What does τίκτω (tíktō) mean in the Bible?
Tikto means to give birth, bear, bring forth, or produce. It can describe ordinary childbirth, the birth of Jesus, metaphorical production, and apocalyptic birth imagery.
Greek · G5088
τίκτω
To give birth to
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τίκτω G5088
Pronunciation tíktō
What does τίκτω (tíktō) mean in the Bible?
Tikto means to give birth, bear, bring forth, or produce. It can describe ordinary childbirth, the birth of Jesus, metaphorical production, and apocalyptic birth imagery.
Reader summary
Full entry for τίκτω (G5088) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5088?
The BSB source-word alignment has 18 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include has been born (2), she gave birth (2), she gave birth to (2), bears no children (1), Child to be born (1).
Where does τίκτω (tíktō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:21. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (5), Revelation (5), Matthew (4), Galatians (1).
Are there verse guides for τίκτω (tíktō)?
This entry includes 3 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Tikto means to give birth, bear, bring forth, or produce. It can describe ordinary childbirth, the birth of Jesus, metaphorical production, and apocalyptic birth imagery. The word is concrete enough to keep theology embodied: Mary gives birth to a Son, and the child is named Jesus because He will save His people from their sins. Luke places birth in David's city and announces the Savior, Christ the Lord.
John uses childbirth as an image for anguish giving way to joy. James uses the same kind of bringing-forth language for desire giving birth to sin and sin to death. Revelation uses birth imagery in cosmic conflict. The word helps teachers speak of fruit, pain, promise, sin, and hope without blurring them.
How the Bible Uses It
Tikto describes giving birth or bringing forth, with uses ranging from the birth of Christ to moral production and apocalyptic imagery. The selected witnesses show how birth language can carry promise, anguish, warning, and hope.
- Matt.1.21
She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
Mary will give birth to a Son named Jesus because He will save His people from their sins. Birth language is tied to saving mission.
- Luke.1.31
Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
Gabriel tells Mary she will conceive and give birth to a son named Jesus. The word stands inside divine promise and fulfillment.
- Luke.2.7
And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Mary gives birth to her firstborn Son and lays Him in a manger. The incarnate Savior enters ordinary embodied human life.
- John.16.21
A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.
Jesus uses childbirth pain and joy to prepare His disciples for sorrow turned into joy. The image is pastoral and temporal.
- Jas.1.15
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Desire gives birth to sin, and sin gives birth to death. The word becomes moral warning about the fruit of unchecked desire.
- Rev.12.5
And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne.
The woman gives birth to a male child who will rule the nations. Birth imagery enters apocalyptic conflict and hope.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It has been born 2× Matthew 2:2, Luke 2:11
she gave birth 2× Revelation 12:4, Revelation 12:5
she gave birth to 2× Matthew 1:25, Luke 2:7
bears no children 1× Galatians 4:27
Child to be born 1× Luke 2:6
give birth to 1× Luke 1:31
had given birth 1× Revelation 12:13
in childbirth 1× John 16:21
it gives birth to 1× James 1:15
of giving birth 1× Revelation 12:2
She will give birth to 1× Matthew 1:21
that produces 1× Hebrews 6:7
to give birth 1× Revelation 12:4
to have her child 1× Luke 1:57
will give birth to 1× Matthew 1:23
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 1:21 τέξεται to She will give birth to Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 1:23 τέξεται to will give birth to Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 1:25 ἔτεκεν to she gave birth to Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 2:2 τεχθεὶς to has been born Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Luke 1:31 τέξῃ to give birth to Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Singular Luke 1:57 τεκεῖν to to have her child Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Luke 2:6 τεκεῖν to Child to be born Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Luke 2:7 ἔτεκεν to she gave birth to Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 2:11 ἐτέχθη to has been born Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular John 16:21 τίκτῃ to in childbirth Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 1:21
Aligned rows 18
Books represented 7
Matthew 4 Luke 5 John 1 Galatians 1 Hebrews 1 James 1 Revelation 5
Source forms
ἔτεκεν 4x eteken Matthew 1:25, Luke 2:7, Revelation 12:5, Revelation 12:13
τεκεῖν 4x tekein Luke 1:57, Luke 2:6, Revelation 12:2, Revelation 12:4
τέξεται 2x texetai Matthew 1:21, Matthew 1:23
τίκτουσα 2x tiktousa Galatians 4:27, Hebrews 6:7
ἐτέχθη 1x etechthē Luke 2:11
τέκῃ 1x tekē Revelation 12:4
τέξῃ 1x texē Luke 1:31
τεχθεὶς 1x techtheis Matthew 2:2
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 4x Matthew 1:25, Luke 2:7, Revelation 12:5, Revelation 12:13
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 4x Luke 1:57, Luke 2:6, Revelation 12:2, Revelation 12:4
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 2x Matthew 1:21, Matthew 1:23
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Luke 2:11
Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Matthew 2:2
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Revelation 12:4
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Singular 1x Luke 1:31
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x James 1:15
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Ask what the passage says is being brought forth before applying the word. Birth language can announce salvation, warn against sin, or picture joy after sorrow.
- Keep embodied reality in view. Scripture does not use childbirth language as a thin abstraction.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that tikto always refers to Christ's birth; several passages use it figuratively or symbolically.
- Do not claim that James 1 teaches sin is inevitable once desire exists. The passage warns about desire conceived and carried forward.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Matthew 1:21 Verb Third Person Singular Future Middle Deponent Indicative
τέξεται texetai to give birth to The form adds forward-looking certainty to the announcement and helps the verse read as a promise about a coming birth, not a completed fact at the moment of speaking. Read verse guide Matthew 1:23 Verb Third Person Singular Future Middle Deponent Indicative
τέξεται texetai to give birth to The form sharpens the verse's promise by presenting the bearing of the son as future and certain within the quoted announcement. Read verse guide Matthew 1:25 Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἔτεκε eteken to give birth to The form helps the verse read as a narrated completion point, making the timing of the birth central to the sentence. Read verse guide Evidence Summary
Greek word. to give birth to
Source Gloss
to give birth to
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 19 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
texetai
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse texetai
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse eteken
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Matthew 2:2 Verb Aorist Passive Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
τεχθεὶς tecqeiv
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Luke 1:31 Verb Second Person Singular Future Middle Deponent Indicative
τέξῃ texh
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Luke 1:57 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
τεκεῖν tekein
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Luke 2:6 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
τεκεῖν tekein
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Luke 2:7 Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἔτεκε eteken
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Luke 2:11 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
ἐτέχθη etecqh
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse John 16:21 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Subjunctive
τίκτῃ tikth
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Galatians 4:27 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
τίκτουσα· tiktousa
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Hebrews 6:7 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
τίκτουσα tiktousa
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Hebrews 11:11 Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἔτεκεν, eteken
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse James 1:15 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
τίκτει tiktei
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Revelation 12:2 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
τεκεῖν. tekein
I bear, bring forth, produce
Read verse Revelation 12:4 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
τεκεῖν, tekein
I bear, bring forth, produce
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 mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 4 Aligned forms 18 Tenses Aorist, Future, Present Voices Active, Middle, Passive
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 9×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 4×
Aorist Active Luke 1:57 · Luke 2:6 · Rev 12:2 · Rev 12:4 4×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 3×
Present Active Gal 4:27 · Heb 6:7 2×
Aorist Passive Matt 2:2 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 2×
Present Active John 16:21 1×
Aorist Active Rev 12:4 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 18 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 11 present 4 future 3
Voice
active 13 middle 3 passive 2
Mood
indicative 9 infinitive 4 participle 3 subjunctive 2
NT Occurrences
Matthew 1:21 τέξεται future middle indicative prospective Matthew 1:23 τέξεται future middle indicative prospective Matthew 1:25 ἔτεκεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 2:2 τεχθεὶς aorist passive participle participle Luke 1:31 τέξῃ future middle indicative prospective Luke 1:57 τεκεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Luke 2:11 ἐτέχθη aorist passive indicative completed Luke 2:6 τεκεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Luke 2:7 ἔτεκεν aorist active indicative completed John 16:21 τίκτῃ present active subjunctive subjunctive Galatians 4:27 τίκτουσα present active participle participle Hebrews 6:7 τίκτουσα present active participle participle James 1:15 τίκτει present active indicative ongoing Revelation 12:13 ἔτεκεν aorist active indicative completed Revelation 12:2 τεκεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Revelation 12:4 τεκεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Revelation 12:4 τέκῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Revelation 12:5 ἔτεκεν aorist active indicative completed
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
For the Preacher and Teacher
Tikto reminds teachers that Scripture's birth language is concrete, not decorative. The birth of Jesus is not merely a tender scene; it is tied to His name and saving mission. John's childbirth image does not erase pain, but says pain can give way to joy when the appointed moment comes. James turns the same bringing-forth pattern into warning: desire conceives, sin is born, and death follows.
Revelation places birth imagery under dragon-threat and divine rule. The word therefore asks a simple but searching question: what is being brought forth? A passage may bring forth the Savior, joy after sorrow, sin unto death, or hope under conflict. The outcome matters.
Anchor passage
Matt.1.21
Doctrinal connections
- G1080 Gennao, to beget or be born: tikto overlaps with birth language but often stresses the act of bringing forth.
- G2424 Iesous, Jesus: Matthew 1:21 ties the child's birth to His saving name and mission.
- G4990 Soter, Savior: Luke 2:11 interprets the birth in David's city as the arrival of Savior, Christ the Lord.
- G1939 Epithymia, desire: James 1:15 shows sinful desire producing sin and death, not merely temptation as an external event.
- G2347 Thlipsis, affliction: John 16:21 uses childbirth anguish to explain sorrow that will turn to joy.
- Revelation 12:1-6: apocalyptic birth imagery places messianic rule and hostile opposition in symbolic conflict.
Tikto is a bringing-forth verb. Its range can include literal childbirth and figurative production, so teachers must identify whether the passage speaks biologically, morally, metaphorically, or symbolically.
From Old to New Testament
From promised offspring to the birth of Christ and the new creation hope, Scripture treats what is brought forth as the fruit of promise, desire, judgment, or divine purpose. Tikto keeps that fruit concrete, whether the passage speaks of Messiah, sin, joy, or apocalyptic conflict.
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
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain