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Greek · G5043 · unreviewed

τέκνον

A child (as produced)

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τέκνον G5043
Pronunciation téknon

What does τέκνον (téknon) mean in the Bible?

τέκνον (téknon) is a Greek word meaning "a child (as produced)". τέκνον, -ου, τό (τίκτω), [in LXX chiefly for בֵּן, also for יֶלֶד, etc. Affirms genuine familial relationship with God grounded in His initiating love.

Full entry for τέκνον (G5043) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

a child (as produced)
Extended definition

Physical offspring or spiritual descendants; designates those belonging to a father or exemplar.

(τίκτω), [in LXX chiefly for בֵּן, also for יֶלֶד, etc. ;] that which is begotten, born (cf. Scottish bairn), a child of either sex: Mrk.13:12, Luk.1:7, Act.7:5; pl., Mat.7:11, Mrk.7:27, Luk.1:17, Eph.6:1, al.; τέκνα ἐπαγγελίας, Rom.9:8; τ. τῆς σαρκός, ib.; in a wider sense (as Heb. בָּנִים), of posterity, Mat.2:18, Luk.3:8, al.; specif., of a male child, Mat.21:28, Act.21:21, a,l.; in voc. as a form of kindly address from an elder to a junior or from a teacher to a disciple, Mat.9:2 21:28, Mrk.2:5, Luk.2:48; τ. μου (= cl. τ. μοι; see Bl., §37, 5), Gal.4:19 (τεκνία, WH, txt.), 2Ti.2:1. Metaphorical,

aof disciples (apart from direct address, see supr.): Phm 10, 1Ti.1:2, Tit.1:4, 3Jo.4;
bwith reference to the Fatherhood of God (see: πατήρ, γεννάω), τέκνα τ. θεοῦ (cf. Isa.30:1, Wis.16:21): Rom.8:16, Eph.5:1, Php.2:15; and esp. in Johannine bks. (cf. Westc, Epp. Jo., 94, 120), Jhn.1:12, 1Jn.3:1 al.; __(with) of those who imitate others and are therefore regarded as the spiritual offspring of their exemplars: Mat.3:9, Luk.3:8, Jhn.8:39, Rom.9:7, 1Pe.3:6; τ. διαβόλου, 1Jn.3:10;
das in Heb. (LXX, Jol.2:23, Psa.149:2, 1Ma.1:38), of the inhabitants of a city: Mat.23:37, Luk.13:34 19:44, Gal.4:25;
ewith an adjectival genitive, frequently rendering a Heb. expression, adopted from LXX or formed on the analogy of its language, but sometimes with parallels in Gk. writers (see Deiss., BS, 161ff.): τέκνα φωτός, Eph.5:8; τ. ὑπακοῆς, 1Pe.1:14; κατάρας, 2Pe.2:14; ὀργῆς, Eph.2:3.
Synonymssee: παῖς.
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Why This Word Matters
Affirms genuine familial relationship with God grounded in His initiating love. 1 John 3:1-3
John highlights regeneration and adoption, underscoring intimate belonging rather than distant affiliation.
Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Plural · Neuter Matt 10:21 · Mark 13:12 · John 8:39 · Rom 8:16 · Rom 8:17 · Rom 9:7 · Rom 9:8 · 1 Cor 7:14 · 2 Cor 12:14 · Gal 4:27 · Gal 4:28 · Gal 4:31 · Eph 2:3 · Eph 5:1 · Eph 5:8 · Eph 6:1 28×
Nominative · Singular · Neuter Luke 1:7 · 1 Cor 4:17 · Phil 2:22 · Rev 12:5 4×
Genitive · Plural · Neuter Matt 15:26 · Mark 7:27 · Luke 7:35 · Rom 8:21 · Gal 4:25 · 1 Tim 3:12 · 2 John 1:4 7×
Genitive · Singular · Neuter Acts 7:5 · Phlm 1:10 2×
Dative · Plural · Neuter Matt 7:11 · Luke 11:13 · Acts 2:39 · Acts 13:33 · Acts 21:5 · 2 Cor 6:13 · 2 Cor 12:14 · 2 John 1:1 8×
Dative · Singular · Neuter 1 Tim 1:2 · 2 Tim 1:2 · Titus 1:4 3×
Accusative · Plural · Neuter Matt 2:18 · Matt 3:9 · Matt 18:25 · Matt 19:29 · Matt 21:28 · Matt 22:24 · Matt 23:37 · Matt 27:25 · Mark 7:27 · Mark 10:29 · Mark 10:30 · Luke 1:17 · Luke 3:8 · Luke 13:34 · Luke 14:26 · Luke 18:29 33×
Accusative · Singular · Neuter Matt 10:21 · Mark 12:19 · Mark 13:12 · Rev 12:4 4×
Vocative · Singular · Neuter Matt 9:2 · Matt 21:28 · Mark 2:5 · Luke 2:48 · Luke 15:31 · Luke 16:25 · 1 Tim 1:18 · 2 Tim 2:1 8×
Vocative · Plural · Neuter Mark 10:24 · Gal 4:19 2×
99 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

New Testament Witnesses
1 John 3:1-3 children téknon
Those born into a family relationship, emphasizing origin and shared life.
Additional Occurrences
1-john Children téknon
offspring, those born into relationship
Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

γνήσιος · τέκνον G1103, G5043
genuine child
γυνή · τέκνον G1135, G5043
wife and children
τέκνον · δύο G5043, G1417
two children/sons
τέκνον · ἔκγονον G5043, G1549
children and descendants
τέκνον · θεός G5043, G2316
children of God
Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

John 11 — The Resurrection and the Life, the Raising of Lazarus, and the Plot to Kill Jesus Mark 2 — The Son of Man Has Authority: Forgiveness, Fellowship, and Lordship Mark 7 — True Defilement and Boundary-Crossing Mercy Matthew 15 — Tradition, the Heart, Gentile Faith, and the Compassionate Bread of the Messiah Matthew 21 — The King Enters Jerusalem, Judges Fruitless Religion, and Exposes Rejected-Son Leadership Matthew 3 — The Forerunner, the Kingdom, and the Beloved Son Romans 9 — God’s Faithfulness, Sovereign Mercy, and Israel’s Stumbling Over Christ

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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