Greek word · G6041
ζηλεύω
zēleuō
to envy
To be zealous, eager or ardent; to strive after something with burning commitment. It is a rarer form of ζηλόω (zēloō), which can mean zeal in a good sense or jealousy and envy in a bad sense, depending on context.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ζηλεύω,
late and rare form of ζηλόω, which see;
1. to envy, be jealous.
2. to be zealous: Revelation 3:19.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Revelation 3:19
- Range of meaning
To be zealous, eager or ardent; to strive after something with burning commitment. It is a rarer form of ζηλόω (zēloō), which can mean zeal in a good sense or jealousy and envy in a bad sense, depending on context.
- Against the English
'Be zealous' (KJV, WEB, ESV, NASB) is literal. 'Be earnest' (BSB, NIV) avoids the modern sense of 'fanatic' but loses the heat. NLT 'be diligent' loses even more of it.
- How it drifted
The supplied gloss 'to envy' fits the bad sense of the word family, not this verse. Here the sense is clearly positive, fervent commitment.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The word family is used for Phinehas's zeal for God (Num 25:11–13, Septuagint) and for Paul's former zeal (Gal 1:14). The ζηλεύω form is rare and appears in some Greek writers as a variant of ζηλόω. Ancient writers commonly linked ζῆλος with ζέω, 'to boil'.
Where it appears
Revelation · 1
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Revelation 3:19 ζήλευε do be jealous
Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore be earnest and repent.
Here: 'Be fervent, burn with zeal.' This is the cure for being 'lukewarm' (3:16), and its sound recalls 'hot' (zestos, 3:15). The present tense asks for a lasting state: keep being on fire.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.