Lexical Summary zémia: Loss, damage, forfeit Original Word: ζημία Strong's Exhaustive Concordance damage, loss. Probably akin to the base of damazo (through the idea of violence); detriment -- damage, loss. see GREEK damazo HELPS Word-studies Cognate: 2209 zēmía – damage (detriment); a mercantile term for "loss"; a "bad deal" (unsuccessful business transaction) which results in a fine (penalty, forfeiture). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originof uncertain origin Definition damage NASB Translation loss (4). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 2209: ζημίαζημία, ζημίας, ἡ, damage, loss (Sophocles, Herodotus down): Acts 27:10, 21; ἡγεῖσθαι ζημίαν (Xenophon, mem. 2, 4, 3; τινα, accusative of person, 2, 3, 2), τί, to regard a thing as a loss: Philippians 3:7 (opposed to κέρδος), 8. Topical Lexicon ζημία (Strong’s Greek 2209) Overview of Usage The term functions in Koine Greek to express material damage, financial loss, or personal disadvantage. In Scripture it extends beyond economics, describing any forfeiture—temporal or eternal—that results when created goods are preferred to the will of God. All four New Testament occurrences appear in Luke’s and Paul’s writings, with two in a literal, nautical setting (Acts 27) and two in Paul’s theological accounting (Philippians 3). Occurrences in the New Testament • Acts 27:10 Paul’s Nautical Warnings (Acts 27) Traveling as a prisoner to Rome, Paul tells the centurion and crew, “Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss to the cargo and ship, and also to our own lives” (Acts 27:10). After the storm begins, he reminds them, “You should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have avoided this disaster and loss” (Acts 27:21). Here ζημία depicts tangible ruin—wrecked vessel, discarded cargo, threatened lives. The word underlines the cost of ignoring God-given counsel. Although the ship is eventually destroyed, divine mercy spares every passenger, showing that material ζημία need not equal ultimate ruin when God intervenes. The Accounting of the Apostle (Philippians 3) In Philippians Paul transfers the word from the harbor to the heart: “Whatever was an asset to me, I count as loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:7). He intensifies the contrast in verse 8: “More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ”. An impressive résumé—circumcision, pedigree, zeal, legal blamelessness—once seemed spiritual capital; in light of Christ it is revealed as ζημία. Paul uses a commercial metaphor: gains and losses on a ledger. All human credentials move from the “assets” column to the “liabilities” column when measured against the infinite worth of the Savior. Semantic and Theological Dimensions 1. Material Loss: The Acts passages show ζημία in its plain sense—damage to property and danger to life. Old Testament and Intertestamental Background In the Septuagint ζημία appears for Hebrew words denoting penalty or retribution (e.g., Exodus 21:22, “pay the penalty,” LXX ζημία). The legal setting anticipates Paul’s commercial imagery: wrongdoing incurs a debt. Intertestamental literature uses the term for damages assessed in lawsuits, embedding the idea of measurable loss within Jewish legal thought familiar to Paul. Historical and Cultural Factors Maritime commerce of the first century carried high risk. Shipowners faced bankruptcy if storms ruined cargo. Against that backdrop Acts 27 resonates: the crew’s fear of ζημία is financially and existentially real. Philippi, by contrast, was a Roman colony proud of civic status. Paul’s declaration that elite advantages are ζημία would have jarred citizens accustomed to calculating worth by heritage and accomplishments. Doctrinal Implications • Justification by Faith: Philippians teaches that trust in works is not merely inadequate; it is detrimental—a net loss—because it diverts faith from Christ. Practical and Pastoral Applications 1. Evaluating Priorities: Believers must continually reassess what is counted as “gain,” surrendering anything that competes with knowing Christ. Summary Strong’s Greek 2209 crystallizes the biblical principle that all earthly gain is expendable when compared to the surpassing value of Christ and obedience to His word. Whether warning sailors of imminent wreck or teaching saints to renounce religious self-reliance, Scripture employs ζημία to reorient hearts from transient treasure to eternal profit. Forms and Transliterations ζημιαν ζημίαν ζημιας ζημίας zemian zemían zēmian zēmían zemias zemías zēmias zēmíasLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Acts 27:10 N-GFSGRK: καὶ πολλῆς ζημίας οὐ μόνον NAS: and great loss, not only KJV: and much damage, not only INT: and much loss not only Acts 27:21 N-AFS Philippians 3:7 N-AFS Philippians 3:8 N-AFS Strong's Greek 2209 |
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