ἀγαπάω,
-ῶ; [imperfect
ἠγάπων]; future
ἀγαπήσω; 1 aorist
ἠγάπησα; perfect active [1 person plural
ἠγαπήκαμεν,
1 John 4:10 WH text], participle
ἠγαπηκώς (
2 Timothy 4:8); passive [present
ἀγαπῶμαι]; perfect participle
ἠγαπημένος; 1 future
ἀγαπηθήσομαι; (akin to
ἄγαμαι [Fick, Part 4:12; see
ἀγαθός, at the beginning]);
to love, to be full of good-will and exhibit the same:
Luke 7:47;
1 John 4:7f; with the accusative of the person,
to have a preference for, wish well to, regard the welfare of:
Matthew 5:43ff;
Matthew 19:19;
Luke 7:5;
John 11:5;
Romans 13:8;
2 Corinthians 11:11;
2 Corinthians 12:15;
Galatians 5:14;
Ephesians 5:25,
28;
1 Peter 1:22, and elsewhere; used often in the First Epistle of John of the love of Christians toward one another; of the benevolence which God, in providing salvation for men, has exhibited by sending his Son to them and giving him up to death,
John 3:16;
Romans 8:37;
2 Thessalonians 2:16;
1 John 4:11,
19; [noteworthy is
Jude 1:1 L T Tr WH
τοῖς ἐν Θεῷ πατρί ἠγαπημένοις; see
ἐν, I. 4, and cf. Bp. Lightfoot on
Colossians 3:12]; of the love which led Christ, in procuring human salvation, to undergo sufferings and death,
Galatians 2:20;
Ephesians 5:2; of the love with which God regards Christ,
John 3:35; [
John 3:20 L marginal reading];
John 10:17;
15:9;
Ephesians 1:6. When used of love to a master, God or Christ, the word involves the idea of affectionate reverence, prompt obedience, grateful recognition of benefits received:
Matthew 6:24;
Matthew 22:37;
Romans 8:28;
1 Corinthians 2:9;
1 Corinthians 8:3;
James 1:12;
1 Peter 1:8;
1 John 4:10,
20, and elsewhere. With an accusative of the thing
ἀγαπάω denotes
to take pleasure in the thing, prize it above other things, be unwilling to abandon it or do without it: δικαιοσύνην,
Hebrews 1:9 (i. e. steadfastly to cleave to);
τήν δόξαν,
John 12:43;
τήν πρωτοκαθεδρίαν,
Luke 11:43;
τό σκότος; and
τό φῶς,
John 3:19;
τόν κόσμον.
1 John 2:15;
τόν νῦν αἰῶνα,
2 Timothy 4:10, — both which last phrases signify to set the heart on earthly advantages and joys;
τήν ψυχήν αὐτῶν,
Revelation 12:11;
ζωήν,
1 Peter 3:10 (to derive pleasure from life, render it agreeable to himself);
to welcome with desire, long for:
τήν ἐπιφάνειαν αὐτοῦ,
2 Timothy 4:8 (Wis. 1:1 Wis. 6:13; Sir. 4:12, etc.; so of a person:
ἠγαπήθη, Wis. 4:10, cf. Grimm at the passage). Concerning the unique proof of love which Jesus gave the apostles by washing their feet, it is said
ἠγάπησεν αὐτούς,
John 13:1, cf. Lücke or Meyer at the passage (but others take
ήγάπ. here more comprehensively, see Weiss's Meyer, Godet, Westcott, Keil]. The combination
ἀγάπην ἀγαπᾶν τινα occurs, when a relative intervenes, in
John 17:26;
Ephesians 2:4 (
2 Samuel 13:15 where
τό μῖσος ὁ ἐμίσησεν αὐτήν is contrasted; cf.
Genesis 49:25 εὐλόγησε σε εὐλογίαν; Psalms of Solomon 17:35 [in manuscript Pseudepig. Vet. Test. edition Fabric. i., p. 966; Libri Apocr. etc., edition Fritzsche, p. 588]
δόξαν ἥν ἐδόξασεν αὐτήν); cf.
Winers Grammar, § 32, 2; [
Buttmann, 148f (129)]; Grimm on 1 Macc. 2:54.
On the difference between
ἀγαπάω and
φιλέω, see
φιλέω. Cf.
ἀγάπη, 1 at the end.
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