βίος, -ου, ὁ,
[in LXX chiefly for יָמִים;]
1. period or course of life, life: Lk 8:14, I Ti 2:2, II Ti 2:4, I Jo 2:16.
2. living, livelihood, means (in Pr 31:14 for לֶחֶם; v. DCG, ii, 39a): Mk 12:44, Lk 8:4315:12, 3021:4, I Jo 3:17.†
SYN.: ζωή, is life intensive, "vita quâ vivimus," the vital principle; βίος, life extensive, "vita quam vivimus," (1) the period of life, (2) the means by which it is sustained. Hence, in cl., ζ., being confined to the physical life common to men and animals, is the inferior word (cf. zoology, biography). In NT, ζωή is elevated into the ethical and spiritual sphere (cf. Tr., Syn., § xxvii).