Greek word · G507

ἄνω

anō

above

Above or upward, as opposed to katō, "below." With the article, as in ta anō or hē anō, it names the upper or heavenly realm and what belongs to it.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἄνω

adv (ἀνά),

(a) up, upwards: John 11:41, Hebrews 12:15;

(b) above (opposite to κάτω): Act_2:19; with art. ἡ, Galatians 4:26, Philippians 3:14; τά, John 8:23, Colossians 3:1-2; ἕως ἄ. (up to the brim), John 2:7 (Cremer, 106; MM, VGT, see word).†

(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 Colossians 3:2

Range of meaning

Above or upward, as opposed to katō, "below." With the article, as in ta anō or hē anō, it names the upper or heavenly realm and what belongs to it. In Jewish and early Christian use, "above" is where God is enthroned and where the realities of the coming age already exist before they are revealed on earth.

Against the English

"Things above" (BSB, KJV, NIV, ESV) is accurate. NLT's "the things of heaven" is fair but can call up the popular picture of heaven as the place souls go after death, which the verse does not have in view.

How it drifted

Popular piety tends to hear "above" or "heaven" as the afterlife destination. Colossians defines "above" by a person and a present fact: where Christ is, enthroned at God's right hand (3:1, echoing Ps 110:1).

Used elsewhere in the period

John 8:23: "you are from below, I am from above." Gal 4:26: "the Jerusalem above is free." Phil 3:14: "the upward calling." Jewish apocalyptic writings picture a heavenly Jerusalem and a heavenly temple, and speak of good things stored "above" to be revealed at the end. Greek philosophy in the Platonic tradition, and Jewish writers influenced by it such as Philo, also used upward and downward language for the soul's orientation. Colossians uses the vertical picture but fills it with Christ rather than with the soul's ascent.

From the study of Colossians 3:1

Range of meaning

An adverb meaning 'above, upward'. With an article (τὰ ἄνω, 'the things above'), it means the upper realm. In Jewish and Greek pictures of the world, 'above' was where God or the gods were. Elsewhere Paul speaks of 'the upward call' (Phil 3:14) and 'the Jerusalem above' (Gal 4:26), meaning God's realm and coming order in contrast to the present one.

Against the English

'Things above' is a fair rendering. NLT's 'realities of heaven' moves it toward 'heaven', which many modern readers take to mean the place believers go after death. In this verse 'above' is defined as 'where Christ is, seated at God's right hand'. It is the place of his present rule and the source of the believers' new life, not mainly a destination after death.

How it drifted

Later Christian piety, shaped partly by Platonic thought (the idea that spirit is higher and matter lower), tends to hear 'above' versus 'earthly' as spiritual versus physical, or this life versus the afterlife.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Jewish apocalyptic writing, visionaries ascend to God's throne room (1 Enoch 14; later the Testament of Levi 2–5), often after fasting and other preparation. Colossians 2:18 seems to address people who claimed access to heavenly visions through humility and worship involving angels. The 'earthly' things of 3:2 include, from the context, the rules 'do not handle, do not taste, do not touch' (2:21), which Paul calls 'according to the elements of the world' (2:20). The list of vices in 3:5–9 is also 'earthly'.

From the study of Philippians 3:14

Range of meaning

Klēsis means a call, summons or invitation, for example to a meal or a court. In Paul it nearly always means God's act of calling people to belong to him (Rom 11:29; 1 Cor 1:26; Eph 1:18; 4:1, 4; 2 Thess 1:11; 2 Tim 1:9). Anō means above or upward.

Against the English

KJV and WEB say "high calling". ESV and NASB say "upward call". BSB says "heavenly calling". NIV restructures to "for which God has called me heavenward". "High calling" now sounds like a prestigious vocation. "Upward" and "heavenward" keep the sense of direction.

How it drifted

The Vulgate's "supernae vocationis" ("of the heavenly/upper calling") came into English as "high calling" in Tyndale and then the KJV, where "high" meant heavenly or exalted. From the Reformation on, "calling" and "vocation" came to mean a person's occupation or station; Luther's rendering of klēsis in 1 Cor 7:20 as "Beruf" was an important step. Today "a high calling" usually means a noble profession or full-time ministry. Paul did not use klēsis that way.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hebrews 3:1 has a close parallel: "partakers of a heavenly calling (klēseōs epouraniou)". For anō as the heavenly realm, see Gal 4:26 ("the Jerusalem above") and Col 3:1–2 ("seek the things above"). In Philippians 3:20 believers' citizenship is in heaven, from where they await the Saviour.

Where it appears

John · 3

  1. John 2:7 ἄνω. [the] brim.

    Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim.

    Here: Together with heōs, "up to the top," which is "to the brim." The jars were completely full, with no room left to add anything. That stresses both how much there was and that no trick was possible.

  2. John 8:23 ἄνω above

    Then He told them, “You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.

    Here: The heavenly realm, where God is. In Jewish speech 'above' often stood in for God himself. To be 'from above' is to come from God.

  3. John 11:41 ἄνω upwards

    So they took away the stone. Then Jesus lifted His eyes upward and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

    Here: 'Upward,' toward heaven, which was pictured as where God lives. In John the word also connects to Jesus as the one 'from above' (8:23).

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 2:19 ἄνω above

    I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.

    Here: Luke's addition to Joel. With 'below' later in the line, it sets up a neat pair, 'sky above / earth below', so the signs cover the whole created order from top to bottom.

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 4:26 ἄνω the above

    But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

    Here: Used here as an adjective: the Jerusalem that is 'above', meaning in God's realm. Paul sets it against the 'now' Jerusalem of verse 25, so the contrast is both where (above/below) and when (God's coming age/this present age).

Philippians · 1

  1. Philippians 3:14 ἄνω upward

    I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

    Here: "Above" or "upward". It describes the call either as coming from above (heavenly) or as summoning upward (to God). The two ideas overlap. Compare "the things above" (Col 3:1–2) and "the Jerusalem above" (Gal 4:26).

Colossians · 2

  1. Colossians 3:1 ἄνω above

    Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

    Here: Up, in the sense of the realm where God is. The verse itself defines it in the next clause: where Christ sits enthroned. The opposite is 'the things on the earth' (3:2).

  2. Colossians 3:2 ἄνω above

    Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

    Here: A spatial adverb meaning "up there." Verse 1 defines it: it is "where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God." It is the realm of the enthroned Messiah's present rule, not simply "the sky" or "the afterlife."

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 12:15 ἄνω up

    See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.

    Here: 'Up': it breaks the surface. What was hidden underground becomes visible and starts to spread.

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