Core Glossary — Mark 1–16 (English → Somali)

This glossary consolidates every load-bearing theological term identified in 07_semantic_analysis.md, covering the entire Gospel of Mark, chapter 1 through 16. Terms already fixed in the baseline Romans translation_memory.json are marked [BASELINE REUSE] and their recorded Somali rendering is used exactly, without modification. New terms required by Mark’s distinct content are proposed here for addition to the Language Package’s term registry, with risk tier and rationale, pending Phase 1 Step review and theologian sign-off before Phase 2 translation begins.

Risk tiers follow the baseline’s doctrine_risk_registry.json definitions exactly: Critical (essential doctrine at stake, human theologian review required for every occurrence), High (significant confusion/syncretism risk, human theologian review required), Medium (clarity reduced but meaning preserved, native speaker review recommended), Low (minor imprecision risk, automated review sufficient).

Section A — Baseline Terms Reused Exactly (No Modification)

English Term	Somali Rendering	Risk	Doctrine Link (Mark)	Key Mark Chapters
gospel	Injiilka	High	Jesus as Suffering Servant and Son of God; Kingdom Breaking In	1, 8, 10, 13, 14
Christ / Messiah	Masiixa	Critical	Jesus as Suffering Servant and Son of God; Messianic Secret	1, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15
Son of God	Wiilka Ilaah	Critical	Jesus as Suffering Servant and Son of God	1, 3, 5, 15
faith	Iimaan	High	Faith and Discipleship amid Fear	2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11
Lord	Rabbiga	Critical	Jesus as Son of God; Kingdom of God	1, 2, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13
kingdom of God	Boqortooyada Ilaah	High (elevated from baseline Medium for this curriculum)	The Kingdom of God Breaking In	1, 4, 9, 10, 12, 14
sin	Dembi	High	Jesus’ Authority over Sin	1, 2, 3, 14
Holy Spirit	Ruuxa Quduuska ah	Critical	Jesus’ Authority; Blasphemy against the Spirit	1, 3, 12, 13
God	Ilaah	Critical	All doctrines	Throughout
Jesus	Ciise (always paired: Ciise Masiixa in doctrinal content)	Critical	All doctrines	Throughout
Father	Aabbe	Critical	Jesus as Son of God; Gethsemane	8, 11, 13, 14
Abba	Abbaa	Medium	Gethsemane prayer	14
glory	Ammaan	High	Son of Man’s coming glory; Transfiguration	8, 9, 10, 13
prophet	Nabi	High	Fulfillment of Prophecy background	1, 6, 8, 9, 11
law (Mosaic)	Qaanuunka Muuse	High	Authority over the Law	1, 2, 7, 10, 12
salvation / saved	Badbaado	Critical	Authority over Sickness (5:34 wordplay); Rich young man (10:26)	3, 5, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16
resurrection	Sarakicidda	Critical	Necessity of the Cross; empty tomb	6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16
apostle	Diray	Medium	The Twelve sent out	3, 6
called	Loo yeedhay	High	Calling of disciples	1, 2, 3
David	Daa’uud	Medium	Davidic Covenant background	2, 10, 11, 12
Israel	Israa’iil	Medium	Trial narrative context	12, 15
covenant	Axdiga	Medium (elevated to Critical when compounded as “blood of the covenant”)	Last Supper	14
peace	Nabadda	Medium	General discipleship context	4, 5, 9
thanksgiving	Mahadnaqid	Low	Widow’s offering resonance	8, 14
power of God	Awoodda Ilaah	High	Authority over Sickness, Sin, Nature	5, 9, 12, 13
seed of David	Farcanka Daa’uud	Medium	Distinguished from “Son of David” direct address (see Section B)	(background only; not a direct Mark occurrence — retained for contrast)

Section B — New Terms Proposed for This Curriculum (Full Detail)

#	English Term	Original (Greek)	Transliteration	Proposed Somali Rendering	Risk	Primary Doctrine	Key Chapters	Rationale / Rejected Alternatives
1	Son of Man	ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου	ho huios tou anthrōpou	Wiilka Aadanaha	Critical	Jesus as Suffering Servant and Son of God; Messianic Secret	2, 8, 9, 10, 13, 14	Rejected: bare ina Aadan (common Somali/Arabic idiom for “a human being”), which would flatten the exalted Daniel 7:13-14 apocalyptic-authority sense into generic humanity. Must always be taught with Daniel background at first occurrence; never presented as in tension with, but as complementary to, Wiilka Ilaah.
2	ransom	λύτρον	lytron	Madax-furasho	Critical	The Ransom for Many	10 (10:45)	Chosen because it is the live, well-known contemporary Somali term for a payment to release a captive (cf. piracy-hostage usage), giving strong cultural resonance. Rejected: bare furasho (ambiguous with divorce/release terminology in other contexts). Must be taught alongside explicit caution that God is not a hostile captor but the willing provider of the ransom.
3	in place of / for many	ἀντὶ πολλῶν	anti pollōn	beddelka dad badan	High	The Ransom for Many; must not contradict Universal Scope of Gospel (baseline)	10 (10:45), 14 (14:24)	Preserves the substitutionary force of anti (not a weaker “on behalf of”). “Many” must be taught as expansive (echoing Isaiah 52:15’s “many nations”), not numerically restrictive, to avoid contradicting the baseline’s High-risk universal_scope_of_gospel doctrine.
4	cup (of suffering)	τὸ ποτήριον	to potērion	Koobka	High	Necessity of the Cross	10 (10:38-39), 14 (14:36)	Ordinary word for a literal cup; carries no inherent theological weight in Somali, so the OT wrath/suffering background (Ps 75:8; Isa 51:17) must be explicitly taught at first occurrence or the metaphor will be missed entirely.
5	to serve / servant	διάκονος / διακονέω	diakonos / diakoneō	Adeeg (noun) / adeegid (verb)	High	Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness	9 (9:35), 10 (10:43,45)	Register must stay distinct from casual/menial labor vocabulary; the paradox (greatness = becoming adeeg) must be preserved, not smoothed into a generic “helpfulness” reading.
6	slave / bondservant	δοῦλος	doulos	Addoon	High	Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness	10 (10:44)	Deliberately the strongest available Somali term for total, servile self-abasement, escalating rhetorically from Adeeg (v.43); must not be softened toward a gentler “helper” term, which would blunt the deliberate escalation. Note: this word already appears in the baseline as part of a rejected phrase for Son of God (“addoonka jecel ee Ilaah”) — confirms its strength and appropriateness here, where full servile force is exactly the intended sense.
7	baptize / baptism (incl. metaphorical)	βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα	baptizō / baptisma	Baabtiis	High	Kingdom Breaking In (John’s baptism); Necessity of the Cross (metaphorical, 10:38-39)	1, 10, 11	Must be explicitly disambiguated across (a) John’s repentance rite, (b) later Christian water baptism, (c) the metaphorical “baptism” of suffering/death in 10:38-39 — three distinct senses using one Somali word.
8	repent / repentance	μετανοέω / μετάνοια	metanoeō / metanoia	Toobadkeen	High	Kingdom Breaking In	1, 6	Parallel risk to baseline’s grace caution: Islamic tawba operates within a deeds-and-mercy framework; must be taught as the doorway into a grace-secured relationship, not a merit-earning act contributing to standing before God.
9	unclean spirit / demon	πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον / δαιμόνιον	pneuma akatharton / daimonion	Ruux wasakh ah	Critical	Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature	1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9	Rejected: Jinni (the standard Somali/Islamic term), which would import an entire pre-existing folk-Islamic cosmology (jinn possession, wadaad/sheekh-performed exorcism remedies, protective amulets) not intended by Mark’s text and risking a syncretistic reading of Jesus’ exorcisms as one more instance of a familiar category.
10	leprosy / leper	λέπρα / λεπρός	lepra / lepros	Baras	Medium	Authority over Sickness	1	Standard Somali term for the condition; mainly requires explanatory teaching on the Mosaic ritual-exclusion background, unfamiliar without OT context.
11	authority	ἐξουσία	exousia	Awood	High	Jesus’ Authority over Sickness, Sin, and Nature	1, 2, 3, 11	Distinguished from xoog (raw force, already a rejected baseline alternative for power_of_god); every occurrence describing Jesus’ own authority is a cumulative claim to divine prerogative and must be flagged accordingly. Distinguish from its negative use (domineering rule) in 10:42, see #21 below.
12	Sabbath	σάββατον	sabbaton	Sabti	Medium	Authority over the Law	2	Existing Somali word for “Saturday,” used per established Somali Bible convention; theological point (Jesus’ lordship over, not mere reinterpretation of, Sabbath law) needs explicit teaching.
13	blasphemy against the Holy Spirit	βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον	blasphēmia eis to Pneuma to Hagion	Caayidda Ruuxa Quduuska ah	High	Jesus’ Authority; the unforgivable sin	3	Must be taught precisely (willful, informed rejection of the Spirit’s clear testimony), not generalized to “any serious sin”; reinforces baseline’s insistence that the Spirit is God himself, not the archangel Jibriil.
14	Satan / Beelzebul	Σατανᾶς / Βεελζεβούλ	Satanas / Beelzeboul	Shaydaanka / Bacal-sebuul (transliterated proper name)	Low-Medium	Jesus’ Authority over Sin	1, 3, 4, 8	Genuine resonance with shared Somali/Islamic tempter-figure vocabulary; must not be conflated with the jinni category (see #9).
15	parable	παραβολή	parabolē	Masaal	Medium	The Messianic Secret; Kingdom Breaking In	4, 12	Positive cultural bridge to the Somali maahmaah proverb tradition, but Jesus’ parables’ specific veiling function (4:11-12) must be taught explicitly, since Somali proverbs typically illuminate rather than conceal.
16	mystery / secret of the kingdom	μυστήριον	mystērion	Qarsoodiga Boqortooyada Ilaah	Medium-High	The Messianic Secret	4	Must not be taught as Gnostic-style elite esoteric knowledge; it is gracious revelation given to those who respond in faith.
17	ritually clean / unclean	καθαρός / κοινός	katharos / koinos	Nadiif / Wasakh	High	Authority over Sin (heart vs. externals)	7	Reuses the baseline’s holy entry distinction (nadiif = ritual/physical cleanliness, distinct from Quduus, moral holiness). Rejected: xalaal/xaraam, which would map this passage directly onto Islamic dietary law categories and obscure Jesus’ actual point (internal moral condition over external food rules).
18	tradition of the elders	παράδοσις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων	paradosis tōn presbyterōn	Dhaqanka Odayaasha	Medium	Authority over the Law	7	Resonant with Somali xeer (elder-maintained customary law) as a teaching bridge; must not be taught as a wholesale disparagement of Somali xeer itself — the critique is of tradition displacing God’s word, not of tradition or elder authority as such.
19	Son of David (direct address)	υἱὲ Δαυίδ	huie Dauid	Wiilka Daa’uud	Medium	Davidic Covenant (baseline High)	10, 12	Distinguished from the baseline’s seed_of_david (Farcanka Daa’uud), which denotes physical lineage; this is a direct messianic-royal address/acclamation, a related but distinct grammatical category.
20	cross / crucify	σταυρός / σταυρόω	stauros / stauroō	Iskutallaabta (noun) / Iskutallaabta ku qodbid (verb, “to nail to the cross”)	Critical	The Necessity of the Cross	8, 10, 15	Established Somali Bible term; must be taught as a real, historical, violent execution — never softened toward symbol-only — directly confronting the baseline’s Critical-tier concern (Qur’an 4:157’s denial of Jesus’ death) that likewise underlies the resurrection entry.
21	to lord it over (negative)	κατακυριεύω / κατεξουσιάζω	katakyrieuō / katexousiazō	u taliyid si xun (“to rule over harshly”)	Medium-High	Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness	10 (10:42)	Deliberately distinguished from the positive, exclusive Lordship of Christ (Rabbiga, baseline Critical) and from Jesus’ own positive exousia (#11); the passage’s force depends on this contrast remaining lexically clear.
22	deny oneself	ἀπαρνέομαι ἑαυτόν	aparneomai heauton	is-diidid	Medium	Faith and Discipleship amid Fear	8	Must be taught as glad self-giving modeled on Christ’s own self-giving (paralleling doulos, #6), not joyless asceticism; distinguish from Sufi ascetic self-mortification per the baseline’s separate caution under separation_unto_gods_service.
23	life / soul	ψυχή	psychē	Naf	High	The Ransom for Many; Faith and Discipleship amid Fear	3 (implied), 8, 10, 12	Carries extensive technical usage in Islamic/Sufi anthropology (an-nafs); must be taught as the whole embodied self given up in real death, not a dualistic “soul escapes body” reading that would undercut bodily death/resurrection doctrine.
24	transfiguration	μετεμορφώθη	metemorphōthē	Isbeddelka muuqadda (descriptive: wejigiisu wuu beddelmay oo dhalaalay)	Critical	Jesus as Son of God	9	Forms, with the baptism (1:11) and trial confession (14:61-62) and centurion’s declaration (15:39), the backbone of Mark’s Son of God Christology; must not be reduced to a mere vision or symbolic experience.
25	Gehenna / unquenchable fire	γέεννα / τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἄσβεστον	geenna / to pyr to asbeston	dabka aan bakhtiyi doonin (descriptive default); Jaxiimo/Jahannam only as a flagged explanatory gloss	Medium-High	Authority over Sin (final judgment)	9	Rejected as primary rendering: bare Jaxiimo, which would import the full furnishing of Islamic eschatology (specific levels/torments) beyond Mark’s spare warning language.
26	abomination of desolation	βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως	bdelygma tēs erēmōseōs	Karaahiyada Baabi’inta	High	Kingdom Breaking In (apocalyptic dimension)	13	Requires substantial explanatory teaching (Daniel background, first-century referent) to prevent speculative or sensationalized end-times readings disconnected from the text.
27	watch / be alert	γρηγορέω	grēgoreō	feejignaanta / soo jeeda	Medium	Faith and Discipleship amid Fear	13	Steadfast readiness, distinguished from both presumption and fear-driven speculation about timing.
28	Passover	πάσχα	pascha	Iidda Kormaridda	Medium	The Ransom for Many (typology)	14	Requires OT exodus background teaching to appreciate Jesus as Passover fulfillment, per general low OT narrative literacy noted in the baseline.
29	blood of the covenant	τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης	to haima mou tēs diathēkēs	Dhiigga Axdiga	Critical	The Ransom for Many	14	Compounds the baseline’s Axdiga (covenant, Medium) with atoning-blood content, elevating risk to Critical; directly restates 10:45’s substitutionary “for many” logic. No equivalent atoning covenant-blood category exists in Islamic theology; requires full explicit teaching.
30	betray / deliver up	παραδίδωμι	paradidōmi	la gacangeliyay	Medium-High	The Necessity of the Cross	3, 9, 10, 14	Holds human treachery (Judas) and divine sovereign purpose (“as it is written of him,” 14:21) together without resolving the tension; requires careful, non-flattening teaching.
31	”I am” (self-declaration)	ἐγώ εἰμι	egō eimi	Waxaan ahay	Critical	Jesus as Son of God; The Messianic Secret	14 (14:62)	The climactic unveiling of the Messianic Secret; must be rendered plainly and without qualification, paralleling the baseline’s treatment of “Ciise waa Rabbiga” (Romans 10:9). Possible echo of Exodus 3:14 may be noted cautiously in teaching material, not asserted as settled.
32	centurion’s confession (Son of God)	υἱὸς θεοῦ (anarthrous)	huios theou	Wiilkii Ilaah (extending baseline Wiilka Ilaah)	Critical	Jesus as Son of God	15 (15:39)	The Greek is grammatically anarthrous, a genuine point of scholarly discussion (possible pagan-centurion “a son of a god” sense vs. Mark’s narratorial full-truth irony); this Language Package recommends the full definite phrase for doctrinal consistency but flags the choice for mandatory human theologian confirmation rather than treating it as automatically settled.
33	house of prayer for all nations	οἶκος προσευχῆς πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν	oikos proseuchēs pasin tois ethnesin	Guriga Tukashada ee Quruumaha oo Dhan	Medium-High	Kingdom Breaking In; echoes baseline Universal Scope of Gospel (High)	11	Direct thematic echo of Romans’ Jew/Gentile universality argument; recommend same review routing as that baseline doctrine.
34	greatest commandment: love	ἀγαπήσεις	agapēseis	Jacayl	Medium	(supports) Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness	12	Plain, shared vocabulary (common ground with Islamic ethics of love for God/neighbor), but doctrinal weight is High: must be taught as fruit of grace-secured relationship (echoing baseline’s obedience_of_faith), not an independent path to standing before God.
35	”dogs” / Gentile inclusion imagery	κυνάρια	kynaria	eeyo yaryar	Medium	(anticipates) Unity of Jews and Gentiles (baseline High)	7	Mildly derogatory in the source text itself, reflecting a real boundary Jesus is shown crossing, not endorsing; teaching must make the inclusive trajectory explicit.
36	Legion (demon name)	Λεγιών	Legiōn	Liijaan (transliterated proper name)	Low	Authority over Sin/Nature (contextual color)	5	Evokes Roman occupying military power; literary/historical note, minimal translation risk.
37	Talitha koum	Ταλιθὰ κούμ	Talitha koum	Talita quum (retained + Mark’s own supplied translation)	Low	Authority over Sickness	5	Follow Mark’s own bilingual structure exactly, as with Abba (baseline) and Eloi Eloi (below).
38	Eloi Eloi, lema sabachthani	Ἐλωΐ Ἐλωΐ, λεμὰ σαβαχθανι	Elōi Elōi, lema sabachthani	Elohi, Elohi, lema sabaqthani (retained + Mark’s own supplied translation)	High	The Necessity of the Cross	15	Cry of dereliction; must not be smoothed over or interpretively softened in the translation itself; interpretive comment belongs only in surrounding teaching notes.
39	temple curtain/veil	τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ	to katapetasma tou naou	Daaha Macbudka	Medium-High	The Necessity of the Cross (access to God opened)	15	Requires explanatory teaching on temple layout/function, unfamiliar background for most readers.
40	King of the Jews	Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων	Basileus tōn Ioudaiōn	Boqorka Yuhuudda	Medium	The Messianic Secret (ironic proclamation through mockery)	15	Historically accurate narrative title; pastoral framing should account for baseline’s caution on contemporary geopolitical sensitivity around “the Jews”/Israel.
41	Hosanna	Ὡσαννά	Hōsanna	Hoosanna	Low	Kingdom Breaking In (triumphal entry)	11	Transliterated liturgical acclamation, per established convention for Amen/Hallelujah.

Section C — Chapters Confirmed Reviewed with No New Terms Beyond Sections A/B

Every chapter of Mark has been analyzed above in 07_semantic_analysis.md. No chapter of Mark 1–16 was found to introduce zero load-bearing theological content; even narrative-heavy chapters (e.g., ch. 6’s feeding/sea-crossing miracles, ch. 8’s second feeding) were confirmed to extend existing terms (exousia/Awood, sōtēria/Badbaado wordplay) rather than remain silent, and are noted as such rather than omitted. This satisfies full-book coverage: every chapter first to last has been explicitly reviewed and accounted for, either through new-term introduction or explicit confirmation of established-term reuse.

Section D — Cross-Reference Notes for Phase 2 Consistency

• Wiilka Aadanaha (Son of Man) and Wiilka Ilaah (Son of God, baseline) must never be used interchangeably or presented as competing titles; Mark holds both simultaneously as the doctrinal center of the curriculum.
• Madax-furasho (ransom, 10:45) and Dhiigga Axdiga (blood of the covenant, 14:24) must be cross-referenced in teaching notes as two expressions of the same atoning-death doctrine, both restating “for many” (beddelka dad badan).
• Koobka (cup, 10:38) must be tracked consistently through to its non-metaphorical reappearance at Gethsemane (14:36).
• Adeeg (servant, 9:35, 10:43) and Addoon (slave, 10:44) must retain their deliberate escalation in register across both occurrences; translators must not collapse them into a single undifferentiated “servant” term.
• Ruux wasakh ah (unclean spirit) must be used consistently across every exorcism narrative (chapters 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9); Jinni must never be substituted.
• All Aramaic/Hebrew transliterated exclamations retained untranslated in the Greek text (Talitha koum, Eloi Eloi lema sabachthani, Hosanna, Abba) must retain the same bilingual in-text structure in Somali that Mark’s own text uses, per the baseline’s precedent for Abba in Romans 8:15.

This glossary extends, and does not contradict, the baseline Romans translation_memory.json and bible_term_registry.json. All Section B entries are proposed additions pending formal registry incorporation in the next pipeline step.

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Critical Risk Terms

Lord

Approved rendering: Rabbiga
Transliteration: RAHB-bee-gah
Doctrine: The Lordship of Christ in Mark
Rejected alternatives: sayidka (master/boss, non-divine)
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology

Established Somali Bible term for exclusive, supreme lordship. Culminates in Mark at the trial’s citation of Psalm 110:1 (12:36-37; 14:62). Must never be confused with the negative, domineering ‘lord it over’ pattern Jesus rejects for his disciples (10:42, u taliyid si xun). Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum. Relevant chapters: 1, 2, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13.

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Holy Spirit

Approved rendering: Ruuxa Quduuska ah
Transliteration: ROO-khah koo-DOOS-kah ah
Doctrine: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: Jibriil (the archangel Gabriel)
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God

Must be taught explicitly as God himself, the third divine Person, not the archangel Jibriil, the referent Islamic commentary often gives to the corresponding Arabic phrase. Active at Jesus’ baptism (1:8,10) and the subject of the unforgivable-sin warning (3:28-30). Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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God

Approved rendering: Ilaah
Transliteration: ee-LAHH
Doctrine: All Mark doctrines
Rejected alternatives: Eebe (devotional/invocational register), Alle (direct Arabic loan)
Original: θεός
Category: God

The settled Somali Bible-translation term, used across the whole Gospel. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Jesus

Approved rendering: Ciise
Transliteration: SEE-say
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: bare ‘Nabi Ciise’ (Prophet Jesus, without Masiixa)
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology

Must be consistently paired with Masiixa (Ciise Masiixa) in doctrinally significant references throughout Mark to prevent drift toward the bare Qur’anic prophet-Jesus referent. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Father

Approved rendering: Aabbe
Transliteration: AH-beh
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Abuure (Creator, as a substitute avoiding relational language)
Original: πατήρ
Category: God

Teach the relational, non-biological sense directly given Somali abtirsiimo lineage consciousness. Invoked by Jesus at Gethsemane (14:36) and in the Son of Man’s coming glory (8:38). Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Salvation

Approved rendering: Badbaado
Transliteration: bahd-BAH-doh
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness and Nature
Rejected alternatives: jannada gelid (entering paradise, as the whole content)
Original: σωτηρία / σῴζω
Category: Salvation

A present reality secured by Christ, not a synonym for hoping to enter jannada. In Mark used both of eternal salvation (8:35; 10:26; 13:13) and, via deliberate wordplay, of physical healing (5:34, sesōken, ‘has made you well’); this wordplay link to Badbaado must never be severed in translation. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Resurrection

Approved rendering: Sarakicidda
Transliteration: sah-rah-kee-CID-dah
Doctrine: The Resurrection of Christ in Mark
Rejected alternatives: kor loo qaaday (being raised up without dying)
Original: ἀνάστασις / ἐγείρω
Category: Eschatology

Must affirm a real bodily death (ch.15) followed by a real bodily resurrection (16:1-8) — the two together forming the complete claim contradicting Qur’an 4:157’s denial of Jesus’ death. Predicted repeatedly (8:31; 9:9,31; 10:34). Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Messiah

Approved rendering: Masiixa
Transliteration: mah-SEE-khah
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ / The Messianic Secret
Rejected alternatives: nabi kaliya (merely a prophet)

Must always carry its full Davidic-covenant, atoning-savior content; the Qur’an grants Ciise the al-Masih title but empties it of this content. Central to Peter’s confession (8:29) and the trial’s central question (14:61). Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Son Of God

Approved rendering: Wiilka Ilaah
Transliteration: WEEL-kah ee-LAHH
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: addoonka jecel ee Ilaah (God’s beloved servant)
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology

Full phrase required, never softened to a servant euphemism. Declared at the baptism (1:1,11), by demons (3:11; 5:7), at the Transfiguration (9:7), and at the trial (14:61). Must never be used interchangeably with Wiilka Aadanaha (Son of Man, below); Mark holds both simultaneously. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Son Of Man

Approved rendering: Wiilka Aadanaha
Transliteration: WEEL-kah ah-dah-NAH-hah
Doctrine: The Son of Man Title
Rejected alternatives: ina Aadan (common Somali/Arabic idiom for ‘a mere human being’, which flattens the Daniel 7:13-14 exalted-authority sense into generic humanity)
Original: ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου
Category: Christology

Jesus’ most frequent self-designation (2:10,28; 8:31,38; 9:9,12,31; 10:33,45; 13:26; 14:21,41,62), holding together genuine humanity and the exalted, dominion-receiving apocalyptic figure of Daniel 7:13-14. Formal construction deliberately echoes Wiilka Ilaah to signal a specific title, not a generic idiom. Must be explicitly distinguished from, yet taught as complementary to, Wiilka Ilaah; every first occurrence per lesson requires a Daniel 7:13-14 teaching note. Central to the core passage, Mark 10:45.

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Ransom

Approved rendering: Madax-furasho
Transliteration: MAH-dahks foo-RAH-shoh
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: bare furasho (ambiguous with divorce/release terminology in other Somali contexts)
Original: λύτρον
Category: Salvation

The live, well-known contemporary Somali term for a payment to release a captive (e.g. piracy-hostage usage), giving strong cultural resonance — but this bridge is itself the doctrine’s greatest risk: the analogy must never be pressed so literally that God the Father is heard as a hostile captor to whom a payment is owed, rather than the one who himself provides the ransom out of love. The compound must always be used intact. Core passage term, Mark 10:45; restated at 14:24.

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Unclean Spirit

Approved rendering: Ruux wasakh ah
Transliteration: ROOKH wah-SAHKH ah
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Unclean Spirits
Rejected alternatives: Jinni (the standard Somali/Islamic term, which would import an entire pre-existing folk-Islamic cosmology of jinn possession, wadaad/sheekh-performed exorcism, and protective amulets)
Original: πνεῦμα ἀκάθαρτον / δαιμόνιον
Category: Spiritual Warfare

Must be used consistently across every exorcism narrative (1:23-27; 3:22-27; 5:1-20; 6:7; 7:24-30; 9:14-29); Jinni must never be substituted, or readers will read Jesus’ exorcisms as one more instance of a familiar folk category rather than a unique demonstration of the in-breaking kingdom’s authority over Satan’s realm.

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Cross Crucify

Approved rendering: Iskutallaabta
Transliteration: is-koo-tah-LAHB-tah
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: symbolic-only or non-lethal readings of the crucifixion
Original: σταυρός / σταυρόω
Category: Christology

Established Somali Bible term. Must be taught as a real, historical, violent Roman execution — never softened toward symbol-only — directly confronting Qur’an 4:157’s denial of Jesus’ death, which also underlies the baseline’s resurrection entry’s caution. First predicted 8:31,34; narrated 15:20-25.

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Transfiguration

Approved rendering: Isbeddelka muuqadda
Transliteration: is-beh-DEHL-kah moo-KAH-dah
Doctrine: The Transfiguration
Rejected alternatives: a mere vision or symbolic experience
Original: μετεμορφώθη
Category: Christology

Descriptive rendering (wejigiisu wuu beddelmay oo dhalaalay, ‘his appearance changed and shone’). Forms, with the baptism and the trial confession, the backbone of Mark’s Son of God Christology; must not be reduced to a symbolic vision. Mark 9:2-8.

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Blood Of The Covenant

Approved rendering: Dhiigga Axdiga
Transliteration: DHEEG-gah AKH-dee-gah
Doctrine: The Blood of the New Covenant
Rejected alternatives: a weaker covenant-renewal sense of Axdiga alone, without atoning-blood content
Original: τὸ αἷμά μου τῆς διαθήκης
Category: Salvation

Compounds the baseline’s Medium-risk Axdiga with atoning-blood content, elevating risk to Critical. Directly restates 10:45’s substitutionary ‘for many’ logic (beddelka dad badan); Islamic theology has no equivalent atoning covenant-blood sacrifice category, requiring full explicit teaching. Mark 14:22-25.

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I Am Ego Eimi

Approved rendering: Waxaan ahay
Transliteration: wah-KHAHN ah-HAI
Doctrine: The Messianic Secret
Rejected alternatives: any hedged, qualified, or softened rendering of the trial confession
Original: ἐγώ εἰμι
Category: Christology

Jesus’ direct, unqualified answer to the high priest’s question, ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?’ (14:62), immediately followed by his citation of Daniel 7:13 and Psalm 110:1. Must be rendered plainly and without qualification, paralleling the baseline’s insistence that ‘Ciise waa Rabbiga’ never be softened. A possible echo of Exodus 3:14 may be noted cautiously in teaching material but must not be asserted as settled.

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High Risk Terms

Gospel

Approved rendering: Injiilka
Transliteration: in-JEEL-kah
Doctrine: Gospel Proclamation
Rejected alternatives: war wanaagsan (generic ‘good news’, without the proclamation weight)
Original: εὐαγγέλιον
Category: Salvation

Injiilka is the established Somali term, shared with the Qur’anic name for the revelation given to Ciise, which Islamic doctrine treats as historically altered (tahriif). Used for Mark’s living proclamation of God’s saving action breaking in through Jesus (1:1,14-15; 8:35; 10:29; 13:10; 14:9), not a bare reference to a contested book. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Grace

Approved rendering: Nimco
Transliteration: NIM-koh
Doctrine: Mutual Love as Fruit of Grace
Rejected alternatives: naxariis (mercy/compassion), barako (blessing, often tied to a sheekh’s or saint’s spiritual potency)

Conveys unearned favor apart from merit. In Mark this underlies the correct framing of repentance (Toobadkeen), the greatest commandment (Jacayl), and servanthood as fruit of a relationship already secured by God, not an independent path to standing before him. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum. Relevant chapters: 1, 12.

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Faith

Approved rendering: Iimaan
Transliteration: ee-MAHN
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Rejected alternatives: rumaysad (generic belief/conviction)
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith

Personal trust in Ciise Masiixa specifically, repeatedly tested amid fear throughout Mark (4:40; 5:34,36; 9:23-24; 10:52; 11:22-24). The object of faith must always be named explicitly, not left as generalized religious conviction. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum. Relevant chapters: 2, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11.

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Kingdom Of God

Approved rendering: Boqortooyada Ilaah
Transliteration: boh-kor-toh-YAH-dah ee-LAHH
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In
Rejected alternatives: dawladda Ilaah (God’s state/government)
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom

God’s sovereign reign, not a literal government. Risk elevated from the baseline’s Medium to High for this curriculum, since ‘The Kingdom of God Breaking In’ is a named core doctrine and Somalia’s decades-long absence of a fully functioning central state makes dawladda-style readings an especially live hazard. Must be taught with explicit ‘already/not yet’ framing (1:15; 4:26-32; 9:1; 10:14-15; 14:25). Inherited from Romans package (risk elevated); carried forward for Mark curriculum.

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Sin

Approved rendering: Dembi
Transliteration: DEM-bee
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority to Forgive Sin
Rejected alternatives: qalad (mistake/error)
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin

Standard shared term. In Mark 2:1-12 Jesus claims the personal, divine prerogative to forgive sin himself, not merely announce God’s forgiveness on another’s behalf — a direct claim the scribes themselves recognize as blasphemous unless he is God. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum. Relevant chapters: 1, 2, 3, 14.

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Glory

Approved rendering: Ammaan
Transliteration: ah-MAHN
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: nuur (divine light, tied to Sufi Nuurka Muxammed pre-existent-light devotion)
Original: δόξα
Category: God

God’s radiant honor and majesty, anticipated for the Son of Man’s return (8:38; 13:26) and visibly manifest at the Transfiguration (9:2-8). Avoid nuur, which evokes a competing pre-existence and glory claim in Somali Sufi devotion. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Prophet

Approved rendering: Nabi
Transliteration: NAH-bee
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ (distinguished from mere prophetic category)
Rejected alternatives: faaliye (fortune-teller/diviner)
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant

Risk elevated from the baseline’s High (already high) given Mark’s frequent use for John the Baptist (1:2; 6:15; 11:32), Elijah and Moses (9:4), and Jesus’ rejection ‘in his own hometown’ (6:4); when OT prophets or John are in view, the text must distinguish their role from Jesus’ own greater identity as Son of Man and Son of God, not merely another prophet in a sequence. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward for Mark curriculum.

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Law

Approved rendering: Qaanuunka Muuse
Transliteration: kah-noon-kah MOO-say
Doctrine: Christ’s Authority over the Sabbath / the Law
Rejected alternatives: Sharciga (the same word used for Islamic religious law/Sharia)

Used instead of Sharciga to avoid directly equating the Mosaic law with Sharia. Jesus asserts authority over it in Mark (2:23-28; 7:1-23; 10:1-9; 12:28-34). Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Called

Approved rendering: Loo yeedhay
Transliteration: loh yeh-DHAI
Doctrine: The Divine Authority of Christ (calling of disciples)
Rejected alternatives: la casuumay (invited, as to a social event)
Original: καλέω
Category: Salvation

Conveys a sovereign summons that reorders the called person’s life immediately (1:16-20; 2:14; 3:13), not an optional invitation one may decline without consequence. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Power Of God

Approved rendering: Awoodda Ilaah
Transliteration: ah-WOHD-dah ee-LAHH
Doctrine: The Divine Authority of Christ
Rejected alternatives: xoogga Ilaah (raw force, less precise for saving power)
Original: δύναμις
Category: God

Distinct from xoog (raw physical force) and qaddar-adjacent fate language. Named explicitly at the trial (‘seated at the right hand of Power,’ 14:62). Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Obedience Of Faith

Approved rendering: Adeecidda rumaysadka
Transliteration: ah-deh-CID-dah roo-may-SAHD-kah
Doctrine: Mutual Love as Fruit of Grace
Rejected alternatives: hufnaanta diinta (religious duty-performance)

Referenced in Mark’s greatest-commandment teaching (12:28-34): love and obedience must be taught as fruit of a faith relationship already secured by grace, not an independent path to standing before God, echoing the baseline’s original Romans framework. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward for Mark curriculum.

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For Many Substitution

Approved rendering: beddelka dad badan
Transliteration: beh-DEHL-kah dahd bah-DAHN
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: u dhammaystirka dad badan / ‘on behalf of many’ (a weaker rendering that loses the substitutionary force of the Greek anti)
Original: ἀντὶ πολλῶν
Category: Salvation

Preserves the substitutionary force of anti (a direct exchange), echoing Isaiah 53’s Servant who bore the sin of many. ‘Many’ must be taught as expansive (Isaiah 52:15’s ‘many nations’), never numerically restrictive, to avoid contradicting the baseline’s High-risk universal_scope_of_gospel doctrine. Mark 10:45; restated 14:24.

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Cup Of Suffering

Approved rendering: Koobka
Transliteration: KOHB-kah
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: τὸ ποτήριον
Category: Christology

The ordinary Somali word for a drinking cup, carrying no inherent theological weight; the OT wrath/suffering background (Psalm 75:8; Isaiah 51:17,22) must be explicitly taught at first occurrence (10:38-39) or the metaphor will be heard only as a domestic image. Reappears non-metaphorically at Gethsemane (14:36); must be tracked consistently across both occurrences.

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Servant Diakonos

Approved rendering: Adeeg
Transliteration: ah-DEEG
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Rejected alternatives: generic paid/menial-labor vocabulary that would smooth away the paradox
Original: διάκονος / διακονέω
Category: Ethics

Jesus redefines greatness in the kingdom as becoming everyone’s diakonos (9:35; 10:43,45). Register must stay distinct from casual labor vocabulary and from the stronger Addoon (below); the paradox that greatness means becoming this must be preserved explicitly in teaching.

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Slave Doulos

Approved rendering: Addoon
Transliteration: ah-DOHN
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Rejected alternatives: a gentler ‘helper’ term that would blunt the deliberate rhetorical escalation from Adeeg
Original: δοῦλος
Category: Ethics

The strongest available Somali term for total, servile self-abasement, deliberately escalating from Adeeg (v.43) at v.44. This word already appears in the baseline Romans package as part of a REJECTED euphemism for Son of God (‘addoonka jecel ee Ilaah’) — confirming its strength is exactly what Jesus intends here, where full servile force is the intended sense, not a euphemism to be avoided.

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Baptism

Approved rendering: Baabtiis
Transliteration: bahb-TEES
Doctrine: Baptism and New Identity
Original: βαπτίζω / βάπτισμα
Category: Salvation

Must be explicitly disambiguated across three distinct senses using one Somali word: (a) John’s repentance rite (1:4-11), (b) later Christian water baptism, (c) the metaphorical ‘baptism’ of suffering/death (10:38-39). No equivalent Somali Islamic rite carries the same once-for-all repentance-and-identification weight; ritual ablution (wadaraysi) is physical-ceremonial only.

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Repentance

Approved rendering: Toobadkeen
Transliteration: toh-bahd-KEEN
Doctrine: Repentance as Response to the Kingdom
Original: μετάνοια / μετανοέω
Category: Salvation

Parallel risk to the baseline’s grace caution: Islamic tawba (toobad) operates within a deeds-and-mercy framework where repentance itself contributes to standing before God; Mark’s repentance (1:4,15; 6:12) must be taught as the doorway into a grace-secured relationship, not a merit-earning act in itself.

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Authority Exousia

Approved rendering: Awood
Transliteration: ah-WOHD
Doctrine: The Divine Authority of Christ
Rejected alternatives: xoog (raw physical force, already a rejected baseline alternative for power_of_god), karaamad (Sufi sheekh’s miraculous personal endowment)
Original: ἐξουσία
Category: Christology

Demonstrated in teaching (1:22), over unclean spirits (1:27), over sin (2:10), and challenged by the religious authorities (11:28-33). Must be distinguished from its negative, domineering use in 10:42 (see lord_it_over_negative); every occurrence describing Jesus’ own authority is a cumulative claim to divine prerogative.

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Blasphemy Against The Spirit

Approved rendering: Caayidda Ruuxa Quduuska ah
Transliteration: kah-YEED-dah ROO-khah koo-DOOS-kah ah
Doctrine: Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit
Rejected alternatives: generalized rendering into ‘any serious sin’
Original: βλασφημία εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ Ἅγιον
Category: Sin

Built on the baseline’s Ruuxa Quduuska ah. Must be taught precisely as willful, informed rejection of the Spirit’s clear testimony to Christ (attributing his Spirit-empowered work to Satan, 3:22,30), not generalized, and must reinforce that the Spirit is God himself, not the archangel Jibriil. Mark 3:28-30.

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Mystery Of The Kingdom

Approved rendering: Qarsoodiga Boqortooyada Ilaah
Transliteration: kar-soh-DEE-gah boh-kor-toh-YAH-dah ee-LAHH
Doctrine: Mystery and Parable of the Kingdom
Rejected alternatives: Gnostic-style elite esoteric knowledge framing
Original: μυστήριον
Category: Kingdom

Hidden divine truth about the kingdom now disclosed to disciples through parables (4:11). Must not be taught as knowledge reserved for a spiritual elite, but as gracious revelation given to those who respond in faith.

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Ritual Clean Unclean

Approved rendering: Nadiif / Wasakh
Transliteration: nah-DEEF / wah-SAHKH
Doctrine: Heart Purity versus Ritual Purity
Rejected alternatives: xalaal/xaraam (Islamic dietary law categories, which would map this passage onto Sharia food rulings and obscure Jesus’ actual point)
Original: καθαρός / κοινός
Category: Sin

Reuses the baseline’s distinction (nadiif = ritual/physical cleanliness, distinct from Quduus, moral holiness). Governs the ceremonial purity categories Jesus overturns at 7:1-23, relocating true defilement from external food rules to internal moral condition.

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Lord It Over Negative

Approved rendering: u taliyid si xun
Transliteration: oo TAH-lee-yid see khoon
Doctrine: Servanthood versus Worldly Greatness
Original: κατακυριεύω / κατεξουσιάζω
Category: Ethics

Deliberately distinguished from the legitimate, exclusive, glorious Lordship of Christ (Rabbiga) and from Jesus’ own positive Awood; describes the domineering, self-aggrandizing rule of Gentile rulers that Jesus rejects as a model for his disciples (10:42). The passage’s rhetorical force depends on this lexical contrast remaining clear.

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Life Soul Psyche

Approved rendering: Naf
Transliteration: NAHF
Doctrine: The Ransom for Many
Rejected alternatives: a dualistic ‘soul escapes the body’ reading
Original: ψυχή
Category: Anthropology

Carries extensive technical usage in Islamic/Sufi anthropology (an-nafs); must be taught as the whole embodied self given up in real, historical death (10:45; 8:35-37), not a dualistic reading that would undercut the bodily reality of Christ’s death and resurrection.

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Gehenna Unquenchable Fire

Approved rendering: dabka aan bakhtiyi doonin
Transliteration: DAHB-kah ahn bahkh-TEE-yee DOH-nin
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sin (Final Judgment)
Rejected alternatives: Jaxiimo/Jahannam as the primary rendering (imports the full furnished detail of Islamic eschatology — specific levels and named torments — beyond Mark’s spare warning language)
Original: γέεννα / τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἄσβεστον
Category: Eschatology

Recommended descriptive default for Mark 9:43-48; Jaxiimo/Jahannam usable only as a clearly-flagged explanatory gloss, never the primary translation.

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Abomination Of Desolation

Approved rendering: Karaahiyada Baabi’inta
Transliteration: kah-rah-hee-YAH-dah bah-bee-EEN-tah
Doctrine: The Apocalyptic Return of the Son of Man
Original: βδέλυγμα τῆς ἐρημώσεως
Category: Eschatology

Requires substantial explanatory teaching (Daniel background, first-century Roman-destruction referent) to prevent speculative or sensationalized end-times readings disconnected from the text’s actual referent. Mark 13:14.

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Betray Deliver Up

Approved rendering: la gacangeliyay
Transliteration: lah gah-cahn-geh-LEE-yay
Doctrine: Divine Sovereignty and Human Betrayal
Original: παραδίδωμι
Category: Christology

Used both of Judas’s betrayal and of the divine-passive sense that the Son of Man ‘is delivered’ according to a plan already written (14:21; recurring since 9:31, 10:33). Holds human treachery and divine sovereign purpose together without resolving the tension into either fatalism or removal of human responsibility.

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House Of Prayer For All Nations

Approved rendering: Guriga Tukashada ee Quruumaha oo Dhan
Transliteration: goo-REE-gah too-kah-SHAH-dah eh koo-roo-MAH-hah oh DHAHN
Doctrine: Universal Scope of the Gospel in Mark
Original: οἶκος προσευχῆς πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν
Category: Kingdom

The temple’s intended universal accessibility, citing Isaiah 56:7, contrasted with ‘a den of robbers’ citing Jeremiah 7:11 (11:17). Directly reinforces the baseline’s High-risk universal_scope_of_gospel doctrine and should receive the same theological review routing.

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Eloi Eloi Lema Sabachthani

Approved rendering: Elohi, Elohi, lema sabaqthani
Transliteration: eh-LOH-hee eh-LOH-hee, LEH-mah sah-bahkh-TAH-nee
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Rejected alternatives: any interpretively softened translation of the cry itself
Original: Ἐλωΐ Ἐλωΐ, λεμὰ σαβαχθανι
Category: Christology

Jesus’ Aramaic cry of dereliction from the cross, citing Psalm 22:1 (15:34), retained transliterated with Mark’s own supplied translation immediately following, per the same bilingual-structure precedent as Talitha koum and Abba. Must not be smoothed over or explained away in the translation itself; interpretive comment belongs only in surrounding teaching notes.

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Temple Curtain

Approved rendering: Daaha Macbudka
Transliteration: DAH-hah MAHK-bood-kah
Doctrine: The Necessity of the Cross
Original: τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ
Category: Christology

Torn in two at Jesus’ death (15:38), symbolizing opened access to God; requires explanatory teaching on the Jerusalem temple’s physical layout and function, unfamiliar background for most readers.

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Medium Risk Terms

Abba

Approved rendering: Abbaa
Transliteration: ah-BAH
Doctrine: Sonship and Deity of Christ (Gethsemane)
Original: Ἀββά
Category: God

Aramaic term of intimacy retained untranslated, paired with Aabbe, exactly as in the baseline’s Romans 8:15 treatment. Mark 14:36. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Apostle

Approved rendering: Diray
Transliteration: dee-RYE
Doctrine: The Twelve Sent Out
Rejected alternatives: Rasuul (the specific Islamic title functioning as a near-proper-title for Muhammad)
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church

The Twelve are named and commissioned (3:14-15) and return bearing this title (6:30). Never Rasuul. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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David

Approved rendering: Daa’uud
Transliteration: dah-OOD
Doctrine: The Son of David / David’s Lord Riddle
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant

Established Somali Bible proper name. Invoked as the ancestral and covenantal reference point for Jesus’ identity (2:25; 10:47-48; 11:10; 12:35-37). Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Israel

Approved rendering: Israa’iil
Transliteration: is-rah-EEL
Doctrine: The Centurion’s Confession and Markan Irony (trial context)
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant

Referenced in the trial narrative’s political-religious context (Mark 15); handle with pastoral awareness given contemporary geopolitical sensitivities in Somali public discourse. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Covenant

Approved rendering: Axdiga
Transliteration: AKH-dee-gah
Doctrine: The Blood of the New Covenant (elevated to Critical when compounded)
Rejected alternatives: ballan kaliya (bare appointment/promise, without covenantal weight)
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant

Baseline Medium risk is elevated to Critical in Mark when compounded as ‘blood of the covenant’ (see blood_of_the_covenant entry below), since Jesus names his own blood as covenant-inaugurating at the Last Supper (14:24). Inherited from Romans package; carried forward for Mark curriculum.

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Peace

Approved rendering: Nabadda
Transliteration: nah-BAHD-dah
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness and Nature (relational wholeness)
Rejected alternatives: xeer (a clan truce or customary-law peace pact)
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation

Relational wholeness granted by Jesus, as in the healing of the woman with the flow of blood (5:34, ‘go in peace’); distinguish from the inter-clan truce sense most commonly evoked in everyday Somali usage. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Seed Of David

Approved rendering: Farcanka Daa’uud
Transliteration: far-CAHN-kah dah-OOD
Doctrine: The Son of David / David’s Lord Riddle

Distinguished from Mark’s new direct-address term Wiilka Daa’uud (see below); this baseline term denotes physical lineage rather than direct messianic-royal address. Retained here for contrast rather than as a direct Mark occurrence. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward for Mark curriculum.

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Leprosy

Approved rendering: Baras
Transliteration: BAH-rahs
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness and Nature
Original: λέπρα / λεπρός
Category: Healing

Standard Somali term for the condition (1:40-42); mainly requires explanatory teaching on the Mosaic ritual-exclusion background, which has no exact parallel in contemporary Somali social categories.

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Sabbath

Approved rendering: Sabti
Transliteration: SAHB-tee
Doctrine: Christ’s Authority over the Sabbath
Original: σάββατον
Category: Covenant

The existing Somali word for ‘Saturday’, used per established Somali Bible convention (2:23-28; 3:1-6). No major syncretism risk in the term itself, but the theological point — Jesus’ lordship over, not mere reinterpretation of, Sabbath law — needs explicit teaching.

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Satan Beelzebul

Approved rendering: Shaydaanka / Bacal-sebuul
Transliteration: shai-DAHN-kah / bah-CAHL seh-BOOL
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Unclean Spirits
Original: Σατανᾶς / Βεελζεβούλ
Category: Spiritual Warfare

Shaydaanka is a genuine point of resonance shared across Somali/Islamic tempter-figure vocabulary (1:13; 3:22-26; 4:15; 8:33); must not be conflated with the Jinni category (see unclean_spirit). Beelzebul transliterated as the proper name Bacal-sebuul with a brief explanatory gloss.

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Parable

Approved rendering: Masaal
Transliteration: mah-SAHL
Doctrine: Mystery and Parable of the Kingdom
Original: παραβολή
Category: Revelation

A positive cultural bridge to the rich Somali maahmaah proverb tradition (4:2,10-13,33-34; 12:1-12), but the specific veiling function of Jesus’ parables toward outsiders (4:11-12) must be taught explicitly, since Somali proverbs typically illuminate rather than conceal meaning.

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Tradition Of The Elders

Approved rendering: Dhaqanka Odayaasha
Transliteration: dhah-KAHN-kah oh-dah-YAH-shah
Doctrine: Human Tradition versus God’s Word
Original: παράδοσις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων
Category: Covenant

Genuinely resonant with Somali xeer (elder-maintained customary law), a valuable teaching bridge (7:3,5,8-9,13); must not be taught as a wholesale disparagement of Somali xeer or elder authority itself — the critique targets tradition displacing God’s word specifically.

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Son Of David Address

Approved rendering: Wiilka Daa’uud
Transliteration: WEEL-kah dah-OOD
Doctrine: The Son of David / David’s Lord Riddle
Original: υἱὲ Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant

A direct messianic-royal address/acclamation (10:47-48; 12:35-37), distinct from the baseline’s Farcanka Daa’uud (physical lineage). Somali abtirsiimo genealogical consciousness gives this direct address real cultural resonance, though the riddle of simultaneous human descent and divine lordship (12:35-37) still requires explicit teaching.

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Deny Oneself

Approved rendering: is-diidid
Transliteration: is-dee-DID
Doctrine: Faith and Discipleship amid Fear
Rejected alternatives: framing resembling Sufi-style ascetic self-mortification
Original: ἀπαρνέομαι ἑαυτόν
Category: Discipleship

Total self-renunciation as the precondition for following Christ, paired with cross-bearing (8:34). Must be taught as glad self-giving modeled on Christ’s own self-giving (paralleling Addoon), not joyless asceticism, per the baseline’s separate caution against confusion with Sufi ascetic withdrawal.

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Watch Be Alert

Approved rendering: feejignaanta
Transliteration: feh-ej-ig-NAHN-tah
Doctrine: The Apocalyptic Return of the Son of Man
Original: γρηγορέω
Category: Discipleship

The necessary posture of readiness for the unknown timing of the Son of Man’s return (13:33-37), distinguished from both presumption and fear-driven speculation about timing.

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Passover

Approved rendering: Iidda Kormaridda
Transliteration: EED-dah kor-mah-RID-dah
Doctrine: Passover Fulfillment
Original: πάσχα
Category: Covenant

Established Somali term for the festival; requires OT exodus background teaching, unfamiliar to most readers given generally low OT narrative literacy, to appreciate Jesus as its fulfillment. Mark 14:12-25.

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Greatest Commandment Love

Approved rendering: Jacayl
Transliteration: jah-CAYL
Doctrine: Mutual Love as Fruit of Grace
Original: ἀγαπήσεις
Category: Ethics

Plain, shared vocabulary (common ground with Islamic ethics of love for God and neighbor), but must be taught as fruit of a grace-secured relationship already established (12:28-34), not an independent path to standing before God.

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Little Dogs Gentile Imagery

Approved rendering: eeyo yaryar
Transliteration: eh-YOH yar-YAR
Doctrine: Universal Scope of the Gospel in Mark
Original: κυνάρια
Category: Church

Mildly derogatory in the source text itself (7:27-28), reflecting a real ethnic boundary Jesus is shown crossing, not endorsing; teaching notes must make the narrative’s inclusive trajectory explicit so it is never misread as normative.

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King Of The Jews

Approved rendering: Boqorka Yuhuudda
Transliteration: boh-KOR-kah yoo-HOOD-dah
Doctrine: The Centurion’s Confession and Markan Irony
Original: Βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων
Category: Christology

Used mockingly by Roman soldiers (15:2,9,12,18,26), yet standing as Mark’s ironic proclamation of truth through mockery. Historically accurate narrative title; pastoral framing should account for contemporary geopolitical sensitivity around ‘the Jews’/Israel in Somali public discourse.

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Low Risk Terms

Thanksgiving

Approved rendering: Mahadnaqid
Transliteration: mah-had-nah-KID
Doctrine: Thanksgiving and Sacrificial Giving
Original: εὐχαριστέω
Category: Faith

Grateful acknowledgment of God’s goodness, as at the feeding miracles and Last Supper (8:6; 14:23). Low doctrinal risk; genuine point of resonance. Inherited from Romans package; carried forward unchanged for Mark curriculum.

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Legion

Approved rendering: Liijaan
Transliteration: lee-JAHN
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Unclean Spirits
Original: Λεγιών
Category: Narrative

Transliterated proper name; the demon’s self-identification with a Roman military unit (5:9), evoking Roman occupying power. Minimal translation risk, useful for teaching richness.

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Talitha Koum

Approved rendering: Talita quum
Transliteration: tah-LEE-tah koom
Doctrine: Jesus’ Authority over Sickness and Nature
Original: Ταλιθὰ κούμ
Category: Narrative

Jesus’ Aramaic words, ‘Little girl, arise’ (5:41), retained transliterated with Mark’s own supplied translation immediately following, per the baseline’s precedent for Abba.

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Hosanna

Approved rendering: Hoosanna
Transliteration: hoh-SAHN-nah
Doctrine: The Kingdom of God Breaking In (Triumphal Entry)
Original: Ὡσαννά
Category: Liturgical

Transliterated Hebrew acclamation (‘save now!’), retained per established convention for transliterated liturgical exclamations (Amen, Hallelujah). Mark 11:9-10.