cowardly | δειλοῖς (deilois) | Fearful, cowardly | Failure of nerve under pressure/persecution — the opposite of “the one who conquers” in v.7 | ”cowardly,” “fearful” | The direct negative counterpart to persevering faithful witness — apostasy under pressure | Tirsonek | Medium — pairs directly with the “overcomer” term above; must be taught as failure to persevere in witness, not merely a character flaw |
| faithless | ἀπίστοις (apistois) | Without faith, unbelieving | Direct negation of pistis (faith) | “faithless,” “unbelieving” | Those who reject/abandon trust in Christ — negative mirror of Îman [BASELINE] | Bêîman | High — mirrors the baseline “faith” doctrine caution exactly; must be read as absence of personal trust in Christ, not failure of creedal recitation |
| detestable | ἐβδελυγμένοις (ebdelygmenois) | Abominable, detestable | Ritual/moral abhorrence (LXX idol-worship vocabulary) | “detestable,” “abominable,” “vile” | Those given over to idolatrous corruption | Nefret lê | Low |
| murderers / sexually immoral / idolaters / liars | φονεῦσι / πόρνοις / εἰδωλολάτραις / ψευδέσιν (phoneusi / pornois / eidōlolatrais / pseudesin) | Murderers / sexually immoral / idol-worshippers / liars | Standard NT vice-list categories | (as listed) | Comprehensive judgment on persistent, unrepentant sin — ties to “Judgment of the Wicked” | Kujer / Zînakar / Pûtperest / Derewîn | Medium — standard vocabulary; ensure the list is read as characterizing unrepentant persistence, not any single lapse, consistent with the rest of NT teaching |
| sorcerers | φαρμάκοις (pharmakois) | Sorcerers, drug/potion-users (root of “pharmacy”) | Occult practice, often drug-assisted divination/magic | ”sorcerers,” “those who practice magic arts” | Occult practice as a form of idolatry and rebellion against God | Efsûngêr / Cadûger | Medium — regional folk-Islamic and folk-practice familiarity with magic/amulets (nivişt) makes this a live, not merely academic, category; should be taught with contemporary relevance |
| lake of fire and sulfur | λίμνη τῇ καιομένῃ πυρὶ καὶ θείῳ (limnē tē kaiomenē pyri kai theiō) | Lake burning with fire and sulfur | Final place of judgment for the unrepentant, the beast, false prophet, and Satan (19:20; 20:10,14–15) | “lake of fire,” “lake that burns with fire and brimstone” | Doctrine: “Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints” — final, conscious, eternal judgment, not annihilation or temporary purgation | Gola ku bi Agir û Kewkurt Dişewite | Critical — must be taught as final and everlasting judgment, distinct from any notion of temporary purification; must not be softened into a merely symbolic warning devoid of real consequence |
| second death | ὁ θάνατος ὁ δεύτερος (ho thanatos ho deuteros) | The second death | Final, eternal separation from God, distinct from ordinary physical death (the “first death”) | “second death” | The ultimate and final judgment outcome for the unrepentant — the opposite pole from the “no more death” of v.4 | Mirina Duyemîn | Critical — must not be confused with any doctrine of reincarnation/rebirth (cf. baseline “resurrection” caution regarding Yazidi kiras guhertin, “changing of garments”); this is a singular, final, non-repeating judgment-death, the theological opposite of a cycle |
PART B — Chapter-by-Chapter Analysis of the Whole Book
Chapter 1 — Prologue, Christophany, Commission
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| revelation | ἀποκάλυψις (apokalypsis) | Unveiling, uncovering, disclosure | The book’s own genre-title; an authoritative disclosure of hidden divine reality, not human speculation | ”revelation,” “apocalypse” | Frames the whole book’s authority — this is disclosed by God through Christ, not humanly composed | Peyxam (Peyxama Îsa Mesîh) | High — parallels but must be distinguished from the baseline’s “inspiration_of_scripture” caution regarding Islamic wahy (verbatim divine dictation via an angel); biblical apokalypsis is a disclosed vision mediated through, and expressed in, John’s own voice and idiom, still fully authoritative |
| faithful witness | ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστός (ho martys ho pistos) | The faithful witness | Testimony-bearer; in Revelation the word shifts across the book from courtroom “witness” toward “one who testifies even unto death” (the English “martyr” derives from this word) | “faithful witness” | Christ himself as the supreme model of faithful testimony, establishing the pattern for “Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution” | Şahidê Dilsoz | Critical — see extended note under Chapter 2 below; “şahid” (witness/testify) must be kept distinct from the Kurdish cultural-political term “şehîd” (martyr), which carries enormous independent weight in both Islamic and Kurdish nationalist usage |
| firstborn of the dead | πρωτότοκος τῶν νεκρῶν (prōtotokos tōn nekrōn) | First-born from among the dead | Preeminence-in-rank language (as in Colossians 1:15,18), not birth-order or createdness | ”firstborn of the dead,” “firstborn from the dead” | Christ’s resurrection establishes his supremacy over death and all creation | Yekemîn ê ji nav Miriyan Rabûyî | Critical — “firstborn” (prōtotokos) risks being read, in a context already shaped by the Quranic denial of Christ’s eternal deity, as confirming that Christ is a created being rather than eternal — must be taught explicitly as rank/preeminence, reusing Kurê Xwedê and Rabûn [BASELINE] framing |
| ruler of kings of the earth | ὁ ἄρχων τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς (ho archōn tōn basileōn tēs gēs) | Ruler of the kings of the earth | Supreme sovereign authority over all earthly rulers | ”ruler of kings on earth” | Anticipates 19:16’s “King of kings” — Christ’s sovereignty over all human political power, including any Kurdish national-political aspiration | Serokê Padîşahên Erdê | High — cross-reference the baseline “kingdom_of_god” caution: Christ’s rule is over, not identical with, any specific earthly political order |
| freed us… by his blood | λύσαντι ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ἐν τῷ αἵματι αὐτοῦ (lysanti hēmas ek tōn hamartiōn hēmōn en tō haimati autou) | Having released/loosed us from our sins by his blood | Ransom/release-from-bondage language; haima (blood) = atoning, substitutionary sacrifice | ”freed us from our sins by his blood,” “washed us” | Atonement accomplished by Christ’s own sacrificial death — grounding for “Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil” | Me ji gunehên me bi xwîna xwe azad kir | High — “azad kirin” (to free/liberate) shares vocabulary with Kurdish political liberation rhetoric, exactly as the baseline flags for Rizgarî; must be anchored to Christ’s atoning blood specifically, not political liberation |
| kingdom, priests | βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς (basileian, hiereis) | A kingdom, priests | Echoes Exodus 19:6’s royal-priesthood promise to Israel, now applied to all believers | ”kingdom and priests,” “a kingdom of priests” | The corporate identity of the redeemed community — royal, priestly, universal, not an inherited ethnic-priestly office | Padîşahî û Kahîn | High — reuse Padîşahiya Xwedê framing [BASELINE]: must be read as a spiritual-corporate identity for all believers, not a political state nor a hereditary priestly caste |
| Alpha and Omega | (see core passage 21:6) | — | — | — | — | Alfa û Omega | Critical (as above; first occurrence, 1:8) |
| Almighty | παντοκράτωρ (pantokratōr) | Ruler of all, all-powerful one | God’s total sovereignty over all things | ”Almighty,” “the Almighty One” | God’s supreme, unrivaled power over history — “The Sovereignty of God over History” | Xudanê Her Tiştî | High — an Arabic-loan rendering (“Qadîr,” cognate with the Islamic Divine Name al-Qadīr) is deliberately avoided in favor of a native compound, to prevent the term collapsing into one specific attribute-name from the Islamic 99-Names tradition rather than conveying total, unrivaled sovereignty as Revelation intends |
| Son of Man | υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου (huios anthrōpou) | Son of man | Daniel 7’s enthroned, divine-human judge-figure; a self-designation of Christ | ”Son of Man,” “one like a son of man” | A deliberately double-edged title: fully human, yet the Daniel 7 figure who receives everlasting dominion and is worshipped | Kurê Mirov | High — risk that this reads merely as a generic idiom for “a human being” (paralleling the common Arabic/regional idiom “ibn Adam,” “son of Adam” = “a person”), flattening the specific Daniel 7 divine-judge allusion into mere emphasis on Christ’s humility/humanity |
| seven Spirits | τὰ ἑπτὰ πνεύματα (ta hepta pneumata) | The seven spirits | Symbolic number denoting the fullness/completeness of the one Holy Spirit (cf. Isaiah 11:2’s sevenfold Spirit), not seven separate spirit-beings | ”seven Spirits,” “sevenfold Spirit” | The Holy Spirit’s complete, perfect ministry before God’s throne | Heft Ruh | Critical — must be explicitly taught as figurative fullness of the one Ruhê Pîroz [BASELINE], never as multiple spirits; risk of misreading as a form of folk-Islamic angelology/jinn-categories or as compromising Trinitarian monotheism (One Spirit) if left unexplained |
| lampstands | λυχνίαι (lychniai) | Lampstands | Symbol explicitly identified in 1:20 as the seven churches | ”lampstands” | The church’s calling to bear Christ’s light in the world | Çira | Medium |
| keys of Death and Hades | τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου (tas kleis tou thanatou kai tou hadou) | The keys of Death and Hades | Authority/control over death and the realm of the dead | ”keys of Death and Hades,” “keys of hell and death” | Christ’s sovereign authority over death itself, secured by his own resurrection | Kilîtên Mirinê û Hadêsê | High — see Hades entry below (ch. 20) |
Chapters 2–3 — The Seven Letters
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the one who conquers | ὁ νικῶν (ho nikōn) | (see Rev 21:7 above) | — | — | First occurs repeatedly across all seven letters as the reward-formula | Serkeftî | High (as at 21:7) — first and repeated occurrences here establish the pattern that must stay consistent through ch. 21 |
| synagogue of Satan | συναγωγὴ τοῦ Σατανᾶ (synagōgē tou Satana) | Assembly/synagogue of Satan | A specific historical group of unbelieving opponents in the first-century local context (Smyrna, Philadelphia), not a statement about the Jewish people generally | ”synagogue of Satan” | Warning against a specific hostile faction opposing the church in its historical setting | Civata Şeytên | High — must be handled with extreme care so as not to be read as antisemitic or as a blanket statement about Jewish people; note the baseline’s own observation of unusually favorable Kurdish popular sentiment toward Israel/Jewish people — this phrase requires explicit historical-contextual framing to avoid contradicting that positive backdrop |
| tribulation | θλῖψις (thlipsis) | Pressure, affliction, distress | Suffering/persecution for faithfulness | ”tribulation,” “affliction,” “suffering” | The normal experience of the faithful church under opposition — central to “Perseverance… under Persecution” | Tengasî | High — must be taught as suffering for Christ specifically, distinguishable from (though it may overlap painfully with) the political/ethnic suffering already well known to Kurdish communities across all four host states |
| crown of life | ὁ στέφανος τῆς ζωῆς (ho stephanos tēs zōēs) | The crown/wreath of life | Victor’s wreath (athletic/military imagery), here = eternal life itself as reward for faithful endurance | ”crown of life” | The reward of persevering faithfulness | Tacê Jiyanê | Medium |
| hidden manna | τὸ μάννα τὸ κεκρυμμένον (to manna to kekrymmenon) | The hidden manna | Echoes Exodus manna; here spiritual sustenance reserved for the overcomer | ”hidden manna” | Christ as the true, hidden bread of life sustaining the faithful | Manna ya Veşartî | Medium |
| morning star | ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ πρωϊνός (ho astēr ho prōinos) | The morning star | Venus, brightest “star” at dawn; reused at 22:16 as a self-title of Christ | ”morning star” | Anticipates Christ’s own self-identification in 22:16 — messianic hope and authority | Stêrka Sibehê | Medium — regional astrological/astronomical folk-associations with Venus should not obscure the specific messianic title |
| book of life | τὸ βιβλίον τῆς ζωῆς (to biblion tēs zōēs) | The book of life | Register of those who belong to God, determining final destiny | ”book of life” | Assurance of salvation grounded in God’s own record, not human merit — ties “Assurance of Salvation” [BASELINE doctrine] and “Judgment of the Wicked” | Pirtûka Jiyanê | High — must be taught as assurance grounded in God’s gracious choice and Christ’s work, not as a a ledger of merit one must earn one’s way into |
| Nicolaitans / Balaam / Jezebel | Νικολαϊτῶν / Βαλαάμ / Ἰεζάβελ | Proper/symbolic names of false teachers and their following | Historical figures functioning as symbols of compromise with idolatry and immorality | (proper names) | Warning against doctrinal and moral compromise within the church | Nîkolawî / Belam / Îzebel | Medium — transliterate as proper names; brief explanatory gloss needed since these figures are unfamiliar outside biblical literacy |
| lukewarm / hot / cold | χλιαρός / ζεστός / ψυχρός (chliaros / zestos / psychros) | Lukewarm / hot / cold | Metaphor of spiritual fervor vs. complacency | ”lukewarm,” “hot,” “cold” | Warning against nominal, complacent faith | Ne germ ne sar / Germ / Sar | Low |
Chapter 4 — The Heavenly Throne Room
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| throne | θρόνος (thronos) | (see 21:3) | — | — | The controlling image of the entire book: God’s unshaken sovereign rule | Text | Medium (as above) |
| living creatures | τὰ ζῷα (ta zōa) | The living ones/creatures | Angelic worship-beings (cf. Ezekiel 1, Isaiah 6) | “living creatures” | Ceaseless worship surrounding God’s throne | Afirîdeyên Zindî | Low |
| twenty-four elders | οἱ πρεσβύτεροι (hoi presbyteroi) | The elders | Representative heavenly council/worship-leaders (likely representing the redeemed people of both covenants — 12 tribes + 12 apostles) | “elders” | Corporate, representative worship before God’s throne | Rîspî | High — deliberately not rendered “pîr,” which the baseline flags as loaded with Kurdish Sufi hereditary shrine-veneration associations (a “pîr” as a venerated spiritual master with intercessory status); “Rîspî” (tribal-council elder) avoids that specific collision while still conveying honored representative status |
| Holy, holy, holy | ἅγιος ἅγιος ἅγιος (hagios hagios hagios) | Holy, holy, holy | Trisagion, echoing Isaiah 6:3; threefold repetition as Hebraic superlative and (in Christian reading) Trinitarian resonance | ”Holy, holy, holy” | Supreme declaration of God’s transcendent holiness | Pîroz, Pîroz, Pîroz [BASELINE: Pîroz] | High — the threefold repetition itself, historically read by Christian tradition as pointing to the Trinity, needs careful teaching so as not to be flattened to mere emphatic repetition nor read as contradicting tawhid without explanation |
Chapter 5 — The Scroll and the Worthy Lamb
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| worthy | ἄξιος (axios) | Worthy, deserving | Fitness/merit to receive an honor or perform an act | ”worthy” | The central question of the chapter — who is worthy to open the scroll and to receive worship — answered uniquely by the Lamb | Layiq | Critical — this is the worship-worthiness question itself; declaring Christ (the Lamb) uniquely “worthy” of the same worship as God (5:12–13) is the deity-of-Christ/worship-of-the-Lamb claim in concentrated form |
| Lamb | ἀρνίον (arnion) | Little lamb, lamb | Sacrificial imagery; distinct Greek word from the more common amnos (used e.g. John 1:29), used only in Revelation as a central divine title for Christ — occurring 28 times | ”Lamb,” “the Lamb” | Christ’s identity as both the sacrificed, atoning victim and the sovereign, worshipped ruler — doctrine: “Worship of the Lamb” | Berx | Critical — worship (proskyneō) directed to the Lamb equally with the One on the throne (5:13–14) is a direct claim to Christ’s full deity, the paradigm case of what tawhid rejects as shirk; must never be softened. A secondary, positive resource: regional familiarity with sacrificial-lamb imagery (e.g., Eid al-Adha/Qurban tradition) can illustrate substitutionary sacrifice, but must be explicitly distinguished from that tradition’s meaning (a repeated ritual commemoration, not a unique, once-for-all, divine self-sacrifice) |
| slain | ἐσφαγμένον (esphagmenon) | Slaughtered, sacrificed (as a slain sacrificial victim) | Violent, sacrificial death, standing yet as though slain | ”slain,” “as though it had been slain” | The permanent marks of Christ’s sacrificial death remain visible even in his risen, enthroned glory — atonement and resurrection together | Hatî Serjêkirin | Critical — must retain both the reality of a violent, sacrificial death AND simultaneous risen sovereignty; must not be softened to imply the crucifixion did not really happen, given the shared regional (Qur’anic) denial of the crucifixion |
| Lion of the tribe of Judah / Root of David | ὁ λέων ὁ ἐκ τῆς φυλῆς Ἰούδα, ἡ ῥίζα Δαυίδ | The Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David | Messianic royal titles (Genesis 49:9–10; Isaiah 11:1,10) | “Lion of Judah,” “Root of David” | Christ’s Davidic-messianic identity and kingship, fulfilling OT covenant promise | Şêrê Eşîra Cihûda / Koka Dawid | High — reuse baseline Dawid/seed_of_david caution: Dawid is a shared, positively-regarded Quranic figure, but the specific covenant-king-to-Messiah typology must be taught explicitly, not assumed |
| new song | ᾠδὴν καινήν (ōdēn kainēn) | A new song | Worship-language marking a decisively new act of God | ”new song” | Celebrates the Lamb’s unique redemptive achievement | Stiraneke Nû | Low |
| purchased | ἠγόρασας (ēgorasas) | You purchased, bought | Redemption/ransom-price language (market metaphor) | “purchased,” “ransomed,” “redeemed” | Christ’s blood as the price of redemption for people “from every tribe and tongue and people and nation” | Kirî | High — connects directly to Rizgarî (salvation) [BASELINE]; must be anchored to Christ’s atoning blood-price, not read through the political-liberation lens the baseline warns is default for this vocabulary field |
Chapter 6 — The First Six Seals
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| seal | σφραγίς (sphragis) | Seal | Mark of ownership/authentication and, when broken, release of judgment | ”seal” | Structuring device for God’s sovereign unfolding of history — “Sovereignty of God over History” | Mor | Medium |
| souls under the altar | τὰς ψυχὰς … ὑποκάτω τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου (tas psychas hypokatō tou thysiastēriou) | The souls beneath the altar | Martyrs’ souls awaiting vindication | ”souls under the altar” | The cry of the martyred faithful for justice — ties “Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints” | Canên li Binê Gorî | High — directly engages the perseverance-under-persecution and vindication doctrines; the imprecatory “how long, O Lord” cry (6:10) should be taught as legitimate lament, not impatience or lack of faith |
| wrath of the Lamb | ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ ἀρνίου (hē orgē tou arniou) | The wrath of the Lamb | Deliberate paradox — the gentle sacrificial Lamb is also the righteous Judge | ”wrath of the Lamb” | Christ’s judicial authority is inseparable from his sacrificial identity | Hêrsa Berx | Critical — the paradox (gentle Lamb + righteous wrath) must be preserved intact; softening either side (removing the wrath, or losing the Lamb’s sacrificial gentleness) distorts the doctrine |
Chapter 7 — The 144,000 and the Great Multitude
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sealed | ἐσφραγισμένοι (esphragismenoi) | Sealed, marked | Mark of divine ownership and protection | ”sealed” | God’s sovereign preservation of his people through tribulation | Morkirî | Medium |
| twelve tribes of Israel | αἱ δώδεκα φυλαὶ Ἰσραήλ | The twelve tribes of Israel | Reuse baseline Îsraîl | ”twelve tribes of Israel” | Covenant continuity with OT Israel, fulfilled and expanded | Îsraîl [BASELINE] | Medium (per baseline) |
| great multitude | ὄχλος πολύς (ochlos polys) | A great crowd/multitude | Uncountable multitude “from every nation, tribe, people, and language" | "great multitude” | Universal scope of redemption — ties “Unity of Jews and Gentiles” [BASELINE] and church-as-God’s-people doctrines | Elaleke Mezin / Qerebalixeke Mezin | Medium |
| white robes | στολὰς λευκάς (stolas leukas) | White robes | Purity, victory, and vindication | ”white robes” | The redeemed status of those who have “washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb” | Kirasên Spî | High — the paradox of robes made white by washing them in blood (v.14) must be preserved, not smoothed into a generic purity metaphor; it is Christ’s atoning blood, not ritual washing, that cleanses |
| the great tribulation | ἡ θλῖψις ἡ μεγάλη (hē thlipsis hē megalē) | The great tribulation | Intensified form of the ch.2–3 thlipsis — a specific period/intensity of trial | ”the great tribulation” | The severe testing the faithful undergo before final vindication | Tengasiya Mezin | High (as ch.2–3, intensified) |
Chapters 8–9 — The Seven Trumpets
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| trumpet | σάλπιγξ (salpigx) | Trumpet | Signal of divine announcement/judgment | ”trumpet” | Structuring device paralleling the seals — God’s judgments unfolding in ordered sequence | Boriya | Low |
| incense… prayers of the saints | θυμιάματα … προσευχαὶ τῶν ἁγίων (thymiamata… proseuchai tōn hagiōn) | Incense… prayers of the holy ones | The prayers of believers pictured as incense rising before God’s throne | ”incense… prayers of the saints” | God actively hears and answers the prayers of his suffering people — reuse baseline Pîrozan (saints) | Bixur… Duayên Pîrozan | High — reuse baseline “saints” caution: these are ordinary believers’ prayers, not the intercessory prayers of a venerated spiritual elite (cf. Sufi pîr intercession, flagged in baseline) |
| abyss | ἄβυσσος (abyssos) | Bottomless pit, abyss | The place of imprisonment for demonic powers, distinct from Hades and from the final lake of fire | ”bottomless pit,” “abyss” | The temporary, bounded imprisonment of evil powers under God’s sovereign control | Kortala Bêbin | Medium-High — must be kept distinct from both Hades (intermediate state) and the lake of fire (final judgment); collapsing these three distinct “underworld” terms would blur the book’s careful judgment sequence |
| Abaddon / Apollyon | Ἀβαδδὼν / Ἀπολλύων (Abaddōn / Apollyōn) | “Destruction” (Hebrew) / “Destroyer” (Greek) | Proper name of the angel-king of the abyss’s locusts — both forms mean “destroyer" | "Abaddon,” “Apollyon” | The abyss’s own destructive power is itself subject to God’s sovereign permission and limits | Abadon / Apolyon (Wêrankar) | Medium — transliterate both forms as a proper-name pair with a brief gloss (“the Destroyer”) |
Chapter 10 — The Little Scroll
No major new theological-risk terms beyond the book’s established pattern. Load-bearing items:
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mystery of God | τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ θεοῦ (to mystērion tou theou) | The mystery of God | God’s hidden redemptive plan, now to be fulfilled/disclosed | ”mystery of God” | The imminent completion of God’s revealed but not-yet-consummated purposes | Sira Xwedê | Medium |
| you must again prophesy | δεῖ σε πάλιν προφητεῦσαι (dei se palin prophēteusai) | It is necessary for you to prophesy again | Renewed prophetic commissioning | ”you must prophesy again” | Continuity of the prophetic-apostolic commission | Divê tu dîsa pêxemberî bikî | Low — reuse baseline pêxemberî [BASELINE] |
Chapter 11 — The Two Witnesses and the Seventh Trumpet
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| two witnesses | οἱ δύο μάρτυρες (hoi dyo martyres) | The two witnesses | Testifying prophetic figures who are killed and then raised — the martyrdom pattern in narrative form | ”two witnesses” | Faithful prophetic testimony that costs life itself, vindicated by resurrection — the concrete embodiment of “Perseverance and Faithful Witness under Persecution” | Herdu Şahid | Critical — same şahid/şehîd caution as ch.1; here the narrative literally depicts testimony unto death and resurrection, making the term’s precision essential |
| the beast rising from the abyss | τὸ θηρίον τὸ ἀναβαῖνον ἐκ τῆς ἀβύσσου (to thērion to anabainon ek tēs abyssou) | The beast coming up from the abyss | First appearance of “the beast” — see extended Chapter 13 note | ”the beast” | The demonic-political power opposing God’s witnesses | Heywana ji Kortala Bêbin Derdikeve | Critical (see ch.13) |
| the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord | ἐγένετο ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ κόσμου τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν (egeneto hē basileia tou kosmou tou kyriou hēmōn) | The kingdom of the world has become [the kingdom] of our Lord | Climactic proclamation of God’s/Christ’s final, total sovereignty | ”The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord” | The central proclamation of “Kingdom Mission” [BASELINE doctrine] and “The Return and Reign of Christ” | Padîşahiya Vê Dinyayê Bû ya Xudanê Me | Critical — reuse baseline Padîşahiya Xwedê caution with maximum force: this is the single verse in the whole book most susceptible to being heard as validating a specific present-day political outcome (e.g., Kurdish statehood); must be taught as the final, exclusively spiritual and eschatological triumph of Christ’s reign over history, not a template for any nation’s political program |
Chapter 12 — The Woman, the Dragon, and Michael
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| great sign | σημεῖον μέγα (sēmeion mega) | Great sign/wonder | Explicit apocalyptic-symbol marker | ”great sign” | Signals deliberately symbolic, non-literal narrative mode — key for “Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation” | Nîşana Mezin | Medium — teaching apparatus should flag this phrase as marking symbolic (not literal-historical) narration |
| the woman clothed with the sun | γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον | A woman clothed with the sun | Symbol most likely representing the covenant people of God (Israel/church), not a specific individual | ”woman clothed with the sun” | The persecuted, protected covenant community from which Messiah comes | Jina bi Rojê Xemilandî | High — risk of devotional over-identification with Mary (the mother of Jesus) alone, which could interact in unexpected ways with the significant Islamic reverence for Maryam (Mary) in the Qur’an; the corporate/covenant-community reading must be taught explicitly alongside (not necessarily excluding) any messianic-birth application |
| great red dragon | ὁ δράκων ὁ μέγας ὁ πυρρός (ho drakōn ho megas ho pyrrhos) | The great red dragon | Explicitly identified in 12:9 as “that ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan" | "great red dragon” | Satan’s ultimate defeat, already secured though not yet fully consummated | Ejdehayê Sor ê Mezin | High — Kurdish/Persian folklore has a rich dragon-slaying heroic tradition (e.g., the Shahnameh’s Fereydun/Zahhak legend); risk that the dragon is assimilated into this heroic-legendary genre rather than understood as Satan, the personal spiritual enemy of God and his people |
| Satan / the devil | ὁ Σατανᾶς / ὁ διάβολος (ho Satanas / ho diabolos) | The adversary / the slanderer | The personal, defeated-but-still-active spiritual enemy | ”Satan,” “the devil” | The ultimate personal source of persecution and deception, already judged at the cross | Şeytan | Critical — this is one of the most culturally sensitive terms in the whole curriculum for a Kurdish audience specifically: the Yazidi minority faith, whose central figure Melek Taus (“Peacock Angel”) has been repeatedly and inaccurately conflated by outsiders (including by ISIS, which used this slander to help justify the 2014 genocide against Yazidis) with Satan/Iblis. Extreme pastoral and theological care is required wherever “Şeytan” is used in Kurdish contexts with any Yazidi readership or neighbors in view; teaching must never imply or be usable to imply that Yazidi belief equals devil-worship. Beyond this, the term also carries the standard shared-vocabulary caution with the Qur’anic Iblis/Shaytan narrative (a jinn who refused to bow to Adam — a different origin-story than Revelation’s fallen-angel/ancient-serpent depiction) |
| accuser | ὁ κατήγωρ (ho katēgōr) | The accuser (legal/forensic term) | Prosecutorial accusation before a court | ”accuser” | Satan’s now-defeated legal accusation against believers — ties “Assurance of Salvation” [BASELINE] and “no condemnation” (Romans 8:1) | Sûcdarker | Medium |
Chapter 13 — The Two Beasts
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the beast (from the sea / from the earth) | τὸ θηρίον (to thērion) | The beast, wild animal | Symbol of persecuting political-religious power in opposition to God (sea-beast) and of deceptive false-religious authority serving it (earth-beast, later “false prophet”) | “the beast” | The counterfeit, Satan-empowered opposition to Christ’s true kingship — central to “Judgment of the Wicked” and “The Return and Reign of Christ” | Heywan | Critical — this is a specific and significant risk for Kurdish (and wider Muslim-majority regional) audiences: Islamic eschatology includes its own beast tradition (the Dabbat al-Ard, “Beast of the Earth,” Qur’an 27:82, an end-times sign) and the Dajjal (a deceiving false-messiah figure defeated when, per Islamic tradition, Isa/Jesus himself descends, kills the Dajjal, and later dies a natural death). Revelation’s beast and Christ’s return risk being mapped wholesale onto this existing, well-developed Islamic apocalyptic framework — which would reduce Christ to a subordinate prophetic figure rather than the divine Judge and King, and could reduce “the beast” to Dajjal-folklore rather than the specific historical-symbolic opposition John describes. This collision must be addressed explicitly and directly in any teaching material |
| mark of the beast | τὸ χάραγμα τοῦ θηρίου (to charagma tou thēriou) | The mark of the beast | Symbol of allegiance/ownership enabling participation in economic/social life | ”mark of the beast” | The cost of faithful non-conformity to idolatrous power — directly relevant to believers facing real economic/social/legal pressure to conform, a live reality for Christians across all four states Kurdish spans | Nîşana Heywanî | Critical — must be taught with acute pastoral sensitivity given genuinely differing legal/social pressures on Christian minorities across Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria; avoid speculative identification with any specific contemporary technology, government, or political program |
| number of the beast, 666 | ὁ ἀριθμὸς τοῦ θηρίου, χξϛ (ho arithmos tou thēriou) | The number of the beast | Symbolic numerical value (likely gematria for a specific historical figure, commonly understood as Nero) | “number of the beast,” “666” | A specific historical/symbolic identification requiring interpretive humility, not speculative contemporary application | Hijmara Heywanî: 666 | Medium — teaching should explicitly discourage speculative modern-day numerological identification |
| worship the beast | προσκυνήσουσιν τὸ θηρίον (proskynēsousin to thērion) | They will worship the beast | Counterfeit worship — direct parody of the true worship due to God and the Lamb | ”worship the beast” | The great counterfeit of “Worship of the Lamb” — false worship of usurped, demonically-empowered political-religious power | Ê Perizîna Heywanî bikin | Critical — must be taught as the deliberate dark mirror-image of true worship (proskyneō) of the Lamb (ch. 5); the same Kurdish verb (perizîn) is used for both true and false worship, so context must always make the object of worship unmistakable |
| false prophet | ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης (ho pseudoprophētēs) | The false prophet | The second beast’s later title (16:13; 19:20; 20:10) — a deceiving religious authority | ”false prophet” | Counterfeit prophetic authority serving the beast’s system | Pêxemberê Derewîn | High — reuse baseline pêxember caution (finality-of-prophethood risk); avoid any implication that this term makes contemporary claims about specific named religious figures or traditions |
Chapter 14 — The 144,000, the Eternal Gospel, and the Harvest
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eternal gospel | εὐαγγέλιον αἰώνιον (euangelion aiōnion) | Eternal/everlasting good news | The unchanging gospel message proclaimed to all nations | ”eternal gospel,” “everlasting gospel” | The gospel’s unchanging, universal, final-hour proclamation — reuse baseline Mizgînî | Mizgîniya Herheyî [BASELINE: Mizgînî] | Medium — the qualifier “eternal/everlasting” (her-heyî) is new and should be paired consistently with the established Mizgînî term |
| Babylon the great | Βαβυλὼν ἡ μεγάλη (Babylōn hē megalē) | Babylon the great | Symbolic name for the world’s idolatrous, oppressive, seductive political-economic-religious system (elaborated ch. 17–18) | “Babylon the great” | The comprehensive system opposed to God’s kingdom, doomed to fall — central to “Judgment of the Wicked” | Babîlona Mezin | High — must be taught as a symbolic, trans-historical category, not identified with any specific contemporary nation, ethnic group, or political rival; given regional political tensions across the four states Kurdish spans, over-literalizing this symbol to a specific present-day power is a real and serious pastoral risk |
| torment | βασανισμός (basanismos) | Torment, torture | Severe, ongoing suffering as judgment | ”torment” | Final judgment’s severity for unrepentant worship of the beast | Êşkence | High — “êşkence” is the standard Kurdish word for (state) torture and carries heavy, specific, lived resonance given documented human-rights abuses against Kurdish political prisoners and civilians across the region; this can serve as a genuine rhetorical asset conveying real severity, but requires sensitive, trauma-aware pastoral framing rather than casual use |
| Son of Man on the cloud | υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου… ἐπὶ τὴν νεφέλην | Son of Man … on the cloud | Reuse of the Daniel 7/ch.1 title, now in judgment-harvest role | ”one like a son of man on the cloud” | Christ’s return as sovereign judge — “The Return and Reign of Christ” | Kurê Mirov li ser Ewrê | High (as ch.1) |
| harvest / sickle / winepress | θερισμός / δρέπανον / ληνός (therismos / drepanon / lēnos) | Harvest / sickle / winepress | Agricultural judgment-imagery (cf. Joel 3:13) | “harvest,” “sickle,” “winepress” | Final ingathering of judgment upon persistent evil | Dirûn / Desar / Şerabxane | Medium |
Chapter 15 — The Song of Moses and of the Lamb; the Seven Bowls
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| song of Moses and of the Lamb | ᾠδὴ Μωϋσέως… καὶ ᾠδὴ τοῦ ἀρνίου | The song of Moses and the song of the Lamb | Joins Exodus-deliverance typology (Exodus 15) with the Lamb’s redemption | ”song of Moses and of the Lamb” | The Exodus pattern of deliverance fulfilled and surpassed in Christ | Stirana Mûsa û Stirana Berx | High — reuse baseline Mûsa and Rabûn/Rizgarî framing; the Exodus/Moses typology, while a genuine biblical asset, must not be collapsed with the region’s own vocabulary of political deliverance/liberation (cf. baseline Rizgarî caution) |
| bowls (of wrath) | φιάλαι (phialai) | Bowls | Vessels of God’s final, complete judgment (parallel to seals and trumpets) | “bowls,” “vials” (older translations) | Final and complete outpouring of divine judgment — “Sovereignty of God over History” | Tas | Low |
Chapter 16 — The Seven Bowls Poured Out
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Armageddon | Ἁρμαγεδών (Harmagedōn) | (Hebrew, likely “Mount Megiddo”) | Symbolic place-name for the final gathering of powers opposed to God for the climactic conflict | ”Armageddon” | The decisive, final confrontation between God’s sovereign purposes and organized evil — “Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil” | Armagedon | Critical — an especially acute, specific, and recent risk for a Kurdish audience: ISIS explicitly framed its own campaign (including the war fought directly against Kurdish Peshmerga and YPG/YPJ forces) in deliberately apocalyptic terms, naming its propaganda magazine Dabiq after a Syrian town tied to its own end-times mythology. Kurdish communities have direct, recent, traumatic memory of a movement claiming apocalyptic religious justification for war. “Armageddon” language must be taught with great care to avoid being heard as validating or echoing that specific, recent, violent apocalyptic rhetoric, and must be clearly anchored as God’s sovereign, non-humanly-executed final victory, not a call to any present-day holy war |
| torment/sores | ἕλκος (helkos) | Sore, wound, ulcer | Physical suffering as judgment | ”sores,” “boils” | Judgment imagery echoing the Exodus plagues | Birîn | Low |
| blaspheme | βλασφημέω (blasphēmeō) | To blaspheme, revile | Rejecting/reviling God despite judgment, rather than repenting | ”blaspheme,” “curse” | Persistent hardened rebellion even under judgment | Rexne kirin li Xwedê / Kufr kirin | Medium — “kufr” carries strong loaded Islamic theological weight (unbelief/apostasy as a legal-religious category); a more descriptive rendering avoiding that exact loanword is preferred where possible |
Chapter 17 — The Great Harlot and Babylon
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| the great prostitute/harlot | ἡ πόρνη ἡ μεγάλη (hē pornē hē megalē) | The great prostitute | OT prophetic idiom for idolatrous unfaithfulness to God (cf. Hosea, Ezekiel 16, 23), personifying the corrupt world-system | ”the great prostitute,” “the great harlot” | Idolatrous seduction and corruption personified, doomed to judgment | Fahîşeya Mezin | High — strong honor/shame cultural dynamics around female sexual imagery in the region require careful pastoral framing so the metaphor is taught as OT prophetic idiom for systemic spiritual unfaithfulness, not as commentary on women or sexuality as such |
| beast with seven heads and ten horns | τὸ θηρίον … κεφαλὰς ἑπτὰ καὶ κέρατα δέκα | The beast… seven heads and ten horns | Symbolic representation of successive world-empires/powers in opposition to God | ”beast with seven heads and ten horns” | Successive earthly powers, all ultimately under God’s sovereign judgment | Heywana bi Heft Serî û Deh Strûyan | Critical (reuse ch.13 note) |
| mystery | μυστήριον (mystērion) | Mystery | The hidden symbolic meaning John is about to have explained to him | ”mystery” | Interpretive key marker for symbolic/apocalyptic reading | Sir | Medium |
Chapter 18 — The Fall of Babylon
No major new theological-risk terms beyond ch.14 and ch.17; this chapter intensifies and elaborates Babylon’s judgment.
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babylon is fallen, is fallen | ἔπεσεν ἔπεσεν Βαβυλὼν (epesen epesen Babylōn) | Fallen, fallen is Babylon | Prophetic-lament repetition (cf. Isaiah 21:9) for emphatic certainty | ”Babylon is fallen, is fallen” | Certain, decisive judgment on the corrupt world-system | Babîlon ket, ket! | High (reuse ch.14/17 Babylon caution) |
| mourning of the merchants | ἐπένθησαν οἱ ἔμποροι (epenthēsan hoi emporoi) | The merchants mourned | Economic lament over the loss of profitable commerce with the corrupt system | ”the merchants… will weep and mourn” | Warning against complicity with and economic dependence on unjust systems | Şînkirina Bazirganan | Medium |
Chapter 19 — Hallelujah, the Marriage of the Lamb, and the Rider on the White Horse
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hallelujah | Ἁλληλουϊά (Hallēlouia) | “Praise the LORD” (Hebrew) | Untranslated liturgical exclamation, preserved as in most Bible traditions | ”Hallelujah,” “Alleluia” | Climactic corporate worship at Babylon’s fall and the Lamb’s marriage | Hallelûya | Low — reuse the transliteration convention already established for Amîn (Amen) in the baseline requirements document |
| marriage supper of the Lamb | ὁ γάμος τοῦ ἀρνίου (ho gamos tou arniou) | The wedding/marriage of the Lamb | Consummation of the Bride/Lamb relationship (cf. 21:2, 21:9) | “marriage of the Lamb,” “wedding supper of the Lamb” | Doctrine: “The Church as Bride of Christ” fully consummated | Şahiya Zewaca Berx | High (reuse 21:2 Bride caution — aşîret marriage-alliance risk) |
| fine linen… righteous deeds | βύσσινον … τὰ δικαιώματα (byssinon… ta dikaiōmata) | Fine linen… righteous acts/deeds | The Bride’s garment identified explicitly as “the righteous deeds of the saints" | "fine linen, bright and pure… the righteous deeds of the saints” | Deeds flowing from, not earning, the imputed righteousness already granted — must not be read as merit-based righteousness | Kitanê Zelal û Paqij… Karên Adalet | Critical — must be read together with baseline imputed_righteousness (Adaleta ku tê hesibandin): these are the fruit of grace, not its ground; risk of collapsing into works-righteousness if taught in isolation |
| the Word of God | ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ (ho logos tou theou) | The Word of God | A divine title for Christ himself as the rider on the white horse (echoing John 1:1,14) | “the Word of God” | Christ’s eternal, personal, divine identity as God’s self-revelation | Peyva Xwedê | Critical — the Qur’an itself calls Jesus “a Word from Him” (Kalimatun minhu, Sura 4:171) and “His Word” (Kalimatuhu) — but this Islamic title denotes only Jesus’s miraculous, word-spoken creation/birth, explicitly not the eternal, personal, divine Logos of John 1 and Revelation 19. This shared vocabulary is one of the most theologically consequential collision points in the whole curriculum and must be addressed with direct, explicit contrast every time it occurs |
| King of kings and Lord of lords | βασιλεὺς βασιλέων καὶ κύριος κυρίων (basileus basileōn kai kyrios kyriōn) | King of kings and Lord of lords | Supreme title of absolute sovereignty over all earthly kings and lords | ”King of kings, Lord of lords” | Christ’s total, exclusive sovereignty — climactic “Return and Reign of Christ” and “Lordship of Christ” [BASELINE] claim | Padîşahê Padîşahan û Xudanê Xudanan | Critical — reuse baseline Xudan (Lord) with full force; additionally, “King of Kings” (Shahanshah) was the actual historical imperial title of Persian/Iranian monarchs (used until 1979), a title with direct living political-historical memory for Kurdish communities under Iran in particular. This term must be taught as a unique cosmic-spiritual claim, not merely echoing (or endorsing memories of) historical earthly imperial titulature |
| beast and false prophet thrown into the lake of fire | τὸ θηρίον … ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης … ἐβλήθησαν εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρός | The beast and the false prophet were thrown into the lake of fire | First occurrence of the final judgment of these figures | ”cast into the lake of fire” | Final, certain defeat of organized evil and deception — “Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil” | Heywan û Pêxemberê Derewîn ketin Gola Agir | Critical (reuse ch.13/21:8 lake-of-fire notes) |
Chapter 20 — The Thousand Years, Final Judgment of Satan, the Great White Throne
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a thousand years | χίλια ἔτη (chilia etē) | A thousand years | Symbolic or literal period of Christ’s reign/Satan’s binding — subject to significant, longstanding interpretive debate among faithful Christians (millennial views) | “a thousand years,” “the millennium” | Central to “The Return and Reign of Christ”; the specific interpretive schema (literal-future, symbolic-present, etc.) is a matter of legitimate Christian disagreement | Hezar Sal | High — translation materials should render the phrase plainly and reserve interpretive-schema commentary (premillennial/amillennial/postmillennial) for doctrinal teaching notes, not resolve it silently through translation choice; also connects to “Symbolic and Apocalyptic Interpretation” doctrine regarding how numbers function in the book |
| Satan bound | ὁ Σατανᾶς δεδεμένος (ho Satanas dedemenos) | Satan bound/chained | Restraint of Satan’s deceptive power for a period | ”Satan bound” | God’s sovereign restraint of evil’s full expression | Şeytan Girêdayî | Critical (reuse ch.12 Şeytan caution) |
| first resurrection | ἡ ἀνάστασις ἡ πρώτη (hē anastasis hē prōtē) | The first resurrection | Distinguished from a “second”/general resurrection; debated referent (spiritual/martyrs’ vindication vs. bodily) among faithful interpreters | ”first resurrection” | Vindication and reward of the faithful, especially those martyred for their testimony | Rabûna Yekemîn [BASELINE: Rabûn] | Critical — reuse baseline Rabûn with its full crucifixion/resurrection-denial and Yazidi reincarnation cautions; the “first/second” qualifier must not be allowed to suggest a repeating cycle of deaths-and-rebirths (kiras guhertin) but rather a single, historically decisive event with an ordered future consummation |
| great white throne | θρόνον μέγαν λευκόν (thronon megan leukon) | A great white throne | Final judgment-seat imagery | ”great white throne” | Final, universal judgment before God — “Judgment of the Wicked and Vindication of the Saints” | Text Mezin ê Spî | High |
| judgment | κρίσις (krisis) | Judgment, verdict | Legal-forensic judicial process and verdict | ”judgment” | God’s final, righteous, comprehensive verdict on every person’s deeds | Dadgehî | High |
| Death and Hades thrown into the lake of fire | ὁ θάνατος καὶ ὁ ᾅδης ἐβλήθησαν εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρός | Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire | Death itself, and the intermediate holding-place of the dead, are finally abolished/judged | ”Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire” | The final, total abolition of death — the fullest expression of “Assurance of God’s Final Victory over Evil” | Mirin û Hadês avêtin Gola Agir | Critical — clarifies that Hades (the intermediate state) is itself judged and ended, distinct from the lake of fire (the final state); must not be conflated with each other nor with Islamic barzakh (the intermediate state in Islamic eschatology, conceived differently) |
Chapter 21 (verses 9–27) — The New Jerusalem Described
(Revelation 21:1–8 is treated verse-by-verse in Part A above; this section covers the remainder of the chapter.)
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| twelve gates… twelve tribes / twelve foundations… twelve apostles | πυλῶνες δώδεκα… φυλῶν… θεμέλιοι δώδεκα… ἀποστόλων | Twelve gates named for the tribes; twelve foundations named for the apostles | Structural symbol uniting OT covenant people (tribes) and NT foundational witnesses (apostles) in one city | ”twelve gates… twelve foundations” | The unity of the whole people of God across both covenants — ties “Unity of Jews and Gentiles” [BASELINE] | Deh û Du Derî (Eşîr) / Deh û Du Bingeh (Şandî) | High — reuse baseline Şandî (apostle) for the foundation-names; the tribal/foundation imagery should not be read through the lens of Kurdish aşîret (tribal-confederation) social structures as merely another honor-based kinship system |
| the glory of God | ἡ δόξα τοῦ θεοῦ (hē doxa tou theou) | The glory of God | God’s radiant presence lighting the city, replacing sun and moon | ”the glory of God” | God’s own presence as the city’s sole and sufficient light — reuse baseline Rûmet | Rûmeta Xwedê [BASELINE: Rûmet] | Medium (per baseline) |
| its lamp is the Lamb | ὁ λύχνος αὐτῆς τὸ ἀρνίον (ho lychnos autēs to arnion) | Its lamp is the Lamb | Christ himself as the mediating light-source of God’s glory in the city | ”its lamp is the Lamb” | Christ’s central, mediating role in God’s presence — reuse Berx and Rûmet together | Çiraya wê Berx e | Critical (reuse Lamb caution) |
| nations bringing their glory | τὰ ἔθνη… τὴν δόξαν αὐτῶν (ta ethnē… tēn doxan autōn) | The nations [will bring]… their glory | Redeemed nations’ cultural/national distinctiveness honored, not erased, within the eschatological city | ”the nations will bring their glory into it” | An affirming, inclusive vision honoring the diversity of redeemed peoples — a notably positive resource for a proudly ethnic-national Kurdish audience | Miletan… rûmeta xwe | High — while reusing baseline Ne-cihû (Gentiles) is not appropriate here (this is the positive, inclusive “nations” sense, not the contrastive Jew/Gentile sense of Romans), a separate rendering (“Miletan,” peoples/nations) is used; this verse is a genuine pastoral asset for Kurdish national-ethnic identity, provided it is taught as fulfilled within submission to Christ’s reign, not as endorsement of a specific present-day political-national program |
| nothing unclean shall enter | οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθῃ εἰς αὐτὴν πᾶν κοινὸν (ou mē eiselthē eis autēn pan koinon) | Nothing common/unclean will ever enter it | Moral-spiritual purity requirement for entry | ”nothing unclean will ever enter it” | Final, complete moral purity of God’s eschatological people | Tiştekî Neqedandî Nakeve Hundir | Medium |
Chapter 22 — The River of Life, the Tree of Life, and the Epilogue
| Term | Original (Translit.) | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Theological Meaning | Kurdish Rendering | Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| river of the water of life | ποταμὸν ὕδατος ζωῆς (potamon hydatos zōēs) | A river of water of life | Continuation of 21:6’s “spring of the water of life,” now flowing from the throne | ”river of the water of life” | Ceaseless, abundant, freely-given eternal life flowing from God’s very throne | Çemê Ava Jiyanê | Medium |
| tree of life | τὸ ξύλον τῆς ζωῆς (to xylon tēs zōēs) | The tree of life | Restoration of Edenic access lost in Genesis 3; here bearing continuous fruit and healing leaves | ”tree of life” | The reversal of the Fall’s curse and the restoration of unbroken access to God’s life | Dara Jiyanê | High — the “Tree of Life” is also a widespread decorative-religious motif across Middle Eastern (including Zoroastrian, Yazidi, and broader regional folk-art) visual and textile culture; genuine risk that the specific Edenic/eschatological biblical meaning is assimilated into a generic regional symbol rather than taught as this particular narrative’s fulfillment |
| no more curse | οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι κατάθεμα (ouk estai eti katathema) | There will no longer be any curse | Final reversal of the Genesis 3 curse | ”no more curse” | Complete undoing of the Fall’s consequences — climax of “The New Heaven and New Earth” | Êdî Nifir Nabe | Medium |
| the throne of God and of the Lamb | ὁ θρόνος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀρνίου (ho thronos tou theou kai tou arniou) | The throne of God and of the Lamb | A single, shared throne — grammatically singular in the Greek despite two named occupants | ”the throne of God and of the Lamb” | One of the strongest implicit deity-of-Christ statements in the book: God and the Lamb share one throne and one worship | Texta Xwedê û Berx | Critical — the singular “throne” (not “thrones”) shared jointly by God and the Lamb must be preserved and taught explicitly as a co-regency/deity claim, not merely Christ standing near God’s throne |
| his servants will worship him | οἱ δοῦλοι αὐτοῦ λατρεύσουσιν αὐτῷ (hoi douloi autou latreusousin autō) | His servants will serve/worship him | Cultic service/worship, ongoing eternal vocation of the redeemed | ”his servants will worship him” | Eternal worship as the redeemed community’s ultimate purpose and joy | Xulamên wî wê perizîna wî bikin | High — reuse the Lamb/worship (Critical) framing; “wî” (him, singular) intentionally keeps the ambiguity of the single divine throne of God-and-the-Lamb together |
| soon / quickly | ταχύ / ἐν τάχει (tachy / en tachei) | Soon, quickly, speedily | Imminence of Christ’s return, understood in God’s own reckoning of time (cf. 2 Peter 3:8), not strict human chronological nearness | ”soon,” “quickly” | Assurance of the certainty, not necessarily the immediate chronological timing, of Christ’s return — ties “Assurance of God’s Final Victory” | Zû | High — risk of being heard (given the region’s own history of politically-charged imminent-liberation expectation, paralleling the baseline’s caution about Rizgarî and national-liberation vocabulary) as either a falsifiable date-setting claim or a coded political-imminence message; must be taught with care regarding God’s sovereign timing versus human calendars |
| bright morning star | ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ λαμπρὸς ὁ πρωϊνός (ho astēr ho lampros ho prōinos) | The bright morning star | Reuse of ch.2 title, now as Christ’s direct self-identification | ”bright morning star” | Christ’s own messianic self-declaration, echoing Numbers 24:17’s “star out of Jacob” | Stêrka Sibehê ya Geş | Medium (as ch.2) |
| the Spirit and the Bride say, Come | τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ νύμφη λέγουσιν Ἔρχου (to pneuma kai hē nymphē legousin Erchou) | The Spirit and the Bride say, Come | The church’s Spirit-empowered longing for Christ’s return | ”the Spirit and the Bride say, Come” | The corporate, Spirit-filled prayer of the church for consummation — reuse Ruhê Pîroz and Bûk | Ruh û Bûk dibêjin, Were! | High (reuse Bride/Holy Spirit cautions) |
| do not add / do not take away | μὴ ἐπιθῇ … ἀφέλῃ (mē epithē… aphelē) | Let him not add… let him not take away | Canon-closing warning against tampering with the prophetic text | ”if anyone adds… if anyone takes away” | Establishes the fixed, complete authority of the prophetic Scripture — ties “Inspiration of Scripture” [BASELINE] | Zêde nekin… jê dernexin | Medium |
| Come, Lord Jesus | Ἔρχου, κύριε Ἰησοῦ (Erchou, kyrie Iēsou) | Come, Lord Jesus | The church’s climactic closing prayer, echoing the Aramaic “Maranatha” (1 Corinthians 16:22) | “Come, Lord Jesus,” “Maranatha” | The book’s final confession of Christ’s exclusive Lordship and longing for his return — must match the baseline’s fixed rendering of the Lordship confession | Were, Xudan Îsa! | Critical — must reuse baseline Xudan (Lord) and Îsa (Jesus) exactly, consistent with the required rendering of “Îsa Xudan e” (Romans 10:9); this is the book’s final and climactic Lordship confession and must never be softened |
| grace be with all | ἡ χάρις … μετὰ πάντων (hē charis… meta pantōn) | Grace [be]… with all | Closing benediction | ”grace be with all” | Reuse baseline Kerem (grace) as the curriculum’s final word | Kerem digel we hemûyan be [BASELINE: Kerem] | High (per baseline grace caution) |
This document feeds analysis/08_core_glossary.md. All risk tiers, once finalized, must be mirrored into an updated doctrine_risk_registry.json and translation_memory.json for Phase 2 processing.