### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Greek word **áteknos**, represented by `{{G815}}`, defines the state of being **childless**. Derived from the negative particle Α and τέκνον (child), it appears **3 times** in **3 unique verses**. Its meaning is specific and literal, referring directly to the absence of children.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
All occurrences of `{{G815}}` are found in a single narrative in the Gospel of Luke. The term is used to present a legal question to Jesus concerning levirate marriage. The scenario begins with the premise that if a man’s **brother** dies having a **wife** but is **without children** `{{G815}}`, the surviving brother should take the wife to "raise up seed" for his deceased brother [[Luke 20:28]]. The story continues with a sequence of seven brothers, the first of whom "died **without children**" [[Luke 20:29]], followed by the second who also "died **childless**" `{{G815}}` [[Luke 20:30]].
### Related Words & Concepts
Several related words provide context for the situation described by `{{G815}}`:
* `{{G80}}` **adelphós** (brother): This term defines the familial relationship at the heart of the legal and social obligation. The responsibility falls upon the surviving **brother** when another **brother** dies childless [[Luke 20:28]].
* `{{G1135}}` **gynḗ** (woman; wife): This word identifies the person central to the continuation of the family line. The surviving brother is to take his deceased brother's **wife** [[Luke 20:28]].
* `{{G4690}}` **spérma** (seed; offspring): As the direct counterpart to being childless, the purpose of the levirate marriage was to raise up **seed**, or offspring, for the one who died [[Luke 20:28]].
### Theological Significance
The significance of `{{G815}}` is primarily social and legal, highlighting the importance of heirs in the biblical world.
* **Continuity of Lineage:** To die **childless** was to face the end of one's family line. The law mentioned in [[Luke 20:28]] was a provision intended to prevent this by ensuring the deceased brother would have **seed** to carry on his name.
* **Trigger for Legal Duty:** The state of being `{{G815}}` immediately initiated a legal duty for a surviving **brother** under the law of Moses [[Luke 20:28]].
* **Absence of Posterity:** While the term **seed** `{{G4690}}` is connected to promise and inheritance, as with Abraham [[Galatians 3:16]], the condition of being **childless** `{{G815}}` represents the opposite: a lack of posterity and the fulfillment it represents.
### Summary
In summary, `{{G815}}` is a precise term for being **childless** or **without children**. Its biblical usage is confined to a single account in Luke, where it serves as the crucial condition for a legal and theological question about marriage, death, and resurrection. The word powerfully underscores the cultural and covenantal importance placed on having children, or **seed** `{{G4690}}`, to continue a family's lineage and legacy.
TRV