Exegetical Meaning

The Greek word *zōē* means "life" in the fullest sense—not just the bare fact of being alive, but the quality, vitality, and animating force that makes life worth living. It's the word Scripture uses when talking about genuine, vibrant existence in relationship with God. When Jesus says "I am the way, the truth, and the life," he uses *zōē* to mean something far richer than mere biological existence; he's speaking of the real, purposeful, abundant life that comes through knowing him. In the New Testament, *zōē* often appears in contrast to death, darkness, or emptiness. It can refer to physical life in this world, but more frequently it points to spiritual life—the kind of existence that continues eternally in God's presence. When Scripture promises "eternal life" (*zōē aiōnios*), it's not just saying people won't die; it's saying believers will experience an unending quality of real, connected, flourishing existence with God. The word captures both the present experience of living fully in faith and the future promise of unending communion with the divine. You'll see *zōē* translated as simply "life," but also sometimes as "living" or "existence." In passages like John 10:10, where Jesus says he came "that they may have life, and have it to the full," *zōē* encompasses everything—vitality, purpose, joy, and wholeness.

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• Eternal Life as Gift
• Christ as the Source of Life

Exegetical Meaning

alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively | Etymology: from H2421 (חָיָה); | KJV: [phrase] age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life(-time), live(-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, [phrase] merry, multitude, [phrase] (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop.

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No clusters available