γεννάω, -ῶ; future γεννήσω; 1 aorist ἐγέννησα; perfect γεγέννηκά; [passive, present γεννάομαι, -ῶμαι]; perfect γεγέννημαι; 1 aorist ἐγεννήθην; (from γέννα, poetic for γένος); in Greek writings from Pindar down; in the Sept. for יָלַד; to beget;
1. properly: of men begetting children, Matthew 1:1-16; Acts 7:8, 29; followed by ἐκ with the genitive of the mother, Matthew 1:3, 5, 6; more rarely of women giving birth to children, Luke 1:13, 57; Luke 23:29; John 16:21; εἰς δουλείαν to bear a child unto bondage, that will be a slave, Galatians 4:24 ([Xenophon, de rep. Lac. 1, 3]; Lucian, de sacrif. 6; Plutarch, de liber. educ. 5; others; Sept. Isaiah 66:9; 4 Macc. 10:2, etc.). Passive, to be begotten: τὸ ἐν αὐτῇ γεννηθέν that which is begotten in her womb, Matthew 1:20; to be born: Matthew 2:1, 4 [Winers Grammar, 266 (250); Buttmann, 203 (176)]; Matthew 19:12; 26:24; Mark 14:21; Luke 1:35; John 3:4; [Acts 7:20]; Romans 9:11; Hebrews 11:23; with the addition εἰς τὸν κόσμον, John 16:21; followed by ἐν with the dative of place, Acts 22:3; ἀπό τινος, to spring from one as father, Hebrews 11:12 [L WH marginal reading ἐγεννήθ. see Tdf. at the passage]; ἔκ τινος to be born of a mother, Matthew 1:16; ἐκ πορνείας, John 8:41; ἐξ αἱμάτων, ἐκ θελήματος ἀνδρός, John 1:13; ἐκ τῆς σαρκός, John 3:6 [Rec.^elz γεγενημ.]; ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ὅλος, John 9:34 (see ἁμαρτία, 2 a.); εἴς τι, to be born for something, John 18:37; 2 Peter 2:12 [Tdf. γεγενημ. so Rec.^{st bez}]; with an adjective: τυφλὸς γεγέννημαι, John 9:2, 19f, 32; Ῥωμαῖος to be supplied, Acts 22:28; τῇ διαλέκτῳ, ἐν ᾗ ἐγεννήθημεν, Acts 2:8; γεννηθεὶς κατὰ σάρκα begotten or born according to (by) the working of natural passion; κατὰ πνεῦμα according to (by) the working of the divine promise, Galatians 4:29, cf. Galatians 4:23.
2. metaphorically,
a. universally, to engender, cause to arise, excite: μάχας, 2 Timothy 2:23 (βλαβην, λύπην, etc. in Greek writings).
b. in a Jewish sense, of one who brings others over to his way of life: ὑμᾶς ἐγέννησα I am the author of your Christian life, 1 Corinthians 4:15; Philemon 1:10 (Sanhedr. fol. 19, 2 "If one teaches the son of his neighbor the law, the Scripture reckons this the same as though he had begotten him"; [cf. Philo, leg. ad Gaium § 8]).
c. after Psalm 2:7, it is used of God making Christ his son;
α. formally to show him to be the Messiah (υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ), viz. by the resurrection: Acts 13:33.
β. to be the author of the divine nature which he possesses [but compare the commentaries on the passages that follow]: Hebrews 1:5; Hebrews 5:5.
d. peculiarly, in the Gospel and First Epistle of John, of God conferring upon men the nature and disposition of his sons, imparting to them spiritual life, i. e. by his own holy power prompting and persuading souls to put faith in Christ and live a new life consecrated to himself; absolutely 1 John 5:1; mostly in passive, ἐκ θεοῦ or ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐγεννήθησαν, γεγέννηται, γεγεννημένος, etc.: John 1:13; 1 John 2:29 [Rec.^st γεγένηται]; 1 John 3:9; 4:7; 5:1,4,18; also ἐκ τοῦ πνεύματος γεννᾶσθαι, John 3:6 [Rec.^elz γεγενημ.], John 3:8; ἐξ ὕδατος καὶ πνεύματος (because that moral generation is effected in receiving baptism [(?) cf. Schaff's Lange, Godet, Westcott, on the words, and references under the word βάπτισμα, 3]), John 3:5; ἄνωθεν γεννᾶσθαι, John 3:3, 7 (see ἄνωθεν, c.) equivalent to τέκνον θεοῦ γίνεσθαι, John 1:12. [Compare: ἀναγεννάω.]

BLB Scripture Index of Thayer's