> Now, the question raised was what does the water signifiy? And what does
> it mean to be "born of water"
>
> Someone suggested that water often signifies cleansing. Therefore being
> born of water indicates repentence.
>
> This seems a bit eisagetical to me...
I don't know that the genitive (or more properly the preposition EK)
necessarily indicates a simultaneous source. Something to consider in
terms of the cleansing idea, however, is that Jesus refers to
Nicodemus's ignorance in light of his being a teacher of Israel. This
reference presents us with a natural association with the promise of
regeneration by water and spirit in Ezek 36:25-26. Also, the anarthrous
nature of HUDOR and PNEUMA helps this association, since it may show a
more qualitative association than most English translations let on.
Regarding the amniotic fluid idea, I'd be interested to see if anyone
has some hard evidence for that meaning of GENNHQH EX hUDATOS. That
seems to be the greatest obstacle to the particular view.
Trevor