Greek word · G1078

γένεσις

genesis

origin

Birth, origin, descent; coming into being; by extension the course of existence or the created, mortal order of life.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

γένεσις, -εως, ἡ

(γίγνομαι), [in LXX chiefly for תּוֹלֵדֹת ;]

1. origin, lineage: βίβλος γενέσεως (as in Genesis 2:4a 5:1), Matthew 1:1.

2. birth: Matthew 1:18, Luke 1:14 (Rec. γέννησις); πρόσωπον τῆς γ., face of his birth ("what God made him to be," Hort., in l.), James 1:23; ὁ τροχὸς τῆς γ., the wheel (course) of birth or creation ("the wheel of man's nature according to its original Divine purpose," Hort), James 3:6.

† (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of James 1:23

Range of meaning

Birth, origin, descent; coming into being; by extension the course of existence or the created, mortal order of life.

Against the English

KJV/WEB/NASB/ESV 'natural face' is a fair interpretation, but 'natural' can make a modern reader think of a face without make-up or 'natural vs supernatural'. BSB and NIV drop the phrase entirely ('his face'). The Greek has the more vivid 'the face of his birth'.

How it drifted

'Natural' is a translator's attempt to put an unusual Greek genitive into smooth English. It is not wrong, but it hides the birth language.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew 1:1 ('book of the genesis of Jesus Christ'); Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:14; James 3:6 'the wheel of genesis', the whole round of human life. Wisdom of Solomon 7:5 uses it of human birth. The Latin Vulgate renders it 'vultum nativitatis suae', 'the face of his birth'.

From the study of Matthew 1:18

Range of meaning

Coming into being, origin, beginning; birth; lineage or descent; also 'existence, the course of life' (James 3:6, 'the wheel of genesis'). It is broader than the related word gennēsis, which means birth or the act of bearing.

Against the English

Every major English version says 'birth'. That is defensible, but it narrows the word. The verse never describes a birth: it explains a conception and a legal problem, and the birth itself is mentioned only in passing in 1:25 and 2:1. 'Origin' keeps the link to 1:1.

How it drifted

Partly a textual matter. Most later manuscripts, and so the KJV tradition, read gennēsis ('birth'). Modern versions follow the older reading genesis but keep the familiar Christmas word 'birth'.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Old Testament uses 'This is the book of the genesis' at Genesis 2:4 (of heaven and earth) and 5:1 (of humankind). Matthew 1:1 opens with the same phrase, 'Biblos geneseōs'. In ordinary Greek the word is common for origin or descent.

From the study of Matthew 1:1

Range of meaning

BDAG lists coming into being, origin, birth, existence or life, and lineage or descent. In the Greek Old Testament it often renders Hebrew toledot, 'generations, family history, the story of what came from someone'.

Against the English

'Genealogy' (BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV, NASB) catches one sense, the list of ancestors. 'Generation' (KJV) is the old English for descent but now sounds like an age group. 'Birth' (YLT) catches another sense. No single English word covers origin, birth, family line, and an echo of 'Genesis' all at once.

How it drifted

The KJV's 'generation' meant 'begetting, descent' in 1611. Today it mostly means a cohort of people born around the same time.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Genesis 2:4 ('the book of the genesis of heaven and earth') and 5:1 ('the book of the genesis of human beings'), both translating toledot. In 2:4 the toledot formula introduces a story, not a list. Matthew uses the same word again at 1:18, 'the genesis of Jesus the Messiah was like this', where it plainly means the circumstances of his birth (some manuscripts change it there to γέννησις, 'birth'). The Greek title of the first book of the Bible, 'Genesis', comes from this vocabulary.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 1:1 γενέσεως of [the] genealogy

    This is the record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham:

    Here: The word means origin, coming into being, birth, and also family line. With 'book' it repeats the wording of Greek Genesis 2:4 and 5:1. Taken narrowly it means 'genealogy'. Taken more widely it means 'origin story', and to a Greek-speaking Jew it would have sounded like 'Genesis'.

  2. Matthew 1:18 γένεσις origin

    This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.

    Here: 'Origin' or 'coming-into-being'. It picks up 'the book of the genesis of Jesus Christ' in 1:1, which in turn echoes the Greek Genesis. What follows is an account of where he came from (his conception and his legal father), not a description of the delivery.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 1:14 γενέσει birth

    He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice at his birth,

James · 2

  1. James 1:23 γενέσεως natural

    For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,

    Here: Literally 'of his birth'. 'The face of his birth' is the face he was born with, his natural, bodily face. It may also hint at mortal existence (compare 'the wheel of genesis' in 3:6) and stand against the new birth 'by the word of truth' in 1:18.

  2. James 3:6 γενέσεως of nature

    The tongue also is a fire, a world of wickedness among the parts of the body. It pollutes the whole person, sets the course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

    Here: Birth, or the existence that begins at birth. James uses the same word in 1:23 ('the face of his genesis', a person's natural face). The phrase means the whole span of life from birth on, not 'nature' in the scientific sense.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.