G5043 — τέκνον (téknon)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G5043
Original: τέκνον
Transliteration: téknon
Pronunciation: tek'-non
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: τίκτω (tiktō, G5088) — to bear, bring forth
Occurrences: 91 unique verses (99 tokens)
Books: 23
First Occurrence: Mat 2:18 — "Rachel weeping for her children"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From the base of G5088 (τίκτω, to bear); a child (as produced):—child, daughter, son.

Outline of Biblical Usage includes: a child, children (literal offspring); used of disciples or converts as spiritual children of teachers/apostles; used of those who share a nature or quality ("children of light," "children of promise," "children of the devil").

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Primary Domain: 10.33 — Kinship Relations Involving Successive Generations (Domain 010002)
Also classified in: 9.40 — Persons For Whom There Is Affectionate Concern (Domain 009005)
Other words in 009005: θυγάτηρ (G2364), παιδίον (G3813), ταλιθά (G5008), τεκνίον (G5040), υἱός (G5207)

UBS Semantic Domains (search_relationships.py)¶

[010] Kinship Terms — literal family relationships and generational descent.
[011] Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes — collective identities such as "children of..."
[009] People — the broader category of human persons and dependents.
[036] Guide, Discipline, Follow — household instruction and nurture contexts.
[058] Nature, Class, Example — identity-by-quality expressions such as "children of promise," "children of wrath," and "children of light."

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
children	55	60.4%
son / Son	13	14.3%
the children	6	6.6%
child / the child	5	5.5%
the sons	4	4.4%
Children	3	3.3%
sons	2	2.2%
daughters	1	1.1%
Other variants	2	2.2%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 John	3	23.1
3 John	1	7.1
1 Timothy	5	4.4
Titus	2	4.3
Philemon	1	4.0
1 John	4	3.8
Ephesians	5	3.2
Galatians	4	2.7
2 Timothy	2	2.4
1 Thessalonians	2	2.2
Colossians	2	2.1
1 Peter	2	1.9
2 Peter	1	1.6
Matthew	13	1.2
Luke	14	1.2
Romans	5	1.2
Mark	7	1.0
2 Corinthians	2	0.8
1 Corinthians	3	0.7
Revelation	3	0.7
Acts	5	0.5
John	3	0.3
Philippians	2	—

Pattern: Heaviest concentration in the Johannine epistles and Pauline pastoral letters, where apostolic affection toward converts is expressed. Matthew and Luke account for the largest raw counts (literal family usage in narrative). Absent from Hebrews, James, Jude.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Biological / Natural Children¶

Literal offspring — parent-to-child relationship in narrative or legal contexts.

Mat 7:11 — "know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father…"
Mat 22:24 — "if a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife"
Luke 14:26 — "hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren"
Luke 23:28 — "weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children"

2. Children of God — Spiritual Birth and Identity¶

Believers described as born of God, sharing divine nature. Contrasted with "children of the flesh" (Rom 9:8).

John 1:12 — "to them gave he power to become the sons of God (τέκνα θεοῦ)"
Rom 8:16 — "the Spirit itself beareth witness…that we are the children of God"
1 John 3:1 — "that we should be called the sons of God…therefore the world knoweth us not"
1 John 3:10 — "the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil"

3. Apostolic Affection — Spiritual Fatherhood¶

Paul and John address converts as their own "children" born through the gospel, expressing tender pastoral care.

1 Cor 4:14 — "as my beloved sons I warn you"
Phm 1:10 — "I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds"
2 Tim 1:2 — "To Timothy, my dearly beloved son"
3 John 1:4 — "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth"

4. "Children of" — Characterizing by Nature or Allegiance¶

Genitive construction τέκνα + noun identifies people by their essential character, origin, or controlling influence.

Mat 11:19 — "wisdom is justified of her children"
Gal 4:28 — "we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise"
Eph 2:3 — "we…were by nature the children of wrath"
Eph 5:8 — "now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light"

5. Household and Church Instruction¶

Direct address or instruction concerning children's conduct within family and congregational order.

Eph 6:1 — "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right"
Col 3:20 — "Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord"
1 Tim 3:4 — "having his children in subjection with all gravity"
Tit 1:6 — "having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly"

6. Mourning, Suffering, and Eschatological Contexts¶

Children in prophetic lament, divine judgment, or apocalyptic imagery.

Mat 2:18 — "Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted"
Luke 19:44 — "thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone"
Rev 2:23 — "I will kill her children with death"
Rev 12:4–5 — the dragon waiting to devour the woman's child

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theós)	G2316	23x	"children of God" (τέκνα θεοῦ)
πατήρ (patḗr)	G3962	21x	"father…children" — household or spiritual family
πᾶς (pâs)	G3956	17x	"all their children," "all the children"
ἀδελφός (adelphós)	G0080	12x	sibling and child listed together in discipleship cost or family lists
γυνή (gynḗ)	G1135	12x	"wife and children" — household unit
κύριος (kýrios)	G2962	12x	"children…in the Lord," "obey your parents in the Lord"
Ἀβραάμ (Abraám)	G0011	6x	"children of Abraham" — covenant ancestry vs. spiritual descent
Χριστός (Christós)	G5547	6x	shared in Pauline contexts of spiritual family in Christ

Word Family / Cognates¶

G5088 τίκτω (tiktō) — root verb: to bear, bring forth, give birth
G5040 τεκνίον (teknion) — diminutive: "dear little child" — used affectionately by John (1 John 2:1, 12, etc.)
G5041 τεκνογονέω (teknogoneō) — to bear children (1 Tim 5:14)
G5042 τεκνογονία (teknogonia) — childbearing (1 Tim 2:15)

Synonyms¶

παῖς (G3816) — a semantic neighbor for child / offspring, though it can also extend into servant-language contexts.

Antonyms¶

ἄτεκνος (G815) — alpha-privative opposite: childless / without offspring.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
υἱός (huiŏs)	G5207	both = "son," "children"	υἱός emphasizes legal/covenantal status and filial dignity; τέκνον emphasizes natural birth and affectionate bond
παιδίον (paidíon)	G3813	both = "child," "children"	παιδίον = young or little child, focusing on age/smallness; τέκνον = born offspring at any age
παῖς (paîs)	G3816	both = "son," "child"	παῖς also means servant/slave-boy and focuses on subordinate role; τέκνον is purely offspring

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 009005 — Persons For Whom There Is Affectionate Concern)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total vv	Primary KJV
G2364	θυγάτηρ	—	daughter
G3813	παιδίον	—	child, children
G5008	ταλιθά	—	Talitha (Aramaic: little girl)
G5040	τεκνίον	—	little children
G5207	υἱός	236+	son, Son, child, children

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
בֵּן (bên)	H1121	123	2.40	Primary source — son, child, member of a class
יֶלֶד (yeled)	H3206	8	4.05	offspring, boy, lad
טַף (ṭaph)	H2945	4	3.89	little ones, tripping children
רִבֵּעַ (ribbêaʻ)	H7256	4	7.28	fourth-generation descendant