born from above
In the third chapter of the Gospel According to John (NABRE), we encounter Jesus’ famous interaction with the Pharisee, Nicodemus. In this encounter between the two, Jesus emphasizes the need for being born from above, sometimes translated as “born again” or “born anew.” There’s little consistency among popular English translations of this phrase, however, which appears in the Gospel According to John 3:3 (NABRE) and again in the Gospel According to John 3:7 (NABRE).
The Greek word ἄνωθεν (anothen) comes from two parts, the preposition ἀνά (ana) meaning among other things “upward.” In addition, the suffix -ωθεν (-othen) is equivalent in meaning to the deprecated English suffice -ence. Both indicate direction from whatever word is being modified. As a result, ἄνωθεν clearly means “from above.”
Knowing the meaning of the Greek words, however, is not the same as knowing the meaning of the passage. We don’t usually talk about birth in terms of direction from somewhere, and Jesus’ phrase by all accounts seems odd. Jesus clearly associates direction with Baptism. What do you think that Jesus may have had in mind when he talked about being born from above? Why do you think that so many translators dodge the issue of direction when translating this passage?
related topics: baptism; circumcision
you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.
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