παῖς G3816
Child or servant; a young person (boy or girl) or one who serves a master, including God's chosen servant.
One of the most semantically rich social terms in the New Testament, holding together the meanings 'child' and 'servant' — a duality rooted in the ancient household where young dependents often served. The Gospels use it for the Holy Innocents slaughtered by Herod (Matt 2:16), for sick children brought for healing (Matt 17:18; Luke 8:51), and equally for the centurion's servant (Matt 8:6) and God's chosen Servant in the Isaiah quotation (Matt 12:18). Spanish distinguishes clearly between nino/muchacho ('child/boy') and siervo/criado ('servant'), while French serviteur and German Knecht lean toward the servant sense even where English sees a child.
Senses
1. servant (of God or a master) — A servant, attendant, or slave — one who serves a human master or, in theological usage, God's chosen servant. Spanish siervo/criado and German Knecht consistently distinguish this from the child sense. The centurion's paralyzed servant (Matt 8:6, 8, 13) and Herod's attendants (Matt 14:2) illustrate the social role. Most significantly, Matthew 12:18 applies the title to Jesus as God's servant (quoting Isa 42:1), and Acts 3:13, 26 and 4:27, 30 use it christologically for the Servant of God — a usage where the term carries deep covenantal weight. 15×
AR["العَبِيدَ","الغِلْمَانِ","عَبدِي","عَبْدَهُ","عَبْدِهِ","غُلامُ","غِلْمَانِهِ","فَتَاكَ","فَتَاهُ"]·ben["ছেলেদের","দাস","দাসকে","দাসদের","দাসের","বালক"]·DE["Knecht"]·EN["Servant","male-servants","servant","servants"]·FR["serviteur"]·heb["נְעָרִים","נַעַר","עֲבָדִים","עֲבָדָיו","עֶבֶד","עַבְדִּי"]·HI["की","क्यों","तूने","दास","दासों-को","येशू-को","सेवक","सेवकों-के","सेवकोन-से"]·ID["Hamba","hamba","hamba-hamba","itu","pelayan"]·IT["servo"]·jav["Abdi","abdi","abdi-jaler","réncang","réncang,"]·KO["너-의","너희-가","신하들에게","종","종-을","종-의","종이","하인","하인들과","하인들의"]·PT["Servo","servo","servos"]·RU["Отрок","Отрока","отрока","раба","слуг","слуга","слугам"]·ES["Siervo","criados","siervo","siervos"]·SW["Mtumishi","mtumishi","watumishi"]·TR["Kulunu","hizmetkarı","hizmetkarım","hizmetkârlardan","hizmetkârlarına","hizmetçim","kulu'nun","kulum","kulun","kuluna","kulunun","senin","siz","uşakları"]·urd["خادم","خادم-کو","میرا","نوکر","نوکروں","نوکروں-سے"]
Matt 8:6, Matt 8:8, Matt 8:13, Matt 12:18, Matt 14:2, Luke 1:54, Luke 1:69, Luke 7:7, Luke 12:45, Luke 15:26, Acts 3:13, Acts 3:26 (+3 more)
2. child, boy/girl — A child, boy, or girl — a young person identified by age rather than social role. Spanish nino/nina/muchacho and multilingual evidence consistently point to youth rather than servitude. Herod's massacre targets male children two years old and under (Matt 2:16). Jesus heals an epileptic boy (Matt 17:18), and children cry out Hosanna in the temple (Matt 21:15). The twelve-year-old Jesus is called pais in Luke 2:43, and Jairus's dying daughter in Luke 8:51 — showing the term covers both sexes and a range of ages from infancy through adolescence. 9×
AR["الأَولادَ","الصِّبْيَانِ","الغُلَامُ","صَبِيَّ","صَبِيَّةُ","صَبِيَّةِ","طِفْلُ","ـفَتَى","فَتَى"]·ben["ছেলেকে","ছেলেটিকে","বালক","বালকদের","শিশু","শিশুদের","শিশুর","সন্তান"]·DE["Knecht"]·EN["boy","child","children"]·FR["serviteur"]·heb["הַנְּעָרִים","הַנַּעַר","יְלָדִים","נַּעַר","נַעֲרָה","נַעַר"]·HI["बच्चा","बच्चों","बालक","बालकों-को","लड़की","लड़के-को","लदक"]·ID["anak","anak-anak","anak-itu"]·IT["servo"]·jav["lare","lare-lare","laré","putra"]·KO["소년-이","소년을","아이-의","아이가","아이들-을","아이들이","아이를","아이야"]·PT["menina","menino","meninos","rapaz"]·RU["Дитя","Отрок","детей","мальчик","отрок","отрока","ребёнка"]·ES["muchacho","niña","niño","niños"]·SW["-","kijana","mtoto","mvulana","watoto"]·TR["Kız,","erkek-çocukları","kızın,","çocuk","çocukları","çocuğu","çocuğu,"]·urd["بچوں-کو","تیرا","لڑکا","لڑکی","لڑکی-کے","لڑکے","لڑکے-کو"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
παῖς, also παῦς (which see), παιδός, ὁ, ἡ, genitive plural παίδων, Doric dialect παιδῶνRefs 5th c.BC+; dative plural παισί, Epic dialect παίδεσσι Refs 8th c.BC+; in early Epic dialect frequently disyllable in nominative πάϊς, e. g. when forming part of two different feet, Refs 8th c.BC+; probably also in the fifth foot, Refs; and before bucolic diaeresis, Refs; also in Lyric poetry, Refs 7th…