The Greek ekgonos (plural ekgona) means grandchildren or descendants. It appears only in 1 Timothy 5:4: 'But if a widow has children or grandchildren (ekgona), these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.' The text establishes that godliness includes concrete, generational family responsibility.
The theology of ekgona in 1 Timothy 5:4 grounds piety in the home. Paul is addressing the church's care for widows — a real economic and social burden on the early community. His principle: before the church bears the financial weight, the family must. Children and ekgona have the first obligation. 'Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever' (1 Timothy 5:8). Discipleship that ignores family responsibility is not devotion — it is avoidance dressed as spirituality.