Did you know there are 3 Greek words for life?

Life in the New Testament is translated from 3 main terms, all of which will sound familiar to you.

1. ψυχή (psuchē) = breath, spirit, soul, mind or life

2. ζωή (zōē) = life

3. βίος (bios) = life or livelihood, living

In the New Testament, ψυχή (psuchē) often refers to one's actual life:

"The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 (ψυχή, psuchē) as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28, ESV)

But it is also frequently translated "soul."

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul ψυχή (psuchē) and with all your mind."

The division between life, soul, mind and spirit is difficult to determine, whether in Biblical times or today.

As an example, ψυχή (psuchē) is used 4 times in these 2 verses:

"For those who want to save their life (ψυχή, psuchē) will lose it, and those who lose their life (ψυχή, psuchē) for my sake will find it. For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life (ψυχή, psuchē)? Or what will they give in return for their life (ψυχή, psuchē)?" (Matthew 16:25-26, NRSVUE)

But many translations (in English and in other languages) use "life" in verse 25 and "soul" in verse 26.

"For whoever wants to save their life (ψυχή, psuchē) will lose it, but whoever loses their life (ψυχή, psuchē) for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul (ψυχή, psuchē)? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul (ψυχή, psuchē)?" (Matthew 16:25-26, NIV)

Nobody uses "soul" in verse 25, though... 

ζωή (zōē) is where we get zoology. Hence "zoo".

But in the New Testament, ζωή (zōē) usually means eternal life.

"Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:14-15)

The same Greek words (ζωὴν αἰώνιον, zōēv aiōnion) are used for "eternal life" in John 3:16, but did you realize the whole phrase is in both verses?

You might think that physical "life" in the Greek New Testament is from βίος (bios) like biology.

But βίος (bios) in the New Testament is more often used to mean the resources you have to live on, like making a living. Property or finances.

A good example is the story of the poor widow who puts 2 pennies into the treasury. 

Here is Luke's version:

"Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, 
and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 
And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on (βίον, bion).” (Luke 21:1-4, ESV)

Looking at how βίος (bios) is used throughout the New Testament (only 10 times) gives you a different take on verses like this one:

"For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life (βίου, biou)—is not from the Father but is from the world." (I John 2:16)

Makes me think it means "pride of possessions" rather than just "life."

"Life" in Greek can be ψυχή (psuchē), ζωή (zōē) or βίος (bios).

All of these are familiar to English speakers. But the differences (or similarities!) can be difficult or impossible to see if all you read is the English translation. 

By the way, there are also 3 Hebrew words for life. The Hebrew words נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh), רוּח (ruach) and חי (chay) correspond pretty well to ψυχή (psuchē), ζωή (zōē) and βίος (bios). 

Interested in learning to do this yourself? Check out our course "Using Greek (and Hebrew) Bible Study Tools".