Topical Bible: Orphan

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Topical Encyclopedia

In the biblical context, an orphan is typically understood as a child who has lost one or both parents. The plight of orphans is a recurring theme throughout the Scriptures, and God's concern for them is evident in both the Old and New Testaments. The Bible frequently emphasizes the importance of caring for orphans, alongside widows and the poor, as a reflection of God's justice and compassion.

Old Testament References

The Hebrew word for orphan, "yathom," appears numerous times in the Old Testament. God's law, as given to Moses, includes specific instructions for the care and protection of orphans. In Exodus 22:22-24 , God commands, "You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry. My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will become widows and your children fatherless."

The Psalms also reflect God's heart for orphans. Psalm 68:5 describes God as "a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling." This imagery portrays God as a protector and provider for those who lack earthly guardians.

The prophetic books continue this theme. Isaiah 1:17 exhorts the people of Israel to "learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor; defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow." This call to action underscores the importance of social justice and care for the vulnerable in society.

New Testament References

In the New Testament, the Greek word "orphanos" is used, which can mean both "orphan" and "comfortless." While direct references to orphans are less frequent, the principles of caring for the vulnerable are reinforced. James 1:27 states, "Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." This verse highlights the practical outworking of faith through acts of compassion and service.

Jesus Himself demonstrated concern for children and the marginalized. In Matthew 18:5 , He teaches, "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me." This statement reflects the value Jesus places on children and, by extension, those who are vulnerable and in need of care.

Theological Implications

The biblical mandate to care for orphans is rooted in the character of God, who is described as just, merciful, and compassionate. The care for orphans is not merely a social obligation but a reflection of God's own nature and His kingdom values. Believers are called to emulate God's love and justice by actively engaging in the care and support of orphans.

Throughout church history, Christians have been at the forefront of establishing orphanages and adoption services, motivated by the biblical call to care for the fatherless. This legacy continues today as many Christian organizations and individuals work to provide for the needs of orphans around the world.

In summary, the Bible presents a consistent message regarding the care of orphans, emphasizing God's special concern for them and the responsibility of His people to act justly and compassionately on their behalf.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) A child bereaved of both father and mother; sometimes, also, a child who has but one parent living.

2. (a.) Bereaved of parents, or (sometimes) of one parent.

3. (v. t.) To cause to become an orphan; to deprive of parents.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ORPHAN

or'-fan: This word occurs once only in the Old Testament (Lamentations 5:3, where it stands for yathom, elsewhere rendered "fatherless," and in the Septuagint always orphanos); in the Apocrypha it occurs 3 times (2 Esdras 2:20; Tobit 1:8; 2 Maccabees 8:28). There is no clear case where it means the loss of both parents. The Scriptures devote considerable attention to the widow and orphan, and the idea is that the child is fatherless. It is not found in the King James Version of the New Testament; but the Greek word orphanos occurs twice, John 14:18 (the King James Version "comfortless," the Revised Version (British and American) "desolate," margin "orphans") and James 1:27 ("fatherless").

See FATHERLESS.

D. Miall Edwards

Greek

3737. orphanos -- an orphan
... an orphan. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: orphanos Phonetic Spelling:
(or-fan-os') Short Definition: bereaved, an orphan Definition: bereaved, an ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3737.htm - 6k

642. aporphanizo -- to be bereaved
... 642 (from 575 , "separate from" and 3737 , "leave as an orphan") -- properly, to
orphan; (figuratively) , leaving someone defenseless -- like an orphan, bereft ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/642.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

3490. yathom -- an orphan
... 3489, 3490. yathom. 3491 . an orphan. Transliteration: yathom Phonetic
Spelling: (yaw-thome') Short Definition: orphan. Word Origin ...
/hebrew/3490.htm - 6k

Library

The Believer not an Orphan. "I Will not Leave You Comfortless: I ...
... THE BELIEVER NOT AN ORPHAN. "I will not leave you comfortless: I will
come to you.""John xiv. 18. THE BELIEVER NOT AN ORPHAN. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/till he come/the believer not an orphan.htm

The Orphan's Hymn.
... MORNING AND EVENING HYMNS. 972. " The Orphan's Hymn. 972. CM Anonymous. The Orphan's
Hymn. 1 Where shall the child of sorrow find A place for calm repose? ...
/.../adams/hymns for christian devotion/972 the orphans hymn.htm

Anniversary of an Orphan Asylum.
... PHILANTHROPIC SUBJECTS. 788. " Anniversary of an Orphan Asylum. 788. LM Mrs.
Nichols. Anniversary of an Orphan Asylum. 1 Our Father! ...
/.../adams/hymns for christian devotion/788 anniversary of an.htm

HymnFor the British Orphan Asylum.
... ORIGINAL HYMNS HYMN CCCXLIV. Hymn for the British Orphan Asylum. 8.6.8.6 James
Montgomery. Hymn for the British Orphan Asylum. Thou Father of the fatherless,. ...
/.../montgomery/sacred poems and hymns/hymn cccxliv hymn for the.htm

Spurgeon and the Little Orphan.
... Spurgeon and the Little Orphan. While we were in London, Mr. Spurgeon one
day took Mr. Sankey and myself to his orphan asylum, and ...
/.../moody/moodys anecdotes and illustrations/spurgeon and the little orphan.htm

The Orphan's Prayer.
... The Orphan's Prayer. A little child whose father and mother had died, was
taken into another family. The first night she asked if ...
/.../moody/moodys anecdotes and illustrations/the orphans prayer.htm

The New Orphan Houses, Ashley Down.
... CHAPTER II. THE NEW ORPHAN HOUSES, ASHLEY DOWN. THE NEW ORPHAN HOUSES, ASHLEY
DOWN. A complaint having been received from a gentleman ...
//christianbookshelf.org/muller/answers to prayer/chapter ii the new orphan.htm

Chapter I Beginning and Early Days of the Orphan Work.
... CHAPTER I BEGINNING AND EARLY DAYS OF THE ORPHAN WORK. BEGINNING AND EARLY
DAYS OF THE ORPHAN WORK. "That the trial of your faith ...
/.../muller/answers to prayer/chapter i beginning and early.htm

Appendix C
... and helpful to see the way in which Mr. Mueller proved the acceptable will of the
Lord, when exercised in heart about the enlargement of the Orphan work, so ...
//christianbookshelf.org/muller/answers to prayer/appendix c.htm

Lives of Faith and Trust
... of unfaltering trust in the faithfulness of God in supplying human wants, than is
found in the life and labor of George Muller and his Orphan Home, in Bristol ...
/.../various/the wonders of prayer/lives of faith and trust.htm

Thesaurus

Orphan (25 Occurrences)
... 2. (a.) Bereaved of parents, or (sometimes) of one parent. 3. (vt) To cause to become
an orphan; to deprive of parents. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ORPHAN...
/o/orphan.htm - 15k

Orphan's (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Orphan's (1 Occurrence). Job 24:3 They drive away the
donkey of the fatherless, and they take the widow's ox for a pledge. (See NIV). ...
/o/orphan's.htm - 6k

Orphans (12 Occurrences)

/o/orphans.htm - 9k

Orpah (2 Occurrences)

/o/orpah.htm - 7k

Orthosia

/o/orthosia.htm - 6k

Esther (48 Occurrences)
... es'-ter ('ecter, akin to the Zend tstara, the Sanskrit stri, the Greek aster, "a
star," Esther): Esther was a Jewish orphan, who became the queen of Xerxes, in ...
/e/esther.htm - 58k

Mordecai (52 Occurrences)
... He resided at Susa, the metropolis of Persia. He adopted his cousin Hadassah (Esther),
an orphan child, whom he tenderly brought up as his own daughter. ...
/m/mordecai.htm - 28k

Asylum
... of some class of destitute, unfortunate, or afflicted persons; as, an asylum for
the aged, for the blind, or for the insane; a lunatic asylum; an orphan asylum ...
/a/asylum.htm - 8k

Plundered (44 Occurrences)
... Jeremiah 22:3 Thus said Jehovah: Do ye judgment and righteousness, And deliver the
plundered from the hand of the oppressor, And sojourner, orphan, and widow ...
/p/plundered.htm - 19k

Resources

Who was Muhammad? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Billy Sunday? | GotQuestions.org

Why did God condone such terrible violence in the Old Testament? | GotQuestions.org

Orphan: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Orphan (25 Occurrences)

Exodus 22:22
Any widow or orphan ye do not afflict;
(YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 10:18
He does execute justice for the fatherless and widow, and loves the foreigner, in giving him food and clothing.
(See NAS)

Deuteronomy 14:29
and the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the foreigner living among you, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
(See NAS)

Deuteronomy 16:11
and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates, and the foreigner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are in the midst of you, in the place which Yahweh your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there.
(See NAS)

Deuteronomy 16:14
and you shall rejoice in your feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your male servant, and your female servant, and the Levite, and the foreigner, and the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your gates.
(See NAS)

Deuteronomy 24:17
You shall not wrest the justice due to the foreigner, or to the fatherless, nor take the widow's clothing to pledge;
(See NAS)

Deuteronomy 24:19
When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgot a sheaf in the field, you shall not go again to get it: it shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
(See NAS)

Deuteronomy 24:20
When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again: it shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
(See NAS)

Deuteronomy 24:21
When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it after yourselves: it shall be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
(See NAS)

Deuteronomy 26:13
and thou hast said before Jehovah thy God, I have put away the separated thing out of the house, and also have given it to the Levite, and to the sojourner, and to the orphan, and to the widow, according to all Thy command which Thou hast commanded me; I have not passed over from Thy commands, nor have I forgotten.
(YLT NAS)

Deuteronomy 27:19
'Cursed is he who wrests the justice due to the foreigner, fatherless, and widow.' All the people shall say,'Amen.'
(See NAS)

Job 24:9
They take violently away From the breast the orphan, And on the poor they lay a pledge.
(YLT NAS)

Job 29:12
Because I delivered the poor who cried, and the fatherless also, who had none to help him,
(See NAS)

Job 31:17
And I do eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan hath not eat of it,
(YLT NAS)

Job 31:21
If I have lifted up my hand against an orphan, because I saw my help in the gate:
(DBY NAS)

Psalms 10:14
But you do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into your hand. You help the victim and the fatherless.
(See NAS)

Psalms 10:18
to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.
(See NAS)

Isaiah 1:17
Take pleasure in well-doing; let your ways be upright, keep down the cruel, give a right decision for the child who has no father, see to the cause of the widow.
(See NAS)

Isaiah 1:23
Your chiefs have gone against the Lord, they have become friends of thieves; every one of them is looking for profit and going after rewards; they do not give right decisions for the child who has no father, and they do not let the cause of the widow come before them.
(See NAS)

Jeremiah 5:28
They have become fat and strong: they have gone far in works of evil: they give no support to the cause of the child without a father, so that they may do well; they do not see that the poor man gets his rights.
(See NAS)

Jeremiah 7:6
If you are not cruel to the man from a strange country, and to the child without a father, and to the widow, and do not put the upright to death in this place, or go after other gods, causing damage to yourselves:
(See NAS)

Jeremiah 22:3
Thus said Jehovah: Do ye judgment and righteousness, And deliver the plundered from the hand of the oppressor, And sojourner, orphan, and widow, ye do not oppress nor wrong, And innocent blood ye do not shed in this place.
(YLT NAS)

Hosea 14:3
Assyria can't save us. We won't ride on horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands,'Our gods!' for in you the fatherless finds mercy."
(See NAS RSV)

Zechariah 7:10
Don't oppress the widow, nor the fatherless, the foreigner, nor the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart.'
(See NAS)

Malachi 3:5
I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don't fear me," says Yahweh of Armies.
(See NAS RSV)

Subtopics

Orphan

Orphan: A Figure of Zion in Affliction

Orphan: Daughters of Zelophehad

Orphan: Esther

Orphan: General Scriptures Concerning

Related Terms

Orphan's (1 Occurrence)