Don’t you just love the Christmas story? I know, me too. We marvel at the unfathomable riches of God’s grace, mercy and love – that Jesus would deign to take on human flesh and dwell among us. Do you remember the sign given to the shepherds? They would find, lying in a feeding trough, a “child,” a ΒΡΕΦΟΣ (pronounced “brefos” – but note that the initial consonant is pronounced like the Spanish “b” or “v”; the lips don’t quite touch). What exactly is a ΒΡΕΦΟΣ anyway?

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To better understand the word ΒΡΕΦΟΣ, often translated into English as “child,” we need to go to the New Testament. That is because the word never appears in the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures – not once.

The word ΒΡΕΦΟΣ appears just eight times in the New Testament. Let’s look at them all. We’ll start with the story of the Messiah’s birth. On the momentous night, the Angel of the Lord announced to the shepherds that a saviour – Messiah the Lord – had been born in Bethlehem, David’s City. And he added (this is Luke 2:12 in the King James Version):

“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

Here is the Greek (citing the Tyndale House Greek New Testament):

καὶ τοῦτο ὑμῖν τὸ σημεῖον· εὑρήσετε βρέφος ἐσπαργανωμένον καὶ κείμενον ἐν φάτνῃ.

The sign was a baby, a ΒΡΕΦΟΣ, lying in a feeding trough. Then the shepherds rush into Bethlehem and see him – our Messiah – as a ΒΡΕΦOΣ, along with his mother Mary and Joseph (Luke 2:16). So, from these two instances, we see that ΒΡΕΦΟΣ can mean baby.

Next, let’s look at Jesus’ honoring of the little ones that come to him. There are a number of versions of this story. Matthew and Mark recall how children (a different Greek word is used) were brought to Jesus for him to give them a physical demonstration of his love. This is innocent and beautiful, isn’t it?

Luke recalls, specifically, that ΒΡΕΦΗ (pronounced “brefeh” — this is the plural of ΒΡΕΦΟΣ) were brought to him (Luke 18:15). Evidently, these little ones, then, were tiny children, babies and infants.

In the book of Acts, Luke relays Stephen’s speech, in which the murder of the young Israelite male babies by Egyptians is recalled. Again, the word ΒΡΕΦΟΣ is used, in the plural (ΒΡΕΦΗ), to describe the babies (Acts 7:19). From Exodus 1, we learn that these male babies were largely newborns.

There are just four instances left. Simon Peter encourages Christians to desire the pure milk from God’s word like newborn “babes,” using ΒΡΕΦΟΣ (1 Peter 2:2). Peter uses another word, a descriptive term, for “newborn,” showing clearly that ΒΡΕΦΟΣ has a wider range of meaning than just newborns.

But how wide is the range of meaning? Paul writes to Timothy saying that from his infancy, he has known the sacred writings. Paul says that from the time Timothy was a ΒΡΕΦΟΣ, he has known the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:15). This means Timothy was intelligibly hearing scripture, from his mother and possibly others, at this age. To show comprehension of something, a person needs to speak or give a physical gesture. On average, children start talking between 12 and 18 months of age. Paul, then, could be speaking about Timothy’s earliest days from, say, a year-and-a-half old (or even possibly a bit older). Such a child is a toddler. But he might also have been referring to Timothy as an infant (one-year old and younger), if he meant that Timothy was comprehending scripture read to him, or possibly sung in his presence, as he responded with body language. It depends on what Paul had in mind.

There are just two instances left. And these bring us back to the Christmas story. In chapter one of the Gospel account Luke wrote, he narrates a most joyous occasion of Mary, already carrying Jesus, coming to visit Elisabeth. When the two women meet, in an explosion of joy, Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit, even as the ΒΡΕΦΟΣ in her leaps in her womb. We read the following in Luke 1:41 (this is the World English Bible) –

“It happened, when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, that the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

The original Greek says this (I’m citing the Tyndale House Greek New Testament):

Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἤκουσεν τὸν ἀσπασμὸν τῆς Μαρίας ἡ Ἐλισάβετ, ἐσκίρτησεν τὸ βρέφος ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐπλήσθη πνεύματος ἁγίου ἡ Ἐλισάβετ.

So, what is in Elizabeth’s womb is a who, a ΒΡΕΦΟΣ. This unborn baby is none other than John the Baptizer. He is a person – but he won’t receive a name until the eighth day after he is born. I’ll pause the narrative for a moment. We know that Elizabeth was at least six-months pregnant (Luke 1:26), but not much more. Mary will stay at Zechariah and Elizabeth’s place for another three months and leave, when Elizabeth will not yet have given birth (Luke 1:56–57).

Let’s return to the women’s initial encounter. Next, Elizabeth describes to Mary what has happened, explaining that when she heard Mary’s greeting the ΒΡΕΦΟΣ in her womb leaped for joy (Luke 1:44). Mary then explodes into praise of God, uttering her beautiful canticle. And the rest is history.

So, ΒΡΕΦΟΣ has a wide range of meaning – possibly the best single equivalent in English would be “tiny child.” The word’s meaning ranges from baby still in the womb to infant, possibly even toddler. And, of course, it refers to newborn babies, such as our majestic Jesus, asleep in the manger.

But days, weeks and even months before Jesus was born, he was already a ΒΡΕΦΟΣ.

Friends, we should stop killing our children. Rather, let us cherish every ΒΡΕΦΟΣ. How can we do this? First, let us set Christ apart in our hearts, make him holy, as the Lord. Let’s commit to doing and saying what will be pleasing to him. Then, let’s support the local unwed mother, the local crisis pregnancy center. Let’s give of our time, let’s lend a hand. These are people who are making righteous choices and continually doing good. Let’s come alongside them in what they are already doing.

When distressed young mothers we know come to us who are with a tiny child, a ΒΡΕΦΟΣ, in their wombs and have a life-and-death decision standing before them, we should be gentle with them and also give them compassionate, clear advice that will help them for years and years down the road: “go for mothering” or “go for adoption.” Then we should come alongside them, after that, for support.

And amongst believers, we need to teach plainly what is in the Word and speak truth to one another. The church is the pillar of the truth, as we read in 1 Timothy 3:15. Let us never be afraid of consequences – personally inconveniences, such as societal rejection or even jail time – for speaking the simple truth amongst ourselves. Voluntarily “terminating a foetus” is murdering a human – and one’s own progeny at that. We must not call evil “good.”

And friends, when there are those who have committed murder or who have been complicit, let’s have compassion on them, when they come to us and we know that they are broken. Let’s not forget that Moses was a murdered, David was a murderer. We don’t know how far Paul went – but, he certainly was violently persecuting the body of Jesus, the Church. And God had mercy on all of them. So, let’s have mercy, too, and reach out, knowing that we ourselves have been saved from eternal fire and made righteous in Christ’s blood. So, let’s offer that redemption to everyone who has made a horrible decision.

I’ll leave you off with a song I’ve composed for the original Greek of Luke 1:41. It is called ΕΣΚΙΡΤΗΣΕΝ ΤΟ ΒΡΕΦΟΣ (pronounced “eskirtesen to brephos”), which means “the tiny child leaped.” Here is the text again:

Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἤκουσεν τὸν ἀσπασμὸν τῆς Μαρίας ἡ Ἐλισάβετ, ἐσκίρτησεν τὸ βρέφος ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ αὐτῆς, καὶ ἐπλήσθη πνεύματος ἁγίου ἡ Ἐλισάβετ.