Core Glossary
08 Core Glossary — Exodus (English → Mandarin)
Table Legend
- Status: REUSED — baseline (must match
translation_memory.jsonexactly) | NEW (proposed for this curriculum) - Risk: Critical / High / Medium / Low, per the same tier definitions as
doctrine_risk_registry.json - Doctrine: one of the eight assigned Exodus doctrines, or “Cross-cutting” / “General”
1. The Exodus as Redemption
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Literal Meaning | Mandarin (Pinyin) | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redeem (kinsman-right) | גָּאַל ga’al | To act as kinsman-redeemer; buy back by right of relationship | 救赎 (jiùshú) | NEW | Critical | Exodus as Redemption | NEVER 解脱/超度 (baseline-forbidden for 救恩). Ch.6. Root of OT “Redeemer” (גֹּאֵל). |
| Redeem (ransom/substitute) | פָּדָה padah | To ransom/buy back by substitute payment or life | 代赎 (dài shú) | NEW | Critical | Exodus as Redemption / Substitutionary Atonement | Ch.13. Distinct nuance from גָּאַל — foregrounds substitution. Never collapse into 救赎 without note. |
| Salvation / deliverance | תְּשׁוּעָה / יְשׁוּעָה teshu’ah / yeshu’ah | Deliverance, rescue | 救恩 (jiùēn) | REUSED — baseline | Critical | Exodus as Redemption | Exact reuse of baseline term for “salvation.” Ch.14:13. |
| Firstborn | בְּכוֹר bekhor | First-born (son/male animal) | 头生的 (tóushēng de) | NEW | High | Exodus as Redemption | Object of both judgment (11-12) and redemption (13). Render identically across both contexts. |
| Bondage / hard labor | עֲבֹדָה (קָשָׁה) avodah (qashah) | Service; harsh forced labor | 奴役 / 苦工 (núyì / kǔgōng) | NEW | High | Exodus as Redemption / Bondage to Sin | Ch.1, 5. Historical referent behind later spiritual-bondage typology (cf. Romans 6, δοῦλος τῆς ἁμαρτίας). |
| Slave/servant | עֶבֶד eved | One who serves; slave | 奴仆 (núpú) | NEW | High | Exodus as Redemption / Bondage to Sin | Concrete noun form of עֲבֹדָה. Distinguish literal (Egypt) vs. later spiritual metaphor. |
| Favor | חֵן chen | Favor, unearned goodwill | 恩惠 (ēnhuì) | NEW | Medium | Exodus as Redemption | Ch.11. OT root of χάρις; distinct Mandarin term from 恩典 (baseline) — teach the continuity, not identity. |
| Free (released) | חֹפְשִׁי chofshi | Free, released from servitude | 自由的 (zìyóu de) | NEW | Medium | Exodus as Redemption / Bondage to Sin | Ch.21:2. Enacts an Exodus-pattern release within Israel’s own law. |
2. Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Literal Meaning | Mandarin (Pinyin) | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passover | פֶּסַח pesach | ”Pass over / spare” | 逾越节 (Yúyuèjié) | NEW (anchors baseline’s future πάσχα usage) | Critical | Passover / Substitutionary Atonement | Matches CUV/NT πάσχα rendering (1 Cor 5:7) for cross-curriculum consistency. Never a generic “festival” word. |
| Lamb (Passover victim) | שֶׂה / כֶּבֶשׂ seh / keves | Animal from the flock (sheep/goat) / lamb specifically | 羊羔 (yánggāo) | NEW | High | Passover / Substitutionary Atonement | Feeds directly into NT “Lamb of God” typology (John 1:29). שֶׂה is broader than English “lamb” — note in teaching. |
| Without blemish | תָּמִים tamim | Complete, whole, unblemished | 无残疾的 (wú cánjí de) | NEW | Critical | Passover / Substitutionary Atonement | Given qualification, not an achievement — never let it echo 修身/修炼 (baseline-forbidden for 成圣). |
| Blood | דָּם dam | Blood; life given in substitution | 血 (xuè) | NEW | Critical | Passover / Substitutionary Atonement | Forensic-substitutionary, never magical/amulet-like (cf. baseline’s 平安-amulet caution). Feeds Romans 3:25/5:9. |
| Unleavened bread | מַצָּה matzah | Bread without leaven | 无酵饼 (wú jiào bǐng) | NEW | Medium | Passover / Substitutionary Atonement | Dual symbolism: haste + absence of corruption (1 Cor 5:6-8). |
| Bitter herbs | מְרֹרִים merorim | Bitter things | 苦菜 (kǔcài) | NEW | Low | Passover | Taste-memory of slavery’s bitterness. |
| Sign | אוֹת ot | Visible token/mark of covenant reality | 记号 (jìhao) | NEW | Medium | Passover / Character of God | Never divinatory (占卜); a covenant marker instituted by God’s word. Recurs chs. 3, 4, 12, 23, 31. |
| Pass over (protective) | פָּסַח pasach | To skip/pass over sparingly | 越过 (yuèguò) | NEW | Critical | Passover / Substitutionary Atonement | Ch.12:13. Causal link to blood must never be softened into general, blood-detached protection. |
| The Destroyer | מַשְׁחִית mashchit | The one who destroys | 灭命的 (miè mìng de) | NEW | High | Passover / Substitutionary Atonement | Never illustrated as folk death-spirit (无常); God’s own executed judgment, not an autonomous being. |
| Plague / blow | נֶגֶף / מַכָּה negef / makkah | A striking, a blow | 灾 / 灾殃 (zāi / zāiyāng) | NEW | Medium | Passover | Avoid collapse into 报应 (karma, baseline-forbidden concept for 罪). |
| Memorial | זִכָּרוֹן zikkaron | Remembrance-marker | 纪念 (jìniàn) | NEW | Medium | Passover | Remembrance of a historical redemptive act — distinguish from ancestor-memorial rites (祭祖/扫墓). |
| Everlasting statute | חֻקַּת עוֹלָם chuqqat olam | Perpetual, binding ordinance | 永远的定例 (yǒngyuǎn de dìnglì) | NEW | Medium | Passover / Mosaic Law | Binding covenant obligation, not a cyclical folk-calendar custom. |
| Ransom for the soul | כֹּפֶר נֶפֶשׁ kofer nefesh | Covering-price for a life | 赎价 (shújià) | NEW | High | Substitutionary Atonement | Ch.30:12. Part of the atonement word-family with 代赎, 施恩座. |
| Mercy seat / atonement cover | כַּפֹּרֶת kapporet | Covering (place of atonement) | 施恩座 (shī ēn zuò) | NEW | Critical | Substitutionary Atonement / Tabernacle | LXX ἱλαστήριον — direct link to Romans 3:25 (baseline atonement-escalation rule). Shares 恩 root with 恩典. |
| Not a bone broken | עֶצֶם אֶחָד לֹא יִשָּׁבֶר | The Passover lamb’s bones remain unbroken | 骨头一根也不可折断 | NEW | Medium | Passover (typological) | Cited of Christ in John 19:36; flag for future Gospel-of-John consistency. |
3. The Character and Name of God (I AM)
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Literal Meaning | Mandarin (Pinyin) | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God (generic) | אֱלֹהִים Elohim | God/gods (generic) | 神 (Shén) | REUSED — baseline | Critical | Character of God | Exact reuse; monotheism must be made explicit in context per baseline note. |
| YHWH (the LORD) | יהוה YHWH | The covenant, personal name of God | 耶和华 (Yēhéhuá) | NEW | Critical | Character of God (I AM) | Distinct from generic 神. Never softened to an impersonal title; never 老天爷/天. |
| ”I AM WHO I AM” | אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה ‘Ehyeh Asher ‘Ehyeh | ”I will be/am who I will be/am” | 我是自有永有的 (Wǒ shì zì yǒu yǒng yǒu de) | NEW | Critical | Character of God (I AM) | Never an impersonal cosmic-principle reading (avoid drift toward Daoist 道/无). Root of 耶和华. |
| God Almighty | אֵל שַׁדַּי El Shaddai | God the all-sufficient/mountain-God | 全能的神 (Quánnéng de Shén) | NEW | Medium | Character of God | Continuous with, not separate from, YHWH. |
| ”I am the LORD” (refrain) | אֲנִי יהוה ani YHWH | Self-identification formula | 我是耶和华 (Wǒ shì Yēhéhuá) | NEW | Critical | Character of God (I AM) | Recurs chs. 6-29; render identically every occurrence. |
| Steadfast love | חֶסֶד chesed | Loyal, covenantal love-faithfulness | 慈爱 (cí’ài) | NEW | Critical | Character of God | Ch.34:6-7. Distinct from, allied with, 恩典/恩惠. Foundational OT covenant-love term. |
| Merciful and gracious | רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן rachum ve-channun | Compassionate and favor-showing | 有怜悯，有恩典 (yǒu liánmǐn, yǒu ēndiǎn) | REUSED (恩典) + NEW (怜悯) | Critical | Character of God | Reuses baseline’s exact 恩典; must not be varied stylistically. |
| Jealous God | אֵל קַנָּא El Qanna | Zealous/jealous God | 忌邪的神 (jì xié de Shén) | NEW | High | Character of God | Deliberately not 嫉妒 (petty envy); righteous covenant-exclusivity zeal. |
| Glory | כָּבוֹד kavod | Weighty radiance/honor | 荣耀 (róngyào) | REUSED — baseline | Medium | Character of God / Deity | Exact reuse; avoid 面子/光宗耀祖 per baseline. |
| Goodness | טוּב tuv | Goodness, benevolent quality | 恩慈 (ēncí) | NEW | Medium | Character of God | Ch.33:19; shares 恩 root with grace word-family. |
| Presence (“my face”) | פָּנִים panim | Face; personal presence | 同在 (tóngzài) | NEW | High | Character of God / Tabernacle | Relational nearness, not abstract omnipresence. |
| God relented | נִחַם nicham | To be sorry, relent (anthropopathic) | 后悔 (hòuhuǐ) | NEW | High | Character of God | Accommodated language for responsive compassion; not divine fallibility. Cf. providence caution in baseline. |
| Iniquity | עָוֺן avon | Moral crookedness/guilt | 罪孽 (zuìniè) | NEW | High | Character of God (forgiveness triad) | Ch.34:7, part of 3-term sin vocabulary; teach nuance vs. 过犯/罪. |
| Transgression | פֶּשַׁע pesha | Willful rebellion/breach | 过犯 (guòfàn) | NEW | High | Character of God (forgiveness triad) | See above. |
| Sin | חַטָּאָה chatta’ah | Missing the mark | 罪 (zuì) | REUSED — baseline | High | Character of God / Universal Accountability | Exact reuse of baseline’s “sin” term. |
4. The Mosaic Covenant and Law
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Literal Meaning | Mandarin (Pinyin) | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covenant | בְּרִית berit | Relational, divinely-initiated bond | 约 (yuē) | REUSED — baseline | High | Mosaic Covenant | Exact reuse; never 合同/契约 (commercial contract). |
| Law (Torah) | תּוֹרָה torah | Instruction, teaching, law | 律法 (lǜfǎ) | REUSED — baseline | High | Mosaic Covenant and Law | Exact reuse; never 礼 (Confucian ritual propriety) or 法律 (secular law), per baseline. |
| Commandment | מִצְוָה mitzvah | Commanded instruction | 诫命 (jièmìng) | NEW | High | Mosaic Covenant and Law | Distinct from 律例/典章 below; a specific directive. |
| Statute | חֹק choq | Fixed, prescribed requirement | 律例 (lǜlì) | NEW | Medium | Mosaic Covenant and Law | Often paired with מִשְׁפָּט in CUV (“律例、典章”). |
| Judgment/ordinance | מִשְׁפָּט mishpat | Judicial ruling/ordinance | 典章 (diǎnzhāng) | NEW | Medium | Mosaic Covenant and Law | Case-law/ordinance genre (chs. 21-23). |
| Ten Commandments | עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים aseret ha-devarim | ”The ten words” | 十诫 (shíjiè) | NEW | Low | Mosaic Covenant and Law | Standard Chinese Christian term; render each commandment consistently. |
| Blood of the covenant | דַּם הַבְּרִית dam ha-berit | Covenant-ratifying blood | 立约的血 (lìyuē de xuè) | NEW | Critical | Mosaic Covenant / Atonement | Ch.24:8. Direct bridge to New Covenant language (Matt 26:28); flag for future NT curricula. |
| Idol / carved image | פֶּסֶל pesel | Carved/hewn image | 雕刻的偶像 (diāokè de ǒuxiàng) | NEW | High | Mosaic Covenant / Holiness | Direct collision risk with ancestor-veneration material culture; distinguish worship from filial respect. |
| Hebrew servant | עֶבֶד עִבְרִי | Bonded Israelite servant | 希伯来奴仆 (Xībólái núpú) | NEW | Medium | Mosaic Covenant and Law | Regulated ANE debt-servitude, not chattel slavery; teach with historical framing. |
5. The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Literal Meaning | Mandarin (Pinyin) | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tabernacle | מִשְׁכָּן mishkan | Dwelling place | 帐幕 (zhàngmù) | NEW | High | Tabernacle and God’s Presence | Never 庙/寺/道观 (baseline-forbidden for “church”); portable, not a fixed pagan-style temple. |
| Tent of meeting | אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד ohel mo’ed | Tent of appointed meeting | 会幕 (huìmù) | NEW | Medium | Tabernacle and God’s Presence | Specific term for the meeting-function of the tent. |
| Ark of the covenant/testimony | אֲרוֹן הָעֵדוּת / הַבְּרִית | Chest of the testimony/covenant | 法柜 / 约柜 (fǎguì / yuēguì) | NEW | Medium | Tabernacle and God’s Presence | Not a talisman; power derives from God’s associated presence, not the object. |
| Veil | פָּרֹכֶת parochet | Curtain separating Holy Place from Most Holy Place | 幔子 (mànzi) | NEW | Medium | Tabernacle and God’s Presence | Typologically torn at Christ’s death (Matt 27:51) — flag for future NT curricula. |
| Altar | מִזְבֵּח mizbeach | Place of sacrificial slaughter | 祭坛 (jìtán) | NEW | Medium | Tabernacle / Atonement | Distinguish from ancestor-worship altars (祖先牌位/香案). |
| Glory of the LORD filled | כָּבוֹד יהוה מָלֵא | The LORD’s glory filled the tabernacle | 耶和华的荣耀充满了帐幕 | REUSED (荣耀) + NEW (充满/帐幕) | Critical | Tabernacle and God’s Presence | Ch.40:34-35. Book’s thesis-climax verse; treat with Romans-1:16-17-level consistency across all materials. |
| Dwell | שָׁכַן shakan | To dwell, settle down | 住 / 居住 (zhù / jūzhù) | NEW | Medium | Tabernacle and God’s Presence | Root of מִשְׁכָּן; “Shekinah” is post-biblical rabbinic — do not present as Exodus-text vocabulary. |
| Cherubim | כְּרוּבִים keruvim | Cherubim (angelic figures) | 基路伯 (Jīlùbó) | NEW | Low | Tabernacle | Transliteration. |
| Pillar of cloud/fire | עַמּוּד עָנָן / אֵשׁ | Visible guiding presence | 云柱 / 火柱 (yúnzhù / huǒzhù) | NEW | Low | Tabernacle and God’s Presence | Guided presence prior to Tabernacle’s construction. |
6. Deliverance from Bondage to Sin
(See also section 1 above — עֲבֹדָה, עֶבֶד, חֹפְשִׁי, גָּאַל, פָּדָה, which are the primary shared vocabulary for this doctrine.)
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Literal Meaning | Mandarin (Pinyin) | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sin | חַטָּאָה chatta’ah | Missing the mark | 罪 (zuì) | REUSED — baseline | High | Bondage to Sin | Exact reuse; bridges literal Egyptian slavery to spiritual bondage typology. |
| Molten/golden calf | עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה egel massekhah | Cast calf image | 金牛犊 (jīn niúdú) | NEW | Critical | Bondage to Sin / Idolatry | Ch.32. Direct confrontation with folk-religion material culture; must not be softened. |
| Worship idols | עֲבוֹדַת אֱלִילִים | Serving/worshiping idols | 拜偶像 (bài ǒuxiàng) | NEW | Critical | Bondage to Sin / Holiness | Standard, unambiguous Chinese Christian term; keep direct per doctrinal-preservation rule. |
7. Moses as Mediator and Deliverer
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Literal Meaning | Mandarin (Pinyin) | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moses | מֹשֶׁה Moshe | ”Drawn out [of the water]“ | 摩西 (Móxī) | REUSED — baseline | Low | Moses as Mediator/Deliverer | Fixed transliteration per 12_ai_translation_requirements.md. |
| Prophet | נָבִיא navi | God’s spokesperson | 先知 (xiānzhī) | REUSED — baseline | Low | Moses as Mediator | Applicable to Moses’ prophetic role; exact reuse. |
| Moses entreated | וַיְחַל מֹשֶׁה va-yechal Moshe | Moses assuaged/pleaded before | 恳求 (kěnqiú) | NEW | High | Moses as Mediator | Ch.32:11; link explicitly to 代求 (intercession, baseline Medium) and to Christ’s mediatorial type. |
| Mouth (spokesman) | פֶּה peh | Mouth | 口 (kǒu) | NEW | Low | Moses as Mediator | Ch.4:16, Aaron as Moses’ “mouth.” |
| Angel of the LORD | מַלְאַךְ יהוה mal’akh YHWH | Messenger of YHWH | 耶和华的使者 (Yēhéhuá de shǐzhě) | NEW | High | Character of God / Moses’ Call | Preserve the text’s own YHWH/angel identity ambiguity; not a mere created messenger. |
| Intercession | (conceptual; cf. Ex 32:11, 32) | Pleading on another’s behalf before God | 代求 (dàiqiú) | REUSED — baseline | Medium | Moses as Mediator | Exact reuse of baseline term; distinguish from 求签/问卜 divination. |
8. Holiness and the Fear of the Lord
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Literal Meaning | Mandarin (Pinyin) | Status | Risk | Doctrine | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holy | קָדוֹשׁ qadosh | Set apart, morally/ritually pure | 圣洁 (shèngjié) | REUSED — baseline | High | Holiness and Fear of the Lord | Exact reuse; never 清净 (Daoist/Buddhist ritual stillness). |
| Holy ground | אַדְמַת קֹדֶשׁ | Ground made holy by God’s presence | 圣地 (shèngdì) | NEW | Medium | Holiness | Holy because of God’s presence, not the site’s inherent power (contrast folk 灵地/风水宝地). |
| Holy to the LORD | קֹדֶשׁ לַיהוָה | Set apart, belonging to YHWH | 归耶和华为圣 (guī Yēhéhuá wéi shèng) | NEW | Medium | Holiness | Inscription on high priest’s plate (28:36). |
| Kingdom of priests, holy nation | מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ | Priestly, set-apart national identity | 祭司的国度、圣洁的国民 | NEW | High | Holiness / Election | Ch.19:6. Flag for 1 Peter 2:9 consistency in future curricula. |
| Fear of the LORD | יִרְאַת יהוה yir’at YHWH | Reverential awe toward YHWH | 敬畏耶和华 (jìngwèi Yēhéhuá) | NEW | High | Holiness and Fear of the Lord | Distinguish 敬畏 (worshipful awe) from 害怕 (ordinary fear) and from superstitious dread of spirits/ghosts. |
| Priest / high priest | כֹּהֵן / כֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל | Mediating cultic office-holder | 祭司 / 大祭司 (jìsī / dà jìsī) | NEW | Medium | Holiness / Moses as Mediator | Distinguish from Buddhist monks (僧侣) / Daoist priests (道士). |
| Anoint | מָשַׁח mashach | To smear/pour oil, setting apart for office | 膏 / 受膏 (gāo / shòu gāo) | NEW | High | Holiness / Messianic Typology | Etymological root of מָשִׁיחַ → 基督 (baseline Critical). Flag typological link explicitly. |
| Treasured possession | עַם סְגֻלָּה am segullah | A people of special, treasured value | 属我的子民 (shǔ wǒ de zǐmín) | NEW | High | Holiness / Election | Related to baseline’s 拣选 (election); status by God’s choice, not earned merit. |
| Sabbath | שַׁבָּת Shabbat | Cessation, rest | 安息日 (ānxírì) | NEW | Medium | Holiness / Mosaic Covenant | Distinguish from Buddhist/Daoist meditative stillness (静/禅定); covenantal rest tied to creation and redemption. |
| Sabbath as sign | אוֹת (of the Sabbath) | Covenant sign | 记号 (jìhao) | NEW (reused root) | Medium | Holiness / Mosaic Covenant | Ch.31:13,17; same term as Passover’s אוֹת. |
| Spirit of God | רוּח אֱלֹהִים ruach Elohim | The Spirit/breath of God | 神的灵 (Shén de líng) | NEW — elevated per baseline rule | Critical | Holiness / Spiritual Gifts | NEVER render as bare 灵; baseline’s “never 灵 alone” rule extended here for OT-to-NT Trinitarian continuity. Flag every occurrence for theologian review. |
Cross-Reference Note: Terms Reused Verbatim from the Baseline Romans Translation Memory
The following terms appear in Exodus contexts above and must match translation_memory.json exactly, with no deviation:
| Term | Mandarin | Baseline Risk |
|---|---|---|
| God | 神 | Critical |
| Grace | 恩典 | Critical |
| Salvation | 救恩 | Critical |
| Sin | 罪 | High |
| Covenant | 约 | High |
| Law | 律法 | High |
| Holy | 圣洁 | High |
| Glory | 荣耀 | Medium |
| Moses | 摩西 | Low (proper name) |
| Prophet | 先知 | Low |
| Intercession | 代求 | Medium |
| Election (conceptual parallel to 属我的子民) | 拣选 | High |
| Christ/Messiah (etymological root note only; not textually present in Exodus) | 基督 | Critical |
New Terms Requiring Translation Memory Promotion (Priority Order)
- 耶和华 (YHWH) — Critical
- 我是自有永有的 (“I AM WHO I AM”) — Critical
- 逾越节 (Passover) — Critical
- 羊羔 (Passover lamb) — High
- 血 (blood, atonement sense) — Critical
- 施恩座 (mercy seat) — Critical
- 救赎 (redeem, ga’al) — Critical
- 代赎 (redeem, padah) — Critical
- 慈爱 (chesed, steadfast love) — Critical
- 帐幕 (tabernacle) — High
- 神的灵 (Spirit of God, OT usage) — Critical
- 金牛犊 (golden calf) — Critical
- 忌邪的神 (jealous God) — High
- 敬畏耶和华 (fear of the LORD) — High
- 灭命的 (the destroyer) — High
All fourteen items above should be routed to human theologian review before promotion, per the Critical/High review-routing convention established in doctrine_risk_registry.json.
Critical Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: 恩典
Transliteration: ēndiǎn
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: 功德, 造化, 福气, 阴德
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. NEVER 功德/阴德 (merit-ledger Buddhist concepts). In Exodus, 恩典 is reused exactly at 34:6 (‘有怜悯，有恩典’) and shares its 恩 root with the new Exodus-specific terms 恩惠 (chen), 恩慈 (tuv), and 慈爱 (chesed) — these four must never be taught as free synonyms; see the chesed and chen_favor entries below.
Salvation
Approved rendering: 救恩
Transliteration: jiùēn
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 解脱, 超度, 得道
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. NEVER 解脱 (Buddhist liberation from samsara) or 超度 (posthumous rite for the dead). Reused exactly at Exodus 14:13 (‘站住，看耶和华今日向你们所要施行的救恩’) for Israel’s historical, this-worldly, this-life deliverance at the Red Sea — the OT enactment of salvation received passively by trust, not works.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: 成圣
Transliteration: chéngshèng
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 修身, 修炼
Inherited from Romans package verbatim; not textually present as a term in Exodus but retained because it is the direct downstream New Testament development of Exodus’s holiness doctrine (圣洁, 敬畏耶和华) and shares the same Neo-Confucian self-cultivation collision risk documented here for the whole holiness word-family.
Messiah
Approved rendering: 基督
Transliteration: Jīdū
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: 弥勒, 救世主式泛称
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Never conflate with 弥勒 (Maitreya). Not textually present in Exodus, but its etymological root מָשַׁח (‘to anoint’) is directly enacted in Exodus’s priestly anointing (מָשַׁח → 膏/受膏, chs.29-30); every anointing occurrence must flag this typological link explicitly.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: 圣灵
Transliteration: Shènglíng
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 祖灵, 灵
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. NEVER bare 灵; never 祖灵. This absolute rule is extended in this package to the OT text itself: Exodus’s רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים (Bezalel/Oholiab craftsmanship, 31:3; 35:31) must be rendered 神的灵, never bare 灵, to preserve theological continuity toward this same Spirit’s full NT identification as 圣灵. See the new term ruach_elohim below.
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Shén
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 上帝, 天, 老天爷
Original: אֱלֹהִים
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. This package standardizes on 神 (Shen edition). In Exodus this term is doctrinally live because it is applied both to the true God and to ‘the gods of Egypt’ (12:12, 埃及的神) and ‘the gods’ generically (15:11, 众神) — every such occurrence must carry an explicit note that the usage is comparative-polemical (asserting no true rival), never a functional acknowledgment of a real pantheon. Kept visually/conceptually distinct from the new proper-name term 耶和华 below.
Yhwh
Approved rendering: 耶和华
Transliteration: Yēhéhuá
Doctrine: The Character and Name of God (I AM)
Rejected alternatives: 上帝, 天, 老天爷, 耶威
Original: יהוה
Category: God
NEW. The personal, covenant, proper name of God, revealed climactically at the burning bush (3:14-15) and used throughout Exodus as Israel’s covenant-keeping Redeemer. Must remain visually and conceptually distinct from generic 神 (folk deity, any spirit). Never softened toward 天 or 老天爷 (impersonal, colloquial ‘Heaven’), which would erase the personal, self-revealing, relational character central to Exodus’s Name theology. Never render as 上帝 in this package.
I Am Who I Am
Approved rendering: 我是自有永有的
Transliteration: Wǒ shì zì yǒu yǒng yǒu de
Doctrine: The Character and Name of God (I AM)
Rejected alternatives: 我是我所是的（直译）, 自然而然的存在
Original: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
Category: God
NEW. Established CUV rendering of God’s self-disclosure at Exodus 3:14. CRITICAL: must never be taught or paraphrased as an impersonal cosmic first-principle — Mandarin readers with a Daoist background risk hearing this as an echo of 道 (the impersonal, self-generating Way) or 无 (primordial Non-being). Must always be anchored immediately to covenant relationship (‘the God of your fathers,’ 3:15), never abstracted into philosophy.
I Am The Lord Refrain
Approved rendering: 我是耶和华
Transliteration: Wǒ shì Yēhéhuá
Doctrine: The Character and Name of God (I AM)
Rejected alternatives: 我就是主（风格变体，禁止）
Original: אֲנִי יהוה
Category: God
NEW. The recurring covenant self-identification formula אֲנִי יהוה (Exodus 6:2,6,7,8; 12:12; and throughout the plague/law narratives). Render identically at EVERY occurrence — never varied stylistically — since consistency across dozens of occurrences is itself part of how the text teaches God’s unchanging self-identity.
Chesed
Approved rendering: 慈爱
Transliteration: cí’ài
Doctrine: Covenant Faithfulness: Steadfast Love (Chesed)
Rejected alternatives: 恩情, 人情
Original: חֶסֶד
Category: God
NEW — required Critical-tier addition. Established CUV rendering of חֶסֶד, God’s covenantal, loyal, steadfast love (Exodus 34:6-7; 15:13; 20:6). Must not be flattened to generic human affection or transactional kindness. Closely allied with, but lexically distinct from, 恩惠 (chen, favor) and the baseline’s 恩典 (grace) — teach the continuity of this whole grace/love word-family without collapsing the terms into synonyms.
Merciful And Gracious
Approved rendering: 有怜悯，有恩典
Transliteration: yǒu liánmǐn, yǒu ēndiǎn
Doctrine: The Character and Name of God (I AM)
Original: רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן
Category: God
NEW. Established CUV rendering of רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן (Exodus 34:6), the fullest OT self-revelation of God’s character. Reuses the baseline’s exact Critical-risk 恩典 without modification. Must never be varied stylistically or substituted with a near-synonym for literary effect.
Ruach Elohim
Approved rendering: 神的灵
Transliteration: Shén de líng
Doctrine: Spirit-Empowered Service (Tabernacle Craftsmanship)
Rejected alternatives: 灵, 感召, 灵感
Original: רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים
Category: God
NEW — elevated to Critical per baseline’s absolute ‘灵 never alone’ rule. Renders רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים filling Bezalel and Oholiab for Tabernacle craftsmanship (Exodus 31:3; 35:31). NEVER bare 灵, even in this narrative-craftsmanship context where ‘inspiration’ vocabulary is tempting — required to preserve theological continuity toward this same Spirit’s full NT identification as 圣灵. Flag every occurrence for human theologian review.
Egel Massekhah
Approved rendering: 金牛犊
Transliteration: jīn niúdú
Doctrine: The Golden Calf and the Danger of Idolatry
Original: עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה
Category: Sin
NEW. The molten/cast golden calf Israel worshiped at Sinai (Exodus 32). This is the paradigm biblical idolatry narrative and directly confronts Chinese material religious culture: incense offerings, cast/carved images, and ritual meals before an image (32:6) closely parallel folk-temple and ancestral-ritual patterns. Must not be softened, euphemized, or generalized away from this specific cultural resonance.
Avodat Elilim
Approved rendering: 拜偶像
Transliteration: bài ǒuxiàng
Doctrine: The Golden Calf and the Danger of Idolatry
Original: עֲבוֹדַת אֱלִילִים
Category: Sin
NEW. Standard, unambiguous Chinese Christian term for the general category of idol-worship (Exodus 20, 23, 32, 34). Must remain direct and unsoftened per the doctrinal-preservation rule; never paraphrase toward vague ‘other beliefs’ language.
Ga Al Redeem
Approved rendering: 救赎
Transliteration: jiùshú
Doctrine: The Exodus as Redemption
Rejected alternatives: 解脱, 超度, 过继式救赎
Original: גָּאַל
Category: Redemption
NEW. Renders גָּאַל, kinsman-right redemption (‘I will redeem you with an outstretched arm,’ Exodus 6:6). NEVER 解脱/超度 (already forbidden in baseline for salvation). Must be kept lexically distinguishable from 代赎 (padah, ch.13) — a related but distinct nuance foregrounding substitution rather than kinship-right.
Padah Redeem
Approved rendering: 代赎
Transliteration: dài shú
Doctrine: Redemption of the Firstborn
Rejected alternatives: 救赎（不加区分）
Original: פָּדָה
Category: Redemption
NEW. Renders פָּדָה, redemption by substitute payment/life (Exodus 13:13,15). The OT term-of-art for substitutionary redemption; must not be collapsed into 救赎 (ga’al) without a distinguishing note — 代赎 specifically foregrounds substitution, the exact theological point Passover typology carries into NT atonement teaching.
Pesach Passover
Approved rendering: 逾越节
Transliteration: Yúyuèjié
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Rejected alternatives: 逾越节（音译）, 巴斯卡, 节日（泛称）
Original: פֶּסַח
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW — the anchor term of the entire curriculum. Renders פֶּסַח, matching the CUV/NT πάσχα rendering used for 1 Corinthians 5:7 (‘Christ our Passover’) for cross-curriculum consistency. Never a generic ‘festival’ word (节日), which loses the root sense of ‘passing over/sparing.’ Must always be glossed with its etymology so the connection to verses 12-13’s sparing action is never lost.
Tamim Blemish
Approved rendering: 无残疾的
Transliteration: wú cánjí de
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Rejected alternatives: 修成正果的（禁止用于此语境）
Original: תָּמִים
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders תָּמִים, ‘without blemish/defect’ (Exodus 12:5). Must never be rendered with, or explained via, any term implying moral cultivation or self-perfection (avoid echoes of 修身/修炼, forbidden for 成圣) — the animal’s flawlessness is a given qualification for selection, not an achievement, foreshadowing Christ’s flawless moral perfection (1 Peter 1:19).
Dam Blood
Approved rendering: 血
Transliteration: xuè
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Original: דָּם
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW — single highest-risk term in the core passage. Renders דָּם, applied to the doorposts/lintel, securing deliverance (Exodus 12:7,13,22-23). Must always retain the sense of a life given forensically and substitutionarily in the place of another life; never allow 血 to be read as a ritual marker or folk-protective charm (cf. baseline’s 平安符-amulet caution). The causal clause (‘when I see the blood, I will pass over you’) must never be detached or softened. Feeds directly into Romans 3:25/5:9.
Pasach Pass Over
Approved rendering: 越过
Transliteration: yuèguò
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Original: פָּסַח
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders the verb פָּסַח, ‘to pass over/skip’ sparingly (Exodus 12:13,23,27), echoing 逾越 in 逾越节. The causal link must never be softened into a general statement of protection detached from the blood; the blood is the stated and ONLY ground of the sparing.
Kapporet Mercy Seat
Approved rendering: 施恩座
Transliteration: shī ēn zuò
Doctrine: Blood Atonement and Covenant Ratification
Original: כַּפֹּרֶת
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Established CUV term for כַּפֹּרֶת, the golden atonement-cover of the ark (Exodus 25:17-22). LXX ἱλαστήριον links directly to Romans 3:25, already an escalation-flagged term in the baseline. Shares the 恩 root with 恩典 — a fruitful but non-obvious link (the place of atonement is also the place from which grace is dispensed) requiring explicit teaching.
Dam Ha Berit
Approved rendering: 立约的血
Transliteration: lìyuē de xuè
Doctrine: Blood Atonement and Covenant Ratification
Original: דַּם הַבְּרִית
Category: Covenant / Law
NEW. Renders דַּם הַבְּרִית, covenant-ratifying blood sprinkled by Moses (Exodus 24:8). Built on 约 and 血 (both already Critical). Direct typological bridge to New Covenant language (Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20) and Hebrews’ covenant-blood theology; must render consistently for any future NT curriculum.
Kavod Yhwh Filled
Approved rendering: 耶和华的荣耀就充满了帐幕
Transliteration: Yēhéhuá de róngyào jiù chōngmǎn le zhàngmù
Doctrine: God’s Glory Filling the Tabernacle (Book’s Climax)
Original: כְּבוֹד יְהוָה מָלֵא אֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן
Category: Tabernacle
NEW — the curriculum’s single highest cross-document consistency requirement. Renders Exodus 40:34-35, reusing established 荣耀 and 帐幕 exactly. This verse consummates all eight assigned curriculum doctrines simultaneously and must be treated with the same weight the baseline assigns to Romans 1:16-17, 8:28, and 10:9-10 — render identically everywhere quoted.
High Risk Terms
Sin
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: zuì
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: 报应, 罪犯式的罪
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Reused exactly for חַטָּאָה at Exodus 34:7, part of a threefold forgiveness-vocabulary set with the new Exodus-specific terms 罪孽 (avon) and 过犯 (pesha) — teach as a set, not interchangeable synonyms. Also bridges literal Egyptian slavery (奴役/苦工/奴仆) to the later spiritual-bondage-to-sin typology; the literal-to-typological move must be made explicit.
Covenant
Approved rendering: 约
Transliteration: yuē
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: 合同, 契约
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Never 合同/契约 (commercial contract). Foundational to the Sinai covenant (Exodus 19-24) and the patriarchal promises (2:24; 6:4-5); root of new Exodus compounds 立约的血 (blood of the covenant, 24:8) and 约柜 (ark of the covenant).
Law
Approved rendering: 律法
Transliteration: lǜfǎ
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 礼, 道德规范, 法律
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Never equate with 礼 (Confucian ritual propriety) or 法律 (secular civil law). In Exodus this is the Mosaic Law given at Sinai (chs.20-24, 34) to an already-redeemed people (20:2) — grace precedes law. Governs the new sub-category terms 诫命 (commandment), 律例 (statute), 典章 (ordinance), 十诫 (Ten Commandments).
Holy
Approved rendering: 圣洁
Transliteration: shèngjié
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: 清净, 圣人般的
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Never 清净 (Daoist/Buddhist ritual/meditative purity). Reused for קָדוֹשׁ throughout Exodus (holy ground 3:5, Israel’s calling 19:6, priestly consecration chs.28-29); governs new compounds 圣地 (holy ground), 归耶和华为圣, and 祭司的国度、圣洁的国民.
Election
Approved rendering: 拣选
Transliteration: jiǎnxuǎn
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: 天命, 命运, 缘分
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Never 天命/命运/缘分. Closely related to the new Exodus term 属我的子民 (treasured possession, 19:5) — Israel’s chosen status is gracious divine choice, not earned merit, exactly the same distinction the baseline draws for 拣选.
Adoption
Approved rendering: 儿子的名分
Transliteration: érzi de míngfèn
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: 过继, 收养
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Never 过继 (clan-based heir-transfer for ancestor-rite continuation). Retained here because Exodus’s kinsman-redemption term 救赎 (ga’al) must be explicitly distinguished in teaching from 过继’s instrumental, lineage-continuation connotation, even though 救赎 itself is not the adoption term.
El Qanna
Approved rendering: 忌邪的神
Transliteration: jì xié de Shén
Doctrine: Divine Jealousy and Exclusive Worship
Rejected alternatives: 嫉妒的神
Original: אֵל קַנָּא
Category: God
NEW. CUV deliberately avoids 嫉妒 (jídù, ordinary Mandarin for petty, insecure human envy) for אֵל קַנָּא (Exodus 20:5; 34:14). Teaching notes must explain why 忌邪 rather than 嫉妒 was chosen: righteous covenant-exclusivity zeal, not human pettiness.
Panim Presence
Approved rendering: 同在
Transliteration: tóngzài
Doctrine: The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
Rejected alternatives: 无所不在, 灵界的存在
Original: פָּנִים
Category: God
NEW. Settled modern Chinese Christian theological shorthand for פָּנִים (‘my face/presence will go with you,’ Exodus 33:14-15). Must be distinguished from a generalized philosophical claim of omnipresence — this is covenantal, relational nearness promised specifically to God’s redeemed people, not an abstract property.
Nicham Relented
Approved rendering: 后悔
Transliteration: hòuhuǐ
Doctrine: Providence in the Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Original: נִחַם
Category: God
NEW. CUV convention for נִחַם (Exodus 32:14, God ‘relented’ of the disaster). Risks implying divine error/fallibility in ordinary Mandarin usage (‘to regret a mistake’). Mandatory accommodated-language (anthropopathic) framing note required at EVERY occurrence, not merely first introduction — this is real relational responsiveness within God’s unchanging character, not a change of mind admitting error.
Mi Khamokha
Approved rendering: 耶和华啊，众神之中，谁能像你
Transliteration: Yēhéhuá a, zhòng shén zhī zhōng, shéi néng xiàng nǐ
Doctrine: Divine Judgment on the False Gods of Egypt
Original: מִי כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם
Category: God
NEW. Rendering of מִי כָמֹכָה בָּאֵלִם (Exodus 15:11). The plural ‘gods’ here uses the generic 神 root; teaching must make clear the rhetorical form is comparative-polemical (no true rival exists), not an acknowledgment of a functioning pantheon — a distinction easily lost on readers from a Chinese folk-religion background with an actual pantheon of city gods, kitchen gods, and regional deities.
Mal Akh Yhwh
Approved rendering: 耶和华的使者
Transliteration: Yēhéhuá de shǐzhě
Doctrine: Moses as Mediator and Deliverer
Rejected alternatives: 天使, 灵体使者
Original: מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה
Category: God
NEW. ‘The angel of the LORD’ (Exodus 3:2; 23:20-23), who speaks/acts with divine authority interchangeably with YHWH. Must not be flattened to an ordinary created angel or equated with folk intermediary spirits; the text’s own ambiguity between this figure and YHWH himself must be preserved in teaching, not resolved by translation choice.
Avon Iniquity
Approved rendering: 罪孽
Transliteration: zuìniè
Doctrine: Covenant Faithfulness: Steadfast Love (Chesed)
Original: עָוֹן
Category: Sin
NEW. Renders עָוֹן (‘moral crookedness/guilt’), the first of three near-synonyms for wrongdoing in Exodus 34:7. Part of a threefold Hebrew vocabulary converging under Mandarin’s comparatively narrower native vocabulary; explanatory notes required so 罪孽, 过犯, and 罪 are not treated as freely interchangeable.
Pesha Transgression
Approved rendering: 过犯
Transliteration: guòfàn
Doctrine: Covenant Faithfulness: Steadfast Love (Chesed)
Original: פֶּשַׁע
Category: Sin
NEW. Renders פֶּשַׁע (‘willful rebellion/breach of relationship’), the second term in the Exodus 34:7 forgiveness triad. See avon_iniquity note — teach the threefold vocabulary as a deliberate set.
Pesel Idol
Approved rendering: 雕刻的偶像
Transliteration: diāokè de ǒuxiàng
Doctrine: The Mosaic Covenant and Law
Original: פֶּסֶל
Category: Sin
NEW. Renders פֶּסֶל, ‘a carved/hewn image’ (Exodus 20:4). Direct collision risk with the material culture of Chinese folk religion and ancestor veneration (incense, carved deity statues, ancestral tablets); distinguish prohibited image-worship from culturally neutral art and, pastorally, from non-worshipful filial respect for the deceased.
Bekhor Firstborn
Approved rendering: 头生的
Transliteration: tóushēng de
Doctrine: Redemption of the Firstborn
Original: בְּכוֹר
Category: Redemption
NEW. Renders בְּכוֹר, object of both judgment (Exodus 11-12, Egypt’s firstborn) and redemption (Exodus 13, Israel’s firstborn). Must be rendered IDENTICALLY in both contexts to preserve the deliberate judgment/redemption contrast the text builds.
Avodah Qashah
Approved rendering: 奴役 / 苦工
Transliteration: núyì / kǔgōng
Doctrine: Deliverance from Bondage to Sin
Original: עֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה
Category: Redemption
NEW. Renders עֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה, Israel’s ‘hard/harsh service’ under Pharaoh (Exodus 1:13-14; 5:9) — the historical ground-floor referent for the later spiritual-bondage-to-sin doctrine (cf. Romans 6:16-20 under the baseline). Every later spiritual-bondage teaching must make the literal-to-typological move explicit, not assumed.
Eved Slave
Approved rendering: 奴仆
Transliteration: núpú
Doctrine: Deliverance from Bondage to Sin
Original: עֶבֶד
Category: Redemption
NEW. Concrete-noun form of עֶבֶד, used of Israel under Pharaoh and, regulated, within Israel’s own law (Exodus 21:2-11). Distinguish literal historical usage from later spiritual-bondage metaphor.
Kofer Nefesh
Approved rendering: 赎价
Transliteration: shújià
Doctrine: Blood Atonement and Covenant Ratification
Original: כֹּפֶר נֶפֶשׁ
Category: Redemption
NEW. Renders כֹּפֶר נֶפֶשׁ, ‘ransom for a life’ — the census atonement payment (Exodus 30:12). Part of the same atonement word-family as 代赎 and 施恩座; teach as one coherent substitutionary-payment theme.
Ger Toshav
Approved rendering: 寄居的
Transliteration: jìjū de
Doctrine: Inclusion of the Sojourner
Rejected alternatives: 外人, 夷人
Original: גֵּר / תּוֹשָׁב
Category: Redemption
NEW. Renders גֵּר / תּוֹשָׁב, a resident foreigner who may, under circumcision, join the Passover community (Exodus 12:48-49; 22:21; 23:9). Must not import the classical Hua-Yi (华夷) insider/outsider hierarchy already flagged in the baseline for 外邦人 — this text explicitly opens covenant incorporation to the outsider, an early anticipation of Gentile inclusion.
Seh Lamb
Approved rendering: 羊羔
Transliteration: yánggāo
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Original: שֶׂה
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders שֶׂה per CUV convention, though the underlying Hebrew is broader than English ‘lamb’ (sheep or goat, Exodus 12:3,5). Feeds directly into the NT’s ‘Lamb of God’ typology (John 1:29; Revelation 5); consistency forward through any future Gospel-of-John or Revelation curriculum is essential.
Mashchit Destroyer
Approved rendering: 灭命的
Transliteration: miè mìng de
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Rejected alternatives: 无常, 黑白无常
Original: מַשְׁחִית
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders מַשְׁחִית, the destroyer/agent of judgment (Exodus 12:23). Must NEVER be illustrated as a folk grim-reaper or ghost figure — avoid any overlap with 无常/黑白无常, Chinese folk-religion death-spirit escorts. This is God’s own executed judgment, not an autonomous supernatural being.
Mitzvah Commandment
Approved rendering: 诫命
Transliteration: jièmìng
Doctrine: The Mosaic Covenant and Law
Original: מִצְוָה
Category: Covenant / Law
NEW. Renders מִצְוָה, a specific commanded instruction (Exodus 24:12). Distinct from 律例 (statute) and 典章 (ordinance); teach within the same word-family as 十诫.
Mishkan Tabernacle
Approved rendering: 帐幕
Transliteration: zhàngmù
Doctrine: The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
Rejected alternatives: 庙, 寺, 道观, 圣殿（用于帐幕语境时避免）
Original: מִשְׁכָּן
Category: Tabernacle
NEW. Renders מִשְׁכָּן, the portable dwelling-place (Exodus 25-31; 35-40). Must NEVER be rendered with or illustrated alongside 庙 (folk temple), 寺 (Buddhist temple), or 道观 (Daoist temple) — terms already forbidden in the baseline for ‘church.’ The Tabernacle’s portability and aniconic nature (no image of God) make this collision doubly important to avoid.
Va Yechal Moshe
Approved rendering: 恳求
Transliteration: kěnqiú
Doctrine: Moses as Mediator and Deliverer
Original: וַיְחַל מֹשֶׁה
Category: Mediator
NEW. Renders וַיְחַל מֹשֶׁה, Moses’ pleading intercession after the golden calf, including his offer to be blotted out in Israel’s place (Exodus 32:11,32). Must be explicitly linked to 代求 and to Moses as a type of Christ’s mediatorial intercession (1 Timothy 2:5); not left as an isolated narrative detail.
Mashach Anoint
Approved rendering: 膏 / 受膏
Transliteration: gāo / shòu gāo
Doctrine: Priestly Mediation and Anointing
Original: מָשַׁח
Category: Mediator
NEW. Renders מָשַׁח, the ritual act of setting apart priests for office (Exodus 29:7; 30:30). Etymological root of מָשִׁיחַ/Χριστός, already 基督 (Critical) in the baseline — teaching notes must flag this typological link explicitly at every occurrence.
Mamlechet Kohanim
Approved rendering: 祭司的国度、圣洁的国民
Transliteration: jìsī de guódù, shèngjié de guómín
Doctrine: Election as God’s Treasured Possession
Original: מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ
Category: Holiness
NEW. Renders מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ (Exodus 19:6). Directly anticipates 1 Peter 2:9’s application of this exact language to the church; flag for future-curriculum consistency. 国民 must not be read through a modern nation-state political lens — covenantal-religious, not geopolitical, identity.
Yir At Yhwh
Approved rendering: 敬畏耶和华
Transliteration: jìngwèi Yēhéhuá
Doctrine: Holiness and the Fear of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 害怕耶和华
Original: יִרְאַת יְהוָה
Category: Holiness
NEW. Renders יִרְאַת יהוה (Exodus 1:17,21; 20:18-20). Must distinguish 敬畏 (worshipful, reverential awe) from ordinary 害怕 (fright/dread) and from superstitious dread of spirits, ghosts, or offended ancestral/folk deities — reverent submission to a personal, holy, trustworthy God, not anxious placation of an unpredictable power.
Am Segullah
Approved rendering: 属我的子民
Transliteration: shǔ wǒ de zǐmín
Doctrine: Election as God’s Treasured Possession
Original: עַם סְגֻלָּה
Category: Holiness
NEW. Renders עַם סְגֻלָּה, ‘a treasured possession’ (Exodus 19:5). Closely related to the baseline’s 拣选; must not suggest Israel’s special status was earned merit rather than gracious divine choice.
Hardened Heart
Approved rendering: 使法老的心刚硬
Transliteration: shǐ Fǎlǎo de xīn gāngyìng
Doctrine: Providence in the Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
Original: הִכְבִּיד / הִקְשָׁה אֶת לֵב פַּרְעֹה
Category: Providence
NEW. Renders the recurring הִכְבִּיד/הִקְשָׁה אֶת לֵב פַּרְעֹה (Exodus 4:21; 7:3; 8:15; 9:12; 10:1; 14:4). Directly parallels the baseline’s providence/fatalism caution (神的护理 vs. 天意). The text’s self-hardening/God-hardening tension must be preserved, not resolved toward either fatalism or pure human autonomy.
Medium Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fúyīn
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 好消息, 喜讯
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Not textually present in Exodus but retained for cross-curriculum consistency since Exodus redemption typology (Passover, kinsman-redemption) is the OT root the gospel announcement fulfills.
Glory
Approved rendering: 荣耀
Transliteration: róngyào
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 面子, 光宗耀祖
Original: כָּבוֹד
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Never 面子/光宗耀祖. Reused exactly for כָּבוֹד throughout Exodus (Sinai theophany 19:16-18; Moses’ request 33:18-23; the book’s climax 40:34-35, 耶和华的荣耀就充满了帐幕).
Intercession
Approved rendering: 代求
Transliteration: dàiqiú
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Rejected alternatives: 求签, 问卜
Original: (conceptual; cf. Exodus 32:11-14, 30-32)
Category: Mediator
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Never 求签/问卜. In Exodus this term is elevated by association: Moses’ 恳求 (va-yechal Moshe, 32:11-14, 30-32) is the fullest OT enactment of intercessory mediation and must be explicitly linked to 代求 and to Christ’s superior mediation (1 Timothy 2:5).
Israel
Approved rendering: 以色列
Transliteration: Yǐsèliè
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: יִשְׂרָאֵל
Category: Names
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. In Exodus, the corporate covenant people delivered from Egypt, called עֵדָה (congregation, new term 会众) and later מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ (kingdom of priests, holy nation, 19:6).
El Shaddai
Approved rendering: 全能的神
Transliteration: Quánnéng de Shén
Doctrine: The Character and Name of God (I AM)
Original: אֵל שַׁדַּי
Category: God
NEW. Established CUV title for אֵל שַׁדַּי (Exodus 6:3), reusing the Critical-risk 神 root. Teaching must clarify this is a title of the one God already revealed to the patriarchs, continuous with 耶和华 — not a second, separate deity.
Tuv Goodness
Approved rendering: 恩慈
Transliteration: ēncí
Doctrine: The Character and Name of God (I AM)
Original: טוּב
Category: God
NEW. Rendering of טוּב (Exodus 33:19, God’s goodness ‘passing before’ Moses), drawing on the 恩 root shared with 恩典/恩惠/慈爱. Distinct compound from 恩典 and must not be substituted for it in justification-by-faith contexts governed by the baseline.
Rapha Heal
Approved rendering: 医治
Transliteration: yīzhì
Doctrine: God’s Provision in the Wilderness
Original: רָפָא
Category: God
NEW. ‘The LORD who heals you’ (Exodus 15:26, title form 耶和华是医治你的). Must be distinguished from folk-healing/shamanistic invocations (e.g. 跳大神, spirit-medium healing rituals) — this is covenantal, relational healing conditioned on obedience, not a magical formula.
Yhwh Nissi
Approved rendering: 耶和华尼西
Transliteration: Yēhéhuá Níxī
Doctrine: The Character and Name of God (I AM)
Original: יהוה נִסִּי
Category: God
NEW. ‘The LORD is my banner’ (Exodus 17:15), glossed 耶和华是我的旌旗. Part of a growing set of compound covenant-names (cf. 15:26, 17:15) to be catalogued together for consistency across any future curriculum expanding on the divine names.
Chen Favor
Approved rendering: 恩惠
Transliteration: ēnhuì
Doctrine: The Exodus as Redemption
Original: חֵן
Category: Redemption
NEW. Renders חֵן, unearned favor/goodwill (Exodus 11:3; 12:36). Distinct from, though closely related to, the baseline’s 恩典 — the direct OT lexical ancestor of NT χάρις. Trace this continuity in teaching without treating 恩惠 and 恩典 as interchangeable.
Chofshi Free
Approved rendering: 自由的
Transliteration: zìyóu de
Doctrine: Deliverance from Bondage to Sin
Original: חֹפְשִׁי
Category: Redemption
NEW. Renders חֹפְשִׁי, ‘free, released’ — the mandated release of a Hebrew bondservant in the seventh year (Exodus 21:2). Connect explicitly to the Exodus-pattern of redemptive release encoded within Israel’s own legal system.
Matzah Unleavened
Approved rendering: 无酵饼
Transliteration: wú jiào bǐng
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Original: מַצָּה
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders מַצָּה (Exodus 12:8,15-20), an established Chinese Christian term. Teaching must make explicit the dual symbolism (urgency of deliverance + absence of moral corruption, cf. 1 Corinthians 5:6-8) since 无酵饼 alone reads as a recipe descriptor.
Ot Sign
Approved rendering: 记号
Transliteration: jìhao
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Rejected alternatives: 占卜的迹象
Original: אוֹת
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders אוֹת, a covenant sign/token (Passover blood 12:13; Moses’ staff-signs ch.4; Sabbath 31:13,17). Must be distinguished from divinatory ‘signs’ (占卜的迹象) — a covenant marker instituted by God’s own word and read by God himself, not a naturally occurring omen.
Negef Plague
Approved rendering: 灾 / 灾殃
Transliteration: zāi / zāiyāng
Doctrine: The Plagues as Signs and Wonders
Rejected alternatives: 报应
Original: נֶגֶף / מַכָּה
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders נֶגֶף / מַכָּה, ‘a striking/blow’ (Exodus 12:13; chs.7-11). Avoid collapsing into 报应 (karmic retribution, already forbidden under baseline’s sin entry) — a specific, personal, historical judgment, not impersonal karmic payback.
Zikkaron Memorial
Approved rendering: 纪念
Transliteration: jìniàn
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Original: זִכָּרוֹן
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders זִכָּרוֹן (Exodus 12:14). Teach as remembrance of a historical, unrepeatable act of divine deliverance, not a generic annual custom or ancestral-memorial rite — avoid overlap with 祭祖/扫墓.
Chuqqat Olam
Approved rendering: 永远的定例
Transliteration: yǒngyuǎn de dìnglì
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Original: חֻקַּת עוֹלָם
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders חֻקַּת עוֹלָם, an everlasting statute (Exodus 12:14,17). Distinguish from cyclical folk-calendar observances (e.g. Lunar New Year) that carry no covenantal obligation.
Bone Not Broken
Approved rendering: 骨头一根也不可折断
Transliteration: gǔtou yī gēn yě bùkě zhéduàn
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Original: עֶצֶם אֶחָד לֹא יִשָּׁבֵר
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. The Passover-lamb regulation of Exodus 12:46, later cited typologically of Christ (John 19:36). Flag for cross-reference consistency with any future Gospel-of-John curriculum.
Olah Burnt Offering
Approved rendering: 燔祭
Transliteration: fánjì
Doctrine: Priestly Mediation and Anointing
Original: עֹלָה
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders עֹלָה, the whole burnt offering (Exodus 29:18, etc.). Distinguish from Chinese ancestor-offering practices (烧纸, 祭品), gifts appeasing/providing for the dead rather than substitutionary offerings to a holy, living God.
Nedavah Freewill
Approved rendering: 甘心祭
Transliteration: gānxīn jì
Doctrine: The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
Original: נְדָבָה
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders נְדָבָה, the people’s voluntary offering for the Tabernacle’s construction (Exodus 35:29; 36:3). Distinguish from merit-generating almsgiving (功德-adjacent giving, forbidden vocabulary in baseline) — a grateful, voluntary response within a covenant relationship already secured by grace.
Choq Statute
Approved rendering: 律例
Transliteration: lǜlì
Doctrine: The Mosaic Covenant and Law
Original: חֹק
Category: Covenant / Law
NEW. Renders חֹק, often paired with מִשְׁפָּט (Exodus 15:25; 18:16), CUV convention ‘律例、典章’. Ensure consistent pairing with 典章 where the Hebrew pairs חֹק/מִשְׁפָּט.
Mishpat Ordinance
Approved rendering: 典章
Transliteration: diǎnzhāng
Doctrine: Case Law and Social Justice (Mishpatim)
Original: מִשְׁפָּט
Category: Covenant / Law
NEW. Renders מִשְׁפָּט, a judicial ruling/case-law ordinance, the genre of Exodus 21-23. Teach as applied covenant law, not secular civil code (法律).
Eved Ivri
Approved rendering: 希伯来奴仆
Transliteration: Xībólái núpú
Doctrine: Case Law and Social Justice (Mishpatim)
Original: עֶבֶד עִבְרִי
Category: Covenant / Law
NEW. Renders עֶבֶד עִבְרִי, a Hebrew bondservant regulated by covenant law (Exodus 21:2-11). Must be taught with ANE historical-cultural framing (regulated, time-limited debt-servitude), not the trans-Atlantic chattel-slavery model many modern readers will default to.
Ohel Moed
Approved rendering: 会幕
Transliteration: huìmù
Doctrine: The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
Original: אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד
Category: Tabernacle
NEW. Renders אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ‘tent of meeting’ (Exodus 27:21; 29:42-43), emphasizing the meeting/encounter function alongside the structural name 帐幕.
Aron Ha Edut
Approved rendering: 法柜 / 约柜
Transliteration: fǎguì / yuēguì
Doctrine: The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
Original: אֲרוֹן הָעֵדוּת / אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית
Category: Tabernacle
NEW. Renders אֲרוֹן הָעֵדוּת / אֲרוֹן הַבְּרִית (Exodus 25:10-22). Must not be portrayed as a magical talisman-object; its power derives entirely from God’s associated presence, not the object itself (cf. its capture narratives, 1 Samuel 4-6).
Parochet Veil
Approved rendering: 幔子
Transliteration: mànzi
Doctrine: The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
Original: פָּרֹכֶת
Category: Tabernacle
NEW. Renders פָּרֹכֶת, the curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Exodus 26:31-33). Marks restricted access to God’s presence, later removed typologically at Christ’s death (Matthew 27:51) — flag for future NT-curriculum consistency.
Mizbeach Altar
Approved rendering: 祭坛
Transliteration: jìtán
Doctrine: The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
Original: מִזְבֵּח
Category: Tabernacle
NEW. Renders מִזְבֵּח, ‘place of slaughter/sacrifice’ (Exodus 27:1-8; 30:1-10). Must be distinguished from ancestor-worship altars (祖先牌位, 香案) common in Chinese households.
Shakan Dwell
Approved rendering: 住 / 居住
Transliteration: zhù / jūzhù
Doctrine: The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
Original: שָׁכַן
Category: Tabernacle
NEW. Renders שָׁכַן, the verbal root behind מִשְׁכָּן. ‘Shekinah’ is a post-biblical rabbinic term, not present in the Exodus text itself, and must not be introduced as if it were biblical vocabulary.
Kohen Priest
Approved rendering: 祭司 / 大祭司
Transliteration: jìsī / dà jìsī
Doctrine: Priestly Mediation and Anointing
Rejected alternatives: 僧侣, 和尚, 道士
Original: כֹּהֵן / כֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל
Category: Mediator
NEW. Renders כֹּהֵן / כֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל (Exodus 28-29). Must be distinguished from Buddhist monks/clergy (僧侣, 和尚) or Daoist priests (道士), whose roles center on personal cultivation rather than covenantal mediation instituted by, and answerable to, the one true God.
Millu Im Ordination
Approved rendering: 承接圣职
Transliteration: chéngjiē shèngzhí
Doctrine: Priestly Mediation and Anointing
Rejected alternatives: 受戒, 剃度
Original: מִלֻּאִים
Category: Mediator
NEW. Renders מִלֻּאִים, ordination of priests, lit. ‘fillings [of the hand]’ (Exodus 29:22-26). Must not be conflated with Buddhist ordination (受戒/剃度) or Daoist initiation rites, centered on personal renunciation/cultivation rather than divine appointment.
Admat Qodesh
Approved rendering: 圣地
Transliteration: shèngdì
Doctrine: Holiness and the Fear of the Lord
Rejected alternatives: 灵地, 风水宝地
Original: אַדְמַת קֹדֶשׁ
Category: Holiness
NEW. Renders אַדְמַת קֹדֶשׁ, holy ground made holy by God’s localized presence (Exodus 3:5). Distinguish from Chinese folk-religious ‘sacred sites’ (灵地, 风水宝地) possessing inherent ritual power; here, ground is holy only because of God’s presence.
Qodesh La Yhwh
Approved rendering: 归耶和华为圣
Transliteration: guī Yēhéhuá wéi shèng
Doctrine: Holiness and the Fear of the Lord
Original: קֹדֶשׁ לַיהוָה
Category: Holiness
NEW. Renders קֹדֶשׁ לַיהוָה, the inscription on the high priest’s turban plate (Exodus 28:36), reusing the established 圣洁/圣 root.
Shabbat Sabbath
Approved rendering: 安息日
Transliteration: ānxírì
Doctrine: Sabbath as Covenant Sign
Original: שַׁבָּת
Category: Holiness
NEW. Renders שַׁבָּת (Exodus 16; 20:8-11; 31:12-17). Must be distinguished from Buddhist/Daoist meditative stillness or the cultivation of inner emptiness (静, 禅定, 无为) — covenantal cessation patterned on God’s creation-rest and Israel’s redemption-rest, first given (ch.16) before commanded (ch.20).
Yhwh Yillachem
Approved rendering: 耶和华必为你们争战
Transliteration: Yēhéhuá bì wèi nǐmen zhēngzhàn
Doctrine: God’s Provision in the Wilderness
Original: יְהוָה יִלָּחֵם לָכֶם
Category: Provision
NEW. Renders יְהוָה יִלָּחֵם לָכֶם (Exodus 14:14). Reinforces salvation-by-grace-not-merit: Israel’s only required response is to trust and observe.
Signs And Wonders
Approved rendering: 神迹奇事
Transliteration: shénjī qíshì
Doctrine: The Plagues as Signs and Wonders
Original: אוֹת וּמוֹפֵת
Category: Providence
NEW. Renders אוֹת וּמוֹפֵת (Exodus 7:3; 10:1-2), a standard Chinese Christian compound retaining the 神 root. Teaching must keep the personal-God referent explicit, resisting drift toward a generic ‘supernatural phenomenon’ reading detached from YHWH’s stated self-disclosure purpose.
Edah Congregation
Approved rendering: 会众
Transliteration: huìzhòng
Doctrine: The Exodus as Redemption
Rejected alternatives: 人群
Original: עֵדָה
Category: Community
NEW. Renders עֵדָה, the corporate covenant assembly for whom Passover is instituted (Exodus 12:3,6). Must not be flattened to a generic crowd term (人群), which would lose the covenantal, corporate sense underlying the later ecclesiology of 教会.
Low Risk Terms
Moses
Approved rendering: 摩西
Transliteration: Móxī
Doctrine: General
Inherited from Romans package verbatim (fixed CUV transliteration). Moses’ Hebrew name plays on ‘drawn out [of the water]’ (מָשָׁה), foreshadowing his role as the one who draws Israel out of bondage — a teaching note, not a rendering feature, since the wordplay does not survive transliteration.
Prophet
Approved rendering: 先知
Transliteration: xiānzhī
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: 算命先生
Inherited from Romans package verbatim. Never 算命先生 (fortune-teller). Applies to Moses’ prophetic office (נָבִיא) alongside his mediatorial and deliverer roles.
Merorim Bitter Herbs
Approved rendering: 苦菜
Transliteration: kǔcài
Doctrine: Passover and Substitutionary Atonement
Original: מְרֹרִים
Category: Passover / Atonement
NEW. Renders מְרֹרִים, bitter herbs eaten with the Passover meal as taste-memory of Egyptian slavery’s bitterness (Exodus 12:8).
Aseret Ha Devarim
Approved rendering: 十诫
Transliteration: shíjiè
Doctrine: The Ten Commandments as Moral Law
Original: עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים
Category: Covenant / Law
NEW. Standard Chinese Christian term for עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים (Exodus 20:1-17; 34:28). Each of the ten individual commandments must be rendered consistently across any future curriculum.
Keruvim Cherubim
Approved rendering: 基路伯
Transliteration: Jīlùbó
Doctrine: The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
Original: כְּרוּבִים
Category: Tabernacle
NEW. Transliteration of כְּרוּבִים, avoiding false-equivalence with native mythological creatures (e.g. 龙/凤凰).
Pillar Cloud Fire
Approved rendering: 云柱 / 火柱
Transliteration: yúnzhù / huǒzhù
Doctrine: The Tabernacle and God’s Presence
Original: עַמּוּד עָנָן / עַמּוּד אֵשׁ
Category: Tabernacle
NEW. Renders עַמּוּד עָנָן / עַמּוּד אֵשׁ, the visible guiding presence before the Tabernacle’s construction (Exodus 13:21-22).
Peh Mouth
Approved rendering: 口
Transliteration: kǒu
Doctrine: Moses as Mediator and Deliverer
Original: פֶּה
Category: Mediator
NEW. Renders פֶּה, Aaron functioning as Moses’ ‘mouth’ before Pharaoh (Exodus 4:16); a mediator relays another’s authoritative word.
Manna
Approved rendering: 吗哪
Transliteration: mǎnǎ
Doctrine: God’s Provision in the Wilderness
Original: מָן
Category: Provision
NEW. Transliteration of מָן (Exodus 16:15,31), an established, low-risk Chinese Christian term. The typological link to ‘bread from heaven’ (John 6:31-35) should be flagged for future Gospel-of-John consistency.
Yada To Know
Approved rendering: 知道
Transliteration: zhīdào
Doctrine: The Plagues as Signs and Wonders
Original: יָדַע
Category: Providence
NEW. Renders יָדַע in the repeated purpose clause ‘that you may know that I am the LORD.’ Lexically low-risk, but doctrinally significant as the stated purpose of the entire plague narrative.
Aaron
Approved rendering: 亚伦
Transliteration: Yàlún
Doctrine: General
Original: אַהֲרֹן
Category: Names
NEW. CUV standard transliteration of אַהֲרֹן, Moses’ brother and Israel’s first high priest.
Egypt
Approved rendering: 埃及
Transliteration: Āijí
Doctrine: General
Original: מִצְרַיִם
Category: Names
NEW. CUV standard for מִצְרַיִם, the land of Israel’s bondage.
Pharaoh
Approved rendering: 法老
Transliteration: Fǎlǎo
Doctrine: General
Original: פַּרְעֹה
Category: Names
NEW. CUV standard for פַּרְעֹה. Teaching should note Pharaoh was regarded by Egyptians as semi-divine, sharpening the monotheistic polemic of the plague narrative.
Sinai
Approved rendering: 西奈山
Transliteration: Xīnài Shān
Doctrine: General
Original: סִינַי
Category: Names
NEW. CUV standard for סִינַי, the site of the covenant-giving theophany (Exodus 19-24, 31-34).
Jethro
Approved rendering: 叶忒罗
Transliteration: Yètèluó
Doctrine: General
Original: יִתְרוֹ
Category: Names
NEW. CUV standard for יִתְרוֹ, Moses’ father-in-law (Exodus 18).
Referenced passages