What Does John 3:31 Mean in the King James?
He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The verse repeats the same Greek root for “from above” and “above all,” tying the one’s standing to the source from which he comes.
THE MEANING
Origin shows itself in what a person is and what comes from their mouth. The verse sets the one who comes from above beside the one whose source and speech are from the earth, then repeats the heavenly source at the close.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A voice cannot rise above its source simply by claiming to come from somewhere higher.
THE ROOT
ἄνωθεν
anōthen
GROWS FROM
ἄνω
anō
above, upward
“from above / above” in this verse is anōthen. The words translated “from above” and “above” share the stem ἄνω. That echo binds source to standing: the one’s place is described through the same “above” carried in his origin.
ALSO GROWS
anōthen: from above; also, anew
ἄνωθεν
It names the source of the one who comes in the verse.
epanō: above, over
ἐπάνω
It describes the standing of the one whose source is above.
ἐκ τῆς γῆς
ek tēs gēs
GROWS FROM
γῆ
gē
earth, ground
“of the earth” in this verse is ek tēs gēs. The Greek repeats “from the earth” three times: the person is from the earth, is from the earth, and speaks from the earth. The source is woven through being and speech, where English compresses the middle phrase as “earthly.”
ALSO GROWS
gēinos: earthly, of the earth
γήινος
It makes the earth-source explicit as a quality or origin.
geōrgos: farmer, one who works the earth
γεωργός
The word keeps γῆ visible inside the name for one whose work is grounded in the soil.
THE PATTERN
What comes from a source carries that source into its being and what it brings forth.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.THE THREAD
And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.“From above” echoes the same Greek stem ἄνω, while “from” keeps the source in view. This verse makes the contrast explicit: where one comes from shapes the sphere to which one belongs.
This reading is from Selah Verse.
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