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γεννάω

gennáō

G1080 verb

SILEX Entry

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.

Semantic Range

to father (beget), to give birth to, to produce, to cause to arise, to bring into being; to originate or found (figurative); to be born (passive); to bring forth or engender (metaphorical)

Root / Etymology

From the root γεν- (as in γένος, meaning 'kin, kind, race') with the verb-forming ending -νάω. Related to classical Greek words signifying birth, kin, and origin. Underlying sense is the act of producing offspring or instigating the beginning of something.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, γεννάω referred primarily to the paternal act of begetting, while the corresponding term for the mother's act of giving birth was τίκτω. In later Greek, including the Septuagint and New Testament, γεννάω appears both for the active (begetting, usually by the father) and the passive (being born, including the mother's role—though this is less typical in classical usage). The shift reflects broader semantic use in Jewish-Greek texts. In genealogical lists, especially in the Gospels (e.g., Matthew 1), it conveys the ancestral transmission of lineage, closely paralleling Hebrew יָלַד (yalad). Figurative uses (e.g., 'to be born of God') develop in Hellenistic Jewish and early Christian literature, indicating spiritual or covenantal origin, but the base meaning always relates to bringing into existence. English translations often obscure the nuance by rendering it simply as 'born' rather than 'begot' or 'fathered,' thus potentially masking gendered and source nuances significant in Greek and in the original social contexts.

Translation Consistency

primary "father" 57 occurrences

Covers the primary, typical sense of γεννάω — the male act of begetting (common in genealogies) while also naturally extending to 'produce' or 'originate' in figurative uses. 'Father' is modern and natural English (less archaic than 'beget') and will render most occurrences clearly and consistently.

Alternatives (40 occurrences):
"born" (10x) "begotten" (9x) "having been born" (6x) "having been begotten" (4x) "begot" (2x) "bear" (1x) "gave birth" (1x) "bore" (1x) "might be born" (1x) "gives birth" (1x) "those begotten" (1x) "bearing" (1x) "beget" (1x) "having begotten" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from a variation of γένος; to procreate (properly, of the father, but by extension of the mother); figuratively, to regenerate:--bear, beget, be born, bring forth, conceive, be delivered of, gender, make, spring.

Root Family

γεννάω (gennaō) — to generate, to beget, to produce

Root γεν- to generate, to beget, to produce

Word Forms

28 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1080-03 ἐγέννησεν egennesen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered 42
G1080-04 ἐγεννήθη egennethe V AOR PASS IND 3P SG was born was begotten was fathered 7
G1080-15 γεγέννηται gegennetai V PRF PASS IND 3P SG has been born has been begotten has been begotten 5
G1080-11 γεγεννημένον gegennemenon V PRF PASS PTCP NOM N SG is born having been begotten having been fathered 4
G1080-12 γεγεννημένος gegennemenos V PRF PASS PTCP NOM M SG born having been begotten having been begotten 4
G1080-20 γεννηθῇ gennethe V AOR PASS SUBJ 3P SG is born may be begotten he may be fathered 3
G1080-08 γεγέννηκά gegenneka V PRF ACT IND 1P SG have begotten I have begotten I have fathered 3
G1080-23 γεννηθῆναι gennethenai V AOR PASS INF be born to be begotten to be born 3
G1080-07 ἐγεννήθησαν egennethesan V AOR PASS IND 3P PL were born were begotten were begotten 3
G1080-21 γεννηθεὶς gennetheis V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M SG who was born having been begotten having been born 3

Occurrences in Scripture

97 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1080-03 Matthew 1:2 ἐγέννησεν egennesen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered
G1080-03 Matthew 1:2 ἐγέννησεν egennesen-2 V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered
G1080-03 Matthew 1:2 ἐγέννησεν egennesen-3 V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered
G1080-03 Matthew 1:3 ἐγέννησεν egennesen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered
G1080-03 Matthew 1:3 ἐγέννησεν egennesen-2 V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered
G1080-03 Matthew 1:3 ἐγέννησεν egennesen-3 V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered
G1080-03 Matthew 1:4 ἐγέννησεν egennesen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered
G1080-03 Matthew 1:4 ἐγέννησεν egennesen-2 V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered
G1080-03 Matthew 1:4 ἐγέννησεν egennesen-3 V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered
G1080-03 Matthew 1:5 ἐγέννησεν egennesen V AOR ACT IND 3P SG begat he begot he fathered
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