noun
zēlos
Strong’sG2205
eagerness, zeal, rivalry
stem zēl-16 times in the New Testamentin 9 of 27 books5 of 16 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
ζῆλος most often means eagerness, zeal, or fervor – a passionate ardor that can be directed toward God, toward a person, or toward a cause 1234. Strong's notes that the word properly describes "heat," used figuratively for this ardor 2. In this positive sense it covers earnest zeal for someone or something 13, and shades into eager rivalry or emulation – a striving to match or equal another 34.
The same word also carries the opposite, negative sense of jealousy or envy – ill will such as that of a rival or an enemy, including indignation and malice 123. Strong's specifically compares this to the jealousy of a husband, applied figuratively even to God 2.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
ζῆλος, -ου, ὁ and in late Gk., also -εος, τό (II Co 9:2, Phl 3:6),
[in LXX for קִנְאָה, Nu 25:11, al.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2205 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saiddzay'-los
properly, heat, i.e. (figuratively) "zeal" (in a favorable sense, ardor; in an unfavorable one, jealousy, as of a husband (figuratively, of God), or an enemy, malice)
Fromfrom G2204;
King Jamesemulation, envy(-ing), fervent mind, indignation, jealousy, zeal.
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
later εος, τό, NT codices optative; Doric dialect ζᾶλος Refs:— jealousy (= φθόνος), Refs 8th c.BC+: more usually in good sense, eager rivalry, emulation, Refs 4th c.BC+
2 with genitive person, zeal for one, ξυναίμων Refs 5th c.BC+; κατὰ ζῆλον Ἡρακλέους in emulation of him, Refs 1st c.AD+: absolutely, passion, Refs 2nd c.BC+
3 with genitive of things, ζῆλον.. γάμων ἔχουσα causing rivalry for my hand, Refs 5th c.BC+; ζ. τῶν ἀρίστων emulous desire for.., opposed to φυγὴ τῶν χειρόνων, Refs 1st c.BC+: plural, ambitions, Refs 1st c.BC+
4 fervour, zeal, LXX+NT; indignation, ζ. πυρός NT
5 personified as son of Styx, brother of Βία, Κράτος, Νίκη, Refs 8th c.BC+
II pride, honour, glory, Refs 5th c.BC+
III spirit, τῆς πολιτείας Refs 2nd c.BC+: plural, tastes, interests, τοῖς ἀπὸ διαφόρων ἐπιτηδευμάτων, βίων, ζήλων, ἡλικιῶν, Refs 3rd c.AD+
III.2 especially in Lit. Crit., style, τοῦ Ἀσιανοῦ λεγομένου ζήλου Refs 1st c.BC+
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 | masculine singular | neuter singular | masculine plural | neuter plural |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | zēlos6×ζῆλος | zēlem2×ζῆλος | zēlois | zēleim |
| object accusative | zēlon4×ζῆλον | zēloin | ||
| direct address vocative | zēlor | zēloir | ||
| of, belonging to genitive | zēlou2×ζήλου | zēleu | zēloiu | zēleiu |
| to, for dative | zēlo2×ζήλῳ | zēle | zēloi | zēlei |
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
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.
16 occurrences, every one of them listed
zēlos“jealousy”subjectnominative singular6×
John 2:17… mathētois autou hoti graforēntem atō; Tos zēlos tou oikou su katesthieti min.… disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”
1 Corinthians 3:3… sarkikois avō. hopou gar en vi zēlos kai eridas, ouchi sarkikois avō kai …… still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you …
2 Corinthians 12:20… hoion ouk thelavō, mē pōs eridas, zēlos, thumois, eritheiais, katalaliais, psithurismois, fusiōsiais, akatastasiais;… fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, rage, rivalry, slander, gossip, arrogance, and …
Galatians 5:20eidōlolatrias, farmakeias, echthrais, eridas, zēlos, thumois, eritheiais, dichostasiais, hairesiais,idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,
Hebrews 10:27“fury”… de tinas ekdochas krisiau kai pureu zēlos esthiarō mellarōnteu toin hupenantioin.but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.
James 3:16“envy”hopou gar zēlos kai eritheias, ekei akatastasias kai pantem …For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
zēlon“zeal”objectaccusative singular4×
Romans 10:2“zeal”marturamō gar autoi hoti zēlon theou echalō; alla ouk kata epignōsian,For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.
2 Corinthians 7:7… epipothēsian, ton vu odurmon, ton vu zēlon huper mu, hōste min mallon chairira.… your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced …
2 Corinthians 7:11… aganaktēsian, alla fobon, alla epipothēsian, alla zēlon, alla ekdikēsian; en pante sustēava heautoin …… indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you …
James 3:14“envy”ei de zēlon pikron echavō kai eritheian en ta …But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts …
zēlou“jealousy”of, belonging togenitive singular2×
Acts 5:17… tas arōntas hairesias toiu Saddoukaioiu, pimplēila zēlou… of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out
Acts 13:45… de tois Ioudaiois toin ochloin pimplēila zēlou kai antilegale tei hupo Paulou lalorōntei …… the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul …
zēlo“jealousy”to, fordative singular2×
Romans 13:13… koitai kai aselgeiai, mē erida kai zēlo,… and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
2 Corinthians 11:2zēlamō gar vin theou zēlo, harmozema gar vin heno andro parthenan …… jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one …
zēlem“zeal”subject or objectdirect singular2×
2 Corinthians 9:2… paraskeuazotē apo perusin, kai tem vu zēlem erethizata toin polloteroin.… were prepared to give. And your zeal has stirred most of them to …
Philippians 3:6kata zēlem diōkarōntos tan ekklēsan, kata dikaiosunan tan …as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness …