Greek word · G3811
παιδεύω
paideuō
to instruct
To bring up and educate a child (Acts 7:22; 22:3, 'educated at the feet of Gamaliel'); to train or instruct (Titus 2:12); to correct or discipline, sometimes with physical punishment (Heb 12:6–10; Luke 23:16, 22, where Pilate offers to 'chastise' Jesus).
Appears 13 times in 13 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
παιδεύω
(παίς), [in LXX chiefly for יָסַר ;]
1. as in cl., to train children, hence, generally, to teach, instruct: Acts 7:22 22:3, 1 Timothy 1:20, Titus 2:12.
2. As in LXX (Psalms 6:2, Proverbs 19:18, Wisdom of Solomon 3:5, al., and for prob. ex. from π., see MM, xviii), to chasten, correct, chastise: Luke 23:16, 22, 2 Timothy 2:25, Hebrews 12:7, 10; of divine chastening, 1 Corinthians 11:32, 2 Corinthians 6:9, Hebrews 12:6, Revelation 3:19.†
SYN.: διδάσκω, q.v (AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Revelation 3:19
- Range of meaning
To bring up and educate a child (Acts 7:22; 22:3, 'educated at the feet of Gamaliel'); to train or instruct (Titus 2:12); to correct or discipline, sometimes with physical punishment (Heb 12:6–10; Luke 23:16, 22, where Pilate offers to 'chastise' Jesus).
- Against the English
KJV and WEB 'chasten' now sounds old-fashioned and purely punitive. 'Discipline' (BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB) is better, but modern readers often hear only punishment. The Greek word is built on pais, 'child', and its centre is forming a child.
- How it drifted
In English, 'chasten' and 'discipline' have narrowed toward 'punish.' In the Greco-Roman world paideia meant the whole upbringing of a free child into a mature citizen. Correction was part of it, but the goal was the finished person.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Proverbs 3:12 in the Septuagint: 'whom the Lord loves he disciplines (παιδεύει).' Hebrews 12:5–11 develops this: discipline proves sonship ('if you are without discipline… you are illegitimate'). Paideia was the standard Greek term for education.
- Range of meaning
To bring up a child (pais); to educate, form, train; to correct and discipline, sometimes physically ('chastise, flog'). It covers the whole process of forming a person: instruction, habit, correction.
- Against the English
KJV 'teaching' and BSB/NASB 'instructs/instructing' make it sound like classroom information. ESV 'training' comes closer. The word carries the idea of formation and, where needed, correction, as a parent or tutor gives.
- How it drifted
English 'teach' has narrowed toward passing on knowledge. Greek paideia was the whole culture's ideal of shaping character from childhood.
- Used elsewhere in the period
LXX Deut 8:5: 'as a man disciplines (paideuei) his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you'; Prov 3:12 (quoted in Heb 12:6): 'whom the Lord loves he disciplines'. Acts 7:22: Moses was 'educated' in Egyptian wisdom. Luke 23:16, 22: Pilate offers to 'chastise' (flog) Jesus. In the Pastorals: 1 Tim 1:20 ('that they may learn not to blaspheme'), 2 Tim 2:25 ('correcting opponents'), 2 Tim 3:16 ('training in righteousness'). In Greek culture paideia was the master idea of education (see Jaeger, Paideia).
From the study of 2 Timothy 2:25
- Range of meaning
From pais, 'child'. It means to bring up, educate or train, and also to correct, discipline or chastise. Greek paideia covered a child's whole formation, both teaching and correction. In Jewish usage (LXX Proverbs) it leans toward corrective discipline, including God's discipline of his people.
- Against the English
KJV and YLT 'instructing' sounds like neutral classroom teaching. BSB 'reprove' sounds like a single rebuke. ESV, NASB and WEB 'correcting' is closest. The Greek holds teaching and correcting together, as a parent or tutor would.
- How it drifted
The drift here is mostly about scope. Each English word picks out one part of a word that covered both teaching and correcting.
- Used elsewhere in the period
LXX Prov 3:11-12 ('whom the Lord loves he disciplines'), quoted in Heb 12:5-11. In the same group of letters: 1 Tim 1:20 (Hymenaeus and Alexander handed over 'so that they may be taught not to blaspheme'), Titus 2:12 (grace 'training us'), and 2 Tim 3:16 (Scripture is useful 'for training in righteousness', paideia).
Similar words
Where it appears
Luke · 2
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Luke 23:16 παιδεύσας Having chastised
Therefore I will punish Him and release Him.”
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Luke 23:22 παιδεύσας Having chastised
A third time he said to them, “What evil has this man done? I have found in Him no offense worthy of death. So after I punish Him, I will release Him.”
Acts · 2
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Acts 7:22 ἐπαιδεύθη was instructed
So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
Here: Aorist passive: 'he was given a formal education.' The training was done to him by others, at the Egyptian court. It is the word for a child's full upbringing and schooling (paideia). It does not mean punishment here.
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Acts 22:3 πεπαιδευμένος instructed
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.
Here: Perfect participle: 'having been thoroughly schooled'. The third step after born and raised. It means formation and discipline of character, not just the passing on of information.
1 Corinthians · 1
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1 Corinthians 11:32 παιδευόμεθα, we are disciplined,
But when we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
Here: "We are being child-trained." It is the word for how a father raises and corrects his own children, punishment included. Paul says the Lord's judging of believers belongs to this category of family correction.
2 Corinthians · 1
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2 Corinthians 6:9 παιδευόμενοι being disciplined
unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed;
Here: 'Being disciplined / chastised.' The word comes from raising a child (pais). It covers correction, training and physical beating, and it can also mean a judicial flogging. Paul's floggings (11:24–25) are probably in view, read in the light of Psalm 118:18, where God 'disciplines' his servant without handing him over to death.
1 Timothy · 1
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1 Timothy 1:20 παιδευθῶσιν they may be disciplined
Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
Here: A passive verb: 'that they may be disciplined.' The word comes from raising a child (pais). Here it means the hard correction a father or teacher uses, not classroom teaching. The passive leaves the real agent unnamed, most naturally God, who uses even Satan's harsh realm as a schoolroom.
2 Timothy · 1
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2 Timothy 2:25 παιδεύοντα disciplining
He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
Here: It means training someone the way a child is raised: teaching and correcting together. The form is accusative, which ties it back to 'the Lord's servant' in v. 24. That keeps it under the 'must' of v. 24: the servant must be someone who corrects in this way.
Titus · 1
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Titus 2:12 παιδεύουσα instructing
It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
Here: The subject is 'the grace of God' from verse 11 (the participle is feminine to match 'grace'). Grace is pictured as a tutor raising a child: an ongoing upbringing that includes instruction, correction and discipline, not simply passing on information.
Hebrews · 3
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Hebrews 12:6 παιδεύει, disciplines,
For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”
Here: To do what a father does in raising a son: teach, train, correct and, when needed, punish, all aimed at his growing up. Present tense: something he keeps doing.
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Hebrews 12:7 παιδεύει disciplines
Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
Here: The verb matching paideia. In a Greek, Roman or Jewish household it meant teaching, training and, when needed, physical correction. Verse 6 has already mentioned "scourging."
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Hebrews 12:10 ἐπαίδευον, they were disciplining [us],
Our fathers disciplined us for a short time as they thought best, but God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness.
Here: "They used to train/discipline [us]". The tense describes something that went on repeatedly over the years of growing up. The word covers the whole of child-rearing, correction included.
Revelation · 1
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Revelation 3:19 παιδεύω. discipline.
Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
Here: Literally 'to treat as a child (pais)', that is, to raise and educate, correction included. The picture is a parent forming a child, not a judge handing down a sentence.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.