ἐγεννήθησαν
gennáō
were born
To beget, produce, or engender offspring; to generate new life. In most contexts in Hellenistic and Koine Greek, γεννάω refers to the male act of begetting children, typically the fathering of descendants. By extension, it is also used passively of the mother to indicate giving birth, and more generally of origins or being brought into being. The sense may range from literal biological procreation to metaphorical or symbolic origin, such as being the source or initiator of a group, event, or new reality.
John 1:13 · Word #16
Lexicon G1080
| Lemma | γεννάω |
| Transliteration | gennáō |
| Strong's | G1080 |
| Definition | To beget, produce, or engender offspring; to generate new life. In most contexts in Hellenistic and Koine Greek, γεννάω refers to the male act of begetting children, typically the fathering of descendants. By extension, it is also used passively of the mother to indicate giving birth, and more generally of origins or being brought into being. The sense may range from literal biological procreation to metaphorical or symbolic origin, such as being the source or initiator of a group, event, or new reality. |
Morphology V AOR PASS IND 3P PL
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state of being |
| Tense | AOR — Aorist — Simple occurrence, often past |
| Voice | PASS — Passive — The subject receives the action |
| Mood | IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality |
| Person | 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they") |
| Number | PL — Plural — More than one |
Common Translation
| Phrase | were born |
| Literal | were-born |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | γεννάω |
| Strong's | G1080 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G1080-07
were begotten
| Morphological Notes | Verb; aorist tense (simple past), passive voice, indicative mood, 3rd person plural — "they were begotten/generated." |
| Rendering Rationale | The aorist passive indicative, third person plural, denotes a completed action in which the subjects received the action of being generated. "Were begotten" preserves the root sense of generative origin while reflecting passive voice and plural number. |
View full lexicon entry for G1080 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
they were fathered
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | Standardized from "were born". |