Semantic Analysis

Semantic Analysis: Hebrews (Koine Greek → Sanskrit)

Curriculum: Hebrews 1–13 Core passage: Hebrews 9:11–28 Destination language: Sanskrit (Devanagari, classical/liturgical register) Governing authority: translation_memory.json (Romans baseline) — every term already resolved there is reused exactly, unchanged, in this document. New terms are proposed following the same collision-avoidance methodology (citable classical philosophical/ritual sources, not vague cultural inference).

Note on Hebrews’ distinctive risk profile. Where Romans’ hardest terms collide with Vedānta (ātman/Brahman) and Mīmāṃsā (vidhi, śabda), Hebrews’ hardest terms collide overwhelmingly with Śrauta/Mīmāṃsā sacrificial theology (यज्ञ, प्रायश्चित्त, वेदी) and with Yoga/Sāṅkhya attainment theology (सिद्धि, समाधि, प्रबोध). Hebrews is a sustained argument that Christ’s priesthood and sacrifice are simultaneously like the Levitical system (typologically) and categorically superior to and terminal of it (once for all, no more offerings needed) — precisely the comparison Sanskrit’s own sacrificial vocabulary is least equipped to carry without careful redefinition, because Śrauta ritual efficacy depends on correct repeated performance (vidhi), whereas Hebrews’ whole argument is that Christ’s sacrifice ends repetition permanently.

PART A — Core Passage: Hebrews 9:11–28 (Verse-by-Verse)

Hebrews 9:11

“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)…”

ἀρχιερεύς (archiereus) — high priest

Literal: “chief/ruling priest” (ἀρχι- “chief” + ἱερεύς “priest”)
Semantic range: the unique cultic officiant permitted into the innermost sanctuary; in Hebrews applied exclusively and typologically to Christ
English variants: high priest, chief priest
Contextual meaning: Christ fulfills and permanently surpasses the Aaronic office
Sanskrit: महायाजकः (mahāyājakaḥ) — Risk: High. याजक (yājaka, “one who performs sacrifice,” from the yaj- root shared with यज्ञ) is the standard word for priest but inevitably carries Śrauta/Brahmanical priestly connotations, including hereditary varṇa-restricted access. Must be explicitly taught: Christ’s high priesthood is open-access and not varṇa-inherited (cf. ch. 7, Melchizedek’s non-genealogical priesthood).

σκηνή (skēnē) — tent/tabernacle

Literal: tent, booth
Semantic range: the portable wilderness sanctuary; by extension, any temporary dwelling, contrasted with a permanent temple
English variants: tabernacle, tent
Contextual meaning: “the greater and more perfect tent” = the heavenly, non-material sanctuary Christ ministers in
Sanskrit: शिबिरम् (śibiram, “tent/camp”) → here पवित्रशिबिरम् (pavitraśibiram) — Risk: Medium. Deliberately not मन्दिरम् (temple, already reserved by baseline for rejection as a translation of “church” due to image-centered connotations; equally inappropriate here since it would suggest a fixed building rather than the mobile, provisional tent Hebrews contrasts with the permanent heavenly reality).

οὐ χειροποιήτου (ou cheiropoiētou) — “not made with hands”

Sanskrit: अहस्तकृतम् (ahastakṛtam) — Risk: Low. Straightforward compound negation; no competing technical sense.

Hebrews 9:12

“…he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.”

ἐφάπαξ (ephapax) — once for all

Semantic range: a single, unrepeatable, decisive act, as opposed to ἅπαξ’s simple “once”
Sanskrit: सकृदेव (sakṛdeva, “only/precisely once”) — Risk: Low in isolation, but doctrinally load-bearing: this word is the fulcrum of Hebrews’ entire argument against repeatable Śrauta-style sacrifice (which requires exact re-performance, per vidhi, at each ritual occasion). Must be paired every time with explicit contrast against repeated offering.

τὰ ἅγια (ta hagia) — the holy places

Sanskrit: पवित्रस्थानम् (pavitrasthānam), here referring to the heavenly sanctuary — Risk: High, reusing baseline’s पवित्रम् (holy) exactly, with baseline’s caution retained: avoid a purely ritual-mechanical purity reading (kuśa-grass strainer sense); this is a place of God’s relational presence, now made permanently accessible.

αἷμα (haima) — blood

Sanskrit: रक्तम् (raktam) — Risk: Medium. Denotationally neutral, but Hebrews’ extensive blood-sacrifice vocabulary must be flagged collectively against Vedic paśubandha (animal sacrifice) and Tantric/Śākta blood-offering ritual (e.g., bali offered to Devī), so that Christ’s blood is read as a unique, terminal, self-offered atonement — not one more instance of a ritual category requiring repetition.

λύτρωσις (lytrōsis) — redemption

Literal: a buying-back, ransoming (from λύτρον, ransom-price)
Semantic range: release secured by payment of a price
English variants: redemption, ransom, deliverance
Contextual meaning: eternal, final deliverance secured by Christ’s own blood as the price
Sanskrit: उद्धारः (uddhāraḥ, “lifting out, rescue”) — Risk: High. NEVER विमोचनम् or मुक्तिः/मोक्षः (mokṣa-root terms), which would collapse this into the fourth puruṣārtha exactly as baseline’s “salvation” entry forbids. उद्धार lacks a native “price-paid” component in ordinary usage, so the ransom nuance requires explicit supplementary teaching at first occurrence — parallel to how baseline flagged त्राणम् needing explicit distinction from mokṣa.

αἰώνιος (aiōnios) — eternal

Sanskrit: नित्यम् (nityam) — Risk: High. NEVER सनातनम् (sanātanam): this word is the self-designation of Hinduism as a whole (“Sanātana Dharma,” the eternal religion), and its use for Christ’s redemption/priesthood/covenant would invite a syncretistic “Christianity is a variant of the eternal dharma” reading. नित्य (“constant, unceasing”) is comparatively unencumbered as a plain philosophical term for permanence, though shared across schools (used of eternal ātman in Sāṅkhya, eternal Veda-sound in Mīmāṃsā) — it therefore still requires contextual anchoring to Christ’s finished, once-for-all work, not a metaphysical eternality claim in the abstract.

Hebrews 9:13

“For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh…”

ῥαντίζω (rhantizō) — to sprinkle

Sanskrit: सेचनम् (secanam) — Risk: Medium. Describes literal OT ritual action; must not be read as effecting the deeper purification Christ alone accomplishes (v. 14 contrast is deliberate).

καθαρίζω / καθαρότης (katharizō / katharotēs) — purify/purification

Semantic range: here specifically ceremonial, external, “flesh-level” purification, deliberately contrasted with conscience-purification in v. 14
Sanskrit: शुद्धिः (śuddhiḥ) — Risk: Medium, and deliberately chosen: baseline’s sanctification entry explicitly distinguishes पवित्रीकरणम् (the Spirit’s ongoing sanctifying work) FROM शुद्धिः (ritual purification for specific impurity events, e.g. dharmaśāstra’s prāyaścitta-adjacent procedures). Hebrews 9:13 is describing exactly the OT ritual-purification category baseline warned against conflating with the gospel — so शुद्धिः is in fact the correct term here, precisely because this verse is describing what the OT rites only accomplished (external purification), setting up v. 14’s contrast.

Hebrews 9:14

“…how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

πνεῦμα αἰώνιον (pneuma aiōnion) — eternal Spirit

Contextual meaning: widely understood as the Holy Spirit, through whom Christ’s self-offering was made
Sanskrit: नित्यः पवित्र आत्मा — Risk: Critical. Reuses पवित्र आत्मा exactly per baseline, with baseline’s mandatory personhood note attached at every occurrence (never let आत्मा-language here reinforce an ātman-Brahman identity reading). नित्य is added per the “eternal” entry above, not सनातन.

συνείδησις (syneidēsis) — conscience

Literal: “co-knowing,” awareness accompanying moral action
Semantic range: the inner faculty by which a person is aware of and judges their own guilt or innocence
English variants: conscience, moral awareness
Contextual meaning: the inward, relational purification only Christ’s blood accomplishes, contrasted with v. 13’s merely external purification
Sanskrit: अन्तःकरणम् (antaḥkaraṇam, “the inner instrument”) — Risk: High. This is the nearest available Sanskrit term but is itself a technical Sāṅkhya/Vedānta category — the composite “inner instrument” of manas (mind), buddhi (intellect), and ahaṃkāra (ego) — a cognitive-psychological apparatus, not specifically a guilt-bearing moral faculty. Must be explicitly redefined at first use: “the inner faculty of moral self-awareness cleansed of guilt,” not the Sāṅkhya cognitive complex as such.

νεκρὰ ἔργα (nekra erga) — dead works

Sanskrit: मृतकर्माणि (mṛtakarmāṇi) — Risk: Medium. Must be carefully distinguished from any suggestion that this refers to karma generally; “dead” here means spiritually lifeless/futile religious performance, not karmic residue (karmāśaya).

Hebrews 9:15

“Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.”

μεσίτης (mesitēs) — mediator

Literal: “one in the middle”
Semantic range: a go-between securing agreement or reconciliation between two parties
Sanskrit: मध्यस्थः (madhyasthaḥ) — Risk: High. Shares its root with baseline’s मध्यस्थता (intercession); consistent with baseline’s established sense of Christ as sole mediator, here extended to covenant-mediation specifically. Must be taught as the sole mediator, not one intermediary figure among many (guarding against a guru or ṛṣi-intermediary framing).

διαθήκη καινή (diathēkē kainē) — new covenant

Sanskrit: नवीना संविद् (navīnā saṃvid) — Risk: High. Reuses baseline’s संविद् (covenant) exactly; नवीन (new) is a plain adjective. As baseline already notes for संविद्, this word still carries no inherent covenantal weight of its own and must be explicitly taught as “God’s own binding relational promise,” here specifically the promise replacing, not merely supplementing, the first covenant.

κληρονομία αἰώνιος (klēronomia aiōnios) — eternal inheritance

Semantic range: a possession received by right of position (here, sonship) rather than purchase
Sanskrit: नित्यः अधिकारः (nityaḥ adhikāraḥ) — Risk: High. NEVER दायः, the dharmaśāstra technical term for inheritance-partition among heirs (Dāyabhāga/Mitākṣarā legal literature), which carries specific partial-share rules incompatible with the complete heirship Hebrews and baseline’s “adoption” entry both describe. अधिकार (“right, claim, entitlement”) avoids the legal-partition apparatus while retaining the sense of a rightful, secured possession.

πρῶτη διαθήκη (prōtē diathēkē) — first covenant

Sanskrit: प्रथमा संविद् (prathamā saṃvid) — Risk: Medium. Reuses संविद्; “first” here implies temporally prior and typologically preparatory, not inferior in origin (both covenants are from the same God).

Hebrews 9:16–17

“For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.”

διαθήκη (diathēkē) as “will/testament”

Semantic range: this is the second, distinct sense of the same Greek word rendered “covenant” throughout Hebrews — a legal document disposing of property, activated by the testator’s death. Hebrews 9:16–17 depends entirely on this Greek double meaning as a rhetorical pivot.
Sanskrit: इच्छापत्रम् (icchāpatram, “document of the will/wish”) — Risk: Critical — untranslatable pun. Sanskrit संविद् (covenant) does not carry a “last testament” sense; there is no single Sanskrit word spanning both meanings as διαθήκη does. This is not a term-choice risk but a structural translation gap: the AI/translator must insert an explicit translator’s note at this passage explaining that the Greek wordplay (covenant/will) cannot be reproduced in Sanskrit, and that verses 16–17 should be read as a deliberate shift to the legal-will sense of the same underlying Greek word used for “covenant” elsewhere in the chapter, activated specifically by Christ’s death.

Hebrews 9:18–21

“Thus even the first covenant was not ratified without blood… he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.”

ἐγκεκαίνισται (enkekainistai) — ratified/inaugurated

Sanskrit: प्रतिष्ठापिता (pratiṣṭhāpitā, “established, installed”) — Risk: Medium. प्रतिष्ठा is itself the standard term for the ritual consecration/installation of a temple image (mūrti-pratiṣṭhā) — a real but manageable resonance here, since covenant-ratification-by-blood is at least structurally comparable (a solemn consecrating act), unlike image-installation itself, which must not be implied.

ὕσσωπος (hyssōpos) — hyssop

Sanskrit: transliterated हिसोपः (hisopaḥ) — Risk: Low. No native Sanskrit botanical equivalent; proper-noun-style transliteration is standard practice, as with other biblical flora/fauna terms.

σκεύη τῆς λειτουργίας (skeuē tēs leitourgias) — vessels of worship/ministry

Sanskrit: सेवापात्राणि (sevāpātrāṇi, “vessels of service”) — Risk: Low. Plain descriptive compound.

Hebrews 9:22

“Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

ἄφεσις (aphesis) — forgiveness

Literal: a sending away, release
Sanskrit: क्षमा (kṣamā) — Risk: Medium. A plain, non-technical word for pardon; note it is distinct from baseline’s rejected alternative for “justification” (क्षमा was rejected there only as an insufficient rendering of the forensic, declarative act of justification — it remains the correct, simple word for forgiveness of sins as such here).

αἱματεκχυσία (haimatekchysia) — shedding of blood

Sanskrit: रक्तपातः (raktapātaḥ) — Risk: Low. Standard compound; theological weight carried by context (this is the necessary, once-for-all shedding, not repeated ritual bloodletting).

Hebrews 9:23

“Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.”

ὑποδείγματα (hypodeigmata) — copies/examples

Sanskrit: प्रतिरूपाणि (pratirūpāṇi, “counter-forms, likenesses”) — Risk: Medium. See “shadow” below; both terms describe the OT cultus as a real but provisional foreshadowing, not an illusion.

κρείττοσιν θυσίαις (kreittosin thysiais) — better sacrifices

Sanskrit: श्रेष्ठतरैः बलिभिः (śreṣṭhataraiḥ balibhiḥ) — Risk: High (for बलि, see next verse’s discussion). “Better” (श्रेष्ठतर) is itself a plain comparative with no independent doctrinal risk; the risk is entirely carried by बलि.

θυσία (thysia) — sacrifice

Literal: an offering made by ritual slaughter or presentation
Semantic range: any cultic offering, animal or otherwise
English variants: sacrifice, offering
Contextual meaning: throughout Hebrews, both the repeated OT sacrificial system and Christ’s own once-for-all self-offering
Sanskrit: बलिः (baliḥ) — Risk: Critical. NEVER यज्ञः. यज्ञ is not a loose cultural-background word but the precise, fully systematized Śrauta ritual category — the entire subject matter of Pūrva Mīmāṃsā’s vidhi-hermeneutics, requiring exact, repeatable performance for cosmic/ritual efficacy. Using यज्ञ for “sacrifice” throughout Hebrews would directly contradict the book’s central argument that Christ’s single sacrifice terminates the need for repetition. बलि (“offering, tribute,” used broadly of animal and non-animal offerings across Purāṇic and folk worship, not tied to a single systematized school) is the least-encumbered available term, but every occurrence describing Christ’s sacrifice must carry the once-for-all (सकृदेव) qualifier to prevent an implicit “repeat as needed” reading.

Hebrews 9:24

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.”

ἀντίτυπα (antitypa) — copies (lit. “counter-impressions/types”)

Sanskrit: प्रतिरूपाणि (reuse, as above) — Risk: Medium.

ἐμφανισθῆναι (emphanisthēnai) — to appear/be manifested

Sanskrit: प्रत्यक्षीभवनम् (pratyakṣībhavanam, “becoming directly present/visible”) — Risk: Low-Medium. प्रत्यक्ष is Nyāya’s term for direct sense-perception (the first pramāṇa), but used here as a plain verb of appearing, not asserting an epistemological claim; low risk in this verbal (not nominal-technical) usage.

ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν (hyper hēmōn) — on our behalf

Sanskrit: अस्मदर्थम् (asmadartham) — Risk: Low. Plain grammatical construction.

Hebrews 9:25–26

“Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly… he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

πολλάκις (pollakis) — repeatedly, often

Sanskrit: पुनः पुनः (punaḥ punaḥ) — Risk: Low. Plain repetition-marker; theologically important as the explicit negation Hebrews sets against ἐφάπαξ/सकृदेव.

συντέλεια τῶν αἰώνων (synteleia tōn aiōnōn) — end/consummation of the ages

Sanskrit: युगान्तः (yugāntaḥ, “end of the age/yuga”) — Risk: High. युग is the precise technical unit of Purāṇic cyclical time (kṛta, tretā, dvāpara, kali yugas), within which avatāras periodically appear per Gītā 4.7–8 (already flagged Critical under baseline’s incarnation entry). Using युगान्त here risks implying Christ’s appearance is one event within an endlessly recurring cyclical scheme rather than the single, linear climax of history. Preferred: कालान्तः (kālāntaḥ, “the end of time/the age,” using the more generic कालः rather than युगः) — still requires an explicit note affirming linear, non-cyclical, unrepeatable historical fulfillment (cf. baseline’s “fulfillment_of_prophecy” doctrine notes).

ἀθέτησιν ἁμαρτίας (athetēsin hamartias) — to put away/annul sin

Sanskrit: पापनिवारणम् (pāpanivāraṇam, “the removal/warding-off of sin”) — Risk: High, tying to the atonement term established at 2:17 below (पापहरणबलिः). Must not be rendered with प्रायश्चित्तम् (see Chapter 2 discussion).

Hebrews 9:27–28

“And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”

ἅπαξ ἀποθανεῖν (hapax apothanein) — to die once

Sanskrit: सकृत् मृत्युः (sakṛt mṛtyuḥ) — Risk: Medium. This clause is doctrinally significant precisely because it denies repeated embodiment: “it is appointed for man to die once” stands in direct tension with the transmigration doctrine (punarjanma) baseline already forbids for “resurrection.” A translator note should make this contrast explicit here too, since this verse is arguably an even sharper anti-transmigration statement than the resurrection texts.

κρίσις (krisis) — judgment

Literal: a decision, judicial verdict
Semantic range: a definitive reckoning or sentence
English variants: judgment, verdict, reckoning
Contextual meaning: the final divine judgment appointed after death, once only, not a cycle of repeated judgments across rebirths
Sanskrit: विचारणा (vicāraṇā, “deliberation, examination, judgment”) — Risk: High. NEVER bare न्यायः, which (as baseline’s “righteousness” entry already establishes) names the entire Nyāya school of logic/epistemology, not a generic “judgment” event; using it here would misdirect toward a systematized darśana rather than a single eschatological reckoning.

ἐκδεχομένοις (ekdechomenois) — those eagerly waiting

Sanskrit: अपेक्षमाणाः (apekṣamāṇāḥ, “those who are awaiting/hoping”) — Risk: Low.

εἰς σωτηρίαν (eis sōtērian) — for/unto salvation

Sanskrit: त्राणार्थम् (trāṇārtham) — Risk: Critical, reusing baseline’s त्राणम् exactly, with baseline’s full Critical-tier caution retained (never मोक्ष/मुक्ति/निर्वाण).

ἀνενέγκας … ἁμαρτίας (anenegkas … hamartias) — having been offered … to bear the sins

Sanskrit: बहुजनानां पापभारं वहन् अर्पितः (bahujanānāṃ pāpabhāraṃ vahan arpitaḥ, “having been offered, bearing the sin-burden of many”) — Risk: High. Reuses बलि/अर्पण (offering) and पाप (sin, per baseline exactly); the vicarious substitution (“bearing the sins of many,” echoing Isaiah 53) has no ready classical Sanskrit equivalent and must be conveyed by explicit descriptive phrase rather than a single term, since Sanskrit sacrificial vocabulary generally describes ritual efficacy transferred by correct performance, not a person’s guilt substitutionarily transferred onto another.

PART B — Chapter-by-Chapter Study of the Whole Book

Chapter 1 — The Son Superior to the Angels

υἱός (huios), “Son” — reuse baseline’s son_of_god framework (परमेश्वरस्य पुत्रः); Risk: Critical.
κληρονόμος (klēronomos), “heir” — Sanskrit उत्तराधिकारी (uttarādhikārī) — Risk: High (see 9:15 discussion; avoid दाय-root).
ἀπαύγασμα (apaugasma), “radiance/reflection [of glory]” — Sanskrit महिमाप्रकाशः (mahimāprakāśaḥ), built on baseline’s महिमा (glory) — Risk: High, reusing baseline’s rejection of तेजस् (Sāṅkhya/Purāṇic radiant-substance metaphysics, cf. Devī Māhātmyam).
χαρακτήρ (charaktēr), “exact imprint [of his nature]” — Sanskrit स्वरूपमुद्रा (svarūpamudrā, “the seal/stamp of [his] own nature”) — Risk: High. Must not be read through Advaita’s superimposition (adhyāsa) framework; this is exact ontological identity of nature, not a provisionally-real appearance.
ἄγγελος (angelos), “angel” — Sanskrit दूतः/दूताः (dūtaḥ/dūtāḥ) — Risk: Critical. NEVER देवः/देवाः. This is the single most consequential lexical choice in Chapter 1: the entire chapter’s argument (“superior to the angels”) depends on angels being read as subordinate created servants, not as a category of Vedic/Purāṇic devas (celestial gods). Rendering ἄγγελοι as देवाः would risk the opposite of the intended effect — either implying Christ is merely the greatest among a class of devas (an Advaita-subordination-style trap, cf. baseline’s “lord” entry), or inviting confusion between biblical angels and the devatā pantheon. दूतः (“messenger,” sharing its conceptual shape with baseline’s प्रेषितः, “one sent”) correctly frames angels as sent servants.
λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα (leitourgika pneumata), “ministering spirits” — Sanskrit सेवार्थं प्रेषिताः दूताः (sevārthaṃ preṣitāḥ dūtāḥ, “messengers sent for service”) — Risk: High. Deliberately avoids आत्मन्/आत्मा for “spirits” here, per baseline’s Holy Spirit caution against diluting आत्मा-language for any spirit-beings other than the Holy Spirit himself.
θρόνος (thronos), “throne”; ῥάβδος εὐθύτητος (rhabdos euthytētos), “scepter of uprightness” — Sanskrit सिंहासनम्, न्यायदण्डः — Risk: Low-Medium (न्यायदण्ड, “staff of justice,” uses न्याय adjectivally/compounded rather than as a bare technical noun, considerably lowering the Nyāya-school collision risk present in the bare form).

Chapter 2 — Warning and the Humanity of the Son

ἀρχηγός (archēgos), “founder/pioneer [of salvation]” — Sanskrit आदिनायकः (ādinayakaḥ, “the first/originating leader”) — Risk: Medium. Generic leadership compound; no named school collision, but should not be rendered गुरु (per baseline’s apostle-entry reasoning against guru-paramparā import).
ἱλάσκομαι / ἱλασμός (hilaskomai/hilasmos), “make propitiation/atonement” — Sanskrit पापप्रशमनम् (pāpapraśamanam) rendered concretely as Christ’s self-offering, पापहरणबलिः (pāpaharaṇabaliḥ, “the sin-removing sacrifice”) — Risk: Critical. NEVER प्रायश्चित्तम्. प्रायश्चित्त is the precise dharmaśāstra category of prescribed ritual penances catalogued for specific sins (Manusmṛti and related literature) — exactly the “ritual penance resolves sin” reading baseline’s own “sin” entry already warns against. This term governs the whole doctrine “The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice” and must be flagged for human theologian review at every occurrence, per the AI requirements document’s existing escalation rule for atonement/propitiation language.
γεύσηται θανάτου (geusētai thanatou), “taste death” — Sanskrit मृत्युम् आस्वादितवान् — Risk: Low. Figurative, non-technical.
συμπαθῆσαι (sympathēsai) anticipates ch. 4’s sympathy language — see Chapter 4.

Chapter 3 — Christ Superior to Moses

οἶκος (oikos), “house [of God]” — Sanskrit गृहम्/भवनम् — Risk: Low. Plain metaphor (household/family, not a physical structure), consistent with baseline’s church-as-community sense (मण्डली) rather than मन्दिरम्.
σκληρύνω (sklērynō), “harden [the heart]” — Sanskrit हृदयकाठिन्यम् — Risk: Low.
ἀπιστία (apistia), “unbelief” — Sanskrit अविश्वासः, negation of baseline’s विश्वासः — Risk: High (inherits faith’s High-risk status by direct negation).
κατάπαυσις (katapausis), “rest” — introduced here, developed fully in Chapter 4 (see below).

Chapter 4 — The Promised Rest

κατάπαυσις (katapausis), “rest” — Sanskrit विश्रामः (viśrāmaḥ) — Risk: High. NEVER समाधिः (Patañjali’s eighth aṣṭāṅga-yoga limb, a systematized meditative-absorption attainment) or निर्वाणम् (already forbidden generally). विश्राम is a plain, non-technical word for rest/repose, correctly conveying relational rest in God’s finished work rather than a yogic attainment state.
σαββατισμός (sabbatismos), “Sabbath rest” — Sanskrit शब्बत्-विश्रामः (transliterating “Sabbath” as शब्बत्, consistent with baseline’s transliteration practice for Hebrew/Aramaic terms like अब्बा) — Risk: Medium.
ὁ λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ ζῶν καὶ ἐνεργής (ho logos tou theou zōn kai energēs), “the word of God, living and active” — Sanskrit परमेश्वरस्य वचनं जीवन्तं सक्रियं च — Risk: High. Deliberately renders “word” with वचनम् rather than वाच्/वाणी. Baseline already rejects वाचा for “covenant” specifically because Vāc is a cosmic speech-principle in Ṛgvedic thought and the Veda’s sound-form is held eternal (śabda-brahman) in Mīmāṃsā; the same reasoning applies with even greater force here, since “the word of God” is a doctrinally central phrase and वाच्/वाणी would risk assimilation to Śabda-Brahman theology. वचनम् (“an utterance, statement”) is comparatively unencumbered.
θρόνος τῆς χάριτος (thronos tēs charitos), “throne of grace” — Sanskrit अनुग्रहसिंहासनम्, built directly on baseline’s अनुग्रहः (grace) — Risk: High, inheriting grace’s existing risk profile (contrast with karmaphala/prasāda).
συμπαθῆσαι ταῖς ἀσθενείαις (sympathēsai tais astheneiais), “sympathize with our weaknesses” — Sanskrit सहवेदना (sahavedanā, “co-feeling”) — Risk: Low.

Chapter 5 — Christ Appointed High Priest after Melchizedek’s Order

Μελχισέδεκ (Melchisedek) — proper name, transliterated मल्कीषेदक् (Malkīṣedak) — Risk: Medium (fully developed in ch. 7).
τελειωθείς (teleiōtheis), “having been made perfect” — Sanskrit सम्पूर्णः कृतः / पूर्णतां प्राप्तः — Risk: Critical. NEVER सिद्धः/सिद्धिः. सिद्ध names the yogically- or ascetically-perfected/liberated being (a siddha-puruṣa) and सिद्धि the eight classical supernatural attainments already forbidden by baseline for “spiritual gifts” (Yoga Sūtra 3’s aṣṭasiddhi). Rendering Christ’s “being made perfect through suffering” with सिद्ध-root vocabulary would recast him as a siddha — an ascetic master who attained liberation through disciplined practice — a categorical Christological error on the same order as the avatāra confusion already flagged for incarnation. पूर्णता (“fullness, completeness”) avoids the attainment-through-practice apparatus while preserving the sense of a completed, sufficient work. This term recurs as a major structural theme across chs. 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 and must be flagged Critical at every occurrence.
γάλα … στερεᾶς τροφῆς (gala … stereas trophēs), “milk … solid food” — Sanskrit दुग्धम् … सुदृढाहारः — Risk: Low. Standard metaphor for spiritual maturity.

Chapter 6 — Warning against Apostasy; the Anchor of Hope

παραπεσόντας (parapesontas), “having fallen away” — Sanskrit भ्रष्टाः/पतिताः (bhraṣṭāḥ/patitāḥ) — Risk: High. Central to the doctrine “The Danger of Apostasy”; must convey a decisive, culpable defection from a genuine profession, not a minor lapse.
φωτισθέντας (phōtisthentas), “having been enlightened” — Sanskrit प्रकाशितः (prakāśitaḥ, “illumined, given light”) — Risk: High. NEVER प्रबोधितः/बोधितः, which activates बोधि (bodhi), the specific technical term for Buddhist enlightenment/awakening (as in Buddha, “the Awakened One”). प्रकाश (“light, illumination”) avoids the bodhi-attainment apparatus while preserving the sense of having received divine light/understanding.
ψυχή (psychē), “soul” (6:19, “anchor of the soul”) — Sanskrit जीवः (jīvaḥ, “the individual living being”) — Risk: High. Deliberately not आत्मन्, which baseline reserves exclusively for the Holy Spirit’s distinct personhood and explicitly forbids from being diffused into generic “spirit/self” language elsewhere, precisely to avoid reinforcing an ātman-Brahman identity reading. जीव, while itself a term with Vedāntic resonance (jīva/jīvātman as the individual soul in its relation to Brahman), is preferred here as the lesser of two risks, used strictly in its ordinary sense of “a person’s own life/being,” with a note that no jīva-Brahman argument is intended.
ἄγκυρα (agkyra), “anchor” — Sanskrit नौबन्धनम् (naubandhanam, “ship’s mooring”) — Risk: Low.
ὅρκος (horkos), “oath” — Sanskrit शपथः (śapathaḥ) — Risk: Low-Medium (developed further in ch. 7).

Chapter 7 — The Order of Melchizedek; a Better Covenant

τάξις (taxis), “order/rank [of priesthood]” — Sanskrit क्रमः/श्रेणी — Risk: Low.
ἀγενεαλόγητος (agenealogētos), “without genealogy” — Sanskrit वंशरहितः — Risk: Medium. Theologically significant: Melchizedek’s non-hereditary priesthood directly undercuts varṇa-based, birth-inherited priestly access — a point that should be made explicit for a Sanskrit-literate readership trained to expect priesthood as strictly hereditary (Brahmin varṇa).
δεκάτη (dekatē), “tithe” — Sanskrit दशांशः (daśāṃśaḥ, “one-tenth part”) — Risk: Low.
ἀμετάθετον (ametatheton), “unchangeable [priesthood]” — Sanskrit अपरिवर्तनीयम् — Risk: Low.
κρείττονος διαθήκης (kreittonos diathēkēs), “better covenant” — Sanskrit श्रेष्ठतरा संविद्, reusing संविद् — Risk: High (inherits covenant’s existing risk).
ἐντυγχάνειν (entynchanein), “to intercede” — reuse baseline’s मध्यस्थता — Risk: Medium.
ἐλπίς (elpis), “hope” — Sanskrit आशा (āśā) — Risk: Low-Medium. Plain word for hope/expectation; low doctrinal risk, though should not be confused with generic desire.

Chapter 8 — The New Covenant Promised

No major new terms beyond covenant-family vocabulary already established (संविद्, नवीना संविद्, विधिः for law). New items:
σκιά (skia), “shadow” — Sanskrit छाया (chāyā) — Risk: High. Denotationally the ordinary word for “shadow, reflection,” but flagged because Advaita Vedānta includes a minor explanatory theory (chāyāvāda, “reflection theory”) describing the individual soul (jīva) as a reflection (chāyā) of Brahman in the medium of ignorance/mind — one of several rival Advaita sub-theories (alongside pratibimba-vāda and avaccheda-vāda) of the jīva-Brahman relation. Using छाया for “the Law is a shadow of the good things to come” must be accompanied by a note that this is a foreshadowing/type relationship between two historical realities (old covenant anticipating new), not a metaphysical reflection-of-the-Absolute claim.
παλαιούμενον (palaioumenon), “growing obsolete/old” — Sanskrit जीर्यमाणः — Risk: Low.

Chapter 9:1–10 (context for the core passage; see Part A for 9:11–28)

Introduces the earthly tabernacle’s furnishings: lampstand, table, bread of the presence, ark of the covenant, cherubim, and the ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion), “mercy seat” — Sanskrit दयापीठम् (dayāpīṭham, “seat/throne of mercy”) — Risk: Medium. Uses दया (compassion/mercy) rather than baseline’s अनुग्रह (grace) to name this specific physical object distinctly from the doctrine of grace itself; minor residual risk of assimilation to general Buddhist/Jain karuṇā-ethics vocabulary, judged acceptable given the concrete, object-naming function here.
All remaining sacrificial/priestly vocabulary in 9:1–10 (blood, sacrifice, purification, holy places) reuses terms already established in Part A.

Chapter 10 — One Sacrifice, Full Assurance, and a Warning

παρρησία (parrēsia), “confidence/boldness [to enter]” — Sanskrit प्रगल्भता (pragalbhatā) — Risk: Medium. A classical rhetorical term for boldness of speech; carries no major competing philosophical-school sense, but must be taught as confidence grounded in Christ’s finished work, not self-generated fearlessness (cf. baseline’s obedience_of_faith caution against works-based confidence).
ὁμολογία (homologia), “confession” — Sanskrit स्वीकारः/अङ्गीकारः — Risk: Low-Medium.
ἐπίγνωσις τῆς ἀληθείας (epignōsis tēs alētheias), “knowledge of the truth” — plain construction, reusing existing vocabulary; Risk: Low.
ἑκουσίως ἁμαρτανόντων (hekousiōs hamartanontōn), “sinning deliberately/willfully” — Sanskrit जानता कृतं पापम् — Risk: High, given this passage’s role in the apostasy-warning doctrine; must be read alongside ch. 6.
ὑποστολή (hypostolē), “shrinking back” — Sanskrit पराङ्मुखता (parāṇmukhatā, “turning-away-ness”) — Risk: Medium.
ὑπομονή (hypomonē), “endurance” — Sanskrit सहिष्णुता/धृतिः — Risk: Low-Medium.

Chapter 11 — The Faith of the Old Testament Saints

πίστις (pistis), “faith” — reuse baseline’s विश्वासः exactly — Risk: High (inherits Romans’ full risk profile: never श्रद्धा/भक्तिः).
ὑπόστασις (hypostasis), “assurance/substantial reality [of things hoped for]” (11:1) — Sanskrit निश्चयः (niścayaḥ, “firm conviction/certainty”) — Risk: High. Avoid अधिष्ठानम् (Advaita’s technical term for the substratum on which an illusory superimposition, adhyāsa, is projected — e.g., the rope beneath the illusory snake), which would risk implying faith’s object is a mere superimposed appearance rather than a real future reality. Also distinct from this same Greek word’s later technical use for “person” within Trinitarian hypostasis-language; that sense is not active here.
ἔλεγχος (elenchos), “conviction/evidence [of things not seen]” (11:1) — Sanskrit प्रत्ययः (pratyayaḥ, “conviction, ground of confidence”) — Risk: High. Deliberately avoids प्रमाणम्, the central category of Indian epistemology across every darśana (Nyāya’s pratyakṣa/anumāna/upamāna/śabda; Mīmāṃsā’s inclusion of the eternal Veda as śabda-pramāṇa). प्रमाण would invite the reader to classify faith as a formal epistemic warrant within an existing pramāṇa taxonomy — a rich but destabilizing move requiring far more theological framing than a glossary entry allows; प्रत्यय keeps the sense of settled conviction without entering that debate.
ἐμαρτυρήθησαν (emartyrēthēsan), “were commended/attested” — Sanskrit साक्ष्यं प्राप्तवन्तः — Risk: Low.
ξένοι καὶ παρεπίδημοι (xenoi kai parepidēmoi), “strangers and exiles” — Sanskrit प्रवासिनः विदेशिनः च — Risk: Low-Medium.
πόλις … τοὺς θεμελίους ἔχουσα (polis … tous themelious echousa), “a city with foundations” — Sanskrit स्थापितं नगरम् — Risk: Low.
κρείττονος ἀναστάσεως (kreittonos anastaseōs), “a better resurrection” — reuse baseline’s पुनरुत्थानम् — Risk: Critical (inherits resurrection’s full Critical status; never पुनर्जन्म).
Proper names appearing for the first time in this curriculum, transliterated consistent with baseline’s established practice (Serampore-tradition forms): Abel = हाबिल्, Enoch = हनोक्, Noah = नोहः, Sarah = सारा, Isaac = इसहाक्, Jacob = याकोब्, Joseph = योसेफ्, Rahab = राहाब्, Gideon = गिदोन्, Samson = शिम्शोन्, Samuel = शमूएल् — Risk: Low for each (proper names; theological weight lies in the surrounding narrative, not the name itself).

Chapter 12 — The Cloud of Witnesses; Discipline; Mount Zion

νέφος μαρτύρων (nephos martyrōn), “cloud of witnesses” — Sanskrit साक्षिणां मेघः — Risk: Low.
ἀρχηγὸν καὶ τελειωτήν (archēgon kai teleiōtēn), “founder and perfecter [of faith]” — reuse आदिनायकः + पूर्णता-root — Risk: Critical (see ch. 5’s perfection discussion; this compound title applies both terms to Christ directly).
παιδεία (paideia), “discipline” — Sanskrit अनुशासनम् (anuśāsanam) — Risk: Medium. A generally neutral term for instruction/discipline; minor incidental resonance with the Mahābhārata’s Anuśāsana Parvan (a didactic book on duties), not a severe collision but worth noting for a classically-trained readership.
βασιλεία ἀσάλευτος (basileia asaleutos), “unshakeable kingdom” — Sanskrit अकम्पनीयं राज्यम्, built on baseline’s राज्यम् (kingdom) — Risk: Medium, inheriting kingdom_of_god’s existing risk profile.
πῦρ καταναλίσκον (pyr katanaliskon), “consuming fire” — Sanskrit भस्मकारी अग्निः (bhasmakārī agniḥ, “fire that reduces to ashes”) — Risk: High. अग्निः denotationally means simply “fire,” but is also the proper name of one of the most prominent Vedic devas (Agni, receiver of yajña offerings, mediator between humans and gods in Śrauta ritual). Because this verse (quoting Deuteronomy 4:24) predicates fire of God (“our God is a consuming fire”), care is needed grammatically to keep this as a simile/predication (“God is like an all-consuming fire”) rather than a naming construction that could be heard as identifying God with Agni-deva; a translator’s note specifying this is figurative predication, not deification-by-fire-epithet, is required.
Σιών (Siōn), “[Mount] Zion”; Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐπουρανίῳ (Ierousalēm epouraniō), “heavenly Jerusalem” — proper names, transliterated सियोन्पर्वतः, स्वर्गीया यरूशालम् — Risk: Medium. Requires OT background explanation, as with baseline’s “Israel” and “David” entries.
ἐκκλησί�ᾳ πρωτοτόκων (ekklēsia prōtotokōn), “assembly of the firstborn” — Sanskrit प्रथमजानां मण्डली, reusing baseline’s मण्डली (church/assembly) exactly, compounded with प्रथमजः (prathamajaḥ, “firstborn”) — Risk: Medium.

Chapter 13 — Concluding Exhortations

φιλαδελφία (philadelphia), “brotherly love” — Sanskrit भ्रातृप्रेम — Risk: Low.
φιλοξενία (philoxenia), “hospitality” — Sanskrit अतिथिसेवा — Risk: Low.
θυσιαστήριον (thysiastērion), “altar” — Sanskrit वेदी (vedī) — Risk: High. वेदी is the actual technical term for the constructed Śrauta sacrificial altar (whose exact geometry is governed by the Śulba Sūtras); using it here for the Christian “altar” (understood metaphorically, as this verse’s own argument shows — “we have an altar” distinct from any physical structure) requires an explicit note that this names the reality of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice, not a functioning ritual installation requiring construction, consecration, or repeated use.
θυσία αἰνέσεως (thysia aineseōs), “sacrifice of praise” — Sanskrit स्तुतिबलिः (stutibaliḥ), built on the established बलि — Risk: Medium.
ὁ ποιμὴν τῶν προβάτων ὁ μέγας (ho poimēn tōn probatōn ho megas), “the great shepherd of the sheep” — Sanskrit मेषाणां महान् पालकः (meṣāṇāṃ mahān pālakaḥ) — Risk: Critical. NEVER गोपः/गोपालकः. गोप/गोपाल is the fixed, iconic epithet of Kṛṣṇa as cowherd (Govinda, Gopāla) within Vaiṣṇava bhakti theology and Purāṇic narrative (Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s Vṛndāvana cycle); applying it to Christ would directly overlay Kṛṣṇa’s specific devotional persona onto him. मेष (sheep, not गो/cow) + पालकः (generic herder/keeper, not the Kṛṣṇa-specific गोप) avoids this collision entirely.
αἷμα διαθήκης αἰωνίου (haima diathēkēs aiōniou), “blood of the eternal covenant” — reuse रक्तम् + नित्यम् + संविद् — Risk: Critical, inheriting the full combined risk profile of blood, eternality, and covenant terms established above.
ὁ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης (ho theos tēs eirēnēs), “the God of peace” — Sanskrit शान्त्याः परमेश्वरः, following baseline’s established genitive-compound convention (परमेश्वरस्य/शान्त्याः परमेश्वरः pattern, as in baseline’s power_of_god, kingdom_of_god entries) — Risk: High, inheriting शान्ति (peace) and सर्वेश्वर/परमेश्वर (God)‘s existing risk profiles.
χθὲς καὶ σήμερον ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας (chthes kai sēmeron ho autos kai eis tous aiōnas), “the same yesterday, today, and forever” — Sanskrit ह्यः अद्य सर्वदा च सः एव, using नित्यम्/सर्वदा rather than सनातनम् — Risk: High, per the “eternal” discussion above.

This document assumes and extends, without contradiction, every rendering fixed in the Romans baseline translation_memory.json. See analysis/08_core_glossary.md for the consolidated per-term glossary table covering every chapter of Hebrews.

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