Translating Ἄνωθεν in John 3: Lexical Recurrence in the Peshitta and OldSyriac

The Peshitta uses an iterative expression at 3:3 and 3:7 while employing a vertical expression at 3:31 and the other unequivocally vertical Johannine occurrences. The Sinaitic preserves an iterative rendering at 3:3, omits an explicit counterpart to ἄνωθεν at 3:7, and represents 3:31 vertically.

The Curetonian has a lacuna at 3:3 and preserves vertical readings at 3:7 and 3:31. Reading these witnesses individually shows three distinct versional effects—stabilization, interruption, and vertical selection—and clarifies how the lexical continuity of repeated Greek ἄνωθεν is redistributed in Syriac translation.</p><p dir="ltr">This manuscript is a preprint and has not undergone peer review.</p>