What does βρέφος (bréphos) mean in the Bible?
The Greek noun brephos can refer to a child in the womb, a newborn child, or an infant. Luke uses it for John moving in Elizabeth’s womb, for Jesus lying in the manger, and for infants brought to Jesus.
Greek · G1025
βρέφος
An infant (properly, unborn) literally or figuratively
Reading a lexicon entry
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βρέφοςG1025
Pronunciationbréphos
What does βρέφος (bréphos) mean in the Bible?
The Greek noun brephos can refer to a child in the womb, a newborn child, or an infant. Luke uses it for John moving in Elizabeth’s womb, for Jesus lying in the manger, and for infants brought to Jesus.
Reader summary
Full entry for βρέφος (G1025) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1025?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include baby (3), babies (2), a baby (1), infancy (1), infants (1).
Where does βρέφος (bréphos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 1:41. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (5), 1 Peter (1), 2 Timothy (1), Acts (1).
What This Word Actually Means
The Greek noun brephos can refer to a child in the womb, a newborn child, or an infant. Luke uses it for John moving in Elizabeth’s womb, for Jesus lying in the manger, and for infants brought to Jesus. Acts describes endangered newborn children, while the Pastoral Epistles can speak of Timothy’s earliest life and Peter uses infancy as a growth image. The noun’s range joins continuity of personal reference across unborn and newborn settings, but lexical range alone does not answer every medical, legal, or ethical dispute.
Each passage has its own purpose. Faithful teaching honors children as persons worthy of welcome and protection, supports parents and caregivers, and refuses to exploit infant imagery for shame or political simplification. It distinguishes literal children from metaphor, keeps child safety central, and avoids inventing developmental or clinical claims beyond the text and qualified evidence.
How the Bible Uses It
Brephos refers to John before birth, Jesus and other children after birth, infants welcomed by Jesus, and figurative infancy in Christian growth. The term identifies vulnerable young life while context determines stage and theological emphasis.
- Luke.1.41
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
John moves within Elizabeth’s womb as she greets Mary, and Luke narrates the event within Spirit-filled recognition and blessing.
- Luke.2.12
And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
The shepherds receive a sign identifying the newborn Jesus as a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
- Luke.18.15
Now people were even bringing their babies to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them. And when the disciples saw this, they rebuked those who brought them.
People bring even infants to Jesus, and His response establishes welcome rather than treating them as interruptions.
- 2Tim.3.15
From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Timothy has known the sacred writings from earliest childhood, highlighting long formation rather than innate expertise.
- 1Pet.2.2
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
Peter compares believers’ desire for nourishing instruction to newborn infants longing for milk, using infancy metaphorically for growth.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itbaby3×Luke 1:41, Luke 1:44, Luke 2:16
babies2×Luke 18:15, 1 Peter 2:2
a baby1×Luke 2:12
infancy1×2 Timothy 3:15
infants1×Acts 7:19
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 1:41βρέφοςtobabyNoun - Nominative Neuter SingularLuke 1:44βρέφοςtobabyNoun - Nominative Neuter SingularLuke 2:12βρέφοςtoa babyNoun - Accusative Neuter SingularLuke 2:16βρέφοςtoBabyNoun - Accusative Neuter SingularLuke 18:15βρέφηtobabiesNoun - Accusative Neuter PluralActs 7:19βρέφηtoinfantsNoun - Accusative Neuter Plural2 Timothy 3:15βρέφουςtoinfancyNoun - Genitive Neuter Singular1 Peter 2:2βρέφηtobabiesNoun - Nominative Neuter Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLuke 1:41
Aligned rows8
Books represented4
Luke5Acts12 Timothy11 Peter1
Source forms
βρέφος4xbrephosLuke 1:41, Luke 1:44, Luke 2:12, Luke 2:16
βρέφη3xbrephēLuke 18:15, Acts 7:19, 1 Peter 2:2
βρέφους1xbrephous2 Timothy 3:15
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural2xLuke 18:15, Acts 7:19
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular2xLuke 2:12, Luke 2:16
Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular2xLuke 1:41, Luke 1:44
Noun - Genitive Neuter Singular1x2 Timothy 3:15
Noun - Nominative Neuter Plural1x1 Peter 2:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Ministry with children requires screened workers, observable settings, caregiver consent, reporting procedures, and compliance with applicable safeguarding law.
- Pregnancy and infant-health questions should be handled with qualified medical care, confidentiality, informed consent, and practical support for caregivers.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that lexical continuity supplies every theological, medical, or legal conclusion about prenatal development.
- Do not claim that welcoming children permits unaccountable access, unsafe touch, secrecy, or disregard for caregiver boundaries.
- Do not claim that children or grieving parents are illustrations to be used without their dignity and consent.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Emphasizes helplessness of earliest infancy, from unborn through newborn stage, not older childhood.
Strong'sG1025
Lexical occurrences8 versesGreek text appearances8 timesWord forms5 forms8 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkLuke 18:15–17Source Gloss
an infant (properly, unborn) literally or figuratively
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 1:41Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
βρέφοςbrefov
infant, babe
Read verseLuke 1:44Noun Nominative Singular Neuter
βρέφοςbrefov
infant, babe
Read verseLuke 2:12Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
βρέφοςbrefov
infant, babe
Read verseLuke 2:16Noun Accusative Singular Neuter
βρέφοςbrefov
infant, babe
Read verseLuke 18:15Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
βρέφη,brefh
infant, babe
Read verseActs 7:19Noun Accusative Plural Neuter
βρέφηbrefh
infant, babe
Read verse2 Timothy 3:15Noun Genitive Singular Neuter
βρέφουςbrefouv
infant, babe
Read verse1 Peter 2:2Noun Nominative Plural Neuter
βρέφη,brefh
infant, babe
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns5Aligned forms8Case patternAccusative (4)Number patternSingular (5)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · NeuterLuke 1:41 · Luke 1:442×
Nominative · Plural · Neuter1 Pet 2:21×
Genitive · Singular · Neuter2 Tim 3:151×
Accusative · Singular · NeuterLuke 2:12 · Luke 2:162×
Accusative · Plural · NeuterLuke 18:15 · Acts 7:192×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Additional Occurrences
Luke 18:15–17βρέφηbréphos
Infants
New Testament Witnesses
infants
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 8 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
βρέφος is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
Highlights complete dependence.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Brephos gathers several scenes around dependent young life. Luke names John within Elizabeth’s womb and later names the newborn Jesus in the manger, using the same noun across distinct stages without collapsing those stages. The shepherds’ sign is humble and concrete: the promised Savior is found as a wrapped baby. When infants are brought to Jesus, He refuses the disciples’ gatekeeping and receives those without social power.
Acts recalls a ruler’s policy that exposed newborn children to death, locating child endangerment within oppressive power. Second Timothy highlights formation from earliest life, while First Peter turns newborn hunger into an image of believers receiving nourishment for growth. These passages call churches to welcome children, support caregivers, prevent abuse and neglect, and provide appropriate material care.
They do not authorize speculative claims about fetal medicine, automatic salvation formulas, parental blame, or one policy conclusion from a lexeme. Scripture’s language should deepen dignity and responsibility while medical facts, safeguarding procedures, and legal duties are addressed with qualified expertise.
Anchor passage
Luke.18.15
Doctrinal connections
- Jesus receives infants and rebukes gatekeeping that treats dependent children as obstacles to serious ministry.
- The incarnation locates divine glory in the vulnerable embodied life of a newborn lying in a manger.
- Luke’s prenatal narrative treats John as a personal participant while preserving the story’s unique revelatory setting.
- Oppressive rulers endanger children, and God’s people must recognize child exposure as a matter of justice.
- Faith formation can begin in earliest childhood through trustworthy Scripture, relationships, and patient teaching.
- Newborn hunger becomes an image of humble dependence on nourishment that produces genuine spiritual growth.
Brephos is a Greek neuter noun applied to an unborn child, newborn, or infant and used once as a comparison for believers. The same lexical label does not erase developmental distinctions supplied by location, modifiers, and narrative setting.
From Old to New Testament
Israel’s Scriptures repeatedly portray children as gifts and as persons endangered by oppressive power, while Jesus welcomes little ones and identifies care for the vulnerable with kingdom life. Apostolic communities are charged to form households in patience, truth, and nonprovoking care.