Staff of Life

Glossary

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Glossary

This glossary gathers the words that carry the book’s textual argument. The romanized form comes first because that is how most readers meet the term in the chapters. The original script follows in parentheses, so the word can be seen as well as sounded.

The glosses are deliberately brief. They are not full dictionary entries. Where Bible Hub has a useful Strong’s or concordance page, the table links out to it as a concordance aid for seeing occurrences and lexical range; these links are not used here as scholarly authorities. Phrase entries point to their best component-word concordances. The entries are handrails for reading The Staff of Bread, Our Daily Bread, The Aramaic Reading That Lost, This Is My Body, and The Schism Over Leaven. Each romanized term below links to its own glossary page.

Hebrew

Romanized FormOriginal ScriptConcordance AidPlain GlossMain Use
leḥemלֶחֶםH3899 leḥembread, food, provisionThe broad biblical word behind many bread texts.
maṭṭēhמַטֶּהH4294 maṭṭēhstaff, rod, supportThe support image in The Staff of Bread.
maṭṭēh leḥemמַטֵּה לֶחֶםH4294 maṭṭēh, H3899 leḥemstaff of breadA famine idiom where bread is life support that can be broken.
leḥem min ha-shamayimלֶחֶם מִן־הַשָּׁמַיִםH3899 leḥembread from heavenThe wilderness phrase behind Manna and the Forgotten Lesson.
minḥahמִנְחָהH4503 minḥahgift, tribute, grain offeringThe cultic grain vocabulary in The Cultic Vocabulary.
mishʿānמִשְׁעָןH4937a mishʿānsupport, stayA support word related to the staff-of-bread image.
saʿadסָעַדH5582 saʿadto support, sustainA verbal cousin of the book’s support vocabulary.

Aramaic / Hebrew

Romanized FormOriginal ScriptConcordance AidPlain GlossMain Use
maharמָחָרH4279 mahartomorrowJerome’s reported reading behind The Aramaic Reading That Lost.

Greek

Romanized FormOriginal ScriptConcordance AidPlain GlossMain Use
artosἄρτοςG740 artosbread, loafThe ordinary Greek word for bread in the New Testament.
epiousiosἐπιούσιοςG1967 epiousiosdaily, necessary, coming-day, or supersubstantialThe disputed word in Our Daily Bread.
ton arton hēmōn ton epiousionτὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιονG740 artos, G1967 epiousiosour epiousios breadThe Greek form of the Lord’s Prayer petition in Matthew.
stērigmaστήριγμα—support, propThe Septuagint’s support language for the staff-of-bread idiom.
stērigma artouστήριγμα ἄρτουG740 artossupport of breadA Greek rendering of the Hebrew staff-of-bread phrase.
artous ek tou ouranouἄρτους ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦG740 artosbreads from heavenThe Septuagint wording linked to manna.
sōmaσῶμαG4983 sōmabodyEucharistic language in This Is My Body.
sarxσάρξG4561 sarxfleshBodily language important for sacramental and Johannine readings.
eucharisteōεὐχαριστέωG2168 eucharisteōto give thanksThe verb that gives Eucharist its later name.
azymaἄζυμαG106 azymaunleavened thingsThe term behind the medieval azymes dispute.
prosphoraπρόσφοραG4376 prosphoraoffering loavesGreek Orthodox eucharistic bread prepared for the Divine Liturgy.

Latin

Romanized FormOriginal ScriptConcordance AidPlain GlossMain Use
panispanis—breadThe basic Latin word for bread.
baculum panisbaculum panis—staff of breadThe Vulgate form of the staff-of-bread idiom.
quotidianumquotidianum—dailyJerome’s daily rendering in Luke’s version of the prayer.
supersubstantialemsupersubstantialem—supersubstantialJerome’s Matthew rendering, with Eucharistic and theological afterlives.
crastinumcrastinum—of tomorrowJerome’s gloss for the reported mahar reading.

The point of the glossary is modest but important. Translation is not decorative in this book. The argument depends on when a word means ordinary bread, when it means support, when it means sacred offering, and when it opens a theological question that cannot be reduced to a food rule.

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