What does ζητέω · περιποιέομαι · ψυχή mean in the Bible?
ζητέω · περιποιέομαι · ψυχή is a Greek phrase meaning "seeks to preserve/acquire his life".
Greek · G2212, G4046, G5590
ζητήσῃ ... περιποιήσασθαι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ
To seek · to gain · soul
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Words in this compound — expand to study each participant
ζητέω G2212 to seek
Pronunciation zētéō
To seek actively and intentionally, often implying desire, striving, or demanding rather than passive searching.
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περιποιέομαι G4046 to gain
Pronunciation peripoiéomai
To preserve or gain something by deliberate action, emphasizing possession acquired for oneself.
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ψυχή G5590 soul
Pronunciation psychḗ
The animating life-principle that encompasses will, desires, and affections as the seat of personal identity
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What does ζητήσῃ ... περιποιήσασθαι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ (zētēsē ... peripoiēsasthai tēn psychēn autou) mean in the Bible?
ζητέω · περιποιέομαι · ψυχή is a Greek phrase meaning "seeks to preserve/acquire his life".
Full entry for ζητήσῃ ... περιποιήσασθαι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ (G2212, G4046, G5590) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How many biblical occurrences are listed for G2212, G4046, G5590?
G2212, G4046, G5590 is connected to 117 lexical occurrence verses in the lexicon data.
Evidence Summary
Greek phrase. seeks to preserve/acquire his life
Source Gloss
seeks to preserve/acquire his life
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 5 Aligned forms 117 Tenses Imperfect, Present, Future, Aorist Voices Active, Passive
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 75×
Present Active Matt 28:5 · Mark 16:6 · Luke 24:5 · John 1:38 · John 5:44 · John 6:26 · John 7:19 · John 8:37 · John 8:40 · John 16:19 · John 18:4 · John 18:7 · John 18:8 · Acts 10:21 · 2 Cor 13:3 · Matt 18:12 36×
Imperfect Active Matt 26:59 · Mark 11:18 · Mark 12:12 · Mark 14:1 · Mark 14:55 · Luke 5:18 · Luke 6:19 · Luke 11:16 · Luke 19:47 · Luke 22:2 · John 5:18 · John 7:1 · John 7:11 · John 7:30 · John 10:39 · John 11:8 27×
Future Active John 7:34 · John 7:36 · John 8:21 · John 13:33 · Luke 13:24 · Rev 9:6 6×
Aorist Active Luke 20:19 · Acts 16:10 · 2 Tim 1:17 3×
Future Passive Luke 12:48 1×
Present Passive 1 Cor 4:2 1×
Imperfect Passive Heb 8:7 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 26×
Present Active Matt 2:20 · Matt 12:46 · Matt 12:47 · Matt 21:46 · Mark 8:11 · John 6:24 · Acts 10:19 · Rom 10:3 · Gal 2:17 · 1 Thess 2:6 · Matt 7:8 · Luke 11:10 · Luke 13:6 · Luke 13:7 · John 7:18 · John 8:50 26×
Imperative command or strong request 12×
Present Active Matt 6:33 · Matt 7:7 · Luke 11:9 · Luke 12:29 · Luke 12:31 · 1 Cor 14:12 · Col 3:1 · 1 Cor 7:27 · 1 Cor 10:24 10×
Aorist Active Acts 9:11 · 1 Pet 3:11 2×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 3×
Present Active Matt 2:13 · Acts 17:27 2×
Aorist Active Luke 19:10 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 1×
Aorist Active Luke 17:33 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 116 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 75 imperfect 28 future 7 aorist 6
Voice
active 113 passive 3
Mood
indicative 75 participle 26 imperative 12 infinitive 2 subjunctive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 2:13 ζητεῖν present active infinitive infinitive Matthew 2:20 ζητοῦντες present active participle participle Matthew 6:33 ζητεῖτε present active imperative imperative Matthew 7:7 ζητεῖτε present active imperative imperative Matthew 7:8 ζητῶν present active participle participle Matthew 12:43 ζητοῦν present active participle participle Matthew 12:46 ζητοῦντες present active participle participle Matthew 12:47 ζητοῦντές present active participle participle Matthew 13:45 ζητοῦντι present active participle participle Matthew 18:12 ζητεῖ present active indicative ongoing Matthew 21:46 ζητοῦντες present active participle participle Matthew 26:16 ἐζήτει imperfect active indicative background Matthew 26:59 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Matthew 28:5 ζητεῖτε present active indicative ongoing Mark 1:37 ζητοῦσίν present active indicative ongoing Mark 3:32 ζητοῦσίν present active indicative ongoing Mark 8:11 ζητοῦντες present active participle participle Mark 8:12 ζητεῖ present active indicative ongoing Mark 11:18 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Mark 12:12 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Mark 14:1 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Mark 14:11 ἐζήτει imperfect active indicative background Mark 14:55 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Mark 16:6 ζητεῖτε present active indicative ongoing Luke 2:48 ἐζητοῦμέν imperfect active indicative background Luke 2:49 ἐζητεῖτέ imperfect active indicative background Luke 5:18 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Luke 6:19 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Luke 9:9 ἐζήτει imperfect active indicative background Luke 11:10 ζητῶν present active participle participle Luke 11:16 ἐζήτουν imperfect active indicative background Luke 11:24 ζητοῦν present active participle participle Luke 11:29 ζητεῖ present active indicative ongoing Luke 11:9 ζητεῖτε present active imperative imperative Luke 12:29 ζητεῖτε present active imperative imperative Luke 12:31 ζητεῖτε present active imperative imperative Luke 12:48 ζητηθήσεται future passive indicative prospective Luke 13:24 ζητήσουσιν future active indicative prospective Luke 13:6 ζητῶν present active participle participle Luke 13:7 ζητῶν present active participle participle
+76 more occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Word Origins
ζητήσῃ ... περιποιήσασθαι τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
Cross-Language Connections
Hebrew roots and equivalents that share conceptual or etymological ground with this Greek word.
נֶפֶשׁ nafsho H5315 Related Hebrew
properly, a breathing creature , i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality ; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)
רוּחַ rûaḥ H7307 Related Hebrew
wind ; by resemblance breath , i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation ; figuratively, life , anger , unsubstantiality ; by extension, a region of the sky ; by resemblance spirit , but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions)
חַי ḥay H2416 Related Hebrew
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
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain