Core Glossary
08 — Core Glossary: Nahum
This glossary catalogs every load-bearing theological and doctrinally sensitive term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, across all three chapters of Nahum. Terms already established in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked REUSED and their baseline rendering is carried over exactly, with no alteration. Terms newly introduced by Nahum are marked NEW and given a proposed risk tier, consistent with the baseline’s Critical/High/Medium/Low framework and doctrine_risk_registry.json conventions. All Critical/High entries include a grounded, specific rationale per the project’s hard rules.
A. Reused Terms from Baseline Romans Package (No Change)
| Term (EN) | Hebrew | Mandarin | Pinyin | Risk (baseline) | Nahum Occurrence(s) | Notes on Reuse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | אֵל / אֱלֹהִים | 神 | Shén | Critical | 1:2 | Reuse exactly; monotheism must be made explicit in a book addressed to a polytheistic imperial culture (Assyria’s pantheon) |
| Peace | שָׁלוֹם | 平安 | píng’ān | Medium | 1:15 | Reuse exactly; distinguish this concrete political/historical peace from the deeper forensic peace of Romans 5:1, while affirming thematic continuity |
| Power of God (concept family) | כֹּחַ / גְּבוּרָה | 大能 (as part of 大有能力) | dà néng | High | 1:3 | Reuse 大能 vocabulary family from baseline’s 神的大能; Nahum’s usage is general sovereign might rather than specifically salvific power, but must not be rendered with baseline-forbidden terms (气, 法力) |
| Glory (concept family, background) | — (implicit, 2:2 “excellency”) | 荣耀 | róngyào | Medium | 2:2 (background) | Available if curriculum lessons expand into 2:2’s “excellency of Jacob”; reuse baseline term, avoid 面子/光宗耀祖 per baseline note |
| Prophet / Prophecy (concept family) | חֲזוֹן, נָבִיא (implicit) | 异象 / 预言 (related family) | yìxiàng / yùyán | Low-Medium | 1:1 | 异象 (vision) is new but sits in the same doctrinal family as baseline’s 预言; distinguish from divination (占卜/算卦) per baseline’s existing note |
B. New Terms Introduced by Nahum
B.1 — Doctrine: God’s Sovereignty over Nineveh and Assyria
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Mandarin | Pinyin | Risk | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YHWH / “the LORD” (covenant name) | יְהוָה (YHWH) | 耶和华 | Yēhéhuá | Critical | The tetragrammaton, God’s personal covenant name, occurs 13 times in Nahum’s 3 chapters and is the grammatical subject of nearly every judgment/comfort statement in the book. It MUST be kept lexically distinct from baseline’s 主 (used for κύριος/“Lord” in Romans, e.g. the salvation confession “耶稣是主,” Romans 10:9). Collapsing 耶和华 into 主, or vice versa, would blur the crucial Old Testament/New Testament terminological distinction between the covenant proper name and the New Testament lordship title, undermining cross-Testament doctrinal continuity that this curriculum depends on. |
| LORD of hosts | יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת | 万军之耶和华 | Wànjūn zhī Yēhéhuá | Critical | This compound divine title is the most explicit textual assertion of divine command over the very armies (including Assyria’s) that appear to determine history. Reducing it to a generic military title, or omitting 耶和华 from the compound, would sever the title from the personal covenant God and risk an impersonal “cosmic army” reading — precisely the fatalistic misreading the baseline warns against for 天命/天意-type language. |
| Nineveh | נִינְוֵה | 尼尼微 | Níníwēi | Low | Established, unambiguous transliteration; proper name of the book’s primary judgment-target. |
| Assyria | אַשּׁוּר | 亚述 | Yàshù | Low | Established transliteration; the imperial power under judgment. |
| Nahum (prophet’s name) | נַחוּם | 那鸿 | Nàhóng | High (doctrinal significance despite standard transliteration) | The name’s root meaning (“comfort,” from נחם) is the theological hinge connecting the prophet’s identity to the entire book’s message. A bare transliteration conveys none of this; every teaching unit introducing the book by name MUST supply the meaning explicitly, or learners will miss the deliberate irony that a book of judgment-oracles is presented as a vehicle of comfort. |
| burden / oracle | מַשָּׂא | 默示 | mòshì | Medium | Connects directly to baseline doctrine registry’s “Inspiration of Scripture” (圣经的默示); reinforce as divinely revealed judgment-pronouncement, not human political commentary or a sage’s teaching (经). |
B.2 — Doctrine: The Justice and Wrath of God against Oppressors
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Mandarin | Pinyin | Risk | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| jealous (of God) | קַנּוֹא (qannoʾ) | 忌邪 | jìxié | High | Ordinary Mandarin “jealousy” (嫉妒 jídù) carries strongly negative, petty, insecure connotations. God’s jealousy in Nahum 1:2 is protective covenant zeal against oppression and idolatry, a positive attribute. Every occurrence requires a distinguishing note, parallel to the baseline’s treatment of other attributes vulnerable to negative folk connotation. |
| wrath / fury (concept family) | חֵמָה, זַעַם, אַף, חָרוֹן | 忿怒 / 烈怒 / 怒气 | fènnù / liènù / nùqì | High | Must be rendered consistently across all occurrences (1:2, 1:6) per the baseline’s cross-document consistency rule, and must be distinguished from (a) ordinary uncontrolled human anger and (b) impersonal karmic retribution (报应, already flagged under baseline’s “sin” entry). God’s wrath in Nahum is righteous, judicial, and directed specifically at systemic oppression — not capricious or self-generating cosmic payback. |
| vengeance / repay (verb, of God) | נָקַם (naqam) | 施报 / 报仇 | shībào / bàochóu | High | Directly risks collision with 报应 (impersonal karmic retribution, flagged in baseline’s “sin” entry) and with a human-vendetta reading (as in wuxia/revenge-narrative culture, e.g. 报仇 as personal vendetta in popular fiction). Must be taught as God’s own exclusive judicial prerogative exercised against systemic national oppression, never as a model condoning personal human revenge. |
| bloody city | עִיר הַדָּמִים | 血城 | xuèchéng | Medium | Direct, forceful moral indictment; must not be softened. Names Nineveh’s core sin (systemic violence) as the specific ground for the judgment doctrine. |
| harlotries (of the nation) | זְנוּנִים (zenunim) | 淫行 | yínxíng | High | Classic prophetic metaphor (nation-as-harlot for political/religious seduction of other nations) risks being read literalistically as a moralistic accusation about individual sexual sin rather than the intended figure for deceptive imperial power and false-alliance-making. Requires an explicit genre note connecting it to the same metaphor family used of Israel in Ezekiel 16 and Hosea, so as not to appear as an isolated slur against Nineveh alone. |
| witchcrafts | כְּשָׁפִים (kesaphim) | 邪术 | xiéshù | High | Risk of collision with baseline’s existing caution against conflating biblical categories with Chinese folk-divination vocabulary (占卜/算卦, flagged under “prophecy”). Here it functions primarily as a figure for deceptive political manipulation, paired with “harlotries”; a secondary literal sense (Assyrian court divination) exists but should not be the primary teaching point. |
| lies and plunder | כָּזָב וָפֶרֶק | 谎诈和抢夺 | huǎngzhà hé qiǎngduó | Medium | Names Nineveh’s specific systemic sins (deceit, economic violence) concretely; supports the oppression-doctrine with historical specificity rather than vague moralizing. |
| oppression / affliction | עָנָה (anah) | 苦待 / 苦难 | kǔdài / kǔnàn | High | Central to both “Justice against Oppressors” and “Comfort for the Oppressed”; must be anchored to the concrete historical experience of Judah under Assyrian aggression, not softened into generic hardship or reframed as karmic consequence (报应) for the sufferer’s own sin — the oppressed in Nahum are the wronged party, not the guilty party. |
| lion / young lion (metaphor for Assyria) | אַרְיֵה / כְּפִיר | 狮子 / 幼狮 | shīzi / yòushī | Medium | Cultural collision risk: Chinese guardian-lion imagery (石狮) is protective/auspicious; Nahum’s lion imagery is purely predatory and violent. Requires an explicit cultural note to prevent readers defaulting to the positive association. |
B.3 — Doctrine: Comfort for the Oppressed
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Mandarin | Pinyin | Risk | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| good (of God) | טוֹב (tov) | 本为善 | běn wéi shàn | Low | Standard theological vocabulary; the pivot to comfort in 1:7 depends on context, not a contested lexical choice. |
| stronghold / refuge | מָעוֹז (ma’oz) | 保障 | bǎozhàng | Medium | Modern Mandarin usage of 保障 (e.g., 社会保障, “social security/guarantee”) risks a bureaucratic, impersonal reading. Must be anchored explicitly to God himself as a personal refuge, not an institutional guarantee. |
| trust / take refuge in (verb) | חָסָה (chasah) | 倚靠 | yǐkào | High | Distinct OT verb of reliance from baseline’s noun 信心 (“faith,” the object-specific trust described in Romans). Both describe the same fundamental posture toward God, but the lexical difference must be explained so learners see continuity between Testaments rather than two unrelated concepts. Given the doctrine “Comfort for the Oppressed” depends on this verb, misalignment with 信心 risks either duplicating unnecessary vocabulary or, worse, implying two different objects of trust. |
| trouble / distress (of the oppressed) | צָרָה (tsarah) | 患难 | huànnàn | Medium | The specific distress in view is national oppression under Assyria; avoid a generic or individualistic-only reading that misses the corporate/political dimension. |
| bringer of good news | מְבַשֵּׂר (mevaser) | 报好信的 | bào hǎoxìn de | High | Directly parallels Isaiah 52:7, quoted in Romans 10:15 (a load-bearing verse in the baseline Romans package). Requires a theologian-reviewed teaching note establishing the typological (not verbally identical) connection between this historical-deliverance herald and the baseline’s 福音 (gospel, Medium risk in Romans) — an important curriculum bridge between Nahum and Romans. Do not render this with 福音 itself, which would collapse an OT historical-deliverance announcement into the full NT technical gospel term prematurely. |
| yoke / bonds (of oppression) | מוֹטָה / מוֹסֵר | 轭 / 绳索 | è / shéngsuǒ | Low-Medium | Concrete imagery of political subjugation; supports the comfort-doctrine’s promise of liberation. |
| peace | שָׁלוֹם | 平安 (REUSED) | píng’ān | Medium | See Section A; historical/political peace here, thematically continuous with but distinct from Romans 5:1’s forensic peace with God. |
B.4 — Doctrine: God as Slow to Anger yet Just
| Term (EN) | Hebrew (translit.) | Mandarin | Pinyin | Risk | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| slow to anger | אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם (ʾerekh ʾappayim) | 不轻易发怒 | bù qīngyì fā nù | Medium | Must always be taught in tension with the surrounding wrath-vocabulary (1:2, 1:6) so patience is not misread as moral indifference or as license for oppressors to presume on delayed judgment. |
| will not acquit the guilty | נַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה (naqeh lo yenaqeh) | 万不以恶为无罪 | wàn bù yǐ è wéi wú zuì | High | The doctrinal fulcrum of this theme: forecloses any reading in which divine patience becomes permissiveness. Central to teaching that comfort for the oppressed and wrath against oppressors are the same divine character, not competing attributes. |
| great in power | גְּדוֹל־כֹּחַ (gedol-koach) | 大有能力 | dà yǒu nénglì | Medium | Related to, but distinct in scope from, baseline’s 神的大能 (specifically salvific power in Romans 1:16); here it grounds general sovereign capability to execute the coming judgment. |
| wrath poured out like fire | חֲמָתוֹ נִתְּכָה כָאֵשׁ | 烈怒倾倒如火 | liènù qīngdǎo rú huǒ | High | See wrath-family note above (B.2); vivid imagery must retain judicial force, not become mere poetic hyperbole. |
| utter end / finality of judgment | כָּלָה (kalah) | 灭净 | mièjìng | Medium | Establishes that God’s justice, once patience is exhausted, is total and historically decisive — not a partial or renegotiable outcome. |
C. Proper Names (Low Risk, Full-Book Inventory)
| Term (EN) | Hebrew | Mandarin | Pinyin | Risk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nahum | נַחוּם | 那鸿 | Nàhóng | High (see B.1 — name meaning) | See doctrinal note above; transliteration alone insufficient |
| Nineveh | נִינְוֵה | 尼尼微 | Níníwēi | Low | Established CUV form |
| Elkosh(ite) | אֶלְקֹשִׁי | 伊勒歌斯人 | Yīlègēsīrén | Low | Location uncertain; minimal doctrinal content |
| Assyria | אַשּׁוּר | 亚述 | Yàshù | Low | Established CUV form |
| Bashan | בָּשָׁן | 巴珊 | Bāshān | Low | Geographic reference (1:4) |
| Carmel | כַּרְמֶל | 迦密 | Jiāmì | Low | Geographic reference (1:4) |
| Lebanon | לְבָנוֹן | 黎巴嫩 | Líbānèn | Low | Geographic reference (1:4) |
| No-Amon (Thebes) | נֹא אָמוֹן | 挪亚们 | Nuóyàmén | Low | Historical precedent (3:8); footnote should gloss as “Thebes, Egypt” for reader clarity, since transliteration alone conveys no content |
D. Full-Book Coverage Confirmation
| Chapter | Coverage Status |
|---|---|
| Nahum 1:1–8 (core passage) | Full verse-by-verse treatment in 07_semantic_analysis.md, Part A |
| Nahum 1:9–15 | Covered in 07_semantic_analysis.md, Part B, Chapter 1 (remainder) — new terms: 图谋, 苦待/苦难, 轭/绳索, 雕刻的像/铸造的像, 报好信的, 平安 (reused), 图谋奸恶的, 节期/许愿 |
| Nahum 2:1–13 | Covered in 07_semantic_analysis.md, Part B, Chapter 2 — new terms: 打碎邦国的人, 万军之耶和华, 狮子/幼狮, 空虛荒涼毀壞 (literary device), 心惊胆丧 |
| Nahum 3:1–19 | Covered in 07_semantic_analysis.md, Part B, Chapter 3 — new terms: 血城, 谎诈和抢夺, 淫行, 邪术, 挪亚们, 蝗虫, 牧人/贵胄, 伤/无法医治 |
No chapter of Nahum was found to contribute zero new theological vocabulary; all three chapters are represented above with load-bearing terms specific to their content.
E. Risk Tier Summary (Nahum New Terms Only)
| Risk Tier | Count | Terms |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 2 | 耶和华 (YHWH), 万军之耶和华 (LORD of hosts) |
| High | 10 | 那鸿 (name meaning), 报好信的, 倚靠, 苦待/苦难, 忌邪, 忿怒/烈怒 family, 施报/报仇, 淫行, 邪术, 万不以恶为无罪 |
| Medium | 13 | 默示, 图谋, 雕刻的像/铸造的像, 图谋奸恶的, 血城, 谎诈和抢夺, 狮子/幼狮, 保障, 患难, 灭净, 不轻易发怒, 大有能力, 牧人/贵胄, 伤/无法医治 |
| Low | remainder | All proper names (Section C), descriptive military/agricultural vocabulary, standard theophanic imagery |
This glossary must be merged into an updated translation_memory.json (Nahum extension) before Phase 2 processing begins, per the baseline’s Translation Memory Load and Enforcement Instructions. All Critical and High entries above require human theologian review routing, consistent with doctrine_risk_registry.json conventions.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: 神
Transliteration: Shén
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 上帝, 天, 老天爷
Original: אֵל / אֱלֹהִים
Category: God
CRITICAL: this Language Package standardizes on 神 (the CUV ‘Shen edition’ reading) rather than 上帝 (Shàngdì)… [baseline notes retained in full]. Inherited from Romans package. Nahum-specific context: Nahum 1:2 addresses a polytheistic imperial culture (Assyria’s pantheon); 神 is also the common noun for any deity/spirit in Chinese folk usage (city gods, kitchen god, ancestral spirits). Monotheism must be made explicit — the God who judges Nineveh is the one true God, not a deity contending among rivals.
Lord
Approved rendering: 主
Transliteration: zhǔ
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 主人, 老爷
Established term for κύριος/kyrios in the NT (e.g. Romans 10:9’s 耶稣是主). Inherited from Romans package. Nahum-specific context: 主 MUST NOT be substituted for 耶和华 (the covenant proper name, YHWH) anywhere in Nahum. The two terms serve distinct cross-Testament functions — 耶和华 names the covenant God who acts in OT history; 主 is the NT title of exclusive lordship confessed of Jesus. Collapsing either into the other erases a load-bearing OT/NT terminological distinction.
Yahweh
Approved rendering: 耶和华
Transliteration: Yēhéhuá
Doctrine: God’s Sovereignty over Nineveh and Assyria
Rejected alternatives: 主, 上帝, 天
Original: יְהוָה
Category: God
NEW TERM. The tetragrammaton, God’s personal covenant name, occurs 13 times across Nahum’s three chapters and is the grammatical subject of nearly every judgment/comfort statement. MUST NOT be collapsed into 主 (reserved for kyrios/‘Lord’ in the NT, e.g. Romans 10:9’s 耶稣是主). Blurring the two erases the OT covenant-name/NT lordship-title distinction the cross-Testament curriculum bridge depends on.
Lord Of Hosts
Approved rendering: 万军之耶和华
Transliteration: Wànjūn zhī Yēhéhuá
Doctrine: God’s Sovereignty over Nineveh and Assyria
Rejected alternatives: 万军之主, 天军统帅
Original: יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת
Category: God
NEW TERM. Nahum 2:13’s most explicit sovereignty title, asserting YHWH’s own command over the armies (including Assyria’s) that appear to determine history. Never truncate to a generic military title or substitute 主 for 耶和华 within the compound — doing so severs the title from the personal covenant God and risks an impersonal ‘cosmic army/fate’ reading, the same fatalistic misreading the baseline warns against for 天命/天意-type language.
High Risk Terms
Power Of God
Approved rendering: 神的大能
Transliteration: Shén de dà néng
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: 气, 法力
NEVER use 气 (qì) or 法力 (fǎlì). Inherited from Romans package. Nahum-specific context: Nahum 1:3’s ‘great in power’ (大有能力) draws on the same 大能 word family but denotes general sovereign might for executing judgment on Nineveh, a narrower scope than Romans 1:16’s specifically salvific power. See new term power_and_might_of_god below; do not conflate the two contexts without a scope note.
Sin
Approved rendering: 罪
Transliteration: zuì
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: 报应, 罪犯式的罪
Inherited from Romans package. Nahum-specific context: the baseline’s warning against 报应 (impersonal karmic retribution) is directly relevant to Nahum’s wrath/vengeance vocabulary (忿怒, 施报) and to the doctrine of oppression/affliction (苦难) — the oppressed in Nahum are the wronged party, not the guilty party, and must never be read as suffering their own karmic consequence.
Faith
Approved rendering: 信心
Transliteration: xìnxīn
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: 虔诚, 迷信, 信仰
Inherited from Romans package. Nahum-specific context: distinct lexeme from the new term 倚靠 (trust/take refuge, Nahum 1:7’s OT verb). Both describe the same fundamental posture of reliance on God across Testaments; teach continuity, not duplication or unrelated concepts.
Jealousy Of God
Approved rendering: 忌邪
Transliteration: jìxié
Doctrine: Divine Jealousy and Covenant Zeal
Rejected alternatives: 嫉妒
Original: קַנּוֹא (qannoʾ)
Category: God
NEW TERM. Established CUV rendering for Nahum 1:2’s קַנּוֹא. Ordinary Mandarin ‘jealousy’ (嫉妒, jídù) carries strongly negative, petty, insecure connotations. God’s jealousy here is positive, protective covenant zeal against oppression and idolatry, not moral insecurity. Every occurrence requires a distinguishing note.
Wrath Of God
Approved rendering: 忿怒
Transliteration: fènnù
Doctrine: The Justice and Wrath of God against Oppressors
Rejected alternatives: 报应, 报仇
Original: חֵמָה / זַעַם / אַף / חָרוֹן
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Covers the חֵמָה / זַעַם / אַף / חָרוֹן word family (Nahum 1:2, 1:6); use 烈怒 (liènù) as the intensified variant in the same family, consistently across occurrences. Must be distinguished from (a) uncontrolled human anger and (b) impersonal karmic retribution (报应, flagged in the baseline’s ‘sin’ entry). God’s wrath in Nahum is righteous, judicial, and directed specifically at systemic oppression.
Vengeance
Approved rendering: 施报
Transliteration: shībào
Doctrine: The Justice and Wrath of God against Oppressors
Rejected alternatives: 报仇, 报应
Original: נָקַם (naqam)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders נָקַם (Nahum 1:2). Avoid 报仇 (bàochóu) as primary rendering — it carries strong personal-vendetta connotations from Chinese revenge-narrative culture (e.g. wuxia fiction). Also risks collision with 报应 (impersonal karmic retribution). Teach as God’s own exclusive judicial prerogative against systemic national oppression, never a model condoning personal human revenge.
Will Not Acquit The Guilty
Approved rendering: 万不以恶为无罪
Transliteration: wàn bù yǐ è wéi wú zuì
Doctrine: God as Slow to Anger yet Just
Original: נַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה (naqeh lo yenaqeh)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders the emphatic Hebrew infinitive-absolute נַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה (Nahum 1:3). The doctrinal fulcrum foreclosing any reading in which divine patience becomes permissiveness toward oppressors. Must not be softened into a general statement about fairness.
Trust Take Refuge
Approved rendering: 倚靠
Transliteration: yǐkào
Doctrine: Comfort for the Oppressed
Rejected alternatives: 相信
Original: חָסָה (chasah)
Category: Faith
NEW TERM. Renders חָסָה (Nahum 1:7), the OT verb for taking refuge in God, distinct from the baseline noun 信心 (‘faith’, object-specific trust described in Romans). Teach continuity across Testaments (same fundamental posture toward God) without collapsing the two into interchangeable synonyms or treating them as unrelated concepts.
Bringer Of Good News
Approved rendering: 报好信的
Transliteration: bào hǎoxìn de
Doctrine: Typological Foreshadowing of the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 福音, 传福音的
Original: מְבַשֵּׂר (mevaser)
Category: Prophecy
NEW TERM. Renders מְבַשֵּׂר (Nahum 1:15), directly paralleling Isaiah 52:7, quoted in Romans 10:15. MUST NOT be rendered with 福音 or 传福音的, which would prematurely collapse this OT historical-deliverance herald into the full NT technical gospel term. Requires a theologian-reviewed note establishing the typological (not verbally identical) connection.
Nahum Name Meaning
Approved rendering: 那鸿
Transliteration: Nàhóng
Doctrine: Comfort for the Oppressed
Original: נַחוּם (Nachum)
Category: Prophecy
NEW TERM. Transliteration of נַחוּם, root meaning ‘comfort, consolation’. Bare transliteration conveys none of this. Every teaching unit introducing the book by name MUST supply the meaning explicitly, or learners will miss the deliberate irony that a book of judgment-oracles is presented as a vehicle of comfort.
Harlotries
Approved rendering: 淫行
Transliteration: yínxíng
Doctrine: Moral Corruption of Oppressor Nations
Original: זְנוּנִים (zenunim)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders זְנוּנִים (Nahum 3:4), a classic prophetic metaphor (nation-as-harlot, also used of Israel in Ezekiel 16, Hosea) for Nineveh’s seductive imperial power drawing nations into destructive alliance. High risk of literalistic misreading as an accusation of individual sexual sin. Requires a genre-note on every occurrence.
Witchcrafts
Approved rendering: 邪术
Transliteration: xiéshù
Doctrine: Moral Corruption of Oppressor Nations
Rejected alternatives: 占卜, 算卦
Original: כְּשָׁפִים (kesaphim)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders כְּשָׁפִים (Nahum 3:4), paired with 淫行 as a figure for deceptive political manipulation, with a secondary literal sense (Assyrian court divination). Risks collision with the baseline’s caution against conflating biblical categories with Chinese folk-divination vocabulary (占卜/算卦).
Oppression Affliction
Approved rendering: 苦难
Transliteration: kǔnàn
Doctrine: Comfort for the Oppressed
Rejected alternatives: 报应
Original: עָנָה (anah)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders עָנָה (Nahum 1:12); secondary form 苦待 (kǔdài) for the verbal sense of affliction inflicted. Central to both ‘Justice against Oppressors’ and ‘Comfort for the Oppressed’. Never reframe as karmic consequence (报应) for the sufferer’s own sin — the oppressed in Nahum are the wronged party, not the guilty party.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: 平安
Transliteration: píng’ān
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: 安宁, 平安符式的平安
Original: שָׁלוֹם (shalom)
Category: Comfort
平安 is also the everyday greeting/blessing word (e.g. on 平安符 protective amulets) for general safety and well-being. Inherited from Romans package. Nahum-specific context: Nahum 1:15 uses 平安 for Judah’s concrete historical/political peace secured by God’s judgment on Assyria — thematically continuous with, but not identical to, the deeper forensic peace-with-God of Romans 5:1. Teach both the continuity and the distinction.
Glory
Approved rendering: 荣耀
Transliteration: róngyào
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: 面子, 光宗耀祖
Inherited from Romans package. Background relevance to Nahum 2:2’s ‘excellency of Jacob’ if curriculum lessons expand into that verse; avoid 面子/光宗耀祖 as with baseline.
Prophecy
Approved rendering: 预言
Transliteration: yùyán
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 算卦, 占卜
Inherited from Romans package. Nahum-specific context: sits in the same doctrinal family as the new terms 默示 (burden/oracle) and 异象 (vision), both specific to Nahum 1:1; distinguish all three from divination (占卜/算卦).
Gospel
Approved rendering: 福音
Transliteration: fúyīn
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: 好消息, 喜讯
Inherited from Romans package. Nahum-specific context: MUST NOT be used to render Nahum 1:15’s מְבַשֵּׂר (‘bringer of good news’, new term 报好信的 below). Nahum 1:15 is a historical type anticipating, but not verbally identical to, this NT technical term via Isaiah 52:7 / Romans 10:15. Asserting outright equivalence flattens the typology into anachronism.
Slow To Anger
Approved rendering: 不轻易发怒
Transliteration: bù qīngyì fā nù
Doctrine: God as Slow to Anger yet Just
Rejected alternatives: 天意难测, 宽容
Original: אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם (ʾerekh ʾappayim)
Category: God
NEW TERM. Renders אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם (Nahum 1:3). Must always be taught in tension with the surrounding wrath vocabulary (1:2, 1:6) and with 万不以恶为无罪, so patience is not misread as moral indifference. Avoid framing as impersonal fatalistic inscrutability (天意难测) or as a ruler’s political clemency (宽容).
Power And Might Of God
Approved rendering: 大有能力
Transliteration: dà yǒu nénglì
Doctrine: God as Slow to Anger yet Just
Rejected alternatives: 气, 法力
Original: גְּדוֹל־כֹּחַ (gedol-koach)
Category: God
NEW TERM. Renders גְּדוֹל־כֹּחַ (Nahum 1:3). Draws on the same 大能 word family as the baseline’s 神的大能 (power_of_god), but denotes general sovereign might for judgment rather than specifically salvific power as in Romans 1:16. Never use 气 or 法力.
Stronghold Refuge
Approved rendering: 保障
Transliteration: bǎozhàng
Doctrine: Comfort for the Oppressed
Original: מָעוֹז (ma’oz)
Category: Comfort
NEW TERM. Renders מָעוֹז (Nahum 1:7). Modern Mandarin usage (e.g. 社会保障, ‘social security’) risks a bureaucratic, impersonal reading. Must be anchored explicitly to God himself as a personal refuge, not an institutional guarantee.
Trouble Distress
Approved rendering: 患难
Transliteration: huànnàn
Doctrine: Comfort for the Oppressed
Original: צָרָה (tsarah)
Category: Comfort
NEW TERM. Renders צָרָה (Nahum 1:7). The distress in view is Judah’s corporate/national oppression under Assyria; avoid a purely individualistic reading and avoid framing that reduces it to fatalistic acceptance of suffering.
Yoke And Bonds
Approved rendering: 轭
Transliteration: è
Doctrine: Comfort for the Oppressed
Original: מוֹטָה / מוֹסֵר (motah / moser)
Category: Comfort
NEW TERM. Renders מוֹטָה / מוֹסֵר (Nahum 1:13); secondary rendering 绳索 (shéngsuǒ) for מוֹסֵר specifically. Concrete imagery of political/military subjugation supporting the promise of liberation.
Burden Oracle
Approved rendering: 默示
Transliteration: mòshì
Doctrine: Inspiration and Divine Origin of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 经
Original: מַשָּׂא (massa)
Category: Prophecy
NEW TERM. Renders מַשָּׂא (Nahum 1:1), a formal prophetic judgment-oracle laid upon a nation. Connects to baseline doctrine registry’s ‘Inspiration of Scripture’ (圣经的默示); distinguish from the Chinese classical canon (经, jīng) as sage-wisdom rather than God-breathed revelation.
Vision
Approved rendering: 异象
Transliteration: yìxiàng
Doctrine: Inspiration and Divine Origin of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: 占卜, 算卦
Original: חָזוֹן (chazon)
Category: Prophecy
NEW TERM. Renders חָזוֹן (Nahum 1:1). Same doctrinal family as baseline’s 预言; distinguish clearly from divination (占卜/算卦).
Bloody City
Approved rendering: 血城
Transliteration: xuèchéng
Doctrine: The Justice and Wrath of God against Oppressors
Rejected alternatives: 邪恶之城
Original: עִיר הַדָּמִים (ʿir hadamim)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders עִיר הַדָּמִים (Nahum 3:1). Direct, forceful moral indictment naming Nineveh’s core sin (systemic violent bloodshed); must be retained, not softened into a vaguer ‘wicked city’.
Lies And Plunder
Approved rendering: 谎诈和抢夺
Transliteration: huǎngzhà hé qiǎngduó
Doctrine: The Justice and Wrath of God against Oppressors
Original: כָּזָב וָפֶרֶק (kazav vaperek)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders כָּזָב וָפֶרֶק (Nahum 3:1). Names Nineveh’s specific systemic sins (deceit, economic violence) concretely, supporting the oppression-doctrine with historical specificity rather than vague moralizing.
Lion Metaphor
Approved rendering: 狮子
Transliteration: shīzi
Doctrine: Moral Corruption of Oppressor Nations
Original: אַרְיֵה / כְּפִיר (aryeh / kephir)
Category: Nations
NEW TERM. Renders אַרְיֵה / כְּפִיר (secondary form 幼狮, yòushī, ‘young lion’) (Nahum 2:11-13). Cultural collision risk: Chinese guardian-lion imagery (石狮) is protective/auspicious, the opposite of Nahum’s purely predatory, violent connotation. Requires an explicit reversal-note.
Utter End
Approved rendering: 灭净
Transliteration: mièjìng
Doctrine: Certainty and Finality of Divine Judgment
Original: כָּלָה (kalah)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders כָּלָה (Nahum 1:8-9). Must convey total, irreversible finality, not merely serious damage; grounds decisive, historical divine justice rather than an ongoing, negotiable process.
Wicked Counselor
Approved rendering: 图谋奸恶的
Transliteration: túmóu jiān’è de
Doctrine: The Justice and Wrath of God against Oppressors
Rejected alternatives: 彼列
Original: בְּלִיַּעַל (beliya’al)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders בְּלִיַּעַל (Nahum 1:11, 1:15), a wicked human plotter. MUST NOT be rendered with the NT proper-noun transliteration 彼列 (Bǐliè, ‘Belial’ as a name for Satan in 2 Corinthians 6:15); Nahum’s usage is a common-noun description of a human plotter, a distinct lexical unit from the NT’s later personification.
Devise Plot
Approved rendering: 图谋
Transliteration: túmóu
Doctrine: The Justice and Wrath of God against Oppressors
Original: חשׁב / יעץ (chashav / ya’ats)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders חשׁב / יעץ (Nahum 1:9, 1:11), Nineveh’s political scheming against God’s people and against the LORD himself.
Graven Image
Approved rendering: 雕刻的像
Transliteration: diāokè de xiàng
Doctrine: Idolatry Condemned
Original: פֶּסֶל / מַסֵּכָה (pesel / massekah)
Category: Idolatry
NEW TERM. Renders פֶּסֶל / מַסֵּכָה (secondary form 铸造的像, zhùzào de xiàng, for מַסֵּכָה) (Nahum 1:14). Must not be softened into generic ‘artwork’; these are cultic objects of false worship, and their destruction asserts God’s sovereignty over pagan religion, not merely pagan politics.
Shepherds And Nobles
Approved rendering: 牧人
Transliteration: mùrén
Doctrine: Failed Human Leadership versus God’s True Kingship
Original: רֹעִים / אַדִּירִים (ro’im / addirim)
Category: Leadership
NEW TERM. Renders רֹעִים (secondary form 贵胄, guìzhòu, for אַדִּירִים) (Nahum 3:18). 牧人 is elsewhere a positive term for godly leaders and ultimately Christ; here it ironically describes Assyria’s failed, ‘slumbering’ rulers. Requires a clarifying note against inappropriate positive carry-over.
Wound With No Healing
Approved rendering: 无法医治
Transliteration: wúfǎ yīzhì
Doctrine: Certainty and Finality of Divine Judgment
Original: מַכָּה / רְפוּאָה (makkah / refu’ah, negated)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders מַכָּה / רְפוּאָה negated (secondary form 伤, shāng, ‘wound’) (Nahum 3:19). Final verdict on Nineveh; avoid any rendering suggesting the judgment could still be averted or reversed by human effort.
Heart Melts In Terror
Approved rendering: 心惊胆丧
Transliteration: xīnjīng dǎnsàng
Doctrine: Terror of Creation before God’s Presence
Rejected alternatives: 心都消化
NEW TERM. Renders לֵב נָמֵס (Nahum 2:10), Nineveh’s own defenders gripped by the terror already established cosmically in 1:5-6. Prefer this idiomatic Mandarin phrase over a literal ‘melt’ rendering, consistent with the 消化/熔化 note above.
Destroyer Invader
Approved rendering: 打碎邦国的人
Transliteration: dǎsuì bāngguó de rén
Doctrine: God’s Sovereignty over Nineveh and Assyria
NEW TERM. Renders מֵפִיץ (Nahum 2:1). The human invading army as God’s instrument of judgment against Nineveh — divine sovereignty exercised through historical agents, not a competing power acting independently of God.
Low Risk Terms
Prophet
Approved rendering: 先知
Transliteration: xiānzhī
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: 算命先生
Inherited from Romans package. Nahum is himself a 先知; distinguish from 算命先生 (fortune-teller) as with baseline.
Goodness Of God
Approved rendering: 本为善
Transliteration: běn wéi shàn
Doctrine: Comfort for the Oppressed
Original: טוֹב (tov)
Category: Comfort
NEW TERM. CUV idiom for טוֹב (Nahum 1:7), ‘is inherently/essentially good’. The pivot verse from wrath to comfort; theological weight is carried by context, not the word itself.
Nineveh
Approved rendering: 尼尼微
Transliteration: Níníwēi
Doctrine: God’s Sovereignty over Nineveh and Assyria
Original: נִינְוֵה (Nineveh)
Category: Nations
NEW TERM. Established CUV transliteration for נִינְוֵה, the capital city of Assyria and specific target of Nahum’s judgment-oracle.
Assyria
Approved rendering: 亚述
Transliteration: Yàshù
Doctrine: God’s Sovereignty over Nineveh and Assyria
Original: אַשּׁוּר (Ashshur)
Category: Nations
NEW TERM. Established CUV transliteration for אַשּׁוּר, the imperial power under judgment throughout Nahum.
Elkosh
Approved rendering: 伊勒歌斯人
Transliteration: Yīlègēsīrén
Doctrine: Inspiration and Divine Origin of Prophecy
Original: הָאֶלְקֹשִׁי (ha-Elqoshi)
Category: Nations
NEW TERM. Gentilic for Nahum’s uncertain hometown (Nahum 1:1); minimal doctrinal content.
Bashan
Approved rendering: 巴珊
Transliteration: Bāshān
Doctrine: God’s Sovereignty over Nineveh and Assyria
Original: בָּשָׁן (Bashan)
Category: Nations
NEW TERM. Geographic reference (Nahum 1:4), cited as withering before God’s judgment-word; supports universality of divine sovereignty over creation.
Carmel
Approved rendering: 迦密
Transliteration: Jiāmì
Doctrine: God’s Sovereignty over Nineveh and Assyria
Original: כַּרְמֶל (Carmel)
Category: Nations
NEW TERM. Geographic reference (Nahum 1:4), established CUV form.
Lebanon
Approved rendering: 黎巴嫩
Transliteration: Líbānèn
Doctrine: God’s Sovereignty over Nineveh and Assyria
Original: לְבָנוֹן (Lebanon)
Category: Nations
NEW TERM. Geographic reference (Nahum 1:4), established CUV form.
No Amon Thebes
Approved rendering: 挪亚们
Transliteration: Nuóyàmén
Doctrine: Historical Precedent of Divine Judgment
Original: נֹא אָמוֹן (No Amon)
Category: Nations
NEW TERM. Renders נֹא אָמוֹן (Nahum 3:8), the Egyptian capital Thebes, sacked by Assyria itself in 663 BC. A footnote identifying this as Thebes, Egypt is required for reader clarity, since the transliteration alone conveys no geographic content, and the rhetorical argument (‘what you did to Thebes will be done to you’) depends on that content being legible.
Solemn Feasts And Vows
Approved rendering: 节期
Transliteration: jiéqī
Doctrine: Comfort for the Oppressed
Original: חַג / נֶדֶר (chag / neder)
Category: Worship
NEW TERM. Renders חַג (secondary form 许愿, xǔyuàn, for נֶדֶר, ‘vow’) (Nahum 1:15). Judah’s covenant worship, resumed once freed from Assyrian oppression; worship flows from deliverance.
Adversaries And Enemies
Approved rendering: 仇敌
Transliteration: chóudí
Doctrine: The Justice and Wrath of God against Oppressors
Original: צָרָיו / אֹיְבָיו (tsarav / oyevav)
Category: Justice
NEW TERM. Renders צָרָיו / אֹיְבָיו (secondary form 敌人, dírén) (Nahum 1:2, 1:8). Ensure these are understood as God’s own enemies — oppressor nations opposing his righteous rule — not merely Israel’s private grudges.
Theophany Imagery
Approved rendering: 旋风
Transliteration: xuànfēng
Doctrine: Terror of Creation before God’s Presence
Rejected alternatives: 消化
Original: סוּפָה / שְׂעָרָה / עָנָן (suphah / se’arah / anan)
Category: God
NEW TERM. Renders סוּפָה / שְׂעָרָה / עָנָן (secondary forms 暴风, bàofēng; 云彩, yúncai) (Nahum 1:3-5). Standard meteorological/theophanic vocabulary; the theophanic sense (recalling Sinai) should be explained in teaching notes rather than assumed. For ‘melt’ (v.5’s hills), prefer 熔化 (rónghuà) over 消化, which carries an unintended modern digestive connotation.
Utter Emptiness Phrase
Approved rendering: 空虚，荒凉，毁坏
Transliteration: kōngxū, huāngliáng, huǐhuài
Doctrine: Certainty and Finality of Divine Judgment
NEW TERM. Renders the triple alliterative Hebrew phrase בּוּקָה וּמְבוּקָה וּמְבֻלָּקָה (Nahum 2:10), a deliberate rhetorical intensification of total destruction. Translators should preserve rhetorical force even where the alliteration itself cannot be reproduced; a literary-craft note rather than a doctrinal flag.
Locusts
Approved rendering: 蝗虫
Transliteration: huángchóng
Doctrine: Certainty and Finality of Divine Judgment
NEW TERM. Renders אַרְבֶּה / גוֹבַי (Nahum 3:15-17). Nineveh’s power, however vast, will vanish as suddenly and completely as a locust swarm departs at sunrise; standard agricultural imagery, easily understood in Chinese agrarian idiom.
Referenced passages