{"id":36030,"date":"2012-12-03T20:24:00","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T02:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=36030"},"modified":"2021-06-22T20:28:38","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T01:28:38","slug":"is-your-definition-of-tekna-consistent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-your-definition-of-tekna-consistent\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your definition of tekna consistent?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

In light of the position you take with regard to\u00a0Elders and the number of children they should have<\/a>, I would like to know your thoughts with regard to the following scriptures. We are in the process of studying deacons and elders at the congregation I attend, and I am trying to further prepare for this study. I am confident you are much more educated than I am, but from a layman’s perspective, and considering the contexts in which tekna is used in these scriptures, it would seem that tekna would apply to both the singular and plural in these verses. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks<\/p>\nMatt 22:24
\n24 saying: “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children (tekna), his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.
\nNKJV\nMark 10:29-30
\n29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children(tekna) or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s,
\nNKJV\nLuke 14:25-27
\n26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children(tekna), brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.
\nNKJV\nLuke 18:29-30
\n29 So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children(tekna), for the sake of the kingdom of God,
\nNKJV\nLuke 20:28-31
\n“Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. 31 Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children (tekna), and died.
\nNKJV\n1 Thess 2:6-7
\n7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children(tekna).
\nNKJV\n1 Thess 2:11
\n11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children(tekna),
\nNKJV\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

In “Must elders have more than one child?<\/a>” I discussed the grammatical rules for determining how many children are under consideration:<\/p>\n