Biblical Lexicon

ζῶ G2198

V-PSA-3P | 141× in 3 senses

To live, be alive; of physical life, resurrection life, and the conduct of one's earthly existence.

Zao is the Greek verb for the most fundamental of all conditions — being alive. In the New Testament it carries the full weight of that concept, from the simple biological fact of breathing ('the living God,' Matt 16:16) to the astonishing claim that the dead live again (Rev 2:8) and the ethical imperative of how one's years are spent (Acts 26:5). The present participle ho zon ('the living one') becomes a divine title across the Scriptures, and the multilingual evidence is remarkably stable: Spanish viviente/vivo, German leben/lebt, Korean 살다, and Swahili -ishi all preserve the same core without needing specialized vocabulary — until the resurrection sense appears, where languages begin reaching for completive or ingressive aspect markers to capture the transition from death back to life.

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Senses

1. be alive, have life — To be in a state of physical or spiritual life, to have life — the overwhelming core sense at 133 occurrences. This covers the living God (Matt 16:16; Matt 26:63), living creatures, living persons as opposed to the dead, and the life-giving power of God's word ('man shall not live by bread alone,' Matt 4:4; Luke 4:4). Spanish viviente/vivo and German leben/lebt map directly, as do Korean 살아 있는 and Swahili -ishi. The present participle zon often functions as an attributive adjective ('living water,' 'living hope'), and the stative present tense conveys ongoing, durative life. 133×

BODY_HEALTH › Physiological Processes and States › Life and Living

AR["الحَيَّ", "الحَيِّ", "الحَيّ", "الْحَيِّ", "حَيًّا", "حَيٍّ", "حَيَّ", "حَيَّةٍ", "حَيُّ"]·ben["জীবন্ত", "জীবন্ত;", "জীবন্তের", "জীবন্তের -", "জীবন্তের,", "জীবন্তের;", "জীবিত,", "জীবিতকে", "জীবিতের,"]·DE["leben", "lebt"]·EN["living"]·FR["vivre"]·heb["חַי", "חַיִּים", "חַיָּה"]·HI["जीवित", "जीवित!", "जीवित,", "जीवित-को", "जीवित;", "जीवित।", "जेएवित"]·ID["hidup", "yang-hidup", "yang-hidup,", "yang-hidup.", "yang-hidup;"]·IT["vivere"]·jav["-gesang", "gesang", "gesang,", "gesang.", "ingkang-gesang", "ingkang-gesang-", "ingkang-gesang.", "kang-gesang,"]·KO["산", "살아-계시는", "살아-계신", "살아-있는", "살아-있는-자를", "살아계신,", "살아있는"]·PT["viva,", "vivas,", "vivente", "vivente.", "vivente;", "vivo", "vivo,"]·RU["Живого", "Живого;", "Живым", "живого", "живой", "живой,", "живому", "живому,", "живую", "живые,"]·ES["viviente", "vivientes", "vivo"]·SW["-aliye-hai", "aliye-hai", "aliye-hai,", "aliye-hai-", "aliye-hai;", "hai", "ulio-hai"]·TR["Ruh'la", "diri", "yaşayan", "yaşayanı", "yaşayanın"]·urd["زندہ", "زندہ-کی", "زندہ،", "زندہ۔", "زِندہ"]

Matt 4:4, Matt 16:16, Matt 26:63, Mark 16:11, Luke 4:4, Luke 24:5, John 4:50, John 4:51, John 4:53, John 6:51, John 6:57, John 11:26 (+38 more)

2. come back to life, live again — To come back to life, to live again after having died — 4 occurrences marking the dramatic transition from death to renewed existence. In Luke 15:32 the prodigal 'was dead and is alive again'; in Romans 14:9 Christ 'died and lived again'; in Revelation 2:8 the risen Christ 'was dead and came to life.' The aorist tense (ezesen) is crucial here, capturing the punctiliar moment of resurrection. Korean 살아나다 ('to come alive') and the shift from Spanish vivio to vivio (preterite) confirm that translators recognize the ingressive aspect — this is not mere continuation of life but its dramatic re-commencement. 4×

BODY_HEALTH › Physiological Processes and States › Life and Living

AR["عاشَ", "عَاشَ"]·ben["জীবিত-হলেন", "জীবিত-হলো", "বেঁচে-উঠল", "বেঁচেছিলেন,"]·DE["leben", "lebt"]·EN["lived"]·FR["vivre"]·heb["חָיְתָה", "חָיָה"]·HI["जी-उठा", "जी-उठा:", "जीवित-हुआ।"]·ID["hidup,", "hidup-kembali", "hidup-kembali:", "hidup."]·IT["vivere"]·jav["gesang", "gesang,", "gesang-malih", "gesang-malih;"]·KO["살아나셨으니", "살았느니라", "살았다"]·PT["viveu", "viveu,"]·RU["-ожил", "ожил", "ожил.", "ожил:"]·ES["vivió"]·SW["akaishi:", "aliishi", "aliishi,", "amefufuka"]·TR["canlandı", "yaşadı"]·urd["جی-اُٹھا", "جی-اٹھا", "جیا"]

Luke 15:32, Rom 14:9, Rev 2:8, Rev 13:14

3. live, conduct one's life — To live in the sense of conducting one's earthly existence over time — 4 occurrences focusing on the duration, manner, or circumstances of a life lived. Anna the prophetess 'lived with her husband seven years' (Luke 2:36); Paul testifies that he 'lived as a Pharisee' (Acts 26:5); the martyrs 'lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years' (Rev 20:4-5). Spanish vivieron and German lebten both shift into the narrative past, treating life as a biographical span rather than a present state. The distinction from sense 1 is aspectual — here zao is durative-terminative rather than stative, describing a stretch of lived experience rather than the condition of being alive. 4×

BODY_HEALTH › Physiological Processes and States › Life and Living

AR["عاشوا", "عَاشَتْ", "عِشْتُ", "يَحْيَوْا"]·ben["জীবনযাপন-করিলাম", "জীবিত-হল", "বাস-করে"]·DE["leben", "lebt"]·EN["I-lived", "having-lived", "lived", "they-lived"]·FR["vivre"]·heb["חָיְתָה", "חָיִיתִי", "חָיוּ"]·HI["जीए", "जीकर", "मैंनेजीया"]·ID["hidup", "mereka-hidup", "setelah-hidup"]·IT["vivere"]·jav["kula-gesang", "sami-gesang", "sampun-gesang"]·KO["그들이-살았고", "살아서", "살았다", "살지"]·PT["tendo-vivido", "viveram", "vivi"]·RU["жил", "ожили", "прожившая"]·ES["habiendo-vivido", "vivieron", "vivieron,", "viví"]·SW["aliishi", "ishi,", "niliishi", "wakaishi"]·TR["yaşadılar", "yaşadım", "yaşamış"]·urd["جیا", "جیے", "رہ-کر"]

Luke 2:36, Acts 26:5, Rev 20:4, Rev 20:5

BDB / Lexicon Reference

ζῶ (contraction from ζώω: ζάω only in Grammars, Refs 4th c.AD+; imperative ζῆ Refs 5th c.BC+ see at {ζῆ}; optative ζῴη; infinitive ζῆν: imperfect ἔζων Refs 5th c.BC+; ἔζην in most codices of Refs 4th c.BC+; 3rd.pers. plural ἔζων Refs 5th c.BC+: future ζήσω Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist 1 ἔζησα Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect ἔζηκα Refs 4th c.BC+aorist and perfect are mostly supplied from βιόω.- Exc. participle…