The Greek verb anagennaō (ἀναγεννάω) means "to beget again" or "to regenerate" — from ana (again) + gennaō (to beget, give birth). It is the New Testament's specific term for the new birth — the supernatural act by which God gives spiritual life to those who were dead in sin. The word appears only in 1 Peter 1:3 and 1:23, making Peter's letters uniquely focused on this concept.
Anagennaō is one of the most profound concepts in New Testament soteriology. Peter grounds the new birth in two realities: the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3) and the living word of God (1 Peter 1:23). The first grounds regeneration in historical event — the same power that raised Christ from the dead works the new birth. The second grounds it in the ongoing ministry of Scripture — "born again through the living and abiding word of God." This corresponds to Jesus's conversation with Nicodemus in John 3 (where gennaō anothen — born from above/again — is used). The new birth is not a human decision but a divine act of creative power, producing a "living hope" and "an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading."