volume 16, issue 1, 2024, pages 103-115

DOI: https://doi.org/10.64438/sbsANBL4727
Published online: 2024-06-01
Published in print: 2024-06-30

Abstract: The verb ζωγρέω most frequently appear in the context of war, with the object of inimical soldiers who are “caught alive”, i.e. they were captured, not killed. This meaning is in accordance with the verbʼs obvious etymology. The meaning “preserve alive, save life” (in any context), though less frequent, has been attested since the earliest period, and in the Septuagint it dominates. When translating ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν in Luke 5:10, there is no reason to insist on the meaning of “catching” found in the majority of translations. The correct meaning in this context is “save (peopleʼs) lives”. On the basis of the synonymity with the verb ζωοποιέω, there is a possibility of a semantic shift towards “bring (people) to a (better) life”.