Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Gospel of John (English → Persian)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, spanning John 1–21. Terms already present in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json / bible_term_registry.json are marked [REUSED] and carry forward their exact recorded Persian rendering, risk tier, and rejected alternatives — these must never be altered for the John curriculum. Newly introduced John-specific terms follow the same risk framework (Critical / High / Medium / Low, per doctrine_risk_registry.json) and are proposed for addition to translation memory prior to Phase 2 processing.
Table 1 — Baseline Terms Reused from Romans (as they recur in John)
| Term (EN) | Persian | Transliteration | Risk | Doctrine | Key John Chapters | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | خدا | Khodā | Critical | Deity of Christ / God | all chapters | [REUSED] |
| Lord | خداوند | Khodāvand | Critical | Lordship of Christ | 20 (20:28), 21 | [REUSED] |
| Jesus | عیسی | Isā | Critical | Lordship of Christ | all chapters | [REUSED] |
| Son of God | پسر خدا | pesar-e khodā | Critical | Sonship/Deity of Christ | 1, 3, 5, 10, 11, 20 | [REUSED]; John’s μονογενής intensifies this entry — see Table 2 |
| Holy Spirit | روحالقدس | Ruh-ol-Qods | Critical | Holy Spirit / Paraclete | 1, 3, 7, 14–16, 20 | [REUSED]; John’s Paraclete title adds a new, specific collision — see Table 2 |
| Father | پدر | pedar | Critical | Father-Son relationship, Unity | 1, 3, 5, 10, 14, 17, 20 | [REUSED]; central to John’s distinct theological structure |
| Incarnation | تجسد | tajassod | Critical | Incarnation | 1 (1:14), 3:6, 8:3 (referenced) | [REUSED] |
| Resurrection | قیامت | qiyāmat | Critical | Resurrection of Christ | 2, 5, 6, 11, 20 | [REUSED] |
| Messiah/Christ | مسیح | Masih | Critical | Messianic Promise | 1, 4, 7, 9, 11, 20 | [REUSED] |
| Israel | اسرائیل | Esrā’il | High | Unity of Jews/Gentiles | 1, 3, 12 | [REUSED]; see baseline political-sensitivity note |
| Kingdom of God | ملکوت خدا | malakut-e khodā | Medium | Kingdom Mission | 3, 18 | [REUSED] |
| Law | ناموس | nāmus | Critical | Fulfillment of Prophecy | 1 (1:17), 7, 8 | [REUSED] |
| Sin | گناه | gonāh | High | Universal Human Accountability | 1, 3, 8, 9, 16 | [REUSED] |
| Glory | جلال | jalāl | Medium | Deity of Christ | 1, 2, 7, 11, 12, 17 | [REUSED] |
| Faith/Believe (root) | ایمان / ایمان آوردن | imān / imān āvardan | High | Faith | all chapters | [REUSED]; verb form ایمان آوردن(به) extends the noun entry |
| Grace | فیض | feyz | High | Grace | 1 (1:14,16) | [REUSED] |
| Peace | سلام | salām | Medium | Peace with God | 14, 16, 20 | [REUSED] |
| Sanctification | تقدیس | taqdis | High | Sanctification | 17 | [REUSED] |
| Election | برگزیدگی خدا | bargozidegi-ye khodā | High | Effectual Calling | 6, 13, 15 | [REUSED] |
| Prophet | پیامبر | payambar | High | Inspiration of Scripture | 1, 4, 6, 7, 9 | [REUSED] |
| David | داوود | Dāvud | Medium | Davidic Covenant | 7 (7:42, referenced) | [REUSED] |
| Adoption | فرزندخواندگی | farzand-khāndegi | Critical | Adoption into God’s Family | (background doctrine; John uses τέκνα θεοῦ instead — see Table 2) | [REUSED] as the doctrinal category; John’s own vocabulary is τέκνα θεοῦ |
| Righteousness | عدالت | edālat | Critical | Salvation | 16 (16:8,10) | [REUSED] |
| Thanksgiving | شکرگزاری | shokr-gozāri | Low | Thanksgiving | 6 (6:11,23) | [REUSED] |
| Mission | ماموریت | ma’muriyat | Medium | Mission to the Nations | 17, 20 | [REUSED] |
Table 2 — New John-Specific Terms
| Term (EN) | Original (Greek) | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Semantic Range | English Variants | Persian Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Chapters | Grounded Risk Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Word (Logos) | λόγος | logos | word, discourse, rational principle | Divine self-expressive agent of creation and revelation; the eternal pre-incarnate Son | Word, the Logos | کلمه (kalame) | Critical | Deity/Pre-existence of Christ | 1 | Collides with Quranic “Kalimatullah” (Word of God, Quran 3:45), where Jesus is a created being spoken into existence, not the eternal uncreated Logos “with God” and “was God.” |
| Life | ζωή | zōē | life, existence | Biological life; the fuller divine life mediated by Christ | life | حیات (hayāt) | High | Eternal Life through Faith | 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 17, 20 | Must be distinguished from Islamic akhirat’s future-reward framing (see “Eternal life” below). |
| Eternal life | ζωὴ αἰώνιος | zōē aiōnios | eternal life | Present, faith-based possession of divine life, not merely future reward | eternal life, everlasting life | حیات ابدی (hayāt-e abadi) | Critical | Eternal Life through Faith in Christ | 3, 5, 6, 10, 17 | Islamic akhirat/mizan deeds-weighing frames eternal reward as future and contingent on the Last Day’s judgment; John presents eternal life as possessed now (3:36; 5:24) through faith/relational knowledge (17:3), directly against this default. |
| Light | φῶς | phōs | light, radiance | Christ himself as revelatory, moral illumination entering the world | light | نور (nur) | High | Judgment and Belief/Unbelief; Deity of Christ | 1, 3, 8, 9, 12 | نور is a major Quranic divine-attribute (An-Nur, Q24:35) and the core term of Persian Illuminationist philosophy; risk of Christ’s light being read as an impersonal attribute/emanation rather than his own Person. |
| Darkness | σκοτία | skotia | darkness | Moral/spiritual opposition to revelation | darkness | تاریکی (tāriki) | Medium | Judgment and Belief/Unbelief | 1, 3, 8, 12 | Reinforced by Zoroastrian light/dark dualism (Ahura Mazda/Ahriman); risk of reading as an independent, co-equal evil cosmic principle rather than a moral condition. |
| World | κόσμος | kosmos | ordered universe | (a) object of God’s love; (b) hostile system opposed to God; (c) neutral “earth” | world, earth, humanity | جهان (jahān) | High | God’s Love for the World | 1, 3, 12, 14–17 | Must be disambiguated per occurrence between senses (a)-(b)-(c); avoid دنیا, whose built-in Islamic “lower/transient life” connotation would distort 3:16’s positive sense. |
| Testify/witness/testimony | μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία | martyreō / martyria | to bear witness / testimony | Forensic-legal witness; prophetic/evangelistic testimony; the Spirit’s inward witness | testify, bear witness, witness, testimony | شهادت دادن / شهادت (shahādat dādan / shahādat) | High | (new: Witness to Christ; supports Inspiration of Scripture) | 1, 3, 5, 8, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 | شهادت is the technical Shia term for martyrdom (Hussein/Karbala) and for the Islamic creedal confession (shahādatayn); John’s forensic/eyewitness sense risks being heard as either. |
| Truth | ἀλήθεια | alētheia | truth, reality | Objective divine revelation personified in Christ | truth, reality | حقیقت (haqiqat) | High | Seven “I Am” Statements; Deity of Christ | 1, 3, 8, 14, 16–18 | حقیقت is Sufi mysticism’s technical term for the esoteric truth attained through mystical discipline (sharī’ah→tarīqah→haqīqah); Christ’s self-identification as the truth must not be assimilated to attainment-through-practice. |
| Born again / born from above | γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν | gennēthē anōthen | be born again / from above | Spiritual regeneration; deliberate double meaning (again / from above) | born again, born from above, born anew | تولد تازه (tavallod-e tāze) | Critical | The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit | 3 | Persian cannot preserve both senses of ἄνωθεν in one word; Nicodemus’s own confusion (hearing only “again”) must be preserved/footnoted, not silently resolved. |
| Born of water and the Spirit | γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος | gennēthē ex hydatos kai pneumatos | born of water and Spirit | Spirit-wrought regeneration, debated relation to baptism | born of water and Spirit | از آب و روح مولود شدن | Critical | The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit | 3 | Risks conflation with Islamic ritual ablution (wudu/ghusl) and Zoroastrian water-purity rites as a mechanism producing regeneration, rather than the Spirit’s sovereign, non-ritual work. |
| Flesh | σάρξ | sarx | physical body/tissue | Neutral physical humanity; the natural order incapable of producing spiritual life | flesh, human nature | جسم (jesm) | High | The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit | 1, 3, 6 | In John 3:6 the contrast with Spirit is ontological (natural vs. Spirit-birth), not primarily moral as in Paul; must not import Romans’ sin-nature sense wholesale. |
| Wind/Spirit wordplay | πνεῦμα / πνέω | pneuma / pneō | wind; to blow | Shared Greek root for “wind” and “spirit,” lost in Persian | wind, spirit (wordplay) | باد / روح (bād / ruh) | High | The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit | 3 | Persian has no shared root between “wind” and “spirit,” unlike Greek/Hebrew; the analogy underlying 3:8 is structurally untranslatable and needs explanatory footnoting. |
| Son of Man | υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου | huios tou anthrōpou | son of the man/humankind | Semitic idiom for “a human being”; Daniel 7’s apocalyptic authority-bearing title | Son of Man | پسر انسان (pesar-e ensān) | High | Deity and Pre-existence of Christ | 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 12, 13 | Without Daniel 7 background, risks flattening into the generic idiom “a mere human being” (Ibn Adam), inverting the title’s actual function of asserting unique divine authority. |
| Lifted up | ὑψωθῆναι | hypsōthēnai | to raise/lift high | Crucifixion AND exaltation/glorification, held together by one verb | lifted up, exalted | بالا برده شدن | Critical | Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection | 3, 8, 12 | No single Persian verb carries both senses; softening the crucifixion sense is doctrinally dangerous given Quran 4:157’s crucifixion denial. |
| Only begotten / unique Son | μονογενής | monogenēs | one-of-a-kind, unique | Christ’s exclusive, unique relationship to the Father | only begotten, one and only, unique | یگانه (yegāneh), qualifying پسر خدا | Critical | Deity and Pre-existence of Christ / Sonship of Christ | 1, 3 | Must never be softened toward “beloved/chosen” (the rejected Hezare No pattern already documented for پسر خدا itself); grounds eternal generation doctrine. |
| Dwelt / tabernacled | ἐσκήνωσεν | eskēnōsen | pitched a tent, dwelt | OT tabernacle/Shekinah presence allusion | dwelt, tabernacled | ساکن شد (sāken shod) | Medium | Deity and Pre-existence of Christ | 1 | Comprehension risk: OT tabernacle background likely unfamiliar to the audience without explicit teaching. |
| Lamb of God | ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ | ho amnos tou theou | the lamb of God | Passover/Isaiah 53 sacrificial typology | Lamb of God | بره خدا (barre-ye khodā) | Critical | Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection | 1, 19 (typology) | Must be distinguished from the Eid al-Adha ram (Ismail tradition, commemorative not atoning) and from Karbala/Hussein martyrdom-intercession piety (already Critical in baseline salvation/intercession entries). |
| Baptize | βαπτίζω | baptizō | to dip, immerse | John’s water baptism of repentance vs. Christ’s Spirit-baptism | baptize | تعمید دادن (ta’mid dādan) | Medium | The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit | 1, 3 | Distinguish from ritual ablution; Spirit-baptism incorporates/empowers rather than purifies ritually. |
| Sign | σημεῖον | sēmeion | sign, mark, token | Miracle revealing Christ’s identity/glory, distinct from wonder-seeking | sign, miraculous sign | نشانه (neshāne) | Medium | Deity of Christ (via signs) | 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 20 | Prefer over معجزه, the Islamic technical term for prophet-authenticating miracles, which would reduce Christ’s signs to mere prophetic credentialing. |
| Hour (appointed time) | ὥρα | hōra | hour, time | Christ’s divinely fixed timetable for death/glorification | hour, appointed time | ساعت (sā’at) | Low-Medium | Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection | 2, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17 | Reinforces Christ’s sovereign agency in his death, countering a passive-victim reading. |
| Living water | ὕδωρ ζῶν | hydōr zōn | living/flowing water | Figurative for Spirit-given eternal life | living water | آب زنده (āb-e zende) | Medium | Eternal Life through Faith / Holy Spirit | 4, 7 | Standard care; ties to Spirit-outpouring theology (7:39). |
| Worship | προσκυνέω | proskyneō | to bow down, worship | Ritual/place-based worship vs. Spirit-and-truth worship | worship | پرستش کردن (parastesh kardan) | High | (supports Holy Spirit / Deity of Christ) | 4, 9, 12 | Constructive contrast opportunity against place-centered Shia shrine piety (Karbala, Mashhad) without direct polemic. |
| Savior of the world | σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσμου | sōtēr tou kosmou | savior of the world | Universal, exclusive salvific title | Savior of the world | نجاتدهنده جهان (nejāt-dahande-ye jahān) | High | Salvation | 4 | Reinforces baseline “salvation” Critical entry’s Karbala/Hussein distinction, applied to a universal title. |
| Equal with God | ἴσον ἑαυτὸν τῷ θεῷ | ison heauton tō theō | making himself equal to God | Hostile-witness confirmation of Christ’s deity claim | equal with God | برابر با خدا (barābar bā khodā) | Critical | Deity of Christ | 5 | The original audience’s own hostile reaction (5:18) confirms an ontological deity-claim was heard, anchoring the doctrine in the narrative itself. |
| Judgment / condemn | κρίσις / κρίνω | krisis / krinō | to judge, decide a case | Present-tense verdict based on response to Christ; future final judgment | judge, condemn, judgment | داوری / محکوم کردن (dāvari / mahkum kardan) | High | Judgment and Belief/Unbelief | 3, 5, 8, 9, 12, 16 | Islamic mizan deeds-weighing suspends verdict to the Last Day; John 3:18’s present-tense “already condemned” is counter-cultural and must be actively taught. |
| Bread of life (I Am #1) | ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς | ho artos tēs zōēs | the bread of life | Manna typology fulfilled in Christ | bread of life | نان حیات (nān-e hayāt) | High | Seven “I Am” Statements | 6 | See ἐγώ εἰμι entry below for the full weight of the “I am X” formula. |
| Eat my flesh, drink my blood | φάγητε τὴν σάρκα… πίητε τὸ αἷμα | phagēte tēn sarka… piēte to haima | eat the flesh, drink the blood | Necessity of appropriating Christ’s atoning death by faith | eat my flesh / drink my blood | جسم مرا خوردن، خون مرا نوشیدن | High | Christ’s Substitutionary Death | 6 | Especially shocking given Islamic dietary law’s blood-consumption prohibition (Q5:3); must be taught with reference to 6:63’s spiritual clarification. |
| Holy One of God | ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ | ho hagios tou theou | the Holy One of God | Divine-attribute title applied personally to Jesus | Holy One of God | قدوس خدا (qoddus-e khodā) | High | Deity of Christ | 6 | قدوس (al-Quddus) is one of the Ninety-Nine Names of Allah; applying it to Jesus is a pointed, deliberate deity-claim. |
| I AM (absolute) | ἐγώ εἰμι | egō eimi | I am / I exist | Ordinary self-identification vs. the absolute divine self-designation (Exodus 3:14 LXX echo) | I am, I AM | من هستم (man hastam) | Critical | Seven “I Am” Statements; Deity of Christ | 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18 | Collides directly with Avicennan/Islamic philosophical theology’s reservation of absolute necessary self-existence (wājib al-wujūd) for God alone; must never be softened where the absolute sense is intended (8:58; 18:5-6). |
| Free / slave | ἐλευθερία / δοῦλος | eleutheria / doulos | freedom; slave | Freedom from sin’s bondage vs. bondage to sin | free, freedom; slave, servant | آزادی / غلام (āzādi / gholām) | Medium-High | Judgment and Belief/Unbelief | 8 | ”Slave to sin” (entirely negative) must not be confused with Islam’s positive abd-Allah (“servant of God”) identity category. |
| Door/gate (I Am #4) | ἡ θύρα | hē thyra | the door/gate | Exclusive means of access to salvation | I am the door/gate | در / دروازه (dar / darvāze) | High | Seven “I Am” Statements | 10 | Exclusivity claim; see ἐγώ εἰμι entry. |
| Good Shepherd (I Am #3) | ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός | ho poimēn ho kalos | the good shepherd | Ezekiel 34 fulfillment | the good shepherd | شبان نیکو (shobān-e niku) | Medium | Seven “I Am” Statements | 10 | Broadly compatible pastoral imagery; standard care. |
| Lay down his life | τίθησιν τὴν ψυχήν | tithēsin tēn psychēn | lays down the soul/life | Voluntary substitutionary self-sacrifice | lay down his life | جان خود را میدهد | High | Christ’s Substitutionary Death | 10 | ψυχή (جان) risks conflation with Islamic nafs categories; here denotes the natural life voluntarily surrendered. |
| I and the Father are one | ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν | egō kai ho patēr hen esmen | I and the Father are one [thing] | Essential unity of nature, not merely purpose | I and the Father are one | من و پدر یکی هستیم | Critical | Unity of the Father and the Son | 10 | Paradigm tawhid-collision text; the hearers’ own attempted stoning (10:31-33) confirms an ontological, not merely purposive, claim was heard. |
| I am the resurrection and the life (I Am #5) | ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή | egō eimi hē anastasis kai hē zōē | I am the resurrection and the life | Christ as source and guarantor of resurrection life | I am the resurrection and the life | من قیامت و حیات هستم | Critical | Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection | 11 | Must not be assimilated to reincarnation-cycle categories (per baseline resurrection entry) nor read as mere resuscitation. |
| Grain of wheat | ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου | ho kokkos tou sitou | grain of wheat | Death-to-life agricultural metaphor | grain of wheat | دانه گندم (dāne-ye gandom) | Low | Christ’s Substitutionary Death | 12 | Broadly cross-cultural agricultural image; standard care only. |
| New commandment | ἐντολὴν καινήν | entolēn kainēn | new commandment | Directive to love one another as Christ loved | new commandment | فرمان تازه (farmān-e tāze) | Medium | God’s Love for the World | 13 | فرمان avoids حکم’s Islamic fiqh-ruling technicality, preserving a relational, not legalistic, framing. |
| Foot-washing | νίπτω | niptō | to wash | Servant-example of self-giving love | wash (feet) | پا شستن (pā shostan) | Low | (supports Love/Discipleship) | 13 | Culturally resonant hospitality custom; low risk. |
| The way (I Am #6, partial) | ἡ ὁδός | hē hodos | the road/path | Exclusive means of access to the Father | the way | راه (rāh) | Critical | Seven “I Am” Statements | 14 | Collides directly with al-sirāt al-mustaqīm (Quran 1:6, recited daily) and Sufi tarīqat; Christ claims to BE the path, an identity-claim, not a system/method-claim. |
| Counselor / Paraclete | ὁ παράκλητος | ho paraklētos | one called alongside; advocate/comforter | The Holy Spirit’s indwelling, teaching, testifying ministry after Christ’s departure | Counselor, Comforter, Helper, Advocate | تسلیدهنده (tasli-dahande) | Critical | The Holy Spirit as Counselor | 14, 15, 16 | Distinct, documented Islamic apologetic claim (disputed periklytos/Paraclete-Muhammad etymology) identifies the Paraclete as a prediction of Muhammad; must be actively corrected using the text’s own “Spirit of truth,” sent-in-Jesus’s-name identification. |
| Spirit of truth | τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας | to pneuma tēs alētheias | the Spirit of truth | Identifies the Paraclete as the Holy Spirit | Spirit of truth | روح راستی | Critical | The Holy Spirit as Counselor | 14, 15, 16 | See Paraclete entry; forecloses the Paraclete-as-future-human-prophet misreading. |
| True vine (I Am #7) | ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή | hē ampelos hē alēthinē | the true vine | Reapplies Israel-as-vine OT imagery to Christ | the true vine | تاک راستین (tāk-e rāstin) | High | Seven “I Am” Statements | 15 | Connects to baseline israel/unity_of_jews_and_gentiles caution; must not appear to erase Israel’s covenant significance or engage Iran’s political register. |
| Abide | μένω | menō | to remain, stay, dwell | Organic, dependent, relational union with Christ, Creator-creature distinct | abide, remain | ماندن (mandan) | High | Christian Identity / Union with Christ | 15 | Must be distinguished from Sufi fanā (self-annihilation into the divine) or wahdat al-wujud (“unity of being”); John’s “abide” retains ontological distinction. |
| Friends, not servants | φίλοι, οὐκέτι δοῦλοι | philoi, ouketi douloi | friends, no longer slaves | Relational intimacy exceeding servile obedience | friends, not servants | دوستان، نه غلامان | Medium | (supports Love/Discipleship) | 15 | Standard care. |
| Convict | ἐλέγχω | elegchō | to expose, convict, prove guilty | The Paraclete’s forensic-pedagogical exposing ministry | convict, expose | قانع ساختن | Medium | The Holy Spirit as Counselor | 16 (also 3:20) | Standard care. |
| Overcome the world | νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον | nenikēka ton kosmon | I have conquered the world | Christ’s completed, cosmic victory | overcome, conquer | بر جهان غالب شدن | Medium-High | Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection | 16 | Genuine bridge with Shia victory-through-martyrdom paradox (Hussein), but Christ’s victory must be taught as unique and cosmic, not one more instance of righteous martyrdom. |
| Know (relational) | γινώσκω | ginōskō | to know by relationship | Eternal life defined as relational knowledge of God through Christ | know | شناختن (shenākhtan) | High | Eternal Life through Faith in Christ | 17 | Reinforces present, relational (not merely propositional/future-reward) eternal life. |
| That they may be one | ἵνα ὦσιν ἕν | hina ōsin hen | that they may be one | Trinitarian Father-Son unity as ground/pattern of believers’ unity | that they may be one | که ایشان یکی باشند | Critical | Unity of the Father and the Son | 17 | Must not be flattened into merely social/ecumenical unity without its ontological Trinitarian anchor. |
| King of the Jews | βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων | basileus tōn Ioudaiōn | king of the Jews | Pilate’s titulus; ironic royal confirmation | King of the Jews | پادشاه یهودیان (pādeshāh-e yahudiān) | Medium | Deity/Kingship of Christ | 19 | پادشاه carries indigenous Persian royal resonance; must remain tied to “not of this world” framing. |
| It is finished | τετέλεσται | tetelestai | it has been completed/paid in full | Declaration of completed, sufficient atonement | it is finished, it is accomplished | تمام شد (tamām shod) | Critical | Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection | 19 | Must never be paired with any suggestion of needed supplementary merit/suffering, echoing the baseline’s Karbala/Hussein caution. |
| Gave up his spirit | παρέδωκεν τὸ πνεῦμα | paredōken to pneuma | handed over/gave up the spirit | Voluntary, sovereign self-giving in death | gave up his spirit, breathed his last | روح خود را تسلیم کرد | High | Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection | 19 | Active-agency verb directly counters Quran 4:157’s crucifixion-denial. |
| Blood and water | αἷμα καὶ ὕδωρ | haima kai hydōr | blood and water | Eyewitness-verified physical death | blood and water | خون و آب | High | Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection (Humanity of Christ) | 19 | Deliberate historical-evidentiary detail answering docetic/crucifixion-denial readings. |
| My Lord and my God | ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου | ho kyrios mou kai ho theos mou | my Lord and my God | Climactic explicit deity-confession | My Lord and my God | خداوند من و خدای من | Critical | Deity of Christ | 20 | Must never be softened to a colloquial surprise-exclamation; is a deliberate worship-confession, the Gospel’s capstone deity statement. |
| Life in his name | ζωὴν… ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ | zōēn… en tō onomati autou | life in his name | Access to eternal life through Christ’s mediating authority | life in his name | حیات به نام او | Critical | Eternal Life through Faith in Christ | 20 | Distinguish from Islamic invocational formulas (بسمالله) and Shia invocation of the Imams’ names in du’a; life is given exclusively “in his name.” |
| Love (agapaō) | ἀγαπάω | agapaō | to love with deliberate, willed commitment | God’s redemptive love, the church’s mutual love, the Father-Son love | love | محبت (کردن) (mohabbat kardan) | High | God’s Love for the World | 3, 13, 15, 17, 21 | Sufi eshq (عشق) is explicitly rejected as too erotically/mystically loaded; محبت must still be filled with agape’s specific sacrificial content. |
| Love (phileō) | φιλέω | phileō | affectionate, friendship love | Peter’s restoration dialogue’s distinct verb | I love you (affection) | دوست داشتن (dust dāshtan) | Medium | God’s Love for the World | 21 | Preserve as a distinct Persian verb from ἀγαπάω across 21:15-17 to retain the interpretive question present in the Greek. |
| Children of God | τέκνα θεοῦ | tekna theou | children of God | New, God-given begotten identity | children of God | فرزندان خدا (farzandān-e khodā) | High | Adoption into God’s Family (extended) | 1 | Distinct vocabulary from baseline’s legal-adoption term (huiothesia/فرزندخواندگی); teach as doctrinally continuous but textually distinct — begetting, not legal adoption, is John’s own frame. |
Glossary Notes for Phase 2 Enforcement
- All [REUSED] terms in Table 1 must be enforced with zero deviation, per the baseline
translation_memory.jsonpriority rules. - All new terms in Table 2 are proposed additions to translation memory; each Critical/High entry requires human theologian review before first use in Phase 2 (per
doctrine_risk_registry.jsonrouting conventions), most urgently: کلمه (Logos), من هستم (ego eimi), تسلیدهنده (Paraclete), من و پدر یکی هستیم / که ایشان یکی باشند (hen/oneness), تمام شد (tetelestai), خداوند من و خدای من (My Lord and my God), راه (the Way), and بره خدا (Lamb of God). - The Paraclete/Muhammad apologetic collision (Table 2, Counselor/Paraclete entry) is a documented, specific risk distinct from the generic Holy-Spirit/Jibril collision already flagged in the baseline and must be addressed explicitly in any teaching material touching John 14-16.
- The ἐγώ εἰμι absolute “I am” entry underlies all seven predicated “I Am” statements (bread of life, light of the world, the door, the good shepherd, the resurrection and the life, the way/truth/life, the true vine); each individual “I am X” entry in Table 2 should be read together with this root entry for full doctrinal weight.
- Terms marked Medium or Low in this table still require native speaker review per the baseline’s risk-tier routing; none should be treated as risk-free.
See analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md for full verse-by-verse (John 3:1-21) and chapter-by-chapter argumentation supporting every entry above.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: عدالت
Transliteration: edalat
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: پارسایی
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: پارسایی (parsa’i, piety/virtue) carries a Zoroastrian-inflected ethical-purity connotation. عدالت keeps the forensic, credited sense Paul intends and John assumes. In John, occurs at 16:8,10 as part of the Paraclete’s three-fold convicting testimony (sin, righteousness, judgment). [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Salvation
Approved rendering: نجات
Transliteration: nejat
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: beyond the shared Islamic deeds-weighing (mizan) framework, Persian/Shia popular piety’s Karbala/Hussein martyrdom-intercession pattern risks being read alongside, rather than as categorically distinct from, Christ’s atoning death. In John, occurs at 3:17; 5:34; 10:9; 12:47, and is directly reinforced by the new John-specific term ‘savior_of_the_world’ (4:42). [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Adoption
Approved rendering: فرزندخواندگی
Transliteration: farzand-khandegi
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: سرپرستی
Original: υἱοθεσία
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: Iranian civil law itself uses سرپرستی (custodianship) rather than full adoption terminology, reflecting the Quranic restriction (33:4-5). John does not use the Pauline legal-adoption noun (υἱοθεσία) itself; John’s own vocabulary is τέκνα θεοῦ (‘children of God,’ see the new John-specific term ‘children_of_god’). Teach the two as doctrinally continuous (full sonship/inheritance status) but textually distinct (begetting-language vs. legal-adoption language). [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Resurrection
Approved rendering: قیامت
Transliteration: qiyamat
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
CRITICAL: shares the Quran’s crucifixion-denial problem (4:157) with Arabic. Shia eschatology adds a further complication: popular expectation centers on the return of the Hidden Twelfth Imam (Mahdi), with Jesus returning in a supporting role. John supplies the fullest resurrection-appearance narrative in the NT (ch. 20-21) and Christ’s own self-identification as ‘the resurrection’ (11:25, see the new term ‘resurrection_and_life’); every occurrence must actively assert Christ’s own primacy. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Lord
Approved rendering: خداوند
Transliteration: Khodavand
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: سرور
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: unlike Arabic’s al-Rabb, Khodavand derives from a native pre-Islamic Persian word, so the collision is about the underlying tawhid objection to ascribing supreme, exclusive Lordship to a human-born man, not borrowed Quranic vocabulary. In John, climaxes at 20:28 (‘My Lord and my God,’ see the new term ‘my_lord_and_my_god’) and recurs at 13:13-14 and 21:7; must retain the exclusive, worship-directed sense established in the baseline. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Son Of God
Approved rendering: پسر خدا
Transliteration: pesar-e khoda
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: برگزیده خدا
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: ‘برگزیده خدا’ is the documented, controversial Hezare No softened rendering, which provoked significant backlash within the Iranian Protestant and house-church community; this Language Package follows the established, non-diluted Tarjome Ghadeem/Mojdeh usage. In John, intensified by the new term ‘only_begotten’ (μονογενής, 1:14,18; 3:16,18), which must always qualify پسر خدا in full and never substitute for it. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Incarnation
Approved rendering: تجسد
Transliteration: tajassod
Doctrine: Incarnation
Original: ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: shares Arabic’s tawhid-denial problem. Persia’s own pre-Islamic Zoroastrian cosmology (Ahura Mazda’s intermediary Amesha Spentas) offers a secondary risk: incarnation absorbed as one more intermediary-being emanation. This risk is especially live in John 1, whose own Logos-emanation-adjacent vocabulary (see the new term ‘word_logos’) intensifies rather than dilutes the baseline caution. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Law
Approved rendering: ناموس
Transliteration: namus
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: شریعت
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
CRITICAL: this Language Package departs from some Persian precedent (Tarjome Ghadeem, Mojdeh’s use of شریعت) because Iran’s status as a shari’a-governed state makes the collision risk acute; ناموس is used instead. In John, occurs at 1:17,45 and 7:19-23, always pointing forward to and fulfilled/superseded by Christ, never as cosmic dharma-like order. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Messiah
Approved rendering: مسیح
Transliteration: Masih
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός / מָשִׁיחַ
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: carries the same pre-loaded Quranic content as Arabic’s al-Masih, with an added Shia displacement toward the Hidden Twelfth Imam (Mahdi). John records the earliest explicit identification (1:41; 4:25-26) and the Gospel’s stated purpose is that readers ‘believe that Jesus is the Christ’ (20:31); every occurrence must actively assert Christ’s own primary, sufficient redemptive role. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Jesus
Approved rendering: عیسی
Transliteration: Isa
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: Persian Christian Bible tradition itself has always used ‘Isa Masih,’ with no live, competing naming alternative. The risk is entirely in content: ‘Isa’ still carries the Quranic prophet-only, non-crucified, non-divine narrative that must be actively corrected at every occurrence — a task John’s narrative content (Logos, I AM sayings, resurrection appearances) performs at a higher density than Romans. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
God
Approved rendering: خدا
Transliteration: Khoda
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: الله
Original: θεός
Category: God
CRITICAL: Khoda is a native pre-Islamic Persian word used across Zoroastrian, Christian, and Muslim Persian traditions alike. الله is used in more formal/Arabic-influenced registers but Khoda is preferred for Persian Christian usage. In John, underlies both the Logos’s identity as God (1:1) and Thomas’s climactic confession (20:28); the tawhid concern is intensified by John’s sheer frequency and directness of deity-claims made of Jesus using this same word. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: روحالقدس
Transliteration: Ruh-ol-Qods
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
CRITICAL: identical Quranic phrase and identical mainstream tafsir identification with the angel Jibril (Gabriel); the created-being-versus-divine-Person distinction must be made explicit at every occurrence. John adds the specific title ‘Paraclete’ (see the new term ‘paraclete_counselor’), which carries an additional, documented Persian/Shia apologetic collision beyond this generic Jibril-identification. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Father
Approved rendering: پدر
Transliteration: pedar
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
CRITICAL: shares Arabic’s tawhid-anthropomorphism objection to Father-language for God. Persian mystical poetry cultivates intimate divine address through the Beloved/lover metaphor, not the paternal-filial metaphor. John’s Father-Son unity texts (5:18-23; 10:30,38; 14:9-11; 17:11,21-22) make this term structurally central rather than occasional, as it is in Romans. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Word Logos
Approved rendering: کلمه
Transliteration: kalame
Doctrine: Pre-existence of Christ (the Word)
Rejected alternatives: لوگوس (bare transliteration; meaningless to the target reader and inconsistent with Tarjome Ghadeem/Mojdeh register)
Original: λόγος
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: کلمه has exact lexical overlap with the Quran’s own title for Jesus, كلمة الله/Kalimatullah (Q3:45, 4:171), which denotes a created being spoken into existence, not the eternal, uncreated Logos who was already ‘with God’ and ‘was God’ before creation. Every occurrence in John 1:1-18 must actively assert eternal pre-existence, full deity, and personal creative agency, not merely a special divine speech-act producing a creature.
Eternal Life
Approved rendering: حیات ابدی
Transliteration: hayat-e abadi
Doctrine: Eternal Life through Faith in Christ
Original: ζωὴ αἰώνιος
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: Islamic akhirat/mizan deeds-weighing frames eternal reward as future and contingent on the Last Day’s verdict; John presents eternal life as a present, relational possession (3:36; 5:24; 17:3) through faith now, directly against this cultural default. Must never be rendered so as to imply only a future hope.
Born Again
Approved rendering: تولد تازه
Transliteration: tavallod-e taze
Doctrine: The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
Original: γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: adopted as the established Persian house-church rendering. Persian cannot preserve both senses of ánōthen (‘again’ and ‘from above’) in one word; Nicodemus’s own confusion in 3:4 (hearing only ‘again’) must be preserved or footnoted, not silently resolved.
Born Of Water And Spirit
Approved rendering: از آب و روح مولود شدن
Transliteration: az ab o ruh mulud shodan
Doctrine: The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
Original: γεννηθῇ ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: two independent collision points - (1) Islamic ritual ablution (wudu/ghusl) performed before prayer, and (2) Zoroastrianism’s own sacred-element water-purity theology - both risk recasting the new birth as a ritual prerequisite rather than God’s sovereign, non-ritual, Spirit-wrought act (John 3:5).
Lifted Up
Approved rendering: بالا برده شدن
Transliteration: bala borde shodan
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: ὑψωθῆναι
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: no single Persian verb carries both ‘lifted up on a cross’ and ‘exalted in glory’ as one Greek verb (hypsōthēnai) does. Translators must choose one sense per occurrence (3:14; 8:28; 12:32-34) and supply the other via teaching note; the crucifixion sense must never be muted given Quran 4:157’s crucifixion-denial.
Only Begotten
Approved rendering: یگانه
Transliteration: yeganeh
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: برگزیده خدا (the rejected Hezare No pattern - see son_of_god entry)
Original: μονογενής
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: qualifies پسر خدا and must never be substituted for it or softened toward a merely honorific ‘beloved/chosen’ sense. Grounds the doctrine of the Son’s eternal, unique generation (1:14,18; 3:16,18).
Lamb Of God
Approved rendering: بره خدا
Transliteration: barre-ye khoda
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: must be taught as categorically distinct from (1) the Eid al-Adha commemorative ram (Ibrahim/Ismail tradition, memorial not atoning) and (2) the Karbala/Hussein martyrdom-intercession paradigm. ‘Takes away the sin of the world’ (1:29,36) asserts a unique, sufficient, final atonement.
Equal With God
Approved rendering: برابر با خدا
Transliteration: barabar ba khoda
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ἴσον ἑαυτὸν ποιῶν τῷ θεῷ
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: this is the hostile Jewish leaders’ own verdict on Jesus’s language (5:18), not his self-description; their reaction (‘sought all the more to kill him’) confirms an ontological deity-claim was heard and must be preserved in teaching, not smoothed over.
I Am Absolute
Approved rendering: من هستم
Transliteration: man hastam
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ἐγώ εἰμι
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: collides directly with Avicennan/Islamic philosophical theology’s reservation of absolute, necessary self-existence (واجبالوجود, wajib al-wujud) for God alone. Must never be softened to a mere self-identifying phrase where the absolute sense is intended (8:58; 18:5-6); the hearers’ attempted stoning (8:59, the blasphemy penalty) confirms they heard exactly this claim. Underlies all seven predicated ‘I am X’ sayings.
Father Son One
Approved rendering: من و پدر یکی هستیم
Transliteration: man o pedar yeki hastim
Doctrine: Unity of the Father and the Son
Original: ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: paradigm tawhid-collision text (10:30). A documented apologetic softening move (hen as merely ‘unity of purpose/team’) must be explicitly resisted, anchored by the hearers’ own attempted stoning (10:31-33) and the parallel claim at 10:38.
Resurrection And Life
Approved rendering: من قیامت و حیات هستم
Transliteration: man qiyamat o hayat hastam
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Original: ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ἀνάστασις καὶ ἡ ζωή
Category: Eschatology
CRITICAL: Christ as the source and guarantor of resurrection life, not merely its performer (11:25). Must not be assimilated to reincarnation-cycle categories nor treated as mere resuscitation unrelated to Christ’s own unique authority over life and death.
The Way
Approved rendering: راه
Transliteration: rah
Doctrine: Exclusivity of Access to God through Christ
Original: ἡ ὁδός
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: collides directly with الصراط المستقیم (al-sirāt al-mustaqīm, recited multiple times daily in the Fatiha, Q1:6) and Sufi طریقت (tariqat, the mystical Path pursued under a spiritual master). Jesus claims personally to BE the way (14:6, an identity-claim), not to teach or mark out a method/system - this distinction must be actively taught given how liturgically central ‘the path’ already is for the audience.
Paraclete Counselor
Approved rendering: تسلیدهنده
Transliteration: tasli-dahande
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit as Counselor
Rejected alternatives: پاراکلیتوس (transliteration; would ironically reinforce the periklytos/Muhammad apologetic confusion this term must actively defuse)
Original: ὁ παράκλητος
Category: God
CRITICAL: beyond the baseline’s generic Ruh-ol-Qods/Jibril collision, carries a specific, documented Islamic apologetic claim (disputed παράκλητος/περικλυτός-‘Ahmad/Muhammad’ etymology) that John’s Paraclete prophecies (14:16,26; 15:26; 16:7) predict Muhammad’s coming; must be actively corrected using the text’s own ‘Spirit of truth’ identification, sent in Jesus’s name during the disciples’ own lifetime.
Spirit Of Truth
Approved rendering: روح راستی
Transliteration: ruh-e rasti
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit as Counselor
Original: τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς ἀληθείας
Category: God
CRITICAL: identifies the Paraclete explicitly as the Holy Spirit (14:17; 15:26; 16:13), directly foreclosing the Paraclete-as-future-human-prophet misreading; must always be taught paired with the paraclete_counselor entry, never presented alone.
That They May Be One
Approved rendering: که ایشان یکی باشند
Transliteration: ke ishan yeki bashand
Doctrine: Unity of the Father and the Son
Original: ἵνα ὦσιν ἕν
Category: Church
CRITICAL: extends the Father-Son ontological unity (see father_son_one) as the pattern and ground of believers’ unity (17:11,21-22); must not be flattened into merely social/ecumenical unity emptied of its Trinitarian anchor.
It Is Finished
Approved rendering: تمام شد
Transliteration: tamam shod
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: τετέλεσται
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: must convey full, sufficient, ‘paid in full’ completion (19:30), not merely ‘the ordeal has ended’; must never be paired with any suggestion that additional merit, suffering, or intercessory devotion - echoing the Karbala/Hussein caution - is still required.
My Lord And My God
Approved rendering: خداوند من و خدای من
Transliteration: khodavand-e man va khoda-ye man
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ὁ κύριός μου καὶ ὁ θεός μου
Category: Christology
CRITICAL: Thomas’s climactic confession (20:28), placed immediately before the Gospel’s purpose statement. Must never be softened to a colloquial surprise-exclamation (Persian ‘خدای من!’); teaching materials must make explicit this is a deliberate act of worship and doctrinal confession, the Gospel’s capstone deity statement.
Life In His Name
Approved rendering: حیات به نام او
Transliteration: hayat be nam-e u
Doctrine: Eternal Life through Faith in Christ
Original: ζωὴν ἔχητε ἐν τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ
Category: Salvation
CRITICAL: access to eternal life through Christ’s own mediating authority/merit (20:31, the Gospel’s stated purpose). Must be distinguished from Islamic invocational practice (بسمالله) and Shia devotional invocation of the Imams’ names in du’a; life is given exclusively ‘in his name.‘
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: فیض
Transliteration: feyz
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: لطف
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Feyz carries a distinct Persian philosophical loading: in Illuminationist and Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Theosophy, ‘feyz’ denotes divine emanation - being automatically overflowing from God into creation, a metaphysical process rather than a freely willed, unmerited gift. لطف (kindness/favor) is too weak to carry the full doctrinal weight and is rejected as a substitute, but feyz must always be qualified as a specific, personal gift secured through Christ, not an automatic ontological overflow. In John, the risk is especially acute at 1:14,16-17 (‘grace upon grace,’ ‘grace and truth’), directly adjacent to the Logos’s own emanation-adjacent vocabulary. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Faith
Approved rendering: ایمان
Transliteration: iman
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις / πιστεύω
Category: Faith
Shares the same six-pillars creedal-assent structure as Arabic iman, with a further Shia-specific layer: belief in the Imamate is itself a core article of Shia iman. Must be anchored as personal trust in Christ, not creedal assent to a list of propositions or successors. In John, πιστεύω is the single most frequent verb (~98 occurrences) and the Gospel’s own stated purpose (20:31); the object of belief must remain grammatically recoverable as Christ himself at every occurrence. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Apostle
Approved rendering: رسول
Transliteration: rasul
Doctrine: Apostleship
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Same collision with Muhammad’s title as in Arabic, with an added Shia layer: the Imamate’s claim to unique ongoing authoritative succession can implicitly compete with any claim to authoritative apostolic office. John uses this noun only once, generically (13:16, ‘a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him’); it is NOT applied to the Twelve as a technical office title in John the way it is in the Epistles, so this single occurrence must not be rendered with the fuller apostolic-office weight documented for Romans. Keep register distinct from the new John-specific verb entry ‘sent_by_the_father.’ [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Sanctification
Approved rendering: تقدیس
Transliteration: taqdis
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἁγιάζω / ἁγιασμός
Category: Sanctification
The Spirit’s ongoing work of making believers holy, not ritual purification. In John, occurs at 17:17,19, Christ’s prayer for the disciples’ consecration ‘in the truth’; must be distinguished from Sufi fanā/wahdat al-wujud per the new John-specific term ‘abide.’ [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Sin
Approved rendering: گناه
Transliteration: gonah
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Native pre-Islamic Persian word. Beyond Islam’s fitrah doctrine, Zoroastrianism’s own Chinvat Bridge deeds-weighing judgment independently reinforces a deeds-weighing intuition. In John, occurs at 1:29, 8:34, 9:41, 16:8-9; the explicit correction of a suffering-equals-sin reading at 9:2-3 is a primary John-specific application of this caution. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Prophet
Approved rendering: پیامبر
Transliteration: payambar
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
A native Persian compound, not an Arabic loanword. Same finality-of-prophethood risk as Arabic’s nabi. In John, applied to Jesus provisionally at 1:21,25; 4:19; 6:14; 7:40; 9:17, always to be surpassed by fuller Christological titles. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Election
Approved rendering: برگزیدگی خدا
Transliteration: bargozidegi-ye khoda
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Original: ἐκλέγομαι
Category: Salvation
Unlike Sunni qadar-fatalism, Shia Islam has its own robust doctrine of specific divine election (the Imamate); this can serve as a bridge but risks importing lineage-based, ongoing-office content onto John’s teaching that the Father draws/gives specific individuals to the Son (6:37,44,65; 13:18; 15:16,19). [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Israel
Approved rendering: اسرائیل
Transliteration: Esra’il
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Iran’s state ideology maintains an unusually intense, officially propagandized anti-Israel stance. In John, used in its covenant-historical sense (1:31,49; 3:10; 12:13) and must not be read through this contemporary political register. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Seed Of David
Approved rendering: نسل داوود
Transliteration: nasl-e Davud
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Conveys physical lineage and OT covenant fulfillment. In John, relevant to the crowd’s own Bethlehem/Davidic-descent expectation at 7:42, which is a natural teaching entry point for this background. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Life
Approved rendering: حیات
Transliteration: hayat
Doctrine: Eternal Life through Faith in Christ
Rejected alternatives: زندگی (too biologically flat; hayat retains the more elevated register John’s fuller divine-life sense requires)
Original: ζωή
Category: Salvation
The Logos is himself the source of all life (1:4), both created and eternal; must not be flattened to mere biological existence. Occurs throughout John (1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 11, 14, 17, 20).
Light
Approved rendering: نور
Transliteration: nur
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: φῶς
Category: Christology
نور is a major Quranic divine attribute (An-Nur, Q24:35) and the central category of Persian Illuminationist philosophy (Suhrawardi’s hikmat al-ishraq); risk of Christ’s light being read as an impersonal divine attribute/emanation rather than his own Person. Occurs at 1:4-9; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35-36,46.
World
Approved rendering: جهان
Transliteration: jahan
Doctrine: God’s Love for the World
Rejected alternatives: دنیا (carries built-in Islamic ‘lower/transient life’ vs. آخرت connotation that would distort 3:16’s positive, redemptive sense)
Original: κόσμος
Category: Salvation
Must be disambiguated per occurrence among (a) the created world as object of God’s love (3:16), (b) humanity organized in hostility to God (15:18-19; 17:14), and (c) neutral ‘the inhabited earth.’ Roughly 78 occurrences across John require per-context sense-tagging.
Testimony Witness
Approved rendering: شهادت دادن / شهادت
Transliteration: shahadat dadan / shahadat
Doctrine: Witness and Testimony to Christ
Original: μαρτυρέω / μαρτυρία
Category: Faith
شهادت is the technical Twelver Shia term for both martyrdom (Imam Hussein’s shahādat at Karbala) and the Islamic creedal confession (shahādatayn); John’s forensic/eyewitness sense of testimony risks being heard as either. Occurs at 1:7-8,19; 3:11,32-33; 5:31-39; 19:35; 21:24 and requires consistent explanatory framing at first use in each teaching unit.
Truth
Approved rendering: حقیقت
Transliteration: haqiqat
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ἀλήθεια
Category: Christology
حقیقت is Sufi mysticism’s technical term for the esoteric truth-level attained through mystical discipline (sharī’ah→tarīqah→haqīqah→ma’rifah). Christ’s self-identification as the truth (14:6), given and known by faith, must be sharply distinguished from this attainment framework.
Flesh
Approved rendering: جسم
Transliteration: jesm
Doctrine: The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
Original: σάρξ
Category: Salvation
Must not import Romans’ sarx-as-sin-nature connotation wholesale; John 3:6’s contrast with Spirit is ontological (natural birth vs. Spirit-birth), not primarily moral as in Paul’s ethical usage.
Spirit Wind Wordplay
Approved rendering: باد / روح
Transliteration: bad / ruh
Doctrine: The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
Original: πνεῦμα / πνέω
Category: Salvation
Persian has no shared root between باد (‘wind’) and روح (‘spirit’), unlike Hebrew ruach or Greek pneuma; the John 3:8 analogy for the Spirit’s sovereign, invisible regenerating work is structurally untranslatable and must be preserved through explanatory apposition, not lexical choice.
Son Of Man
Approved rendering: پسر انسان
Transliteration: pesar-e ensan
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology
Without explicit teaching of Daniel 7’s apocalyptic-authority background, risks flattening into the generic idiom ‘a mere human being’ (ibn Adam/adam-zad), inverting the title’s function of asserting unique divine-authority-bearing humanity. Occurs at 3:13-14; 5:27; 9:35; 12:23,34; 13:31.
Worship
Approved rendering: پرستش کردن
Transliteration: parastesh kardan
Doctrine: Worship in Spirit and Truth
Original: προσκυνέω
Category: Church
John 4:23-24’s relocation of worship from geography to Spirit-enabled, truth-grounded relationship offers a constructive, non-polemical teaching opportunity against place-centered Shia shrine piety (Karbala, Mashhad).
Savior Of The World
Approved rendering: نجاتدهنده جهان
Transliteration: nejat-dahande-ye jahan
Doctrine: Salvation
Original: σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσμου
Category: Salvation
The Samaritans’ climactic confession (4:42), John’s only explicit ‘Savior’ title; reinforces the baseline salvation entry’s Karbala/Hussein intercession-distinction, applied to a universal, exclusive title claimed for Christ alone.
Judgment
Approved rendering: داوری / محکوم شدن
Transliteration: davari / mahkum shodan
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: κρίσις / κρίνω
Category: Eschatology
Islamic mizan deeds-weighing suspends final verdict to the Last Day; John 3:18’s present-tense ‘already condemned’ is genuinely counter-cultural and must not be smoothed into a future-only judgment. Occurs at 3:18-19; 5:24,28-29; 9:39; 12:48; 16:8-11.
Bread Of Life
Approved rendering: نان حیات
Transliteration: nan-e hayat
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς
Category: Christology
First of the seven predicated I Am sayings (6:35,48); manna typology fulfilled and surpassed. Carries the full weight of the absolute ego eimi formula behind it - Christ himself, not a rite or teaching, sustains eternal life.
Eat Flesh Drink Blood
Approved rendering: جسم مرا خوردن، خون مرا نوشیدن
Transliteration: jesm-e ma ra khordan, khun-e ma ra nushidan
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: φάγητε τὴν σάρκα… πίητε τὸ αἷμα
Category: Salvation
Especially shocking given Islamic law’s blood-consumption prohibition (Q5:3) and the absence of any sacramental eating-of-a-divine-person concept; must be taught (6:52-60) with explicit reference to 6:63’s own spiritual clarification.
Holy One Of God
Approved rendering: قدوس خدا
Transliteration: qoddus-e khoda
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ὁ ἅγιος τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Christology
قدوس (al-Quddus) is one of the Ninety-Nine Names of Allah in Islamic theology; Peter’s application of this divine-attribute title personally to Jesus (6:69) is a deliberate, pointed deity-claim, not a generic compliment.
Free Slave
Approved rendering: آزادی / غلام
Transliteration: azadi / gholam
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability (Sin)
Original: ἐλευθερία / δοῦλος
Category: Sin
Islamic vocabulary treats ‘servant/slave of God’ (عبدالله) as a wholly positive submission-identity; John’s ‘slave to sin’ (8:32-36) is entirely negative and must not be confused with this positive category. The contrast is bondage-to-sin vs. freedom-in-Christ.
Door Gate
Approved rendering: در / دروازه
Transliteration: dar / darvaze
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ἡ θύρα
Category: Christology
Exclusive means of access to the sheepfold/salvation (10:7,9); carries the full exclusivity-claim weight of the absolute ego eimi formula and must not be softened to ‘a door among others.‘
Lay Down Life
Approved rendering: جان خود را میدهد
Transliteration: jan-e khod ra midahad
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: τίθησιν τὴν ψυχήν
Category: Salvation
Voluntary, substitutionary self-sacrifice (10:11,15,17-18). جان (ψυχή here) risks conflation with Islamic نفس psychological/spiritual-self categories; denotes simply the natural life voluntarily surrendered.
True Vine
Approved rendering: تاک راستین
Transliteration: tak-e rastin
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀληθινή
Category: Covenant
Reapplies OT Israel-as-vine imagery (Isaiah 5; Ezekiel 15,19) to Christ personally (15:1,5); must be taught carefully to avoid appearing to erase Israel’s covenant significance or being heard through Iran’s charged contemporary political register.
Abide
Approved rendering: ماندن
Transliteration: mandan
Doctrine: Abiding Union with Christ
Original: μένω
Category: Sanctification
Must be carefully distinguished from Sufi mystical unitive categories such as فنا (fana, self-annihilation into the divine) or وحدت وجود (wahdat al-wujud, ‘unity of being’); John’s abiding (15:4-10) retains an organic but ontologically distinct union - a relational dependence, not an absorption.
Know Relational
Approved rendering: شناختن
Transliteration: shenakhtan
Doctrine: Eternal Life through Faith in Christ
Original: γινώσκω
Category: Salvation
Eternal life is defined relationally (17:3, ‘that they know you’), not primarily propositional/creedal knowledge (contrast οἶδα, 3:2); reinforces a present, relational reality against an akhirat/mizan deeds-and-knowledge default.
Gave Up Spirit
Approved rendering: روح خود را تسلیم کرد
Transliteration: ruh-e khod ra taslim kard
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: παρέδωκεν τὸ πνεῦμα
Category: Christology
The active, voluntary framing (19:30) directly counters Quran 4:157’s crucifixion-denial (shubbiha lahum, ‘it was made only to appear so’); Christ’s deliberate agency in his own death must be preserved.
Blood And Water
Approved rendering: خون و آب
Transliteration: khun o ab
Doctrine: Humanity of Christ
Original: αἷμα καὶ ὕδωρ
Category: Christology
Deliberate eyewitness-verified physical-death detail (19:34-35, reusing μαρτυρέω); should be taught as historical-evidentiary language directly answering docetic and Quranic crucifixion-denial readings.
Love Agape
Approved rendering: محبت
Transliteration: mohabbat
Doctrine: God’s Love for the World
Rejected alternatives: عشق (the central Sufi mystical-poetic category of self-annihilating divine-union love; too erotically/ecstatically loaded)
Original: ἀγαπάω
Category: Church
Persian devotional culture’s dominant divine-human-love vocabulary is عشق; محبت is the established, safer Christian-Persian choice but must still be actively filled with agape’s specific, deliberate, sacrificial, others-directed content, not a generic warm feeling. Occurs at 3:16; 13:1,34-35; 15:9-13; 17:23; 21:15-17.
Children Of God
Approved rendering: فرزندان خدا
Transliteration: farzandan-e khoda
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: τέκνα θεοῦ
Category: Salvation
Distinct Greek vocabulary (τέκνα θεοῦ) from υἱοθεσία (‘adoption,’ Romans 8/فرزندخواندگی) but doctrinally continuous with it - a begotten-identity, not legal-adoption, frame (1:12-13). Teach alongside, not confused with, the baseline adoption entry.
Sent By The Father
Approved rendering: فرستاد
Transliteration: ferestad
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Original: ἀποστέλλω / πέμπω
Category: Christology
The Father’s unique, pre-existence-implying sending of the Son (3:17; 5:36-38; 17:3,18,21) must be kept doctrinally distinct, and in a distinct register from the noun رسول (apostle), from the derivative sending of the disciples (20:21).
Medium Risk Terms
Holy
Approved rendering: مقدس
Transliteration: moqaddas
Doctrine: Sanctification
Shared root with Arabic; generally safe vocabulary, needs the relational, Spirit-wrought sense reinforced over ritual-observance holiness. In John, occurs at 17:11 (‘Holy Father,’ πάτερ ἅγιε) within the High Priestly Prayer. Distinct from the new John-specific term ‘holy_one_of_god,’ a personal title applied to Jesus (6:69). [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Peace
Approved rendering: سلام
Transliteration: salam
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: آرامش
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
آرامش (aramesh) is the word Iran’s popular wellness/self-help culture uses for secular inner calm; using it risks reading John’s peace as a mindfulness/therapeutic state rather than a relational standing secured in Christ. In John, occurs at 14:27 and 16:33, both explicitly distinguishing Christ’s peace from the world’s. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: ملکوت خدا
Transliteration: malakut-e khoda
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Distinguish God’s present spiritual reign from any political state, given Iran’s own explicitly religious-political governing system (Velayat-e Faqih). In John, ties entry to the new birth (3:3,5) and is directly engaged at 18:36-37 (‘my kingdom is not of this world’). [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Gentiles
Approved rendering: غیریهودیان
Transliteration: gheyr-yahudian
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: امتها
امتها shares the loaded Ummah root; غیریهودیان avoids that association. In John, relevant to the Greeks-seeking-Jesus scene (12:20-22) and the ‘other sheep’ of 10:16. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Glory
Approved rendering: جلال
Transliteration: jalal
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Jalal carries deep devotional-poetic resonance in Persian mystical (Sufi) literature, paired with jamal (beauty). John structures his whole narrative around glory revealed through signs (2:11) and supremely through the cross (12:23; 17:1); risk of conflating Christ’s specific historical glory with generalized Sufi mystical-aesthetic categories. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Mission
Approved rendering: ماموریت
Transliteration: ma’muriyat
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Rejected alternatives: رسالت
Original: ἀποστέλλω / πέμπω
Category: Church
رسالت echoes Muhammad’s own prophetic-commission vocabulary; ماموریت is more neutral. In John, key occurrences are 17:18 and 20:21 (‘as the Father has sent me, I am sending you’); see the new term ‘sent_by_the_father’ for the distinct Father-Son sending sense that must not be flattened into this general term. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
David
Approved rendering: داوود
Transliteration: Davud
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Shared, positively-regarded Quranic prophet-king figure; supply the covenant-king typology pointing to Messiah explicitly. In John, referenced at 7:42 (Bethlehem/Davidic-descent expectation). [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Darkness
Approved rendering: تاریکی
Transliteration: tariki
Doctrine: Judgment and Belief/Unbelief
Original: σκοτία
Category: Christology
Reinforced by Zoroastrian Ahura Mazda/Ahriman light-dark dualism; must not be read as an independent, co-equal evil cosmic principle but as the moral condition of fallen rejection of the light. Occurs at 1:5; 3:19; 12:35.
Dwelt Tabernacled
Approved rendering: ساکن شد
Transliteration: saken shod
Doctrine: Incarnation
Original: ἐσκήνωσεν
Category: Christology
Echoes the OT tabernacle and Shekinah glory-presence dwelling among Israel (1:14). A comprehension risk (OT tabernacle narrative likely unfamiliar without teaching), not a direct Islamic/Zoroastrian collision.
Baptize
Approved rendering: تعمید دادن
Transliteration: ta’mid dadan
Doctrine: The New Birth and Regeneration by the Spirit
Original: βαπτίζω
Category: Sanctification
Distinguish decisively from ritual ablution (wudu/ghusl); Spirit-baptism (1:26,33; 3:22-23) is an incorporating, empowering act, not a purification rite.
Sign
Approved rendering: نشانه
Transliteration: neshane
Doctrine: Signs Revealing Christ’s Glory
Rejected alternatives: معجزه (the technical Islamic term for a prophet-authenticating miracle; would reduce John’s signs to mere prophetic credentialing)
Original: σημεῖον
Category: Christology
John’s seven selected signs (2:11; 20:30-31) primarily reveal Christ’s unique glory and identity, not merely credential a prophetic office among others.
Living Water
Approved rendering: آب زنده
Transliteration: ab-e zende
Doctrine: Eternal Life through Faith in Christ
Original: ὕδωρ ζῶν
Category: Salvation
Figurative for the Spirit-given eternal life Christ gives (4:10-14; 7:38); ties to the glorification-then-Spirit-outpouring sequence of 7:39.
Good Shepherd
Approved rendering: شبان نیکو
Transliteration: shoban-e niku
Doctrine: The Seven ‘I Am’ Statements
Original: ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός
Category: Christology
Fulfills Ezekiel 34’s indictment of Israel’s false shepherds, replaced by God himself shepherding (10:11,14). Broadly compatible pastoral imagery; standard care.
New Commandment
Approved rendering: فرمان تازه
Transliteration: farman-e taze
Doctrine: The New Commandment of Love
Rejected alternatives: حکم (Islamic fiqh jurisprudence-ruling technicality; would frame John’s directive legalistically rather than relationally)
Original: ἐντολὴν καινήν
Category: Church
‘Love one another as I have loved you’ (13:34-35); فرمان preserves a relational, love-grounded directive, consistent with the baseline’s ناموس-over-شریعت departure.
Friends Not Servants
Approved rendering: دوستان، نه غلامان
Transliteration: dustan, na gholaman
Doctrine: The New Commandment of Love
Original: φίλοι, οὐκέτι δοῦλοι
Category: Church
Reframes the disciple-relationship from servile obedience to intimate friendship, grounded in shared knowledge (15:15); standard care.
Convict
Approved rendering: قانع ساختن
Transliteration: qane sakhtan
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit as Counselor
Original: ἐλέγχω
Category: Sanctification
The Paraclete’s forensic-pedagogical work of exposing the world’s true condition regarding sin, righteousness, and judgment (16:8-11); must read as a positive divine act, distinct from human shame-imposition, a socially loaded category in Persian honor culture.
Overcome The World
Approved rendering: بر جهان غالب شدن
Transliteration: bar jahan ghaleb shodan
Doctrine: Overcoming the World
Original: νενίκηκα τὸν κόσμον
Category: Eschatology
Christ’s declared, completed cosmic victory (16:33) has a genuine bridge with the Shia victory-through-suffering paradox (Hussein’s martyrdom as spiritual triumph despite defeat), but must be taught as unique and categorically greater than righteous martyrdom generally.
King Of The Jews
Approved rendering: پادشاه یهودیان
Transliteration: padeshah-e yahudian
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων
Category: Christology
Pilate’s titulus (19:19-22); پادشاه carries indigenous Persian royal resonance that may aid comprehension but must remain tied to 18:36’s ‘not of this world’ framing, not read as endorsement or critique of any earthly monarchy.
Love Phileo
Approved rendering: دوست داشتن
Transliteration: dust dashtan
Doctrine: God’s Love for the World
Original: φιλέω
Category: Church
Must remain a distinct Persian verb from محبت کردن (agapaō) across 21:15-17 so readers retain the same interpretive question present in the Greek text between Jesus’s questions and Peter’s replies.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: شکرگزاری
Transliteration: shokr-gozari
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστέω
Category: Faith
Shukr is also a major Islamic virtue category; broadly compatible, low risk. In John, occurs at 6:11,23 (Jesus giving thanks before the multiplication of loaves). [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Prophecy
Approved rendering: نبوت
Transliteration: nabovat
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Low independent risk beyond the prophet entry’s own note; underlies John’s Isaiah-fulfillment citations (12:37-41) and the naskh (abrogation) caution relevant to John’s fulfills-not-replaces claim. [Inherited from Romans package; unchanged for John.]
Hour
Approved rendering: ساعت
Transliteration: sa’at
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: ὥρα
Category: Christology
‘Appointed time’ (2:4; 7:30; 12:23,27; 13:1; 17:1) reinforces Christ’s sovereign agency in his own death, countering any passive-victim reading.
Grain Of Wheat
Approved rendering: دانه گندم
Transliteration: dane-ye gandom
Doctrine: Christ’s Substitutionary Death and Resurrection
Original: ὁ κόκκος τοῦ σίτου
Category: Salvation
Broadly cross-cultural death-to-life agricultural metaphor (12:24-25), applied to Christ’s death and disciple-life; standard care only.
Foot Washing
Approved rendering: پا شستن
Transliteration: pa shostan
Doctrine: Foot-Washing as Servant Example
Original: νίπτω
Category: Church
Jesus’s servant-example of self-giving, status-inverting love (13:1-17); culturally resonant with Middle Eastern/Persian hospitality customs.
Referenced passages