# children

## Related Ideas:

child, childhood, childless

## Definition:

In the Bible, the term "child" is often used to generally refer to someone who is young in age, including an infant.

* The word "childhood" refers to the time that a person is a child.
* The word "childless" describes a person who has no children.
* The word "children" is the plural form of "child."

The words "child" and "children" also have several figurative uses.

* In the Bible, disciples or followers are sometimes called "children."
* Often the term "children" is used to refer to a person's descendants.
* The phrase "children of" can refer to being characterized by something. Some examples of this would be:
  * children of the light
  * children of obedience
  * children of the devil
* This term can also refer to people who are like spiritual children. For example, "children of God" refers to people who belong to God through faith in Jesus.

## Translation Suggestions:

* The term "children" could be translated as "descendants" when it is referring to a person's great-grandchildren or great-great-grandchildren, etc.
* Depending on the context, "children of" could be translated as, "people who have the characteristics of" or "people who behave like."
* If possible, the phrase, "children of God" should be translated literally since an important biblical theme is that God is our heavenly Father. A possible translation alternate would be, "people who belong to God" or "God's spiritual children."
* When Jesus calls his disciples "children," this could also be translated as, "dear friends" or "my beloved disciples."
* When Paul and John refer to believers in Jesus as "children," this could also be translated as "dear fellow believers."
* The phrase, "children of the promise" could be translated as, "people who have received what God promised them."

(See also: [descendant](../other/descendant.md), [promise](../kt/promise.md), [son](../kt/son.md), [spirit](../kt/spirit.md), [believe](../kt/believe.md), [beloved](../kt/beloved.md))

## Bible References:

* [1 John 02:28](rc://en/tn/help/1jn/02/28)
* [3 John 01:04](rc://en/tn/help/3jn/01/04)
* [Galatians 04:19](rc://en/tn/help/gal/04/19)
* [Genesis 45:11](rc://en/tn/help/gen/45/11)
* [Joshua 08:34-35](rc://en/tn/help/jos/08/34)
* [Nehemiah 05:05](rc://en/tn/help/neh/05/05)

## Word Data:

* Strong's: H1069, H1121, H1123, H1129, H1397, H1580, H2029, H2030, H2056, H2145, H2233, H2945, H3173, H3205, H3206, H3243, H3490, H4392, H5288, H5290, H5759, H5953, H6185, H7908, H7909, H7921, G730, G815, G1025, G1064, G3439, G3515, G3516, G3808, G3812, G3813, G3816, G4690, G5040, G5041, G5042, G5043, G5044, G5207, G5388

## Forms Found in the English ULB:

child, childhood, childless, children