noun · masculine
bios
Strong’sG979
life, manner of life, livelihood
stem bi-10 times in the New Testamentin 5 of 27 books2 of 10 forms occur
What it means
What the word means, in the words of the lexicons out of copyright — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones, wherever each has an entry for it.
βίος, -ου, ὁ,
[in LXX chiefly for יָמִים;]
SYN.: ζωή, is life intensive, "vita quâ vivimus," the vital principle; βίος, life extensive, "vita quam vivimus," (1) the period of life, (2) the means by which it is sustained. Hence, in cl., ζ., being confined to the physical life common to men and animals, is the inferior word (cf. zoology, biography). In NT, ζωή is elevated into the ethical and spiritual sphere (cf. Tr., Syn., § xxvii).
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G979 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidbee'-os
life, i.e. (literally) the present state of existence; by implication, the means of livelihood
Froma primary word;
King Jamesgood, life, living.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
life, i. e. not animal life (ζωή), but mode of life Refs 3rd c.AD+, manner of living (mostly therefore of men, see Refs 5th c.AD+; but also of animals, διεχώριζον ζῴων τε βίον δένδρων τε φύσιν Refs 8th c.BC+; διέρχεσθαι βίου τέλος uncertain in Refs 5th c.BC+; proverbial, ὁ ἐπὶ Κρόνου βίος 'the Golden Age', Refs 5th c.BC+: rarely in plural, Refs 4th c.BC+; τίνες καὶ πόσοι εἰσὶ β.; Refs 5th c.BC+
2 in Poets sometimes ={ζωή}, βίον ἐκπνέων Refs 5th c.BC+
3 lifetime, ἐς τὸν ἅπαντα ἀνθρώπων β. Refs 5th c.BC+
II livelihood, means of living (in Refs 8th c.BC+; τὸν βίον κτᾶσθαι, ποιεῖσθαι, ἔχειν ἀπό τινος, to make one's living off, to live by a thing, Refs 5th c.BC+; β. πολύςRefs 5th c.BC+; ὁ ῐδιος β. private property, Refs 1st c.BC+; β. Δημήτριος, = corn, Refs 4th c.BC+
III the world we live in, 'the world', οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ β., opposed to the philosophers, Refs 2nd c.AD+; ὁ β. ὁ κοινόςRefs 1st c.AD+; ἐκκαθαίρειν τὸν β., of Hercules, Refs 2nd c.AD+; also, 'the public', ἵνα ὁ β. εἰδῇ τίνα δεῖ μετακαλεῖσθαι Refs 2nd c.AD+
IV settled life, almost, = abode, ἐν τῇ Θρᾳκίᾳ νήσῳ βίους ἱδρύσαντο Refs 1st c.BC+
V a life, biography, as those of Refs 1st c.AD+
VI caste, διεῖλε τὸ πλῆθος εἰς τέτταρας β. Refs 1st c.BC+
VII wine made from partly dried unripe grapes, Refs 1st c.AD+
VIII Astrology texts, the second region, Refs 4th c.AD+ (Cf. Sanskrit jīv´s 'alive', j[imacracute]vati 'live', Latin uīvus, etc.)
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | bios | biois |
| object accusative | bion7×βίον | bioin |
| direct address vocative | bior | bioir |
| of, belonging to genitive | biou3×βίου | bioiu |
| to, for dative | bio | bioi |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
bio is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
10 occurrences, every one of them listed
bion“live on”objectaccusative singular7×
Mark 12:44… panteim hoseim echate balata, holon ton bion autau.… put in all she had to live on.”
Luke 8:43… dōdeka, hotinas iatroi prosanaliskarantas holon ton bion ouk ischuata apo oudeneu therapeuira,… from bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all her money on physicians …
Luke 15:12… ousiau; tos de diairata autoi ton bion.… the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
Luke 15:30“property”… su houtos tos katesthiarantos su ton bion meta pornaiu erchata, thuasa auto ton …But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
Luke 21:4… ek teu husterēmeu autau panton ton bion hon echate balata.… put in all she had to live on.”
1 Timothy 2:2“life”… huperocha arōntoiu, hina ēremon kai hēsuchion bion diaganeiō en panta eusebeia kai semnota.… those in authority— so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.
1 John 3:17“goods”hos de an echateiō ton bion tou kosmou kai theōrateiō ton adelfon …If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his …
biou“life”of, belonging togenitive singular3×
Luke 8:14… merimnaiu kai ploutou kai hēdonaiu tou biou poreuorōntois sumpnigolō kai ouk telesforalō.… worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature.
2 Timothy 2:4“life”oudenos strateuorōntos emplekotō tai tou biou pragmateiai, hina to stratologaranto areskateia;… in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who …
1 John 2:16“possessions”… toiu ofthalmoiu kai tas alazoneias tou biou, ouk atō ek tou patrou, alla …… desires of the eyes, and the pride of life — is not from the Father but from the …