Semantic Analysis

1 Timothy — Semantic Analysis (Koine Greek → Maithili)

Curriculum: 1 Timothy | Core passage: 1 Timothy 3:1-13 Method: Core passage receives verse-by-verse treatment of every load-bearing term. All other chapters (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, and 3:14-16 as the continuation of the core-passage chapter) receive chapter-level treatment of every load-bearing theological term with the same fields. Terms already fixed in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are reused exactly and marked [TM-REUSE]; new terms proposed for this curriculum are marked [NEW].

Every entry gives: original Greek word + transliteration, literal meaning, semantic range, English variants, contextual theological meaning in 1 Timothy, and destination-language (Maithili) rendering risk.

PART A — CORE PASSAGE: 1 Timothy 3:1-13 (Verse-by-Verse)

3:1 — Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος· εἴ τις ἐπισκοπῆς ὀρέγεται, καλοῦ ἔργου ἐπιθυμεῖ.

“The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.”

πιστὸς ὁ λόγος (pistos ho logos) — [NEW, builds on TM-REUSE root विश्वास] Literal: “faithful/trustworthy [is] the word/saying.” Semantic range: a formulaic Pastoral-Epistles marker (5x in the Pastorals) certifying the following statement as reliable apostolic teaching. English variants: “trustworthy saying,” “faithful saying,” “this is a true saying.” Contextual meaning: introduces authoritative church teaching, not a proverb of general wisdom. Maithili: “ई बात विश्वासयोग्य अछि” (ī bāt biswasyogya achi), built on the TM-fixed विश्वास root. Risk: Medium. Must not be flattened to a generic “people say” formula; it functions as a citation marker for settled apostolic doctrine.
ἐπισκοπή / ἐπίσκοπος (episkopē / episkopos) — [NEW] Literal: “oversight/overseer,” from ἐπί (“upon”) + σκοπέω (“to look, watch”). Semantic range: a functional office of watching-over/superintending a congregation; in the Pastorals used interchangeably with πρεσβύτερος (“elder,” see 5:17). English variants: “bishop,” “overseer,” “supervisor.” Contextual meaning: the recognized, examined office of congregational leadership central to this curriculum’s “Qualifications for Church Leadership” doctrine. Maithili: अध्यक्ष (adhyakṣ, “one who presides/oversees”). Alternatives rejected: पंडित (rejected — see baseline apostle entry: the Maithil Brahmin pandit’s Panjikaran-custodian role has no relation to this congregational office); स्वामी (rejected — reserved exclusively for human “master” contexts, see 1 Tim 6:1-2, to keep प्रभु exclusively for divine Lordship). Risk: Critical. Requires a translator note that अध्यक्ष and प्राचीन (elder, 5:17) name the same office from two angles (function vs. dignity) and must not be presented as two separate offices; also must not read as a mere civic committee-chairmanship void of spiritual shepherding content.
ὀρέγομαι (oregomai) — [NEW] Literal: “to stretch oneself toward, reach for.” Semantic range: eager, aspirational desire. English variants: “aspire,” “desire,” “set his heart on.” Maithili: लालसा राखब (lālasā rākhab, “to hold aspiration”). Risk: Low.
καλὸν ἔργον (kalon ergon) — [NEW] Literal: “good/noble work.” Semantic range: an honorable, worthy task (not merely “nice”). Maithili: नीक काज (nīk kāj). Risk: Low.
ἐπιθυμέω (epithymeō) — [NEW] Literal: “to desire strongly, to set the heart upon.” Neutral here (contrast with its more frequent negative NT sense, “to lust/covet”). Maithili: इच्छा करब. Risk: Low.

3:2 — δεῖ οὖν τὸν ἐπίσκοπον ἀνεπίλημπτον εἶναι, μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα, νηφάλιον, σώφρονα, κόσμιον, φιλόξενον, διδακτικόν

“Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.”

δεῖ (dei) — [NEW] “it is necessary/binding.” Marks the entire list as a moral/spiritual requirement, not a suggestion. Maithili: आवश्यक अछि. Risk: Low, but structurally important — the whole qualification list must be rendered as binding requirement, not aspirational ideal.
ἀνεπίλημπτος (anepilēmptos) — [NEW] Literal: “not able to be laid hold of,” i.e., unassailable, giving no handle for accusation. English variants: “above reproach,” “blameless,” “irreproachable.” Maithili: निर्दोष (nirdoṣ, “faultless”). Risk: Medium. Note: not sinless perfection but a publicly verifiable, unimpeachable reputation.
μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα (mias gynaikos andra) — [NEW] Literal: “a man of one woman/wife.” Semantic range across interpretive traditions: (a) monogamous (not currently married to more than one wife), (b) not divorced-and-remarried, (c) faithful to his one wife (marital fidelity emphasis), (d) never remarried after widowhood. English variants: “husband of one wife,” “a one-woman man,” “faithful to his wife.” Contextual meaning: given first-century polygamy and easy divorce were both live options, this marks marital singularity/fidelity as a leadership qualification. Maithili: एक पत्नीक पति (ek patnīk pati). Risk: High. Grounded reason: Mithila has its own historical practice of Maithil Brahmin polygamy (notably the historic “Bahu-Vivah” phenomenon among some Panjikaran-linked Brahmin lineages, where a single man married many wives partly for genealogical/social reasons) — this qualification lands with unusual cultural specificity here and must be preserved plainly, not softened into vague “faithful household man” language that would blur its clear monogamy requirement.
νηφάλιος (nēphalios) — [NEW] Literal: “sober, temperate” (lit. “not wine-befuddled,” from νήφω, to be sober). English variants: “sober-minded,” “temperate,” “clear-headed.” Maithili: संयमी (saṃyamī). Risk: Low.
σώφρων (sōphrōn) — [NEW] Literal: “of sound mind,” self-mastery over impulse and desire. English variants: “self-controlled,” “prudent,” “sensible.” Maithili: आत्मसंयमी. Risk: Low-Medium. Must not collapse into ascetic renunciation (a live category in Mithila’s math/monastic tradition) — this is ordinary self-mastery, not withdrawal from the world.
κόσμιος (kosmios) — [NEW] Literal: “orderly, well-arranged” (root of “cosmos”). English variants: “respectable,” “orderly,” “well-behaved.” Maithili: मर्यादित (maryādit, “within proper bounds”). Risk: Low.
φιλόξενος (philoxenos) — [NEW] Literal: “friend of strangers” (φίλος + ξένος). English variants: “hospitable,” “given to hospitality.” Maithili: अतिथि-सत्कारी (atithi-satkārī). Risk: Low. Note: resonates positively with the region’s own strong अतिथि देवो भव hospitality ethic — a rare case of cultural convergence rather than collision, safe to note as a bridge, not a doctrinal substitute.
διδακτικός (didaktikos) — [NEW] Literal: “skilled in teaching,” from διδάσκω (“teach,” root of διδασκαλία, see Ch.1). English variants: “able to teach,” “apt to teach.” Maithili: शिक्षा देबामे सक्षम. Risk: Medium. Ties to the “Sound Doctrine” doctrine — the overseer must be able to teach the स्वस्थ शिक्षा (sound doctrine, see Ch.1), not merely be personally devout.

3:3 — μὴ πάροινον, μὴ πλήκτην, ἀλλὰ ἐπιεικῆ, ἄμαχον, ἀφιλάργυρον

“not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money”

πάροινος (paroinos) — [NEW] Literal: “beside wine,” i.e., given to wine. Maithili: मद्यपी नहि (madyapī nahi). Risk: Low.
πλήκτης (plēktēs) — [NEW] Literal: “a striker, a violent person.” Maithili: हिंसक नहि. Risk: Low.
ἐπιεικής (epieikēs) — [NEW] Literal: “yielding, reasonable, gentle” — the opposite of rigid insistence on one’s rights. Maithili: सहनशील/कोमल. Risk: Low.
ἄμαχος (amachos) — [NEW] Literal: “not a fighter, peaceable.” Maithili: झगड़ालू नहि. Risk: Low.
ἀφιλάργυρος (aphilargyros) — [NEW] Literal: “not a lover of silver,” i.e., not money-loving. Directly anticipates φιλαργυρία in 6:10 (see Ch.6). Maithili: धनलोभी नहि. Risk: Medium. Should be worded consistently with the धनलोभ (love of money) entry in Ch.6 for cross-book coherence.

3:4-3:5 — τοῦ ἰδίου οἴκου καλῶς προϊστάμενον, τέκνα ἔχοντα ἐν ὑποταγῇ μετὰ πάσης σεμνότητος· εἰ δέ τις τοῦ ἰδίου οἴκου προστῆναι οὐκ οἶδεν, πῶς ἐκκλησίας θεοῦ ἐπιμελήσεται;

“managing his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive… for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?”

προΐστημι (proistēmi) — [NEW] Literal: “to stand before/preside over,” hence “to manage, lead, care for.” English variants: “manage,” “rule,” “preside over.” Maithili: उचित प्रबंध करब (ucit prabandh karab). Risk: Medium. Household management is treated as the observable proving-ground for congregational leadership capacity — an analogy with real force in Mithila’s own joint-family household structures; note that this is about relational, caring management, not patriarchal dominance.
ὑποταγή (hypotagē) — [NEW] Literal: “an arranging-under,” ordered submission. English variants: “submission,” “obedience,” “in subjection.” Maithili: अधीनता (adhīnatā). Risk: High. Grounded reason: household submission language sits close to Mithila’s own dharma-bound household-duty ideal (कर्तव्य पालन, already flagged as High-risk in the baseline’s “obedience_of_faith” entry) and to the region’s gendered household-order expectations; must be rendered as glad, orderly cooperation within the family, not coerced or merit-earning duty, and must be understood here of children’s submission, not conflated with the separate discussion of women in worship (2:11-12, below).
σεμνότης (semnotēs) — [NEW] Literal: “seriousness, dignity, reverend gravity.” English variants: “dignity,” “respectfulness,” “reverence.” Maithili: गम्भीरता (gambhīratā). Risk: Medium. Recurs at 2:2, 3:8, 3:11 — keep consistent.
ἐκκλησία θεοῦ (ekklēsia theou) — [TM-REUSE] “church of God” — reuse baseline मण्डली (church) + परमेश्वर (God) exactly: परमेश्वरक मण्डली. Risk: Medium (per baseline church entry).
ἐπιμελέομαι (epimeleomai) — [NEW] Literal: “to take care of, attend to.” Maithili: देखभाल करब. Risk: Low.

3:6-3:7 — μὴ νεόφυτον, ἵνα μὴ τυφωθεὶς εἰς κρίμα ἐμπέσῃ τοῦ διαβόλου. δεῖ δὲ καὶ μαρτυρίαν καλὴν ἔχειν ἀπὸ τῶν ἔξωθεν, ἵνα μὴ εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν ἐμπέσῃ καὶ παγίδα τοῦ διαβόλου.

“not a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.”

νεόφυτος (neophytos) — [NEW] Literal: “newly planted.” English variants: “novice,” “recent/new convert.” Maithili: नव विश्वासी (nav biswasī, “new believer”), built on TM विश्वास root. Risk: Medium.
τυφόω (typhoō) — [NEW] Literal: “to wrap in smoke/be beclouded,” hence “to be conceited, puffed up.” Maithili: अहंकारी भ’ जाएब (ahaṃkārī bha jāeb). Risk: Medium. Recurs at 6:4 (τετύφωται) — keep consistent.
κρίμα τοῦ διαβόλου — “the condemnation of the devil.” διάβολος (diabolos) — [NEW] Literal: “slanderer, accuser” (διά + βάλλω, “to throw across/accuse”). English variants: “devil,” “slanderer.” Same figure as Σατανᾶς (Satan, see 1:20). Maithili: शैतान (śaitān, standard North Indian Christian transliterated term). Risk: High. Grounded reason: must be distinguished from generic folk-belief भूत-प्रेत (ghosts/malevolent spirits, common in Maithili village animism) — शैतान names the singular, personal chief adversary of God, not one of many local malevolent spirits appeased through folk ritual.
μαρτυρία καλή (martyria kalē) — [NEW] “good testimony/reputation.” Maithili: नीक गवाही. Risk: Medium.
οἱ ἔξωθεν (hoi exōthen) — [NEW] “those outside,” i.e., non-believers. Maithili: बाहरक लोक (bāharak lok). Risk: Low.
ὀνειδισμός (oneidismos) — [NEW] “reproach, disgrace.” Maithili: निन्दा/अपमान. Risk: Low.
παγίς (pagis) — [NEW] “snare, trap” (as for catching birds). Maithili: फांस. Risk: Low.

3:8 — Διακόνους ὡσαύτως σεμνούς, μὴ διλόγους, μὴ οἴνῳ πολλῷ προσέχοντας, μὴ αἰσχροκερδεῖς

“Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain”

διάκονος (diakonos) — [NEW] Literal: “servant, minister, one who serves/waits at table” (possibly from διά + κόνις, “through dust,” i.e., one who runs errands). Semantic range: a distinct, examined congregational office of practical service alongside the overseer/elder office. English variants: “deacon,” “servant,” “minister.” Contextual meaning: the second recognized leadership office in this curriculum’s core doctrine (“Qualifications for Church Leadership”). Maithili: सेवक (sevak), used specifically as मण्डली सेवक (“church servant/deacon”) to mark the office. Alternatives rejected: सेवादार — rejected specifically because सेवादार is the established term for a Hindu temple-service volunteer in Mithila’s active Vaishnava/Shaiva devotional institutions, which would wrongly assimilate the biblical office to temple ritual service. Risk: Critical. Requires a translator note distinguishing this recognized, examined church office from both generic domestic service (नौकर) and temple सेवा.
σεμνός (semnos) — [NEW] Adjectival form of σεμνότης (3:4). Maithili: गम्भीर. Risk: Medium (consistency with 3:4, 3:11).
δίλογος (dilogos) — [NEW] Literal: “double-worded,” saying one thing to one person and another to another. English variants: “double-tongued,” “insincere.” Maithili: दुमुहां (dumuhāṃ, a vivid native Maithili idiom, “two-mouthed”). Risk: Low-Medium.
οἴνῳ πολλῷ προσέχοντας — “giving attention to much wine.” Maithili: मद्यपानमे लीन नहि. Risk: Low.
αἰσχροκερδής (aischrokerdēs) — [NEW] Literal: “shameful-gain-loving.” English variants: “greedy for dishonest gain,” “fond of sordid gain.” Maithili: अनुचित लाभक लोभी. Risk: Medium. Anticipates the “godliness as a means of gain” warning in 6:5 — keep vocabulary consistent across occurrences.

3:9 — ἔχοντας τὸ μυστήριον τῆς πίστεως ἐν καθαρᾷ συνειδήσει

“holding the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience”

μυστήριον τῆς πίστεως (mystērion tēs pisteōs) — [NEW] μυστήριον literal: “a secret thing, that which requires initiation to know” — in the NT, a truth once hidden in God’s plan, now openly disclosed in the gospel (not an ongoing esoteric secret). πίστις = [TM-REUSE] faith/विश्वास. English variants: “mystery of the faith,” “deep truths of the faith.” Contextual meaning: the revealed content of apostolic Christian doctrine that deacons must hold fast and live consistently with. Maithili: विश्वासक रहस्य (biswasak rahasya), built on TM विश्वास + new रहस्य (rahasya, “mystery, revealed secret”). Risk: Critical. Grounded reason: रहस्य must be sharply distinguished from the esoteric/occult “hidden knowledge” of Mithila’s active Tantric-Shakta tradition (cf. baseline’s note on the regionally significant Ugratara shrine and Shakta goddess-worship) — biblical mystery is a truth God has openly revealed in Christ and the gospel, the opposite direction of Tantric secrecy that must be guarded from the uninitiated.
καθαρὰ συνείδησις (kathara syneidēsis) — [NEW] καθαρός = “clean, pure”; συνείδησις = “conscience,” literally “co-knowledge” (with oneself). English variants: “clear conscience,” “pure conscience.” Maithili: शुद्ध विवेक (śuddh vivek). Risk: High. Grounded reason: विवेक is also the central technical term in Advaita Vedanta epistemology for the discriminative wisdom distinguishing the eternal Self (Atman) from illusion (Maya) — a philosophical usage entirely distinct from the biblical sense of a moral faculty that accuses or excuses a person before a personal God. This distinction should be made explicit in any teaching material using this term.

3:10 — καὶ οὗτοι δὲ δοκιμαζέσθωσαν πρῶτον, εἶτα διακονείτωσαν ἀνέγκλητοι ὄντες

“And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove blameless.”

δοκιμάζω (dokimazō) — [NEW] Literal: “to test, examine, prove genuine” (as testing metal for purity). English variants: “test,” “examine,” “prove.” Maithili: परीक्षा लेल जाएब. Risk: Medium. Establishes that church office requires a formal process of examination, not self-appointment or hereditary succession — worth noting the contrast with hereditary religious-office structures (e.g., the Panjikaran-linked hereditary Brahmin priesthood) already flagged in the baseline’s apostle entry.
ἀνέγκλητος (anenklētos) — [NEW] Literal: “not able to be called-in/accused,” i.e., blameless, without indictment. Near-synonym of ἀνεπίλημπτος (3:2). Maithili: निर्दोष. Risk: Low-Medium (keep consistent with 3:2).

3:11 — γυναῖκας ὡσαύτως σεμνάς, μὴ διαβόλους, νηφαλίους, πιστὰς ἐν πᾶσιν

“Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, sober-minded, faithful in all things.” (or: “Women likewise/also…”)

γυναῖκας (gynaikas) — [NEW] Literal: “women/wives” (γυνή covers both senses; disambiguated only by context). Semantic range/interpretive crux: (a) the deacons’ wives, (b) women serving in a parallel office of deaconess. English variants: “wives,” “women,” “their wives.” Contextual meaning: this is a genuine, long-standing interpretive question in NT scholarship not resolved by grammar alone. Maithili: स्त्रीगण (strīgaṇ, a neutral plural “women” that does not force either reading, paired with a mandatory translator note). Risk: High. Requires explicit theologian/reviewer note flagging this as an open interpretive question requiring pastoral-committee decision before Phase 2 rendering, not a translation-memory-locked term.
σεμνάς, νηφαλίους, πιστὰς ἐν πᾶσιν — reuse the same vocabulary established at 3:2-4 and 1 Tim generally: गम्भीर, संयमी, [TM-REUSE] विश्वासयोग्य (“faithful,” reusing विश्वास root as adjective सभमे विश्वासयोग्य). Risk: Medium (consistency check only).
μὴ διαβόλους (mē diabolous, adjectival “slanderers/malicious talkers”) — [NEW] here used as a common adjective, not the proper title “the devil.” Maithili: निन्दक नहि (nindak nahi, “not slanderers”), deliberately distinct wording from शैतान (proper-noun Satan/devil, 3:6-7) to avoid conflating a common-noun vice with the personal adversary. Risk: Medium.

3:12 — διάκονοι ἔστωσαν μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρες, τέκνων καλῶς προϊστάμενοι καὶ τῶν ἰδίων οἴκων

“Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.”

Reuses διάκονος (Critical, see 3:8), μιᾶς γυναικὸς ἄνδρα (High, see 3:2), and προΐστημι (Medium, see 3:4) exactly as already fixed above — no new terms; consistency check only.

3:13 — οἱ γὰρ καλῶς διακονήσαντες βαθμὸν ἑαυτοῖς καλὸν περιποιοῦνται καὶ πολλὴν παρρησίαν ἐν πίστει τῇ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ.

“For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

διακονέω (diakoneō) — [NEW] Verb form of διάκονος, “to serve.” Maithili: सेवा करब. Risk: Medium (consistency with 3:8 office term).
βαθμὸς καλός (bathmos kalos) — [NEW] Literal: “a good step/degree/standing” (βαθμός, a rung or step). English variants: “good standing,” “good degree,” “good rank.” Maithili: नीक पद-प्रतिष्ठा (nīk pad-pratiṣṭhā, “good position/honor”). Risk: Medium. Note: this is standing within the church community and before God, not social/caste status — a needed clarification given how heavily प्रतिष्ठा (status/honor) language is otherwise tied to caste rank in Mithila’s social structure.
παρρησία (parrēsia) — [NEW] Literal: “all-speech, freedom of speech,” hence boldness/confidence. English variants: “boldness,” “confidence,” “assurance.” Maithili: साहस (sāhas). Risk: Medium.
πίστις ἡ ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ — [TM-REUSE] “faith that is in Christ Jesus” — reuse विश्वास + ख्रीष्ट यीशु exactly. Risk: High per baseline faith entry.

1 Timothy 3:14-16 — Continuation of the Core-Passage Chapter (Household of God, Pillar of Truth, the Hymn)

“…if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”

οἶκος θεοῦ (oikos theou) — [NEW] “household of God.” Maithili: परमेश्वरक घर. Risk: Medium. Frames the church as a family household, not a formal religious institution — a warm complement to मण्डली.
ἐκκλησία θεοῦ ζῶντος (ekklēsia theou zōntos) — [NEW, built on TM मण्डली + परमेश्वर] “church of the living God.” Maithili: जीवित परमेश्वरक मण्डली. Risk: High. The qualifier “living” (ζῶντος) pointedly distinguishes the true, active, personal God from lifeless idols/images — directly relevant given the region’s widespread murti (image) worship tradition; this contrast should not be softened.
στῦλος καὶ ἑδραίωμα τῆς ἀληθείας (stylos kai hedraiōma tēs alētheias) — [NEW] στῦλος = “pillar, column”; ἑδραίωμα = “foundation, support, buttress” (from ἕδρα, “seat, base”); ἀλήθεια = “truth, that which is not hidden/not false.” English variants: “pillar and foundation/ground/bulwark of the truth.” Contextual meaning: names the doctrinal anchor for this curriculum’s “Church as Pillar of Truth” doctrine — the church visibly upholds and displays revealed truth to the world. Maithili: सत्यक स्तम्भ आ आधार (satyak stambh ā ādhār). Risk: Critical. Grounded reason: सत्य (“truth”) is also a cardinal Hindu ethical-philosophical virtue (a core Vedantic/Yogic value, and the object of the popular regional Satyanarayan vrat/katha devotional observance) generally meaning truthfulness as a moral quality anyone may cultivate. Biblical ἀλήθεια here names the specific, revealed content of apostolic gospel doctrine that the church is uniquely entrusted to uphold — not a generalized philosophical or ethical ideal of truth-telling available to any tradition. A translator note distinguishing these two senses is required at every occurrence.
μυστήριον τῆς εὐσεβείας (mystērion tēs eusebeias) — [NEW] Parallels μυστήριον τῆς πίστεως (3:9). εὐσέβεια = “godliness” (see Ch.2/Ch.4/Ch.6 entry below). Maithili: परमेश्वरनिष्ठाक रहस्य. Risk: Critical (compounds the risk of both रहस्य and परमेश्वरनिष्ठा; see those entries).
The six hymn-lines (ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί, ἐδικαιώθη ἐν πνεύματι, ὤφθη ἀγγέλοις, ἐκηρύχθη ἐν ἔθνεσιν, ἐπιστεύθη ἐν κόσμῳ, ἀνελήμφθη ἐν δόξῃ):
- ἐφανερώθη ἐν σαρκί (“manifested in flesh”) — [Critical, connects directly to the baseline’s देहधारण/incarnation entry] Maithili: देहमे प्रकट भेला. Risk: Critical. Must carry (or footnote-reference) the same distinguishing note required at every incarnation occurrence per the baseline: the eternal Son’s unique, permanent assumption of human nature, categorically distinct from Mithila’s own Ram/Krishna avatar-descent narratives.
- ἐδικαιώθη ἐν πνεύματι (“vindicated/justified in [the] Spirit”) — [NEW, related to but distinct from the baseline’s justification/धर्मी घोषित कएल जाएब term] Here δικαιόω means “vindicated, shown/proved to be right,” not the soteriological “declared righteous by faith.” Maithili: आत्माद्वारा प्रमाणित भेला (“proven/vindicated by the Spirit”). Risk: High. A translator note is required distinguishing this Christological vindication sense from the salvific justification sense fixed in the baseline, to prevent the two contexts collapsing into one rendering.
- ὤφθη ἀγγέλοις (“seen by angels”) — [NEW] ἄγγελος = “messenger,” here heavenly messenger. Maithili: स्वर्गदूतगणद्वारा देखल गेला. Risk: Medium. Must not be rendered with देवता (a Hindu god/demigod term), which would wrongly place angels within the Hindu pantheon hierarchy.
- ἐκηρύχθη ἐν ἔθνεσιν (“proclaimed among the nations”) — reuse TM अन्यजाति (Gentiles/nations) + प्रचार (proclaim, from baseline सुसमाचार प्रचार). Maithili: अन्यजातिमे प्रचार कएल गेला. Risk: Medium (TM-consistent).
- ἐπιστεύθη ἐν κόσμῳ (“believed on in the world”) — [NEW] κόσμος = “world, ordered universe, human society.” Maithili: जगतमे विश्वास कएल गेला, using जगत (jagat) rather than संसार. Risk: High. Grounded reason: संसार, the more common Maithili/Hindi word for “world,” carries strong Hindu-philosophical weight as the cycle of worldly rebirth/illusion from which मोक्ष is sought — precisely the association the baseline’s salvation entry already flags as forbidden. जगत is the safer, established North Indian Bible-translation choice (cf. “परमेश्वरले जगतसँ एहन प्रेम कएलनि,” John 3:16 pattern) and should be adopted as the standing rendering for κόσμος throughout this curriculum.
- ἀνελήμφθη ἐν δόξῃ (“taken up in glory”) — reuse TM महिमा (glory) + [NEW] उठाओल गेला (“was taken up/received up”). Maithili: महिमामे उठाओल गेला. Risk: Medium-High. A brief note distinguishing this bodily ascension from regional bodily-translation-to-heaven narratives (e.g., Yudhishthira’s ascent in the Mahabharata) is worth including for teaching contexts, though the doctrinal core (Christ’s unique glorification) is less acutely at risk than the incarnation/resurrection terms.

PART B — WHOLE-BOOK CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER STUDY

Chapter 1 (1:1-20)

κατ’ ἐπιταγὴν θεοῦ (kat’ epitagēn theou, “by command of God,” 1:1) — [NEW] ἐπιταγή = “command, order, injunction.” Maithili: परमेश्वरक आज्ञासँ (parameśvarak ājñāsã̃). Risk: Medium. Reinforces Paul’s apostolic authority (reuse TM प्रेरित) as divinely mandated, not self-appointed — relevant background for the “Qualifications for Leadership” doctrine’s insistence on examined, not self-appointed, office.
ἐλπίς (elpis, “hope,” 1:1) — [NEW] Literal: “expectation.” English variants: “hope,” “expectation.” Contextual meaning: “Christ Jesus our hope” — confident expectation grounded in God’s character and promise, not wishful uncertainty. Maithili: आशा (āśā). Risk: High. Grounded reason: must be distinguished from fatalistic hoping tied to भाग्य/प्रारब्ध (fate/destiny), already flagged as forbidden in the baseline’s election and providence entries; biblical hope is certain because it is anchored in a personal, promise-keeping God, not the uncertain unfolding of impersonal fate.
γνήσιον τέκνον (gnēsion teknon, “true/genuine child,” 1:2) — [NEW] γνήσιος = “legitimate, genuine” (of birth). Maithili: सच्चा सन्तान. Risk: Low-Medium. Distinct from, though thematically resonant with, the baseline’s adoption (पुत्रत्व प्रदान) doctrine — here a mentor-disciple relationship metaphor, not the soteriological doctrine itself; keep the two distinct in teaching.
ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω (heterodidaskaleō, “to teach a different doctrine,” 1:3) — [NEW] ἕτερος = “other, different” + διδάσκω = “teach.” Maithili: भिन्न शिक्षा दैत रहब (bhinna śikṣā daita rahab, “to keep teaching a different/deviant teaching”). Risk: Critical. Central term for the “Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching” doctrine — names any teaching that departs from apostolic content, regardless of how sincerely held.
διδασκαλία (didaskalia, “teaching, doctrine”) — [NEW] Root term recurring throughout (1:10; 4:1, 6, 13, 16; 6:1, 3). Maithili: शिक्षा (śikṣā). Risk: Critical as the base term for the whole book’s central doctrine.
ὑγιαίνουσα διδασκαλία (hygiainousa didaskalia, “sound/healthy doctrine,” 1:10) — [NEW] ὑγιαίνω = “to be healthy” (medical metaphor, root of English “hygiene”). Maithili: स्वस्थ शिक्षा (svasth śikṣā, “healthy teaching”) — directly preserves the medical metaphor. Risk: Critical. This is the anchor term for “Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching” across the entire curriculum and must be rendered identically at every occurrence (1:10; 6:3; cf. 2 Tim/Titus in later curricula).
μῦθοι (mythoi, “myths,” 1:4; cf. 4:7) — [NEW] Literal: “tales, stories.” Maithili: कल्पित कथा (kalpit kathā, “invented/fictional tale”), deliberately avoiding मिथ्या (which carries Advaita philosophical weight, “the phenomenal world is मिथ्या/illusory”). Risk: High. Grounded reason: Mithila is itself the geographic and narrative home of the Ramayana and a rich regional epic/Puranic storytelling tradition; teaching materials must make clear Paul condemns specific speculative tales promoted as church doctrine within the Ephesian congregation, not the region’s own cultural narrative heritage broadly — mishandling this term risks either doctrinal confusion or needless cultural offense.
γενεαλογίαι (genealogiai, “genealogies,” 1:4) — [NEW] Maithili: वंशावली (vanśāvalī, “lineage list”). Risk: Critical. Grounded reason: वंशावली is precisely the term for the genealogical records maintained through Mithila’s Panjikaran system (already flagged in the baseline’s apostle entry as a live social institution verifying caste-lineage purity for marriage). Paul’s warning is against speculative doctrinal use of genealogies (likely proto-Gnostic aeon-genealogies), not a critique of genealogical record-keeping as a social practice; a translator note preventing this from being heard as an attack on Panjikaran itself is essential.
ἐκζήτησις (ekzētēsis, “speculation,” 1:4) — [NEW] Maithili: काल्पनिक विवाद (kālpanik vivād, “speculative controversy”). Risk: Medium.
νόμος (nomos, “law,” 1:8-9) — [TM-REUSE] Maithili: व्यवस्था, exactly as fixed in baseline. Risk: High (per baseline).
συνείδησις (syneidēsis, “conscience,” 1:5, 19) — [NEW] See full treatment at 3:9 above; Maithili: विवेक. Risk: High (recurring across the book — 1:5, 1:19, 3:9, 4:2).
ἀνυπόκριτος πίστις (anypokritos pistis, “sincere/unhypocritical faith,” 1:5) — [NEW, TM-REUSE root] Maithili: निष्कपट विश्वास (niṣkapaṭ biswas). Risk: Medium.
ναυαγέω (nauageō, “to shipwreck,” 1:19, metaphor for ruined faith) — [NEW] Maithili: विश्वासक जहाज डूबब (biswasak jahāj ḍūbab). Risk: Low-Medium. Practical note (not doctrinal): Mithila is a riverine floodplain region without a strong seafaring tradition, so this maritime metaphor may need a brief explanatory gloss for full comprehension, distinct from any theological risk.
παραδίδωμι τῷ Σατανᾷ (“deliver to Satan,” 1:20) — [NEW] Maithili: शैतानक हाथ सौंपब (śaitānak hāth sã̃upab). Reuses शैतान (see 3:6-7 entry). Risk: High.
βλάσφημος (blasphēmos, “blasphemer,” 1:13, 20; cf. 6:1, 4) — [NEW] Maithili: निन्दक (nindak, “reviler/blasphemer”). Risk: Medium.
ἔλεος (eleos, “mercy,” 1:2, 13, 16) — [NEW] Distinct from χάρις (grace, TM-fixed as अनुग्रह — unmerited favor addressing guilt/status). ἔλεος addresses misery/need with compassion. Maithili: दया (dayā) — note baseline’s grace entry lists दया among rejected alternatives for grace specifically; here, for the distinct Greek word ἔλεος, दया is the appropriate and available rendering. Risk: Medium. Translator note: keep अनुग्रह and दया distinct — grace addresses guilt/standing, mercy addresses need/misery.
μακροθυμία (makrothymia, “patience, longsuffering,” 1:16) — [NEW] Maithili: धीरज. Risk: Low.
ζωὴ αἰώνιος (zōē aiōnios, “eternal life,” 1:16) — [NEW] Maithili: अनन्त जीवन (ananta jīvan). Risk: High. Grounded reason: must be distinguished both from the Hindu philosophical doctrine of the soul’s (Atman’s) inherent immortality, and from मोक्ष (liberation from rebirth) already forbidden in the baseline’s salvation entry — this is resurrection life given by God through Christ, not an innate eternal property of the self nor an escape from a cycle.
Doxology (1:17): βασιλεῖ τῶν αἰώνων, ἀφθάρτῳ, ἀοράτῳ, μόνῳ θεῷ (“to the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God”) — [NEW] Maithili: अनन्त राजा, अविनाशी, अदृश्य, एकमात्र परमेश्वर. Risk: High. This string of divine attributes functions apologetically against polytheism (“only God,” एकमात्र परमेश्वर) — retain the exclusivity unqualified, echoing the baseline’s caution on देवता/multiple-deity frameworks.
καλὴ στρατεία (“the good warfare,” 1:18) — [NEW] Maithili: नीक युद्ध (metaphor for spiritual struggle). Risk: Low.
παραγγελία (parangelia, “charge, instruction,” 1:5, 18) — [NEW] Maithili: आदेश/जिम्मेवारी (ādeś/jimmevārī, “charge/responsibility”). Risk: Medium. First occurrence of the “entrusted charge” theme that culminates in the “guard the deposit” language of 6:20 (see Ch.6) — part of the “Guarding the Deposit of Faith” doctrine.

Chapter 2 (2:1-15)

προσευχαί, δεήσεις, ἐντεύξεις, εὐχαριστίαι (2:1 — “prayers, petitions/supplications, intercessions, thanksgivings”) — [NEW, with εὐχαριστία TM-REUSE] Four near-synonyms for prayer piled up for emphasis. Maithili: प्रार्थना, बिनती, निवेदन, धन्यवाद (the last, धन्यवाद, exactly as fixed in baseline). Risk: Medium. Central vocabulary for the “Public Worship and Prayer” doctrine; निवेदन (intercession/petition here) is a distinct word from the baseline’s मध्यस्थता (used for the Spirit’s/Christ’s intercession in Romans 8) — keep the two contexts distinguishable: निवेदन/बिनती = the congregation’s prayers for others; मध्यस्थता = Christ’s/the Spirit’s unique intercessory work.
εὐσέβεια (eusebeia, “godliness,” 2:2; cf. 3:16; 4:7-8; 6:3, 5-6, 11) — [NEW] Literal: “good reverence/worship” (εὖ + σέβομαι, “to revere”). English variants: “godliness,” “piety,” “devotion to God.” Contextual meaning: an entire devoted, God-oriented way of life — the central term for this curriculum’s “Godliness and Contentment” doctrine. Maithili: परमेश्वरनिष्ठा (parameśvar-niṣṭhā, “steadfast devotion to God”), coined by pairing the TM-fixed परमेश्वर with निष्ठा (“steadfast devotion/loyalty”). Alternatives rejected: भक्ति — rejected because the baseline already documents भक्ति’s deep association with Mithila’s Ram-Sita and Shiva devotional bhakti tradition (celebrated through Vidyapati’s poetry); using it again here for “godliness,” alongside its existing exclusion from “faith,” would blur the very distinction the baseline worked to establish. धर्मपरायणता — rejected because it retains the धर्म root already forbidden for “righteousness”/“law” due to cosmic-duty connotations. Risk: Critical. This term recurs across four chapters and anchors a named curriculum doctrine; consistency and the rejection rationale must be preserved throughout Phase 2.
σεμνότης (semnotēs, “dignity,” 2:2) — reuse from 3:4 entry, Maithili गम्भीरता. Risk: Medium.
σωτήρ (sōtēr, “Savior,” 2:3; cf. 1:1; 4:10) — [NEW, built directly on TM उद्धार root] Maithili: उद्धारकर्ता (uddhārkartā, “the one who accomplishes उद्धार/deliverance”). Risk: Critical. Must never be rendered with a term suggesting one deliverer among many (as in a multi-avatar framework); reinforces the baseline salvation entry’s exclusivity.
μεσίτης (mesitēs, “mediator,” 2:5) — [NEW] Literal: “one who stands in the middle.” English variants: “mediator,” “go-between,” “intermediary.” Contextual meaning: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” — the central term for this curriculum’s “Christ as the One Mediator” doctrine. Maithili: मध्यस्थ (madhyastha), built on the same root as the baseline’s मध्यस्थता (intercession). Risk: Critical. Grounded reason: this is one of the most acute collision points in the whole curriculum. Mithila’s devotional and social life is structured around numerous ritual and spiritual intermediaries — the Maithil Brahmin priest performing puja/yajña on a devotee’s behalf, the guru as a necessary intermediary to divine knowledge, and the multiplicity of approachable avatars/deities functioning as accessible intermediaries to a more remote ultimate reality (Brahman). The single-word claim “one mediator” (εἷς μεσίτης) directly and deliberately excludes this entire structure of plural or professional religious intermediation. This term requires mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence and should never be rendered in a way that leaves room for supplementary human or angelic mediators alongside Christ.
ἀντίλυτρον (antilytron, “ransom,” 2:6) — [NEW, built on TM छुटकारा] Literal: “a ransom paid in exchange/in place of.” Maithili: छुटकारा-मूल्य (chuṭkārā-mūlya, “ransom-price”), reusing baseline’s छुटकारा exactly as permitted “for redemption in specific rescue-narrative contexts” — this is precisely such a context. Risk: Critical.
μαρτύριον (martyrion, “testimony,” 2:6) — [NEW] Maithili: गवाही. Risk: Medium.
κῆρυξ (kēryx, “herald/preacher,” 2:7) — [NEW] Maithili: प्रचारक (pracārak), built on TM प्रचार root. Risk: Low-Medium.
διδάσκαλος ἐθνῶν (didaskalos ethnōn, “teacher of the Gentiles,” 2:7) — reuse TM अन्यजाति exactly: अन्यजातिक शिक्षक. Risk: Medium (per baseline gentiles entry).
κόσμιος, αἰδώς, σωφροσύνη (2:9, women’s modest adornment/self-control) — [NEW] Maithili: मर्यादित वस्त्र, लाज, संयम (“modest dress, becoming modesty, self-control”). Risk: Medium-High. Must be framed as an appeal to inward character (self-mastery) expressed appropriately, not a rule primarily about external dress-policing that could reinforce existing regional expectations around women’s modesty and honor (a live cultural dynamic in Mithila’s household-honor system) disconnected from the text’s own inward emphasis.
ἡσυχία (hēsychia, “quietness/silence,” 2:11-12) — [NEW] Maithili: शांतिपूर्वक (“peaceably, quietly”). Risk: High. This term and the surrounding verses (2:11-14) constitute one of the most exegetically and pastorally sensitive passages in the letter; render literally without softening or expanding, and flag for mandatory theologian review with accompanying interpretive-options documentation rather than a single silently-resolved rendering.
αὐθεντεῖν (authentein, “to exercise/domineer authority over,” 2:12) — [NEW] Rare verb with disputed semantic range: “to have authority over” vs. “to domineer/usurp authority over.” Maithili: प्रभुत्व जमाएब (“to assert/impose dominance”), chosen to lean toward the “domineer” sense pending translator-committee decision; flag prominently. Risk: Critical. Requires theologian review with documentation of the interpretive options before Phase 2 finalization — this single rare word significantly affects how the whole verse is understood.
παράβασις (parabasis, “transgression,” 2:14) — [NEW] Maithili: अपराध. Risk: Low.
σῴζω διὰ τῆς τεκνογονίας (“saved through childbearing,” 2:15) — [NEW, TM-REUSE उद्धार root for σῴζω] One of the most debated cruxes in the letter. Maithili: सन्तान जन्मक द्वारा उद्धार, with mandatory explanatory framing (options include: reference to the promise of Genesis 3:15’s childbearing motif; “kept safe through the process of childbirth”; or “saved while continuing faithfully in the domestic/motherhood role”). Risk: Critical. Must never be rendered in a way that implies उद्धार (the baseline’s Critical, exclusively Christ-and-faith-based salvation term) can be earned or supplemented through a work, ritual, or biological process — this would directly contradict the doctrine of grace (अनुग्रह) already established as Critical in the baseline. Mandatory theologian review.

Chapter 3 — see Part A above (core passage 3:1-13, plus 3:14-16 covered as the chapter’s continuation). No additional new terms beyond those already treated.

Chapter 4 (4:1-16)

πνεύματα πλάνα (pneumata plana, “deceiving spirits,” 4:1) — [NEW] πλάνος = “wandering, leading astray.” Maithili: भ्रामक आत्मा (bhrāmak ātmā). Risk: High. Grounded reason: must be distinguished both from folk-belief भूत-प्रेत (malevolent ghost-spirits in village animist practice) and from the philosophical/Vedantic sense of आत्मा as the individual Self — here आत्मा denotes a personal, deceiving spiritual entity opposed to God, requiring qualification (भ्रामक) at every occurrence to prevent both confusions.
διδασκαλίαι δαιμονίων (didaskaliai daimoniōn, “teachings of demons,” 4:1) — [NEW] Maithili: दुष्टात्माक शिक्षा (duṣṭātmāk śikṣā, “teaching of evil spirits”), built on the शिक्षा root already fixed as Critical in Ch.1. Risk: High. Central supporting term for “Sound Doctrine versus False Teaching.”
κωλυόντων γαμεῖν (“forbidding marriage,” 4:3) — [NEW] Maithili: बिआह रोकब. Risk: Medium.
ἀπέχεσθαι βρωμάτων (“abstain from foods,” 4:3) — [NEW] Maithili: भोजनसँ परहेज. Risk: Medium. Note: this false asceticism must not be confused with legitimate biblical fasting; the text specifically critiques teaching that abstinence is required for holiness, a point with real pastoral relevance given widespread regional religious fasting (vrat) practices tied to merit and ritual purity.
ἁγιάζεται (hagiazetai, “is sanctified,” 4:5) — [TM-REUSE root] Maithili: पवित्र कएल जाएब, built on TM पवित्र. Risk: High (per baseline sanctification entry).
σωματικὴ γυμνασία (“bodily training,” 4:8) — [NEW] Maithili: शारीरिक अभ्यास. Risk: Low.
σωτὴρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων (“Savior of all people,” 4:10) — reuse उद्धारकर्ता (see Ch.2). Risk: Critical (consistency).
τύπος (typos, “example, pattern,” 4:12) — [NEW] Maithili: आदर्श. Risk: Low.
ἀνάγνωσις, παράκλησις, διδασκαλία (“public reading, exhortation, teaching,” 4:13) — [NEW/TM-REUSE] Maithili: पाठ, उत्साहवर्धन, शिक्षा — उत्साहवर्धन built on TM उत्साहित करब (exhort). Risk: Low-Medium.
χάρισμα (charisma, “gift,” 4:14) — reuse TM आत्मिक वरदान exactly. Risk: Medium (per baseline).
προφητεία (prophēteia, “prophecy,” 4:14) — reuse TM भविष्यवाणी exactly. Risk: Low (per baseline).
ἐπίθεσις τῶν χειρῶν (“laying on of hands,” 4:14) — [NEW] Maithili: हाथ रखबाक विधि (hāth rakhabāk vidhi, “the rite of laying on of hands”). Risk: High. Grounded reason: this ordination gesture risks being assimilated to guru-diksha, the Hindu initiatory rite in which a guru lays hands on or whispers a mantra to a disciple, transmitting mystical power/lineage authority. The biblical rite must be explained as a public, congregational commissioning that recognizes and confirms a Spirit-given gift already at work (4:14b), not a mystical transmission of power from one person to another.
πρεσβυτέριον (presbyterion, “council/body of elders,” 4:14) — [NEW, built on the elder-office root] Maithili: प्राचीन-सभा (prācīn-sabhā). Risk: Medium-High. Ties directly to the “Qualifications for Church Leadership” doctrine — collective eldership, not a single figure’s individual authority.
προκοπή (prokopē, “progress,” 4:15) — [NEW, built on the baseline’s उन्नति root from mutual_edification] Maithili: उन्नति. Risk: Low.

Chapter 5 (5:1-25)

πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros, “elder,” used generically for older men/women at 5:1-2, and as the office-title at 5:17, 19) — [NEW] Literal: “older person, elder.” Maithili: प्राचीन (prācīn). Risk: Critical. Grounded reason: functions in this letter both generically (“an older man/woman,” 5:1-2) and as the technical office-title interchangeable with ἐπίσκοπος (overseer, 3:1-13; cf. 5:17 “elders who rule well”). A translator note distinguishing the generic-age sense from the office sense at each occurrence is required. Also: must not be conflated with the village-panchayat “बुजुर्ग/प्राचीन” authority structure, which in Mithila is often bound to caste and lineage seniority (Panjikaran-adjacent); this congregational office is open to any man meeting the examined qualifications of chapter 3, not an inherited or caste-bound seniority.
χήρα (chēra, “widow,” throughout 5:3-16) — [NEW] Maithili: विधवा (vidhwā). Risk: Critical. Grounded reason: this is the anchor term for the curriculum’s “Care for Widows and the Household of Faith” doctrine, and it lands in a region with a strong historical tradition of social marginalization of widows — restricted remarriage (a landmark 19th-century reform issue across Bihar/Bengal, associated with Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar’s widow-remarriage movement), exclusion from auspicious ceremonies, and mourning-dress customs. Paul’s instructions — material support from the church (5:3-10, 16), and explicit encouragement that younger widows remarry (5:14, “I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households”) — are sharply counter-cultural against traditional restrictions on widow remarriage. Teaching materials must make this counter-cultural dignifying of widows explicit rather than allowing it to be silently absorbed into existing cultural assumptions about widowhood.
τιμή / διπλῆ τιμή (“honor” / “double honor,” 5:3, 17) — [NEW] Maithili: सम्मान / दोहरा सम्मान. Risk: High. Note required: “double honor” for elders who labor in preaching/teaching (5:17) includes both respect and material support/remuneration, clarified by the following verse’s quotation (“the laborer deserves his wages,” 5:18) — must not be reduced to verbal respect alone.
τὴν πίστιν ἠρνήσατο (“has denied the faith,” 5:8) — [NEW, TM-REUSE विश्वास root] Maithili: विश्वासक इन्कार करब. Risk: High. Strong language (failing to provide for one’s own household is equated with denying the faith) must not be softened.
ἀπίστου χείρων (“worse than an unbeliever,” 5:8) — reuse TM विश्वास-negative root: अविश्वासीसँ बेसी बेजाए. Risk: Medium.
καταλέγω (katalegō, “to enroll,” 5:9) — [NEW] Maithili: सूचीबद्ध. Risk: Low-Medium.
ἁγνεία / ἁγνός (“purity,” 5:2, 22) — [NEW, built on TM पवित्र root, deliberately not शुद्ध] Maithili: पवित्रता. Risk: High. Consistent with baseline’s caution against शुद्ध for its ritual-purity/lineage-purity overtones (Panjikaran-adjacent); this is moral/relational purity in how one treats others, not ritual cleanliness.
ἐπιτιμάω / ἐλέγχω (“rebuke,” 5:1, 20) — [NEW] Maithili: डपटब (कोमलतासँ) / चेतावनी देब, with 5:1 specifying a gentle manner toward an older man (“do not rebuke [ἐπιπλήσσω] an older man but encourage him as a father”) distinct from the public rebuke commanded for persistent sin in 5:20. Risk: Medium.
πρόσκλισις (prosklisis, “partiality,” 5:21) — [NEW] Maithili: पक्षपात. Risk: Low.

Chapter 6 (6:1-21)

δοῦλος (doulos, “bondservant/slave,” 6:1-2) — [NEW] Maithili: दास. Risk: High. Grounded reason: Mithila has its own history of caste-linked bonded labor (e.g., the historic Kamiya system); teaching on this passage must make explicit that Paul addresses a specific first-century social institution without thereby endorsing any caste-based or hereditary system of servitude as a divinely sanctioned social order — an important pastoral-sensitivity flag for Phase 2 review.
δεσπότης (despotēs, “master,” 6:1-2) — [NEW] Maithili: स्वामी (svāmī). Risk: Medium. Deliberate design note: स्वामी was rejected in the baseline for divine “Lord” (κύριος/प्रभु) precisely to avoid ambiguity between a human master and the exclusive divine Lord; here, for δεσπότης’s genuinely human referent, स्वामी is safely and helpfully repurposed, reinforcing rather than undermining the baseline’s प्रभु-exclusivity for God/Christ.
ὑγιαίνοντες λόγοι (“sound words,” 6:3) — reuse स्वस्थ root from Ch.1: स्वस्थ वचन. Risk: Critical (consistency with the anchor sound-doctrine term).
νομίζοντες πορισμὸν εἶναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν (“imagining that godliness is a means of gain,” 6:5) — [NEW, reuse परमेश्वरनिष्ठा] Maithili: परमेश्वरनिष्ठाकेँ लाभक साधन बुझब. Risk: Critical. Directly and explicitly warns against monetizing/professionalizing the very term (परमेश्वरनिष्ठा) that anchors the “Godliness and Contentment” doctrine — must be rendered so the warning clearly attaches to the same vocabulary used positively elsewhere (2:2; 3:16; 4:7-8; 6:11), not a different word that would obscure the connection.
αὐτάρκεια (autarkeia, “contentment/self-sufficiency,” 6:6) — [NEW] Literal: “self-sufficiency.” English variants: “contentment,” “sufficiency.” Contextual meaning: “godliness with contentment is great gain” — a settled satisfaction rooted in trusting God’s provision, paired directly with परमेश्वरनिष्ठा. Maithili: सन्तोष (santoṣ). Risk: Critical. Grounded reason: सन्तोष is simultaneously the standard, natural Maithili/Hindi word for contentment and one of the most culturally loaded terms available — it is a named Yogic virtue (one of Patanjali’s niyamas) and, still more specifically, the object of devotion to Santoshi Maa, a popular goddess of contentment widely venerated across North India (including Bihar) through a well-known Friday vrat (fasting rite), reinforced regionally by the widely-seen 1975 film “Jai Santoshi Maa.” Retaining सन्तोष (there is no viable alternative that preserves natural comprehensibility) is necessary, but every occurrence requires an explicit distinguishing note: biblical contentment is relational trust in a personal Father’s provision flowing from godliness, not a virtue cultivated through austerity/vrat toward a goddess of provision, nor a merit accumulated through disciplined practice.
φιλαργυρία (philargyria, “love of money,” 6:10) — reuse root established at 3:3 (ἀφιλάργυρος). Maithili: धनलोभ. Risk: High.
ῥίζα πάντων τῶν κακῶν (“a root of all kinds of evils,” 6:10) — [NEW] Maithili: सभ प्रकारक बुराइक एक जड़ (deliberately rendering “a root of all kinds of evils,” not the popular misquotation “the root of all evil,” to avoid overstating the claim beyond the Greek). Risk: Medium (accuracy/precision flag rather than a cultural-collision flag).
ἄνθρωπος θεοῦ (“man of God,” 6:11) — [NEW] Maithili: परमेश्वरक जन (parameśvarak jan), echoing baseline’s पवित्र जन (saints) construction for consistency. Risk: Medium.
ἀγωνίζου τὸν καλὸν ἀγῶνα τῆς πίστεως (“fight the good fight of faith,” 6:12) — [NEW, TM-REUSE विश्वास] Maithili: विश्वासक नीक लड़ाइ लड़ब. Risk: Medium.
καλὴ ὁμολογία (“the good confession,” 6:12-13) — [NEW] Maithili: उत्तम अंगीकार (uttam aṅgīkār). Risk: High. Cross-references the baseline’s fixed Romans 10:9 confession (“यीशु प्रभु छथि”) — Timothy’s own confession and Christ’s confession before Pilate belong to the same pattern of public, costly confession of Christ’s Lordship; keep this connection visible in teaching notes.
βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων καὶ κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων (“King of kings and Lord of lords,” 6:15) — [NEW, TM-REUSE प्रभु + राज्य root] Maithili: राजाधिराज आ प्रभुक प्रभु. Risk: Critical. This doxological title asserts absolute supremacy over every rival throne and lordship — a claim with particular resonance given Mithila’s own historic self-understanding as the ancient kingdom of Raja Janak (already flagged in the baseline’s kingdom_of_god entry); must be rendered with full, unqualified supremacy intact.
ἀθανασία (athanasia, “immortality,” 6:16) — [NEW] Maithili: अमरत्व (amaratva). Risk: High. Grounded reason: must be distinguished from both the Hindu philosophical doctrine of the soul’s inherent immortality and from the celebrated Puranic myth of amrita, the nectar of immortality churned from the cosmic ocean (Samudra Manthan) — here immortality is God’s exclusive, uncreated attribute, not a substance or state any being might attain or be granted through cosmic effort.
φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον (“dwelling in unapproachable light,” 6:16) — [NEW] Maithili: अगम्य प्रकाशमे रहनिहार, deliberately using प्रकाश rather than ज्योति/तेज (per the baseline glory entry’s caution against light-imagery terms carrying Puranic divine-luster associations). Risk: Medium-High.
τὴν παραθήκην φύλαξον (“guard the deposit entrusted to you,” 6:20) — [NEW] παραθήκη = “a deposit, something entrusted for safekeeping.” English variants: “the deposit,” “that which was committed to your trust,” “the treasure entrusted to you.” Contextual meaning: the anchor term for this curriculum’s “Guarding the Deposit of Faith” doctrine — the apostolic gospel content entrusted to Timothy (and the church) for faithful preservation and transmission, not personal innovation. Maithili: धरोहर (dharohar, “an entrusted deposit/heritage-trust”) + verb रक्षा करब: धरोहरक रक्षा करब. Risk: Critical. Grounded reason: धरोहर is also the natural Maithili word for cherished cultural heritage (Vidyapati’s poetry, Madhubani art, the region’s Ramayana associations) — a note is needed clarifying that the specific content being guarded here is the apostolic gospel/sound doctrine entrusted through Paul, not a general appeal to protect regional cultural heritage, however proudly held.
ψευδώνυμος γνῶσις (“falsely called knowledge,” 6:20) — [NEW] ψευδώνυμος = “falsely named”; γνῶσις = “knowledge.” Maithili: मिथ्या नामसँ ज्ञान (mithyā nāmasã̃ jñān, “knowledge falsely so-named”). Risk: Critical. Grounded reason: this is one of the most theologically loaded collisions in the entire curriculum. γνῶσις (gnōsis) and ज्ञान (jñāna) are near-exact semantic parallels, and ज्ञान is the central term of Jnana marga/Jnana yoga, one of the principal Hindu paths to liberation (moksha) through esoteric, liberating self-knowledge (the union of Atman and Brahman) — a tradition as pan-Indian and well-established as the bhakti tradition the baseline already treats with great care. Paul’s critique of ψευδώνυμος γνῶσις (likely addressing an early proto-Gnostic teaching claiming special spiritual knowledge) should be retained as a critique of specific false teaching within the church, not generalized into, or confused with, a blanket dismissal of the broader Hindu Jnana tradition. Mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence, with explicit teaching notes preventing either syncretistic conflation or unintended interreligious offense.

End of semantic analysis. See analysis/08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated per-term glossary table covering every chapter of 1 Timothy.

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