Ana-gennow in 1 Peter 1:3

This is a thought that I have wrestled with for years. I share it here for thoughts from the cyberworld.

1 Peter is an epistle written by the Apostle Peter to a community of Christians enduring persecution due to their faith in Christ. The intent of Peter is to offer hope, a "living hope" for such a community. It is difficult for western Christianity to appreciate the magnitude of the suffering endured by God's people over the age. Even in our modern day, believers in certain parts of the world are literally giving their lives for the sake of the Gospel. The "living hope" of 1 Peter 1:3-5 then must be seen in that light, but so must the "ana-gennaw" of that same passage.

That Greek verb has been verbosely translated as "given new birth" (NIV) or as "born again" (KJV, NASB, ESV) in many English translations. Since this verb occurs only here in 1 Peter 1 (in v.3 and again in v.23), it is difficult to get the fullest sense of its intended meaning. Some suggest that this should be seen as the father's act of "begatting" rather than the mother's act of "begetting." Although possible, it remains uncertain since we have little philological context to discern such an analysis. It would seem an odd conclusion since the uses of the regular Greek verb "gennaw" as well as the Hebrew verb "yalad" can be used to describe either gender activity. Is there another way to understand why Peter uses this verb? I believe so.

The prefix "ana-" is often used in Greek for the sense of repetition of act. However, the immediate context of 1 Peter seems more compelling. Notice the phrase "living hope" where hope is personified with the human trait of life. We often speak of "living" as a characteristic of organisms, not abstract concepts. Yet, "hope" is given this sense of vivication. The reason for this is due to the "resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" - we can have a "living hope" because we focus our faith on a "living (resurrected) Christ." It is not only hope that is qualified by the act of Jesus' resurrection, but it is also our birth. Thus we have "ANA-gennaw" because of Jesus' "ANA-stasis," the Greek word for resurrection. I propose then that the birth in mind in 1 Peter 1:3 is a "resurrection-birth."

Such a notion of a "new birth" is not limited to Peter. In fact, it is at the very heart of the source of new-birth theology in John 3. Jesus, in answer to Nicodemus' question about how one gains eternal life, says that one must be "born again," a Greek phrase that can also be read as "born from above." A spiritual birth. In that light of comparison, John 3 and 1 Peter 1 are saying the same thing in regards to the theology of "new-birth," where 1 Peter gives us the historical redemptive source of our being born from above, namely the resurrection of Christ.