Keraia
Lexicon

ζάω

zaōto liveHow to read Greek
greekNew TestamentVerb140 occurrences20 books124 verses

Definition

ζάω, -ῶ,

[in LXX chiefly for חיה (most frequently ptcp., ζῶν, inf., ζῆν, for חַי ;]

1. prop., to live, be alive (see Syn., see word βίος; in cl. usually of animal life, but sometimes of plants, as Arist., Eth. N, i, 7, 12): Acts 20:12, Romans 7:1-3, 1 Corinthians 7:39, Revelation 19:20, al.; ἐν αὐτῷ ζῶμεν, Acts 17:28; ἐμοὶ τὸ ζῆν Χριστός, Philippians 1:21; διὰ παντὸς τοῦ ζῆν (M, Pr., 215, 249), 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 (1:10), Isaiah 37:4, al.; see DCG, ii, 39a), Matthew 16:16, John 6:57, Romans 9:26, 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Hebrews 3:12, Revelation 7:2, al.; in juristic phrase, ζῶ ἐγώ (חַי־אָנִי, Numbers 14:21, al.), as I live, Romans 14:11; ζῆν ἐπ᾽ ἄρτῳ, Matthew 4:4, al.; ἐκ, 1 Corinthians 9:14; of coming to life, Mrk.16:[11], Romans 6:10; 14:9, 2 Corinthians 13:4; opposite to νεκρός, Revelation 1:18; 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; 8:13; εἰς τ. αἰῶνα, John 6:51, 58; σὺν Χριστῷ, 1 Thessalonians 5:10; ὄνομα ἔχεις ὅτι ζῇς, Revelation 3:1.

2. As sometimes in cl., = 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 (cl.), ἑαυτῳ (Field, Notes, 164), Romans 14:7, 2 Corinthians 5:15; τ. δικαιοσύνῃ, Luke 20:38, Romans 6:10, 11, Galatians 2:19; τ. Χριστῷ, 2 Corinthians 5:15; τ. θεῷ, 1 Peter 2:24; πνεύματι, Galatians 5:25; κατὰ σάρκα, Romans 8:12, 13;

3. Of inanimate things, metaphorically: ὕδωρ ζῶν (i.e. springing water, as opposite to still water), in a spiritual sense, John 4:10, 11; 7:38 (DCG, ii, 39f.): ἐλπὶς ζῶσα, 1 Peter 1:3; ὁδὸς ζῶσα, Hebrews 10:20 (cf. ἀνα-, συν-ζάω; Cremer, 270, 721).

Hebrew words it translates

The Hebrew words that the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament renders as ζάω:

Usage patterns

Old TestamentNew Testament

Occurrences

140 total
  1. Romans 6:10ζῇ · He lives
    The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.
  2. Romans 6:11ζῶντας · alive
    So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
  3. Romans 6:13ζῶντας · to life
    Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.
  4. Romans 7:1ζῇ · he lives
    Do you not know, brothers (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?
  5. Romans 7:2ζῶντι · as long as he lives
    For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
  6. Romans 7:3ζῶντος · is [still] alive
    So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
  7. Romans 7:9ἔζων · was alive
    Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.
  8. Romans 8:12ζῆν · to live
    Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
  9. Romans 8:13ζῆτε · you live; ζήσεσθε · you will live
    For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
  10. Romans 9:26ζῶντος · of [the] living
    …and, “It will happen that in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
  11. Romans 10:5ζήσεται · will live
    For concerning the righteousness that is by the law, Moses writes: “The man who does these things will live by them.”
  12. Romans 12:1ζῶσαν · [as] living
    Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
  13. Romans 14:7ζῇ · lives
    For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.
  14. Romans 14:8ζῶμεν · we live; ζῶμεν · we live; ζῶμεν · we live
    If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
  15. Romans 14:9ἔζησεν · returned to life; ζώντων · [the] living
    For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
  16. Romans 14:11Ζῶ · live
    It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”
  17. 1 Corinthians 7:39ζῇ · he lives
    A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord.
  18. 1 Corinthians 9:14ζῆν · should receive their living
    In the same way, the Lord has prescribed that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
  19. 1 Corinthians 15:45ζῶσαν · a living
    So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
  20. 2 Corinthians 1:8ζῆν · life
    We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.
  21. 2 Corinthians 3:3ζῶντος · of [the] living
    It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
  22. 2 Corinthians 4:11ζῶντες · are alive
    For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.
  23. 2 Corinthians 5:15ζῶντες · live; ζῶσιν · live
    And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.
  24. 2 Corinthians 6:9ζῶμεν · we live on
    …unknown, yet well-known; dying, and yet we live on; punished, yet not killed;
  25. 2 Corinthians 6:16ζῶντος · of [the] living
    What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
  26. 2 Corinthians 13:4ζῇ · He lives; ζήσομεν · we will live
    For He was indeed crucified in weakness, yet He lives by God’s power. For we are also weak in Him, yet by God’s power we will live with Him concerning you.
  27. Galatians 2:14ζῇς · live
    When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
  28. Galatians 2:19ζήσω · I might live
    For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God.
  29. Galatians 2:20ζῶ · live; ζῇ · lives; ζῶ · I live; ζῶ · I live
    I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
  30. Galatians 3:11ζήσεται · will live
    Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.”
  31. Galatians 3:12ζήσεται · will live
    The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.”
  32. Galatians 5:25ζῶμεν · we live
    Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.
  33. Philippians 1:21ζῆν · to live
    For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
  34. Philippians 1:22ζῆν · I go on living
    But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know.
  35. Colossians 2:20ζῶντες · you still belonged
    If you have died with Christ to the spiritual forces of the world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its regulations:
  36. Colossians 3:7ἐζῆτε · you lived
    When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways.
  37. 1 Thessalonians 1:9ζῶντι · [the] living
    For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God
  38. 1 Thessalonians 3:8ζῶμεν · we can go on living
    For now we can go on living, as long as you are standing firm in the Lord.
  39. 1 Thessalonians 4:15ζῶντες · alive
    By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.
  40. 1 Thessalonians 4:17ζῶντες · alive
    After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
  41. 1 Thessalonians 5:10ζήσωμεν · we may live
    He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him.