Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Hebrews (English–Greek–Sanskrit)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, spanning Hebrews 1–13. Terms already fixed in the Romans baseline translation_memory.json are marked [Reuse — Baseline TM] and reproduced exactly, unchanged. New terms proposed for this Hebrews-specific curriculum are marked [New] and follow the same collision-avoidance methodology as the baseline. Risk tiers, review routing, and forbidden-substitution conventions follow doctrine_risk_registry.json and 12_ai_translation_requirements.md exactly.
Section 1 — Terms Reused Exactly from the Romans Baseline
| Term | Greek | Sanskrit | Risk | Chapters | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | θεός | सर्वेश्वरः | Critical | 1,2,3,4,6,9,10,11,12,13 | Never देवः/ईश्वरः bare/भगवान्/ब्रह्मन् |
| God (genitive compounds) | θεοῦ | परमेश्वरस्य (bound form) | Critical | throughout | Follows baseline’s genitive-compound convention (e.g. “God of peace” → शान्त्याः परमेश्वरः) |
| Jesus | Ἰησοῦς | यीशुः | Critical | throughout | Serampore NT form |
| Christ | Χριστός | ख्रीष्टः | Critical | throughout | Per 12_ai_translation_requirements.md transliteration table |
| Lord | κύριος | प्रभुः | Critical | 1,2,7,13 | Never ईश्वरः (Advaita-subordination risk) |
| Son of God / Sonship | υἱὸς θεοῦ | परमेश्वरस्य पुत्रः | Critical | 1,4,5,7 | Eternal, co-equal Sonship |
| Holy Spirit | πνεῦμα ἅγιον | पवित्र आत्मा | Critical | 2,3,6,9,10 | Mandatory personhood note every occurrence; never bare आत्मा |
| Father | πατήρ | पिता | Critical | 1,12 | Never ब्रह्मा/प्रजापतिः |
| Abba | Ἀββα | अब्बा | High | — | Transliteration model for शब्बत् (Sabbath) |
| Faith | πίστις | विश्वासः | High | 4,6,10,11 | Never श्रद्धा/भक्तिः |
| Grace | χάρις | अनुग्रहः | High | 2,4,10,12,13 | Never कृपा/प्रसादः/पुण्यम् |
| Salvation | σωτηρία | त्राणम् | Critical | 1,2,5,6,7,9 | Never मोक्षः/मुक्तिः/निर्वाणम् |
| Resurrection | ἀνάστασις | पुनरुत्थानम् | Critical | 6,11,13 | Never पुनर्जन्म |
| Holy | ἅγιος | पवित्रम् | High | 2,3,6,9,10,13 | Not merely ritual-mechanical purity |
| Sanctification | ἁγιασμός | पवित्रीकरणम् | High | 2,9,10,12,13 | Distinct from शुद्धिः (ritual purification) |
| Called / Calling | κλητός / κλῆσις | आहूतः / आह्वानम् | High | 3,5,9,11 | Sovereign divine summons |
| Church / Assembly | ἐκκλησία | मण्डली | Medium | 2,12 | Never मन्दिरम्/मठः |
| Kingdom of God | βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ | परमेश्वरस्य राज्यम् | Medium | 1,12 | Base for “unshakeable kingdom” |
| Law | νόμος | विधिः | High | 7,8,9,10 | Mīmāṃsā vidhi-term, not धर्मः |
| Sin | ἁμαρτία | पापम् | High | 2,3,4,9,10,11,12,13 | Not resolved by prāyaścitta ritual penance |
| Glory | δόξα | महिमा | High | 1,2,3 | Never तेजस् |
| Covenant | διαθήκη | संविद् | High | 7,8,9,10,12,13 | Never वाचा/नियमः |
| Apostle | ἀπόστολος | प्रेषितः | Medium | 3 | Applied uniquely to Jesus at 3:1 |
| Obedience of Faith | (ὑπακοή root) | विश्वासस्य आज्ञापालनम् | High | 5 | ”Learned obedience through suffering” |
| Peace | εἰρήνη | शान्तिः | Medium | 7,12,13 | Not yogic citta-vṛtti-nirodha |
| Fellowship | κοινωνία | सहभागिता | Low | 2,3,6,12 | ”Partakers/sharers” language |
| Exhort | παρακαλέω | उत्तेजनम् | Low | 3,10,13 | ”Exhorting one another daily” |
| Israel | Ἰσραήλ | इस्राएलः | Medium | 8,11 | Transliterated proper name |
| David | Δαυίδ | दाविद् | Medium | 4,11 | Transliterated proper name |
| Moses | Μωϋσῆς | मोशेः | Medium | 3,7,8,9,11,12 | Transliterated proper name |
| Abraham | Ἀβραάμ | अब्राहामः | Low | 2,6,7,11 | Transliterated proper name |
| Imputed Righteousness (concept) | — | आरोपिता धार्मिकता | Critical | 11 (Abraham’s faith) | Cross-reference to Romans 4 doctrine |
Section 2 — New Terms Proposed for the Hebrews Curriculum
| Term | Greek | Sanskrit | Transliteration | Risk | Chapters | Rejected Alternatives & Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angel | ἄγγελος | दूतः / दूताः | dūtaḥ / dūtāḥ | Critical | 1,2,12,13 | देवः/देवाः rejected — would recast angels as Vedic/Purāṇic celestial gods, undermining ch. 1’s argument that the Son is superior to a category of created servants, not merely the greatest deva |
| High Priest | ἀρχιερεύς | महायाजकः | mahāyājakaḥ | High | 2–10 | Compound built on याजक; must be taught as open-access, not varṇa-hereditary |
| Priest | ἱερεύς | याजकः | yājakaḥ | High | 5,7,8,10 | Carries inherent Śrauta/Brahmanical priestly-caste resonance requiring redefinition |
| Priesthood | ἱερωσύνη | याजकत्वम् | yājakatvam | High | 7 | — |
| Melchizedek | Μελχισέδεκ | मल्कीषेदक् | Malkīṣedak | Medium | 5,6,7 | Proper name; non-genealogical priesthood is the theological point |
| Sacrifice/Offering | θυσία | बलिः | baliḥ | Critical | 5,7,8,9,10,11,13 | यज्ञः rejected — names the fully systematized, repeatable Śrauta ritual category governed by Mīmāṃsā vidhi; contradicts Hebrews’ once-for-all argument |
| Offering (act) | προσφορά | अर्पणम् | arpaṇam | High | 10 | — |
| Atonement/Propitiation | ἱλασμός | पापहरणबलिः | pāpaharaṇabaliḥ | Critical | 2,9,10 | प्रायश्चित्तम् rejected — the dharmaśāstra category of prescribed ritual penances (Manusmṛti), contradicting a once-for-all, other-accomplished atonement |
| Altar | θυσιαστήριον | वेदी | vedī | High | 7,13 | Actual Śrauta altar-term (Śulba Sūtra geometry); requires note distinguishing from a constructed ritual installation |
| Tabernacle/Tent | σκηνή | शिबिरम् (पवित्रशिबिरम्) | śibiram (pavitraśibiram) | Medium | 8,9,13 | Not मन्दिरम् (fixed temple); preserves mobile/provisional sense |
| Holy Place / Holy of Holies | τὰ ἅγια | पवित्रस्थानम् / पवित्रतमं स्थानम् | pavitrasthānam / pavitratamaṃ sthānam | High | 9,10 | Built on पवित्रम्; carries baseline’s full holy-entry caution |
| Veil/Curtain | καταπέτασμα | आवरणवस्त्रम् | āvaraṇavastram | Medium | 6,9,10 | — |
| Mercy Seat | ἱλαστήριον | दयापीठम् | dayāpīṭham | Medium | 9 | Uses दया, not अनुग्रह, to name the physical object distinctly from the doctrine of grace |
| Blood | αἷμα | रक्तम् | raktam | Medium | 9,10,11,12,13 | Flag collectively against Vedic/Tantric blood-sacrifice ritual associations |
| Sprinkling | ῥαντισμός | सेचनम् | secanam | Medium | 9,10,11,12 | Describes literal OT rite only; deeper purification is Christ’s alone |
| Redemption | λύτρωσις | उद्धारः | uddhāraḥ | High | 9,11 | विमोचनम्/मुक्तिः/मोक्षः rejected — mokṣa-root terms collapse this into the fourth puruṣārtha |
| Mediator | μεσίτης | मध्यस्थः | madhyasthaḥ | High | 7,8,9,12 | Sole mediator; not one intermediary among several (guru/ṛṣi framing) |
| Eternal | αἰώνιος | नित्यम् | nityam | High | 5,6,7,9,13 | सनातनम् rejected — self-designation of “Sanātana Dharma”; would invite syncretistic reading |
| Inheritance | κληρονομία | अधिकारः / उत्तराधिकारः | adhikāraḥ / uttarādhikāraḥ | High | 1,6,9,11 | दायः rejected — dharmaśāstra partition-inheritance rules (Dāyabhāga), incompatible with complete heirship |
| Heir | κληρονόμος | उत्तराधिकारी | uttarādhikārī | High | 1,6,11 | — |
| Conscience | συνείδησις | अन्तःकरणम् | antaḥkaraṇam | High | 9,10,13 | Sāṅkhya/Vedānta cognitive-faculty term; requires explicit moral-guilt redefinition |
| Perfect/Perfection | τελειόω | पूर्णता / सम्पूर्णः | pūrṇatā / sampūrṇaḥ | Critical | 2,5,6,7,9,10,11,12 | सिद्धिः/सिद्धः rejected — names yogic supernatural attainment and the liberated siddha-being; would recast Christ as a self-perfected ascetic master |
| Shadow/Copy | σκιά / ὑπόδειγμα / ἀντίτυπον | छाया / प्रतिरूपम् | chāyā / pratirūpam | High | 8,9,10 | Flag Advaita’s minor chāyāvāda (reflection-theory) resonance; this is typological foreshadowing, not metaphysical reflection-of-the-Absolute |
| New Covenant | διαθήκη καινή | नवीना संविद् | navīnā saṃvid | High | 8,9,12 | Built on संविद्; replaces, not merely supplements, the first covenant |
| Will/Testament (legal sense) | διαθήκη (2nd sense) | इच्छापत्रम् | icchāpatram | Critical | 9 | Untranslatable Greek pun (covenant/will); requires explicit translator’s note, not a lexical fix |
| Judgment (final) | κρίσις | विचारणा | vicāraṇā | High | 9,10,12,13 | न्यायः rejected bare — names the entire Nyāya darśana, not a generic judgment event |
| Sabbath Rest | σαββατισμός | शब्बत्-विश्रामः | śabbat-viśrāmaḥ | Medium | 4 | Transliterated “Sabbath” per Abba-model |
| Rest | κατάπαυσις | विश्रामः | viśrāmaḥ | High | 3,4 | समाधिः/निर्वाणम् rejected — Yoga’s eighth-limb meditative-absorption attainment |
| Word of God | λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ | वचनम् (परमेश्वरस्य वचनम्) | vacanam | High | 1,4,6,13 | वाच्/वाणी rejected — Vāc cosmic-speech theology / Mīmāṃsā śabda-brahman doctrine |
| Throne of Grace | θρόνος τῆς χάριτος | अनुग्रहसिंहासनम् | anugrahasiṃhāsanam | High | 4 | Built on अनुग्रहः; inherits grace’s risk profile |
| Enlightened | φωτισθέντες | प्रकाशितः | prakāśitaḥ | High | 6,10 | प्रबोधितः/बोधितः rejected — Buddhist bodhi-enlightenment collision |
| Soul (ordinary sense) | ψυχή | जीवः | jīvaḥ | High | 6,10,13 | Not आत्मन् (reserved exclusively for Holy Spirit per baseline); minor residual jīva-Brahman resonance noted |
| Founder/Pioneer | ἀρχηγός | आदिनायकः | ādinayakaḥ | Medium | 2,12 | Not गुरुः (guru-lineage import) |
| Apostasy / Falling Away | παραπίπτω | भ्रष्टः / पतितः | bhraṣṭaḥ / patitaḥ | High | 6,10 | Central to “Danger of Apostasy” doctrine; decisive, culpable defection |
| Shrinking Back | ὑποστολή | पराङ्मुखता | parāṇmukhatā | Medium | 10 | — |
| Endurance/Perseverance | ὑπομονή | सहिष्णुता / धृतिः | sahiṣṇutā / dhṛtiḥ | Medium | 10,12 | Central to “Perseverance and Assurance” doctrine |
| Confidence/Boldness | παρρησία | प्रगल्भता | pragalbhatā | Medium | 3,4,10 | Grounded in Christ’s work, not self-generated |
| Assurance/Substance (hypostasis) | ὑπόστασις | निश्चयः | niścayaḥ | High | 11 | Not अधिष्ठानम् (Advaita superimposition-substratum term) |
| Conviction/Evidence | ἔλεγχος | प्रत्ययः | pratyayaḥ | High | 11 | प्रमाणम् rejected — the central pan-Indian epistemological category (Nyāya/Mīmāṃsā pramāṇa taxonomy) |
| Strangers and Exiles | ξένοι καὶ παρεπίδημοι | प्रवासिनः विदेशिनः च | pravāsinaḥ videśinaḥ ca | Low | 11 | — |
| Better Country/City | κρείττων πατρίς / πόλις | उत्तमं / स्वर्गीयं नगरम् | uttamaṃ / svargīyaṃ nagaram | Low | 11,13 | — |
| Discipline | παιδεία | अनुशासनम् | anuśāsanam | Medium | 12 | Minor Anuśāsana Parvan resonance, not severe |
| Cloud of Witnesses | νέφος μαρτύρων | साक्षिणां मेघः | sākṣiṇāṃ meghaḥ | Low | 12 | — |
| Unshakeable Kingdom | βασιλεία ἀσάλευτος | अकम्पनीयं राज्यम् | akampanīyaṃ rājyam | Medium | 12 | Built on राज्यम्; inherits kingdom_of_god’s risk |
| Consuming Fire | πῦρ καταναλίσκον | भस्मकारी अग्निः | bhasmakārī agniḥ | High | 12 | अग्निः is also the Vedic fire-deity’s proper name; requires simile/predication framing, not naming |
| Zion / Heavenly Jerusalem | Σιών / Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐπουράνιος | सियोन्पर्वतः / स्वर्गीया यरूशालम् | Siyonparvataḥ / Svargīyā Yarūśālam | Medium | 12 | Proper names requiring OT background |
| Assembly of the Firstborn | ἐκκλησία πρωτοτόκων | प्रथमजानां मण्डली | prathamajānāṃ maṇḍalī | Medium | 12 | Built on मण्डली |
| Firstborn | πρωτότοκος | प्रथमजः | prathamajaḥ | Medium | 1,11,12 | — |
| Brotherly Love | φιλαδελφία | भ्रातृप्रेम | bhrātṛprema | Low | 13 | — |
| Hospitality | φιλοξενία | अतिथिसेवा | atitheṣevā | Low | 13 | — |
| Sacrifice of Praise | θυσία αἰνέσεως | स्तुतिबलिः | stutibaliḥ | Medium | 13 | Built on बलि |
| Great Shepherd | ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ μέγας | मेषाणां महान् पालकः | meṣāṇāṃ mahān pālakaḥ | Critical | 13 | गोपः/गोपालकः rejected — the fixed Kṛṣṇa-cowherd epithet (Govinda/Gopāla) in Vaiṣṇava bhakti theology |
| End of the Age | συντέλεια τῶν αἰώνων | कालान्तः | kālāntaḥ | High | 9 | युगान्तः rejected — Purāṇic cyclical-time unit tied to periodic avatāra appearance (Gītā 4.7–8) |
| Oath | ὅρκος | शपथः | śapathaḥ | Low-Medium | 6,7 | — |
| Tithe | δεκάτη | दशांशः | daśāṃśaḥ | Low | 7 | — |
| Hope | ἐλπίς | आशा | āśā | Low-Medium | 3,6,7,10,11 | — |
| Confession | ὁμολογία | स्वीकारः / अङ्गीकारः | svīkāraḥ / aṅgīkāraḥ | Low-Medium | 3,4,10 | — |
| Forgiveness | ἄφεσις | क्षमा | kṣamā | Medium | 9,10 | Distinct from baseline’s rejection of क्षमा only as insufficient for justification; correct as plain “forgiveness” |
Section 3 — Chapters Confirmed to Introduce No New Load-Bearing Vocabulary
None. Every chapter of Hebrews (1–13) contributes at least one new load-bearing term or a theologically significant redeployment of an existing baseline term, as documented in 07_semantic_analysis.md Part B. Chapters 8 and 3 are the lightest in new vocabulary (each contributing chiefly covenant-family and rest-family extensions of terms fully established elsewhere) but are not vocabulary-free and are documented accordingly above.
Section 4 — Cross-Cutting Risk Notes
- Sacrifice-family terms (बलि, महायाजक, वेदी, पापहरणबलि) must collectively be taught against the Śrauta/Mīmāṃsā expectation of repeatable ritual efficacy — the single most pervasive risk in this book, since Hebrews’ central argument (once-for-all) is structurally opposed to how Sanskrit’s own sacrificial vocabulary ordinarily functions.
- Perfection (पूर्णता) and Redemption (उद्धारः) must never regress toward सिद्धि or मोक्ष-family roots respectively, under any stylistic pressure to find a “more elegant” classical synonym — per the baseline’s standing prohibition on synonym substitution.
- Angels (दूताः) must remain sharply distinguished from देवाः throughout, since Chapter 1’s entire argument depends on this distinction holding.
- Eternal (नित्यम्) must never drift to सनातनम् even in poetic or liturgical passages (e.g., 13:8’s “same yesterday, today, forever”), where सनातन might otherwise seem stylistically attractive.
- All Critical-tier terms in Section 2 require Human theologian review at every occurrence, consistent with
doctrine_risk_registry.json’s routing rules; High-tier terms require the same; Medium-tier terms route to Sanskrit-philosophically-literate scholar review in place of native-speaker review, per baseline convention.
This glossary extends, and in no place contradicts, translation_memory.json (Romans baseline). All Section 1 entries are verbatim reuses. Section 2 entries await incorporation into translation_memory.json as new versioned additions once approved in Phase 2 review.
Critical Risk Terms
Righteousness
Approved rendering: धार्मिकता
Transliteration: dhārmikatā
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: धर्मः, न्यायः, पुण्यम्
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Appears at Hebrews 1:9 (‘loved righteousness’), 11:7 (Noah’s righteousness), 11:33 (worked righteousness), 12:11 (‘fruit of righteousness’); mandatory explicit redefinition at every occurrence per baseline, since dharma’s weight cannot be escaped by word choice alone.
Salvation
Approved rendering: त्राणम्
Transliteration: trāṇam
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: मोक्षः, मुक्तिः, निर्वाणम्
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. NEVER मोक्ष/मुक्ति/निर्वाण. Hebrews 9:28’s goal of Christ’s promised second appearing; also 1:14, 2:3,10, 5:9, 6:9, 7:25.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: पुनरुत्थानम्
Transliteration: punarutthānam
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: पुनर्जन्म
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. NEVER पुनर्जन्म. Hebrews 11:35’s ‘better resurrection’ and 13:20’s raising of the great Shepherd ‘by the blood of the eternal covenant.‘
Lord
Approved rendering: प्रभुः
Transliteration: prabhuḥ
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ईश्वरः, स्वामी
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Relevant to the ch.1 angel-superiority argument and to 1:10, 2:3, 7:14, 13:20.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वरस्य पुत्रः
Transliteration: parameśvarasya putraḥ
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ईश्वरांशः, देवपुरुषः
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Anchors the entire Hebrews 1 superiority-over-angels argument; also foundational to 4:14, 5:8, 6:6, 7:3, 10:29.
Incarnation
Approved rendering: देहधारणम्
Transliteration: dehadhāraṇam
Doctrine: Incarnation
Rejected alternatives: अवतारः
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. NEVER अवतारः. Applies to Hebrews 2:14 (‘he himself likewise partook of flesh and blood’) and 10:5 (‘a body you have prepared for me’), with the Bhagavad Gītā 4.7-8 distinction cited at first occurrence.
Messiah
Approved rendering: मसीहः
Transliteration: masīhaḥ
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Rejected alternatives: अवतारपुरुषः
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Underlies the anointing sense of ‘Christ’ used as Jesus’s title throughout Hebrews.
Jesus
Approved rendering: यीशुः
Transliteration: yīśuḥ
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Serampore Sanskrit New Testament (1808) form.
God
Approved rendering: सर्वेश्वरः
Transliteration: sarveśvaraḥ
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ईश्वरः, ब्रह्मन्, भगवान्, देवः
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 1’s angel-superiority argument depends on सर्वेश्वरः already excluding a ‘one god among many devas’ reading.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: पवित्र आत्मा
Transliteration: pavitra ātmā
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: ब्रह्मन्, परमात्मा
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Mandatory personhood note at every occurrence, including Hebrews 2:4, 3:7, 6:4, 9:8, 9:14, 10:15.
Father
Approved rendering: पिता
Transliteration: pitā
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: ब्रह्मा, प्रजापतिः
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 12:9’s discipline-of-fathers argument.
Imputed Righteousness
Approved rendering: आरोपिता धार्मिकता
Transliteration: āropitā dhārmikatā
Doctrine: Justification by Faith
Rejected alternatives: अर्जिता धार्मिकता
Original: (concept underlying Hebrews 11’s commendation of faith)
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Cross-referenced from the Romans 4 doctrine underlying Hebrews 11’s commendation of Abraham and the other Old Testament saints.
Christ
Approved rendering: ख्रीष्टः
Transliteration: khrīṣṭaḥ
Doctrine: Deity of Christ / Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
New formal translation_memory entry (previously recorded only in the baseline AI requirements document’s transliteration standards table, not in the term database itself). Serampore Sanskrit New Testament form; used as Christ’s title throughout Hebrews, especially in his high-priestly and sacrificial office (chs. 3, 5, 9-10).
Angel
Approved rendering: दूतः / दूताः
Transliteration: dūtaḥ / dūtāḥ
Doctrine: Superiority of Christ over Angels
Rejected alternatives: देवः, देवाः
Original: ἄγγελος
Category: Angelology
NEVER देवः/देवाः, which would recast angels as members of the Vedic/Purāṇic devatā class, undermining Hebrews 1’s entire argument that the Son is superior to a category of created servants, not merely the greatest deva. दूतः (‘one sent’) deliberately echoes baseline’s प्रेषितः, correctly framing angels as sent servants. Recurs at 2:2,5, 12:22, 13:2.
High Priest
Approved rendering: महायाजकः
Transliteration: mahāyājakaḥ
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Rejected alternatives: पुरोहितः, ऋत्विक्
Original: ἀρχιερεύς
Category: Priesthood
Built on याजक, a root inseparable from Śrauta/Brahmanical priestly-caste connotations, including hereditary varṇa-restricted ritual access. Every occurrence (chs. 4-10) must explicitly teach that Christ’s high priesthood is open-access and non-hereditary, paired consistently with the Melchizedek (वंशरहितः) precedent. पुरोहितः (royal chaplain) and ऋत्विक् (Śrauta sacrificial officiant) are equally or more caste-bound and are rejected.
Sacrifice
Approved rendering: बलिः
Transliteration: baliḥ
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Rejected alternatives: यज्ञः
Original: θυσία
Category: Sacrifice
NEVER यज्ञः, the fully systematized, repeatable Śrauta ritual category governed by Pūrva Mīmāṃsā’s vidhi-hermeneutics; using यज्ञ would directly contradict Hebrews’ central argument that Christ’s single sacrifice terminates the need for repetition. Every occurrence describing Christ’s sacrifice must carry the सकृदेव (‘once for all’) qualifier, since बलि alone, unqualified, still drifts toward the ordinary repeatable-votive-offering sense.
Atonement Propitiation
Approved rendering: पापहरणबलिः
Transliteration: pāpaharaṇabaliḥ
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Rejected alternatives: प्रायश्चित्तम्
Original: ἱλασμός
Category: Sacrifice
NEVER प्रायश्चित्तम्, the precise dharmaśāstra category of prescribed ritual penances catalogued for specific sins (Manusmṛti and related nibandha literature), which would recast sin as resolved by correct ritual penance rather than by Christ’s once-for-all, other-accomplished atonement. Governs the whole atonement doctrine at Hebrews 2:17; escalate to human theologian at every occurrence.
Eternal Covenant Blood
Approved rendering: नित्यसंविदः रक्तम्
Transliteration: nityasaṃvidaḥ raktam
Doctrine: Christ the Great Shepherd, Raised by the Blood of the Eternal Covenant
Original: αἷμα διαθήκης αἰωνίου
Category: Sacrifice
Combines रक्तम्, नित्यम्, and संविद्; inherits the full combined risk profile of the blood, eternal, and covenant terms simultaneously. NEVER सनातनम् for the eternal component. Hebrews 13:20.
Perfection
Approved rendering: पूर्णता
Transliteration: pūrṇatā
Doctrine: Christ’s Perfection through Suffering
Rejected alternatives: सिद्धिः, सिद्धः
Original: τελειόω
Category: Christology
NEVER सिद्धिः/सिद्धः. सिद्ध names the yogically- or ascetically-perfected/liberated being (siddha-puruṣa), and सिद्धि the eight classical supernatural attainments (Yoga Sūtra 3’s aṣṭasiddhi) gained through disciplined practice. Rendering Christ’s ‘being made perfect’ with this root would recast him as a self-perfected ascetic master rather than the eternal Son whose sufficiency is intrinsic. पूर्णता (‘fullness, completeness’) avoids the attainment-through-practice apparatus, but each occurrence needs the causal ‘through suffering’ clause spelled out, since पूर्णता alone cannot carry that causal narrative. Major structural theme across chs. 2,5,6,7,9,10,11,12; flag Critical at every occurrence.
Great Shepherd
Approved rendering: मेषाणां महान् पालकः
Transliteration: meṣāṇāṃ mahān pālakaḥ
Doctrine: Christ the Great Shepherd, Raised by the Blood of the Eternal Covenant
Rejected alternatives: गोपः, गोपालकः
Original: ὁ ποιμὴν τῶν προβάτων ὁ μέγας
Category: Christology
NEVER गोपः/गोपालकः, the fixed, iconic epithet of Kṛṣṇa as cowherd (Govinda/Gopāla) within Vaiṣṇava bhakti theology and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa’s Vṛndāvana cycle; applying गोप-family vocabulary to Christ would overlay Kṛṣṇa’s specific devotional persona onto him. मेष (sheep, not गो/cow) plus पालकः (generic herder, not the Kṛṣṇa-specific गोप) avoids this collision entirely. Hebrews 13:20.
Apostasy
Approved rendering: भ्रष्टः / पतितः
Transliteration: bhraṣṭaḥ / patitaḥ
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: παραπίπτω
Category: Apostasy
पतितः is the specific dharmaśāstra technical term for a person fallen from caste (varṇa-cyuta) through grave sin (mahāpātaka), carrying prescribed expiation and formal readmission procedures in Manusmṛti and later nibandha literature; using it unglossed risks a classically-trained reader hearing Hebrews 6:4-6/10:26-29 as ‘a caste-fall awaiting the correct expiation rite’ rather than ‘no further sacrifice for sin remains’ — the exact inversion of the text’s point. भ्रष्टः (milder, less technically loaded) is the preferred primary rendering; पतितः may be used only with an explicit blocking note reasserting decisive, final, non-remediable-by-ritual-penance defection. Escalated to Critical (from the term-registry’s original High) per Linguistic Gap Analysis §A.5/E.3 finding.
New Covenant
Approved rendering: नवीना संविद्
Transliteration: navīnā saṃvid
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: διαθήκη καινή
Category: Covenant
Built on संविद्; must be explicitly taught as superseding, not merely supplementing, the first covenant. Softening ‘new’ toward ‘renewed’ or ‘supplementary’ would understate Hebrews’ supersession argument. Hebrews 8:8-13, 9:15, 12:24.
Testament Will
Approved rendering: इच्छापत्रम्
Transliteration: icchāpatram
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: διαθήκη (legal-will sense)
Category: Covenant
Structural translation gap, not a lexical-choice problem: Greek διαθήκη carries both ‘covenant’ and ‘last will/testament’ within the same short argument (Hebrews 9:16-17), and Sanskrit संविद् cannot carry the second sense. इच्छापत्रम् is proposed as an explanatory gloss for the will-sense only and must never silently replace संविद् in the surrounding covenant-sense verses. Requires a mandatory translator’s note explaining the untranslatable Greek pun at every occurrence of this passage.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: सुसमाचारः
Transliteration: susamācāraḥ
Doctrine: Gospel
Rejected alternatives: शुभवार्ता
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Relevant to Hebrews 4:2, 4:6’s ‘good news’ motif regarding the wilderness generation who did not benefit from what they heard.
Grace
Approved rendering: अनुग्रहः
Transliteration: anugrahaḥ
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: कृपा, प्रसादः, पुण्यम्
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Extended in Hebrews to the ‘throne of grace’ (4:16) and the warning against ‘falling short of the grace of God’ (12:15); contrast with karmaphala/prasāda’s ritual offering-and-return structure retained.
Faith
Approved rendering: विश्वासः
Transliteration: viśvāsaḥ
Doctrine: Faith
Rejected alternatives: श्रद्धा, भक्तिः
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Organizes the whole of Hebrews 11’s roll call of Old Testament saints; must remain clear of Gītā 17’s guṇa-classified threefold śraddhā and of bhakti’s structured soteriological path.
Called
Approved rendering: आहूतः
Transliteration: āhūtaḥ
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: निमन्त्रितः
Original: κλητός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 9:15 (‘those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance’).
Calling
Approved rendering: आह्वानम्
Transliteration: āhvānam
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: निमन्त्रणम्
Original: κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 3:1’s ‘heavenly calling’; ordinary Vedic sense (human ritual invocation of a deity) must be flagged at first occurrence.
Holy
Approved rendering: पवित्रम्
Transliteration: pavitram
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: शुद्धम्
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Describes the heavenly sanctuary, believers, and the pursuit of holiness (Hebrews 12:14); avoid purely ritual-mechanical purity reading, especially given the book’s dense sacrificial-ritual context.
Saints
Approved rendering: पवित्राः जनाः
Transliteration: pavitrāḥ janāḥ
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: ऋषयः, संन्यासिनः
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: पवित्रीकरणम्
Transliteration: pavitrīkaraṇam
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: शुद्धिः
Original: ἁγιασμός
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Distinguished from शुद्धिः, which is correctly retained in Hebrews 9:13 for the OT rites’ merely external, flesh-level purification.
Adoption
Approved rendering: पुत्रत्वेन स्वीकरणम्
Transliteration: putratvena svīkaraṇam
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Rejected alternatives: दत्तकग्रहणम्
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Extended to Hebrews 12:5-11’s discipline-as-sonship argument (‘what son is there whom his father does not discipline?’).
Law
Approved rendering: विधिः
Transliteration: vidhiḥ
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Rejected alternatives: धर्मः, धर्मशास्त्रम्
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Central to Hebrews 7-10’s argument that the Levitical vidhi-system is fulfilled and set aside; must be carefully scoped so as not to imply that vidhi as a Mīmāṃsā category is abolished.
Sin
Approved rendering: पापम्
Transliteration: pāpam
Doctrine: Universal Human Accountability
Rejected alternatives: अधर्मः
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Central across Hebrews 2-13; never resolved by prāyaścitta-style ritual penance.
Glory
Approved rendering: महिमा
Transliteration: mahimā
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: तेजस्
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Base term for Hebrews 1:3’s ‘radiance of glory’ (new compound महिमाप्रकाशः, see Section B).
Obedience Of Faith
Approved rendering: विश्वासस्य आज्ञापालनम्
Transliteration: viśvāsasya ājñāpālanam
Doctrine: Obedience of Faith
Rejected alternatives: धर्माचरणम्
Original: (ὑπακοή root)
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Christ himself ‘learned obedience’ through suffering (Hebrews 5:8).
Covenant
Approved rendering: संविद्
Transliteration: saṃvid
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: वाचा, नियमः
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. The central organizing category of Hebrews 7-10; the requirement to teach it explicitly as God’s own binding promise applies with even greater force here, since Hebrews argues for supersession, not mere continuation.
Providence
Approved rendering: परमेश्वरस्य विधानम्
Transliteration: parameśvarasya vidhānam
Doctrine: Providence
Rejected alternatives: भाग्यम्, दैवम्, कर्मफलम्
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 1:3’s Son ‘upholding the universe by the word of his power.‘
Abba
Approved rendering: अब्बा
Transliteration: abbā
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: Ἀββα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged; retained here as the transliteration-precedent model for शब्बत् (Sabbath) elsewhere in this package, though ‘Abba’ itself does not occur in Hebrews’ Greek text.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वरस्य सामर्थ्यम्
Transliteration: parameśvarasya sāmarthyam
Doctrine: Power of God for Salvation
Rejected alternatives: शक्तिः
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. NEVER शक्तिः. Relevant to Hebrews 1:3 and 7:16’s ‘power of an indestructible life.‘
God Of Peace
Approved rendering: शान्त्याः परमेश्वरः
Transliteration: śāntyāḥ parameśvaraḥ
Doctrine: Peace with God / Deity of Christ
Original: ὁ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης
Category: God
New compound built directly on baseline’s सर्वेश्वरः/परमेश्वरः and शान्तिः, following the baseline’s established genitive-compound convention (cf. power_of_god, kingdom_of_god). Hebrews 13:20.
Ministering Spirits
Approved rendering: सेवार्थं प्रेषिताः दूताः
Transliteration: sevārthaṃ preṣitāḥ dūtāḥ
Doctrine: Angels as Created Servants
Original: λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα
Category: Angelology
Deliberately avoids आत्मन्/आत्मा for the ‘spirits’ of angels, per baseline’s Holy Spirit caution against diluting आत्मा-language for any spirit-being other than the Holy Spirit himself. Hebrews 1:14.
Radiance Of Glory
Approved rendering: महिमाप्रकाशः
Transliteration: mahimāprakāśaḥ
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: तेजस्
Original: ἀπαύγασμα
Category: Christology
Built on baseline’s महिमा; deliberately avoids तेजस् for the same Sāṅkhya/Purāṇic radiant-substance and Devī-formation-narrative reasons already established in the baseline’s ‘glory’ entry. Hebrews 1:3.
Exact Imprint
Approved rendering: स्वरूपमुद्रा
Transliteration: svarūpamudrā
Doctrine: Deity and Sonship of Christ
Original: χαρακτήρ
Category: Christology
Must not be read through Advaita’s adhyāsa (superimposition) framework, which would recast the Son’s exact ontological identity with the Father as a provisionally-real appearance rather than exact identity of nature. Hebrews 1:3.
Priest
Approved rendering: याजकः
Transliteration: yājakaḥ
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ἱερεύς
Category: Priesthood
Carries inherent Śrauta/Brahmanical priestly-caste resonance requiring explicit redefinition at each occurrence. Used of Levitical priests and of Melchizedek, and by extension of Christ.
Priesthood
Approved rendering: याजकत्वम्
Transliteration: yājakatvam
Doctrine: The Levitical Priesthood and Law Superseded
Original: ἱερωσύνη
Category: Priesthood
Abstract noun on याजक-root; risk made acute at Hebrews 7:12, which argues for an actual transfer of the priestly office to a new line — a structural gap, since varṇāśrama-dharma has no ready category for a hereditary office transferring between families or peoples.
Without Genealogy
Approved rendering: वंशरहितः
Transliteration: vaṃśarahitaḥ
Doctrine: Melchizedek’s Non-Genealogical Priesthood
Original: ἀγενεαλόγητος
Category: Priesthood
Directly undercuts varṇa-based, birth-inherited priestly access embedded in classical dharmaśāstra social theory. Must be made explicit in surrounding exposition for a readership trained to expect priesthood as strictly hereditary (Brahmin varṇa). Hebrews 7:3.
Offering Act
Approved rendering: अर्पणम्
Transliteration: arpaṇam
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: προσφορά
Category: Sacrifice
Descriptive complement to बलिः; must retain the same once-for-all qualification. Hebrews 10:10,14.
Once For All
Approved rendering: सकृदेव
Transliteration: sakṛdeva
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἐφάπαξ
Category: Sacrifice
The doctrinal fulcrum of Hebrews’ entire argument against repeatable Śrauta-style sacrifice, which requires exact re-performance per vidhi. Must be paired with every sacrificial reference to Christ’s own offering (Hebrews 7:27, 9:12, 10:10) and explicitly contrasted with πολλάκις/पुनः पुनः (‘repeatedly’).
Put Away Sin
Approved rendering: पापनिवारणम्
Transliteration: pāpanivāraṇam
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Rejected alternatives: प्रायश्चित्तम्
Original: ἀθέτησιν ἁμαρτίας
Category: Sacrifice
Ties directly to the atonement_propitiation entry; never प्रायश्चित्तम्. Hebrews 9:26.
Bearing Sins Of Many
Approved rendering: बहुजनानां पापभारं वहन् अर्पितः
Transliteration: bahujanānāṃ pāpabhāraṃ vahan arpitaḥ
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἀνενέγκας … ἁμαρτίας
Category: Sacrifice
Vicarious substitution has no single-lexeme Sanskrit equivalent, since Sanskrit sacrificial vocabulary encodes ritual efficacy transferred by correct performance of the rite, not another’s guilt transferred substitutionarily onto a victim. Requires the full descriptive phrase; must never be compressed to a shorter term under stylistic pressure. Hebrews 9:28, echoing Isaiah 53.
Altar
Approved rendering: वेदी
Transliteration: vedī
Doctrine: The Sacrifice of Praise and Christian Ethical Life
Original: θυσιαστήριον
Category: Sacrifice
वेदी is the actual technical term for the constructed Śrauta sacrificial altar, whose exact geometry is governed by the Śulba Sūtras; requires an explicit note distinguishing the believers’ altar (Hebrews 13:10) from a functioning ritual installation requiring construction, consecration, or repeated use.
Holy Place
Approved rendering: पवित्रस्थानम्
Transliteration: pavitrasthānam
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: τὰ ἅγια
Category: Sacrifice
Built on baseline’s पवित्रम्; carries the full existing caution against a purely ritual-mechanical purity reading — this is a place of God’s relational presence, now permanently accessible. Hebrews 9:12,24-25.
Conscience
Approved rendering: अन्तःकरणम्
Transliteration: antaḥkaraṇam
Doctrine: Purification of Conscience
Original: συνείδησις
Category: Anthropology
The nearest available Sanskrit term is itself a technical Sāṅkhya/Vedānta composite cognitive-faculty compound (manas + buddhi + ahaṃkāra), not inherently a guilt-bearing moral faculty. Requires explicit redefinition at first use as ‘the inner faculty of moral self-awareness cleansed of guilt.’ Structural conceptual gap; Hebrews 9:9,14; 10:2,22; 13:18.
Redemption
Approved rendering: उद्धारः
Transliteration: uddhāraḥ
Doctrine: Redemption and Eternal Inheritance
Rejected alternatives: विमोचनम्, मुक्तिः, मोक्षः
Original: λύτρωσις
Category: Salvation
NEVER मुक्ति/मोक्ष-family roots, which would collapse this into the fourth puruṣārtha exactly as baseline’s ‘salvation’ entry forbids. उद्धारः lacks a native ‘price-paid’ component and requires explicit supplementary teaching at first occurrence, parallel to त्राणम्’s established need for distinction from mokṣa. Hebrews 9:12.
Mediator
Approved rendering: मध्यस्थः
Transliteration: madhyasthaḥ
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: μεσίτης
Category: Christology
Shares its root with baseline’s मध्यस्थता (intercession); must be taught as the sole mediator, guarding against a guru or ṛṣi-intermediary framing. Hebrews 8:6, 9:15, 12:24.
Eternal
Approved rendering: नित्यम्
Transliteration: nityam
Doctrine: God’s/Christ’s Unchanging Eternal Nature
Rejected alternatives: सनातनम्
Original: αἰώνιος
Category: God
NEVER सनातनम् — the self-designation of Hinduism as a whole (‘Sanātana Dharma’); its use would invite a syncretistic ‘Christianity is a variant of the eternal dharma’ reading. नित्यम् is comparatively unencumbered but requires contextual anchoring to Christ’s finished, once-for-all work at every occurrence, especially at Hebrews 13:8’s poetically tempting restatement (‘the same yesterday, today, and forever’).
Inheritance
Approved rendering: अधिकारः
Transliteration: adhikāraḥ
Doctrine: Redemption and Eternal Inheritance
Rejected alternatives: दायः
Original: κληρονομία
Category: Salvation
NEVER दायः, the dharmaśāstra technical term for inheritance-partition among heirs (Dāyabhāga/Mitākṣarā literature), which carries partial-share rules incompatible with complete heirship. अधिकारः (‘right, claim, entitlement’) avoids the legal-partition apparatus. Hebrews 9:15, 1:14, 6:12.
Heir
Approved rendering: उत्तराधिकारी
Transliteration: uttarādhikārī
Doctrine: Redemption and Eternal Inheritance
Rejected alternatives: दायादः
Original: κληρονόμος
Category: Salvation
Companion term to inheritance; same दाय-avoidance rationale. Hebrews 1:2 (Christ appointed heir of all things), 6:17, 11:7,9.
Judgment
Approved rendering: विचारणा
Transliteration: vicāraṇā
Doctrine: Final Judgment: Once-for-All Death, Not Transmigration
Rejected alternatives: न्यायः
Original: κρίσις
Category: Eschatology
NEVER bare न्यायः, which names the entire Nyāya darśana (the school of logic and epistemology), not a generic judgment event. Hebrews 9:27, 10:27, 6:2.
End Of The Age
Approved rendering: कालान्तः
Transliteration: kālāntaḥ
Doctrine: Christ’s Promised Second Coming
Rejected alternatives: युगान्तः
Original: συντέλεια τῶν αἰώνων
Category: Eschatology
NEVER युगान्तः, the precise technical unit of Purāṇic cyclical time (kṛta/tretā/dvāpara/kali) within which avatāras periodically appear per Gītā 4.7-8. कालान्तः uses the more generic कालः, still requiring a note affirming linear, non-cyclical, unrepeatable historical fulfillment. Hebrews 9:26.
Rest
Approved rendering: विश्रामः
Transliteration: viśrāmaḥ
Doctrine: The Promised Rest of God
Rejected alternatives: समाधिः, निर्वाणम्
Original: κατάπαυσις
Category: Eschatology
NEVER समाधिः (Patañjali’s eighth aṣṭāṅga-yoga limb, a systematized meditative-absorption attainment reached through disciplined practice) or निर्वाणम्. विश्रामः is a plain, non-technical word conveying relational rest in God’s finished work, entered by faith, not a self-achieved meditative state. The now-inaugurated-but-not-yet-consummated structure of this rest has no ready Sanskrit soteriological analogue and must be taught explicitly each time. Hebrews 3:11,18; 4:1-11.
Word Of God
Approved rendering: वचनम्
Transliteration: vacanam
Doctrine: The Living and Active Word of God
Rejected alternatives: वाच्, वाणी
Original: λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Scripture
Deliberately renders ‘word’ with वचनम् rather than वाच्/वाणी. Baseline already rejects वाचा for ‘covenant’ because Vāc is a cosmic speech-principle in Ṛgvedic thought and Mīmāṃsā holds the Veda’s own sound-form to be eternal (śabda-brahman); this reasoning applies with even greater force to this doctrinally central phrase. Hebrews 4:12-13.
Throne Of Grace
Approved rendering: अनुग्रहसिंहासनम्
Transliteration: anugrahasiṃhāsanam
Doctrine: Grace
Original: θρόνος τῆς χάριτος
Category: Salvation
Compound built on baseline’s अनुग्रहः; inherits grace’s full existing risk profile against karmaphala/prasāda readings. Hebrews 4:16.
Enlightened
Approved rendering: प्रकाशितः
Transliteration: prakāśitaḥ
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Rejected alternatives: प्रबोधितः, बोधितः
Original: φωτισθέντες
Category: Sanctification
NEVER प्रबोधितः/बोधितः, which activates बोधि (bodhi), the specific technical term for Buddhist enlightenment/awakening (as in Buddha, ‘the Awakened One’). प्रकाशितः (‘illumined, given light’) avoids the bodhi-attainment apparatus while preserving the sense of having received divine light/understanding. Hebrews 6:4, 10:32.
Unbelief
Approved rendering: अविश्वासः
Transliteration: aviśvāsaḥ
Doctrine: Warning against Unbelief and Hardened Hearts
Original: ἀπιστία
Category: Faith
Direct negation of विश्वासः; inherits faith’s full High-risk status. Must be read as willful resistance to a personal God’s voice, not impersonal karmic conditioning (saṃskāra) accumulating without moral culpability. Hebrews 3:12,19.
Soul
Approved rendering: जीवः
Transliteration: jīvaḥ
Doctrine: The Anchor of Hope and Assurance of God’s Promise
Original: ψυχή
Category: Anthropology
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. जीवः, used strictly in its ordinary sense of ‘a person’s own life/being,’ is preferred as the lesser of two risks, with a note that no jīva-Brahman argument is intended. Hebrews 6:19, 10:39, 13:17.
Willful Sinning
Approved rendering: जानता कृतं पापम्
Transliteration: jānatā kṛtaṃ pāpam
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: ἑκουσίως ἁμαρτάνοντες
Category: Apostasy
Descriptive phrase rather than a single lexeme; no ready single Sanskrit word conveys ‘deliberate post-knowledge sin.’ Hebrews 10:26.
Consuming Fire
Approved rendering: भस्मकारी अग्निः
Transliteration: bhasmakārī agniḥ
Doctrine: The Holiness of God as a Consuming Fire
Original: πῦρ καταναλίσκον
Category: God
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). Predicating this of God (Hebrews 12:29, quoting Deuteronomy 4:24) requires deliberate grammatical framing as simile/predication (‘God is like an all-consuming fire’), never a naming construction that could be heard as identifying God with Agni-deva.
Shadow Copy
Approved rendering: छाया / प्रतिरूपम्
Transliteration: chāyā / pratirūpam
Doctrine: The Levitical Priesthood and Law Superseded
Original: σκιά / ὑπόδειγμα / ἀντίτυπον
Category: Covenant
छाया is denotationally ‘shadow, reflection,’ but Advaita Vedānta’s minor chāyāvāda sub-theory describes the individual soul (jīva) as a reflection (chāyā) of Brahman in the medium of ignorance/mind. Must carry a note that this is typological foreshadowing between two historical realities (old covenant anticipating new), not a metaphysical reflection-of-the-Absolute claim. Hebrews 8:5, 9:23-24, 10:1.
Assurance Hypostasis
Approved rendering: निश्चयः
Transliteration: niścayaḥ
Doctrine: The Nature of Faith: Conviction, Not a Formal Epistemic Warrant
Rejected alternatives: अधिष्ठानम्
Original: ὑπόστασις
Category: Faith
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. Distinct also from this same Greek word’s later Trinitarian ‘person’ sense, not active here. Hebrews 11:1, 3:14.
Conviction Evidence
Approved rendering: प्रत्ययः
Transliteration: pratyayaḥ
Doctrine: The Nature of Faith: Conviction, Not a Formal Epistemic Warrant
Rejected alternatives: प्रमाणम्
Original: ἔλεγχος
Category: Faith
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), which would invite classifying faith as a formal epistemic warrant within an existing pramāṇa taxonomy. Hebrews 11:1.
Medium Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: प्रेषितः
Transliteration: preṣitaḥ
Doctrine: Apostleship
Rejected alternatives: गुरुः, ऋषिः
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Uniquely applied to Jesus himself at Hebrews 3:1 (‘the apostle and high priest of our confession’).
Peace
Approved rendering: शान्तिः
Transliteration: śāntiḥ
Doctrine: Peace with God
Rejected alternatives: निर्वृत्तिः
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 12:14 (pursued alongside holiness) and 13:20 (‘the God of peace’).
Church
Approved rendering: मण्डली
Transliteration: maṇḍalī
Doctrine: Church as God’s People
Rejected alternatives: मन्दिरम्, मठः
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 2:12, 12:23; base term for the compound ‘assembly of the firstborn.‘
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: परमेश्वरस्य राज्यम्
Transliteration: parameśvarasya rājyam
Doctrine: Kingdom Mission
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Base term for Hebrews 12:28’s ‘unshakeable kingdom.‘
Intercession
Approved rendering: मध्यस्थता
Transliteration: madhyasthatā
Doctrine: Prayer and Intercession
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 7:25’s ‘he always lives to make intercession for them.‘
David
Approved rendering: दाविद्
Transliteration: dāvid
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 4:7 (‘as David said, Today…’).
Israel
Approved rendering: इस्राएलः
Transliteration: isrāelaḥ
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 8:8-10’s extended quotation of Jeremiah 31.
Moses
Approved rendering: मोशेः
Transliteration: mośeḥ
Doctrine: Superiority of Christ over Moses
Original: Μωϋσῆς
Category: Covenant
Established via the baseline AI requirements document’s transliteration standards table (Serampore precedent), not previously a standalone Romans translation_memory.json entry; formally added here given Hebrews 3:1-6’s sustained servant-versus-Son typology and further use in chs. 7, 8, 9, 11, 12. Care is needed so Moses is not elevated into a guru-figure within a superior teaching-lineage, which would blunt the servant/Son contrast the text draws.
Melchizedek
Approved rendering: मल्कीषेदक्
Transliteration: malkīṣedak
Doctrine: Melchizedek’s Non-Genealogical Priesthood
Original: Μελχισέδεκ
Category: Priesthood
Proper name, transliterated; theological weight is carried by ‘without genealogy,’ not the name itself. Hebrews 5:6,10; 6:20; 7:1-17.
Sacrifice Of Praise
Approved rendering: स्तुतिबलिः
Transliteration: stutibaliḥ
Doctrine: The Sacrifice of Praise and Christian Ethical Life
Original: θυσία αἰνέσεως
Category: Sacrifice
Built on बलिः; carries a lighter, explicitly metaphorical version of the sacrifice caution, since this is praise, not the atoning sacrifice of chs. 9-10. Hebrews 13:15.
Tabernacle
Approved rendering: पवित्रशिबिरम्
Transliteration: pavitraśibiram
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Rejected alternatives: मन्दिरम्
Original: σκηνή
Category: Sacrifice
Deliberately not मन्दिरम् (a fixed, image-centered temple, already rejected by baseline for ‘church’); preserves the mobile, provisional sense Hebrews contrasts with the permanent heavenly reality. Hebrews 8:2, 9:11.
Veil
Approved rendering: आवरणवस्त्रम्
Transliteration: āvaraṇavastram
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: καταπέτασμα
Category: Sacrifice
Plain descriptive compound; theological weight carried by the ‘torn veil’ access doctrine, not the term itself. Hebrews 6:19, 9:3, 10:20.
Mercy Seat
Approved rendering: दयापीठम्
Transliteration: dayāpīṭham
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ἱλαστήριον
Category: Sacrifice
Uses दया (compassion/mercy), not baseline’s अनुग्रह, to name this specific physical object distinctly from the doctrine of grace itself; minor residual risk of assimilation to Buddhist/Jain karuṇā-ethics vocabulary judged acceptable for this concrete object-naming function. Hebrews 9:5.
Blood
Approved rendering: रक्तम्
Transliteration: raktam
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: αἷμα
Category: Sacrifice
Denotationally neutral, but flagged collectively against Vedic paśubandha (animal sacrifice) and Tantric/Śākta blood-offering ritual (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 periodic repetition.
Sprinkling
Approved rendering: सेचनम्
Transliteration: secanam
Doctrine: Purification of Conscience
Original: ῥαντισμός / ῥαντίζω
Category: Sacrifice
Describes literal Old Testament ritual action only; must not be read as effecting the deeper conscience-purification Christ alone accomplishes. Hebrews 9:13,19,21; 10:22; 12:24.
Purification
Approved rendering: शुद्धिः
Transliteration: śuddhiḥ
Doctrine: Purification of Conscience
Original: καθαρότης
Category: Sanctification
The correct term precisely because Hebrews 9:13 describes what the Old Testament rites only accomplished (external, flesh-level purification); must not be confused with पवित्रीकरणम् (the Spirit’s ongoing sanctifying work).
Dead Works
Approved rendering: मृतकर्माणि
Transliteration: mṛtakarmāṇi
Doctrine: Purification of Conscience
Original: νεκρὰ ἔργα
Category: Sin
Must be carefully distinguished from any suggestion this refers to karma generally; ‘dead’ means spiritually futile, not karmically residual (karmāśaya). Hebrews 6:1, 9:14.
Founder Pioneer
Approved rendering: आदिनायकः
Transliteration: ādinayakaḥ
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Rejected alternatives: गुरुः
Original: ἀρχηγός
Category: Christology
Generic leadership compound; should not be rendered गुरुः, per baseline’s apostle-entry reasoning against guru-lineage import. Hebrews 2:10, 12:2.
Sabbath Rest
Approved rendering: शब्बत्-विश्रामः
Transliteration: śabbat-viśrāmaḥ
Doctrine: The Promised Rest of God
Original: σαββατισμός
Category: Eschatology
‘Sabbath’ transliterated per baseline’s अब्बा transliteration precedent rather than translated. Hebrews 4:9.
Shrinking Back
Approved rendering: पराङ्मुखता
Transliteration: parāṇmukhatā
Doctrine: The Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: ὑποστολή
Category: Apostasy
Plain descriptive compound. Hebrews 10:39.
Endurance
Approved rendering: सहिष्णुता
Transliteration: sahiṣṇutā
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: ὑπομονή
Category: Perseverance
Preferred as primary rendering over धृतिः (a secondary/poetic synonym carrying Yoga/Āyurveda guṇa-classification apparatus as a technical sattva-quality). Aware also that सहिष्णुता is the standard modern term for pluralistic religious ‘tolerance’ in contemporary Indian public discourse — a minor register note, not a doctrinal collision. Must be grounded explicitly in God’s unchanging faithfulness and Christ’s finished work, not accumulated merit or a favorable karmic balance. Hebrews 10:36, 12:1.
Discipline
Approved rendering: अनुशासनम्
Transliteration: anuśāsanam
Doctrine: Divine Discipline as an Expression of Fatherly Love
Original: παιδεία
Category: Perseverance
Generally neutral term for instruction/discipline; minor incidental resonance with the Mahābhārata’s didactic Anuśāsana Parvan, not a severe collision but worth noting for a classically-trained readership likely to recognize the allusion. Must remain tied explicitly to पिता as loving discipline, not impersonal karmic consequence. Hebrews 12:5-11.
Zion Heavenly Jerusalem
Approved rendering: सियोन्पर्वतः / स्वर्गीया यरूशालम्
Transliteration: siyonparvataḥ / svargīyā yarūśālam
Doctrine: The Heavenly Jerusalem and the Assembly of the Firstborn
Original: Σιών / Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἐπουράνιος
Category: Covenant
Proper names, transliterated; require explicit Old Testament/eschatological background explanation, since no equivalent classical Sanskrit concept of a heavenly covenant-city exists, paralleling baseline’s caution for ‘Israel’/‘David.’ Hebrews 12:22.
Assembly Of Firstborn
Approved rendering: प्रथमजानां मण्डली
Transliteration: prathamajānāṃ maṇḍalī
Doctrine: The Heavenly Jerusalem and the Assembly of the Firstborn
Original: ἐκκλησία πρωτοτόκων
Category: Church
Compound built directly on baseline’s मण्डली, with प्रथमजः added as a descriptive modifier. Hebrews 12:23.
Firstborn
Approved rendering: प्रथमजः
Transliteration: prathamajaḥ
Doctrine: Deity and Sonship of Christ
Original: πρωτότοκος
Category: Christology
Plain descriptive term; must not be read as implying Christ is merely the eldest of many divine siblings rather than uniquely, eternally begotten. Hebrews 1:6, 12:23.
Unshakeable Kingdom
Approved rendering: अकम्पनीयं राज्यम्
Transliteration: akampanīyaṃ rājyam
Doctrine: The Unshakeable Kingdom
Original: βασιλεία ἀσάλευτος
Category: Kingdom
Built on baseline’s राज्यम्; inherits kingdom_of_god’s existing risk profile. Distinguish from a political kingdom or a cyclically-restored dharma-kingdom associated with periodic avatāra appearances (Gītā 4:7-8). Hebrews 12:28.
Ratified Inaugurated
Approved rendering: प्रतिष्ठापिता
Transliteration: pratiṣṭhāpitā
Doctrine: The New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ἐγκεκαίνισται
Category: Covenant
प्रतिष्ठा is also the standard term for the ritual installation/consecration of a temple image (mūrti-pratiṣṭhā); a manageable resonance here since covenant-ratification-by-blood is structurally comparable to a solemn consecrating act, but image-installation itself must not be implied. Hebrews 9:18.
Confidence Boldness
Approved rendering: प्रगल्भता
Transliteration: pragalbhatā
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: παρρησία
Category: Faith
A classical rhetorical-debate term for boldness of speech; must be taught as confidence grounded in Christ’s finished work, not self-generated fearlessness earned by argumentative or ascetic skill. Hebrews 4:16, 10:19,35.
Forgiveness
Approved rendering: क्षमा
Transliteration: kṣamā
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: ἄφεσις
Category: Sin
Plain, non-technical word for pardon; distinct from baseline’s rejection of क्षमा only as insufficient for the forensic act of justification — it is the correct, simple word for forgiveness of sins as such here. Hebrews 9:22, 10:18.
Low Risk Terms
Fellowship
Approved rendering: सहभागिता
Transliteration: sahabhāgitā
Doctrine: Christian Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: सत्सङ्गः
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 2:14’s believers’ shared partaking of flesh and blood with Christ.
Prophet
Approved rendering: भविष्यद्वक्ता
Transliteration: bhaviṣyadvaktā
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: ऋषिः
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 1:1’s ‘God spoke by the prophets.‘
Prophecy
Approved rendering: भविष्यवाणी
Transliteration: bhaviṣyavāṇī
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged.
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: धन्यवादः
Transliteration: dhanyavādaḥ
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 12:28’s ‘let us be thankful/grateful.‘
Exhort
Approved rendering: उत्तेजनम्
Transliteration: uttejanam
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package, unchanged. Hebrews 3:13, 10:25’s ‘exhorting one another daily.‘
Abraham
Approved rendering: अब्राहामः
Transliteration: abrāhāmaḥ
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: Ἀβραάμ
Category: Faith
Established via the baseline transliteration standards table; formally added here given Hebrews 6:13, 7:1-10, 11:8-19’s extended treatment as a primary exemplar of faith.
Shedding Of Blood
Approved rendering: रक्तपातः
Transliteration: raktapātaḥ
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: αἱματεκχυσία
Category: Sacrifice
Standard compound; theological weight carried by context (a necessary, once-for-all shedding, not repeated ritual bloodletting). Hebrews 9:22.
Hyssop
Approved rendering: हिसोपः
Transliteration: hisopaḥ
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: ὕσσωπος
Category: Sacrifice
No native Sanskrit botanical equivalent for this Levant plant; transliterated as a proper-noun-style borrowing, per standard biblical-flora practice. Hebrews 9:19.
Vessels Of Worship
Approved rendering: सेवापात्राणि
Transliteration: sevāpātrāṇi
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: σκεύη τῆς λειτουργίας
Category: Sacrifice
Plain descriptive compound. Hebrews 9:21.
Tithe
Approved rendering: दशांशः
Transliteration: daśāṃśaḥ
Doctrine: Melchizedek’s Non-Genealogical Priesthood
Original: δεκάτη
Category: Priesthood
The tenth-part offering Abraham gave to Melchizedek; plain descriptive compound. Hebrews 7:2-9.
Strangers Exiles
Approved rendering: प्रवासिनः विदेशिनः च
Transliteration: pravāsinaḥ videśinaḥ ca
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ξένοι καὶ παρεπίδημοι
Category: Faith
Plain descriptive compound. Hebrews 11:13.
Better Country
Approved rendering: उत्तमं / स्वर्गीयं नगरम्
Transliteration: uttamaṃ / svargīyaṃ nagaram
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: κρείττων πατρίς / πόλις
Category: Eschatology
Plain descriptive compound. Hebrews 11:14-16.
Cloud Of Witnesses
Approved rendering: साक्षिणां मेघः
Transliteration: sākṣiṇāṃ meghaḥ
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: νέφος μαρτύρων
Category: Faith
Plain descriptive compound. Hebrews 12:1.
Brotherly Love
Approved rendering: भ्रातृप्रेम
Transliteration: bhrātṛprema
Doctrine: The Sacrifice of Praise and Christian Ethical Life
Original: φιλαδελφία
Category: Ethics
Plain descriptive compound. Hebrews 13:1.
Hospitality
Approved rendering: अतिथिसेवा
Transliteration: atitheṣevā
Doctrine: The Sacrifice of Praise and Christian Ethical Life
Original: φιλοξενία
Category: Ethics
Plain descriptive compound; ‘some have entertained angels unaware.’ Hebrews 13:2.
Old Testament Saints Proper Names
Approved rendering: हाबिल्, हनोक्, नोहः, सारा, इसहाक्, याकोब्, योसेफ्, राहाब्, गिदोन्, शिम्शोन्, शमूएल्
Transliteration: hābil, hanok, nohaḥ, sārā, isahāk, yākob, yosef, rāhāb, gidon, śimśon, śamūel
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: Ἄβελ, Ἑνώχ, Νῶε, Σάρρα, Ἰσαάκ, Ἰακώβ, Ἰωσήφ, Ῥαάβ, Γεδεών, Σαμψών, Σαμουήλ
Category: Proper Names
Old Testament figures commended for faith in Hebrews 11: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Rahab, Gideon, Samson, Samuel. Transliterated consistent with the established Serampore-tradition practice; theological weight lies in the surrounding faith-narrative, not the names themselves.
Low-Medium Risk Terms
To Appear Manifest
Approved rendering: प्रत्यक्षीभवनम्
Transliteration: pratyakṣībhavanam
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ἐμφανισθῆναι
Category: Christology
प्रत्यक्ष is Nyāya’s term for direct sense-perception (the first pramāṇa), but used here as a plain verb of appearing, not an epistemological claim; risk is lowered by its verbal, not nominal-technical, usage. Hebrews 9:24.
Oath
Approved rendering: शपथः
Transliteration: śapathaḥ
Doctrine: Melchizedek’s Non-Genealogical Priesthood
Original: ὅρκος
Category: Covenant
God’s sworn oath guaranteeing his promise; plain non-technical term, developed further in the Melchizedek priesthood discussion. Hebrews 6:13-17, 7:20-21.
Hope
Approved rendering: आशा
Transliteration: āśā
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ἐλπίς
Category: Faith
Confident expectation grounded in God’s promise; plain word for hope/expectation, should not be confused with generic desire. Hebrews 6:11,18-19; 7:19; 10:23; 11:1.
Confession
Approved rendering: स्वीकारः / अङ्गीकारः
Transliteration: svīkāraḥ / aṅgīkāraḥ
Doctrine: Faith
Original: ὁμολογία
Category: Faith
The believer’s confessed hope, to be held fast without wavering; plain descriptive term, no major competing technical sense. Hebrews 3:1, 4:14, 10:23.
Referenced passages