ἄνωθεν

Matthew 27:51 ἄνωθεν top

At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, and the rocks were split.

Here: Here it is purely about place: 'from the top'. 'From from-above' is a normal doubled expression in the Greek of the time. The tear starts where no human hand would start it.

Mark 15:38 ἄνωθεν top

And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

Here: 'From above' or 'from the top'. Here it describes where the tear began, at the top of a very tall hanging. The word can also mean 'from above' in the sense of 'from heaven', and many readers feel that undertone, though Mark does not spell it out.

Luke 1:3 ἄνωθεν from the first

Therefore, having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,

Here: Here it is about time, not direction: 'from the start'. It looks ahead to Luke's beginning with John's and Jesus' births, earlier than Mark begins, or it means 'for a long time now' (compare Acts 26:5).

John 3:3 ἄνωθεν, from above,

Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

Here: This is the key word of the verse, and it can be heard two ways. Its basic sense, and its sense elsewhere in John (3:31; 19:11, 23), is 'from above'. It could also mean 'anew'. Nicodemus takes it as 'a second time' (3:4), and the conversation turns on that double meaning.

John 3:7 ἄνωθεν. from above.

Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again.’

Here: The key word. It can mean 'from above' (from God's realm) or 'again / anew.' Everywhere else in John it means 'from above' or 'from the top' (3:31; 19:11; 19:23). Nicodemus takes it as 'a second time' (v. 4). The play on both senses seems deliberate, but the stress falls on where this birth comes from.

John 3:31 ἄνωθεν from above

The One who comes from above is above all. The one who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks as one from the earth. The One who comes from heaven is above all.

Here: Here it plainly means 'from above'. The clause at the end of the verse repeats it as 'from heaven'. It picks up the same word Jesus used with Nicodemus, 'born anōthen' (3:3, 7), where it could mean both 'again' and 'from above'.

John 19:11 ἄνωθεν· from above;

Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed Me over to you is guilty of greater sin.”

Here: In John this means from God's realm (3:31). It is the same word as 'born from above' in 3:3, and it describes Jesus' tunic 'woven from the top' a few verses later (19:23).

John 19:23 ἄνωθεν top

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided His garments into four parts, one for each soldier, with the tunic remaining. It was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

Here: Here it means physically 'from the top', the neck and shoulders where the weaving began. Elsewhere John uses the same word for 'from above', meaning from God (3:3, 3:31, 19:11), but in this verse the plain physical sense is primary.

Acts 26:5 ἄνωθεν, from the first,

They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the strictest sect of our religion.

Galatians 4:9 ἄνωθεν anew

But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?

Here: Here it means 'from the start'. With πάλιν it means 'all over again, from scratch': back to square one.

James 1:17 ἄνωθέν from above

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.

Here: 'From above', meaning from heaven and so from God. James uses the same word for the 'wisdom from above' in 3:15, 17. The sense 'again' does not apply here.

James 3:15 ἄνωθεν from above

Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

Here: Spatial: 'from above', meaning from God. It echoes 1:17, where every good and perfect gift is 'from above, coming down from the Father of lights'.

James 3:17 ἄνωθεν the from above

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peace-loving, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere.

Here: Here it means 'from above', that is, from God, not 'again'. It picks up 3:15 ('not the wisdom that comes down from above') and 1:17 ('every good gift… is from above').