UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: son

Semantic entry: 10.42

Semantic domains: Kinship Terms

Subdomains: Kinship Relations Involving Successive Generations

Definition: an immediate male offspring

Sense 2: my child, my dear friend, my dear man, my dear one, my dear lad

Semantic entry: 9.46

Semantic domains: People

Subdomains: Persons For Whom There Is Affectionate Concern

Definition: (extension of meaning of υἱός[a] ‘son,’ 10.42: υἱός) a person of any age for whom there is a special relationship of endearment and association

Notes: The usage of υἱός in RV HEB 12:5 · LV HEB 12:5 · Read together HEB 12:5 reflects the relationship between a spiritual father or teacher and a follower.

Sense 3: male descendant

Semantic entry: 10.30

Semantic domains: Kinship Terms

Subdomains: Kinship Relations Involving Successive Generations

Definition: (an extended meaning of υἱός[a] ‘son,’ 10.42: υἱός) a non-immediate male descendant (possibly involving a gap of several generations){N:001}

Notes: Though υἱός[c] is often translated as ‘son,’ speaking, for example, of ‘Joseph son of David,’ this may be very misleading in some languages, since readers would assume that a ‘son’ belonged to an immediately following generation. In some instances a term such as ‘great grandson’ is generalized to mean any individual in the third or in any one of a number of succeeding generations. In place of a phrase such as ‘descendant of David,’ it is sometimes necessary to invert the expression to read ‘David was one of his ancestors.’

Sense 4: foal, offspring

Semantic entry: 4.9

Semantic domains: Animals

Subdomains: Animals

Definition: the male offspring of an animal (occurring in the NT only with ὑποζύγιον ‘beast of burden,’ 4.7: ὑποζύγιον)

Notes: See the discussion of RV MAT 21:5 · LV MAT 21:5 · Read together MAT 21:5 in 4.7: ὑποζύγιον.

Sense 5: son of …, person of …, one who is …

Semantic entry: 9.4

Semantic domains: People

Subdomains: Human Beings

Definition: (followed by the genitive of class or kind) a person of a class or kind, specified by the following genitive construction

Notes: For a discussion of υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, see 12.15: θεός / 12.15: υἱός.|In most languages it is difficult, if not impossible, to represent adequately the meaning of such expressions consisting of the formula ‘son of …’ without making some significant adjustments. For example, ‘your sons’ in RV MAT 12:27 · LV MAT 12:27 · Read together MAT 12:27 may be rendered as ‘your followers.’ In RV ACT 13:10 · LV ACT 13:10 · Read together ACT 13:10 ‘son of the Devil’ may be rendered as ‘you are like the Devil,’ while in RV LUK 16:8 · LV LUK 16:8 · Read together LUK 16:8 ‘sons of this age’ may be readily translated as ‘people who are typical of this age.’ In RV MAT 23:15 · LV MAT 23:15 · Read together MAT 23:15 ‘son of Gehenna’ may be rendered as ‘you who deserve to go to hell,’ and in RV MRK 3:17 · LV MRK 3:17 · Read together MRK 3:17 ‘sons of thunder’ may be rendered as ‘men who are like thunder’ or ‘thunderous persons.’ For idiomatic expressions involving ‘sons of …,’ see 11.13: υἱός, 11.14: τέκνον / 11.14: υἱός / 11.14: φῶς, and 11.16: αἰών / 11.16: υἱός.

Sense 6: disciple, follower

Semantic entry: 36.39

Semantic domains: Guide, Discipline, Follow

Subdomains: Follow, Be a Disciple

Definition: (a figurative extension of meaning of υἱός[a] ‘son,’ 10.42: υἱός) one who is a disciple or follower of someone, with the implication of being like the one whom he follows (a reflection of the Semitic use of υἱός in the expression son of)

Notes: In RV PE1 5:13 · LV PE1 5:13 · Read together PE1 5:13 the meaning of the expression Μᾶρκος ὁ υἱός μου, literally ‘Mark, my son,’ may be ‘Mark, my disciple’ or ‘Mark, my follower.’ On the other hand, υἱός may simply be a means of referring to a younger person in an affectionate manner (see 9.46: παιδίον / 9.46: τεκνίον / 9.46: τέκνον / 9.46: υἱός).

Sense 7: citizen

Semantic entry: 11.69

Semantic domains: Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes

Subdomains: Socio-Political

Definition: a member of a sociopolitical group with some presumed ethnic relationship

Sense 8: son of, offspring of, child of, kind of, one who has the characteristics of, person of

Semantic entry: 58.26

Semantic domains: Nature, Class, Example

Subdomains: Class, Kind

Definition: a kind or class of persons, with the implication of possessing certain derived characteristics

Sense 9: the people of Israel, the nation of Israel

Semantic entry: 11.58

Semantic domains: Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes

Subdomains: Socio-Political

Definition: (an idiom, literally: sons of Israel) the people of Israel as an ethnic entity

Notes: In translating the expression ‘the people of Israel’ it may be necessary to use an appositional phrase, for example, ‘the people, namely, Israel’ or a relative clause which also serves an appositional function, for example, ‘the people who are Israel.’ In some languages it may be preferable to use a term such as ‘nation’ followed by some expression which will indicate that Israel is simply the name of the nation, for example, ‘the nation called Israel.’

Collocations: υἱοὶ Ἰσραήλ

Sense 10: people of God’s kingdom, God’s people

Semantic entry: 11.13

Semantic domains: Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes

Subdomains: Socio-Religious

Definition: (an idiom, literally: sons of the kingdom) people who should properly be or were traditionally regarded as a part of the kingdom of God

Notes: In a number of languages a literal rendering of ‘sons of the kingdom’ would be relatively meaningless. It is normally possible to use a descriptive phrase in contexts such as RV MAT 8:12 · LV MAT 8:12 · Read together MAT 8:12, for example, ‘those who should be a part of the kingdom of God’ or ‘those over whom God should be ruling.’ In this context, as well as in most others, the Greek term traditionally rendered ‘kingdom’ (in speaking of ‘the kingdom of God’) points essentially to the rule of God rather than to any place or time. See also 37.64: βασιλεία / 37.64: βασιλεύω.

Collocations: υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας

Sense 11: non-religious people, people of this world, people of this age

Semantic entry: 11.16

Semantic domains: Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes

Subdomains: Socio-Religious

Definition: (an idiom, literally: sons of this age) persons who hold to the value system of the world

Notes: In some instances ‘the people of this world’ may be rendered as ‘the people who live like most people in the world’ or ‘the people who are concerned only about what people say.’ Sometimes the identification with the world is expressed in contrast with people’s attitude concerning God, for example, ‘people who have no use for God.’

Collocations: υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου

Sense 12: wedding guests or friends of the bridegroom

Semantic entry: 11.7

Semantic domains: Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes

Subdomains: General

Definition: (an idiom, literally: sons of the wedding hall) guests at a wedding, or more specifically, friends of the bridegroom participating in wedding festivities

Notes: A literal rendering of the idiom ‘sons of the wedding hall’ has often been seriously misunderstood, for example, the bride’s children born prior to the marriage.

Collocations: υἱοὶ τοῦ νυμφῶνος

Sense 13: sons of the light, children of the light, people of God

Semantic entry: 11.14

Semantic domains: Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes

Subdomains: Socio-Religious

Definition: (idioms, literally: sons of the light, and: sons of the day) persons to whom the truth of God has been revealed and who are presumably living according to such truth. See also 9.4: υἱός and 12.15: θεός / 12.15: υἱός.

Notes: In a number of languages it is difficult to speak of ‘light’ in the metaphorical sense of the truth that comes from God. Such truth is not to be equated with knowledge, but with the principles and practices of right moral behavior. Because of these difficulties in speaking of ‘truth’ as ‘light,’ a number of translators have preferred to use the expression ‘people of God’ for the phrases υἱοὶ τοῦ φωτός, υἱοὶ τῆς ἡμέρας, and τέκνα φωτός. In some instances, however, it is possible to employ ‘light,’ if this is described as ‘light that comes from God’ or even ‘the true light from God.’|Though there are two expressions, υἱοὶ φωτός and υἱοὶ ἡμέρας, in RV TH1 5:5 · LV TH1 5:5 · Read together TH1 5:5, there does not seem to be any significant difference in meaning. The two phrases simply supplement and reinforce each other.

Collocations: υἱοὶ τοῦ φωτός; υἱοὶ τῆς ἡμέρας

Sense 14: people, mankind

Semantic entry: 9.2

Semantic domains: People

Subdomains: Human Beings

Definition: (a Semitic idiom, literally: sons of men) human beings (equivalent in denotative meaning to ἄνθρωπος[a], 9.1: ἀνήρ / 9.1: ἄνθρωπος)

Notes: It is rare indeed that one can reproduce literally the Semitic phrase ‘sons of men,’ since the expression is likely to be interpreted as relating only to the male offspring of fathers.

Collocations: υἱοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων

Sense 15: Son of Man

Semantic entry: 9.3

Semantic domains: People

Subdomains: Human Beings

Definition: a title with Messianic implications used by Jesus concerning himself

Notes: This title ‘Son of Man’ served not only to affirm but also to hide Christ’s Messianic role.|In a number of languages there are serious complications involved in a literal translation of υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ‘Son of Man.’ In the first place, this is likely to be understood in a more or less literal sense of ‘son of a man’ and thus a denial of the virgin birth. Such is particularly true in languages which have two words for ‘son,’ one meaning ‘son of a man’ and the other, ‘son of a woman.’ Under such circumstances, a literal translation would be a clear denial of the virgin birth.

Collocations: υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου

Sense 16: Son of God

Semantic entry: 12.15

Semantic domains: Supernatural Beings and Powers

Subdomains: Supernatural Beings

Definition: (a title applied to Jesus, literally: son of God; parallel in semantic structure to phrases consisting of υἱός followed by the genitive of class or kind; compare 9.4: υἱός) one who has the essential characteristics and nature of God

Notes: Before adopting a translation of υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ such as ‘Son of God,’ one must always investigate the extent to which such an expression might already be used in a particular language. For example, in the Tarahumara language of Mexico mankind is divided into two classes: (1) ‘sons of God,’ who are Tarahumaras and (2) ‘sons of the devil,’ all other people. In these circumstances it is necessary in translating υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ to use an expression which will identify ‘the unique Son of God’ or ‘the one who is truly the Son of God.’

Collocations: υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ

Sense 17: son of David

Definition: a title applied to Jesus, with Messianic implications, emphasizing Jesus’ link to David

Collocations: υἱὸς Δαυίδ