Greek · G3816 · unreviewed

παῖς

Child

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παῖς G3816

Pronunciation paîs

What does παῖς (paîs) mean in the Bible?

παῖς (paîs) is a Greek word meaning "child". παῖς, genitive, παιδός, ὁ, ἡ [in LXX chiefly for עֶבֶד, also for נַעַר, נַעֲרָה, etc. Identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s Servant.

Full entry for παῖς (G3816) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

child

Extended definition

Child emphasizing age and dependent status; servant emphasizing obedience and subordinate role to authority.

1a child, boy, youth, maiden: ὁ π., Mat.17:18, Luk.2:43 9:42, Act.20:12; ἡ π. Luk.8:51, 54 (on the artic. fern, of address, see M, Pr., 70 f., 235; B1., § 33, 4); pl., Mat.2:16 21:15; of parentage, with genitive, Jhn.4:51

2Like Heb. עֶבֶד, Lat. Auer, Fr. garcon, Eng. boy (Æsch., Aristoph., Xen., al.), servant, slave, attendant: Mat.8:6, 8 8:13 Luk.7:7 12:45 15:26; in late writers (Diod., LXX: Gen.41:37, al.), of a king's attendant or minister : Mat.14:2; so (= Heb. יְהוָֹה עֶבֶד) π. τ. θεοῦ (Psa.69:18, Isa.41:8, Wis.2:13, al.), of Israel, Luk.1:54; of David, Luk.1:69, Act.4:25; of Jesus (but see Dalman, Words, 277 f.), Mat.12:18 (LXX), Act.3:13, 26 4:27, 30.

1τέκνον, child, with emphasis on parentage and the consequent community of nature; υἱός, son, with emphasis on the privileged position of heirship; π. refers both to age and parentage, but with emphasis on the former. Cf. also (παιδάριον), (παιδίον), (παιδίσκη), and see Westc. on 1Jn.3:1.

2see: θεράπων, and cf. Thackeray, Gr., 7 f

Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith

Why This Word Matters

Identifies Jesus as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s Servant. Acts 3:11-26

Identifying Jesus as God’s Servant connects Him to prophetic promises and redemptive suffering. Matthew 12:15–21

Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Singular · Masculine Matt 8:6 · Matt 8:8 · Matt 8:13 · Matt 12:18 · Matt 17:18 · Luke 2:43 · Luke 7:7 · John 4:51 8×

Nominative · Singular · Feminine Luke 8:54 1×

Genitive · Singular · Masculine Luke 1:54 · Luke 1:69 · Acts 4:25 · Acts 4:30 4×

Genitive · Singular · Feminine Luke 8:51 1×

Genitive · Plural · Masculine Luke 15:26 1×

Dative · Plural · Masculine Matt 14:2 1×

Accusative · Singular · Masculine Luke 9:42 · Acts 3:13 · Acts 3:26 · Acts 4:27 · Acts 20:12 5×

Accusative · Plural · Masculine Matt 2:16 · Matt 21:15 · Luke 12:45 3×

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

Acts 3:11-26 Servant paîs Accusative · Singular · Masculine

Servant or child, echoing Isaiah’s Servant motif.

Matthew 12:15–21 παῖς paîs Nominative · Singular · Masculine

servant

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.

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.

Acts 3 — The Risen Christ Heals and Calls Israel to Repentance Acts 4 — Christ Alone Saves and His Witnesses Speak Boldly Matthew 12 — The Lord of the Sabbath, the Servant of the Lord, and the Crisis of Unbelief Matthew 14 — The Death of John, the Compassion of Jesus, and the Son of God over Bread, Sea, and Fear Matthew 21 — The King Enters Jerusalem, Judges Fruitless Religion, and Exposes Rejected-Son Leadership Matthew 8 — The Authority of Jesus over Uncleanness, Sickness, Discipleship, Storms, and Demons

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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