UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: from above, from the top of

Semantic entry: 84.13

Semantic domains: Spacial Extensions

Subdomains: Extension From a Source

Definition: extension from a source which is above

Notes: In RV JHN 3:31 · LV JHN 3:31 · Read together JHN 3:31 the reference of ἄνωθεν is obviously heaven, and in many languages it is essential to translate ‘he who comes from heaven is far above all.’|In RV JHN 3:3 · LV JHN 3:3 · Read together JHN 3:3 ἄνωθεν may also mean ‘again’ (see 67.55: ἄνωθεν / 67.55: πάλιν). For ἄνωθεν as part of an idiom, see 41.53: ἄνωθεν / 41.53: γεννάω / 41.53: παλιγγενεσία.

Sense 2: again

Semantic entry: 67.55

Semantic domains: Time

Subdomains: A Point of Time with Reference to Other Points of Time: Before, Long Ago, Now, At the Same Time, When, About, After

Definition: a subsequent point of time involving repetition

Notes: In RV JHN 3:3 · LV JHN 3:3 · Read together JHN 3:3 ἄνωθεν involves a play on the two distinct meanings of the word, namely, ἄνωθεν[b] 'again' and ἄνωθεν[a] 'from above' (see 84.13: ἄνωθεν). For the idiom γεννάω ἄνωθεν, see 41.53: ἄνωθεν / 41.53: γεννάω / 41.53: παλιγγενεσία.

Sense 3: for a long time

Semantic entry: 67.90

Semantic domains: Time

Subdomains: Duration of Time without Reference to Points or Units of Time: Time, Spend Time, Always, Eternal, Old, Immediately, Young

Definition: duration of time for a relatively long period in the past

Sense 4: to be born again, to experience new birth, rebirth

Semantic entry: 41.53

Semantic domains: Behavior and Related States

Subdomains: Change Behavior

Definition: (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

Notes: It is also possible to understand ἄνωθεν in RV JHN 3:3 · LV JHN 3:3 · Read together JHN 3:3 as meaning ‘from above’ or ‘from God’ (see 84.13: ἄνωθεν), a literary parallel to the phrase ἐκ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν in RV JHN 1:13 · LV JHN 1:13 · Read together JHN 1:13. In RV JHN 3:3 · LV JHN 3:3 · Read together JHN 3:3, however, Nicodemus understood ἄνωθεν as meaning ‘again’ (see 67.55: ἄνωθεν / 67.55: πάλιν) and γεννάω as ‘physical birth’ (see 23.52: γεννάω / 23.52: τεκνογονέω / 23.52: τεκνογονία / 23.52: τίκτω).

Collocations: γεννάω ἄνωθεν