What does "Adoption" mean in the Bible?
Adoption is an act by which a stranger is received into a man's family as his own child, and becomes entitled to the peculiar privileges of that connection as fully and completely as a child by birth. Adoption appears in 4 verses across 3 books of the Bible.
What does the Bible say about Adoption?
ADOP'TION is an act by which a stranger is received into a man's family as his own child, and becomes entitled to the peculiar privileges of that connection as fully and completely as a child by birth. So Moses was adopted by Pharaoh's daughter, Ex 2:10, and Esther by her cousin Mordecai. Esth 2:7. In the figurative use of the term by the sacred writers it indicates that intimate relation of the believer to God which follows regeneration and conversion from sin to holiness, when we are received into the family of God and are made, by grace, his children or sons, and heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. Gal 4:4, 1 Chr 6:5; Rom 8:14-17.
Definition text: Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible · 1898. Public domain.
Compiled by Protos: the verse list on this page. Where one name belongs to more than one person or place, each of them gets a separate entry.
What is the Greek word for Adoption?
Greek · G5206
υἱοθεσία
uhiothesia
adoption (as son)
TBESG, from Abbott-Smith (1922). Public domain.
Where does Adoption appear in the Bible?
Adoption is referenced in 4 verses across 3 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.
- Ephesians 1:5
- Galatians 4:5
- Romans 8:23
- Romans 9:4
What else appears in these passages?
These turn up in the same passages as Adoption.
Common questions
How many times does the Bible mention Adoption?
Adoption appears in 4 verses across 3 books, most often in Romans, which accounts for 2 of them.
Which books of the Bible mention Adoption?
Romans, Ephesians, Galatians.
Where can I read every verse about Adoption?
This page lists 4 of them. Protos carries all 4, and opens this entry on the verse you are reading rather than in a separate tab.


