ζωγρ-έω G2221
to capture alive, to take captive, to ensnare
Combining 'alive' and 'to catch,' this verb describes capturing someone or something alive rather than killing it. In Luke 5:10, Jesus tells the fisherman Peter, 'Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men'—a transforming metaphor that reframes Peter's vocation from fish to people. But in 2 Timothy 2:26, Paul warns that opponents may 'come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been captured by him to do his will'—here the capturing is satanic enslavement. The same verb thus describes both gospel rescue and demonic bondage.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The two uses stand in stark contrast: Luke 5:10 presents catching people alive as the missionary task (rescuing them from death to life), while 2 Timothy 2:26 depicts Satan capturing people alive for his purposes (enslaving them to sin). The verb's core meaning—taking someone alive rather than killing them—gains ironic force in these contexts: Jesus's fishers preserve life eternally, while Satan's trapping preserves people for destruction. The imagery warns that humans are always being 'caught' by one master or another. 2×
AR["المَأْسورينَ", "تَصطادُ"]·ben["ধরতে", "ধরা-পড়েছিল,"]·DE["ζωγρῶν", "ἐζωγρημένοι"]·EN["catching", "having-been-captured"]·FR["prendre-vivant"]·heb["נִלְכָּדִים", "צָד"]·HI["पकड़नेवाला", "पकदे-गये,"]·ID["menjala", "yang-ditangkap"]·IT["ezōgrēmenoi", "zogron"]·jav["njala", "tinangkep,"]·KO["낚는-자", "사로잡힌-자들로,"]·PT["tendo-sido-presos"]·RU["ловить.", "плененные"]·ES["habiendo-sido-cautivados", "pescando"]·SW["ukivua", "walioshikwa"]·TR["yakalanmış", "yakalayan"]·urd["تُو", "پکڑے-ہوئے"]
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ζωγρ-έω, (ζωός, ἀγρέω) take, save alive, take captive instead of killing, ζώγρει, Ἀτρέος υἱέ, σὺ δ᾽ ἄξια δέξαι ἄποινα Refs 8th c.BC+; πλὴν μηδαμῇ μηδαμῶς ζωγροῦντας provided that they do not spare him alive, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to διαφθείρειν, ἀποκτεῖναι, NT+2nd c.BC+; of ships, ἃς ἐζώγρησεν αὐτάνδρους Refs 2nd c.AD+:—passive, Refs 5th c.BC+ __II restore to life and strength, revive, περὶ δὲ…