ζάω

ζάω — záō

ζάω, ζῶ, ζῇς, ζῇ, infinitive ζῆν (so L T, but R G WH (η(, Tr also (except 1Co 9:14; 2Co 1:8); cf. Winers Grammar, § 5, 4 c.; WH. Introductory § 410; Lipsius Gram. Unters., p. 5f), participle ζῶν; imperfect ἔζων (Rom 7:9, where Vat. has the inferior form ἔζην (found again Col 3:7 ἐζῆτε); cf. Fritzsche on Romans, ii., p. 38; (WHs Appendix, p. 169; Veitch, under the word)); future in the earlier form ζήσω (Rom 6:2 (not L marginal reading); Heb 12:9; L T Tr WH also in John (Joh 5:25); ( T WH), (not L; T Tr WH); 2Co 13:4; Jas 4:15), and much oftener ((?) five times, quotations excepted, viz. Mat 9:18; Luk 10:28; Joh 11:25; Rom 8:13; Rom 10:5; cf. Moulton's Winer, p. 105) the later form, first used by (Hippocrates 7, 536 (see Veitch, under the word)) Demosthenes, ζήσομαι; 1 aorist (unused in Attic (Hipp., Anth. Pal., Plutarch, others (see Veitch))) ἔζησα (Act 26:5, etc.); cf. Alexander Buttmann (1873) Ausf. Sprachl. ii. 191f; Buttmann, 58 (51); Krüger, i., p. 172; Kühner, i. 829; Winers Grammar, 86 (83); (Veitch, under the word); Hebrew חָיָה; (from (Homer) Theognis, Aeschylus down); to live;

I. properly,

1. to live, be among the living, be alive (not lifeless, not dead): Act 20:12; Rom 7:1-3; 1Co 7:39; 2Co 1:8; 2Co 4:11; 1Th 4:15; 1Th 4:17; Rev 19:20, etc.; ψυχή ζῶσα, 1Co 15:45 and R Tr marginal reading Rev 16:3; διά παντός τοῦ ζῆν, during all their life (on earth), Heb 2:15 (διατελεῖν πάντα τόν τοῦ ζῆν χρόνον, Diodorus 1, 74 (cf. Buttmann, 262 (225))); ἔτι ζῶν (participle imperfect (cf. Winer's Grammar, 341 (320))), while he was yet alive, before his death, Mat 27:63; with ἐν σαρκί added, of the earthly life, Php 1:22; ὁ δέ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκί, that life which I live in an earthly body, Gal 2:20 (Buttmann, 149 (130); Winer's Grammar, 227 (213)); ἐν αὐτῷ ζῶμεν, in God is the cause why we live, Act 17:28; ζῶσα τέθνηκε, 1Ti 5:6; ἐμοί τό ζῆν Χριστός, my life is devoted to Christ, Christ is the aim, the goal, of my life, Php 1:21; ζῶντες are opposed to νεκροί, Mat 22:32; Mar 12:27; Luk 20:38; ζῶντες καί νεκροί, Act 10:42; Rom 14:9; 2Ti 4:1; 1Pe 4:5; in the sense of living and thriving, 2Co 6:9; 1Th 3:8; ζῇ ἐν ἐμοί Χριστός, Christ is living and operative in me, i. e. the holy mind and energy of Christ pervades and moves me Gal 2:20; ἐκ δυνάμεως Θεοῦ ζῆν εἰς τινα, through the power of God to live and be strong toward one (namely, in correcting and judging), 2Co 13:4; in the absolute sense, God is said to be ὁ ζῶν: Mat 16:16; Mat 26:63; Joh 6:57; Joh 6:69 Rec.; Act 14:15; Rom 9:26; 2Co 3:3; 2Co 6:16; 1Th 1:9; 1Ti 3:15; 1Ti 4:10; 1Ti 6:17 R G; Heb 3:12; Heb 9:14; Heb 10:31; Heb 12:22; Rev 7:2 (Jos 3:10; 2Ki 19:4; 2Ki 19:16; Isa 37:4; Isa 37:17; Hos 1:10; Dan 6:20 Theod., 26, etc.); with the addition of εἰς τούς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, Rev 4:9; Rev 15:7; ζῶ ἐγώ (אָנִי חַי, Num 14:21; Isa 49:18, etc.) as I live (by my life), the formula by which God swears by himself, Rom 14:11. equivalent to to continue to live, to be kept alice (ὅστις ζῆν ἐπιθυμεῖ, πειράσθω νικαν, Xenophon, an. 3, 2, 26 (39)): ἐάν ὁ κύριος θελήσῃ καί ζήσωμεν (ζήσομεν L T Tr WH), Jas 4:15 (Buttmann, 210 (181); Winer's Grammar, 286 (268f)); ζῆν ἐπ' ἄρτῳ (Mat 4:4, etc.) see ἐπί, B. 2 a. α. (Tob 5:20); ζῆν ἐκ τίνος, to get a living from a thing, 1Co 9:14; also when used of convalescents, John 4:50f, 53; with ἐκ τῆς ἀρρωστίας added, 2Ki 1:2; 2Ki 8:8 f, figuratively, to live and be strong: ἐν τούτοις (for Rec. ἐν αὐτοῖς) in these vices, opposed to the ethical death by which Christians are wholly severed from sin (see ἀποθνῄσκω, II. 2 b.), Col 3:7; cf. Meyer at the passage equivalent to to be no longer dead, to recover life, be restored to life: Mat 9:18; Act 9:41; so of Jesus risen from the dead, Mar 16:11; Luk 24:5; Luk 24:23; Act 1:3; Act 25:19; Rom 6:10; 2Co 13:4; opposed to νεκρός, Rev 1:18; Rev 2:8; ἔζησεν came to life, lived again, Rom 14:9 G L T Tr WH (opposed to ἀπέθανε); Rev 13:14; Rev 20:4-5 (Rec. ἀνέζησεν) (Eze 37:9 f; on the aorist as marking entrance upon a state see βασιλεύω, at the end); ζῆν ἐκ νεκρῶν, tropically, out of moral death to enter upon a new life, dedicated and acceptable to God, Rom 6:13; (similarly in Luk 15:32 T Tr WH). equivalent to not to be mortal, Heb 7:8 (where ἄνθρωποι ἀποθνῄσκοντες dying men i. e. whose lot it is to die, are opposed to ὁ ζῶν).

2. emphatically, and in the Messianic sense, to enjoy real life, i. e. to have true life and worthy of the name — active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God (or ζωή αἰώνιος; see ζωή, 2b.): Luk 10:28; Joh 5:25; Joh 11:25; Rom 1:17; Rom 8:13; Rom 14:9 ((?) see above); Gal 3:12; Heb 12:9; with the addition of ἐκ πίστεως, Heb 10:38; of εἰς τόν αἰῶνα, Joh 6:51; Joh 6:58; σύν Χριστῷ, in Christ's society, 1Th 5:10; this life in its absolute fullness Christ enjoys, who owes it to God; hence, he says ζῶ διά τόν πατέρα, Joh 6:57; by the gift and power of Christ it is shared in by the faithful, who accordingly are said ζήσειν δἰ αὐτόν, Joh 6:57; δἰ αὐτοῦ, 1Jn 4:9. with a dative denoting the respect, πνεύματι, 1Pe 4:6; ὄνομα ἔχεις ὅτι ζῇς καί νεκρός εἰ, thou art said to have life (i. e. vigorous spiritual life bringing forth good fruit) and (yet) thou art dead (ethically), Rev 3:1. In the O. T: ζῆν denotes to live most happily in the enjoyment of the theocratic blessings: Lev 18:5; Deu 4:1; Deu 8:1; Deu 30:16.

3. to live i. e. pass life, of the manner of living and acting; of morals or character: μετά ἀνδρός with the accusative of time, of a married woman, Luk 2:36; χωρίς νόμου, without recognition of the law, Rom 7:9; Φαρισαῖος, Act 26:5; also ἐν κόσμῳ, Col 2:20; with ἐν and a dative indicating the act or state of the soul: ἐν πίστει, Gal 2:20; ἐν τῇ ἁμαρτία, to devote life to sin, Rom 6:2; with adverbs expressing the manner: εὐσεβῶς, 2Ti 3:12; Tit 2:12; ἀσώτως, Luk 15:13; ἐθνικῶς, Gal 2:14; ἀδίκως, Wis 14:28; ζῆν τίνι (the dative of person, a phrase common in Greek authors also, in Latinviverealicui; cf. Fritzsche on Romans, vol. iii., p. 176ff), to devote, consecrate, life to one; so to live that life results in benefit to someone or to his cause: τῷ Θεῷ, Luk 20:38; Rom 6:10; Gal 2:19 (4Ma 16:25); τῷ Χριστῷ, 2Co 5:15; that man is said ἑαυτῷ ζῆν who makes his own will his law, is his own master, Rom 14:7; 2Co 5:15; with the dative of the thing to which life is devoted: τῇ δικαιοσύνη, 1Pe 2:24; πνεύματι, to be actuated by the Spirit, Gal 5:25; κατά σάρκα, as the flesh dictates, Rom 8:12 f.

II. Metaphorically, of inanimate things;

a. ὕδωρ ζῶν, חַיִּים מַיִם (Gen 26:19; Lev 14:5; etc.), living water, i. e. bubbling up, gushing forth, flowing, with the suggested idea of refreshment and salubrity (opposed to the water of cisterns and pools (cf. our spring water)), is figuratively used of the spirit and truth of God as satisfying the needs and desires of the soul: Joh 4:10; Joh 7:38; ἐπί ζώσας πηγάς ὑδάτων, Rev 7:17 Rec. b. having vital power in itself and exerting the same upon the soul: ἐλπίς ζῶσα, 1Pe 1:3; λόγος Θεοῦ, 1Pe 1:23; Heb 4:12; λόγια namely, τοῦ Θεοῦ, Act 7:38, cf. Deu 32:47; ὁδός ζῶσα, Heb 10:20 (this phrase describing that characteristic of divine grace, in granting the pardon of sin and fellowship with God, which likens it to a way leading to the heavenly sanctuary). In the same manner the predicate ὁ ζῶν is applied to those things to which persons are compared who possess real life (see I. 2 above), in the expressions λίθοι ζῶντες, 1Pe 2:4; ἄρτος ὁ ζῶν (see ἄρτος, at the end), Joh 6:51; θυσία ζῶσα (tacitly opposed to slain victims), Rom 12:1. (Compare: ἀναζάω, συζάω.)