verb
zēlamō
Strong’sG2206
I am jealous, eager for
stem zēl-11 times in the New Testamentin 5 of 27 books8 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.
ζηλόω, -ῶ,
[in LXX chiefly for קנא pi.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2206 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saiddzay-lo'-o
to have warmth of feeling for or against
Fromfrom G2205;
King Jamesaffect, covet (earnestly), (have) desire, (move with) envy, be jealous over, (be) zealous(-ly affect).
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
(ζῆλος):
I with accusative person, vie with, emulate, τινα Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, Refs 5th c.BC+; in bad sense, to be jealous of, envy, ζηλοῖ δέ τε γείτονα γείτων LXX+8th c.BC+: absolutely, to be jealous, NTthrough jealousy, NT
b with accusative person, to be jealous for, LXX
2 esteem or pronounce happy, admire, praise, τινά τινος one for a thing, Refs 5th c.BC+: more rarely, ζ. τινά τι Refs 5th c.BC+; ζ. σε ὁθούνεκα.. Refs 4th c.BC+; τὴν πόλιν, ὅτι.. Refs 5th c.BC+; πολλά σε ζηλῶ βίου, μάλιστα δ᾽ εἰ.. Refs 5th c.BC+: with participle, σε ζ. θανόντα πρὶν κακῶν ἰδεῖν βάθος Refs 5th c.BC+ happy in your ignorance! Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, to be deemed fortunate, ὑπό τινων Refs 5th c.BC+
II with accusative of things, desire emulously, strive after, affect, ὁ μὲν δόξης ἐπιθυμεῖ καὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἐζήλωκε Refs 4th c.BC+; πίστιν Refs:—passive, ἡ ἀρετὴ ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων ζηλοῦται Refs 5th c.BC+
III also of persons, pay zealous court to, NTpassive Refs
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
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| zēlamōζηλῶ | happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular | jealous | 1× |
| zēlatōζηλοῖ | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | envy | 1× |
| zēlavōζηλοῦτε | happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural | covet | 1× |
| zēlalōζηλοῦσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | make much of | 1× |
| zēlaveiōζηλοῦτε | happening now · yepresent active subjunctive 2nd person plural | zealous | 1× |
| zēlavōrζηλοῦτε | happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural | desire | 3× |
| zēlorōζηλοῦσθαι | happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive | zealous | 1× |
| zēlarantoisζηλώσαντες | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine | jealous | 2× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 140, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 4 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | zēlamō1×ζηλῶ | zēlame | zēlami | zēlama | zēlamē | zēlamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | zēlasō | zēlase | zēlasi | zēlasa | zēlasē | zēlaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | zēlatō1×ζηλοῖ | zēlate | zēlati | zēlata | zēlatē | zēlatelē |
| we 1st person plural | zēlanō | zēlane | zēlani | zēlana | zēlanē | zēlanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | zēlavō1×ζηλοῦτε | zēlave | zēlavi | zēlava | zēlavē | zēlavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | zēlalō1×ζηλοῦσιν | zēlale | zēlali | zēlala | zēlalē | zēlalelē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | zēlomō | zēlome | zēlomē | zēlomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | zēlosō | zēlose | zēlosē | zēloselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | zēlotō | zēlote | zēlotē | zēlotelē |
| we 1st person plural | zēlonō | zēlone | zēlonē | zēlonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | zēlovō | zēlove | zēlovē | zēlovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | zēlolō | zēlole | zēlolē | zēlolelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 1 occurrence
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | zēlameiō | zēlameia | zēlameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | zēlaseiō | zēlaseia | zēlaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | zēlateiō | zēlateia | zēlateiē |
| we 1st person plural | zēlaneiō | zēlaneia | zēlaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | zēlaveiō1×ζηλοῦτε | zēlaveia | zēlaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | zēlaleiō | zēlaleia | zēlaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | zēlomeiō | zēlomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | zēloseiō | zēloseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | zēloteiō | zēloteiē |
| we 1st person plural | zēloneiō | zēloneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | zēloveiō | zēloveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | zēloleiō | zēloleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 3 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | zēlasōr | zēlasar | zēlasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | zēlatōr | zēlatar | zēlatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | zēlavōr3×ζηλοῦτε | zēlavar | zēlavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | zēlalōr | zēlalar | zēlalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | zēlosōr | zēlosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | zēlotōr | zēlotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | zēlovōr | zēlovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | zēlolōr | zēlolēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | zēlamoiō | zēlamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | zēlasoiō | zēlasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | zēlatoiō | zēlatoia |
| we 1st person plural | zēlanoiō | zēlanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | zēlavoiō | zēlavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | zēlaloiō | zēlaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | zēlomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | zēlosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | zēlotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | zēlonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | zēlovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | zēloloiō |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | zēlarō | zēlari | zēlara | zēlarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | zēlorō1×ζηλοῦσθαι | zēlorē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | zēlarōntos | zēlarintos | zēlarantos2× | zēlarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | zēlorōntos | zēlorēntos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
zēl 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.
11 occurrences, every one of them listed
zēlamō“jealous”happening now · Ipresent active indicative 1st person singular1×
2 Corinthians 11:2zēlamō gar vin theou zēlo, harmozema gar …I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy …
zēlatō“envy”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular1×
1 Corinthians 13:4… agapas makrothumatō, chrēsteuotō tas agapas, ouk zēlatō tas agapas, ouk perpereuotō, ouk fusiotō,… love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is …
zēlavō“covet”happening now · yepresent active indicative 2nd person plural1×
James 4:2epithumavō, kai ouk echavō; foneuavō kai zēlavō, kai ouk dunovō epitunchanara; machovō kai …… do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it …
zēlalō“make much of”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Galatians 4:17“make much of”zēlalō vin ouk kalōs, alla ekkleiara vin …… zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us …
zēlaveiō“zealous”happening now · yepresent active subjunctive 2nd person plural1×
Galatians 4:17… alla ekkleiara vin thelalō, hina autoin zēlaveiō.… us, so that you may be zealous for them.
zēlavōr“desire”happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural3×
1 Corinthians 12:31“earnestly desire”zēlavōr de teim charismeim teim megotereim. kai …But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I …
1 Corinthians 14:1“strive for”Diōkavōr tan agapan, zēlavōr de teim pneumatikeim, mallon de hina …Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of …
1 Corinthians 14:39“desire”hōste, adelfoir mu, zēlavōr tem profēteuarō, kai tem lalarō mē …So, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
zēlorō“zealous”happening now · the “to …” formpresent middle or passive infinitive1×
Galatians 4:18kalem de zēlorō en kale pantote, kai mē monem …Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose …
zēlarantois“jealous”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine2×
Acts 7:9Kai tois patriarchois zēlarantois ton Iōsēf apodōela eis Aiguptan; kai …Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as …
Acts 17:5zēlarantois de tois Ioudaiois kai proslaberantois toiu …The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers …