UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: water

Semantic entry: 2.7

Semantic domains: Natural Substances

Subdomains: Water

Definition: a clear liquid that is without color, taste, or smell in its pure form; it forms rivers, lakes, and oceans, and sustains life on earth

Notes: In OET PE2 3:5 the Greek expression is admittedly both strange and obscure. ἐξ ὕδατος presumably refers to the fact that the land emerged from the water, or at least was separated from the water. The phrase δἰ ὕδατος, literally ‘through water,’ may be locative, that is to say, it may refer to a place, but it is more likely to have some reference to water as an instrument which contributed to the act of producing the heavens and earth. However, the active instrument for this creation was τῷ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγῳ ‘the word of God.’. Since the dative case ὕδατι ‘by water’ is clearly instrumental in verse 6, it may be that ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ δἰ ὕδατος in verse 5 refers in a spacial sense to the formation of the heavens and the dry land ‘from water and through a watery area.’|Even more complex, however, than the interpretation of ‘water’ in OET PE2 3:5 is the fact that in a number of languages there are quite different terms for ὕδωρ depending upon the type of water, its location, and its function. For example, water in some kind of bowl or container (and thus most likely used for drinking or cooking) may be referred to by one term, while water in a lake, stream, or ocean may be identified by quite a different term. Similarly, an important distinction may be made between salt water and fresh water, and an even further distinction may be introduced in the case of brackish water, that is to say, water which is partially salty. Some languages make a distinction between water which collects in pools and water which is flowing in streams or rivers. Accordingly, careful attention must be paid to contexts in order to select the appropriate term for ὕδωρ (see also 8.64: αἷμα on OET JHN 19:34).