Greek n-m/n · G2205
ζῆλος
zelosdzay'-los
zeal; jealousy
16 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: zēlos
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G2205is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 9 of 27New Testament books
- 4spellings
- 2meanings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · G2205
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)
The King James renders it: emulation, envy(-ing), fervent mind, indignation, jealousy, zeal.
James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.
Summary
zelos is rendered "zeal; jealousy". It stands 16 times in the Greek text, across nine books.
- Five of the uses stand in 2 Corinthians, more than in any other book.
- The lexicon lists two meanings for it, beginning with "zeal".
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.John 2:17His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”
- The Greek text spells it four different ways.
The first use
His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”
John 2:17ζῆλος
The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.
Where the word stands
Five of the word's sixteen uses are in 2 Corinthians.
What the word means
The word carries two meanings: zeal, and jealousy.
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
| Meaning | Tagged as | Where |
|---|---|---|
| zeal2Co.7:11 9:2; κατά ζῆλος, Php.3:6; with genitive obj., Jhn.2:17 (LXX), Rom.10:2; before ὑπέρ, 2Co.7:7; with genitive subj., θεοῦ,... | Tagged as
| WhereJohn 2:17His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.” |
| jealousyRom.13:13, 1Co.3:3 3:2 2Co.12:20, Gal.5:20 (WH, txt, RV), Jas.3:14, 16; πλησθῆναι ζήλου Act.5:17 13:45; pl., ζῆλοι (see B1., § 32, 6),... | Tagged as
| WhereActs 5:17Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees… |
The words built on the same word-part
Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.
| Word | Written | Meaning | Uses |
|---|---|---|---|
| ζηλόω | zeloo | be eager | Uses11 |
All 16, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
4 spellings and their grammar
STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.
How it is spelled
- ζῆλος8
- ζῆλον4
- ζήλου2
- ζήλῳ2
The grammar of each form
- noun · nominative (subject) · masculine singular6N-NSM
- noun · accusative (object) · masculine singular4N-ASM
- noun · dative (“to / for”) · masculine singular2N-DSM
- noun · genitive (“of”) · masculine singular2N-GSM
- noun · accusative (object) · neuter singular1N-ASN
- noun · nominative (subject) · neuter singular1N-NSN
John
one use
His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for Your house will consume Me.”
- ζῆλοςzelosnoun · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: zeal
Acts
two uses
Then the high priest and all his associates, who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. They went out
- ζήλουzelounoun · genitive (“of”) · masculine singulartagged: with jealousy
But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
- ζήλουzelounoun · genitive (“of”) · masculine singulartagged: with jealousy
Romans
two uses
For I testify about them that they are zealous for God, but not on the basis of knowledge.
- ζῆλονzelonnoun · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: zeal
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
- ζήλῳzelonoun · dative (“to / for”) · masculine singulartagged: in jealousy
1 Corinthians
one use
for you are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and dissension among you, are you not worldly? Are you not walking in the way of man?
- ζῆλοςzelosnoun · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: jealousy
2 Corinthians
five uses
and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort he had received from you. He told us about your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced all the more.
- ζῆλονzelonnoun · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: zeal
Consider what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what vindication! In every way you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
- ζῆλονzelonnoun · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: zeal
For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting to the Macedonians that since last year you in Achaia were prepared to give. And your zeal has stirred most of them to do likewise.
- ζῆλοςzelosnoun · nominative (subject) · neuter singulartagged: zeal
I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
- ζήλῳzelonoun · dative (“to / for”) · masculine singulartagged: with jealousy
For I am afraid that when I come, I may not find you as I wish, and you may not find me as you wish. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, rage, rivalry, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.
- ζῆλοςzelosnoun · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: jealousy
Galatians
one use
idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,
- ζῆλοςzelosnoun · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: jealousy
Philippians
one use
as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.
- ζῆλοςzelosnoun · accusative (object) · neuter singulartagged: zeal
Hebrews
one use
but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.
- ζῆλοςzelosnoun · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: fury
James
two uses
But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
- ζῆλονzelonnoun · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: jealousy
For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.
- ζῆλοςzelosnoun · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: jealousy
Where it leads
How the numbers are counted
Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.
Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.
The words it stands beside are the nouns, verbs and adjectives immediately before or after it, counted in every verse where the word stands. The article, the conjunctions and the prepositions are left out, because they stand beside every word.
The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.