Child

Child in Scripture covers a wide range of Hebrew and Greek terms designating offspring at various stages of development — from infancy through early adulthood. The term carries considerable theological weight: children are described as a heritage from the Lord (Ps. 127:3), and the failure to produce heirs was a source of grief deeply felt by figures like Sarah, Hannah, and Elizabeth. The Mosaic law gave particular protections to children and imposed obligations of parental instruction (Deut. 6:7). Prophetic imagery often uses the vulnerability of childhood to describe Israel's dependence on God (Hos. 11:1; Isa. 49:15).

In the New Testament, Jesus's welcome of children in the face of his disciples' rebuke (of such is the kingdom of God, Mark 10:14) and his call to become like a child (Matt. 18:3) gave childhood a positive theological valuation as a model of receptivity and dependence. Paul and John both use children of God (Greek tekna theou) to describe the status of believers as those born of God through faith (John 1:12; Rom. 8:16; 1 John 3:1–2).