παιδάριον (paidarion)
paidarion
boy
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun paidarion refers to a young boy or lad, functioning as a diminutive form of pais, which simply means child or servant. While the root word can describe anyone from an infant to an adult dependent, adding the diminutive suffix sharpens the focus on youth and small stature. In the New Testament, this term is rare, appearing only once in the Gospels.
This single occurrence is found in John 6:9, where Andrew identifies a boy with five barley loaves and two fish before Jesus feeds the multitude. The specific choice of paidarion here highlights the inadequacy of the resources relative to the crowd's size. By emphasizing the youth and smallness of the provider, the narrative underscores that the miracle stems from divine power rather than human capability.
Although diminutives in later Greek sometimes lost their forceful nuance, the context here retains its descriptive clarity. The word serves to paint a vivid picture of humble beginnings, contrasting the small scale of the boy's offering with the massive outcome of the feeding miracle.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word paidarion simply means a young boy. In John 6:9, Andrew points out a child with five loaves and two fish. The text uses this specific term to highlight how small the offering was compared to the huge crowd. It reminds us that God often works through humble, everyday people rather than those with great power or wealth.
This story encourages you to bring your own modest resources to Jesus. Whether it is a little time, a small gift, or simple kindness, He can multiply it for good. You do not need to have everything figured out or possess abundant strength to be used by God. The focus is on His power, not your capacity.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- a little boy1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- παιδάριον1×
Key Verses
-
John 6:9
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these among so many?”
The term paidarion emphasizes the boy's youth and small stature, highlighting the inadequacy of his five loaves and two fish for the large crowd.