Greek verb · G2206
ζηλόω
zeloodzay-lo'-o
to burn with envy or jealousy, to be jealousy; to seek or desire eagerly
11 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key
Concordance spelling: zēlóō
Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G2206is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.
- 5 of 27New Testament books
- 6spellings
- 2meanings
The definition in full
Strong's key (1890) · G2206
to have warmth of feeling for or against
The King James renders it: affect, covet (earnestly), (have) desire, (move with) envy, be jealous over, (be) zealous(-ly affect).
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
zeloo is rendered "to burn with envy or jealousy, to be jealousy; to seek or desire eagerly". It stands 11 times in the Greek text, across five books.
- Four of the uses stand in 1 Corinthians, more than in any other book.
- The lexicon lists two meanings for it, beginning with "to burn with envy or jealousy, to be jealousy".
- Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Acts 7:9Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- The Greek text spells it six different ways.
The first use
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
Acts 7:9ζηλώσαντες
The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.
Where the word stands
Four of the word's eleven uses are in 1 Corinthians.
What the word means
The word carries two meanings: to burn with envy or jealousy, to be jealousy, and to seek or desire eagerly.
Each meaning, and the words it is translated by
| Meaning | Tagged as | Where |
|---|---|---|
| to burn with envy or jealousy, to be jealousy | Tagged as
| WhereActs 7:9Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt… |
| to seek or desire eagerly | Tagged as
| Where1 Corinthians 12:31But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ζῆλος | zelos | zeal | Uses16 |
All 11, in canonical order
Every use, in order
Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.
6 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
- ζηλοῦτε5
- ζηλώσαντες2
- ζηλοῖ1
- ζηλοῦσθαι1
- ζηλοῦσιν1
- ζηλῶ1
The grammar of each form
- verb · present active, command · 2nd person plural3V-PAM-2P
- verb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine plural2V-AAP-NPM
- verb · present active, indicative · 1st person singular1V-PAI-1S
- verb · present active, indicative · 2nd person plural1V-PAI-2P
- verb · present active, indicative · 3rd person plural1V-PAI-3P
- verb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singular1V-PAI-3S
- verb · present active, subjunctive · 2nd person plural1V-PAS-2P
- verb · present middle, infinitive (“to…”)1V-PMN
Acts
two uses
Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- ζηλώσαντεςzelosantesverb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: having envied
The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people.
- Ζηλώσαντεςzelosantesverb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: Having become jealous
1 Corinthians
four uses
But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.
- ζηλοῦτεzelouteverb · present active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do be desirous of
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
- ζηλοῖzeloiverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: is envious
Earnestly pursue love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.
- ζηλοῦτεzelouteverb · present active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do earnestly desire
So, my brothers, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues.
- ζηλοῦτεzelouteverb · present active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do earnestly desire
2 Corinthians
one use
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.
- ζηλῶzeloverb · present active, indicative · 1st person singulartagged: I am jealous as to
Galatians
three uses
Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them.
- ζηλοῦσινzelousinverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: They are zealous after
- ζηλοῦτεzelouteverb · present active, subjunctive · 2nd person pluraltagged: you may be zealous after
Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not only when I am with you.
- ζηλοῦσθαιzelousthaiverb · present middle, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to be zealous
James
one use
You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask.
- ζηλοῦτεzelouteverb · present active, indicative · 2nd person pluraltagged: covet
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 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.