γεννηθῆναι
gennáō
be 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 3:4 · Word #8
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 INF
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 | INF — Infinitive — The verbal idea without person/number |
Common Translation
| Phrase | be born |
| Literal | to-be-born |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | γεννάω |
| Strong's | G1080 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G1080-23
to be begotten
| Morphological Notes | Verb; aorist tense (simple/completed action); passive voice; infinitive mood. |
| Rendering Rationale | The aorist passive infinitive expresses the action of being generated or brought forth as a complete event. "To be begotten" preserves the root sense of γεν- (origin, kinship, generation) while reflecting the passive voice and infinitive form. |
View full lexicon entry for G1080 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
to be born
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | Changed 'to be begotten' to 'to be born' because the context is about birth (from a mother's womb), and in passive form γεννηθῆναι refers to being born, not begetting as the father. |