Core Glossary
08 Core Glossary — Hebrews 1–13 (English → Vietnamese)
This glossary consolidates every load-bearing term identified in analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md, drawn from the entire book of Hebrews, chapters 1–13. It is organized in four sections:
- Terms reused exactly from the baseline Romans
translation_memory.json(mandatory, no substitution permitted) - New Hebrews-specific terms proposed for extension of translation memory
- Proper names
- Cross-reference risk notes requiring special handling across chapters
Risk tiers follow the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json definitions (Critical / High / Medium / Low).
Section 1 — Terms Reused Exactly from Romans Baseline Translation Memory
These terms appear in Hebrews and MUST use the Vietnamese rendering already fixed in the baseline. No new argument or alternative rendering is permitted.
| English Term | Vietnamese (fixed) | Risk (baseline) | Hebrews Occurrences | Note on Hebrews-Specific Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| God | Đức Chúa Trời | Critical | throughout | ”the living God” (3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22) intensifies the personal-God contrast with impersonal folk “Trời” |
| Jesus | Đức Chúa Giê-xu | Critical | 2:9; 3:1; 4:14; 6:20; 7:22; 10:19; 12:2, 24; 13:8, 12, 20 | consistent proper-name form throughout |
| Holy Spirit | Đức Thánh Linh | Critical | 2:4; 3:7; 6:4; 9:8, 14; 10:15 | 9:14’s “eternal Spirit” must retain the full established form, not bare “thần linh” |
| Son of God | Con Đức Chúa Trời | Critical | 1:2-8; 4:14; 5:8; 6:6; 7:3; 10:29 | central to “Deity/Sonship of Christ” doctrine, esp. ch. 1 |
| Lord | Chúa | High | 1:10; 2:3; 7:14; 8:2, 8-11; 12:6, 14; 13:6, 20 | exclusive, supreme Lordship maintained |
| resurrection | sự sống lại | Critical | 6:2; 11:35; 13:20 | ”better resurrection” (11:35); never đầu thai/luân hồi |
| salvation | sự cứu rỗi | Critical | 1:14; 2:3, 10; 5:9; 6:9; 9:28 | never sự giải thoát |
| faith | đức tin | Medium | 4:2; 6:1, 12; 10:22-39; 11:1-40; 12:2; 13:7 | object of faith = God/Christ throughout; ch. 11 is the definitional chapter |
| grace | ân điển | High | 2:9; 4:16; 10:29; 12:15, 28; 13:9, 25 | never phước đức/công đức/ơn nghĩa |
| glory | sự vinh hiển | High | 1:3; 2:7, 9-10; 3:3; 9:5 | esp. ch. 1’s radiance-of-glory Christology |
| law | luật pháp | Medium | 7:5, 12, 16, 19, 28; 8:4, 10; 9:19, 22; 10:1, 8, 28 | Mosaic Law, superseded but not disparaged |
| sin | tội lỗi | Medium | throughout, esp. chs. 9-10 | atonement-focused usage |
| holy / saints / sanctification | thánh / các thánh đồ / sự nên thánh | High / High / Medium | 3:1 (“holy brethren”); 10:10, 14; 13:24 | ”holy brethren” (3:1) = anh em thánh; sanctification theme peaks in ch. 10 |
| covenant | giao ước | Medium | 7:22; 8:6-13; 9:1, 4, 15-20; 10:16, 29; 12:24; 13:20 | see Section 4 below for the ch. 9:16-17 testament/will wordplay exception |
| intercession | sự cầu thay | Critical | 7:25 | mandatory ancestor-veneration distinction note applies here as in Romans |
| calling / called | sự kêu gọi / được kêu gọi | Medium/High | 3:1 (“heavenly calling”); 9:15 | context-sensitive per baseline note |
| power of God | quyền năng của Đức Chúa Trời | Medium | 1:3; 7:16 | ”upholding all things” (1:3) |
| adoption / inheritance-sonship themes | sự làm con nuôi (concept), cơ nghiệp (see Section 2) | High | 2:10; 9:15; 12:5-11 | ch. 12 discipline passage must echo grace-not-obligation framing established in Romans |
| father | Cha | High | 12:7, 9 | God’s fatherly discipline, grace/intimacy framing required |
| exhort | khích lệ | Low | 3:13; 10:25; 13:22 | context-sensitive per baseline (encouragement vs. entreaty) |
Section 2 — New Hebrews-Specific Terms
Terms not present in the baseline Romans translation memory. Each is proposed here with a full risk assessment for inclusion in the extended translation memory (Phase 1 Step 2).
| English Term | Original (Greek) | Transliteration | Vietnamese Rendering | Risk | Doctrine | Chapters | Notes / Rejected Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| angel | ἄγγελος | angelos | thiên sứ | Medium | Superiority over Angels | 1–2, 12–13 | Established BDTT term; distinct from folk thần linh (spirit) category |
| high priest | ἀρχιερεύς | archiereus | thầy tế lễ thượng phẩm | High | Christ as Great High Priest | 2–10 | ”thầy” collides with common address for a Buddhist monk/master; must be contextually anchored to the Levitical/Christ office |
| priesthood | ἱερωσύνη | hierōsynē | chức tế lễ | Medium | Superiority over Levitical Priesthood | 7 | — |
| Levitical (priesthood) | Λευιτικός | Leuitikos | (chức tế lễ) thuộc chi phái Lê-vi | Low | Superiority over Levitical Priesthood | 7 | descriptive, low ambiguity |
| tabernacle | σκηνή | skēnē | đền tạm | Medium | New Covenant vs. Old; Access to God | 8–9, 13 | established OT term |
| Holy Place / Holy of Holies | τὰ ἅγια / Ἅγια Ἁγίων | ta hagia / Hagia Hagiōn | nơi thánh / nơi rất thánh | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 9–10 | graded OT access contrasted with direct NT access |
| veil | καταπέτασμα | katapetasma | bức màn | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 9–10 | 10:20 identifies it with Christ’s own flesh |
| mercy seat / propitiation-place | ἱλαστήριον | hilastērion | nắp thi ân | Critical | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice; Access to God | 9 | same Greek word underlies Romans 3:25’s “propitiation,” which the baseline Romans package flagged for escalation but never assigned a Vietnamese term; this entry now supplies that missing rendering and must be cross-checked against any future Romans revision |
| propitiation / make atonement | ἱλασμός / ἱλάσκομαι | hilasmos / hilaskomai | sự chuộc tội / chuộc tội | Critical | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 2, 9 | must not be modeled on ancestor-appeasement offerings (cúng tạ lỗi) or Buddhist merit-based atonement |
| ark of the covenant | κιβωτὸς τῆς διαθήκης | kibōtos tēs diathēkēs | hòm giao ước | Low | New Covenant vs. Old | 9 | established OT term |
| cherubim | χερουβίμ | cheroubim | chê-ru-bin | Low | — | 9 | established transliteration |
| made with hands | χειροποίητος | cheiropoiētos | do tay người làm ra | Medium | New Covenant vs. Old | 9 | earthly-copy vs. heavenly-original contrast |
| blood | αἷμα | haima | huyết | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | throughout, esp. 9–10, 12–13 | reserved sacrificial register, distinct from ordinary “máu” |
| once / once for all | ἅπαξ / ἐφάπαξ | hapax / ephapax | một lần / một lần đủ cả | Critical | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 6, 7, 9, 10 | ἐφάπαξ fixed as “một lần đủ cả” at every occurrence |
| redemption | λύτρωσις / ἀπολύτρωσις | lytrōsis / apolytrōsis | sự cứu chuộc | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9 | must not collapse into forbidden “sự giải thoát” |
| mediator | μεσίτης | mesitēs | Đấng Trung Gian | High | New Covenant vs. Old | 8–9, 12 | must be distinguished from a spirit-medium (đồng cốt) mediating with ancestor spirits/deities |
| promise | ἐπαγγελία | epangelia | lời hứa | Medium | New Covenant vs. Old; Faith of OT Saints | 4, 6, 8–11 | God’s sure covenantal pledge, not casual assurance |
| inheritance | κληρονομία | klēronomia | cơ nghiệp | Medium | New Covenant vs. Old; Adoption theme | 1, 9, 11 | echoes Romans TM’s “sự làm con nuôi” sonship-inheritance link |
| conscience | συνείδησις | syneidēsis | lương tâm | Medium | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9–10, 13 | cleansed by Christ’s blood, not self-cultivated virtue |
| dead works | νεκρὰ ἔργα | nekra erga | việc chết | Medium | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 6, 9 | — |
| serve/worship | λατρεύω | latreuō | hầu việc / thờ phượng | Medium | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 9, 12–13 | — |
| shedding of blood | αἱματεκχυσία | haimatekchysia | sự đổ huyết | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9 | must not be softened to a bloodless metaphor |
| forgiveness/remission | ἄφεσις | aphesis | sự tha thứ (tội lỗi) | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9–10 | distinct from karmic debt-release |
| copy/pattern | ὑπόδειγμα / τύπος | hypodeigma / typos | mẫu / hình mẫu | Medium | New Covenant vs. Old | 8–9 | kept distinct from χαρακτήρ (see Section 4) |
| copy of the true / antitype | ἀντίτυπος | antitypos | bản sao (của những điều thật) | Medium | New Covenant vs. Old | 9 | — |
| true/real | ἀληθινός | alēthinos | thật / chân thật | Low | New Covenant vs. Old | 8–9 | — |
| better | κρείττων | kreittōn | tốt hơn | Medium | Superiority of Christ (all three: Angels, Moses, Levitical Priesthood) | throughout | consistency across ~13 occurrences required |
| end of the ages | συντέλεια τῶν αἰώνων | synteleia tōn aiōnōn | cuối cùng của các thời đại | Medium | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9 | linear-history framing, not cyclical |
| put away/annul (sin) | ἀθέτησις | athetēsis | sự cất bỏ (tội lỗi) | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9 | — |
| judgment | κρίσις | krisis | sự phán xét | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice; warning passages | 9–10 | certain and final |
| bear (sins) | ἀναφέρω | anapherō | mang lấy / gánh lấy (tội lỗi) | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 9 | substitutionary, echoing Isaiah 53 |
| second (coming) | ἐκ δευτέρου | ek deuterou | lần thứ hai | Medium | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice; Perseverance | 9 | linear two-advent Christology |
| eagerly await | ἀπεκδέχομαι | apekdechomai | trông đợi | Medium | Perseverance and Assurance | 9 | hopeful, not fearful |
| radiance/brightness (of glory) | ἀπαύγασμα | apaugasma | sự rạng ngời (của sự vinh hiển) | High | Superiority over Angels; Deity of Christ | 1 | shared essence, not reflected/borrowed light |
| exact representation | χαρακτήρ | charaktēr | hình ảnh chân thực (của bản thể Ngài) | High | Deity of Christ | 1 | see Section 4 collision note vs. τύπος |
| substance/essence (of God) | ὑπόστασις (ch.1 sense) | hypostasis | bản thể | High | Deity of Christ | 1 | see Section 4 dual-sense note vs. ch.11 |
| substance/assurance (of faith) | ὑπόστασις (ch.11 sense) | hypostasis | sự biết chắc (vững vàng) | High | Faith of OT Saints | 11 | see Section 4 dual-sense note |
| firstborn | πρωτότοκος | prototokos | con đầu lòng | Medium | Superiority over Angels | 1, 12 | rank/preeminence sense |
| throne | θρόνος | thronos | ngôi | Low | Deity of Christ | 1, 4, 8, 12 | — |
| ministering spirits | λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα | leitourgika pneumata | các thần phục vụ / đấng hầu việc | Low-Medium | Superiority over Angels | 1 | — |
| inherit | κληρονομέω | klēronomeō | được thừa hưởng | Medium | Superiority over Angels | 1 | — |
| pioneer/author | ἀρχηγός | archēgos | Đấng khai khởi / Đấng dẫn đầu | Medium-High | Great High Priest; Perseverance | 2, 12 | paired with τελειωτής in ch. 12 |
| perfect/complete (verb) | τελειόω | teleioō | làm cho trọn vẹn | High | Great High Priest; Perseverance | 2, 5, 7, 10–12 | structural book-wide theme; not self-achieved enlightenment or Confucian self-cultivation |
| devil | διάβολος | diabolos | ma quỷ / Sa-tan | Medium | Great High Priest (Christ’s victory) | 2 | — |
| tempt/test | πειράζω | peirazō | bị cám dỗ / chịu thử thách | Low-Medium | Great High Priest | 2, 4 | — |
| faithful | πιστός | pistos | trung tín | Low | Superiority over Moses | 3 | — |
| harden (heart) | σκληρύνω | sklērynō | làm cứng (lòng) | Medium | Danger of Apostasy | 3 | — |
| unbelief | ἀπιστία | apistia | sự vô tín | Medium | Danger of Apostasy | 3 | — |
| fall away/depart | ἀφίστημι | aphistēmi | lìa bỏ | Critical | Danger of Apostasy | 3 | distinguish from ch.6’s παραπίπτω (see Section 4) |
| rest | κατάπαυσις / σαββατισμός | katapausis / sabbatismos | sự yên nghỉ / sự yên nghỉ ngày Sa-bát | High | Perseverance and Assurance | 3–4 | not nirvana-cessation, not mere death-euphemism |
| firm/steadfast | βέβαιος | bebaios | vững vàng | Low | Perseverance and Assurance | 3, 6 | — |
| living/active (Word) | ζῶν καὶ ἐνεργής | zōn kai energēs | hằng sống và có quyền năng | High | (Scripture’s authority, supporting theme) | 4 | avoid folk term “linh nghiệm” (magical efficacy) |
| boldness/confidence | παρρησία | parrēsia | sự dạn dĩ | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 4, 10 | grace-given confidence, not presumption |
| draw near | προσέρχομαι | proserchomai | đến gần | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 4, 7, 10–12 | render consistently across all occurrences |
| sympathize | συμπαθέω | sympatheō | cảm thương | Low | Great High Priest | 4 | — |
| order (priestly) | τάξις | taxis | ban / thứ tự | Low-Medium | Superiority over Levitical Priesthood | 5, 7 | — |
| reverence/godly fear | εὐλάβεια | eulabeia | lòng kính sợ | Medium | Great High Priest | 5 | — |
| mature/perfect (adj.) | τέλειος | teleios | trọn vẹn / trưởng thành | Medium | Perseverance | 5 | — |
| obedience (of Christ) | ὑπακοή | hypakoē | sự vâng phục | High | Great High Priest | 5 | Christ’s own submission; distinct context from Romans TM compound term |
| fall away (severe) | παραπίπτω | parapiptō | sa ngà ~ sa ngã | Critical | Danger of Apostasy | 6 | distinguish from ch.3’s ἀφίστημι (see Section 4) |
| anchor | ἄγκυρα | ankyra | mỏ neo | Low | Perseverance and Assurance | 6 | — |
| hope | ἐλπίς | elpis | sự trông cậy | High | Perseverance and Assurance | 6, 10–11 | not generic “hy vọng”; confident, promise-grounded expectation |
| oath | ὅρκος | horkos | lời thề | Low | New Covenant vs. Old | 6–7 | — |
| unchangeable | ἀμετάθετος / ἀπαράβατος | ametathetos / aparabatos | không hề đổi / chẳng hề thay đổi | Medium | Superiority over Levitical Priesthood | 6–7 | — |
| guarantor/surety | ἔγγυος | engyos | Đấng bảo đảm | Medium | New Covenant vs. Old | 7 | — |
| covenant/testament (legal wordplay) | διαθήκη | diathēkē | giao ước / di chúc | Critical | New Covenant vs. Old | 9 | see Section 4 |
| shadow | σκιά | skia | bóng | Medium | New Covenant vs. Old | 8, 10 | — |
| sanctify (once-for-all) | ἁγιάζω | hagiazō | được nên thánh | High | Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice | 10 | holds together declarative + ongoing senses |
| confession | ὁμολογία | homologia | sự xưng nhận / lời tuyên xưng | Medium | Perseverance and Assurance | 10 | — |
| assembling together | ἐπισυναγωγή | episynagōgē | sự nhóm lại (với nhau) | Medium | Perseverance and Assurance | 10 | — |
| sin willfully | ἑκουσίως ἁμαρτάνω | hekousiōs hamartanō | cố ý phạm tội | Critical | Danger of Apostasy | 10 | — |
| endurance/perseverance | ὑπομονή | hypomonē | sự bền đỗ | High | Perseverance and Assurance | 10, 12 | not passive fatalistic resignation |
| draw back/shrink back | ὑποστολή | hypostolē | thối lui / lui bước | High | Danger of Apostasy | 10 | — |
| evidence/conviction | ἔλεγχος | elenchos | bằng cớ | Medium | Faith of OT Saints | 11 | — |
| strangers and pilgrims | ξένος καὶ παρεπίδημος | xenos kai parepidēmos | khách lạ và người tạm trú | Medium | Faith of OT Saints | 11 | — |
| heavenly | ἐπουράνιος | epouranios | trên trời / thiên thượng | Low-Medium | Faith of OT Saints | 11 | — |
| discipline/chastening | παιδεία | paideia | sự sửa phạt | High | Perseverance and Assurance | 12 | not karmic retribution or ancestral curse |
| race/contest | ἀγών | agōn | cuộc đua | Low | Perseverance and Assurance | 12 | — |
| finisher/perfecter | τελειωτής | teleiōtēs | Đấng làm cho trọn vẹn / Đấng hoàn tất | High | Perseverance and Assurance | 12 | paired with ch.2’s ἀρχηγός |
| assembly/church of the firstborn | ἐκκλησία πρωτοτόκων | ekklēsia prōtotokōn | hội của các con đầu lòng | Medium | New Covenant community | 12 | use cautiously alongside “Hội Thánh” |
| unshakeable kingdom | βασιλεία ἀσάλευτος | basileia asaleutos | nước không thể rúng động | Medium | Perseverance and Assurance | 12 | ties to “Nước Đức Chúa Trời” |
| consuming fire | πῦρ καταναλίσκον | pyr katanaliskon | lửa thiêu đốt | Medium | Danger of Apostasy | 12 | — |
| brotherly love | φιλαδελφία | philadelphia | tình yêu thương anh em | Low | (practical closing) | 13 | — |
| hospitality | φιλοξενία | philoxenia | lòng hiếu khách | Low | (practical closing) | 13 | — |
| leaders | ἡγούμενοι | hēgoumenoi | những người dắt dẫn | Medium | (practical closing) | 13 | — |
| altar | θυσιαστήριον | thysiastērion | bàn thờ | High | Access to God through Christ’s Blood | 13 | collides with household ancestor-altar (see Section 4) |
| sacrifice of praise | θυσία αἰνέσεως | thysia aineseōs | tế lễ ngợi khen | Medium | (practical closing) | 13 | — |
| great shepherd | ὁ ποιμὴν τῶν προβάτων ὁ μέγας | ho poimēn tōn probatōn ho megas | Đấng Chăn Chiên lớn | Medium | (Christological title) | 13 | — |
Section 3 — Proper Names (Established Transliterations, Low Risk)
| English | Vietnamese | Chapters |
|---|---|---|
| Melchizedek | Mên-chi-xê-đéc | 5–7 |
| Moses | Môi-se | 3, 7–12 |
| Aaron | A-rôn | 5, 7, 9 |
| Abraham | Áp-ra-ham | 2, 6–7, 11 |
| Sarah | Sa-ra | 11 |
| Isaac | Y-sác | 11 |
| Jacob | Gia-cốp | 11 |
| Joseph | Giô-sép | 11 |
| Abel | A-bên | 11–12 |
| Enoch | Hê-nóc | 11 |
| Noah | Nô-ê | 11 |
| Rahab | Ra-háp | 11 |
| Gideon | Ghi-đê-ôn | 11 |
| Samson | Sam-sôn | 11 |
| David | Đa-vít (reused from Romans TM) | 4, 11 |
| Samuel | Sa-mu-ên | 11 |
| Esau | Ê-sau | 12 |
| Zion | Si-ôn | 12 |
| Jerusalem | Giê-ru-sa-lem | 12 |
Section 4 — Cross-Reference Risk Notes (Special Handling Required)
These notes flag translation risks that arise specifically from a term recurring across multiple chapters with shifting or overlapping senses. Each requires an explicit translator note per the baseline 12_ai_translation_requirements.md footnote protocol.
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διαθήκη dual sense (covenant / last will) — Hebrews 9:16–17 (Critical). Everywhere else in Hebrews, διαθήκη = giao ước (covenant), matching Romans TM usage. In 9:16–17 only, Paul’s Greek exploits the word’s secondary legal sense of “last will/testament,” which “giao ước” cannot carry. This pericope requires switching to di chúc and flagging the segment for human theologian review, with a translator note explaining the legal wordplay, then returning to “giao ước” immediately afterward (9:18 onward).
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ὑπόστασις dual sense — Hebrews 1:3 vs. 11:1 (High). The same Greek word denotes (a) God’s own essential being/substance in 1:3, rendered bản thể, and (b) faith’s confident grounding of hope in 11:1, rendered sự biết chắc (vững vàng). These must never be collapsed into a single Vietnamese term; doing so would either reduce Christ’s deity to a psychological state or reduce faith’s assurance to an abstract metaphysical category.
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χαρακτήρ vs. τύπος/ἀντίτυπος — Hebrews 1:3 vs. 8:5/9:24 (High). English “image/exact representation” (χαρακτήρ, of Christ’s deity) and “pattern/copy” (τύπος/ἀντίτυπος, of the earthly tabernacle) both involve “likeness” language in English but must use distinct Vietnamese terms — hình ảnh chân thực for χαρακτήρ, hình mẫu/bản sao for τύπος/ἀντίτυπος — so that Christ’s full, essential deity is never read as merely one more derivative “copy” among many, unlike the tabernacle.
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ἀφίστημι (ch. 3) vs. παραπίπτω (ch. 6) — two apostasy terms (Critical). Hebrews uses at least two distinct verbs for “falling away”: ch. 3’s lìa bỏ (departing from the living God through unbelief) and ch. 6’s sa ngã (a more severe, decisive apostasy after having fully tasted gospel blessing). Both must route to human theologian review, but they must remain lexically distinct in Vietnamese so the escalating severity of Hebrews’ warning passages is not flattened into a single generic “backsliding” term.
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“linh nghiệm” avoidance — Hebrews 4:12 (High). The common Vietnamese folk-religious adjective for a shrine, amulet, or petition being “efficacious” (linh nghiệm — i.e., it “works” supernaturally) must never be used for the “living and active” word of God. Use hằng sống và có quyền năng instead, to keep God’s Word’s power personal and moral rather than magical.
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“bàn thờ” ancestor-altar collision — Hebrews 13:10 (High). “Bàn thờ,” the standard rendering for θυσιαστήριον (“altar”), is also the everyday Vietnamese term for the household ancestor-veneration altar (bàn thờ tổ tiên) present in the overwhelming majority of Vietnamese homes. Every occurrence must carry sufficient surrounding context (or an explicit translator/footnote) clarifying that Hebrews 13:10 refers to believers’ access to Christ’s finished sacrificial altar, not to a family ancestor-worship altar.
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“nắp thi ân” / ἱλαστήριον — Hebrews 9:5 (Critical), linked to Romans 3:25. The baseline Romans package flagged “atonement/propitiation language (Romans 3:25)” for escalation but never supplied a fixed Vietnamese term for ἱλαστήριον. This glossary establishes nắp thi ân as that term. Any future revision of the Romans translation memory should be checked against this entry for consistency, since both texts use the identical Greek word.
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ἐντυγχάνω (Hebrews 7:25) reuses “sự cầu thay” (Critical, reused from Romans TM). The mandatory ancestor-veneration distinction note from the Romans baseline (Christ’s/Spirit’s intercession vs. petitioning a deceased ancestor at the family altar) applies with even greater force in Hebrews, since ch. 7’s intercession is explicitly grounded in Christ’s permanent priesthood and finished sacrifice — reinforce this connection in every occurrence’s translator note.
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κρείττων (“better”) consistency — recurring ~13 times across chs. 1, 3, 6–12 (Medium). Because the entire book’s argument for Christ’s superiority (over angels, Moses, and the Levitical priesthood) is carried by this one repeated comparative term, tốt hơn must be rendered identically at every occurrence to preserve the cumulative rhetorical effect for the Vietnamese reader.
End of core glossary. Cross-reference analysis/07_semantic_analysis.md for full contextual argumentation behind each entry.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: Ông Trời
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. The established 1926 Protestant term; every Critical/High occurrence should carry context showing a personal, covenant-making God, not folk Ông Trời. In Hebrews, ‘the living God’ (3:12; 9:14; 10:31; 12:22) intensifies this contrast.
Jesus
Approved rendering: Đức Chúa Giê-xu
Transliteration: Duc Chua Gie-xu
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Standard Vietnamese Protestant Bible form; used consistently across Hebrews 2:9; 3:1; 4:14; 6:20; 7:22; 10:19; 12:2, 24; 13:8, 12, 20.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: Đức Thánh Linh
Transliteration: Duc Thanh Linh
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: thần linh
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 9:14’s ‘eternal Spirit’ must retain this full form, never bare thần linh, the folk spirit-category term.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: Con Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: Con Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Central to Hebrews 1’s superiority-over-angels argument; must never read as a title claimed by a deified ancestor or folk-hero spirit.
Lord
Approved rendering: Chúa
Transliteration: Chua
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ESCALATED from High (Romans baseline) to Critical for Hebrews because 1:10 and 8:8-11 apply ‘Chúa’ to God himself in direct OT citation alongside its Christological use in 1:8-13, raising the doctrinal stakes of any imprecision. Must convey exclusive, supreme Lordship.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: sự sống lại
Transliteration: su song lai
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: sự đầu thai, luân hồi
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. ‘A better resurrection’ (11:35) and the shepherd benediction (13:20) both depend on this term; never đầu thai/luân hồi.
Salvation
Approved rendering: sự cứu rỗi
Transliteration: su cuu roi
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: sự giải thoát
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Governs Hebrews 1:14; 2:3, 10; 5:9; 6:9; 9:28 (Christ’s second appearing ‘unto salvation’); never sự giải thoát.
Intercession
Approved rendering: sự cầu thay
Transliteration: su cau thay
Doctrine: Intercession of Christ
Rejected alternatives: cầu xin tổ tiên
Original: ἐντυγχάνω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 7:25 grounds this explicitly in Christ’s permanent priesthood and finished sacrifice, making the contrast with cầu xin tổ tiên (petitioning a deceased ancestor at the family altar) doctrinally load-bearing. Every occurrence requires the ancestor-veneration distinction note.
Christ Title
Approved rendering: Đấng Christ
Transliteration: Dang Christ
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Established Vietnamese Protestant transliteration standard for the title ‘Christ,’ distinct from the transliterated OT expectation term ‘Đấng Mê-si-a.’ Must not be replaced with a generic honorific or a title associated with a deified folk hero.
Mercy Seat
Approved rendering: nắp thi ân
Transliteration: nap thi an
Doctrine: Propitiation and the Mercy Seat
Rejected alternatives: cúng tạ lỗi
Original: ἱλαστήριον
Category: Atonement
Newly coined term (no prior Vietnamese Bible-tradition precedent) for hilastērion, the same Greek word underlying Romans 3:25’s unresolved ‘propitiation.’ Must not be modeled on ancestor-appeasement offerings (cúng tạ lỗi) at a family altar. Any future Romans TM revision should be checked against this entry for consistency.
Propitiation
Approved rendering: sự chuộc tội / chuộc tội
Transliteration: su chuoc toi / chuoc toi
Doctrine: Propitiation and the Mercy Seat
Rejected alternatives: cúng tạ lỗi, công đức tích lũy
Original: ἱλασμός / ἱλάσκομαι
Category: Atonement
God’s own satisfaction of his own justice through Christ’s blood (2:17; 9:11-14); must never be modeled on ritual appeasement of ancestor spirits or Buddhist merit-based atonement for wrongdoing.
Once
Approved rendering: một lần
Transliteration: mot lan
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἅπαξ
Category: Atonement
Must be rendered identically at every occurrence (9:12, 26-28); contrasts Christ’s single entry with the high priest’s annual repetition.
Once For All
Approved rendering: một lần đủ cả
Transliteration: mot lan du ca
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἐφάπαξ
Category: Atonement
Established Vietnamese Protestant phrase for ephapax; fixed at every occurrence (7:27; 9:12; 10:10), distinguished from the simpler ἅπαξ (‘một lần’).
Covenant Testament Wordplay
Approved rendering: giao ước / di chúc
Transliteration: giao uoc / di chuc
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
In Hebrews 9:16-17 ONLY, διαθήκη carries the secondary legal sense of a ‘last will/testament,’ validated by the testator’s death. ‘Giao ước’ alone cannot carry this sense; switch to ‘di chúc’ with a mandatory translator note explaining the wordplay, then return to ‘giao ước’ from 9:18 onward. Human theologian review required at every occurrence.
Fall Away Depart
Approved rendering: lìa bỏ
Transliteration: lia bo
Doctrine: Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Rejected alternatives: bỏ đạo
Original: ἀφίστημι
Category: Apostasy and Warning
To defect or depart from a former commitment to the living God (3:12), the first of Hebrews’ escalating apostasy warnings. Must be kept lexically distinct from the more severe 6:6 term ‘sa ngã’; never use the flattening colloquial ‘bỏ đạo.‘
Fall Away Severe
Approved rendering: sa ngã
Transliteration: sa nga
Doctrine: Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Rejected alternatives: bỏ đạo
Original: παραπίπτω
Category: Apostasy and Warning
Decisive apostasy after having fully tasted the blessings of the gospel (6:6), the most severe fall-away term before ch. 10. Must remain distinct from 3:12’s milder ‘lìa bỏ’; theologian-level review required at every occurrence.
Sin Willfully
Approved rendering: cố ý phạm tội
Transliteration: co y pham toi
Doctrine: Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Rejected alternatives: bỏ đạo
Original: ἑκουσίως ἁμαρτάνω
Category: Apostasy and Warning
Deliberate, willful continuance in sin after receiving full knowledge of the truth, for which ‘no further sacrifice remains’ (10:26); the most severe of the three apostasy terms — requires theologian review to avoid both overstating and understating its force.
High Risk Terms
Faith
Approved rendering: đức tin
Transliteration: duc tin
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ESCALATED from Medium to High for Hebrews because chapter 11’s definitional statement and thirty-plus-verse roll call make faith a load-bearing structural doctrine, not an incidental term. Object of faith remains God/Christ and his promise, never generalized religious devotion or Confucian filial loyalty.
Grace
Approved rendering: ân điển
Transliteration: an dien
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: phước đức, công đức, ơn nghĩa
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Grounds bold approach to God’s throne (4:16) and frames fatherly discipline (12:15, 28) as gift, not reciprocal debt.
Glory
Approved rendering: sự vinh hiển
Transliteration: su vinh hien
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ESCALATED from Medium to High for Hebrews because 1:3’s radiance-of-glory Christology makes this term load-bearing for the deity argument (see related new term radiance_of_glory below).
Law
Approved rendering: luật pháp
Transliteration: luat phap
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ESCALATED from Medium to High for Hebrews because chapters 7-10 build the entire covenant-supersession argument on this term, requiring non-triumphalist framing given Jewish-Christian sensitivities.
Sin
Approved rendering: tội lỗi
Transliteration: toi loi
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Rejected alternatives: nghiệp xấu
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ESCALATED from Medium to High for Hebrews because chapters 9-10’s atonement argument is concentrated on this term; distinguish from nghiệp xấu, impersonal bad karma.
Holy
Approved rendering: thánh
Transliteration: thanh
Doctrine: Church as New Covenant Assembly
Original: ἅγιος
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ESCALATED from Medium to High for Hebrews given ‘holy brethren’ (3:1) framing the whole community’s identity and its proximity to the graded nơi thánh/nơi rất thánh tabernacle vocabulary in ch. 9.
Saints
Approved rendering: các thánh đồ
Transliteration: cac thanh do
Doctrine: Church as New Covenant Assembly
Rejected alternatives: các thánh
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Used in the closing greeting (13:24); never shortened to bare các thánh, the deified-folk-hero term.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: sự nên thánh
Transliteration: su nen thanh
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἁγιασμός
Category: Sanctification
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ESCALATED from Medium to High for Hebrews because 10:10, 14 must hold together a once-for-all declarative sense and an ongoing-process sense without contradiction.
Covenant
Approved rendering: giao ước
Transliteration: giao uoc
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ESCALATED from Medium to High for Hebrews, the organizing category of chapters 7-10. EXCEPTION: at Hebrews 9:16-17 only, switch to ‘di chúc’ (see covenant_testament_wordplay entry below), then return to ‘giao ước’ from 9:18 onward.
Called
Approved rendering: được kêu gọi
Transliteration: duoc keu goi
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: κλητός / κλῆσις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ESCALATED from Medium to High for Hebrews because 9:15 ties ‘the called’ directly to receiving the eternal inheritance secured by Christ’s death, a load-bearing soteriological claim.
Calling
Approved rendering: sự kêu gọi
Transliteration: su keu goi
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Rejected alternatives: số phận
Inherited from Romans package; RISK ESCALATED from Medium to High for Hebrews. 3:1’s ‘heavenly calling’ must never read as số phận, impersonal fixed fate/destiny.
Father
Approved rendering: Cha
Transliteration: Cha
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Governs 12:7, 9’s discipline passage; must emphasize grace and secured sonship, not Confucian filial-duty hierarchy (đạo hiếu) or fear of ancestral displeasure.
Adoption
Approved rendering: sự làm con nuôi
Transliteration: su lam con nuoi
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies the ch.12 discipline passage’s secured-sonship framing and echoes the inheritance/cơ nghiệp theme of 9:15; must emphasize grace and intimacy over Confucian filial-duty hierarchy.
High Priest
Approved rendering: thầy tế lễ thượng phẩm
Transliteration: thay te le thuong pham
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Rejected alternatives: thầy (alone)
Original: ἀρχιερεύς
Category: Priesthood
‘Thầy’ collides with the common Vietnamese address for a Buddhist monk or spiritual master. Every occurrence (chs. 2-10, esp. opening the core passage at 9:11) must be anchored to the Levitical office and Christ’s unique fulfillment of it, never read as a guide toward self-attained enlightenment.
Holy Place Holy Of Holies
Approved rendering: nơi thánh / nơi rất thánh
Transliteration: noi thanh / noi rat thanh
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: τὰ ἅγια / Ἅγια Ἁγίων
Category: Access to God
The graded, restricted-access inner sanctuary of the tabernacle (ch. 9), contrasted with Christ’s direct, once-for-all entry (9:12). This is the theological backbone of the access doctrine, not an architectural detail.
Veil
Approved rendering: bức màn
Transliteration: buc man
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: καταπέτασμα
Category: Access to God
The curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, later identified explicitly with Christ’s own flesh (10:20); render consistently across chs. 9-10.
Blood
Approved rendering: huyết
Transliteration: huyet
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Rejected alternatives: máu (in sacrificial contexts)
Original: αἷμα
Category: Atonement
Vietnamese Bible tradition reserves huyết for sacred/sacrificial blood, distinct from ordinary máu; consistency required across every occurrence, especially chs. 9-10, 12-13.
Redemption
Approved rendering: sự cứu chuộc
Transliteration: su cuu chuoc
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Rejected alternatives: sự giải thoát
Original: λύτρωσις / ἀπολύτρωσις
Category: Atonement
Deliverance secured specifically through the payment of Christ’s blood (9:12, 15), retroactively covering sins under the first covenant; must not collapse into forbidden sự giải thoát, since both involve ‘release/freedom’ imagery.
New Covenant
Approved rendering: giao ước mới
Transliteration: giao uoc moi
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: διαθήκη καινή
Category: Covenant
The covenant announced in Jeremiah 31 and inaugurated by Christ’s death (chs. 8-9); must be taught as a superior, once-for-all covenant, not a merely revised contract.
Mediator
Approved rendering: Đấng Trung Gian
Transliteration: Dang Trung Gian
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: μεσίτης
Category: Covenant
Applied exclusively to Christ (8:6; 9:15; 12:24); must be explicitly distinguished from a spirit-medium (đồng cốt) or shaman mediating between the living and ancestor spirits/deities.
Shedding Of Blood
Approved rendering: sự đổ huyết
Transliteration: su do huyet
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: αἱματεκχυσία
Category: Atonement
The physical shedding of blood, without which there is no forgiveness (9:22); must not be softened into a bloodless metaphor.
Forgiveness
Approved rendering: sự tha thứ (tội lỗi)
Transliteration: su tha thu (toi loi)
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἄφεσις
Category: Atonement
Release from the debt, guilt, and penalty of sin secured through Christ’s atoning bloodshed (9:22; 10:18); distinct from a karmic ‘release’ of debt in Buddhist thought.
Put Away Sin
Approved rendering: sự cất bỏ (tội lỗi)
Transliteration: su cat bo (toi loi)
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἀθέτησις
Category: Atonement
The decisive nullification of sin’s condemning claim through Christ’s one sacrifice (9:26); sin’s claim is annulled, not ritually managed or postponed.
Bear Sins
Approved rendering: mang lấy / gánh lấy (tội lỗi)
Transliteration: mang lay / ganh lay (toi loi)
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: ἀναφέρω
Category: Atonement
To carry away sins substitutionarily, echoing Isaiah 53 (9:28); substitutionary bearing, not impersonal removal.
Judgment
Approved rendering: sự phán xét
Transliteration: su phan xet
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: κρίσις
Category: Atonement
Certain divine judgment following death (9:27), also invoked in the fearful prospect facing the willful apostate (10:27); must be maintained as certain and final, not a graded karmic reckoning.
Altar
Approved rendering: bàn thờ
Transliteration: ban tho
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: θυσιαστήριον
Category: Access to God
‘Bàn thờ’ is the everyday Vietnamese term for the household ancestor-veneration altar (bàn thờ tổ tiên) found in most Vietnamese homes; every occurrence, especially 13:10, requires explicit surrounding context clarifying that this names Christ’s once-for-all sacrificial altar, never a family ancestor-worship altar.
Boldness
Approved rendering: sự dạn dĩ
Transliteration: su dan di
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: παρρησία
Category: Access to God
Confident, unashamed access to God’s throne, grounded in Christ’s priestly work (4:16; 10:19, 35); grace-given confidence, not human presumption.
Draw Near
Approved rendering: đến gần
Transliteration: den gan
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: προσέρχομαι
Category: Access to God
The central ‘access’ verb, recurring at 4:16; 7:19, 25; 10:1, 22; 11:6; 12:18, 22; must be rendered consistently at every occurrence to preserve the book-wide access motif.
Living Active Word
Approved rendering: hằng sống và có quyền năng
Transliteration: hang song va co quyen nang
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: linh nghiệm
Original: ζῶν καὶ ἐνεργής
Category: Scripture
God’s Word as personally alive and effective, piercing to discern the heart (4:12); deliberately avoids linh nghiệm, the folk term for a shrine’s/amulet’s magical efficacy — God’s Word’s power is personal and moral, not occult.
Radiance Of Glory
Approved rendering: sự rạng ngời (của sự vinh hiển)
Transliteration: su rang ngoi (cua su vinh hien)
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ἀπαύγασμα
Category: Christology
The Son perfectly radiates God’s own glory (1:3); must convey shared essence, not a reflected/borrowed light like a folk deity’s aura.
Exact Representation
Approved rendering: hình ảnh chân thực (của bản thể Ngài)
Transliteration: hinh anh chan thuc (cua ban the Ngai)
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: χαρακτήρ
Category: Christology
The precise, engraved-stamp likeness of God’s essential being, held by the Son (1:3); kept terminologically distinct from τύπος/ἀντίτυπος (‘hình mẫu/bản sao’), used later of the tabernacle’s merely derivative copies.
Substance Essence
Approved rendering: bản thể
Transliteration: ban the
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: ὑπόστασις
Category: Christology
God’s own essential being/nature, perfectly represented in the Son (1:3). Must be tracked separately from the distinct sense of the same Greek word (ὑπόστασις) in 11:1, rendered ‘sự biết chắc’ — never collapsed into one term.
Substance Assurance Faith
Approved rendering: sự biết chắc (vững vàng)
Transliteration: su biet chac (vung vang)
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ὑπόστασις
Category: Faith
Faith’s confident grounding of hope, giving present certainty to future promised realities (11:1); same Greek word as 1:3’s ‘bản thể’ but a distinct sense, never collapsed into that ontological term.
Pioneer Author
Approved rendering: Đấng khai khởi
Transliteration: Dang khai khoi
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ἀρχηγός
Category: Christology
One who leads the way as first, opening a path through suffering (2:10; 12:2); must be rendered consistently, paired with the matching title τελειωτής (‘Đấng làm cho trọn vẹn’) at 12:2.
Finisher Perfecter
Approved rendering: Đấng làm cho trọn vẹn
Transliteration: Dang lam cho tron ven
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: τελειωτής
Category: Christology
Christ both originates and completes the believer’s faith (12:2); must be paired consistently with 2:10’s ‘Đấng khai khởi.‘
Perfect Complete Verb
Approved rendering: làm cho trọn vẹn
Transliteration: lam cho tron ven
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: τελειόω
Category: Christology
A structural theme across Hebrews (2:10; 5:9; 7:28; 10:14; 11:40; 12:23); must not be confused with Buddhist giác ngộ hoàn toàn (self-achieved enlightenment) or Confucian self-cultivated virtue — this is God’s action, not self-attainment.
Obedience Of Christ
Approved rendering: sự vâng phục
Transliteration: su vang phuc
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ὑπακοή
Category: Christology
Christ’s own learned submission to the Father through suffering (5:8), qualifying him as sympathetic high priest. Distinct context from the Romans baseline compound ‘sự vâng phục của đức tin’; still must avoid Confucian đạo hiếu hierarchical-duty framing.
Draw Back
Approved rendering: thối lui / lui bước
Transliteration: thoi lui / lui buoc
Doctrine: Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: ὑποστολή
Category: Apostasy and Warning
Timid retreat from one’s commitment, described as fatal to the soul (10:38-39); the negative counterpart to endurance/perseverance.
Rest
Approved rendering: sự yên nghỉ
Transliteration: su yen nghi
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Rejected alternatives: niết-bàn, sự giải thoát
Original: κατάπαυσις / σαββατισμός
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
The promised place/state of covenantal rest with God (chs. 3-4); must be taught as relational rest in God’s presence, not the Buddhist cessation of craving/rebirth, nor a mere euphemism for death.
Hope
Approved rendering: sự trông cậy
Transliteration: su trong cay
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Rejected alternatives: hy vọng (as primary rendering)
Original: ἐλπίς
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
Confident, certain expectation grounded in God’s character and unchangeable oath (6:11, 18-19; 7:19; 10:23); preferred over generic ‘hy vọng,’ which carries a merely wishful or fatalistic connotation.
Endurance
Approved rendering: sự bền đỗ
Transliteration: su ben do
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: ὑπομονή
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
Steadfast patience under pressure oriented toward a future reward (10:36; 12:1); must be distinguished from mere passive resignation to fate (số phận).
Discipline
Approved rendering: sự sửa phạt
Transliteration: su sua phat
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Rejected alternatives: nghiệp báo
Original: παιδεία
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
Formative correction motivated by love, producing holiness, not punitive rejection (12:5-11); must be distinguished from impersonal karmic retribution (nghiệp báo) and fear of ancestral curses for family dishonor; grounded instead in secured sonship.
Medium Risk Terms
Power Of God
Approved rendering: quyền năng của Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: quyen nang cua Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Applies to the Son’s upholding of all things (1:3) and the establishment of his priesthood (7:16).
Israel
Approved rendering: Y-sơ-ra-ên
Transliteration: Y-so-ra-en
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Named as recipient of the new covenant promise cited from Jeremiah (8:8-10).
Church
Approved rendering: Hội Thánh
Transliteration: Hoi Thanh
Doctrine: Church as New Covenant Assembly
Rejected alternatives: đền, chùa
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. At 12:23 use the qualifying phrase ‘hội của các con đầu lòng’ rather than shortening in a way suggesting a favored sub-class distinct from Hội Thánh generally.
Peace
Approved rendering: sự bình an
Transliteration: su binh an
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: εἰρήνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Pursued with others (12:14) and attributed to God as its source (13:20); distinguish from Buddhist meditative calm.
Apostle
Approved rendering: sứ đồ
Transliteration: su do
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Hebrews 3:1 uniquely applies this title to Christ himself alongside ‘high priest’ — a distinctive double-title requiring a note that Christ is both the one sent from God and the one who mediates access back to God.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: Nước Đức Chúa Trời
Transliteration: Nuoc Duc Chua Troi
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Inherited from Romans package. Underlies the new term unshakeable_kingdom (12:28); distinguish from any political, ancestral-lineage, or nationalist project.
Priesthood
Approved rendering: chức tế lễ
Transliteration: chuc te le
Doctrine: Superiority over Levitical Priesthood
Original: ἱερωσύνη
Category: Priesthood
The office and function of priestly mediation, changed from a Levitical to a Melchizedekian order in Christ (ch. 7).
Melchizedek
Approved rendering: Mên-chi-xê-đéc
Transliteration: Men-chi-xe-dec
Doctrine: Melchizedekian Priesthood Typology
Original: Μελχισέδεκ
Category: Priesthood
Established Genesis transliteration. The typological argument (priestly order without recorded genealogy or successor) has no ready Vietnamese cultural analogue and must be actively taught.
Unchangeable Priesthood
Approved rendering: chức tế lễ đời đời chẳng đổi
Transliteration: chuc te le doi doi chang doi
Doctrine: Superiority over Levitical Priesthood
Original: ἀπαράβατος
Category: Priesthood
Christ’s priesthood, unlike Levitical succession broken repeatedly by the priests’ deaths (7:23-24), never passes to a successor.
Tabernacle
Approved rendering: đền tạm
Transliteration: den tam
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Rejected alternatives: đền, chùa
Original: σκηνή
Category: Access to God
The portable earthly sanctuary, a copy of the heavenly reality Christ entered (chs. 8-9, 13); must not be confused with a permanent temple/chùa.
Made With Hands
Approved rendering: do tay người làm ra
Transliteration: do tay nguoi lam ra
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: χειροποίητος
Category: Covenant
Marks the earthly tabernacle as a mere copy of the heavenly original (9:11, 24); sets up the ch. 8-9 earthly-copy vs. heavenly-original contrast.
Promise
Approved rendering: lời hứa
Transliteration: loi hua
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ἐπαγγελία
Category: Covenant
God’s formal, binding pledge, fulfilled in the new covenant’s eternal inheritance (4:1; 6:12-17; 8:6; 9:15; 11:9-40); not a casual assurance.
Inheritance
Approved rendering: cơ nghiệp
Transliteration: co nghiep
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: κληρονομία
Category: Covenant
A possession received by right of relationship, not earned (9:15; cf. 1:2, 4, 14; 11:8); echoes the Romans baseline’s sự làm con nuôi sonship-inheritance link.
Shadow
Approved rendering: bóng
Transliteration: bong
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: σκιά
Category: Covenant
A dim outline anticipating but not identical to the substantial reality (8:5; 10:1); a positive foreshadowing image, not a haunting presence.
Copy Pattern
Approved rendering: mẫu / hình mẫu
Transliteration: mau / hinh mau
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ὑπόδειγμα / τύπος
Category: Covenant
An earthly pattern divinely designed to foreshadow its heavenly fulfillment (8:5; 9:23-24); kept lexically distinct from χαρακτήρ (‘hình ảnh chân thực’), used of Christ’s own essential deity.
Antitype
Approved rendering: bản sao (của những điều thật)
Transliteration: ban sao (cua nhung dieu that)
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ἀντίτυπος
Category: Covenant
A derivative copy contrasted with ‘the true’ heavenly original Christ entered (9:24).
Guarantor
Approved rendering: Đấng bảo đảm
Transliteration: Dang bao dam
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ἔγγυος
Category: Covenant
Christ personally guarantees the new covenant’s promises (7:22), unlike the Levitical system.
Conscience
Approved rendering: lương tâm
Transliteration: luong tam
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: συνείδησις
Category: Atonement
The inner moral faculty cleansed by Christ’s blood from guilt over dead works (9:9, 14; 10:2, 22; 13:18); rooted in Christ’s blood, not self-cultivated Confucian virtue.
Dead Works
Approved rendering: việc chết
Transliteration: viec chet
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: νεκρὰ ἔργα
Category: Atonement
Actions incapable of producing life or pleasing God (6:1; 9:14); guard against reading as merely ‘bad deeds.‘
Serve Worship
Approved rendering: hầu việc / thờ phượng
Transliteration: hau viec / tho phuong
Doctrine: Access to God through Christ’s Blood
Original: λατρεύω
Category: Atonement
Priestly, worshipful service enabled by a cleansed conscience (9:14; 12:28; 13:10).
End Of The Ages
Approved rendering: cuối cùng của các thời đại
Transliteration: cuoi cung cua cac thoi dai
Doctrine: The Once-for-All Atoning Sacrifice
Original: συντέλεια τῶν αἰώνων
Category: Atonement
The climactic turning-point of redemptive history at which Christ’s sacrifice occurred (9:26); linear-history framing, not cyclical.
Sacrifice Of Praise
Approved rendering: tế lễ ngợi khen
Transliteration: te le ngoi khen
Doctrine: Christian Ethical Living and Hospitality
Original: θυσία αἰνέσεως
Category: Atonement
Verbal, worshipful praise offered as the acceptable sacrifice now that Christ’s offering has fulfilled the sacrificial system (13:15).
Firstborn
Approved rendering: con đầu lòng
Transliteration: con dau long
Doctrine: Superiority over Angels
Original: πρωτότοκος
Category: Christology
Preeminence in rank and inheritance, not birth order; Christ’s supreme rank over angels (1:6) and believers’ shared status in the heavenly assembly (12:23).
Angel
Approved rendering: thiên sứ
Transliteration: thien su
Doctrine: Superiority over Angels
Original: ἄγγελος
Category: Angelology
Established BDTT term; must be kept distinct from the broad folk-religious thần linh category (spirits, tutelary deities, ancestor spirits) so angels are never read as one more class of venerable spirit-beings to be propitiated.
Inherit Verb
Approved rendering: được thừa hưởng
Transliteration: duoc thua huong
Doctrine: Superiority over Angels
Original: κληρονομέω
Category: Christology
To receive a possession by right of sonship, applied to the Son’s name and status (1:4, 14); received by inheritance-right, not earned achievement.
Devil
Approved rendering: ma quỷ / Sa-tan
Transliteration: ma quy / Sa-tan
Doctrine: Incarnation and Humanity of Christ
Original: διάβολος
Category: Christology
The personal, malevolent spiritual enemy holding the power of death, defeated through Christ’s death (2:14); distinct from impersonal malevolent forces in folk cosmology.
Great Shepherd
Approved rendering: Đấng Chăn Chiên lớn
Transliteration: Dang Chan Chien lon
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: ὁ ποιμὴν τῶν προβάτων ὁ μέγας
Category: Christology
A closing Christological title tied explicitly to the resurrection (13:20).
Harden Heart
Approved rendering: làm cứng (lòng)
Transliteration: lam cung (long)
Doctrine: Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: σκληρύνω
Category: Apostasy and Warning
Stubborn resistance to God’s voice, modeled by the wilderness generation (3:8, 13, 15; 4:7); warns against a repeatable pattern of unbelief.
Unbelief
Approved rendering: sự vô tín
Transliteration: su vo tin
Doctrine: Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: ἀπιστία
Category: Apostasy and Warning
The root cause of Israel’s failure to enter God’s rest (3:12, 19); distrust of a personal, promise-making God.
Consuming Fire
Approved rendering: lửa thiêu đốt
Transliteration: lua thieu dot
Doctrine: Danger of Apostasy and Warning Passages
Original: πῦρ καταναλίσκον
Category: Apostasy and Warning
God’s holy, judging presence, cited from Deuteronomy 4:24, closing the warning of 12:25-29.
Confession
Approved rendering: sự xưng nhận / lời tuyên xưng
Transliteration: su xung nhan / loi tuyen xung
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: ὁμολογία
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
A public, verbal profession of faith commitment, to be held fast without wavering (3:1; 4:14; 10:23).
Assembling Together
Approved rendering: sự nhóm lại (với nhau)
Transliteration: su nhom lai (voi nhau)
Doctrine: Church as New Covenant Assembly
Original: ἐπισυναγωγή
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
The practice of regular corporate church gathering, not to be neglected (10:25); foundational for perseverance as a communal, not merely individual, practice.
Unshakeable Kingdom
Approved rendering: nước không thể rúng động
Transliteration: nuoc khong the rung dong
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: βασιλεία ἀσάλευτος
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
God’s kingdom, permanent amid the shaking and removal of all created, temporary things (12:28); ties to Nước Đức Chúa Trời.
Assembly Of Firstborn
Approved rendering: hội của các con đầu lòng
Transliteration: hoi cua cac con dau long
Doctrine: Church as New Covenant Assembly
Original: ἐκκλησία πρωτοτόκων
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
The heavenly gathering of all the redeemed, sharing Christ’s ‘firstborn’ status and inheritance rights (12:23); should not be shortened in a way suggesting a favored sub-class distinct from all believers.
Evidence Conviction
Approved rendering: bằng cớ
Transliteration: bang co
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ἔλεγχος
Category: Faith
Certainty regarding what is not seen, paired with ‘substance’ in Hebrews’ definition of faith (11:1).
Strangers Pilgrims
Approved rendering: khách lạ và người tạm trú
Transliteration: khach la va nguoi tam tru
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ξένος καὶ παρεπίδημος
Category: Faith
The patriarchs’ self-understanding as resident-aliens awaiting a homeland elsewhere (11:13); a model for the whole church’s identity.
Eagerly Await
Approved rendering: trông đợi
Transliteration: trong doi
Doctrine: Second Coming of Christ
Original: ἀπεκδέχομαι
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
Confident, expectant waiting for Christ’s second appearing (9:28); hopeful, not fearful, since judgment for sin has already been dealt with.
Second Time
Approved rendering: lần thứ hai
Transliteration: lan thu hai
Doctrine: Second Coming of Christ
Original: ἐκ δευτέρου
Category: Eschatology
Christ’s future return, contrasted with his first coming to bear sin (9:28); establishes a linear, two-advent Christology, not a cyclical return.
Leaders
Approved rendering: những người dắt dẫn
Transliteration: nhung nguoi dat dan
Doctrine: Christian Ethical Living and Hospitality
Original: ἡγούμενοι
Category: Ethics
Those exercising spiritual oversight and teaching (13:7, 17, 24); congregational submission to spiritual leaders, not a hierarchy modeled on ancestral rank.
Reverence
Approved rendering: lòng kính sợ
Transliteration: long kinh so
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: εὐλάβεια
Category: Priesthood
Pious reverence toward God, especially in prayer; describes Christ’s own prayers, heard because of his reverent submission (5:7).
Mature Perfect Adj
Approved rendering: trọn vẹn / trưởng thành
Transliteration: tron ven / truong thanh
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: τέλειος
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
Spiritual maturity, contrasted with spiritual infancy (5:14; 6:1); connects to the book’s broader perfection theme (τελειόω).
Tempt
Approved rendering: bị cám dỗ / chịu thử thách
Transliteration: bi cam do / chiu thu thach
Doctrine: Incarnation and Humanity of Christ
Original: πειράζω
Category: Priesthood
To be tested by trial or temptation; Christ’s genuine human temptation qualifies him to help those who are tempted (2:18; 4:15).
Low Risk Terms
David
Approved rendering: Đa-vít
Transliteration: Da-vit
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package (baseline risk Medium; downgraded to Low for Hebrews per the Hebrews-specific term registry, since here David appears only in the low-ambiguity roll call of 11:32 and Psalm citations).
Exhort
Approved rendering: khích lệ
Transliteration: khich le
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Context-sensitive across 3:13; 10:25; 13:22.
Prophet
Approved rendering: tiên tri
Transliteration: tien tri
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Rejected alternatives: thầy bói
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. God’s spokesmen through whom he spoke in past ages (1:1), now surpassed by his speech through the Son.
Levitical
Approved rendering: (chức tế lễ) thuộc chi phái Lê-vi
Transliteration: (chuc te le) thuoc chi phai Le-vi
Doctrine: Superiority over Levitical Priesthood
Original: Λευιτικός
Category: Priesthood
Descriptive, low-ambiguity rendering; pertaining to the tribe of Levi, from which Israel’s priests were drawn.
Ark Of Covenant
Approved rendering: hòm giao ước
Transliteration: hom giao uoc
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: κιβωτὸς τῆς διαθήκης
Category: Access to God
The sacred chest housing the covenant tablets, the physical locus of God’s covenant presence (9:4).
Cherubim
Approved rendering: chê-ru-bin
Transliteration: che-ru-bin
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: χερουβίμ
Category: Access to God
Established transliteration; winged heavenly beings overshadowing the mercy seat (9:5).
True Real
Approved rendering: thật / chân thật
Transliteration: that / chan that
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ἀληθινός
Category: Covenant
The ultimate reality behind a symbol or type; heaven itself and Christ’s heavenly ministry (8:2; 9:24).
Oath
Approved rendering: lời thề
Transliteration: loi the
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: ὅρκος
Category: Covenant
God’s solemn, binding pledge to Abraham (6:13-17) and concerning Christ’s priesthood (7:20-21).
Become Obsolete
Approved rendering: trở nên cũ
Transliteration: tro nen cu
Doctrine: New Covenant versus the Old
Original: παλαιόω
Category: Covenant
Describes the old covenant in light of the new (8:13); frame pastorally as fulfillment, not triumphalist rejection, given Jewish-Christian sensitivities.
Throne
Approved rendering: ngôi
Transliteration: ngoi
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: θρόνος
Category: Christology
The seat of royal, divine authority to rule, belonging eternally to the Son (1:8; 4:16; 8:1; 12:2).
Ministering Spirits
Approved rendering: các thần phục vụ
Transliteration: cac than phuc vu
Doctrine: Superiority over Angels
Original: λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα
Category: Angelology
Angels in their role as servants, not co-rulers with Christ (1:7, 14).
Faithful
Approved rendering: trung tín
Transliteration: trung tin
Doctrine: Superiority over Moses
Original: πιστός
Category: Apostasy and Warning
Both Moses and Christ are called faithful, though in different capacities (3:2, 5-6).
Race Contest
Approved rendering: cuộc đua
Transliteration: cuoc dua
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: ἀγών
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
An athletic contest requiring endurance, picturing the Christian life run with eyes fixed on Christ (12:1).
Anchor
Approved rendering: mỏ neo
Transliteration: mo neo
Doctrine: Perseverance and Assurance
Original: ἄγκυρα
Category: Perseverance and Assurance
A stabilizing device; hope in God’s promise anchors the soul securely amid trial (6:19).
Heavenly
Approved rendering: trên trời / thiên thượng
Transliteration: tren troi / thien thuong
Doctrine: Faith of the Old Testament Saints
Original: ἐπουράνιος
Category: Faith
Belonging to the heavenly realm (3:1; 6:4; 11:16); not merely a return to an earthly homeland.
Brotherly Love
Approved rendering: tình yêu thương anh em
Transliteration: tinh yeu thuong anh em
Doctrine: Christian Ethical Living and Hospitality
Original: φιλαδελφία
Category: Ethics
Familial love extended to the whole church family, transcending blood kinship (13:1).
Hospitality
Approved rendering: lòng hiếu khách
Transliteration: long hieu khach
Doctrine: Christian Ethical Living and Hospitality
Original: φιλοξενία
Category: Ethics
Active welcome extended to strangers and travelers (13:2), a practical outworking of the pilgrim identity of ch. 11.
Sympathize
Approved rendering: cảm thương
Transliteration: cam thuong
Doctrine: Christ as the Great High Priest
Original: συμπαθέω
Category: Priesthood
Compassionate identification with another’s weakness, marking Christ’s high priesthood (4:15).
Referenced passages