ζῷον

ζῷον, ου, τό (also ζῶον; for sp. B-D-F §26, Mlt-H. §36, L-S-J-M s.v.; cp. Rob. 194f; Pre-Socr., Hdt.+).

① a living creature, wild or domesticated, but not including plants, animal in our lit. exclusive of human beings (Diod S 3, 31, 2; 5, 45, 1; Epict. 3, 1, 1; Jos., Ant. 3, 228; apolog. [Tat. 15, 2 Περὶ ζώων] as book title) Hb 13:11; 1 Cl 20:4, 10; 33:3; B 10:7f; Ox 840, 4 (s. JJeremias, ConNeot 11, ’48, 98); Hm 12, 4, 1 v.l.; GJs 3:2 (tame animals, s. deStrycker ad loc. [opp. τὸ … λογικὸν ζῶον, ὁ ἄνθρωπος Just., D. 93, 3]). ἄλογα ζῷα (s. ἄλογος 1) 2 Pt 2:12; Jd 10.

② a creature that transcends normal descriptive categories and is freq. composite, living thing/being (cp. Diod S 4, 47, 3 of a dragon; OGI 90, 31 τῷ τε Ἄπει καὶ τῷ Μνεύει … καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἱεροῖς ζῴοις τοῖς ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ; PTebt 5, 78 [118 B.C.]; 57, 12; POxy 1188, 4; Herm. Wr. 11, 7; Ath. 18, 3; God no σύνθετον ζῶον ‘composite animal’ Just., D. 114, 3; Ath. 6, 3; of an embryo Ath. 35, 2) of the miraculous bird, the phoenix 1 Cl 25:3. Of the four peculiar beings at God’s throne, whose description Rv 4:6–9 reminds one of the ζῷα in Ezk 1:5ff, the cherubim. S. also Rv 5:6, 8, 11, 14; 6:1, 3, 5–7; 7:11; 14:3; 15:7; 19:4.

③ One isolated pass. in our lit. has ζῶα in the sense living creatures, including both humans and animals (Cornutus 16 p. 20, 20; Ael. Aristid. 45, 32 K.; Jos., Ant. 1, 41; Just., D. 4, 2; 107, 2) 1 Cl 9:4.—SLongsdale, Attitudes towards Animals in Ancient Greece: Greece and Rome, 2d ser. 26, ’79, 146–59 (lit.).—B. 137. DELG s.v. ζώω. M-M. TW.