Child
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παιδίον (paidion) is a flexible noun for a child, young child, or, in affectionate address, people spoken to as children. The Gospels use it for the child Jesus, for sick or endangered children, for children brought to Jesus, and for the child He places among status-seeking disciples.
Reader summary
Full entry for παιδίον (G3813) · Open the biblical lexicon
παιδίον (paidion) is a flexible noun for a child, young child, or, in affectionate address, people spoken to as children. The Gospels use it for the child Jesus, for sick or endangered children, for children brought to Jesus, and for the child He places among status-seeking disciples.
The BSB source-word alignment has 52 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Child (20), children (10), little children (6), a little child (3), little child (3).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:8. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (18), Luke (13), Mark (12), Hebrews (3).
παιδίον (paidion) is a flexible noun for a child, young child, or, in affectionate address, people spoken to as children. The Gospels use it for the child Jesus, for sick or endangered children, for children brought to Jesus, and for the child He places among status-seeking disciples. Jesus welcomes actual children and rebukes those who hinder them. He also says the kingdom must be received like a child, making the child an enacted comparison without claiming that every childish trait is virtuous.
Hebrews speaks of the children who share flesh and blood and of the Son who shares their humanity in order to defeat death. Elsewhere the plural can address believers pastorally. The noun therefore does not encode innocence, maturity, dependence, covenant status, or age with precision on its own; the passage supplies those claims. Faithful teaching should honor children as persons who may receive Christ’s welcome and the church’s care, while refusing sentimentality, infantilization of adults, or any use of childlike language to demand unquestioning access, secrecy, or compliance.
παιδίον most often names an actual child or young child, though it can also serve as affectionate address. The selected passages show vulnerable childhood, hospitality toward the lowly, Jesus’ welcome, kingdom reception, and the Son’s solidarity with flesh-and-blood children.
When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him.”
The child Jesus is threatened by royal violence and carried to safety through Joseph’s obedience. The incarnation includes genuine vulnerability, and divine protection works through urgent, responsible action.
“Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes not only Me, but the One who sent Me.”
Jesus answers the disciples’ argument about greatness by identifying reception of a low-status child with reception of Himself and the Father. Kingdom greatness turns toward welcome rather than rank.
But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Jesus’ indignation falls on disciples who block children brought for His blessing. The children are not teaching props only; they are persons whom Jesus receives and whom His followers must not obstruct.
Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
The comparison focuses on receiving the kingdom, not imitating every feature of childhood. Entry is received rather than achieved, within a scene where children themselves are brought to Jesus.
Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the devil,
The ‘children’ share mortal human existence, and the Son truly participates in it. His solidarity moves toward death and victory, grounding rescue in incarnation and atoning triumph rather than a vague image of childhood.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Diminutive form emphasizing youth and innocence; used metaphorically for spiritual immaturity or dependence on God.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 51 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
Read versea little child, an infant
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.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 9 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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 52 lexical occurrence verses.
παιδίον is built from this root:
Symbolizes low social status and vulnerability.Luke 9:46–48
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Jesus’ treatment of children reveals both grace and responsibility. In Matthew 2, the child Jesus is not shielded from the world’s violence by an appearance of invulnerability; Joseph must act quickly to protect Him. In Mark, Jesus takes a child into the center of a dispute about greatness and teaches His disciples to welcome the person whose social presence does not increase their rank.
He later becomes indignant when those same disciples hinder children from coming to Him. Luke’s command to receive the kingdom like a child belongs to that scene of welcome. The point is not that ignorance, impulsiveness, or uncritical trust is holy. The kingdom is received, and those who appear small are not to be blocked. Hebrews deepens the grace: the eternal Son shares the flesh and blood of the children He saves and enters death to break its enslaving power.
Churches should therefore welcome children into worship, teaching, prayer, protection, and accountable care. They should also resist idealized language that ignores children’s need for discipleship or makes them easier to exploit. Christlike welcome includes truthful instruction, listening, safe boundaries, and action when harm threatens.
Mark.10.14
The diminutive form may denote a young child, but New Testament usage is flexible and cannot yield an exact age from morphology alone. Vocative plurals can become affectionate pastoral address. When the noun is used in a comparison, the immediate predicate, such as welcome or receive, determines which feature matters.
Children appear in Scripture as covenant members, gifts, learners, sufferers under violent rulers, and a generation entrusted with God’s works. Israel is commanded to teach children diligently and to protect the vulnerable. The exodus begins amid threats against children, a pattern echoed around Jesus’ childhood. In the New Testament, the incarnate Son enters human vulnerability, welcomes children, and forms a household in which the lowly are received in His name.