Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Philemon (English → Portuguese)
Purpose and Method
This glossary catalogs every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, across the entire book of Philemon. Terms already present in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked REUSED and carry the identical Portuguese rendering and risk tier recorded there — no deviation is permitted. Terms not present in the baseline are marked NEW and are proposed here for addition to the project’s translation memory, with a risk tier assigned using the same Critical/High/Medium/Low framework and review-routing convention established in doctrine_risk_registry.json.
Risk tier definitions (identical to baseline):
- Critical — mistranslation destroys essential doctrine; human theologian review required for every occurrence.
- High — mistranslation creates significant theological confusion or syncretism risk; human theologian review required.
- Medium — mistranslation reduces clarity but preserves essential meaning; native speaker review recommended.
- Low — mistranslation causes minor misunderstanding; automated review sufficient.
Glossary Table
| English Term | Greek (Transliteration) | Portuguese Rendering | Doctrine Category | Risk Tier | TM Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grace | χάρις (charis) | graça | Grace / Grace-Motivated Obedience | High | REUSED | Bookends the letter (v.3, v.25); same Kardecist merit-across-lifetimes contrast as baseline applies. |
| peace | εἰρήνη (eirēnē) | paz | Peace with God | Medium | REUSED | Standard greeting formula. |
| God | θεός (theos) | Deus | Deity | Critical | REUSED | Standard, unambiguous. |
| Father | πατήρ (patēr) | Pai | Adoption / Divine Fatherhood | Critical | REUSED | Standard greeting formula. |
| Lord | κύριος (kyrios) | Senhor | Lordship of Christ | Critical | REUSED | v.16 “ἐν κυρίῳ” — exclusive lordship extends into the master-slave relationship itself. |
| faith | πίστις (pistis) | fé | Faith | High | REUSED | v.5; personal trust, not generic belief. |
| saints | ἅγιοι (hagioi) | santos | Sainthood | Critical | REUSED | v.5, v.7; same corporate-sense explanatory note required as Romans 1:7. |
| fellowship | κοινωνία (koinōnia) | companheirismo | Christian Fellowship | Low | REUSED | v.6; shared partnership in faith. |
| thanksgiving | εὐχαριστέω (eucharisteō) | ação de graças | Thanksgiving | Low | REUSED | v.4. |
| church | ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) | igreja | Church as God’s People | Medium | REUSED | v.2; house church sense. |
| gospel | εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion) | evangelho | Gospel | High | REUSED | v.13; same Kardecist “O Evangelho Segundo o Espiritismo” collision as baseline. |
| brother | ἀδελφός (adelphos) | irmão | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | High | NEW | vv.1, 7, 16, 20. Applied across the master-slave line in v.16 — the letter’s central social claim. Given Brazil’s history as the largest slaveholding society in the Americas, this term’s proclamation weight (not merely its lexical accuracy) requires careful, explicit teaching. |
| beloved | ἀγαπητός (agapētos) | amado | Christian Brotherhood | Low | NEW | vv.1, 16. |
| love | ἀγάπη (agapē) | amor | Grace-Motivated Obedience | Low-Medium | NEW | vv.5, 9; grounds Paul’s appeal in place of command. |
| appeal (verb) | παρακαλέω (parakaleō) | apelo / rogo | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | High | NEW — context-sensitive, distinct from baseline “exhort” | vv.9, 10. Must NOT reuse baseline “exortar” (Romans, Mutual Edification doctrine, communal register); this sense is personal petition on behalf of a third party. Requires a translator note distinguishing the two uses. |
| comfort/encouragement (noun) | παράκλησις (paraklēsis) | consolo / ânimo | Intercession and Appeal | Medium | NEW | v.7; noun form related to παρακαλέω. |
| boldness/confidence | παρρησία (parrēsia) | ousadia / plena confiança | Grace-Motivated Obedience | Medium | NEW | v.8; the forgone authority that sets up the whole appeal. |
| prisoner | δέσμιος (desmios) | prisioneiro | Apostolic Suffering | Medium | NEW | vv.1, 9; also δεσμοῖς (“bonds/chains,” v.10, v.13) — render consistently. |
| child (spiritual) | τέκνον (teknon) | filho | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | Medium | NEW | v.10; must be distinguished from the baseline’s technical adoption doctrine (adoção, Romans 8). |
| I begot (spiritual) | γεννάω (gennaō) | gerei | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | Medium | NEW | v.10. |
| useless / useful | ἄχρηστος / εὔχρηστος (achrēstos / euchrēstos) | inútil / útil | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | Low-Medium | NEW | v.11; wordplay with the name Ὀνήσιμος — requires a translator note since the pun does not survive into Portuguese. |
| my very heart / inmost affections | σπλάγχνα (splanchna) | coração / profundo afeto | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | High | NEW | vv.7, 12, 20; the letter’s key recurring emotional-theological term. Must render consistently across all three occurrences; literal “entranhas” risks an archaic or crude register in contemporary Portuguese. |
| I wished/intended | βούλομαι (boulomai) | desejava | Grace-Motivated Obedience | Low | NEW | v.13. |
| to serve/minister | διακονέω (diakoneō) | servir | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | Medium | NEW | v.13; shares root with Christian ministry vocabulary — should not be flattened to a purely domestic-labor register. |
| consent/will | γνώμη (gnōmē) | consentimento / vontade | Grace-Motivated Obedience | Medium | NEW | v.14. |
| necessity/compulsion | ἀνάγκη (anankē) | obrigação / compulsão | Grace-Motivated Obedience | High | NEW | v.14; the negative pole of the doctrine’s central verse. Must not be softened. |
| voluntary | ἑκούσιος (hekousios) | voluntário / de livre e espontânea vontade | Grace-Motivated Obedience | High | NEW | v.14; the positive pole of the same verse. Consistency required with v.21’s ὑπακοή. |
| separated | χωρίζω (chōrizō) | foi separado (passive) | Providence | Medium | NEW | v.15; passive voice must be retained to preserve providential ambiguity. |
| forever/eternal | αἰώνιος (aiōnios) | para sempre | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | Low-Medium | NEW | v.15; means “permanently” here, distinct from eschatological “vida eterna.” |
| have/receive in full | ἀπέχω (apechō) | ter de volta / receber por completo | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | Low-Medium | NEW | v.15; anticipates the accounting language of vv.18-19. |
| slave/bondservant | δοῦλος (doulos) | escravo | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | CRITICAL | NEW | v.16. The single highest-stakes term in this Language Package extension. Brazil received the largest number of enslaved Africans of any nation in the Americas and was the last in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery (1888); this is a live, unresolved social memory, not an abstraction. Alternatives rejected: “servo” (obscures the actual institution; understates the letter’s radical claim); euphemistic modernizations (falsify the historical referent). Requires mandatory theologian review and an explanatory doctrinal note at every occurrence distinguishing description of an ancient institution from endorsement of it. |
| flesh | σάρξ (sarx) | carne | Christian Identity in Christ | Medium | NEW | v.16; “ἐν σαρκὶ καὶ ἐν κυρίῳ” — the transformed relationship is asserted in both social and spiritual reality, not spiritually only. |
| partner | κοινωνός (koinōnos) | parceiro / companheiro | Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another | Medium | NEW — related to REUSED κοινωνία | v.17; distinct sense (personal/business partnership) from the fellowship noun κοινωνία (v.6); flag for cross-document consistency. |
| receive/welcome | προσλαμβάνω (proslambanō) | receber / acolher | Christian Brotherhood across Social Status | Medium | NEW | v.17. |
| wronged | ἀδικέω (adikeō) | prejudicou / fez algum mal a | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | Medium | NEW | v.18; retains moral seriousness of the offense — no euphemism. |
| owes | ὀφείλω (opheilō) | deve | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | Medium | NEW | vv.18, 19. |
| charge to account | ἐλλογάω (ellogaō) | lança isso na minha conta / atribui isso a mim | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | High | NEW | v.18; commercial/ledger term directly paralleling the baseline’s Critical-risk “imputed_righteousness” (justiça imputada, Romans 4) doctrine. Must not be flattened to generic “perdoa.” |
| I will repay | ἀποτίνω (apotinō) | eu pagarei / eu restituirei | Forgiveness and Reconciliation | Medium | NEW | v.19; completes the substitutionary-payment picture with ἐλλογάω. |
| obedience | ὑπακοή (hypakoē) | obediência | Grace-Motivated Obedience | Medium | NEW — related to but distinct from REUSED “obediência da fé” | v.21. Must be disambiguated from the baseline’s technical “obedience_of_faith” doctrine (Romans 1:5, 16:26); here it denotes personal, trust-grounded compliance with an appeal, not the soteriological phrase. |
| confident/trusting | πεποιθώς / πείθω (pepoithōs / peithō) | confiante | Grace-Motivated Obedience | Low | NEW | v.21. |
| hospitality/lodging | ξενία (xenia) | hospedagem | Christian Fellowship | Low | NEW | v.22. |
| I hope | ἐλπίζω (elpizō) | espero | — | Low | NEW | v.22. |
| grant/restore (grace-rooted) | χαρίζομαι (charizomai) | seja concedido / seja restituído | Grace | Medium | NEW | v.22; shares χάρις root with vv.3, 25 — grace-logic embedded even in a travel note. |
| fellow prisoner | συναιχμάλωτος (synaichmalōtos) | companheiro de prisão | Apostolic Suffering | Low | NEW | v.23. |
| fellow worker | συνεργός (synergos) | cooperador / colaborador | Christ-Centered Ministry | Low | NEW | vv.1, 24. |
| fellow soldier | συστρατιώτης (systratiōtēs) | companheiro de milícia | Christ-Centered Ministry | Low | NEW | v.2. |
| spirit (human) | πνεῦμα (pneuma) | espírito (lowercase) | — | Medium | NEW | v.25; must not be capitalized or conflated with the baseline’s Critical-risk “Espírito Santo.” |
| Onesimus | Ὀνήσιμος (Onēsimos) | Onésimo | Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power | Low (name) / Medium (pun awareness) | NEW — proper name | vv.10-11, 20 (implied via ὀναίμην). Name means “useful”; the pun with ἄχρηστος/εὔχρηστος (v.11) and ὀναίμην (v.20) does not survive translation and requires a standing translator note. |
| Philemon | Φιλήμων (Philēmōn) | Filemom | — | Low (name) | REUSED — established Portuguese Bible book/name form | Standard Almeida-tradition form. |
| Apphia | Ἀπφία (Apphia) | Áfia | — | Low (name) | NEW — proper name | v.2. |
| Archippus | Ἄρχιππος (Archippos) | Arquipo | — | Low (name) | NEW — proper name | v.2. |
| Epaphras | Ἐπαφρᾶς (Epaphras) | Epafras | — | Low (name) | NEW — proper name | v.23. |
| Mark | Μᾶρκος (Markos) | Marcos | — | Low (name) | REUSED — established form | v.24. |
| Aristarchus | Ἀρίσταρχος (Aristarchos) | Aristarco | — | Low (name) | NEW — proper name | v.24. |
| Demas | Δημᾶς (Dēmas) | Demas | — | Low (name) | NEW — proper name | v.24. |
| Luke | Λουκᾶς (Loukas) | Lucas | — | Low (name) | REUSED — established form | v.24. |
Risk Summary for This Curriculum
| Tier | Count | Review Routing |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | 1 (δοῦλος/escravo) + 4 reused (Deus, Pai, Senhor, santos) = 5 | Human theologian, mandatory every occurrence |
| High | 8 new (ἀδελφός, παρακαλέω-appeal, σπλάγχνα, ἀνάγκη, ἑκούσιον, ἐλλογάω) + 4 reused (graça, fé, evangelho — note: παράκλησις/παρρησία graded Medium, not High) | Human theologian |
| Medium | approx. 20 (see table) | Native speaker review |
| Low | approx. 20 (see table, incl. all proper names) | Automated review |
Note on the Critical tier: δοῦλος (“escravo”) is flagged as this curriculum’s single most sensitive term — comparable in weight to “salvação” in the baseline Romans package, but rooted in Brazil’s specific and unresolved history as the largest recipient nation of enslaved Africans in the Americas and the last Western Hemisphere nation to abolish slavery. It requires the same mandatory-theologian-review treatment the baseline reserves for its highest-risk doctrinal terms.
Cross-document consistency requirement: ἀδελφός/irmão, σπλάγχνα, and the ἀνάγκη/ἑκούσιον pair must be rendered identically at every occurrence within this curriculum, per the baseline’s established consistency principle for high-use, high-risk pastoral terms (cf. baseline’s treatment of Romans 8:28 and 10:9–10).
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Deus
Transliteration: theos
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Standard and unambiguous. The baseline’s Afro-Brazilian orixá-syncretism caution applies generally to this curriculum as well.
Father
Approved rendering: Pai
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. God as personal Father, invoked in Filemom 1:3’s opening greeting.
Lord
Approved rendering: Senhor
Transliteration: kyrios
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Senhor apenas em sentido devocional, sem reivindicação de senhorio total
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Must convey exclusive, supreme lordship. In Philemon 1:16 and 1:20, ‘ἐν κυρίῳ’ carries an added social dimension absent from most Romans occurrences: Christ’s lordship is invoked as the ground for reordering an actual master-slave relationship, not merely as a devotional title layered over an unchanged social hierarchy. Final benediction (1:25) must retain the identical, unqualified rendering.
Saints
Approved rendering: santos
Transliteration: hagioi
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: santos venerados e invocados como intercessores
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Corporate designation for all believers; same mandatory explanatory-note requirement as Romans 1:7 applies at every occurrence in Filemom 1:5 and 1:7, against the popular Luso-Brazilian Catholic reading of ‘os santos’ as canonized, venerated intercessors.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Jesus
Transliteration: Iēsous
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Inherited from Romans package. Standard across all Portuguese Bible traditions; appears repeatedly as ‘Cristo Jesus’ (Filemom 1:1, 1:9, 1:23, 1:25).
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Espírito Santo
Transliteration: pneuma hagion
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: espíritos guias ou mentores espirituais (espiritismo), orixás e guias (Candomblé/Umbanda)
Inherited from Romans package, retained here strictly for fencing purposes. Philemon never refers to the Holy Spirit by name; the closing benediction’s ‘espírito’ (Filemom 1:25) is the human spirit of the recipients and must never be capitalized or conflated with this Critical-risk term. See new term ‘spirit_human’ below.
Slave
Approved rendering: escravo
Transliteration: doulos
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Rejected alternatives: servo (suaviza o termo e oculta a instituição sócio-legal real), trabalhador subordinado (eufemismo modernizante que falsifica o referente histórico)
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
NEW term for this curriculum — the single highest-stakes term in this Language Package extension. Filemom 1:16, describing a literal, socio-legally enslaved person. Brazil imported roughly 4.9 million enslaved Africans, the largest number received by any country in the Americas, and was the last nation in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery (Lei Áurea, 1888); this legacy remains a live, unhealed feature of Brazilian society. Every occurrence requires an explanatory doctrinal note clarifying that Scripture here describes, but does not thereby endorse, the institution, and that the letter’s trajectory (1:16, ‘no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother’) is toward dismantling the master-slave hierarchy in Christ. Mandatory human theologian review at every occurrence.
High Risk Terms
Grace
Approved rendering: graça
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: mérito espiritual acumulado ao longo de vidas sucessivas
Original: χάρις
Category: Grace
Inherited from Romans package. Unmerited favor received by faith; same Kardecist merit-across-reincarnations contrast applies. In Philemon this term bookends the letter (Filemom 1:3, 1:25) and its root reappears in χαρίζομαι (1:22, see ‘grant_restore’), reinforcing grace-logic even in Paul’s personal travel note and underlying the whole rhetorical strategy of appeal-not-command.
Faith
Approved rendering: fé
Transliteration: pistis
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: convicção espírita, fé genérica em forças espirituais
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Personal trust in Christ, not generic belief or Kardecist ‘convicção espírita’. Commended in Filemom 1:5 as the root of Philemon’s love toward the saints.
Gospel
Approved rendering: evangelho
Transliteration: euangelion
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: mensagem de evolução moral (Kardecist ethical-progress framing)
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Gospel
Inherited from Romans package. Same Kardecist ‘O Evangelho Segundo o Espiritismo’ collision documented in the baseline applies unchanged. Paul’s imprisonment and Onesimus’s potential service are both described as being ‘for the gospel’ (Filemom 1:13).
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: obediência da fé
Transliteration: hypakoē pisteōs
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: cumprimento de preceitos religiosos, disciplina moral espírita de autoaperfeiçoamento
Inherited from Romans package, retained here strictly for fencing purposes. This exact technical soteriological phrase does not occur in Philemon; Filemom 1:21 uses the bare noun ὑπακοή in a personal, appeal-responsive sense (see new term ‘obedience_personal’) that must NOT be silently identified with this baseline entry.
Intercession
Approved rendering: intercessão
Transliteration: hyperentynchanei / enteuxis
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Rejected alternatives: comunicação com espíritos de mortos por meio de médiuns, intercessão exclusiva dos santos e de Maria
Inherited from Romans package, retained here strictly for fencing purposes. Reserve this term exclusively for the Spirit’s and Christ’s heavenly intercession sense (Romans 8:26-27, 8:34). Philemon’s παρακαλέω (Filemom 1:9-10, Paul’s personal appeal on Onesimus’s behalf) must use the new term ‘appeal’ (‘apelo / rogo’), never ‘intercessão’.
Brother
Approved rendering: irmão
Transliteration: adelphos
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: irmão como mera saudação genérica de camaradagem
Original: ἀδελφός
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
NEW term for this curriculum. Occurs at Filemom 1:1, 1:7, 1:16, 1:20; render identically at every occurrence. Climactically applied to Onesimus, a slave, in 1:16 (‘ἀδελφὸν ἀγαπητόν’) — the letter’s central social claim. Given Brazil’s history as the largest recipient of enslaved Africans in the Americas and the last Western Hemisphere nation to abolish slavery, this term must be taught with full proclamation weight, not domesticated into vague goodwill or historical plantation-era paternalistic kinship rhetoric.
Appeal
Approved rendering: apelo / rogo
Transliteration: parakaleō
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Rejected alternatives: exortar (baseline Romans register, corporate mutual edification, Low risk), intercessão (reserved for the Spirit’s/Christ’s heavenly intercession, see baseline term)
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
NEW term for this curriculum. The letter’s controlling verb (Filemom 1:9, 1:10); personal, warm petition on a third party’s behalf, distinct from both baseline collision terms above. Requires a standing translator note distinguishing this sense from ‘exortar’ and ‘intercessão’ wherever more than one appears in the same curriculum set.
Inmost Affections
Approved rendering: coração / profundo afeto
Transliteration: splanchna
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rejected alternatives: entranhas (arcaico ou fisicamente cru em português contemporâneo), meu amigo querido (perde a intensidade visceral e autoidentificadora)
Original: σπλάγχνα
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
NEW term for this curriculum. The letter’s key recurring emotional-theological term; must be rendered identically at all three occurrences (Filemom 1:7, 1:12, 1:20). Structurally central to Forgiveness and Reconciliation; mandatory theologian review given its consistency requirement across the whole letter.
Necessity Compulsion
Approved rendering: obrigação / compulsão
Transliteration: anankē
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: dificuldade (esvazia o peso teológico do polo negativo da doutrina)
Original: ἀνάγκη
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:14, the doctrine’s central negative pole. If softened, the theological point that grace never operates by compulsion collapses. Requires an explicit teaching note contrasting this both with Catholic-culture obligatory devotion and with Kardecist merit accumulated through effort across successive reincarnations.
Voluntary
Approved rendering: voluntário / de livre e espontânea vontade
Transliteration: hekousion
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἑκούσιον
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:14, the doctrine’s central positive pole; must be rendered with unmistakable clarity and consistency wherever this theme recurs, including 1:21’s ὑπακοή (‘obedience_personal’).
Charge To Account
Approved rendering: lança isso na minha conta / atribui isso a mim
Transliteration: ellogaō
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rejected alternatives: perdoa isso (elimina a imagem de transferência contábil e rompe o paralelo direto com a justiça imputada)
Original: ἐλλογάω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:18; commercial/ledger term directly paralleling the baseline’s Critical-risk ‘justiça imputada’ doctrine (Romans 4). Must preserve the commercial/ledger register.
Medium Risk Terms
Peace
Approved rendering: paz
Transliteration: eirēnē
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: tranquilidade emocional
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Standard Pauline epistolary greeting formula (Filemom 1:3), identical in force to Romans 1:7.
Church
Approved rendering: igreja
Transliteration: ekklēsia
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: a Igreja (institutional-hierarchical sense)
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Filemom 1:2 depicts a house church meeting in Philemon’s own home; distinguish from the capitalized institutional sense foregrounded in Catholic usage.
Adoption
Approved rendering: adoção
Transliteration: huiothesia
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Inherited from Romans package, retained here strictly for fencing purposes. This forensic sonship-and-inheritance doctrine (Romans 8) must be kept distinct from Filemom 1:10’s τέκνον/γεννάω spiritual-fatherhood language (see new term ‘spiritual_child’), which is discipleship/conversion language describing Paul’s role in Onesimus’s conversion, not the technical adoption category.
Love
Approved rendering: amor
Transliteration: agapē
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἀγάπη
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
NEW term for this curriculum. Stated ground of Paul’s appeal (1:9), displacing command-based authority (1:8); must be clearly linked to 1:8 so the causal logic of the appeal is not lost.
Comfort Encouragement
Approved rendering: consolo / ânimo
Transliteration: paraklēsis
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: παράκλησις
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
NEW term for this curriculum. Noun form related to παρακαλέω (Filemom 1:7); keep a register distinct from ‘apelo’ (the verb’s rendering).
Boldness Confidence
Approved rendering: ousadia / plena confiança
Transliteration: parrēsia
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: coragem (loses the sense of a genuine, forgone authority to command)
Original: παρρησία
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:8; the rightful authority Paul establishes and then deliberately sets aside, opening the letter’s central rhetorical move.
Prisoner Bonds
Approved rendering: prisioneiro / prisões
Transliteration: desmios / desmos
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Suffering
Original: δέσμιος / δεσμός
Category: Apostolic Authority and Suffering
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:1, 1:9, 1:10, 1:13; render consistently across all occurrences. Must be kept distinct from a Kardecist ‘lei de causa e efeito’ karmic-debt reading of suffering — Paul’s bonds are voluntary gospel service in this life, not payment of accumulated moral debt across incarnations.
Spiritual Child
Approved rendering: filho
Transliteration: teknon
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and New Birth in the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: adoção (baseline forensic adoption doctrine, Romans 8)
Original: τέκνον
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:10; Paul’s spiritual paternity over Onesimus’s conversion. Must be kept distinct from the baseline’s technical ‘adoção’ entry above.
Spiritual Begetting
Approved rendering: gerei
Transliteration: gennaō
Doctrine: Spiritual Fatherhood and New Birth in the Gospel
Original: γεννάω
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:10; ties Onesimus’s conversion directly to Paul’s imprisonment (‘ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς’).
Useless Useful
Approved rendering: inútil / útil
Transliteration: achrēstos / euchrēstos
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: ἄχρηστος / εὔχρηστος
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:11; wordplay on the name Ὀνήσιμος (‘useful/profitable’) does not survive translation and requires a standing translator note at first occurrence, cross-referenced at 1:20.
Serve Minister
Approved rendering: servir
Transliteration: diakoneō
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Rejected alternatives: fazer serviços (registro puramente doméstico, perde a ressonância ministerial)
Original: διακονέω
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:13; shares its root with Christian ministry vocabulary. Prefer ‘servir-me’ with the ministry connotation carried by context.
Consent Will
Approved rendering: consentimento / vontade
Transliteration: gnōmē
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: opinião (subestima o sentido vinculante e decisório pretendido)
Original: γνώμη
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:14; Paul’s explicit refusal to act without Philemon’s free agreement.
Separated
Approved rendering: foi separado
Transliteration: chōrizō
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: Onésimo fugiu (voz ativa, perde a ambiguidade providencial pretendida por Paulo)
Original: χωρίζω
Category: Providence
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:15; the passive voice must be preserved to retain Paul’s diplomatic and theological nuance regarding providence without excusing the wrongdoing. Vulnerable, like Romans 8:28, to a Kardecist ‘lei de causa e efeito’ misreading.
Eternal Forever
Approved rendering: para sempre
Transliteration: aiōnion
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Rejected alternatives: vida eterna (registro escatológico técnico; sentido diferente do pretendido aqui)
Original: αἰώνιον
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:15; means ‘permanently’ here, contrasting temporary separation with a now-permanent, transformed relationship.
Receive In Full
Approved rendering: ter de volta / receber por completo
Transliteration: apechō
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀπέχω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:15; carries a commercial ‘received in full’ connotation anticipating the accounting language of 1:18-19.
Flesh
Approved rendering: carne
Transliteration: sarx
Doctrine: Christian Identity in Christ
Original: σάρξ
Category: Christian Identity in Christ
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:16’s ‘ἐν σαρκὶ καὶ ἐν κυρίῳ’ asserts Onesimus’s new status as brother in both social and spiritual reality, not a private spiritual fiction over an unchanged social relationship.
Partner
Approved rendering: parceiro / companheiro
Transliteration: koinōnos
Doctrine: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
Original: κοινωνός
Category: Intercession and Appeal on Behalf of Another
NEW term for this curriculum, related to but distinct from the baseline-inherited ‘companheirismo’ (κοινωνία, fellowship in the faith). Filemom 1:17; do not conflate the two senses — flag for cross-document consistency.
Receive Welcome
Approved rendering: receber / acolher
Transliteration: proslambanō
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Rejected alternatives: tolerar (implica aceitação a contragosto, não honra plena)
Original: προσλαμβάνω
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:17; must convey full, honoring acceptance — treat Onesimus exactly as Paul himself would be received.
Wronged
Approved rendering: prejudicou / fez algum mal a
Transliteration: adikeō
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Rejected alternatives: eufemismo que minimize ou negue a ofensa real
Original: ἀδικέω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:18; must retain the moral seriousness of the offense — the doctrine of forgiveness here does not minimize wrongdoing.
Owes
Approved rendering: deve
Transliteration: opheilō
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ὀφείλω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:18 and 1:19; render consistently at both occurrences.
Will Repay
Approved rendering: eu pagarei / eu restituirei
Transliteration: apotinō
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀποτίνω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:19; preserve the binding, personal, first-person commitment, completing the substitutionary-payment picture begun with ‘charge_to_account’.
Obedience Personal
Approved rendering: obediência
Transliteration: hypakoē
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Rejected alternatives: obediência da fé (frase técnica soteriológica reservada de Romanos 1:5/16:26; ver termo herdado ‘obedience_of_faith’)
Original: ὑπακοή
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:21; Philemon’s expected responsive obedience to Paul’s personal appeal, grounded in trust in his transformed character — continues the Grace-Motivated Obedience doctrine of 1:14, not the baseline’s technical soteriological phrase.
Grant Restore
Approved rendering: seja concedido / seja restituído
Transliteration: charizomai
Doctrine: Grace
Original: χαρίζομαι
Category: Grace
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:22; shares the χάρις root with the opening greeting (1:3) and closing benediction (1:25), framing even Paul’s own hoped-for release as an act of grace.
Spirit Human
Approved rendering: espírito
Transliteration: pneuma
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: Espírito Santo (título reservado à terceira Pessoa da Trindade; ver termo herdado ‘holy_spirit’)
Original: πνεῦμα
Category: Christ-Centered Ministry
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:25, closing benediction (‘com o vosso espírito’) — the human spirit of the letter’s recipients, not a title for the Holy Spirit. Must be rendered lowercase, never capitalized, parallel to Galatians 6:18 and Philippians 4:23.
Onesimus
Approved rendering: Onésimo
Transliteration: Onēsimos
Doctrine: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
Original: Ὀνήσιμος
Category: Slavery and the Gospel’s Transforming Power
NEW proper name for this curriculum. Filemom 1:10-11, echoed in 1:20’s ὀναίμην. Standard Portuguese Bible form ‘Onésimo’ carries low transliteration risk, but the name’s meaning (‘useful, profitable’) and its wordplay with ἄχρηστος/εὔχρηστος (1:11) and ὀναίμην (1:20) is invisible in Portuguese and requires a standing translator note.
Refresh Give Rest
Approved rendering: reanimar / dar descanso a
Transliteration: anapauō
Doctrine: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
Original: ἀναπαύω
Category: Forgiveness and Reconciliation
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:7 and 1:20; render consistently in coordination with ‘inmost_affections’.
Low Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: companheirismo
Transliteration: koinōnia
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: comunhão dos santos (specific Catholic liturgical formula)
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Shared participation in faith and mission (Filemom 1:6). Must be kept distinct from the new term ‘partner’ (κοινωνός, Filemom 1:17), a related but different sense — do not conflate the two Portuguese renderings.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: ação de graças
Transliteration: eucharistia
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Standard formula, Filemom 1:4.
Beloved
Approved rendering: amado
Transliteration: agapētos
Doctrine: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
Original: ἀγαπητός
Category: Christian Brotherhood across Social Status
NEW term for this curriculum. Applied to Philemon (1:1) and to Onesimus (1:16).
Wished Intended
Approved rendering: desejava
Transliteration: boulomai
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: βούλομαι
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:13; Paul’s own preference, voluntarily set aside.
Confident Trusting
Approved rendering: confiante
Transliteration: pepoithōs (peithō)
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: πεποιθώς (πείθω)
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:21; Paul’s confidence rests in Philemon’s transformed character, not in Paul’s own authority to compel.
Hospitality
Approved rendering: hospedagem
Transliteration: xenia
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Original: ξενία
Category: Christian Fellowship
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:22; backs the appeal with anticipated face-to-face accountability.
Hope
Approved rendering: espero
Transliteration: elpizō
Doctrine: Faith
Original: ἐλπίζω
Category: Faith
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:22.
Fellow Prisoner
Approved rendering: companheiro de prisão
Transliteration: synaichmalōtos
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Suffering
Original: συναιχμάλωτος
Category: Apostolic Authority and Suffering
NEW term for this curriculum. Applied to Epaphras, Filemom 1:23.
Fellow Worker
Approved rendering: cooperador / colaborador
Transliteration: synergos
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: συνεργός
Category: Christ-Centered Ministry
NEW term for this curriculum. Applied to Philemon (1:1) and to Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke (1:24); render consistently at both occurrences.
Fellow Soldier
Approved rendering: companheiro de milícia
Transliteration: systratiōtēs
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Original: συστρατιώτης
Category: Christ-Centered Ministry
NEW term for this curriculum. Applied to Archippus, Filemom 1:2; follow the Almeida-tradition rendering used elsewhere in Paul (e.g. Philippians 2:25).
Philemon
Approved rendering: Filemom
Transliteration: Philēmōn
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Φιλήμων
Category: Proper Names
NEW proper name for this curriculum. Established Almeida-tradition Portuguese Bible book/name form; the letter’s addressee, a slaveowner and gospel co-worker.
Apphia
Approved rendering: Áfia
Transliteration: Apphia
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Ἀπφία
Category: Proper Names
NEW proper name for this curriculum. Named co-recipient of the letter, likely Philemon’s wife (Filemom 1:2).
Archippus
Approved rendering: Arquipo
Transliteration: Archippos
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Ἄρχιππος
Category: Proper Names
NEW proper name for this curriculum. Named co-recipient, called Paul’s ‘fellow soldier’ (Filemom 1:2).
Epaphras
Approved rendering: Epafras
Transliteration: Epaphras
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Ἐπαφρᾶς
Category: Proper Names
NEW proper name for this curriculum. Paul’s fellow prisoner, named in the closing greetings (Filemom 1:23).
Mark
Approved rendering: Marcos
Transliteration: Markos
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Μᾶρκος
Category: Proper Names
NEW to this curriculum’s registry; uses the established Portuguese Bible-translation form. Filemom 1:24.
Aristarchus
Approved rendering: Aristarco
Transliteration: Aristarchos
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Ἀρίσταρχος
Category: Proper Names
NEW proper name for this curriculum. Filemom 1:24.
Demas
Approved rendering: Demas
Transliteration: Dēmas
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Δημᾶς
Category: Proper Names
NEW proper name for this curriculum. Filemom 1:24.
Luke
Approved rendering: Lucas
Transliteration: Loukas
Doctrine: Proper Names
Original: Λουκᾶς
Category: Proper Names
NEW to this curriculum’s registry; uses the established Portuguese Bible-translation form. Filemom 1:24.
Remembrance
Approved rendering: lembrança
Transliteration: mneia
Doctrine: Faith
Original: μνεία
Category: Faith
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:4.
Prayer
Approved rendering: oração
Transliteration: proseuchē
Doctrine: Faith
Original: προσευχή
Category: Faith
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:4.
Full Knowledge
Approved rendering: pleno conhecimento
Transliteration: epignōsis
Doctrine: Faith
Original: ἐπίγνωσις
Category: Faith
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:6.
Effective Active
Approved rendering: eficaz
Transliteration: energēs
Doctrine: Faith
Original: ἐνεργής
Category: Faith
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:6.
Joy
Approved rendering: alegria
Transliteration: chara
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: χαρά
Category: Faith
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:7.
Command
Approved rendering: ordenar
Transliteration: epitassō
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἐπιτάσσω
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:8; the road Paul explicitly refuses to take with Philemon.
What Is Fitting
Approved rendering: o que convém
Transliteration: anēkon
Doctrine: Grace-Motivated Obedience
Original: ἀνῆκον
Category: Grace-Motivated Obedience
NEW term for this curriculum. Filemom 1:8; frames Philemon’s expected action as a duty Paul could invoke but chooses not to.
Referenced passages