Word Study for G3816 (παῖς) | Strong's Concordance

paîs /paheece/ Ask about this word

Rootperhaps from παίω

Meaninga boy (as often beaten with impunity), or (by analogy), a girl, and (genitive case) a child; specially, a slave or servant (especially a minister to a king; and by eminence to God)

KJV usagechild, maid(-en), (man) servant, son, young man.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of paîs — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Greek word paîs, represented by G3816, is a versatile term that can mean a child, servant, or son. According to its base definition, it can refer to a boy, girl, child, slave, or a minister to God. It appears 24 times in 24 unique verses, illustrating its use in a variety of social and theological contexts.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In the biblical narrative, G3816 is used with significant flexibility. It is commonly used to mean a household servant, as when a centurion expresses concern for his sick servant (Matthew 8:6, Luke 7:7). It also refers to a child or young person in a general sense, such as the children Herod ordered to be slain Matthew 2:16, the young girl Jesus raises Luke 8:54, or the young man brought back to life in Troas Acts 20:12. Most significantly, the term is applied to figures of great importance, including David as God's servant Luke 1:69 and Jesus, who is identified as God's Son Acts 3:13 and holy child Acts 4:27.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help clarify the semantic range of G3816:

G1401 doûlos: from δέω; a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary; frequently, therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency):--bond(-man), servant. This term often implies a more formal state of bondage than paîs, as seen in Christ taking the "form of a servant" Philippians 2:7.
G5207 huiós: apparently a primary word; a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinship:--child, foal, son. While paîs can be translated as "son," huiós is the more common and specific term for sonship, central to the identity of Jesus as the "Son of God" Matthew 27:54.
G3814 paidískē: feminine diminutive of παῖς; a girl, i.e. (specially), a female slave or servant:--bondmaid(-woman), damsel, maid(-en). This word is a direct feminine counterpart, used to describe the maidens in a household alongside the male servants Luke 12:45.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of G3816 is most evident in its application to Jesus Christ, where it combines the concepts of sonship and service.

Servant of the Lord: The title is used to identify key figures in God's plan. Israel is called God's servant whom He has helped Luke 1:54, and David is identified as God's servant through whom He spoke Acts 4:25.
The Christ as Child and Son: In the book of Acts, Jesus is referred to as God's holy child (Acts 4:27, Acts 4:30) and His Son Acts 3:26. This usage highlights both His unique relationship to the Father and His appointed role.
Fulfillment of Prophecy: In Matthew, a prophecy is quoted where God refers to His chosen one as "my servant," upon whom He puts His spirit Matthew 12:18. The use of paîs here directly links Jesus's identity to the servant prophesied in the Old Testament.

Summary

In summary, G3816 is a significant term whose meaning shifts depending on the context. It can describe a person's age, as in a child Luke 9:42, their social status, as in a servant Matthew 8:8, or their theological role, as in God's Son Acts 3:13. The unique application of this single word to Jesus as both a divine Son and a humble servant encapsulates a core New Testament teaching about the nature of Christ.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Greek New Testament, this word appears as a noun across 24 occurrences, inflected in 8 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form.

Nominative Singular Masculine 8×
Accusative Singular Masculine 5×
Genitive Singular Masculine 4×
Accusative Plural Masculine 3×
Dative Plural Masculine 1×
Genitive Plural Masculine 1×
Genitive Singular Feminine 1×
Vocative Singular Feminine 1×

Nominative: The subject of the verb.
Genitive: Possession or source — often "of".
Dative: The indirect object — often "to" or "for".
Accusative: The direct object of the verb.
Vocative: Direct address — naming who is spoken to.
Singular: One.
Plural: More than one.
Masculine: Masculine grammatical gender.
Feminine: Feminine grammatical gender.

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 24 verses across 4 of the 27 books. Most frequent in Luke (9 verses); never once in the other 23.

Matthew

Luke

John

Acts

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.