ζάωzáō
to live (literally or figuratively)
Greek (New Testament) · G2198
Meanings
1. properly, to live, be alive: Acts 20:12, Romans 7:1-3, 1 Corinthians 7:39, Revelation 19:20, and elsewhere; ἐν αὐτῷ ζῶμεν, Acts 17:28; ἐμοὶ τὸ ζῆν Χριστός, Philippians 1:21; διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν, Hebrews 2:15; ὃ δὲ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκί, Galatians 2:20; ζῇ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός, Galatians 2:20; (ὁ) ζῶν, of God (אֵל חַי and cognate phrases, Joshua 3:10, Hosea 2:1 (Hosea 1:10), Isaiah 37:4, and elsewhere; see DCG, ii, 39a), Matthew 16:16, John 6:57, Romans 9:26, 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Hebrews 3:12, Revelation 7:2, and elsewhere; in juristic phrase, ζῶ ἐγώ (חַי־אָנִי, Numbers 14:21, and elsewhere), as I live, Romans 14:11; ζῆν ἐπ’ ἄρτῳ, Matthew 4:4, and elsewhere; ἐκ, 1 Corinthians 9:14; of coming to life, Mark 16:11, Romans 6:10, Romans 14:9, 2 Corinthians 13:4; opposed to νεκρός, Revelation 1:18, Revelation 2:8; metaphorically, Luke 15:32; ζῆν ἐκ νεκρῶν, Romans 6:13; of the spiritual life of Christians, Luke 10:28, John 5:25, Romans 1:17, Romans 8:13; εἰς τ. αἰῶνα, John 6:51, John 6:58; σὺν Χριστῷ, 1 Thessalonians 5:10; ὄνομα ἔχεις ὅτι ζῇς, Revelation 3:1.
2. As sometimes in classical Greek, = βιόω, to live, pass one's life: Luke 2:36, Acts 26:5, Romans 7:9, Colossians 2:20; ἐν πίστει, Galatians 2:20; ἐν τ. ἁμαρτίᾳ, Romans 6:2; εὐσεβῶς, 2 Timothy 3:12; ἀσώτως, Luke 15:13; with dative (classical Greek), ἑαυτῳ, Romans 14:7, 2 Corinthians 5:15; τ. θεῷ, Luke 20:38, Romans 6:10, Romans 6:11, Galatians 2:19; τ. Χριστῷ, 2 Corinthians 5:15; τ. δικαιοσύνῃ, 1 Peter 2:24; πνεύματι, Galatians 5:25; κατὰ σάρκα, Romans 8:12, Romans 8:13
3. Of inanimate things, metaphorically: ὕδωρ ζῶν (i.e. springing water, as opposed to still water), in a spiritual sense, John 4:10, John 4:11, John 7:38: ἐλπὶς ζῶσα, 1 Peter 1:3; ὁδὸς ζῶσα, Hebrews 10:20.
Same root
Where it appears
Appears 139 times in the Bible.
- Matthew 4:4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
- Matthew 9:18 As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt before him. “My daughter has just died,” he said, “but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand on her.”
- Matthew 16:16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
- Matthew 22:32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”
- Matthew 26:63 But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to him, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”
- Matthew 27:63 They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’
See every passage
- Matthew 4:4, 9:18, 16:16, 22:32, 26:63, 27:63
- Mark 5:23, 12:27
- Luke 2:36, 4:4, 10:28, 15:13, 15:32, 20:38, 24:5, 24:23
- John 4:10, 4:11, 4:50, 4:51, 4:53, 5:25, 6:51, 6:57, 6:58, 7:38, 11:25, 11:26, 14:19
- Acts 1:3, 7:38, 9:41, 10:42, 14:15, 17:28, 20:12, 22:22, 25:19, 25:24, 26:5, 28:4
- Romans 1:17, 6:2, 6:10, 6:11, 6:13, 7:1, 7:2, 7:3, 7:9, 8:12, 8:13, 9:26, 10:5, 12:1, 14:7, 14:8, 14:9, 14:11
- 1 Corinthians 7:39, 9:14, 15:45
- 2 Corinthians 1:8, 3:3, 4:11, 5:15, 6:9, 6:16, 13:4
- Galatians 2:14, 2:19, 2:20, 3:11, 3:12, 5:25
- Philippians 1:21, 1:22
- Colossians 2:20, 3:7
- 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 3:8, 4:15, 4:17, 5:10
- 1 Timothy 3:15, 4:10, 5:6
- 2 Timothy 3:12, 4:1
- Titus 2:12
- Hebrews 2:15, 3:12, 4:12, 7:8, 7:25, 9:14, 9:17, 10:20, 10:31, 10:38, 12:9, 12:22
- James 4:15
- 1 Peter 1:3, 1:23, 2:4, 2:5, 2:24, 4:5, 4:6
- 1 John 4:9
- Revelation 1:18, 2:8, 3:1, 4:9, 4:10, 7:2, 10:6, 13:14, 15:7, 19:20, 20:4, 20:5
Source: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), public domain.