ἄνωθεν G0509
from above, from heaven; from the beginning, from of old; anew, again, once more
2. from the beginning, from of old — Temporal sense: from the beginning, from the first, from long ago. In Acts 26:5, Paul declares that the Jews have known him 'from the beginning' (ἄνωθεν), referring to his earlier life. The Arabic 'min-qadimin' (from ancient times), Hebrew 'miqqedem' (from of old), Hindi 'shuru-se' (from the start), and Spanish 'desde-el-principio' all converge on a temporal rather than spatial origin. This temporal usage is well attested in classical Greek (Thucydides, etc.) and represents a genuine polysemous extension from the spatial 'from above' to temporal 'from the first.' 1×
AR["مِنْ-قَدِيمٍ"]·ben["উপর-হইতে"]·DE["ἄνωθεν"]·EN["from-the-beginning"]·FR["d'en-haut"]·heb["מִקֶּדֶם"]·HI["शुरुसे"]·ID["dari-dahulu,"]·IT["dall'-alto"]·jav["saking-wiwitan,"]·KO["위로부터"]·PT["de-antes,"]·RU["издавна"]·ES["desde-el-principio"]·SW["tangu-zamani"]·TR["başından-beri"]·urd["شروع-سے"]
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. from above, from heaven — Spatial sense: from above, from on high, denoting origin in the heavenly or upper realm. Used for the temple veil torn 'from top' downward (Matt 27:51, Mark 15:38), Jesus's seamless tunic woven 'from the top' (John 19:23), divine authority given 'from above' (John 19:11), the one coming 'from above' is above all (John 3:31), and wisdom/gifts descending 'from above' (Jas 1:17, 3:15, 3:17). Also Luke 1:3 where Luke claims to have investigated 'from above' (i.e., from the highest source/thoroughly). Cross-linguistically stable: Ger 'von-oben,' Fra 'den-haut,' Spa 'de-arriba,' Arb 'min-fawqu,' Heb 'milma'lah,' Kor 'wirobuteo,' Hin 'upar-se.' John 3:3,7 famously carries double meaning (from above / anew), but the primary sense in these verses aligns with spatial origin. 11×
AR["أَعْلَى","فَوْقَ","فَوْقِ","مِن-فَوقُ","مِنَ-الْأَوَّلِ","مِنْ-فَوْقُ"]·ben["উপর-থেকে","উপর-থেকে।","প্রথম-থেকে"]·DE["von-oben","ἄνωθεν"]·EN["above","from-above","top"]·FR["d'en-haut"]·heb["לְמַעְלָה","מִלְמַעְלָה","מֵ-רֵאשִׁית","מַעְלָה"]·HI["ऊपर-से","ऊपर-से,","ऊपर-से।"]·ID["atas","dari-atas","dari-atas,","dari-atas.","dari-awal"]·IT["dall'alto"]·jav["nginggil","saking-nginggil","saking-nginggil,","saking-nginggil.","saking-wiwitan"]·KO["위-에서","위로-부터","위로부터"]·PT["cima","de-cima","de-cima,","de-cima.","desde-cima"]·RU["Свыше","верха","донизу","сверху","свыше","свыше.","сначала"]·ES["arriba","de-arriba","desde-arriba"]·SW["juu","kutoka-juu","tangu-mwanzo","tena-kutoka-juu"]·TR["baştan","yukarıdan"]·urd["اوپر","اوپر سے","اوپر-سے"]
3. anew, again, once more — Iterative sense: again, anew, afresh, indicating repetition. In Gal 4:9 Paul asks the Galatians why they want to be enslaved to the elemental spirits 'anew' (ἄνωθεν), i.e., all over again. The multilingual evidence confirms this iterative reading: Eng 'anew,' Arb 'min-jadidin' (from new), Hindi 'se-phir' (again), Kor 'saeroi' (newly). This sense is distinct from both the spatial 'from above' and temporal 'from the beginning,' representing a third genuine polysemy branch. This same ambiguity famously operates in John 3:3 (born 'from above' or born 'again'), though the Johannine occurrences are classified under the spatial sense as primary. 1×
AR["مِن-جديدٍ"]·ben["নতুন-করে"]·DE["von-oben"]·EN["anew"]·FR["d'en-haut"]·heb["מֵ-רֹאשׁ"]·HI["से-फिर"]·ID["dari-awal"]·IT["dall'alto"]·jav["saking-ngajeng"]·KO["새로이"]·PT["de-novo"]·RU["заново"]·ES["desde-arriba"]·SW["upya"]·TR["yeniden"]·urd["نئے-سرے-سے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἄνωθεν and ἄνωθε Refs 5th c.BC+, Doric dialect ἄνωθα Refs: (ἄνω):—adverb of Place, from above, from on high, θεοὺς ἄ. γῆς ἐποπτεύειν ἄχηRefs 5th c.BC+; from the interior of a country, Refs 5th c.BC+; especially from inner Asia, Refs 1st c.AD+; from the north, Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 like{ἄνω}, above, on high, opposed to κάτωθεν or κάτω, Refs 4th c.BC+: of the gods, Refs 5th c.BC+; of men on earth, οἱ…