To beget
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
Gennao means to beget, give birth, father, bear, or be born. John uses it for becoming God's children not by human descent or will but from God, for the new birth from above required to see God's kingdom, and for the God-born life marked by faith and victory.
Reader summary
Full entry for γεννάω (G1080) · Open the biblical lexicon
Gennao means to beget, give birth, father, bear, or be born. John uses it for becoming God's children not by human descent or will but from God, for the new birth from above required to see God's kingdom, and for the God-born life marked by faith and victory.
The BSB source-word alignment has 97 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the father of (28), born (11), was the father of (11), was born (6), has been born (4).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (45), John (18), 1 John (10), Acts (7).
This entry includes 21 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Gennao means to beget, give birth, father, bear, or be born. John uses it for becoming God's children not by human descent or will but from God, for the new birth from above required to see God's kingdom, and for the God-born life marked by faith and victory. Paul uses parental metaphor when he says he begot the Corinthians through the gospel. The verb can describe physical generation, maternal birth, divine regeneration, or metaphorical spiritual parenthood; grammar and context identify the subject and sense.
New birth is God's life-giving action, not inherited religion, emotional intensity, baptismal mechanics, or a leader's ownership of converts. It produces faith in Jesus, love for God's family, obedience, and persevering victory.
Gennao spans begetting and birth, literal and metaphorical. The selected witnesses center divine generation of God's children, new birth from above, its fruits, and Paul's limited parental metaphor through gospel ministry.
Children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.
John 1:13 says God's children were born not of bloodlines, fleshly desire, or a husband's will, but of God. Divine generation overturns inherited spiritual privilege.
Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
John 3:3 says no one can see God's kingdom unless born again or from above. Jesus confronts Nicodemus with a birth only the Spirit can give.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves those born of Him.
First John 5:1 says everyone believing Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and love for the Father entails love for those born from Him.
Because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.
First John 5:4 says everything born of God overcomes the world, and the victory is faith. New birth creates a Godward allegiance that perseveres.
Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
First Corinthians 4:15 says Paul became the Corinthians' father through the gospel. The metaphor describes instrumental ministry, not ownership or replacement of God.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. to beget
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 96 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseI beget, bring forth, give birth to
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
How this verb appears across 97 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
γεννάω is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Gennao makes Christian identity received life rather than self-construction. John excludes bloodline, fleshly desire, and human decision as the source of becoming God's child, then tells Nicodemus that entry into the kingdom requires birth from above by the Spirit. First John recognizes the God-born life through confession of Jesus, love for fellow children, and faith that overcomes the world.
Paul can call himself a father because the gospel reached Corinth through his ministry, but that metaphor remains instrumental and accountable; he did not generate divine life or own the believers. Churches should proclaim regeneration as God's gracious work, invite faith and repentance, nurture family love, and reject spiritual-parent claims used to demand control, money, secrecy, or permanent dependence.
John.3.3
Gennao can describe a father's begetting, a mother's giving birth, or a person's being born. Passive forms and relational context guide translation, while metaphorical uses extend generation language to spiritual life.
Genealogies, barren women receiving children, God's fatherly relation to Israel, and promises of new heart and Spirit prepare distinct aspects of birth and belonging.