ἄνωθεν
ánōthen · G509 · Greek · 13 occurrences
Meanings
-
from above, from the top of
Extension from a source which is above
ExamplesMatthew 27:51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
Mark 15:38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
John 3:3 Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
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again
A subsequent point of time involving repetition
ExamplesJohn 3:3 Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
Galatians 4:9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles, to which you want to be enslaved all over again?
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for a long time
Duration of time for a relatively long period in the past
ExamplesLuke 1:3 it seemed fitting to me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in an orderly sequence, most excellent Theophilus;
Acts 26:5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion.
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to be born again, to experience new birth, rebirth
(An idiom, literally: to be born again) To experience a complete change in one’s way of life to what it should be, with the implication of return to a former state or relation
How it’s used In 2 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 2 groups
- δόσιςgiving, gift 1
- δώρημαgift 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- ἀπόfrom 2
- ἐκfrom 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
In the other Testament 2 words
- מַעַל maʻal · H4605 · unfaithfulness, upwards, above
- מַעַל (maʻal, H4605) is the standard Hebrew spatial term for 'above/upward' that underlies ἄνωθεν (ánōthen, G509)'s (ἄνωθεν) core spatial sense 'from above,' with the Greek term extending metaphorically to temporal ('from the first') and iterative ('anew') meanings that the Hebrew does not carry lexically.
- עַל ʻal · H5920 · above, high, most High
- Greek ἄνωθεν encompasses spatial ('from above'), temporal ('from the first'), and metaphysical/theological ('anew, from God') senses; Hebrew עַל is primarily spatial ('above, upon, over'), making this a partial equivalent limited to the shared locative/spatial domain where both denote physical or conceptual height/superiority.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- To be born again, to experience new birth, rebirth41.53
- In John 3:3, Jesus responds to Nicodemus, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again (gennēthē̃i ánōthen) he cannot see the kingdom of God,” describing a spiritual rebirth.
- Again67.55
- In Galatians 4:9, Paul asks the Galatians, “how is it that you turn back again (pálin ánōthen) to the weak and worthless elementary principles, to which you want to be enslaved all over again?” describing a repeated return to a former state.
- For a long time67.90
- In Luke 1:3, Luke explains that he wrote his Gospel “having investigated everything carefully from the beginning (ánōthen), to write it out for you in an orderly sequence,” describing a tracing of events back to their earliest point in time.
- From above, from the top of84.13
- In Matthew 27:51, at the moment of Jesus' death, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (ap' ánōthen héōs kátō),” describing a physical tear running from the highest point downward.
Word family 5 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (ἄνω), adverb; a. from above, from a higher place: ἀπό ἄνωθεν (Winer's Grammar, § 50, 7…
a. from above, from a higher place: ἀπό ἄνωθεν (Winer's Grammar, § 50, 7 N. 1), Mt 27:51 (Tdf. omits ἀπό); Mk 15:38; ἐκ τῶν ἄνωθεν from the upper part, from the top, Jn 19:23. Often (also in Greek writings) used of things which come from heaven, or from God as dwelling in heaven: Jn 3:31; Jn 19:11; Jas 1:17; Jas 3:15, Jas 3:17.
b. from the first: Lk 1:3; then, from the beginning on, from the very first: Acts 26:5. Hence,
c. anew, over again, indicating repetition (a use somewhat rare, but wrongly denied by many (Meyer among them; cf. his commentary on John and Galatians as below)): Jn 3:3, Jn 3:7 ἄνωθεν γεννηθῆναι, where others explain it from above, i. e. from heaven. But, according to this explanation, Nicodemus ought to have wondered how it was possible for anyone to be born from heaven; but this he did not say; (cf. Westcott, Commentary on John, p. 63). Of the repetition of physical birth, we read in Artemidorus Daldianus, oneir. 1, 13 (14), p. 18 (i., p. 26, Reiff edition) (ἀνδρί) ἔτι τῷ ἔχοντι ἐγκυον γυναῖκα σημαίνει παῖδα αὐτῷ γεννήσεσθαι ὅμοιον κατά πάντα. οὕτω γάρ ἄνωθεν αὐτός δοξειε γέννασθαι; cf. Josephus, Antiquities 1, 18, 3 φιλίαν ἄνωθεν ποιεῖσθαι, where a little before stands πρότερα φιλία; add, Martyr. Polycarp, 1, 1 [ET]; (also Socrates in Stobaeus, flor. cxxiv. 41, iv. 135, Meineke edition (iii. 438, Gaisf. edition); Harpocration, Lex., see under the words, ἀναδικάσασθαι, ἀναθέσθαι, ἀναποδιζομενα, ἀνασυνταξις; Canon. apost. 46 (others 39, Coteler. patr. apost. works, i. 444); Pseudo-Basil, de bapt. 1, 2, 7 (iii. 1537); Origen in Joann. t. xx. c. 12 (works, iv. 322 c. DelaRue). See Abbot, Authorship of the Fourth Gospel, etc. (Boston 1880), p. 34f). πάλιν ἄνωθεν, (on this combination of synonymous words cf. Kühner, § 534, 1; (Jelf, § 777, 1); Grimm on Sap. xix. 5 (6)): Gal 4:9 (again, since ye were in bondage once before).
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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