Core Glossary
08 Core Glossary — Matthew — English → Malayalam
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, drawn from all 28 chapters of Matthew. Terms already established in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [REUSE] and must be rendered exactly as recorded there — no substitution permitted. Terms new to this curriculum are marked [NEW] and are proposed here for addition to translation memory, pending theologian review for Critical/High tier items per the baseline’s escalation rules.
Risk tiers and review routing follow the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json conventions exactly: Critical/High → Human theologian review; Medium → Native speaker review; Low → Automated review.
1. Kingdom of Heaven / Kingdom of God
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Malayalam | Malayalam translit. | Risk | Status | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingdom of heaven | βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν | basileia tōn ouranōn | സ്വർഗ്ഗരാജ്യം | svargarajyam | High | NEW | 3,4,5,7,8,10,11,13,16,18,19,20,22,23,25 | Matthew’s near-exclusive preferred phrase (~32x), distinct in wording from the baseline’s ദൈവരാജ്യം (Kingdom of God, used elsewhere in NT and already Medium risk in baseline). Malayalam Bible tradition renders it സ്വർഗ്ഗരാജ്യം (“heaven’s kingdom”), a separate established compound from ദൈവരാജ്യം. Both phrases denote the identical reality — God’s sovereign reign — and translator notes must make clear these are stylistic variants of one doctrine, not two different kingdoms, while still preserving Matthew’s specific wording choice for stylistic/citation fidelity. Elevated above the baseline’s Medium tier because Matthew’s heavy repetition makes any inconsistency highly visible across the curriculum. |
| Kingdom of God | βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ | basileia tou Theou | ദൈവരാജ്യം | daivarajyam | Medium | [REUSE] | 12,21 | Baseline term, reused exactly. Matthew uses this form only rarely (12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43), making it a useful direct terminological bridge back to the Romans curriculum. |
2. Christology: Messiah, Son of David, Son of God, Son of Man, Lord
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Malayalam | Malayalam translit. | Risk | Status | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christ / Messiah | Χριστός | Christos | ക്രിസ്തു | kristu | Critical | [REUSE] | 1,2,11,16,22,23,24,26,27 | Baseline term, reused exactly. Never മിശിഹാ in this curriculum’s Bible-study register (legitimate liturgical alternative only). |
| Son of God | υἱὸς Θεοῦ | huios Theou | ദൈവപുത്രന് | daivaputhran | Critical | [REUSE] | 3,4,14,16,26,27 | Baseline term, reused exactly. NEVER ദേവപുത്രന്. Reserved exclusively for Christ’s unique, eternal, singular Sonship — see distinct entry below for the plural believer-sonship of Matthew 5:9. |
| Sons of God (believers, plural/adoptive) | υἱοὶ Θεοῦ | huioi Theou | ദൈവപുത്രന്മാര് / ദൈവത്തിന്റെ മക്കള് | daivaputhranmar / daivathinte makkal | High | NEW | 5 | CRITICAL DISTINCTION FROM THE ABOVE SINGULAR TERM. Must never be rendered identically to ദൈവപുത്രന് (Christ’s unique title). Conceptually continuous with baseline’s Adoption doctrine (ദത്തുപുത്രത്വം). Every occurrence of plural “sons/children of God” applied to believers throughout Matthew and beyond must use this plural/generic form, never the Christological singular. |
| Son of David | υἱὸς Δαυίδ | huios Dauid | ദാവീദിന്റെ പുത്രന് | daveedinte puthran | High | NEW | 1,9,12,15,20,21,22 | Messianic title used in direct address to Jesus (distinct from the baseline’s lineage-phrase ദാവീദിന്റെ വംശത്തില്, “of the seed/lineage of David,” used for descent-statements like Romans 1:3). Doctrine: Jesus as Promised Messiah and Son of David. |
| Son of Man | υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | huios tou anthrōpou | മനുഷ്യപുത്രന് | manushyaputhran | Critical | NEW | 8,9,10,11,12,13,16,17,19,20,24,25,26 | Danielic (Dan 7:13-14) title holding together Christ’s true humanity and his divine authority to forgive sins, judge, and return in glory. Risk is that of flattening into a merely generic “human being” reading and losing the title’s judgment-authority force — an AI-drift risk of a different kind than the baseline’s usual competing-term risk. Must be rendered identically at every occurrence with a first-use gloss per document. |
| Lord | κύριος | kyrios | കര്ത്താവ് | karthavu | Critical | [REUSE] | 3(implicit),7,8,12,14,15,20,21,22,24,25 | Baseline term, reused exactly. Includes “Lord of the Sabbath” (12:8) and David’s-Lord riddle (22:41-45), both direct deity claims. |
| Immanuel | Ἐμμανουήλ | Emmanouēl | ഇമ്മാനുവേല് (ദൈവം നമ്മോടുകൂടെ) | immanuel (daivam nammodukoode) | Critical | NEW | 1,28 | Transliterate with gloss, per the baseline’s “Abba” pattern. Directly asserts deity of the incarnate Christ; echoed at the Gospel’s close (28:20, “I am with you always”). |
| Virgin | παρθένος | parthenos | കന്യക | kanyaka | High | NEW | 1 | Established Bible term, but carries devotional/mythological resonance via Kerala’s Kanyakumari (virgin-goddess) tradition. Must remain unmistakably a historical, miraculous, once-for-all virgin conception by the Holy Spirit. |
| Worship (of Christ) | προσκυνέω | proskyneō | ആരാധിക്കുക | aaradhikkuka | High | NEW | 2,8,9,14,15,20,28 | Must never be softened to mere honor (ബഹുമാനിക്കുക) when directed at Jesus; these occurrences affirm his deity. |
3. Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Malayalam | Malayalam translit. | Risk | Status | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fulfilled (Scripture) | πληρόω / ἐπληρώθη | plēroō / eplērōthē | നിറവേറുക / നിറവേറി | niraverruka / niraveri | High | NEW | 1,2,4,5,8,12,13,21,26,27 | Matthew’s signature fulfillment-formula (~12x), structurally organizing the whole Gospel. Consistency across every occurrence is essential. Doctrinal noun form aligns with the baseline Romans registry’s existing doctrine name പ്രവചനത്തിന്റെ നിവൃത്തി (fulfillment_of_prophecy). |
| Prophet(s) | προφήτης / προφῆται | prophētēs / prophētai | പ്രവാചകന് / പ്രവാചകന്മാര് | pravachakan / pravachakanmar | Low | [REUSE] | 1,2,3,5,7,11,13,21,23,24,26,27 | Baseline term, reused exactly. |
| Sign of Jonah (typology) | σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ | sēmeion Iōna | യോനായുടെ അടയാളം | yonayude adayalam | High | NEW | 12 | അടയാളം itself is low risk; flagged High because its typological payload is the Resurrection (Critical baseline doctrine). |
| Stone the builders rejected | λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες | lithon hon apedokimasan hoi oikodomountes | ചെയ്തുതീര്ത്തവര് തള്ളിയ കല്ല് | cheythutheerthavar thalliya kallu | High | NEW | 21 | Psalm 118:22 fulfillment citation; Messianic-typology risk tier. |
4. The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Malayalam | Malayalam translit. | Risk | Status | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authority | ἐξουσία | exousia | അധികാരം | adhikaram | High | NEW | 7,8,9,10,21,28 | Distinct from ദൈവത്തിന്റെ ശക്തി (power/might, baseline’s δύναμις term, Medium risk) — ἐξουσία is rightful, delegated authority to act/judge/forgive, not raw strength. Thesis term for this doctrine (7:29). |
| Taught (authoritatively) | διδάσκω | didaskō | പഠിപ്പിക്കുക | padippikkuka | Low | NEW | 5,7 | Standard verb; risk lies only in the ἐξουσία context surrounding it, not the verb itself. |
| Scribes | γραμματεῖς | grammateis | ശാസ്ത്രിമാര് | shastrimar | Low | NEW | 2,5,7,15,23 | Standard Malayalam Bible term for the Jewish scribal class; low ambiguity. |
5. Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Malayalam | Malayalam translit. | Risk | Status | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Righteousness | δικαιοσύνη | dikaiosynē | നീതി | neethi | High | [REUSE] | 3,5,6,21 | Baseline term (നീതി), reused exactly; NEVER ധര്മ്മം. Matthew’s usage spans both ethical-practice righteousness (Sermon on the Mount) and, more rarely, the forensic sense familiar from Romans — translator notes must flag which sense is active per occurrence. |
| Pharisees | Φαρισαῖοι | Pharisaioi | പരീശന്മാര് | pareeshanmar | Low | NEW | 3,5,9,12,15,19,22,23 | Established transliterated term across all Malayalam Christian traditions. |
| Hypocrite(s) | ὑποκριτής / ὑποκριταί | hypokritēs / hypokritai | കപടഭക്തന് / കപടഭക്തന്മാര് | kapatabhakthan / kapatabhakthanmar | Medium | NEW | 6,7,15,22,23,24 | Built on ഭക്തി (devotion) + കപട (false) — same root the baseline flags for ഭക്തി as rejected for “faith.” Critiques the falseness of religious performance, not devotion itself; requires a brief translator note distinguishing the two. |
| Mercy / merciful | ἔλεος / ἐλεήμων | eleos / eleēmōn | കരുണ / കരുണയുള്ളവര് | karuna / karunayullavar | High | NEW | 5,9,12 | Parallel risk profile to the baseline’s Grace doctrine: കരുണ is shared vocabulary with generalized Hindu/Buddhist-influenced ethical-compassion usage in Malayalam. Must be anchored explicitly in God’s character and priority over ritual (“mercy, not sacrifice,” 9:13/12:7), not a self-cultivated generic virtue. |
| Tradition of the elders | παράδοσις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων | paradosis tōn presbyterōn | പൂര്വ്വികരുടെ പാരമ്പര്യം | poorvikarude paramparyam | Medium | NEW | 15,23 | Must be clearly distinguished in context from ദൈവത്തിന്റെ കല്പ്പന (God’s actual commandment). |
| Perfect | τέλειος | teleios | പരിപൂര്ണ്ണന് | paripoornan | Medium | NEW | 5,19 | Covenantal wholeness/maturity of love, not flawless self-achieved sinlessness; must not read as a yogic/spiritual-perfection attainment. |
| Fulfill the Law | πληρῶσαι τὸν νόμον | plērōsai ton nomon | ന്യായപ്രമാണം നിറവേറ്റുക | nyayapramanam niraverruka | High | NEW | 5 | Combines baseline’s ന്യായപ്രമാണം (Law) with the fulfillment-verb; must avoid both an “abolition” and an “unchanged continuation” misreading — precise doctrinal balance required (5:17). |
| Law | νόμος | nomos | ന്യായപ്രമാണം | nyayapramanam | Medium | [REUSE] | 5,7,11,12,22,23 | Baseline term, reused exactly. Never ധര്മ്മം. |
6. The Church and Church Discipline
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Malayalam | Malayalam translit. | Risk | Status | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Church | ἐκκλησία | ekklēsia | സഭ | sabha | Medium | [REUSE] | 16,18 | Baseline term, reused exactly. Elevated attention warranted at 16:18 as the Gospel’s founding narrative moment for the term. |
| Bind (authoritative ruling) | δέω | deō | കെട്ടുക | kettuka | High | NEW | 16,18 | Rabbinic technical sense (authoritative ruling on what is/is not permitted), not merely literal imprisonment; heaven-ratified apostolic/church authority. |
| Loose (authoritative ruling) | λύω | lyō | അഴിക്കുക | azhikkuka | High | NEW | 16,18 | Paired with bind; must not read as a magical/incantational formula — this is forensic-declarative authority under heaven’s prior ratification. |
| Gates of Hades | πύλαι Ἅιδου | pylai Haidou | പാതാളത്തിന്റെ കവാടങ്ങള് | pathalathinte kavadangal | Medium | NEW | 16 | Church’s indestructibility against death’s power; distinct concept from eternal punishment (Gehenna) elsewhere in Matthew — brief note recommended. |
| Cause to stumble / offend | σκανδαλίζω | skandalizō | ഇടര്ച്ചയ്ക്ക് കാരണമാകുക | idarchaykk karanamakuka | Medium | NEW | 5,18 | Doctrinally weighty given the severe warnings attached in Matthew 18:6-9. |
| Gathered in my name | συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα | synēgmenoi eis to emon onoma | എന്റെ നാമത്തില് കൂടിവരുന്നിടത്ത് | ente naamathil koodivarunnidath | Medium | NEW | 18 | Christ’s own authority invoked over the gathered church body, not a generic prayer-meeting promise. |
7. The Great Commission
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Malayalam | Malayalam translit. | Risk | Status | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Make disciples | μαθητεύσατε | mathēteusate | ശിഷ്യരാക്കുവിന് | shishyarakkuvin | High | NEW | 28 | Causative verb of ശിഷ്യന് (disciple). Core Great Commission command. |
| Disciple(s) | μαθητής / μαθηταί | mathētēs / mathētai | ശിഷ്യന് / ശിഷ്യന്മാര് | shishyan / shishyanmar | Medium | NEW | 5,8,9,10,and throughout | Established Malayalam Bible term, but ശിഷ്യന് is also the ordinary word for a guru’s student in Hindu devotional/classical-arts contexts; context must preserve Jesus’s unique lordship over his disciples rather than a generic guru-shishya framing. |
| All nations | πάντα τὰ ἔθνη | panta ta ethnē | എല്ലാ ജനതകളും | ella janathakalum | Medium | [REUSE base term] | 24,25,28 | Baseline’s ജനതകള് (never ജാതികള്) reused; here in its maximal universal “all peoples of the earth” sense, not the narrower Jew/Gentile-contrast sense — translator notes should clarify scope. |
| Baptizing (Trinitarian formula) | βαπτίζοντες… εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος | baptizontes… eis to onoma tou Patros kai tou Huiou kai tou Hagiou Pneumatos | പിതാവിന്റെയും പുത്രന്റെയും പരിശുദ്ധാത്മാവിന്റെയും നാമത്തില് സ്നാനം കഴിപ്പിക്കുക | pithavinteyum puthrantheyum parishudhathmavintheyum naamathil snanam kazhippikkuka | Critical | NEW/[REUSE parts] | 3,28 | The NT’s clearest single-verse Trinitarian formula. Reuses baseline പിതാവ്, ദൈവപുത്രന്(here simply “the Son”), പരിശുദ്ധാത്മാവ് exactly; the single “name” (ὄνομα, singular) shared by three Persons must be preserved, not rendered as three separate names. |
| Baptism / to baptize | βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω | baptisma / baptizō | സ്നാനം | snanam | High | NEW | 3,28 | Established Malayalam Christian term, but shares its root with general Malayalam ritual-bathing vocabulary used in Hindu purification contexts; doctrinal content (identification with Christ, Trinitarian formula, once-for-all rite) must remain explicit. |
| Teaching to observe all I commanded | διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν | didaskontes autous tērein panta hosa eneteilamēn hymin | ഞാന് കല്പ്പിച്ചതെല്ലാം അനുസരിക്കാന് പഠിപ്പിക്കുക | njan kalppichathellam anusarikkan padippikkuka | Medium | NEW | 28 | Links Great Commission to Authority-of-Jesus’-Teaching and Righteousness doctrines — his commands, not scribal tradition, are the church’s rule of life. |
8. Judgment and the End of the Age
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Malayalam | Malayalam translit. | Risk | Status | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of the age | συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος | synteleia tou aiōnos | ലോകാവസാനം / കാലസമാപ്തി | lokavasanam / kalasamapthi | Critical | NEW | 13,24,28 | AVOID any യുഗ- (yuga) compound, e.g. യുഗാവസാനം or യുഗാന്തം: യുഗം is a heavily Hindu-cosmology-loaded term for one of the cyclically recurring cosmic ages (Satya/Treta/Dvapara/Kali Yuga). Matthew’s eschatology is linear and once-for-all, not cyclical; using a yuga-compound would reintroduce exactly the cyclical-time worldview the Gospel rejects, paralleling the baseline’s caution about പുനര്ജന്മം for resurrection. Use ലോകം (world) or കാലം (time/age in a non-cyclical sense) compounds instead. |
| Coming (of the Son of Man) / Parousia | παρουσία | parousia | ആഗമനം | aagamanam | Critical | NEW | 24 | Technical term for Christ’s singular, final, visible, personal return. Must not be assimilated into a repeatable avatar-descent pattern — extends the baseline’s forbidden-അവതാരം caution (Incarnation) to this related concept. |
| Great tribulation | θλῖψις μεγάλη | thlipsis megalē | മഹാപീഡനം | mahapeedanam | Medium | NEW | 24 | Standard eschatological-distress vocabulary. |
| Eternal (life / punishment) | αἰώνιος | aiōnios | നിത്യം (നിത്യജീവന് / നിത്യദണ്ഡനം) | nithyam (nithyajeevan / nithyadandanam) | High | NEW | 19,25 | Must be read as unending duration in a fixed final state, not liberation from or continuation within a rebirth cycle — parallel risk category to the baseline’s മോക്ഷം/മുക്തി/പുനര്ജന്മം caution. The same word must be used for both eternal life and eternal punishment to preserve Matthew’s deliberate parallelism (25:46). |
| Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit | βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα | blasphēmia eis to Pneuma | പരിശുദ്ധാത്മാവിനെതിരെയുള്ള ദൂഷണം | parishudhathmavinetireyulla dooshanam | Critical | NEW | 12 | The unpardonable sin; combines new term ദൂഷണം with baseline’s Critical പരിശുദ്ധാത്മാവ്. Requires precise, unambiguous rendering and a translator note distinguishing it from ordinary sin. |
| Mystery (of the kingdom) | μυστήριον | mystērion | രഹസ്യം | rahasyam | Medium | NEW | 13 | Revealed-yet-previously-hidden truth, not esoteric/occult secret requiring special initiation. |
| Parable | παραβολή | parabolē | ഉപമ | upama | Low | NEW | 13 (and throughout) | Standard, widely used, doctrinally safe term. |
| Ransom | λύτρον | lytron | മറുവില | maruvila | Critical | NEW | 20 | Substitutionary price-paid-for-captives atonement term; must not be softened to a vague “sacrifice” or “help.” Directly tied to baseline’s Salvation/Imputed Righteousness Critical doctrines. |
9. Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
| Term | Greek | Translit. | Malayalam | Malayalam translit. | Risk | Status | Chapters | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Follow | ἀκολουθέω | akoloutheō | അനുഗമിക്കുക | anugamikkuka | Medium | NEW | 4,8,9,16,19 | Technical discipleship term for total, life-reordering commitment, not casual accompaniment. |
| Cross (take up one’s) | σταυρός | stauros | ക്രൂശ് | krooshu | Medium | NEW | 16,27 | Standard Bible-translation term; കുരിശ് is a legitimate heritage-liturgical alternative (Catholic/Orthodox devotional usage) parallel to the baseline’s Jesus/Isho and Christ/Mishiha treatment. ക്രൂശ് recommended for this curriculum’s register. |
| Life / soul (in “lose your life” sayings) | ψυχή | psychē | ജീവന് | jeevan | High | NEW | 10,16 | Recommend ജീവന് (life), NOT ആത്മാവ് (soul/spirit), in this specific saying-type. ആത്മാവ് risks importing the Hindu/Vedantic ātman concept (the individual self ultimately merged into the impersonal Absolute), producing a “lose your self to merge with the Absolute” misreading foreign to Jesus’s meaning of finding renewed personal life in relationship with Christ. |
| Blessed | μακάριος | makarios | ഭാഗ്യവാന് | bhagyavan | High | NEW | 5 | Established rendering, but ഭാഗ്യം is Malayalam’s ordinary word for luck/fortune, carrying karma/fate-adjacent connotations in general and Hindu-devotional usage. Must be read as God’s specific declared favor/approval, not luck or accumulated merit. |
| Reward | μισθός | misthos | പ്രതിഫലം | prathiphalam | Medium | NEW | 5,10,20 | Ordinary secular word for wages/earned payment; flag in grace-sensitive contexts (6:1-18; 20:1-16) so it is not misread as autonomously earned merit contradicting the baseline’s Grace doctrine. |
| Persecuted | διώκω (pf. pass. δεδιωγμένοι) | diōkō | ഉപദ്രവിക്കപ്പെടുന്നവര് / പീഡിപ്പിക്കപ്പെടുന്നവര് | upadravikkappedunnavar / peedippikkappedunnavar | Low | NEW | 5,10,24 | Standard, unambiguous. |
| Not peace but a sword | οὐ… εἰρήνην ἀλλὰ μάχαιραν | ou eirēnēn alla machairan | സമാധാനമല്ല, വാളത്രെ | samadhanamalla, valathre | Medium | NEW | 10 | Uses baseline’s സമാധാനം (peace); illustrates the relational cost of allegiance to Christ, not a call to literal violence. |
| Poor in spirit | πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι | ptōchoi tō pneumati | ആത്മാവില് ദരിദ്രര് | atmavil dharidrar | Medium | NEW | 5 | Must retain “in spirit,” not collapse into economic poverty alone. |
| Meek | πραεῖς | praeis | സൌമ്യതയുള്ളവര് | saumyathayullavar | Medium | NEW | 5 | Strength restrained, not weakness or fatalistic passivity. |
| Pure in heart | καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ | katharoi tē kardia | ഹൃദയശുദ്ധിയുള്ളവര് | hridayashudhiyullavar | Medium | NEW | 5 | Moral/inward purity of motive, not ritual cleanliness. |
| Peacemakers | εἰρηνοποιοί | eirēnopoioi | സമാധാനം ഉണ്ടാക്കുന്നവര് | samadhanam undakkunnavar | Low | NEW | 5 | Built on baseline’s സമാധാനം (peace). |
| Mourn / comforted | πενθέω / παρακαλέω | pentheō / parakaleō | ദുഃഖിക്കുക / ആശ്വസിപ്പിക്കുക | duhkhikkuka / aashvasippikkuka | Low | NEW | 5 | Standard, unambiguous. |
| Inherit (the earth/kingdom) | κληρονομέω | klēronomeō | അവകാശമാക്കുക | avakashamakkuka | Medium | NEW | 5,19,25 | Covenantal inheritance vocabulary; conceptually echoes baseline’s Adoption doctrine (full inheritance rights). |
| Love (God and neighbor) | ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω | agapē / agapaō | സ്നേഹം | sneham | Medium | NEW | 22 (and throughout) | Universal, correct Malayalam Bible term, but Malayalam’s all-purpose word for love generally; risk of collapsing into generic affection or Krishna-bhakti devotional prema vocabulary — സ്നേഹം itself remains required and correct. |
10. Reused Baseline Terms Appearing Throughout Matthew (No Change)
| Term | Malayalam | Risk (per baseline) | Representative Chapters |
|---|---|---|---|
| God | ദൈവം | Critical | throughout |
| Father | പിതാവ് | Critical | 5,6,7,10,11,23,24,26,28 |
| Holy Spirit | പരിശുദ്ധാത്മാവ് | Critical | 1,3,12,28 |
| Resurrection | ഉയിര്ത്തെഴുന്നേല്പ്പ് | Critical | 12,16,17,20,22,26,27,28 |
| Faith | വിശ്വാസം | Medium | 8,9,14,15,17,21 |
| Sin | പാപം | Medium | 1,3,6,9,26 |
| Gentiles / nations | ജനതകള് | Medium/High | 4,6,10,12,20,21,24,25,28 |
| Covenant | ഉടമ്പടി | Medium | 26 |
| Called / calling | വിളിക്കപ്പെട്ട / വിളി | Medium/High | 4,5,9,22 |
| Election | ദൈവത്തിന്റെ തിരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പ് | High | 22,24 |
| Apostle | അപ്പോസ്തലന് | Low | 10 |
| Salvation | രക്ഷ | High | 1,8,10,14,16,19,24 |
| Peace | സമാധാനം | Low | 5,10 |
| Glory | മഹത്വം | Medium | 16,17,19,24,25 |
| Power of God | ദൈവത്തിന്റെ ശക്തി | Medium | 6,22,24,26 |
| Prophecy / prophet | പ്രവചനം / പ്രവാചകന് | Low | throughout |
| David | ദാവീദ് | Low | 1,9,12,15,20,21,22 |
| Israel | യിസ്രായേല് | Low | 2,8,9,10,15,19 |
| Jesus | യേശു | Critical | throughout |
Summary Risk Counts (New Terms Introduced by Matthew)
| Risk Tier | Count of NEW terms | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 10 | Human theologian |
| High | 21 | Human theologian |
| Medium | 20 | Native speaker |
| Low | 10 | Automated |
Highest-priority Critical items for Phase 2 escalation: Son of Man (മനുഷ്യപുത്രന്), Immanuel (ഇമ്മാനുവേല്), End of the Age (ലോകാവസാനം — forbidden യുഗ- substitution), Parousia/Coming (ആഗമനം), Ransom (മറുവില), Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (ദൂഷണം + പരിശുദ്ധാത്മാവ്), the Trinitarian baptismal formula (28:19), the cry of dereliction (27:46), and every occurrence of Kingdom of Heaven (സ്വർഗ്ഗരാജ്യം) requiring consistency with the baseline’s ദൈവരാജ്യം.
This glossary must be merged into an updated translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json in the next pipeline step before any Phase 2 segment translation of Matthew begins.
Critical Risk Terms
Justification
Approved rendering: നീതീകരണം
Transliteration: neetheekaranam
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: ക്ഷമ ലഭിക്കല്
[Inherited from Romans package.] Established Malayalam theological compound for the forensic, declared-righteous sense. Never abbreviate to ക്ഷമ (forgiveness) alone. Matthew does not use this term directly but the concept underlies 9:1-8 (authority to forgive/declare righteous) and 12:37 (‘by your words you will be justified’).
Resurrection
Approved rendering: ഉയിര്ത്തെഴുന്നേല്പ്പ്
Transliteration: uyirthezhunnelppu
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: പുനര്ജന്മം
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἐγείρω
Category: Eschatology
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER പുനര്ജന്മം. Both the noun (ἀνάστασις) and verb (ἐγείρω) forms in Matthew must map to the same Malayalam root: ഉയിര്ത്തെഴുന്നേല്പ്പ് (noun) / ഉയിര്ത്തെഴുന്നേല്ക്കുക (verb). Predicted three times (16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19), typologically foreshadowed at 12:39-40 (Sign of Jonah), and narrated at 28:1-10 — the single highest-stakes chapter in the book for this term.
Lord
Approved rendering: കര്ത്താവ്
Transliteration: karthavu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package.] Established across all Malayalam Christian traditions. In Matthew, includes the ‘Lord of the Sabbath’ claim (12:8) and David’s-Lord riddle (22:41-45), both direct implicit deity claims requiring dedicated translator attention beyond ordinary occurrences.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: ദൈവപുത്രന്
Transliteration: daivaputhran
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ദേവപുത്രന്
[Inherited from Romans package.] CRITICAL: full phrase required; NEVER ദേവപുത്രന്. Reserved EXCLUSIVELY for Christ’s unique, eternal, co-equal Sonship (3:17; 14:33; 16:16; 17:5; 26:63; 27:54). Must be held rigorously distinct from the plural believer-sonship term sons_of_god_believers (ദൈവപുത്രന്മാര്/ദൈവത്തിന്റെ മക്കള്) introduced at Matthew 5:9 — this singular/plural collision risk is new to this curriculum and absent from Romans.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: മാംസധാരണം
Transliteration: mamsadharanam
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: അവതാരം
Original: ἐγεννήθη ἐκ Πνεύματος Ἁγίου (cf. John 1:14’s ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο)
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package.] CRITICAL: NEVER അവതാരം. Matthew 1:18-23 is this curriculum’s primary narrative anchor for the doctrine, paired directly with virgin (കന്യക, below) and Immanuel (ഇമ്മാനുവേല്, below).
Messiah
Approved rendering: ക്രിസ്തു
Transliteration: kristu
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
[Inherited from Romans package.] ക്രിസ്തു required for this curriculum’s Bible-study register; NEVER മിശിഹാ here (legitimate liturgical alternative only). Matthew’s central confession, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (16:16), is the Gospel’s Christological turning point.
Jesus
Approved rendering: യേശു
Transliteration: yeshu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
[Inherited from Romans package.] The standard modern Malayalam Bible (Satyavedapustakam) form, required for this curriculum; ഈശോ is a legitimate heritage alternative only.
God
Approved rendering: ദൈവം
Transliteration: daivam
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ഭഗവാന്
Original: θεός
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package.] Avoid ഭഗവാന് (specifically Hindu-devotional register). The one true, personal, triune God referenced throughout Matthew.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: പരിശുദ്ധാത്മാവ്
Transliteration: parishudhathmavu
Doctrine: Sanctification / Trinity
Rejected alternatives: ബ്രഹ്മം, പരമാത്മാവ്
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER ബ്രഹ്മം or പരമാത്മാവ്. In Matthew, present at the conception (1:18, 20), the baptism (3:16), the unpardonable-sin teaching (12:31-32, see blasphemy_against_holy_spirit below), and the Trinitarian baptismal formula (28:19, see trinitarian_baptismal_formula below).
Father
Approved rendering: പിതാവ്
Transliteration: pithavu
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package.] God as personal Father. Especially prominent in the Lord’s Prayer (6:9) and the Father’s voice at Jesus’s baptism/transfiguration (3:17; 17:5).
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: ആരോപിതനീതി
Transliteration: aropithaneethi
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: സമ്പാദിച്ച നീതി
[Inherited from Romans package.] Righteousness credited, NOT earned. Matthew does not use this specific construction but the doctrine underlies the contrast between Pharisaic performance-righteousness and kingdom righteousness (5:20; 6:1-18).
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: മനുഷ്യപുത്രന്
Transliteration: manushyaputhran
Doctrine: The Son of Man’s Authority to Forgive and Judge
Original: υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Danielic (Dan 7:13-14) title (~30 occurrences: 8:20; 9:6,8; 10:23; 11:19; 12:8,32,40; 13:37,41; 16:13,27-28; 17:9,12,22; 19:28; 20:18,28; 24:27,30,37,39,44; 25:31; 26:2,24,45,64) holding together Christ’s genuine humanity and his divine authority to forgive sins, judge, and return in glory. Risk is FLATTENING, not a competing term: a fluent rendering may be read as merely ‘a human being,’ losing the judgment-authority force. Require a first-use gloss per document.
Immanuel
Approved rendering: ഇമ്മാനുവേല് (ദൈവം നമ്മോടുകൂടെ)
Transliteration: immanuel (daivam nammodukoode)
Doctrine: Incarnation / Deity of Christ
Original: Ἐμμανουήλ
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. ‘God with us’ — a proper name functioning as a theological title (1:23, citing Isaiah 7:14 LXX; echoed at 28:20, ‘I am with you always’). Preserve the transliteration with the gloss attached at first occurrence, per the baseline’s ‘Abba’ pattern. Must never be reduced to a merely poetic name.
Trinitarian Baptismal Formula
Approved rendering: പിതാവിന്റെയും പുത്രന്റെയും പരിശുദ്ധാത്മാവിന്റെയും നാമത്തില്
Transliteration: pithavinteyum puthrantheyum parishudhathmavintheyum naamathil
Doctrine: Trinitarian Baptismal Formula
Original: βαπτίζοντες αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος
Category: Mission
NEW TERM — GENUINE GRAMMATICAL GAP unique to Matthew 28:19, absent from Romans. The New Testament’s clearest single-verse Trinitarian formula. Reuses baseline’s father_/son_of_god (here simply ‘the Son’)/holy_spirit exactly, in fixed formulaic order. The SINGULAR Greek ὄνομα (‘name’) shared by three Persons must be preserved grammatically in Malayalam and never fragmented into three separate names.
End Of The Age
Approved rendering: ലോകാവസാനം
Transliteration: lokavasanam
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Rejected alternatives: യുഗാവസാനം, യുഗാന്തം
Original: συντέλεια τοῦ αἰῶνος
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM — HIGHEST AI-DRIFT RISK IN THIS CURRICULUM alongside ജീവന്/ആത്മാവ്. AVOID ANY യുഗ- (yuga) compound: യുഗം is heavily loaded with Hindu cosmology’s cyclically recurring cosmic ages (Satya/Treta/Dvapara/Kali Yuga) and is demonstrably the more statistically common general-corpus Malayalam compound for ‘end of an age,’ making it a high-probability AI hallucination on the same order as the baseline’s അവതാരം risk. Matthew’s eschatology (13:39-40,49; 24:3; 28:20) is strictly linear and final, not cyclical. Use ലോകാവസാനം/കാലസമാപ്തി only.
Parousia Coming
Approved rendering: ആഗമനം
Transliteration: aagamanam
Doctrine: The Second Coming of Christ
Original: παρουσία
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM — GENUINE MISSING-VOCABULARY GAP. Christ’s future, singular, visible, personal return (24:3,27,30,37,39; 26:64). Must not be assimilated into a repeatable avatar-descent pattern — extends the baseline’s forbidden-അവതാരം caution for Incarnation to this related concept. Christ’s parousia is a singular, final, historical event, not one of a series of divine appearances.
Blasphemy Against Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: പരിശുദ്ധാത്മാവിനെതിരെയുള്ള ദൂഷണം
Transliteration: parishudhathmavinetireyulla dooshanam
Doctrine: Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit
Original: βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM — GENUINE MISSING-VOCABULARY GAP, no unpardonable-sin compound exists in the baseline. ദൂഷണം must be paired precisely with the Critical holy_spirit term above (12:31-32). Requires a mandatory translator note distinguishing this deliberate, persistent rejection from ordinary sin or momentary doubt, since ordinary Malayalam insult-vocabulary could otherwise understate its severity, or be applied too broadly.
Ransom
Approved rendering: മറുവില
Transliteration: maruvila
Doctrine: The Atonement as Ransom
Rejected alternatives: വെറും ബലി (vague ‘mere sacrifice’), സഹായം (‘help’, too weak)
Original: λύτρον
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM (λύτρον). The price paid to redeem a slave or captive; Matthew’s clearest atonement statement (20:28, ‘a ransom for many’). The general Malayalam word already exists but has no prior doctrinal anchoring in translation memory — must not be softened; the specific substitutionary-price idea is the doctrinal point, tightly bound to the baseline’s Critical Salvation/Imputed Righteousness doctrines.
Cry Of Dereliction
Approved rendering: ഏലീ ഏലീ ലെമാ സബഖ്താനി
Transliteration: eli eli lema sabakthani
Doctrine: The Atonement as Ransom / Deity of Christ
Original: Ἠλί Ἠλί λεμὰ σαβαχθανί
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Christ’s cry from the cross quoting Psalm 22:1 (27:46), the depth of his God-forsakenness in bearing sin. Preserve the transliterated cry with the Malayalam translation immediately following, exactly as the baseline treats ‘Abba’ — must never be smoothed over or omitted, given its atonement significance.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: കൃപ
Transliteration: krupa
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: പുണ്യം
[Inherited from Romans package.] കൃപ is the settled Malayalam Christian term, but it is a Sanskrit-derived word also used in Kerala’s Hindu bhakti devotional tradition for a deity’s favor toward a devotee. Translators must keep the source of grace explicitly Christ’s finished work. In Matthew this concept underlies (without the Greek word itself appearing) the parable of the workers in the vineyard (20:1-16); do not conflate with μισθός/പ്രതിഫലം (reward, a distinct Matthew-specific term below).
Righteousness
Approved rendering: നീതി
Transliteration: neethi
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Rejected alternatives: ധര്മ്മം
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Righteousness
[Inherited from Romans package; risk tier elevated in this curriculum’s doctrine registry.] NEVER ധര്മ്മം. In Matthew this word must carry BOTH the ethical-practice sense (5:6, 20, 48; 6:33 — righteous conduct/character) AND, more rarely, the Romans forensic sense, without either collapsing into the other or into dharma-adjacent cosmic-duty language. Translator notes must flag which sense is active per occurrence (5:6, 5:10, 5:20, 6:33, 21:32).
Salvation
Approved rendering: രക്ഷ
Transliteration: raksha
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: മോക്ഷം, മുക്തി
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER മോക്ഷം or മുക്തി. In Matthew this term is embedded even in Jesus’s own name’s meaning (‘he shall save his people from their sins,’ 1:21) and recurs at 8:25; 10:22; 16:25; 19:25; 24:13.
Called
Approved rendering: വിളിക്കപ്പെട്ട
Transliteration: vilikkappetta
Doctrine: Divine Calling
[Inherited from Romans package; risk tier elevated per this curriculum’s registry.] Context-sensitive across at least three senses; in Matthew appears in the calling of the first disciples (4:21) and ‘many are called but few are chosen’ (22:14, paired with ദൈവത്തിന്റെ തിരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പ്/election below).
Saints
Approved rendering: വിശുദ്ധര്
Transliteration: vishudhar
Doctrine: Sainthood
[Inherited from Romans package.] INVERTED RISK: the established word carries a canonization-flavored sense in Kerala’s Catholic/Orthodox tradition; Matthew does not use the term but the underlying doctrine of every believer’s call to holiness (5:48; ‘be perfect’) carries the same widening requirement.
Covenant
Approved rendering: ഉടമ്പടി
Transliteration: udampadi
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant / New Covenant
Rejected alternatives: കരാര്
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package; elevated in this curriculum per the Last Supper’s institution of the new covenant.] Relational covenant bond. At Matthew 26:28, ‘ഉടമ്പടിയുടെ എന്റെ രക്തം’ (my blood of the covenant) must retain its sacrificial, atoning, ‘for the forgiveness of sins’ force and never be flattened into a merely symbolic memorial phrase.
Election
Approved rendering: ദൈവത്തിന്റെ തിരഞ്ഞെടുപ്പ്
Transliteration: daivathinte thiranjeduppu
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: വിധി, തലയെഴുത്ത്
Original: ἐκλεκτοί
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] Never വിധി (fate) or തലയെഴുത്ത്. Matthew 22:14 (‘many are called, but few are chosen’) and 24:22, 24, 31 directly pair this term with the calling vocabulary above.
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: ദാവീദിന്റെ വംശത്തില്
Transliteration: daveedinte vamshathil
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package.] Reserved for LINEAGE/descent-statements (as in Romans 1:3), grammatically and functionally distinct from Matthew’s NEW title-use term son_of_david (ദാവീദിന്റെ പുത്രന്) below, which is a direct messianic address, not a genealogical footnote. Never let one substitute for the other.
Kingdom Of Heaven
Approved rendering: സ്വർഗ്ഗരാജ്യം
Transliteration: svargarajyam
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Original: βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν
Category: Kingdom
NEW TERM. Matthew’s near-exclusive preferred phrase (~32 occurrences: 3:2; 4:17; 5:3,10,19-20; 6:10,33; 7:21; 8:11; 10:7; 11:11-12; 13:11,24-52; 16:19; 18:1-4,23; 19:12,14,23-24; 20:1; 22:2; 23:13; 25:1). A separate established Malayalam Bible compound from kingdom_of_god/ദൈവരാജ്യം; both denote the identical divine reign. Elevated to High risk (above the baseline’s Medium for ദൈവരാജ്യം alone) because Matthew’s heavy repetition makes any drift between the two phrases highly visible across the curriculum. Mechanical rule: Greek οὐρανῶν → സ്വർഗ്ഗരാജ്യം; Greek Θεοῦ → ദൈവരാജ്യം.
Son Of David
Approved rendering: ദാവീദിന്റെ പുത്രന്
Transliteration: daveedinte puthran
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Rejected alternatives: ദാവീദിന്റെ വംശത്തില് (reserved for lineage-descent statements, not vocative title-address)
Original: υἱὸς Δαυίδ
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Messianic title used in direct address to Jesus (1:1; 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9,15; 22:42-45). Must never be replaced by the baseline’s lineage-phrase seed_of_david; the doctrinal point is a live messianic acclamation, not a genealogical note. Critical at 21:9’s Hosanna acclamation.
Sons Of God Believers
Approved rendering: ദൈവപുത്രന്മാര് / ദൈവത്തിന്റെ മക്കള്
Transliteration: daivaputhranmar / daivathinte makkal
Doctrine: Adoptive Sonship of Believers
Rejected alternatives: ദൈവപുത്രന് (must never be used for believers — reserved exclusively for Christ’s singular title)
Original: υἱοὶ Θεοῦ
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. Plural adoptive sonship of redeemed believers through peacemaking, Spirit-formed character (5:9, 5:45). Must never be rendered identically to the singular ദൈവപുത്രന് (Christ’s unique title above); Malayalam’s plural marking must be made unmistakable in context since casual speech does not always mark plurality as sharply as English.
Virgin
Approved rendering: കന്യക
Transliteration: kanyaka
Doctrine: Incarnation and Virgin Birth
Original: παρθένος
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. The established Malayalam Bible term (1:23), but it also carries devotional/mythological resonance through Kerala’s Kanyakumari (virgin-goddess Devi) tradition. Translator notes must keep the claim explicitly historical, once-for-all, and Spirit-wrought — never a devotional or mythic virgin-figure association.
Worship Of Christ
Approved rendering: ആരാധിക്കുക
Transliteration: aaradhikkuka
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ബഹുമാനിക്കുക (mere honor — must never be substituted when Jesus is the object)
Original: προσκυνέω
Category: Christology
NEW TERM (from προσκυνέω). Directed at Jesus throughout Matthew (2:2,11; 8:2; 9:18; 14:33; 15:25; 20:20; 28:9,17) in contexts affirming his divine identity. Must never be softened to mere honor, since doing so would blunt the text’s implicit deity affirmation.
Fulfilled Scripture
Approved rendering: നിറവേറുക / നിറവേറി
Transliteration: niraverruka / niraveri
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Old Testament Prophecy
Original: πληρόω / ἐπληρώθη
Category: Prophecy
NEW TERM. Matthew’s signature fulfillment-formula (~12 occurrences: 1:22-23; 2:15,17,23; 4:14; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21:4; 26:56; 27:9), structurally organizing the whole Gospel. Lock this exact verb form across every occurrence — a literary-structural consistency requirement, not merely a doctrinal one.
Sign Of Jonah
Approved rendering: യോനായുടെ അടയാളം
Transliteration: yonayude adayalam
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ (typology)
Original: σημεῖον Ἰωνᾶ
Category: Prophecy
NEW TERM. Typological prophecy of the resurrection (12:39-40). അടയാളം (sign) is Low risk in itself; flagged High because its typological payload is the Critical Resurrection doctrine — never പുനര്ജന്മം governs the typology’s fulfillment as well.
Stone The Builders Rejected
Approved rendering: ചെയ്തുതീര്ത്തവര് തള്ളിയ കല്ല്
Transliteration: cheythutheerthavar thalliya kallu
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy / Messianic Promise
Original: λίθον ὃν ἀπεδοκίμασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες
Category: Prophecy
NEW TERM. Psalm 118:22 fulfillment citation applied to Christ’s rejection and vindication (21:42); ties directly to the Critical Messianic Promise doctrine.
Authority Exousia
Approved rendering: അധികാരം
Transliteration: adhikaram
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Authority
NEW TERM (ἐξουσία). Delegated, rightful authority — the thesis term of 7:28-29 (‘he taught as one who had authority’), also 9:6,8; 21:23; 28:18. Must be kept terminologically DISTINCT from ദൈവത്തിന്റെ ശക്തി (power_of_god, δύναμις/raw might above) — this is the curriculum’s key precision distinction, not a competing devotional term.
Mercy
Approved rendering: കരുണ
Transliteration: karuna
Doctrine: Mercy as the Mark of True Righteousness
Original: ἔλεος / ἐλεήμων
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM (ἔλεος/ἐλεήμων). Shared vocabulary with generalized Hindu/Buddhist-influenced ethical-compassion usage in Malayalam, parallel risk profile to the baseline’s caution about grace/കൃപ overlapping with bhakti devotion. Must be anchored explicitly in God’s character and priority over ritual (‘mercy, not sacrifice,’ 9:13/12:7 citing Hosea 6:6), never a self-cultivated generic virtue. Beatitude occurrence at 5:7.
Fulfill The Law
Approved rendering: ന്യായപ്രമാണം നിറവേറ്റുക
Transliteration: nyayapramanam niraverruka
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees / Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: πληρῶσαι τὸν νόμον
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Jesus’s stated relationship to the Mosaic Law: fulfillment, not abolition (5:17). Must avoid BOTH an ‘abolition’ misreading and an ‘unchanged continuation’ misreading — a precise doctrinal balance requiring a mandatory translator note at every occurrence.
Blessed Makarios
Approved rendering: ഭാഗ്യവാന്
Transliteration: bhagyavan
Doctrine: The Beatitudes and Kingdom Blessedness (CORE PASSAGE)
Original: μακάριοι
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM — HIGHEST-PRIORITY FENCE IN THE CORE PASSAGE (Matthew 5:1-12, used 9 times in 5:3-11). Built on ഭാഗ്യം, Malayalam’s ordinary word for ‘luck/fortune,’ carrying karma-determined or fate-granted connotations in general and Hindu devotional usage. Every occurrence requires a translator note making explicit that this is God’s specific, objective declaration of favor on a spiritual condition — NOT luck, fate, or accumulated merit — parallel to the baseline’s caution around വിധി (fate) for ‘election.‘
Bind
Approved rendering: കെട്ടുക
Transliteration: kettuka
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: δέω
Category: Church
NEW TERM (δέω) — GENUINE MISSING-VOCABULARY GAP, no baseline precedent. Rabbinic technical vocabulary for authoritative, heaven-ratified doctrinal/disciplinary ruling (16:19; 18:18), NOT merely literal imprisonment. Must not be heard as autonomous human power nor a magical/incantational binding formula, a genuine risk given Kerala’s broader familiarity with folk-ritual binding/exorcism vocabulary in some contexts.
Loose
Approved rendering: അഴിക്കുക
Transliteration: azhikkuka
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: λύω
Category: Church
NEW TERM (λύω), paired with bind above (16:19; 18:18). Same forensic-declarative caution applies — must not read as a magical release-formula.
Make Disciples
Approved rendering: ശിഷ്യരാക്കുവിന്
Transliteration: shishyarakkuvin
Doctrine: The Great Commission
Original: μαθητεύσατε
Category: Mission
NEW TERM — GENUINE MISSING-VOCABULARY GAP, no baseline precedent. Causative verb-form of disciple (28:19), the Great Commission’s core command. Must not be softened into a vaguer general ‘tell people about Jesus.‘
Baptism
Approved rendering: സ്നാനം
Transliteration: snanam
Doctrine: The Great Commission / Trinitarian Baptismal Formula
Original: βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω
Category: Mission
NEW TERM. Established Malayalam Christian term with over a millennium of continuous use (John’s baptism, Ch. 3; the Great Commission, 28:19), but shares its verb-root with general Malayalam ritual-bathing/purification vocabulary used in Hindu contexts. Doctrinal content (identification with Christ, Trinitarian formula, once-for-all rite) must remain explicit, especially at the Commission.
Eternal Life Punishment
Approved rendering: നിത്യം (നിത്യജീവന് / നിത്യദണ്ഡനം)
Transliteration: nithyam (nithyajeevan / nithyadandanam)
Doctrine: Eternal Life and Eternal Punishment
Original: αἰώνιος
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM (αἰώνιος). Without temporal end; used symmetrically for both destinies (19:16,29; 25:41,46). Must be read as unending LINEAR duration in a fixed final state, not liberation from or continuation within a rebirth cycle — parallel risk category to മോക്ഷം/മുക്തി/പുനര്ജന്മം. The SAME word must be used for both eternal life and eternal punishment (25:46) to preserve Matthew’s deliberate parallelism; softening one side softens the other.
Life Soul Psyche
Approved rendering: ജീവന്
Transliteration: jeevan
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Rejected alternatives: ആത്മാവ് (risks a Vedantic ātman-merger misreading in this specific saying-type — forbidden here)
Original: ψυχή
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (ψυχή) — one of the highest-ranked risk items in the entire curriculum. In ‘lose your life to find it’ sayings (10:39; 16:25-26), recommend ജീവന് (life), NOT ആത്മാവ് (soul/spirit): ആത്മാവ് evokes the Hindu/Vedantic ātman, the individual self ultimately merged into the impersonal Absolute, producing a foreign ‘lose your separate self to merge with the Absolute’ misreading rather than Jesus’s meaning of finding renewed personal life in relationship with Christ.
Hosanna
Approved rendering: ഹോശന്ന
Transliteration: hoshanna
Doctrine: Jesus as the Promised Messiah and Son of David
Original: Ὡσαννά
Category: Christology
NEW TERM. A transliterated Hebrew acclamation (‘save, we pray!’) shouted at the Triumphal Entry, joined to ‘Son of David’ (21:9,15). Preserve the transliteration with a brief gloss, per the baseline’s ‘Abba’ pattern, since it is native to no Malayalam religious tradition and represents a direct public messianic acclamation fulfilling Zechariah 9:9.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: സുവിശേഷം
Transliteration: suvisesham
Doctrine: Gospel
[Inherited from Romans package.] Established across all Malayalam Christian traditions (Syro-Malabar, Malankara Orthodox, Latin Catholic, and Protestant/Evangelical), reflecting over a millennium of continuous Christian presence in Kerala. Low invention risk; the main risk is AI-generated drift toward a less precise paraphrase. In Matthew, recurs in the phrase ‘gospel of the kingdom’ (4:23; 9:35; 24:14; 26:13) — render as സുവിശേഷം without alteration even when compounded with രാജ്യം (kingdom).
Faith
Approved rendering: വിശ്വാസം
Transliteration: vishwasam
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: ഭക്തി
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
[Inherited from Romans package.] Personal trust in Christ. ഭക്തി (bhakti, devotional reverence) is a distinct Hindu devotional category and is not used for this sense. In Matthew, exemplified by the centurion (8:10), the Canaanite woman (15:28), and contrasted with the disciples’ ‘little faith’ (14:31; 17:20).
Calling
Approved rendering: വിളി
Transliteration: vili
Doctrine: Divine Calling
[Inherited from Romans package.] Noun form for the act or state of being called by God.
Holy
Approved rendering: പരിശുദ്ധ
Transliteration: parishudha
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: ശുദ്ധം
[Inherited from Romans package.] Set apart for God and morally pure, distinct from ritual cleanliness (ശുദ്ധം). Compare Matthew’s ‘pure in heart’ (ഹൃദയശുദ്ധിയുള്ളവര്, 5:8) which raises the same ശുദ്ധി/പരിശുദ്ധ distinction in a new context.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: വിശുദ്ധീകരണം
Transliteration: vishudheekaranam
Doctrine: Sanctification
[Inherited from Romans package.] The Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy.
Adoption
Approved rendering: ദത്തുപുത്രത്വം
Transliteration: dattuputhratvam
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: ദത്തെടുക്കല്
[Inherited from Romans package.] Full son-status with complete inheritance rights. Matthew 5:9/5:45’s plural ‘sons of God’ language and 5:5’s ‘inherit the earth’ both echo this doctrine conceptually — see sons_of_god_believers and inherit_kleronomeo below.
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: ആത്മീയവരങ്ങള്
Transliteration: atmeeya varangal
Doctrine: Spiritual Gifts
Rejected alternatives: വരം
[Inherited from Romans package.] Always pair with ആത്മീയ (spiritual/Spirit-given), never വരം alone.
Church
Approved rendering: സഭ
Transliteration: sabha
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Rejected alternatives: അമ്പലം
[Inherited from Romans package.] Never അമ്പലം (Hindu temple). Matthew 16:18 is the Gospel’s narrative founding moment for this term (‘on this rock I will build my church’) and 18:15-20 grounds the church-discipline procedure — elevated attention warranted at both passages though the risk tier itself matches the baseline.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: ദൈവരാജ്യം
Transliteration: daivarajyam
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
[Inherited from Romans package.] God’s sovereign reign, not a territorial/political kingdom. Matthew uses this phrase only rarely (12:28; 19:24; 21:31, 43) — reserve it for occurrences of Greek βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ specifically; Matthew’s near-exclusive preferred phrase is the NEW term kingdom_of_heaven (സ്വർഗ്ഗരാജ്യം) below. Both denote the identical divine reign; never let a reader hear two different kingdoms.
Law
Approved rendering: ന്യായപ്രമാണം
Transliteration: nyayapramanam
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy / Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Rejected alternatives: ധര്മ്മം
Original: νόμος
Category: Righteousness
[Inherited from Romans package.] Never ധര്മ്മം. Matthew 5:17-18’s ‘I have not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it’ requires the compound fulfill_the_law below for precise doctrinal balance.
Sin
Approved rendering: പാപം
Transliteration: papam
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] Moral transgression before a personal God. In Matthew’s Lord’s Prayer (6:12), sin is figured through the debt-metaphor ‘ഒഫൈലേമാറ്റ/ opheilemata’ (കടങ്ങള്, debts) — preserve the debt-metaphor rather than collapsing directly into പാപം at that specific verse.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: ജനതകള്
Transliteration: janathakal
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles / Gentile Inclusion
Rejected alternatives: ജാതികള്
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER ജാതികള് (reads as ‘castes’). In Matthew, prominent in the magi’s visit (Ch. 2), the centurion’s and Canaanite woman’s faith (8:5-13; 15:21-28), and the Great Commission (28:19, see all_nations below, which uses this same base term in its maximal universal sense).
Glory
Approved rendering: മഹത്വം
Transliteration: mahatvam
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: Christology
[Inherited from Romans package.] God’s radiant honor and presence. Visibly unveiled at the Transfiguration (17:2) and anticipated at the Second Coming (16:27; 19:28; 24:30; 25:31).
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: വിശ്വാസത്തിന്റെ അനുസരണം
Transliteration: vishwasathinte anusaranam
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: മതപരമായ കടമ
[Inherited from Romans package.] Obedience flowing from faith, not generic religious duty. Relevant to Matthew 28:20’s ‘teaching them to observe all that I have commanded’ — see teaching_to_observe below.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: ദൈവത്തിന്റെ ശക്തി
Transliteration: daivathinte shakthi
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Original: δύναμις
Category: God
[Inherited from Romans package.] Comparatively low-risk in Malayalam’s everyday register. Must be kept lexically DISTINCT from the new term authority_exousia (അധികാരം) below — δύναμις (raw might) vs. ἐξουσία (rightful authority) are conflated in English ‘power’ but must never share a Malayalam word in this curriculum, since Matthew 7:29’s thesis verse depends on the distinction.
Intercession
Approved rendering: മധ്യസ്ഥത
Transliteration: madhyasthatha
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
[Inherited from Romans package.] Applicable background doctrine for Matthew’s prayer teaching (6:5-15; 18:19-20), though Matthew’s own emphasis falls more on corporate/filial prayer than direct intercession language.
Providence
Approved rendering: ദൈവത്തിന്റെ പരിപാലനം
Transliteration: daivathinte paripalanam
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: വിധി
[Inherited from Romans package.] Never വിധി (fate). Echoed in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount teaching on God’s care for sparrows and lilies (6:25-34; 10:29-31).
Mission
Approved rendering: സുവിശേഷപ്രവര്ത്തനം
Transliteration: suvisesha pravarthanam
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
[Inherited from Romans package.] Proclamation of the gospel. Directly anticipates the Great Commission (28:18-20, see make_disciples below).
Abba
Approved rendering: അബ്ബാ
Transliteration: abba
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
[Inherited from Romans package.] Preserve the Aramaic transliteration with an explanatory gloss on its intimate, filial meaning, per this curriculum’s template for Immanuel, Hosanna, and the cry of dereliction below.
One Who Is To Come
Approved rendering: വരാനുള്ളവന്
Transliteration: varanullavan
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy / Messianic Promise
Original: ὁ ἐρχόμενος
Category: Prophecy
NEW TERM. A recognized messianic-expectation title used in John the Baptist’s question (11:3); context must keep this tied to messianic expectation, not a generic future arrival.
Hypocrite
Approved rendering: കപടഭക്തന് / കപടഭക്തന്മാര്
Transliteration: kapatabhakthan / kapatabhakthanmar
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: ὑποκριτής / ὑποκριταί
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Built on ഭക്തി (devotion) — the same root the baseline flags as rejected for ‘faith.’ A translator note must clarify the term critiques the FALSENESS of the performance, not devotion itself (6:2,5,16; 7:5; 15:7; 22:18; 23:13-29; 24:51).
Tradition Of The Elders
Approved rendering: പൂര്വ്വികരുടെ പാരമ്പര്യം
Transliteration: poorvikarude paramparyam
Doctrine: Human Tradition versus God’s Commandment
Original: παράδοσις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Must be clearly distinguished in context from ദൈവത്തിന്റെ കല്പ്പന (God’s actual commandment) (15:2-6; 23:1-36) — the doctrinal point rests entirely on that contrast.
Perfect Teleios
Approved rendering: പരിപൂര്ണ്ണന്
Transliteration: paripoornan
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: τέλειος
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Covenantal wholeness/maturity of love (5:48; 19:21), not flawless self-achieved sinlessness; must not be confused with a Hindu/yogic spiritual-perfection or liberation-adjacent attainment.
Love Agape
Approved rendering: സ്നേഹം
Transliteration: sneham
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: ἀγάπη / ἀγαπάω
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Self-giving, willed love for God and neighbor, the hermeneutical key to the Law and Prophets (22:37-39; cf. 5:44). Universal and correct Malayalam Bible rendering, but Malayalam’s all-purpose love-word; risk of collapsing into generic affection or Krishna-bhakti devotional prema vocabulary — സ്നേഹം itself remains required and correct.
Poor In Spirit
Approved rendering: ആത്മാവില് ദരിദ്രര്
Transliteration: atmavil dharidrar
Doctrine: The Beatitudes and Kingdom Blessedness (CORE PASSAGE)
Original: πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Matthew 5:3. Must retain ‘in spirit/inner self’ clearly; a bare ദരിദ്രര് alone would collapse the phrase into economic poverty.
Meek
Approved rendering: സൌമ്യതയുള്ളവര്
Transliteration: saumyathayullavar
Doctrine: The Beatitudes and Kingdom Blessedness (CORE PASSAGE)
Original: πραεῖς
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Matthew 5:5, echoing Psalm 37:11 LXX. Gentle strength held under control, NOT weakness or fatalistic passivity — parallels the baseline’s caution against fatalism idioms.
Pure In Heart
Approved rendering: ഹൃദയശുദ്ധിയുള്ളവര്
Transliteration: hridayashudhiyullavar
Doctrine: The Beatitudes and Kingdom Blessedness (CORE PASSAGE)
Original: καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Matthew 5:8. ശുദ്ധി is also used for ritual cleanliness in Hindu/Islamic practice in Kerala; the explicit ഹൃദയം (heart) anchor mitigates this, but a note should clarify this is moral/inward, not ceremonial, purity — echoing the baseline’s holy/പരിശുദ്ധ vs. ശുദ്ധം distinction.
Inherit Kleronomeo
Approved rendering: അവകാശമാക്കുക
Transliteration: avakashamakkuka
Doctrine: The Beatitudes / Adoption into God’s Family
NEW TERM. To receive as an allotted covenantal portion (5:5; 19:29; 25:34). Standard inheritance vocabulary; should echo, conceptually, the baseline’s ദത്തുപുത്രത്വം (adoption/full inheritance rights) framework.
Gates Of Hades
Approved rendering: പാതാളത്തിന്റെ കവാടങ്ങള്
Transliteration: pathalathinte kavadangal
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: πύλαι Ἅιδου
Category: Church
NEW TERM. The power of death/the grave, unable to overcome the Church (16:18); distinct from Gehenna/eternal punishment elsewhere in Matthew — a brief distinguishing note is warranted.
Cause To Stumble
Approved rendering: ഇടര്ച്ചയ്ക്ക് കാരണമാകുക
Transliteration: idarchaykk karanamakuka
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: σκανδαλίζω
Category: Church
NEW TERM (σκανδαλίζω). To cause someone’s spiritual downfall (5:29-30; 18:6-9); doctrinally weighty given the severity of the surrounding warnings.
Gathered In My Name
Approved rendering: എന്റെ നാമത്തില് കൂടിവരുന്നിടത്ത്
Transliteration: ente naamathil koodivarunnidath
Doctrine: The Church and Church Discipline
Original: συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Christ’s abiding, authoritative presence with even the smallest gathered church body (18:20); doctrinal weight lies specifically in ‘in my name.‘
Disciple
Approved rendering: ശിഷ്യന് / ശിഷ്യന്മാര്
Transliteration: shishyan / shishyanmar
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: μαθητής / μαθηταί
Category: Church
NEW TERM. Committed followers who learn from and imitate Jesus (used throughout, e.g. 5:1; 8:21; 9:37; 10:1; 28:19). The only viable Malayalam Bible-translation choice, parallel to how the baseline retained അപ്പോസ്തലന് over ഗുരു-adjacent options, but ശിഷ്യന് is also the ordinary Malayalam word for a guru’s student in Hindu devotional/classical-arts contexts. Context must preserve Jesus’s unique, exclusive lordship over disciples.
All Nations
Approved rendering: എല്ലാ ജനതകളും
Transliteration: ella janathakalum
Doctrine: The Great Commission / Gentile Inclusion
Rejected alternatives: ജാതികള് (reads as ‘castes’ — forbidden per baseline)
Original: πάντα τὰ ἔθνη
Category: Mission
NEW TERM built on baseline’s gentiles/ജനതകള്. At Matthew 28:19 (also 24:9,14; 25:32) this carries the MAXIMAL universal ‘all peoples of the earth’ sense, distinct from the narrower Jew/Gentile-contrast sense used elsewhere; translator notes must clarify scope so the Commission’s global reach is never narrowed.
Teaching To Observe
Approved rendering: ഞാന് കല്പ്പിച്ചതെല്ലാം അനുസരിക്കാന് പഠിപ്പിക്കുക
Transliteration: njan kalppichathellam anusarikkan padippikkuka
Doctrine: The Great Commission
Original: διδάσκοντες αὐτοὺς τηρεῖν πάντα ὅσα ἐνετειλάμην ὑμῖν
Category: Mission
NEW TERM. The Commission’s mandate of ongoing formation in obedience, not baptism alone (28:20); links to the Authority-of-Jesus’-Teaching and Righteousness doctrines — his commands, not scribal tradition, are the church’s rule of life.
Great Tribulation
Approved rendering: മഹാപീഡനം
Transliteration: mahapeedanam
Doctrine: The Great Tribulation
Original: θλῖψις μεγάλη
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM. Intense, unprecedented eschatological distress preceding Christ’s return (24:21); standard vocabulary with low competing-religious-vocabulary risk.
Mystery Of Kingdom
Approved rendering: രഹസ്യം
Transliteration: rahasyam
Doctrine: The Mystery of the Kingdom in Parables
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM (μυστήριον). The kingdom’s true nature, previously hidden and now disclosed to disciples of faith (13:11). Must be framed as revealed-yet-previously-hidden truth, never an esoteric/occult secret requiring ritual initiation — a live risk given Kerala’s general cultural familiarity with tantric/esoteric religious vocabulary.
Follow Akoloutheo
Approved rendering: അനുഗമിക്കുക
Transliteration: anugamikkuka
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: ἀκολουθέω
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. Technical discipleship term for total, life-reordering commitment, not casual accompaniment (4:20,22; 8:19-22; 9:9; 16:24; 19:27-29).
Cross Stauros
Approved rendering: ക്രൂശ്
Transliteration: krooshu
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: σταυρός
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. Standard Bible-translation term (Satyavedapustakam) for σταυρός (16:24; 27:32-40). കുരിശ് is a legitimate heritage-liturgical alternative (Catholic/Orthodox devotional usage, e.g. കുരിശിന്റെ വഴി), parallel to the baseline’s Jesus/Isho and Christ/Mishiha treatment; ക്രൂശ് is recommended for this curriculum’s Bible-study register.
Reward Misthos
Approved rendering: പ്രതിഫലം
Transliteration: prathiphalam
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: μισθός
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (μισθός). God’s gracious eschatological recompense for faithfulness (5:12; 6:1-6,16-18; 10:41-42; 20:1-16). Ordinary secular word for earned wages; flag every grace-sensitive occurrence so it is not misread as autonomously-earned merit contradicting the baseline’s Critical Grace doctrine.
Not Peace But Sword
Approved rendering: സമാധാനമല്ല, വാളത്രെ
Transliteration: samadhanamalla, valathre
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: οὐ… εἰρήνην ἀλλὰ μάχαιραν
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. Uses the baseline’s established സമാധാനം (peace); illustrates the relational cost of allegiance to Christ, including family division (10:34-36), not a call to literal violence.
Yoke
Approved rendering: നുകം
Transliteration: nukam
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: ζυγός
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (ζυγός). Farming-implement metaphor for the burden of following a teacher’s instruction, contrasted with the burdensome legalistic yoke of Pharisaic tradition (11:29-30); no significant competing religious connotation in Malayalam.
Repentance
Approved rendering: മാനസാന്തരം
Transliteration: manasantharam
Doctrine: Repentance and Preparation for the Kingdom
Rejected alternatives: ദുഃഖം (mere sorrow)
Original: μετάνοια / μετανοέω
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (μετάνοια/μετανοέω). A fundamental reorientation of mind and life-direction, preached by John the Baptist and Jesus (3:2,8,11; 4:17; 11:20-21; 12:41); must not be flattened to mere sorrow or generic ritual-atonement practice.
Magi
Approved rendering: വിദ്വാന്മാര്
Transliteration: vidvanmar
Doctrine: Gentile Inclusion and Worship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ജ്യോത്സ്യന്മാര് (astrologers — implies endorsing occult astrology practice)
Original: μάγοι
Category: Prophecy
NEW TERM (μάγοι). Learned Gentile sages drawn by revelation to worship the infant Jesus (2:1-12), anticipating the Great Commission’s ‘all nations’ scope; render as ‘wise/learned men,’ never as astrologers, per the baseline’s caution distinguishing prophet from astrologer.
Mammon
Approved rendering: മാമോന്
Transliteration: mamon
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Rejected alternatives: ധനം (flat ‘money’ — loses the personification)
Original: μαμωνᾷ
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. A personified Aramaic loanword for wealth treated as a rival master (6:24); transliterate rather than translate flatly, to preserve the personification of wealth as a false, rival object of allegiance.
Judge Krino
Approved rendering: വിധിക്കുക
Transliteration: vidhikkuka
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: κρίνετε
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM (κρίνετε). To pass condemning judgment, warning against hypocritical fault-finding (7:1-5); shares a root with വിധി (fate) already flagged elsewhere in the baseline — context should keep the sense as ‘condemn,’ not ‘determine the fate of.‘
Narrow Wide Gate
Approved rendering: ഇടുങ്ങിയ വാതില് / വീതിയായ വാതില്
Transliteration: idungiya vathil / veethiyaya vathil
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: στενὴ πύλη / πλατεῖα πύλη
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. The exclusive path to life through Christ, contrasted with the broad, popular road to destruction (7:13-14); must not be softened into a merely difficult-but-equally-valid-alternative-paths reading.
Low Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: അപ്പോസ്തലന്
Transliteration: appostalan
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: ഗുരു
Original: ἀπόστολοι
Category: Church
[Inherited from Romans package.] NEVER ഗുരു. In Matthew, refers to the Twelve, named and sent with delegated authority (10:2).
Peace
Approved rendering: സമാധാനം
Transliteration: samadhanam
Doctrine: Peace with God
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
[Inherited from Romans package.] Relational peace. In Matthew, both the peace disciples make (5:9, peacemakers) and the peace Jesus’s mission paradoxically disrupts among the unwilling (10:34, ‘not peace but a sword’).
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: കൃതജ്ഞത
Transliteration: kruthajnatha
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
[Inherited from Romans package.] Standard term. No significant doctrinal risk.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: കൂട്ടായ്മ
Transliteration: koottayma
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: സൗഹൃദം
[Inherited from Romans package.] Shared participation in Christ.
Prophet
Approved rendering: പ്രവാചകന്
Transliteration: pravachakan
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: ജ്യോത്സ്യന്
Original: προφήτης / προφῆται
Category: Prophecy
[Inherited from Romans package.] Do not confuse with ജ്യോത്സ്യന് (astrologer). Extensively cited throughout Matthew as fulfilled by Jesus.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: പ്രവചനം
Transliteration: pravachanam
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
[Inherited from Romans package.] God-inspired declaration.
David
Approved rendering: ദാവീദ്
Transliteration: daveed
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
[Inherited from Romans package.] Established proper-name form. In Matthew, foundational to the genealogy (1:1-17) and the Son of David title (see son_of_david below).
Israel
Approved rendering: യിസ്രായേല്
Transliteration: yisrayel
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
[Inherited from Romans package.] Established proper-name form. Referenced throughout Matthew (2:6, 20-21; 8:10; 10:6, 23; 15:24).
Exhort
Approved rendering: പ്രോത്സാഹിപ്പിക്കുക
Transliteration: prothsahippikkuka
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
[Inherited from Romans package.] Context-sensitive between entreaty and encouragement.
Taught Didasko
Approved rendering: പഠിപ്പിക്കുക
Transliteration: padippikkuka
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: διδάσκω
Category: Authority
NEW TERM. Standard verb (5:2; 7:29); risk lies only in the surrounding ἐξουσία context, not the verb itself.
Scribes
Approved rendering: ശാസ്ത്രിമാര്
Transliteration: shastrimar
Doctrine: The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching
Original: γραμματεῖς
Category: Authority
NEW TERM. The Jewish scribal class (2:4; 5:20; 7:29; 15:1; 23:2-33), frequently contrasted with Jesus’s authority; established, low-ambiguity Malayalam Bible term.
Pharisees
Approved rendering: പരീശന്മാര്
Transliteration: pareeshanmar
Doctrine: Righteousness Exceeding the Pharisees
Original: Φαρισαῖοι
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Established transliterated term across all Malayalam Christian traditions with no significant ambiguity (3:7; 5:20; 9:11; 12:2; 15:1; 19:3; 22:15; 23:1-39).
Compassion Splanchnizomai
Approved rendering: മനസ്സലിവ് തോന്നുക
Transliteration: manassalivu thonnuka
Doctrine: Mercy as the Mark of True Righteousness
Original: σπλαγχνίζομαι
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Visceral, deeply felt compassion leading to action, distinct from the doctrinally loaded mercy/കരുണ term above (9:36; 14:14; 15:32; 20:34).
Peacemakers
Approved rendering: സമാധാനം ഉണ്ടാക്കുന്നവര്
Transliteration: samadhanam undakkunnavar
Doctrine: The Beatitudes and Kingdom Blessedness (CORE PASSAGE)
Original: εἰρηνοποιοί
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Matthew 5:9. Built directly on the baseline’s established സമാധാനം (peace); those who actively create reconciliation, not merely avoid conflict.
Mourn Comforted
Approved rendering: ദുഃഖിക്കുക / ആശ്വസിപ്പിക്കുക
Transliteration: duhkhikkuka / aashvasippikkuka
Doctrine: The Beatitudes and Kingdom Blessedness (CORE PASSAGE)
Original: πενθοῦντες / παρακληθήσονται
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Matthew 5:4. Grief, including grief over sin, met with active divine comfort; standard and unambiguous.
Hunger Thirst For Righteousness
Approved rendering: വിശക്കുന്നവരും ദാഹിക്കുന്നവരും
Transliteration: vishakkunnavarum dahikkunnavarum
Doctrine: The Beatitudes and Kingdom Blessedness (CORE PASSAGE)
Original: πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες [τὴν δικαιοσύνην]
Category: Righteousness
NEW TERM. Matthew 5:6. Intense, bodily-rooted longing metaphor; the accompanying object നീതി carries the doctrinal weight, not this verb pair.
Parable
Approved rendering: ഉപമ
Transliteration: upama
Doctrine: The Kingdom of Heaven
Original: παραβολή
Category: Eschatology
NEW TERM (παραβολή). Standard, widely used, doctrinally safe term throughout Ch. 13 and elsewhere.
Persecuted
Approved rendering: ഉപദ്രവിക്കപ്പെടുന്നവര്
Transliteration: upadravikkappedunnavar
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: διώκω
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM (διώκω). Active hostile pursuit for fidelity to Christ, not passive misfortune (5:10-12; 10:16-23; 24:9); standard and clear.
Rest Anapausis
Approved rendering: വിശ്രമം
Transliteration: vishramam
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: ἀνάπαυσις
Category: Discipleship
NEW TERM. The rest Jesus offers to the weary who come to him (11:28-29); standard and low-risk.
Angel
Approved rendering: ദൂതന്
Transliteration: doothan
Doctrine: Incarnation and Virgin Birth
Original: ἄγγελος
Category: God
NEW TERM (ἄγγελος). A messenger of God, appearing repeatedly in the birth narrative and elsewhere (1:20,24; 2:13,19; 28:2,5); established and unambiguous.
Devil Diabolos
Approved rendering: പിശാച്
Transliteration: pishach
Doctrine: Discipleship and the Cost of Following Jesus
Original: διάβολος
Category: God
NEW TERM (διάβολος). The slanderer/accuser who tempts Jesus in the wilderness (4:1-11); established and unambiguous.
False Prophets
Approved rendering: കള്ളപ്രവാചകന്മാര്
Transliteration: kallapravachakanmar
Doctrine: Judgment and the End of the Age
Original: ψευδοπροφῆται
Category: Prophecy
NEW TERM (ψευδοπροφῆται). Warned against at 7:15 and 24:24 (paired there with false christs); low-risk in itself, but at 24:24 must be unmistakably distinguished from the genuine, Critical-risk ക്രിസ്തു title.
Referenced passages