Chapter Intro

If artifacts.parallelism_signal is present in context.json (or --parallelism-signal high is passed), treat it as a chapter-level hint only: mention recurring parallelism briefly in "Translation Issues in This Chapter" if that section is included, without adding verse-level detail.

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Inputs

Normalize arguments:

• Book code: uppercase 3-letter code (e.g., PSA)
• Chapter: zero-padded 3-digit for filenames (e.g., 061), plain number for references (e.g., 61)

Read the following files. Not all may exist; work with what's available.

Pipeline output (preferred):

• ULT: output/AI-ULT/<BOOK>/<BOOK>-<CHAPTER_PAD>.usfm
• Issues: output/issues/<BOOK>/<BOOK>-<CHAPTER_PAD>.tsv
• UST: output/AI-UST/<BOOK>/<BOOK>-<CHAPTER_PAD>.usfm

Fallbacks if pipeline output doesn't exist:

• Published ULT: data/published_ult_english/ (find the book file, extract the chapter)
• Published UST: data/published_ust_english/ (find the book file, extract the chapter)

Always read:

• Hebrew source: find the chapter in data/hebrew_bible/ (search for the book's USFM file containing the chapter)

Reference materials (consult as needed):

• Published TN intros for style reference: published TN intro rows for the same book when available
• Translation Words for key terms: use mcp__workspace-tools__check_tw_headwords with terms=["term1", "term2"] or browse data/en_tw/
• Translation Academy articles relevant to the chapter's literary form or recurring translation issues

Step 2: Read the Style Guide

Read .claude/skills/reference/gl_guidelines.md for spelling, punctuation, and register rules that apply to all generated content (American English spelling, Oxford comma, curly quotes, formal register, etc.).

Step 3: Determine Chapter Function

Identify the chapter's role in the book and its dominant literary movement. Look for:

• speaker changes
• shifts between narration, poetry, prophecy, exhortation, or prayer
• repeated themes or key images
• distinctive translation challenges that affect the whole chapter rather than one verse

This feeds the 1-2 sentence overview in the Structure and Formatting section.

Step 4: Draft the Introduction

Write a short intro using the template below. The entire intro should be 300-600 characters. Each section is 1-2 sentences. Only include the Translation Issues section when there is a genuinely distinctive challenge (speaker ambiguity, extended metaphor spanning multiple verses, abrupt shifts in audience, repeated legal or ritual terms, etc.).

When a high parallelism hint is present, keep the note brief (one short sentence) and chapter-level (for example, recurring synonymous parallel lines), without listing individual verses.

Use [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/kt/<term>]] or [[rc://*/tw/dict/bible/other/<term>]] for Translation Word links. Use [Book Chapter](../book/chapter/verse.md) for cross-references.

Template

# <Book> <Chapter> Introduction

## Structure and Formatting

[1-2 sentences: chapter function, literary movement, and brief characterization. Include a tW or tA link when it materially helps translators.]

## Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

### [Concept Name]

[1-2 sentences explaining the concept.]

### [Optional second concept]

[1-2 sentences.]

## Translation Issues in This Chapter (optional)

### [Issue Name]

[1-2 sentences. Only include for distinctive challenges.]

Quality Checks

• Introduction matches the chapter's actual content and literary function
• tW links use correct [[rc://...]] format
• Content is translator-oriented, not devotional
• No verse-level detail that belongs in translation notes
• Total length stays in the 300-600 character range

Step 5: Format and Insert into Issue File

Format the intro for TSV storage:

1. Escape all newlines as literal \n (two characters: backslash + n)
2. The intro content goes in column 7 (the explanation/content column)

Build the issue TSV row (7 tab-separated columns, matching issue TSV format):

<book>\t<chapter>:intro\t\t\t\t\t<escaped intro content>

Example:

hab	3:intro					# Habakkuk 3 Introduction\n\n## Structure and Formatting\n\n...

Columns:

1. Book code (lowercase, e.g., psa)
2. Reference: <chapter>:intro
3. Issue type: (empty)
4. ULT quote: (empty)
5. Go? flag: (empty)
6. AT: (empty)
7. Content: the full intro with \n escapes

Insert into the issue file:

1. Read the existing issue file at output/issues/<BOOK>/<BOOK>-<CHAPTER_PAD>.tsv
2. Prepend the intro row as the first line
3. Write back to the same file

If the issue file already has an intro row (first line contains :intro), replace it rather than adding a duplicate.

Confirm the result by reading back the first 3 lines of the file to verify:

1. The intro row is correctly placed as the first data line
2. The intro is a single TSV line — no actual newline characters in the content. All markdown line breaks must be literal two-character \n sequences. If you see the intro spanning multiple lines in the file, fix it immediately.