Greek word · G4800

συζάω

syzaō

to live together

'To live together with.' In Paul it is used for sharing Christ's risen life, which is future in resurrection and already at work in the present.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

συν-ζάω (Rec. συζ-),

to live with: opposite to συναποθανεῖν, 2 Corinthians 7:3; of life in union with Christ, here and hereafter, Romans 6:8, 2 Timothy 2:11.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: 'To live together with.' In Paul it is used for sharing Christ's risen life, which is future in resurrection and already at work in the present.
Against the English: English 'live with him' can sound like 'spend time with him' or 'cohabit'. The Greek pairs death with life: those who share his death share the life that came out of his death, which is resurrection life.
Used elsewhere in the period: Three NT uses: Rom 6:8 (future, 'we will also live with him'), 2 Cor 7:3 (the friendship pledge 'to die together and live together'), and here. Rom 6:4–11 gives the risen life a present ethical side too ('walk in newness of life'). Jewish martyr literature has a similar shape: those who die for God's law live to God (4 Maccabees 7:19; 16:25).

Range of meaning: συζάω means 'to live together with, share life with'. The word is rare in the New Testament: here, 2 Cor 7:3, and 2 Tim 2:11. In Greek ethical writing it was a characteristic word of friendship: friends are those who 'live together' and share life.
Against the English: Most English versions say 'live with him', which is accurate. The compound adds the sense of a shared, joined life: not only living in Christ's presence, but sharing the life he now has, a life beyond death's reach (v. 9).
Used elsewhere in the period: Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics books 8–9, repeatedly names τὸ συζῆν ('living together') as a mark of true friendship. Paul himself pairs 'dying together and living together' in 2 Cor 7:3 ('you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together'), echoing a Greek expression of loyal friendship. 2 Tim 2:11 preserves what looks like an early Christian saying: 'If we died with him, we will also live with him.'

Romans · 1

Romans 6:8 συζήσομεν we will live with

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.

Here: 'We will live together with': a compound of 'with' + 'live', in the future tense. It points to sharing Christ's risen life. That life is fully realized in the coming resurrection, and Paul says it already shapes how believers live now (6:4, 6:11).

2 Corinthians · 1

2 Corinthians 7:3 συζῆν. to live together.

I do not say this to condemn you. I have said before that you so occupy our hearts that we live and die together with you.

2 Timothy · 1

2 Timothy 2:11 συζήσομεν· we will live with [Him];

This is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him;

Here: 'We shall live together with [him]': future tense. It is a promise of sharing Christ's risen life, most naturally the resurrection life to come, which v. 12 goes on to call 'reigning with him'.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.