- ἄνωθεν
- ἄνωθεν adv. of place (Trag., Hdt.+; ins, pap, LXX, En; TestSol 12:6 C; JosAs 21:4 [cod. A and Pal. 364]; ApcrEzk [Epiph 70, 10]; Just., Ath.).① in extension fr. a source that is above, from above (SIG 969, 63; PHib 110, 66; 107; 109; Gen 49:25; Josh 3:16; EpJer 61; En 28:2; TestSol 12:6 C; Philo, Rer. Div. Her. 64; 184, Fug. 138, Somn., 2, 142; Jos., Ant. 3, 158) σχισθῆναι ἀπʼ ἄ. ἕως κάτω be torn fr. top to bottom Mk 15:38. For this ἄ. ἕως κάτω Mt 27:51 (where ἀπʼ is added by many witnesses, foll. Mk). ἐκ τῶν ἄ. ὑφαντὸς διʼ ὅλου woven from the top in one piece (i.e. altogether without seam) J 19:23. Esp. from heaven (cp. ἄνω 1 and schol. on Pla. 856e of the seer: ἄνωθεν λαμβάνειν τὸ πνεῦμα; Philo, Mos. 2, 69) ἄ. ἐκ τ. οὐρανοῦ J 3:27 v.l. ὁ ἄ. ἐρχόμενος he who comes from heaven (explained in the same vs. by ὁ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ἐρχόμενος) 3:31. Of the Holy Spirit πνεῦμα ἄ. ἐρχόμενον Hm 11:21; also simply τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἄ. 11:8. ἡ δύναμις ἡ ἄ. ἐρχομένη 11:20. ἡ σοφία ἄ. κατερχομένη Js 3:15. Also ἡ ἄ. σοφία vs. 17. ἄ. εἶναι come from above Hm 9:11; 11:5; Js 1:17. Some would place 2 Cl 14:2 here, but the temporal sense seems more prob., s. 2. ἄ. δεδομένον bestowed from above (i.e. by God; cp. Procop. Soph., Ep. 109 θεοῦ ἄ. ἐπινεύοντος) J 19:11. ἄ. γεννᾶσθαι be born from above J 3:3, 7 (Epict. 1, 13, 3: all humans are begotten of their ancestor Zeus ἐκ τῶν αὐτῶν σπερμάτων καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἄ. καταβολῆς; Just., D. 63, 3), but. s. 4 on the wordplay in these verses (Nicodemus thinks of physical rebirth [vs. 4], but the narrator shows Jesus with another dimension in mind).② from a point of time marking the beginning of someth., from the beginning (Hippocr., VM 3; Pla.; Demosth. 44, 69; SIG 1104, 11; POxy 237 VIII, 31; En 98:5; JosAs 21:4 cod. A [p. 71, 19 Bat.]; Philo, Mos. 2, 48; Ath., R. 68, 19) παρακολουθεῖν ἄ. follow from the beginning Lk 1:3 (w. suggestion of thoroughness rather than temporal precision: LAlexander, The Preface to Luke’s Gospel, ’93, 130); cp. Ac 26:5 and s. 3. Opp. νῦν 2 Cl 14:2 (Lghtf.).③ for a relatively long period in the past, for a long time (SIG 685, 81 and 91; 748, 2; PTebt 59, 7 and 10; Jos., Ant. 15, 250; Just. [throughout]; Ath.) προγινώσκειν ἄ. know for a long time Ac 26:5 (Ael. Aristid. 50, 78 K.=26 p. 525 D. ἄ. Ἀριστείδην γιγνώσκω) beside ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς vs. 4 (cp. Aelian NA 17, 40 οὐκ ἄνωθεν, οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀρχῆς=not for a long time nor from of old). For Lk 1:3 s. 2.④ at a subsequent point of time involving repetition, again, anew (Pla., Ep. 2 p. 310e ἄ. ἀρξάμενος; Epict. 2, 17, 27; Jos., Ant. 1, 263; IG VII, 2712, 59; BGU 595, 5ff) ἄ. ἐπιδεικνύναι MPol 1:1. Oft. strengthened by πάλιν (CIG 1625, 60; Wsd 19:6) Gal 4:9.—ἀ. γεννηθῆναι be born again J 3:3, 7 (ἄ. γεννᾶσθαι in the physical sense Artem. 1, 13) is designedly ambiguous and suggests also a transcendent experience born from above (s. 1 above on these pass. fr. J). JLouw, NThSt 23, ’40, 53–56; ESjöberg, Wiedergeburt u. Neuschöpfung im paläst. Judentum: Studia Theologica 4, ’51, 44–85.—DELG s.v. ἀνά. M-M.
Ελληνικά-Αγγλικά παλαιοχριστιανική Λογοτεχνία. 2015.