Core Glossary
Core Glossary — Philippians (English → Portuguese)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, covering Philippians chapters 1–4. Terms marked [BASELINE] are reused exactly from the Romans Language Package with no change to rendering, risk tier, or notes (only Philippians-specific passage references and, where noted, an extension of context are added). Terms marked [NEW] are Philippians-specific additions that must be added to the project’s translation memory and doctrine risk registry before Phase 2 translation begins.
Section A — Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (Reaffirmed for Philippians)
| Term (EN) | Portuguese | Risk | Philippians Refs | Reaffirmation Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gospel | evangelho | High | 1:5, 1:7, 1:12, 1:16, 1:27, 2:22, 4:3, 4:15 | Distinguish from Kardecist “Evangelho Segundo o Espiritismo” reading, per baseline. |
| grace | graça | High | 1:2, 1:7, 4:23; root shared with 1:29 “granted to suffer” and 2:9 “bestowed” | Extend baseline note: Philippians uniquely applies grace-vocabulary to suffering (1:29) and to Christ’s exaltation (2:9), not only to justification — teach the wider grace-semantic range. |
| faith | fé | High | 1:25, 1:27, 2:17, 3:9, 3:9 (διὰ πίστεως) | Central to ch. 3’s righteousness-by-faith argument; reuse exactly. |
| righteousness | justiça | Critical | 1:11, 3:6, 3:9 | Ch. 3:9 is Philippians’ thesis statement parallel to Romans 3–4; reuse exactly. |
| justification | justificação | Critical | (implied in 3:9’s forensic contrast) | No separate lexical occurrence, but the doctrine is fully in view in ch. 3; reuse baseline framework. |
| salvation | salvação | Critical | 1:19, 1:28, 2:12 | Ch. 2:12 (“work out your salvation”) requires the extension noted in Section B; core term unchanged. |
| resurrection | ressurreição | Critical | 3:10, 3:11, 3:21 | NEVER “reencarnação”; reaffirm baseline prohibition, especially given ch. 3:21’s “transformed body” language. |
| lord | Senhor | Critical | 2:11, 3:20 (Salvador… Senhor implied), 4:1, 4:4, 4:5, 4:10 | 2:11 “Jesus Cristo é Senhor” must match Romans 10:9 vocabulary exactly per baseline cross-document consistency rule. |
| son_of_god | Filho de Deus | Critical | (implied in 2:6, μορφή θεοῦ) | No direct occurrence of the phrase, but 2:6 grounds the same doctrine; teach connectively. |
| incarnation | encarnação | Critical | 2:7 (theological referent, not the Greek word itself) | Apply the baseline’s Kardecist-collision caution to the whole of 2:6-8, even though the specific term “encarnação” is used doctrinally rather than translating a single Greek word. |
| jesus / christ | Jesus / Cristo | Critical | throughout | Standard forms retained per baseline proper-name conventions. |
| god | Deus | Critical | throughout | Standard, unambiguous. |
| holy_spirit | Espírito Santo | Critical | 1:19, 2:1 (κοινωνία πνεύματος) | Reaffirm distinction from “espíritos guias”/orixás per baseline. |
| father | Pai | Critical | 1:2, 2:11, 4:20 | Standard. |
| saints | santos | Critical | 1:1, 4:21, 4:22 | Every occurrence requires the baseline’s explanatory note that this designates every believer in Philippi, not a canonized/venerated elite. |
| holy | santo | High | (implicit in ἅγιοι, 1:1) | Reuse baseline note on moral/relational set-apartness. |
| sanctification | santificação | High | (thematic, ch. 1:6, 2:12-13, 3:12-15) | Ch. 3’s “not yet perfect… pressing on” language must be read within this baseline doctrine, distinguished from Kardecist gradual purification across lives. |
| glory | glória | Medium | 1:11, 2:11, 3:19, 3:21, 4:19-20 | Standard usage throughout; no new risk. |
| peace | paz | Medium | 1:2, 4:7, 4:9 | Ch. 4:7’s “peace of God” ties directly to baseline peace_with_god doctrine. |
| law | lei | High | 3:5, 3:6, 3:9 | Central to ch. 3’s polemic; reuse exactly. |
| sin | pecado | Medium | (implicit background of ch. 3’s righteousness argument) | No direct lexical occurrence but doctrinally presupposed. |
| gentiles | gentios | Low | (implied in the letter’s Gentile-church setting) | No direct occurrence; background only. |
| fellowship | companheirismo | Low | (general relational sense, e.g., 1:7 “partakers with me of grace”) | Reserve for Romans-style general fellowship; see Section B for Philippians’ distinct κοινωνία extensions requiring new entries. |
| church | igreja | Medium | 4:15 (“no church shared with me”) | Standard; local congregational sense. |
| calling / called | chamado | High | 3:14 (“the prize of the upward call”) | Reuse exactly; ties calling to the eschatological “prize” imagery of ch. 3. |
| power_of_god | poder de Deus | Medium | 3:10 (“the power of his resurrection”), 4:13 (“through him who strengthens me”) | Reuse baseline rendering; 4:13’s ἐνδυναμοῦντι (“the one strengthening me”) is the same semantic domain, extending it to daily contentment (ch. 4) as well as resurrection hope (ch. 3). |
| providence | providência | High | 1:6, 1:19, 2:13, 4:19 | Reaffirm baseline caution against a Kardecist “lei de causa e efeito” reading, especially at 2:13 and 4:19. |
| exhort | exortar | Low | 4:2 (Paul “entreats” Euodia and Syntyche) | Standard. |
| thanksgiving | ação de graças | Low | 1:3, 4:6 | Standard. |
| intercession | intercessão | High | 1:19 (implied, “through your prayers”) | Reuse baseline note distinguishing from mediumistic or saint-intercession frameworks. |
| mission | missão | Medium | (thematic, gospel advance throughout) | No direct occurrence; background theme. |
Section B — New Terms Introduced by Philippians
| Term (EN) | Portuguese | Risk | Greek (transliteration) | Definition / Semantic Range | Alternatives Rejected | Brazilian Rendering-Risk Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kenosis / self-emptying | esvaziou-se (verb); “a autoentrega de Cristo” (doctrine name) | Critical | ἐκένωσεν (ekenōsen) | The Son’s voluntary self-emptying of divine privilege and status (not of divine nature) in taking the form of a servant. Phil 2:7. | ”anulou-se” (implies erasure of self rather than voluntary self-giving); a rendering framed as loss of identity rather than assumption of a new, additional status | Direct terminological collision with Kardecist/Candomblé/Umbanda mediumship, where a medium “se esvazia” to be occupied by another spirit or orixá in trance. Every occurrence requires an explicit note: Christ empties himself by his own sovereign will while remaining fully himself, assuming (not vacating himself for) a genuine human nature — the opposite structure of mediumistic self-emptying for incorporation. |
| form of God | forma de Deus | Critical | μορφή θεοῦ (morphē theou) | The essential, true divine nature Christ possessed and continued to possess even while emptying himself of its outward privileges. Phil 2:6. | ”aparência de Deus” (reduces to surface appearance, opening a docetic reading); “natureza divina” alone (loses the μορφή/σχῆμα distinction developed across vv. 6-7) | Must not be confused with the Afro-Brazilian concept of deities manifesting in multiple forms/avatars, nor with a Kardecist spirit’s many successive bodily “forms.” This is Christ’s own, unique, permanent, essential nature, not a manifestation among others. |
| form of a servant | forma de servo | High | μορφὴν δούλου (morphēn doulou) | The genuine servant/slave status and nature Christ assumed, parallel in structure to “form of God” but denoting authentic lowliness. Phil 2:7. | ”papel de servo” (reduces to a temporary role rather than a genuinely assumed status) | Retain the full social force of δοῦλος (lowest-status bond-slave) rather than softening to a generalized helpfulness. |
| likeness of men / appearance as a man | semelhança de homens / aparência humana | High | ὁμοίωμα ἀνθρώπων / σχήματι ὡς ἄνθρωπος | Together affirm Christ’s genuine, observable humanity — real likeness and real outward human form, not illusion. Phil 2:7. | ”aparência apenas” alone (risks Docetism if not paired with “semelhança” affirming genuine humanity) | Require pairing in translator notes so neither term alone suggests Christ’s humanity was merely apparent; connects to baseline humanity_of_christ doctrine (Medium in baseline, elevated here). |
| a thing to be grasped | algo a que se apegar / (trad.) usurpação | High | ἁρπαγμόν (harpagmon) | Christ, truly possessing equality with God, did not treat that status as leverage for self-advantage. Phil 2:6. | A rendering implying Christ’s deity was merely claimed rather than genuinely possessed | Whichever Portuguese phrase is selected must be paired with explicit teaching affirming Christ’s actual (not doubted or asserted-only) equality with God, which he chose not to exploit. |
| bow the knee (cosmic submission) | dobrar o joelho | High | κάμψῃ γόνυ (kampsē gony) | Universal submission (originally reserved for YHWH alone, Isaiah 45:23) now owed to Christ by every being in every realm. Phil 2:10. | A rendering that reads as merely one appropriate devotional gesture among others | Must be taught as singular, exclusive, cosmic homage to Christ alone, not one gesture appropriately offered also to saints, the Virgin, orixás, or spirit entities in Brazilian devotional practice. |
| heavenly/earthly/under the earth (cosmic realms) | nos céus, na terra e debaixo da terra | Critical | ἐπουρανίων, ἐπιγείων, καταχθονίων | Total cosmological scope — Christ’s lordship over every rank of being in every plane of existence, including the spirit world and the dead. Phil 2:10. | A rendering implying Christ takes a place within a populated spirit-hierarchy rather than reigning over it exclusively | Must not be mapped onto Kardecist “planos espirituais”/“colônias espirituais” or the Umbanda/Candomblé populated spirit-world (orixás, encantados, ancestral entities) as though Christ were one power among many within that cosmology; teach as Christ’s exclusive, total sovereignty over every such power without exception. |
| confess (Lordship) | confessar | Critical | ἐξομολογήσηται (exomologēsētai) | Public, verbal acknowledgment that Jesus Christ is Lord. Phil 2:11. | Any rendering diverging from the Romans 10:9 baseline confession vocabulary | Must match “Jesus é o Senhor” wording used in the Romans Language Package exactly, per cross-document consistency rule. |
| partnership in the gospel | parceria no evangelho | High | κοινωνία εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον | Concrete, often financially-embodied shared participation in gospel mission (distinct from Romans’ general “fellowship” sense). Phil 1:5, cf. 4:15-16. | ”companheirismo no evangelho” (too weak/general for the concrete missional-financial partnership in view); “sociedade” (too purely commercial/legal) | Distinct new entry, extending but not replacing baseline “fellowship.” Risk: “parceria” carries secular-business connotations that could reduce gospel partnership to transaction if not taught alongside the sacrificial-giving material in ch. 4 (θυσία δεκτή, below). |
| fellowship of the Spirit | comunhão do Espírito | High | κοινωνία πνεύματος | Shared participation in the person of the Holy Spirit as the ground of church unity. Phil 2:1. | ”companheirismo do Espírito” (baseline reserves “companheirismo” for the general Romans sense; a distinct phrase is needed here) | Must be distinguished from Kardecist/Umbanda “comunhão com espíritos” (communication/communion with discarnate spirits or spirit guides); this is communion with the one Holy Spirit, third Person of the Trinity. |
| fellowship of his sufferings | comunhão nos seus sofrimentos | High | κοινωνία [τῶν] παθημάτων αὐτοῦ | Shared participation specifically in Christ’s own redemptive suffering. Phil 3:10. | A rendering suggesting distributed or shared karmic suffering-debt | Must not be conflated with a Kardecist framework of suffering shared or distributed as karmic debt across incarnations; this is union with Christ’s own once-for-all historical suffering. |
| joy | alegria | High | χαρά (chara) / χαίρω (chairō) | Gospel-grounded gladness sustained through, not dependent on the absence of, suffering. Throughout, esp. 1:4, 1:18, 1:25, 2:2, 2:17-18, 2:28-29, 3:1, 4:1, 4:4, 4:10. | A rendering implying joy is contingent on favorable circumstance or material blessing | Central anchor term for “Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment” doctrine. Must be distinguished from (a) Kardecism’s joyful acceptance of suffering as karmic-debt resolution advancing a spirit’s evolution, and (b) prosperity-oriented teaching implicitly tying joy to the absence of hardship. |
| imprisonment / chains | prisão / cadeias | Medium-High | δεσμά / δεσμός (desma/desmos) | Paul’s literal imprisonment, reframed as an occasion for gospel advance rather than shame or spiritual failure. Phil 1:7, 1:13, 1:14, 1:17. | A rendering implying imprisonment as inherently shameful or as evidence of spiritual failure/deficient faith | Must not be read through frameworks (present in some Brazilian Pentecostal streams) that treat suffering/imprisonment primarily as spiritual failure or demonic attack requiring deliverance rather than a potential platform for witness. |
| suffering granted as grace | concedido… sofrer (retaining “graça” root) | High | ἐχαρίσθη… τὸ … πάσχειν | Suffering for Christ described with grace/gift vocabulary — itself a form of grace, not a deficiency of it. Phil 1:29. | A rendering severing the visible connection to “graça” | Must retain lexical connection to baseline “graça” (Critical/High) so the paradox (suffering as gift) is not lost; direct counter to any suffering-as-karmic-debt framework. |
| work out your salvation | efetuar/realizar a vossa salvação | Critical | κατεργάζεσθε τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν | The lived outworking of a salvation whose source is God (immediately balanced by v. 13), not self-produced achievement. Phil 2:12. | A rendering standing alone without the balancing “for it is God who works in you” (v. 13) firmly linked in teaching | Must always be taught paired with the following term (God working in you); isolated, this phrase reads exactly like Kardecist “evolução espiritual” — salvation progressively achieved by the soul’s own effort. |
| God working in you | Deus… que opera em vós | High | ὁ ἐνεργῶν ἐν ὑμῖν (ho energōn en hymin) | God’s personal, effective agency enabling the believer’s obedience. Phil 2:13. | A rendering using “energia” language, implying an impersonal force | Extends baseline providence (High). Avoid any Portuguese phrasing suggesting an impersonal spiritual energy or force (a live New Age/Umbanda/Candomblé association); retain God as personal, purposive agent. |
| overseers and deacons | bispos e diáconos | Medium | ἐπίσκοποι καὶ διάκονοι (episkopoi kai diakonoi) | Local congregational leadership offices — oversight and service — not a hierarchical territorial office. Phil 1:1. | ”líderes e ajudantes” (loses the established, recognizable ecclesial-office vocabulary) | Established Portuguese Bible term “bispos” carries strong Roman Catholic diocesan-hierarchy connotations exceeding the local, congregational sense intended; a clarifying note is recommended. |
| knowledge of Christ | conhecimento de Cristo | High | γνῶσις (gnōsis) | Personal, relational knowing of Christ, of surpassing worth compared to Paul’s prior credentials. Phil 3:8. | A rendering suggesting privileged, secret, or mediated special revelation | Carries the historic Gnostic-heresy association and, in Brazil, resonance with Kardecist/esoteric claims to special spiritual knowledge via mediumistic revelation; must be taught as relational knowledge available to every believer through faith, not secret or channeled. |
| pressing on / goal / prize | prosseguir para o alvo… rumo ao premio | High | σκοπός / διώκω / βραβεῖον | Sustained athletic-competition imagery for wholehearted pursuit of a goal already secured in Christ though not yet fully realized. Phil 3:12-14. | A rendering implying the goal (final salvation/perfection) is uncertain or must be self-achieved through cumulative effort | Anchor term for “Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ.” Sharpest Brazilian collision risk in the letter after kenosis: superficially resembles Kardecism’s “evolução espiritual,” a spirit’s effortful progress across reincarnations toward eventual perfection. Must be taught as pursuit of a goal already secured by grace (3:9), not self-earned advancement toward an uncertain future state. |
| maturity / perfection | maduro (attainable now) vs. perfeito (denied of Paul in the present) | High | τέλειος / τελειόω | Two distinct senses of the same root within four verses: sinless completion (denied of Paul, 3:12) vs. Spirit-given maturity available now (affirmed of believers generally, 3:15). | Using the same Portuguese word for both senses, collapsing the distinction | Must render the two senses distinctly in Portuguese so the passage cannot be harmonized with Kardecism’s doctrine of a spirit becoming “perfeito” gradually across many incarnations. |
| citizenship in heaven | cidadania nos céus | High | πολίτευμα (politeuma) | Believers’ primary civic identity and allegiance belongs to a heavenly commonwealth, evoking Philippi’s prized Roman colonial citizenship. Phil 3:20. | ”reino” (loses the specific civic/legal citizenship metaphor); a rendering collapsing into “kingdom_of_god” without the distinct civic-identity nuance | Anchor term for “Citizenship in Heaven” doctrine. Risk: Brazilian national identity and civil-religious overlap between national and Christian belonging could blunt the metaphor’s relativizing force; background on Philippi’s Roman-colonia status is recommended. |
| Savior | Salvador | Critical | σωτήρ (sōtēr) | The one true Savior, in implicit contrast to imperial/pagan savior-claims in Paul’s Roman-colony context. Phil 3:20. | A rendering permitting diffusion of the title onto other spiritual mediators/guides | Extends baseline salvation/lordship (Critical); reaffirm exclusivity against Kardecist “evolução espiritual” and against any mediating spiritual figure sharing the title. |
| transformed body | transformará (o corpo) | High | μετασχηματίσει τὸ σῶμα | The believer’s present body will be transformed, in continuity with itself, into a glorious resurrection body like Christ’s own. Phil 3:21. | A rendering implying replacement of one body by an entirely different one | Extends baseline resurrection (Critical); must convey continuity of the same body transformed, not a different body inhabited in a subsequent incarnation. |
| contentment | contentamento | High | αὐτάρκεια / αὐτάρκης | Christ-dependent sufficiency amid any circumstance (Paul deliberately redefines a Stoic philosophical term). Phil 4:11. | ”autossuficiência” (retains the Stoic self-generated sense Paul is correcting); a rendering suggesting resigned acceptance of fate | Anchor term for “Contentment in All Circumstances.” Distinguish from (1) Stoic self-generated self-sufficiency, (2) popular therapeutic/self-help detachment culture, and (3) Kardecist-adjacent resigned acceptance of one’s karmic lot; source of contentment must be explicitly Christ’s sustaining strength (4:13). |
| learned the secret / initiated | aprendi o segredo | High | μεμύημαι (memyēmai) | Paul provocatively borrows Greco-Roman mystery-cult initiation vocabulary to describe learning contentment through experience — a rhetorical device, not an endorsement. Phil 4:12. | Any cognate of “iniciação/iniciado” | Distinctive Brazilian risk: “iniciado” is the standard term for formal initiation into a Candomblé/Umbanda terreiro, a mainstream religious structure with defined initiatory grades and restricted knowledge. The softened rendering “aprendi o segredo” is strongly recommended; any footnote on the mystery-cult background must clarify Paul does not endorse or parallel actual initiatory ritual or restricted revelation. |
| anxiety | ansiedade / inquietação | Medium | μεριμνάω (merimnaō) | Anxious, divided care, contrasted with trust expressed through prayer. Phil 4:6. | A rendering suggesting stoic detachment or fatalistic passivity as the alternative to anxiety | Connects to baseline peace (Medium); teach as trust-driven prayer, not stoic self-management. |
| acceptable sacrifice / offering | sacrifício aceitável, agradável a Deus | High | θυσία δεκτή, εὐάρεστος τῷ θεῷ | Cultic/sacrificial metaphor applied to the Philippians’ financial gift to Paul, framing generosity within gospel partnership as worship. Phil 4:18. | A rendering that could be read as endorsing or paralleling literal ritual offerings | Distinctive Brazilian risk: “oferenda”/“sacrifício” vocabulary carries vivid, mainstream associations with Candomblé/Umbanda ritual offerings to orixás. Must be taught as NT metaphor for gospel-partnership generosity enabled by Christ’s completed sacrifice, not a recommendation of ongoing literal ritual offering or transactional exchange with a deity/spirit. |
| poured out as a libation | derramado como libação | Medium | σπένδομαι (spendomai) | Paul’s figurative self-description of his possible martyrdom as a sacrificial drink-offering. Phil 2:17. | A rendering suggesting a recommended ongoing ritual practice | Handle alongside “acceptable sacrifice” (4:18); frame as Paul’s own figurative self-description tied to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, not a ritual libation practice paralleling Candomblé/Umbanda offerings of drink to specific orixás. |
| fear and trembling | temor e tremor | Medium | φόβος καὶ τρόμος | Reverent seriousness before God, not anxious terror about one’s ultimate standing. Phil 2:12. | A rendering implying servile terror or ongoing uncertain spiritual accounting | Distinguish from a Kardecist framework of ongoing uncertain spiritual accounting across lives; this is reverence within a settled relationship with God. |
Section C — Cross-Reference to Doctrine Names (for doctrine_risk_registry.json extension)
| Curriculum Doctrine | Primary Passages | Key New/Extended Terms |
|---|---|---|
| The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis) | Phil 2:5-8 | ἐκένωσεν, μορφή θεοῦ, μορφὴ δούλου, ὁμοίωμα/σχῆμα, ἁρπαγμός |
| Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment | Phil 1:4-30; 2:17-18; 3:1; 4:4, 4:10-13 | χαρά/χαίρω, δεσμά, ἐχαρίσθη…πάσχειν, κοινωνία παθημάτων |
| Unity and Humility in the Church | Phil 1:27; 2:1-4, 14-16; 4:2-3 | παράκλησις, κοινωνία πνεύματος, σύμψυχος, ταπεινοφροσύνη, ἐριθεία, κενοδοξία, φρονέω |
| Righteousness by Faith versus the Law | Phil 3:2-9 | περιτομή, σάρξ, ζημία/σκύβαλα, δικαιοσύνη ἐκ νόμου/διὰ πίστεως [baseline] |
| Contentment in All Circumstances | Phil 4:6-13 | αὐτάρκεια, μεμύημαι, μεριμνάω, ἐνδυναμοῦντι |
| Citizenship in Heaven | Phil 1:27; 3:20-21 | πολίτευμα, πολιτεύεσθε, σωτήρ, μετασχηματίσει |
| Partnership in the Gospel | Phil 1:5, 7; 4:14-19 | κοινωνία εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, θυσία δεκτή, σπένδομαι |
| Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ | Phil 3:10-16 | κοινωνία παθημάτων, σκοπός/διώκω/βραβεῖον, τέλειος/τελειόω, γνῶσις |
This glossary must be merged into translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json as new keyed entries (using the English term as key, matching baseline schema) before Phase 2 segment translation of Philippians begins. All Section A terms remain unchanged from the Romans baseline and require no schema modification, only reference-list extension.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: justiça
Transliteration: dikaiosynē
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: mérito conquistado por esforço moral próprio
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 1:11, 3:6, 3:9 — the letter’s thesis statement, structurally parallel to Romans 3-4.
Justification
Approved rendering: justificação
Transliteration: dikaiōsis
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: progresso espiritual gradual
Original: δικαίωσις (doctrine implied in 3:9’s forensic contrast)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. No separate lexical occurrence in Philippians, but the doctrine fully underlies Phil 3:9’s forensic contrast.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: justiça imputada
Transliteration: elogisthē autō eis dikaiosynēn (cf. dikaiosynēn tēn ek theou epi tē pistei)
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: justiça infundida (categoria tridentina), justiça conquistada por mérito próprio ao longo de vidas sucessivas
Original: δικαιοσύνην τὴν ἐκ θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῇ πίστει
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 3:9 is a direct parallel to Romans 4, sharpened by Paul’s autobiographical renunciation of his own credentials (3:4-8).
Salvation
Approved rendering: salvação
Transliteration: sōtēria
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: evolução espiritual através de reencarnações sucessivas
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 1:19, 1:28, 2:12. Phil 2:12 (‘efetuar a vossa salvação’) is the letter’s highest-risk salvation passage and must always be read with 2:13 (see god_working_in_you) to avoid an ‘evolução espiritual’ misreading.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: ressurreição
Transliteration: anastasis / exanastasis
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: reencarnação
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἐξανάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. NEVER reencarnação. Phil 3:10, 3:11, 3:21; 3:21’s transformed-body language is especially vulnerable and requires the transformed_body entry below.
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. Phil 2:11, 3:20 (implied via Salvador), 4:1, 4:4, 4:5, 4:10. Phil 2:11’s confession must match Romans 10:9’s ‘Jesus é o Senhor’ exactly per cross-document consistency rule.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Filho de Deus
Transliteration: morphē theou (doctrine implied)
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: filho de Deus no sentido genérico aplicado a todo crente
Original: μορφή θεοῦ (doctrine implied)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. The phrase does not itself occur in Philippians, but Phil 2:6’s divine nature and 2:11’s ‘gloria de Deus Pai’ confirm the eternal, unique Sonship.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: encarnação
Transliteration: morphēn doulou labōn, en homoiōmati anthrōpōn genomenos (theological referent)
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: encarnação como uma entre muitas vidas sucessivas de um espírito (sentido espírita)
Original: μορφὴν δούλου λαβών, ἐν ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων γενόμενος (theological referent)
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Applies doctrinally across the whole of Phil 2:6-8, the doctrine’s central NT text outside John 1:14.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Jesus
Transliteration: Iēsous
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package.
Messiah
Approved rendering: Cristo
Transliteration: Christos
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: um espírito superior ou mais evoluído (leitura espírita de Jesus como ‘o mais evoluído dos espíritos’)
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package (there rendered ‘Messias’ as the messianic title). In Philippians, ‘Cristo’ functions pervasively as name-plus-title throughout the letter; the doctrinal caution against a Kardecist evolved-spirit Christology applies identically.
God
Approved rendering: Deus
Transliteration: theos
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Espírito Santo
Transliteration: pneuma hagion / pneumatos
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: espíritos guias ou mentores espirituais (espiritismo), orixás e guias (Candomblé/Umbanda)
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον / πνεύματος
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 1:19; 2:1’s koinōnia pneumatos requires the distinct fellowship_of_spirit entry below in addition to this baseline entry.
Saints
Approved rendering: santos
Transliteration: hagioi
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: santos venerados e invocados como intercessores
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 1:1, 4:21, 4:22 — the letter opens and closes addressing ‘todos os santos.’ Requires the explanatory note at every occurrence that this designates every believer in Philippi, not a canonized/venerated elite.
Kenosis
Approved rendering: esvaziou-se (a si mesmo)
Transliteration: ekenōsen
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: anulou-se (implica erasure do eu em vez de autoentrega voluntária)
Original: ἐκένωσεν
Category: Christology
New term for Philippians — single highest-risk term introduced by this book. Phil 2:7. Direct terminological collision with mainstream Kardecist and Candomblé/Umbanda mediumship vocabulary, in which mediums are trained to ‘se esvaziar’ so a spirit or orixá can occupy/incorporate their body in trance. Every occurrence requires an explicit note: Christ empties himself by his own sovereign will while remaining fully himself, assuming (not vacating himself for) a genuine human nature — the opposite structure of mediumistic incorporation.
Form Of God
Approved rendering: forma de Deus
Transliteration: morphē theou
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: aparência de Deus (reduz a aparência superficial, abrindo leitura docetista), natureza divina (sozinho, perde a distinção morphē/schēma desenvolvida em 2:6-7)
Original: μορφή θεοῦ
Category: Christology
New term. Phil 2:6. Must not be confused with orixás manifesting in multiple forms/avatars, nor with a Kardecist spirit’s many successive bodily forms. Affirms Christ’s essential, eternal, unique divine nature, retained even through the self-emptying.
Cosmic Realms
Approved rendering: nos céus, na terra e debaixo da terra
Transliteration: epouraniōn kai epigeiōn kai katachthoniōn
Doctrine: Cosmic Lordship and Universal Confession of Christ
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que situe Cristo como um poder entre outros dentro de uma hierarquia espiritual povoada
Original: ἐπουρανίων καὶ ἐπιγείων καὶ καταχθονίων
Category: Christology
New term. Phil 2:10. Must not be mapped onto Kardecist ‘planos’/‘colônias espirituais’ or the Umbanda/Candomblé populated spirit-world (orixás, encantados, ancestral entities); teach as Christ’s exclusive, total sovereignty over every such power without exception.
Confess Lordship
Approved rendering: confessar
Transliteration: exomologēsētai
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: qualquer formulação divergente do vocabulário de confissão de Romanos 10:9
Original: ἐξομολογήσηται
Category: Christology
New term. Phil 2:11. Must be rendered ‘Jesus Cristo é Senhor,’ using identical vocabulary to the Romans baseline salvation confession, per the cross-document consistency rule.
Savior
Approved rendering: Salvador
Transliteration: sōtēr
Doctrine: Exclusivity of the Savior
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que permita a difusão do título para outros mediadores ou guias espirituais
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Christology
New term, extends baseline salvation and lordship_of_christ. Phil 3:20. Must reaffirm exclusivity against Kardecist ‘evolução espiritual’ salvation and against diffusion of the title onto spiritual mediators, guides, or entities.
Work Out Salvation
Approved rendering: efetuar/realizar a vossa salvação
Transliteration: katergazesthe tēn heautōn sōtērian
Doctrine: Working Out Salvation through Divine Enablement
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura isolada do v.13, que soaria exatamente como a ‘evolução espiritual’ cardecista
Original: κατεργάζεσθε τὴν ἑαυτῶν σωτηρίαν
Category: Salvation
New term, extends baseline salvation. Phil 2:12. Must always be taught paired with god_working_in_you (v.13) so the outworking is understood as the lived response to a salvation God himself grants and empowers, never merit accumulation.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: evangelho
Transliteration: euangelion
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: mensagem de evolução moral (Kardecist ethical-progress framing)
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Reused exactly for Philippians 1:5, 1:7, 1:12, 1:16, 1:27, 2:22, 4:3, 4:15. Must be distinguished from Allan Kardec’s ‘O Evangelho Segundo o Espiritismo’ ethical-progress reading.
Grace
Approved rendering: graça
Transliteration: charis
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: mérito espiritual acumulado ao longo de vidas sucessivas
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Philippians extends grace-vocabulary uniquely to suffering (1:29, echaristhē) and to Christ’s exaltation (2:9, echarisato); both extensions must retain the visible ‘graça’ root.
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. Central to Phil 3:9’s righteousness-by-faith thesis; also 1:25, 1:27, 2:17.
Father
Approved rendering: Pai
Transliteration: patēr
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 1:2, 2:11, 4:20.
Holy
Approved rendering: santo
Transliteration: hagios
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: puro em sentido ritual
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package (baseline rated Medium; reflected as High here per the Philippians registry given proximity to the Critical sainthood doctrine). Implicit in hagioi, Phil 1:1.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: santificação
Transliteration: hagiasmos
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: purificação cármica ao longo de reencarnações (leitura espírita)
Original: ἁγιασμός (thematic)
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package. Thematic in Phil 1:6, 2:12-13, 3:12-15; chapter 3’s ‘not yet perfect… pressing on’ language must be read within this doctrine, never as Kardecist gradual purification across lives.
Glory
Approved rendering: glória
Transliteration: doxa
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 1:11, 2:11, 3:19, 3:21, 4:19-20.
Law
Approved rendering: lei
Transliteration: nomos
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Central to Phil 3:5, 3:6, 3:9’s righteousness-by-faith polemic.
Sin
Approved rendering: pecado
Transliteration: hamartia
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: erro a ser corrigido em vidas futuras (leitura espírita)
Original: ἁμαρτία (implicit background)
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. No direct lexical occurrence in Philippians but doctrinally presupposed by chapter 3’s righteousness argument.
Calling
Approved rendering: chamado
Transliteration: klēsis
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: vocação (narrow sense of a call to priesthood or religious life)
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 3:14, ‘o prêmio do chamado celestial,’ ties calling to the eschatological prize imagery of ch. 3.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: poder de Deus
Transliteration: dynamis theou
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Original: δύναμις (implied)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 3:10 (‘the power of his resurrection’), 4:13 (‘through him who strengthens me’) extends this power to daily contentment as well as resurrection hope.
Providence
Approved rendering: providência
Transliteration: pronoia
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: lei de causa e efeito espírita (regência cármica das reencarnações)
Original: πρόνοια (thematic)
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 1:6, 1:19, 2:13, 4:19; 2:13 and 4:19 are especially vulnerable to a Kardecist ‘lei de causa e efeito’ reading or an impersonal-‘energia’ misreading.
Intercession
Approved rendering: intercessão
Transliteration: n/a (implied, Phil 1:19)
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Rejected alternatives: comunicação com espíritos de mortos por meio de médiuns, intercessão exclusiva dos santos e de Maria
Original: (implied, 1:19)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 1:19 (‘through your prayers’).
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. No direct lexical occurrence in Philippians, but connects thematically to Phil 2:8’s obediente (see new ‘obedience’ entry below) as the pattern grounding the believer’s own faith-obedience.
Form Of Servant
Approved rendering: forma de servo
Transliteration: morphēn doulou
Doctrine: The Incarnation and Self-Emptying of Christ (Kenosis)
Rejected alternatives: papel de servo (reduz a um papel temporário em vez de um status genuinamente assumido)
Original: μορφὴν δούλου
Category: Christology
New term. Phil 2:7. Must retain the full social force of doulos (lowest-status bond-slave); some congregational cultures soften this toward ‘servidor,’ losing the deliberate shock of the reversal from deity to slave-status.
Likeness Of Men
Approved rendering: semelhança de homens / aparência humana
Transliteration: homoiōmati anthrōpōn / schēmati hōs anthrōpos
Doctrine: Humanity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: aparência apenas (isolada, sugere docetismo)
Original: ὁμοιώματι ἀνθρώπων / σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος
Category: Christology
New term. Phil 2:7. The two Greek expressions must be paired in translator notes so neither, alone, suggests merely apparent humanity.
Hyparchon
Approved rendering: subsistindo
Transliteration: hyparchōn
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: era (simples cópula, perde o sentido de estado contínuo)
Original: ὑπάρχων
Category: Christology
New term. Phil 2:6. Established Almeida-tradition preference is ‘subsistindo’; must not be flattened to a simple ‘era,’ which would lose the continuing divine state carried into the descent.
Harpagmos
Approved rendering: algo a que se apegar
Transliteration: harpagmos
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: usurpação (older Almeida tradition; acceptable but requires a note), uma leitura que implique que a divindade de Cristo era apenas reivindicada e não genuinamente possuída
Original: ἁρπαγμός
Category: Christology
New term. Phil 2:6. Whichever phrase is chosen must be paired with explicit teaching affirming Christ’s actual, genuinely possessed equality with God, which he chose not to exploit for self-gain.
Bow The Knee
Approved rendering: dobrar o joelho
Transliteration: kampsē gony
Doctrine: Cosmic Lordship and Universal Confession of Christ
Rejected alternatives: um gesto devocional entre vários gestos apropriados a diferentes figuras sagradas
Original: κάμψῃ γόνυ
Category: Christology
New term. Phil 2:10. Must be taught as singular, exclusive, cosmic homage owed to Christ alone, citing the Isaiah 45:23 background, not one devotional gesture among several offered to saints, the Virgin, or orixás/spirit entities.
Partnership In Gospel
Approved rendering: parceria no evangelho
Transliteration: koinōnia eis to euangelion
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Rejected alternatives: companheirismo no evangelho (demasiado fraco/genérico para a parceria concreta e financeira em vista), sociedade (demasiado puramente comercial/legal)
Original: κοινωνία εἰς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Church
New term, extends baseline fellowship. Phil 1:5, cf. 4:15-16. Must be taught alongside acceptable_sacrifice (4:18) so material giving is framed as worship flowing from partnership, not commerce.
Fellowship Of Spirit
Approved rendering: comunhão do Espírito
Transliteration: koinōnia pneumatos
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: companheirismo do Espírito (baseline reserves ‘companheirismo’ for the general Romans sense)
Original: κοινωνία πνεύματος
Category: Church
New term. Phil 2:1. Must be distinguished from Kardecist/Umbanda ‘comunhão com espíritos’ (plural, lowercase — communion with discarnate spirits or spirit guides). Strict grammatical fencing required: capitalization and singular number must never be relaxed.
Fellowship Of Sufferings
Approved rendering: comunhão nos seus sofrimentos
Transliteration: koinōnia [tōn] pathēmatōn autou
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que sugira sofrimento cármico compartilhado ou distribuído entre encarnações
Original: κοινωνία [τῶν] παθημάτων αὐτοῦ
Category: Church
New term, extends baseline fellowship. Phil 3:10. Must not be conflated with a Kardecist framework of shared or distributed karmic suffering-debt across incarnations; this is union with Christ’s own once-for-all historical suffering.
God Working In You
Approved rendering: Deus… que opera em vós
Transliteration: ho energōn en hymin
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: qualquer formulação baseada em ‘energia’, que carrega fortes conotações New Age e umbandista/candomblecista de força espiritual impessoal
Original: ὁ ἐνεργῶν ἐν ὑμῖν
Category: God
New term, extends baseline providence. Phil 2:13. God must remain a personal, purposive agent, never an impersonal energy or force.
Transformed Body
Approved rendering: transformará (o corpo)
Transliteration: metaschēmatisei to sōma
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que implique substituição por um corpo diferente
Original: μετασχηματίσει τὸ σῶμα
Category: Eschatology
New term, extends baseline resurrection. Phil 3:21. Must convey continuity of the SAME body transformed, not a different body inhabited in a subsequent incarnation — the verse most vulnerable to reincarnation-framework assimilation.
Maturity Perfection
Approved rendering: maduro / perfeito
Transliteration: teleios / teleioō
Doctrine: Spiritual Maturity and Perfection
Rejected alternatives: usar a mesma palavra portuguesa para os dois sentidos, colapsando a distinção
Original: τέλειος / τελειόω
Category: Sanctification
New term. Phil 3:12 (‘perfeito,’ denied of Paul) vs. 3:15 (‘maduro,’ affirmed of mature believers). The two senses must be rendered distinctly so the passage cannot be harmonized with Kardecism’s doctrine of a spirit becoming ‘perfeito’ gradually across many incarnations.
Knowledge Of Christ
Approved rendering: conhecimento de Cristo
Transliteration: gnōsis
Doctrine: Knowledge of Christ
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que sugira revelação especial, privilegiada ou secreta
Original: γνῶσις
Category: Faith
New term. Phil 3:8. Carries the historic Gnostic-heresy association and, in Brazil, resonance with Kardecist/esoteric claims to special spiritual knowledge via mediumistic revelation (psicografia). Must be relational knowledge available to every believer through faith, not secret or channeled.
Pressing On Goal Prize
Approved rendering: prosseguir para o alvo / rumo ao prêmio
Transliteration: skopos / diōkō / brabeion
Doctrine: Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que implique que o alvo é incerto e deve ser autoalcançado por esforço cumulativo
Original: σκοπός / διώκω / βραβεῖον
Category: Sanctification
New term, anchor for Pressing on toward the Goal in Christ. Phil 3:12-14. Sharpest Brazilian collision risk after kenosis: superficially resembles Kardecist ‘evolução espiritual.’ Must be taught as pursuit of a goal already secured by grace (3:9).
Citizenship In Heaven
Approved rendering: cidadania nos céus
Transliteration: politeuma
Doctrine: Citizenship in Heaven
Rejected alternatives: reino (perde a metáfora cívica/legal específica de cidadania)
Original: πολίτευμα
Category: Citizenship
New term, anchor for Citizenship in Heaven. Phil 1:27, 3:20. Evokes Philippi’s prized Roman-colonia citizenship, a background Brazilian readers lack; Brazil’s strong national/civil-religious identity overlap risks blunting the metaphor’s relativizing force.
Contentment
Approved rendering: contentamento
Transliteration: autarkeia / autarkēs
Doctrine: Contentment in All Circumstances
Rejected alternatives: autossuficiência (mantém exatamente o sentido estoico autogerado que Paulo está corrigindo)
Original: αὐτάρκεια / αὐτάρκης
Category: Contentment
New term, anchor for Contentment in All Circumstances. Phil 4:11. Sits at the intersection of Stoic self-sufficiency, therapeutic self-help detachment culture, and Kardecist-adjacent resigned karmic acceptance; source must be explicitly Christ’s sustaining strength (4:13).
Learned The Secret
Approved rendering: aprendi o segredo
Transliteration: memyēmai
Doctrine: Contentment in All Circumstances
Rejected alternatives: qualquer cognato de ‘iniciação/iniciado’
Original: μεμύημαι
Category: Contentment
New term. Phil 4:12. ‘Iniciado’ is the standard term for formal initiation into a Candomblé/Umbanda terreiro, a mainstream Brazilian religious structure with defined initiatory grades and restricted knowledge. The softened rendering is required; any footnote on mystery-cult background must clarify Paul does not endorse actual initiatory ritual.
Acceptable Sacrifice
Approved rendering: sacrifício aceitável, agradável a Deus
Transliteration: thysia dektē, euarestos tō theō
Doctrine: Sacrificial Generosity as Worship
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que possa ser interpretada como endosso ou paralelo a oferendas rituais literais
Original: θυσία δεκτή, εὐάρεστος τῷ θεῷ
Category: Church
New term. Phil 4:18. ‘Sacrifício’/‘oferenda’ vocabulary carries vivid, mainstream Brazilian associations with Candomblé/Umbanda ritual offerings to orixás. Must be taught as NT metaphor for gospel-partnership generosity enabled by Christ’s completed sacrifice, never literal ongoing ritual offering.
Joy
Approved rendering: alegria
Transliteration: chara / chairō
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que implique que a alegria depende de circunstância favorável ou bênção material
Original: χαρά / χαίρω
Category: Joy
New term, anchor for Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment. Throughout, esp. 1:4, 1:18, 1:25, 2:2, 2:17-18, 2:28-29, 3:1, 4:1, 4:4, 4:10. Must be distinguished from Kardecist joyful acceptance of suffering as karmic-debt resolution and from prosperity-oriented Brazilian teaching implicitly tying joy to the absence of hardship.
Imprisonment
Approved rendering: prisão / cadeias
Transliteration: desma / desmos
Doctrine: Joy in Suffering and Imprisonment
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que implique que a prisão é inerentemente vergonhosa ou evidência de fracasso espiritual
Original: δεσμά / δεσμός
Category: Suffering
New term. Phil 1:7, 1:13, 1:14, 1:17. Must not be filtered through frameworks (present in some Brazilian Pentecostal streams) treating imprisonment as spiritual failure or demonic attack requiring deliverance rather than a platform for witness.
Suffering Granted As Grace
Approved rendering: concedido… sofrer
Transliteration: echaristhē … to paschein
Doctrine: Suffering as a Grace-Gift
Rejected alternatives: uma formulação que rompa a ligação visível com ‘graça’
Original: ἐχαρίσθη … τὸ … πάσχειν
Category: Suffering
New term, extends baseline grace. Phil 1:29. Must retain lexical connection to ‘graça’ so the paradox is not lost; direct counter to any suffering-as-karmic-debt framework.
Flesh
Approved rendering: carne (confiança na carne)
Transliteration: sarx
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Rejected alternatives: carne no sentido neutro de corpo físico, sem qualificação
Original: σάρξ
Category: Sin
New term, extends baseline righteousness/law framework. Phil 3:3-4. Must be distinguished from the neutral physical-body sense; any reading in which credentials, effort, pedigree, or merit accumulated across reincarnations grounds standing before God directly contradicts this chapter’s argument.
Medium Risk Terms
Abba
Approved rendering: Abba
Transliteration: Abba
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Inherited from Romans package. No direct occurrence in Philippians; retained here only as a cross-document consistency reference, paired with ‘Pai’ per Almeida precedent if ever cited alongside Romans 8:15 material in curriculum notes.
Peace
Approved rendering: paz
Transliteration: eirēnē
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: tranquilidade emocional
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 1:2, 4:7, 4:9; chapter 4’s ‘paz de Deus’ is closely tied to the contentment doctrine.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: gentios
Transliteration: ethnē
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: pagãos (pejorative)
Original: ἔθνη (implied by the letter’s Gentile-church setting)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package (there rated Low; elevated to Medium here only for consistency with the letter’s implicit Jew/Gentile backdrop in ch. 3). No direct lexical occurrence in Philippians.
Church
Approved rendering: igreja
Transliteration: ekklēsia
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: a Igreja (institutional-hierarchical sense)
Original: ἐκκλησία (implied)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 4:15 (‘no church shared with me but you only’); local congregational sense.
Mission
Approved rendering: missão
Transliteration: n/a (thematic)
Doctrine: Mission to the Nations
Original: (thematic)
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Thematic throughout Philippians’ gospel-advance material (1:12-18, 1:27, 2:22).
Fear And Trembling
Approved rendering: temor e tremor
Transliteration: phobos kai tromos
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que implique terror servil ou incerteza contínua quanto à condição espiritual
Original: φόβος καὶ τρόμος
Category: Sanctification
New term. Phil 2:12. Distinguish from a Kardecist framework of ongoing uncertain spiritual accounting across successive lives; this is reverence appropriate to a settled relationship with God.
Overseers Deacons
Approved rendering: bispos e diáconos
Transliteration: episkopoi kai diakonoi
Doctrine: Church Leadership Offices
Rejected alternatives: líderes e ajudantes (perde o vocabulário eclesial estabelecido e reconhecível)
Original: ἐπίσκοποι καὶ διάκονοι
Category: Church
New term. Phil 1:1. ‘Bispos’ carries strong Roman Catholic diocesan-hierarchy connotations exceeding the local congregational sense Paul intends; a clarifying note is recommended.
Libation
Approved rendering: derramado como libação
Transliteration: spendomai
Doctrine: Sacrificial Generosity as Worship
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que sugira uma prática ritual contínua recomendada
Original: σπένδομαι
Category: Suffering
New term. Phil 2:17. Ritual libations are a recognizable Candomblé/Umbanda ritual act; frame strictly as Paul’s own figurative self-description tied to Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice.
Anxiety
Approved rendering: ansiedade / inquietação
Transliteration: merimnaō
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: uma leitura que sugira desapego estoico ou passividade fatalista como alternativa à ansiedade
Original: μεριμνάω
Category: Faith
New term, connects to baseline peace. Phil 4:6. Teach as trust-driven prayer replacing anxious self-management, not Stoic detachment or fatalistic passivity.
Obedience
Approved rendering: obediente
Transliteration: hypēkoos
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Original: ὑπήκοος
Category: Faith
New term, connects thematically to baseline obedience_of_faith. Phil 2:8. Should be rendered so as to connect thematically to the believer’s own faith-obedience, grounded in and patterned after Christ’s own obedience unto death.
Loss Rubbish
Approved rendering: perda / lixo (esterco)
Transliteration: zēmia / skybala
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Original: ζημία / σκύβαλα
Category: Salvation
New term. Phil 3:7-8. Skybala is coarse and visceral; use ‘perda/lixo’ in the running public-register text while preserving the rhetorical force in a teaching footnote.
Phroneo
Approved rendering: ter o mesmo pensamento/sentimento
Transliteration: phroneō
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: pensar (demasiado puramente intelectual, subestima o âmbito volitivo/afetivo)
Original: φρονέω
Category: Church
New term. Phil 2:2, 2:5, 3:15, 4:2 — a recurring refrain modeled on Christ’s own disposition; must be rendered identically at every occurrence.
Sympsychos
Approved rendering: de um só ânimo
Transliteration: sympsychos
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: almas unidas / uma só alma (pode ecoar linguagem cardecista/umbandista de fusão ou comunhão coletiva de espíritos)
Original: σύμψυχος
Category: Church
New term. Phil 2:2 (New Testament hapax legomenon).
Tapeinophrosyne
Approved rendering: humildade
Transliteration: tapeinophrosynē
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Original: ταπεινοφροσύνη
Category: Church
New term. Phil 2:3. Standard and correct, but Brazilian honor-status culture can read it as weakness or low social status rather than deliberate, dignified self-giving; ground explicitly in 2:5-8’s christology.
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. Reserved for the general relational sense (Phil 1:7, ‘partakers with me of grace’). See fellowship_of_spirit, partnership_in_gospel, and fellowship_of_sufferings for Philippians’ distinct extensions, which must NOT be collapsed back into this general term.
Exhort
Approved rendering: exortar
Transliteration: parakaleō
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 4:2 (Paul entreats Euodia and Syntyche).
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: ação de graças
Transliteration: eucharistia
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Original: εὐχαριστία
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Phil 1:3, 4:6.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: circuncisão
Transliteration: peritomē
Doctrine: Righteousness by Faith versus the Law
Original: περιτομή
Category: Covenant
New term. Phil 3:3, 3:5. Standard term, low collision risk in Brazil; catechetical background on Jewish covenant identity should be supplied.
Paraklesis
Approved rendering: consolo / encorajamento
Transliteration: paraklēsis
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: apelo (registro burocrático)
Original: παράκλησις
Category: Church
New term. Phil 2:1. Render relationally; grounds the unity appeal that follows.
Splanchna Oiktirmoi
Approved rendering: profundo afeto e compaixão
Transliteration: splanchna kai oiktirmoi
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Rejected alternatives: entranhas (arcaico, anatomicamente estranho em português contemporâneo)
Original: σπλάγχνα καὶ οἰκτιρμοί
Category: Church
New term. Phil 2:1.
Eritheia
Approved rendering: ambição egoísta / rivalidade
Transliteration: eritheia
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Original: ἐριθεία
Category: Church
New term. Phil 2:3; connects to the disunity addressed at 4:2.
Kenodoxia
Approved rendering: vaidade / vanglória
Transliteration: kenodoxia
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Original: κενοδοξία
Category: Church
New term. Phil 2:3; pairs with eritheia as the self-exalting posture Christ’s self-emptying (v.7) directly reverses.
Skopeo
Approved rendering: atentar para / zelar por
Transliteration: skopeō
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Original: σκοπέω
Category: Church
New term. Phil 2:4; shares a root with skopos (goal) in 3:14.
Amemptoi Akeraioi
Approved rendering: irrepreensíveis e íntegros
Transliteration: amemptoi kai akeraioi
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: ἄμεμπτοι καὶ ἀκέραιοι
Category: Sanctification
New term. Phil 2:15; describes believers’ visible moral distinctiveness.
Phosteres
Approved rendering: luzeiros
Transliteration: phōstēres
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: φωστῆρες
Category: Sanctification
New term. Phil 2:15.
Logos Zoes
Approved rendering: palavra da vida
Transliteration: logos zōēs
Doctrine: Gospel
Original: λόγος ζωῆς
Category: Salvation
New term. Phil 2:16; connects to the baseline gospel entry.
Synergos Systratiotes
Approved rendering: cooperador / companheiro de milícia
Transliteration: synergos / systratiōtēs
Doctrine: Partnership in the Gospel
Original: συνεργός / συστρατιώτης
Category: Church
New term. Phil 2:25; describes Epaphroditus, reinforcing the gospel-partnership theme.
Epieikeia
Approved rendering: mansidão / benignidade
Transliteration: epieikeia
Doctrine: Unity and Humility in the Church
Original: ἐπιείκεια
Category: Church
New term. Phil 4:5; a public virtue consistent with the letter’s unity/humility themes.
Referenced passages