Linguistic Gap Analysis
Linguistic Gap Analysis: 2 Peter — English → Punjabi
Purpose
This document executes PRD Phase 1 Step 8 for the 2 Peter curriculum. It maps the seven assigned doctrines against the actual state of Punjabi (Gurmukhi) theological vocabulary, identifies where the destination language has no adequate existing term (a true gap) versus where it has too many competing, doctrinally loaded terms (a crowded semantic neighborhood requiring fencing), records the transliteration-vs-paraphrase decision for every borderline case, and ranks 2 Peter’s highest-risk ambiguities for Phase 2 translator attention.
This analysis extends but never contradicts the baseline Romans Language Package. Where 2 Peter reuses a baseline term, that ruling is treated as settled and only newly surfaced considerations are added. Where 2 Peter introduces new vocabulary, this document supplies the gap analysis that grounds the term-level rulings already recorded in 08_core_glossary.md and the updated bible_term_registry.json.
1. Doctrine Vocabulary Matrix
| Doctrine | Available Punjabi Term(s) | Weaknesses of Available Terms | Recommended Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Reliability and Inspiration of Scripture | ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਲਿਖਤ(ਾਂ) (proposed); rejected: ਗ੍ਰੰਥ, ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ | ਗ੍ਰੰਥ/ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਗ੍ਰੰਥ are the exact vocabulary of the Guru Granth Sahib’s own title and doctrine as the eternal, enthroned, living Guru — using them for the Bible would imply a parallel living-scripture-Guru status the Christian doctrine of inspiration does not claim. No existing Punjabi word cleanly isolates “a body of divinely authoritative writings” without either this collision or excessive vagueness (e.g. ਲਿਖਤ alone means merely “a writing”). | Coin/fix ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਲਿਖਤ (sg.) / ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਲਿਖਤਾਂ (pl.) as the dedicated term for “Scripture” across this curriculum. Never ਗ੍ਰੰਥ family. Reinforce with the companion phrases ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਆਤਮਾ ਦੀ ਪ੍ਰੇਰਨਾ ਨਾਲ ਲਿਜਾਏ ਗਏ (2 Pet 1:21) and ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਬੋਲੇ to carry the full doctrine of inspiration, since no single noun bears that weight alone. |
| Growing in Christian Virtue | ਨੇਕੀ/ਸਦਗੁਣ (virtue), ਭਗਤੀ (godliness), ਗਿਆਨ (knowledge), ਸੰਜਮ (self-control), ਧੀਰਜ/ਸਹਿਣਸ਼ੀਲਤਾ (endurance), ਭਾਈਚਾਰਕ ਪਿਆਰ (brotherly love), ਪਿਆਰ (love) | The virtue chain (1:5-7) sits directly on top of pan-Indian devotional-path vocabulary: ਭਗਤੀ evokes bhakti-marga (one path among several to liberation); ਗਿਆਨ evokes jnana-marga (self- or Guru-attained enlightenment); bare ਗੁਣ evokes Gurbani’s recitable divine attributes rather than ethical character; ਭਾਈਚਾਰਾ evokes Khalsa-brotherhood/panth loyalty. None of these terms is individually forbidden, but each needs anchoring or qualification to avoid being absorbed into its native devotional-path framework. | Retain the terms but require doctrinal anchoring at first use in each lesson: ਭਗਤੀ always with the qualifier ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦੀ ਭਗਤੀ and framed as Spirit-produced fruit, not a chosen marga; ਗਿਆਨ always framed as revealed/relational knowledge received by grace, growing through obedience, not self-attained; ਭਾਈਚਾਰਕ ਪਿਆਰ always glossed as love within the Christian ਮੰਡਲੀ. |
| False Teachers and Their Judgment | ਝੂਠੇ ਉਪਦੇਸ਼ਕ (false teachers), ਝੂਠੇ ਨਬੀ (false prophets), ਵਿਨਾਸ਼ਕਾਰੀ ਸਿੱਖਿਆਵਾਂ (destructive heresies), ਮਾਲਕ (despotēs) | The two most fluent-sounding candidates are both forbidden: ਗੁਰੂ (even qualified “false guru”) would legitimize ਗੁਰੂ as a general teacher-category; ਪੰਥ for “heresy/sect” would misapply Sikh communal-identity vocabulary to a pejorative theological label. This leaves a genuine gap: Punjabi lacks a ready-made, doctrinally neutral word for “a destructive splinter teaching” that does not borrow from either Sikh community vocabulary or generic loanwords. | Use non-reserved generic nouns: ਉਪਦੇਸ਼ਕ (a plain word for “teacher/preacher,” not tied to any specific tradition) qualified ਝੂਠੇ; ਸਿੱਖਿਆਵਾਂ (plain “teachings”) qualified ਵਿਨਾਸ਼ਕਾਰੀ. Accept the resulting phrase is descriptive rather than a single crisp term — this is the safer trade-off given the collision risk. |
| The Certainty of Christ’s Return | ਆਗਮਨ (coming/advent); rejected: ਵਾਪਸੀ, ਪਰਗਟ ਹੋਣਾ (alone) | Punjabi has no single native theological term for a unique, personal, once-for-all future return of a specific historical figure. ਆਗਮਨ is a general Sanskritic loan for “arrival/advent” used across religious contexts (including, e.g., an avatar’s arrival), so on its own it does not exclude a Hindu avatar-succession reading (e.g. an expected future Kalki avatar as one more descent in an open series). | Fix ਆਗਮਨ, qualified consistently as ਦੂਜਾ ਆਗਮਨ (“second coming”) to make explicit this is the same, unique, historical Jesus returning — not a new figure in a cyclical series. Require an explanatory bridge note wherever this doctrine is taught to a mixed Hindu/Sikh-background audience. |
| The Day of the Lord and Final Judgment | ਪ੍ਰਭੂ ਦਾ ਦਿਨ (Day of the Lord), ਨਿਆਂ ਦਾ ਦਿਨ (day of judgment), ਨਰਕ (hell/Tartarus), ਤੱਤ (elements), ਰਚਨਾ (creation), ਨਵਾਂ ਅਕਾਸ਼ ਅਤੇ ਨਵੀਂ ਧਰਤੀ (new heavens/earth), ਪਰਲੋ (flood) | Several of the most natural-sounding words for this doctrine cluster are crowded with cyclical-cosmology associations: ਸ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟੀ (creation) implies Hindu srishti-sthiti-pralaya; ਤੱਤ is the standard term for the five classical elements (pancha-tattva); ਪਰਲੋ resonates with “pralaya,” a recurring cosmic dissolution; ਨਰਕ typically names a temporary purgatorial realm within the rebirth cycle rather than a place of confinement awaiting final reckoning. | Prefer the least cosmologically loaded option in each pair (ਰਚਨਾ over ਸ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟੀ) and attach a standing clarifying note to ਤੱਤ, ਪਰਲੋ, and ਨਰਕ wherever they occur in this doctrine cluster, stating explicitly: singular, historical, linear, once-for-all — never a repeatable cosmic cycle. |
| Patience of God’s Timing | ਧੀਰਜ (patience/makrothymia), ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਵਰ੍ਹੇ ਵਾਂਗ ਇੱਕ ਦਿਨ (2 Pet 3:8 illustration), ਤੋਬਾ/ਪਛਤਾਵਾ (repentance); rejected as translation: ਸਬਰ | ਸਬਰ, the more emotionally warm and idiomatically natural Punjabi word for “patience,” carries a strong association with passive endurance/submission to Waheguru’s hukam as a self-contained virtue, without the specific redemptive aim (waiting so that people may repent and be saved) that μακροθυμία carries in 2 Peter 3:9. ਧੀਰਜ is comparatively neutral but less warm; the “thousand years as a day” illustration also risks a yuga-cycle misreading if not anchored. | Retain ਧੀਰਜ as the fixed term (never ਸਬਰ), explicitly glossed wherever load-bearing as purposive, relational patience aimed at repentance and salvation, not fatalistic endurance. Anchor the “thousand years” illustration explicitly to God’s redemptive purpose, not cosmic time-mechanics. |
| Divine Nature and Escaping Corruption | ਈਸ਼ਵਰੀ ਸੁਭਾਅ ਦੇ ਸਾਂਝੀ (partakers of the divine nature); rejected: ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਸੁਭਾਅ, ਪਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਨਾਲ ਇੱਕ ਹੋਣਾ | This is the single most acute genuine vocabulary gap in the letter. Punjabi possesses no existing phrase for “moral-relational participation in God’s character while remaining fully creature” that is not already claimed by a different metaphysical doctrine: Advaita’s atman-Brahman identity (tat tvam asi) for Hindu-heritage readers, and Sikh ਜੋਤ (indwelling divine light progressively realized toward eventual merger with Waheguru) for Sikh-heritage readers. There is no neutral, unclaimed phrase available off the shelf. | Construct the phrase ਈਸ਼ਵਰੀ ਸੁਭਾਅ ਦੇ ਸਾਂਝੀ using ਸੁਭਾਅ (“nature/character/disposition,” a comparatively ordinary word, not a metaphysical-essence term) rather than any word for divine essence/light. Mandate a theological bridge note on every occurrence — this is not optional flourish but a load-bearing requirement, on par with the baseline’s ਮੁਕਤੀ gloss. |
2. Missing Vocabulary vs. Crowded Semantic Neighborhoods
2.1 True Gaps — No Adequate Existing Punjabi Term
These are concepts for which Punjabi has no ready-made, doctrinally safe term at all — every option is either newly coined/compound or borrowed with heavy qualification. These differ from the “crowded” category below because the problem is absence, not competition.
| Concept | Nature of the Gap | Resolution Adopted |
|---|---|---|
| Scripture (γραφή) as a bounded, divinely authoritative body of writings distinct from any single sacred-book tradition | No word exists that means “authoritative sacred writing” without also meaning, or being confusable with, “the Guru Granth Sahib” (ਗ੍ਰੰਥ) | Compound coinage: ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਲਿਖਤ(ਾਂ), built from ordinary words (“holy” + “writing”), deliberately avoiding the ਗ੍ਰੰਥ root |
| Partaking of the divine nature (θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεως) as moral transformation without ontological fusion | No existing phrase separates “sharing God’s moral character” from “becoming identical with/merging into the divine,” because in the dominant regional traditions these are the same trajectory (moksha/mukti as identity or merger) | Compound coinage anchored on ਸੁਭਾਅ (“disposition/character”) rather than any essence-term, with mandatory bridge note |
| A single crisp noun for “destructive heresy/sect” that is neither a loanword nor Sikh communal vocabulary | ਪੰਥ is unusable; no native Punjabi equivalent exists that isolates “a ruinous splinter teaching” without either borrowing panth-vocabulary or defaulting to a flat loanword | Descriptive phrase ਵਿਨਾਸ਼ਕਾਰੀ ਸਿੱਖਿਆਵਾਂ (“destructive teachings”) rather than a single noun |
| A term for Christ’s unique, non-repeatable Second Coming, as opposed to a general “arrival/appearance” usable of any divine figure | ਆਗਮਨ alone does not carry uniqueness or finality; Punjabi lacks a term that inherently excludes a cyclical-avatar reading | ਆਗਮਨ obligatorily qualified as ਦੂਜਾ ਆਗਮਨ plus mandatory explanatory bridge in teaching contexts |
2.2 Crowded Semantic Neighborhoods — Too Many Competing, Doctrinally Loaded Terms
These are concepts where Punjabi has several fluent, tempting candidate terms, each already claimed by a specific doctrinal framework in Sikhism, Hinduism, or regional folk-Sufi practice. The risk here is not blankness but false-friend substitution — a translator reaching for the most natural-sounding word and unintentionally importing a whole competing theology. Each requires an explicit fence: a permanent exclusion plus, where the safe term is retained, a standing clarifying note.
| Neighborhood | Competing Terms in the Field | Term Fenced IN | Terms Fenced OUT (never use) | Fence Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enlightenment/higher knowing | ਗਿਆਨ, ਸੂਝ, ਬੋਧ | ਗਿਆਨ (with mandatory relational-revelation anchoring) | ਗਿਆਨ used unqualified/unanchored | ਗਿਆਨ is the operative term of jnana-marga; unanchored use invites a self-attainment reading |
| Devotion/piety | ਭਗਤੀ, ਧਰਮਪਰਾਇਣਤਾ, ਸ਼ਰਧਾ | ਭਗਤੀ (always qualified ਪਰਮੇਸ਼ੁਰ ਦੀ ਭਗਤੀ) | ਧਰਮਪਰਾਇਣਤਾ (contains forbidden ਧਰਮ root), ਸ਼ਰਧਾ (already rejected in baseline for “faith”) | ਧਰਮਪਰਾਇਣਤਾ shares the root the baseline permanently forbids for righteousness/law; ਸ਼ਰਧਾ was already excluded for a different but adjacent term (faith) |
| Cosmic time/creation | ਸ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟੀ, ਰਚਨਾ, ਪਰਲੋ, ਤੱਤ | ਰਚਨਾ (creation), ਤੱਤ and ਪਰਲੋ (with mandatory notes) | ਸ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟੀ (never for “creation” in this doctrine cluster) | ਸ੍ਰਿਸ਼ਟੀ specifically names one phase of the Hindu creation-preservation-dissolution cycle; ਰਚਨਾ is comparatively neutral |
| Afterlife/confinement realms | ਨਰਕ, ਪਾਤਾਲ | ਨਰਕ (with mandatory note distinguishing from karmic way-station) | ਪਾਤਾਲ (an even more specific mythological underworld register, avoided entirely) | Neither term is native to Christian eschatology; ਨਰਕ is the least-worst available and is retained only with an explicit fence-note |
| Patient endurance | ਧੀਰਜ, ਸਬਰ, ਸਹਿਣਸ਼ੀਲਤਾ | ਧੀਰਜ | ਸਬਰ (as the translation of μακροθυμία; may appear in explanatory comparative-theology sidebars only) | ਸਬਰ names a self-contained virtue of acceptance/submission to hukam, lacking the specific redemptive aim (leading sinners to repentance) that defines this doctrine |
| Sacred narrative/story | ਕਥਾ, ਕਹਾਣੀ | ਕਹਾਣੀ (specifically ਮਨਘੜਤ ਕਹਾਣੀਆਂ for “myths”) | ਕਥਾ (never for “myths/fables”) | ਕਥਾ is an honored genre of sacred recitation in both Sikh (Gurbani katha) and Hindu (Puranic katha) practice; applying it to something Peter calls fabricated would be doubly wrong — inaccurate to Peter’s meaning and disrespectful of the source genre |
| Governing order/command | ਹੁਕਮ, ਆਗਿਆ | ਆਗਿਆ / ਪਵਿੱਤਰ ਆਗਿਆ | ਹੁਕਮ | ਹੁਕਮ is the specific Sikh liturgical term for Waheguru’s impersonal Divine Order; too liturgically loaded for a personal, particular apostolic/divine instruction |
| Brotherhood/community bond | ਭਾਈਚਾਰਾ, ਸੰਗਤ, ਪੰਥ | ਭਾਈਚਾਰਕ ਪਿਆਰ (qualified), ਸੰਗਤ (opportunity term, per baseline) | ਪੰਥ (never for heresy or for the church) | ਪੰਥ names Sikh communal-religious identity itself (esp. Khalsa Panth); any Christian usage risks a serious, possibly offensive, category conflation |
| Power/might | ਸ਼ਕਤੀ, ਸਮਰੱਥਾ, ਦੈਵੀ, ਈਸ਼ਵਰੀ | ਸਮਰੱਥਾ / ਈਸ਼ਵਰੀ ਸਮਰੱਥਾ | ਸ਼ਕਤੀ (Hindu goddess-power), ਦੈਵੀ (polytheistic “a god” reading) | Consistent with and extending the baseline’s existing ਸ਼ਕਤੀ prohibition to the new compound θεία δύναμις |
3. Transliteration vs. Paraphrase Decisions
For each borderline case, the following table records whether the Phase 1 recommendation is to transliterate (import the source-language sound with Gurmukhi orthography), paraphrase/coin (build a descriptive Punjabi phrase from existing vocabulary), or reuse an established loanword already naturalized in Punjabi religious registers.
| Term | Decision | Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Savior (σωτήρ) | Paraphrase (coin): ਮੁਕਤੀਦਾਤਾ | Built compositionally from the already-fixed baseline ਮੁਕਤੀ (“salvation”) + ਦਾਤਾ (“giver”); a transliteration (e.g. “sotēr”) would be theologically opaque and break continuity with the baseline’s salvation vocabulary. Rejected generic paraphrase ਬਚਾਉਣ ਵਾਲਾ as too weak for the title’s doctrinal weight. |
| Parousia / Second Coming | Paraphrase, not transliteration | A Greek transliteration (“parousia”) would be meaningless to the target reader; ਆਗਮਨ (existing Sanskritic loan already naturalized across Punjabi religious registers) qualified as ਦੂਜਾ ਆਗਮਨ is preferred, paired with a mandatory bridge note rather than a coined neologism. |
| Divine nature (θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεως) | Paraphrase (coin) | No transliteration is possible for a full Greek phrase; a compositional phrase built on ਸੁਭਾਅ was constructed precisely to avoid the two available “natural” paraphrases (ਬ੍ਰਹਮ ਸੁਭਾਅ, ਪਰਮਾਤਮਾ ਨਾਲ ਇੱਕ ਹੋਣਾ), both of which import competing metaphysics. |
| Scripture (γραφή) | Paraphrase (coin) | Transliteration is not applicable (this is a common noun, not a proper name); the existing native option (ਗ੍ਰੰਥ) is forbidden, so a compound was coined instead of forcing a loanword. |
| Tartarus / hell (ταρταρόω) | Reuse established near-equivalent (ਨਰਕ) with mandatory clarifying note, not transliteration | Transliterating “Tartarus” would be unrecognizable and untaught; ਨਰਕ, while imperfect, is at least comprehensible as “a place of post-death confinement/punishment,” and the required note manages the residual karmic-cycle risk. |
| Abba (ਅੱਬਾ) — cross-referenced from baseline, relevant precedent | Transliteration (established baseline precedent) | Not present in 2 Peter, but the same transliteration-with-gloss pattern (used for Abba in the Romans baseline) is the template applied above to Scripture-adjacent and title terms where no safe native equivalent exists. |
| Repentance (μετάνοια) | Reuse established loanword: ਤੋਬਾ, paired with native ਪਛਤਾਵਾ | ਤੋਬਾ is a Perso-Arabic loanword already naturalized across Punjabi religious registers regardless of speaker’s faith tradition; retained rather than coining a new phrase, provided the object of repentance (turning to God through Christ) is made explicit in surrounding context. |
| Majestic Glory (ἡ μεγαλοπρεπὴς δόξα) | Paraphrase (coin): ਪਰਾਕ੍ਰਮੀ ਮਹਿਮਾ | Built from the already-fixed baseline ਮਹਿਮਾ plus a qualifying adjective; avoids both transliteration (meaningless) and any assimilation toward ਜੋਤ. |
| False teachers / false prophets | Paraphrase using generic, non-reserved nouns (ਉਪਦੇਸ਼ਕ, ਨਬੀ) rather than any transliteration or the tempting ਗੁਰੂ substitution | ਨਬੀ is already an established loanword (Perso-Arabic, shared with Islamic/Sufi Punjabi usage) safely reused from the baseline; ਉਪਦੇਸ਼ਕ is native and unreserved. Transliterating “pseudo-” prefixes would be unnatural in Punjabi syntax. |
General principle derived from this table: transliteration is reserved for proper names and a small set of already-naturalized loanwords with no safe native alternative (ਤੋਬਾ, ਨਬੀ, ਆਗਮਨ); paraphrase/coinage is preferred wherever the naturally available native vocabulary is doctrinally compromised (Scripture, divine nature, Savior, Majestic Glory); and outright reuse of an imperfect near-equivalent with a mandatory gloss is reserved for cases where even paraphrase would sacrifice comprehensibility (ਨਰਕ, ਪਰਲੋ, ਤੱਤ).
4. Ranked List of 2 Peter’s Highest-Risk Ambiguities
Ranked by combined severity (doctrinal centrality × collision risk × frequency), for priority attention in Phase 2 translation and human review.
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“Partakers of the divine nature” (θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεως, 1:4) — Highest-risk phrase in the entire curriculum. A true vocabulary gap (§2.1) compounded by a crowded neighborhood on both sides (Advaita identity doctrine for Hindu-heritage readers, ਜੋਤ merger doctrine for Sikh-heritage readers). A single unglossed occurrence could be read as teaching believers become ontologically divine. Mandatory bridge note on every occurrence, no exceptions.
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“Our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (1:1, echoed 3:18) — Granville Sharp single-referent construction — The grammatical claim of Christ’s full deity is easily lost or reversed in Punjabi syntax, which could passively read as two figures (“God, and also the Savior”). This is the letter’s peak Deity-of-Christ text and recurs at the capstone verse; any drift here undermines the letter’s Christology at its two structural bookends.
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Scripture (γραφή) and the entire inspiration cluster (1:19-21; 3:16) — The forbidden ਗ੍ਰੰਥ collision is severe precisely because it is the most natural-sounding word available; translators under time pressure are most likely to default to it. Compounded by the secondary risk of “carried along by the Holy Spirit” being read as either mere devotional inspiration (Bhakti/Gurbani) or mechanical trance-possession (folk-Sufi) — a rare case of a single doctrine facing collision risk from three directions at once.
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Parousia / Second Coming and Day of the Lord (1:16; 3:3-10) — Risk of assimilation into an open-ended avatar-succession framework (e.g. expectation of a future Kalki avatar) rather than the unique, personal return of the historical Jesus. Compounded across the whole of chapter 3’s eschatological vocabulary (ਤੱਤ, ਰਚਨਾ, ਪਰਲੋ) that shares surface vocabulary with Hindu cyclical cosmology (srishti-sthiti-pralaya).
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Godliness / knowledge pairing (εὐσέβεια / γνῶσις, throughout ch. 1 and 3:18) — Individually High risk, but their combined, repeated pairing across the letter’s structure (they bracket the virtue chain and recur in the capstone verse) means an unanchored rendering compounds across nearly every lesson in the curriculum, risking a systemic drift toward a bhakti-marga/jnana-marga reading of the Christian life as one devotional-path among others.
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False teachers / destructive heresies (2:1) and the ਗੁਰੂ/ਪੰਥ double-forbidden-term proximity — Two separate absolute prohibitions (ਗੁਰੂ, ਪੰਥ) converge in a single verse describing false teaching. The risk is not that either term is used deliberately, but that translators reaching for vivid, natural-sounding condemnatory language may drift toward one under stylistic pressure; requires explicit reviewer vigilance at this specific verse.
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Patience (μακροθυμία, 3:9, 3:15) vs. ਸਬਰ — Lower doctrinal centrality than items 1–6 but a persistent temptation risk: ਸਬਰ is more idiomatically warm and more likely to be reached for by a translator optimizing for naturalness, silently dropping the purposive, salvation-aimed character of God’s patience in favor of a passive-endurance connotation.
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Tartarus/hell and flood (2:4-5) — Medium-frequency but doctrinally consequential a fortiori argument (judgment on angels/the ancient world as certain precedent for judgment on false teachers); the karmic-cycle/pralaya resonance of ਨਰਕ and ਪਰਲੋ could weaken the force of this argument if the reader supplies a “temporary, cyclical” mental model instead of “singular, historical, awaiting final reckoning.”
5. Summary and Handoff
This analysis confirms that 2 Peter, though shorter than Romans, introduces a denser concentration of Critical-risk terminology relative to its length — particularly around Scripture’s inspiration, Christ’s deity in the σωτήρ/Θεός construction, and the unprecedented “divine nature” phrase, which has no true baseline precedent and required fresh gap analysis rather than simple extension of existing rulings. All fencing decisions recorded here are reflected in the accompanying bible_term_registry.json and 08_core_glossary.md and must be loaded together with the baseline Romans package before Phase 2 translation memory construction begins.
This document must be read alongside 07_semantic_analysis.md and 08_core_glossary.md for full term-level detail; this file records the underlying gap/crowding reasoning that grounds those term-level decisions.