Son
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
huios names a son, and in the New Testament it carries several important uses: ordinary human sonship, messianic and royal identity, Jesus as the Son of God, Jesus' self-designation as the Son of Man, and believers as sons of God by grace. The term must not be flattened into one meaning everywhere.
Reader summary
Full entry for υἱός (G5207) · Open the biblical lexicon
huios names a son, and in the New Testament it carries several important uses: ordinary human sonship, messianic and royal identity, Jesus as the Son of God, Jesus' self-designation as the Son of Man, and believers as sons of God by grace. The term must not be flattened into one meaning everywhere.
The BSB source-word alignment has 377 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include son (248), sons (50), [the] son (29), a Son (14), vvv (9).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (89), Luke (77), John (55), Mark (35).
This entry includes 18 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Huios names a son, and in the New Testament it carries several important uses: ordinary human sonship, messianic and royal identity, Jesus as the Son of God, Jesus' self-designation as the Son of Man, and believers as sons of God by grace. The term must not be flattened into one meaning everywhere. Matthew 3:17 and John 3:16 reveal Jesus as the beloved and only Son.
Matthew 8:20 uses Son of Man language for His humble mission. Romans 8:14 names believers as sons of God through the Spirit, while Galatians 4:4 grounds adoption in God's sending of His Son. For pastoral teaching, huios opens the glory of Christ's identity and the grace of believers' adoption while preserving the difference between the eternal Son and those brought into family life through Him.
Huios moves through Gospel revelation, messianic confession, incarnate mission, and redeemed adoption. The selected witnesses show Jesus' unique Sonship first, then believers' sonship as a grace received through the Spirit and through God's sending of His Son.
And a voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased!”
At Jesus' baptism, the heavenly voice identifies Him as the beloved Son in whom the Father is well pleased. The title is divine approval, messianic disclosure, and filial identity in one scene.
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
Jesus' Son of Man saying joins authority with homelessness and humility. The title should be read in its narrative setting, where the path of the Son includes costly mission rather than earthly security.
Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. The confession joins messianic identity and divine sonship as the foundation for recognizing who Jesus is.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
God gives His one and only Son for the life of the world. huios here carries the uniqueness of Jesus and the saving love of God toward those who believe.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Those led by the Spirit are sons of God. Believers' sonship is real, but it is derivative and adoptive, tied to the Spirit's work rather than to the Son's unique identity.
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
God sends His Son, born of a woman and born under the law. The verse grounds adoption in the incarnation and obedience of the Son rather than in human aspiration.
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.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. son
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 382 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
Read versea son, descendent
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 10 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.
υἱός is a primary word - no further derivation.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Huios is one of the New Testament's richest identity words because it can name relationship, mission, title, and inheritance. Jesus is declared the beloved Son by the Father, confessed as the Son of the living God, and given by God for the salvation of believers. His Sonship is not merely an example of spiritual closeness; it is unique, revelatory, and saving.
At the same time, the New Testament uses sonship language for believers, especially in Romans 8 and Galatians 4, where the Spirit leads them and adoption is grounded in God's sending of His Son. The pastoral task is to hold both truths without confusion. Christ is the Son by identity and mission; believers become sons by grace, receiving inheritance and access because of Him.
The word therefore teaches worship before Christ, assurance for adopted children, and humility about the distinction between Redeemer and redeemed.
John.3.16
Huios can refer to a male child, a descendant, a title-bearing son, or a person marked by a relationship or quality. Phrases such as Son of God, Son of Man, sons of God, and one and only Son are not interchangeable labels. The genitive or surrounding phrase usually determines whether the passage speaks of Jesus uniquely, believers adoptively, or ordinary human relationship.
Old Testament sonship language can refer to Israel, the Davidic king, and human descendants, while Daniel's vision gives Son of Man language an exalted horizon. The New Testament gathers these lines around Jesus and then extends family blessing to believers through adoption. Continuity lies in covenant sonship; fulfillment lies in the Son who redeems and shares inheritance with His people.
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