WG: Death, Life, Sin, Hades, Resurrection
Overview
The NT death-cluster organizes around a five-axis framework: death as noun (thanatos), its verbal causative (thanatoo), the realm of the dead (hades), death's source (hamartia/sin), death's antonym (zoe/life), and death's reversal (anastasis/resurrection). Romans 5–8 is the theological center of gravity where five of the six members converge.
Word Group Members
| Strong's |
Word |
Transliteration |
POS |
Occurrences |
Role in Concept |
Library Entry |
| G2288 |
θάνατος |
thánatos |
masculine noun |
106 |
The state/event of death |
G2288 |
| G2289 |
θανατόω |
thanatóō |
verb |
11 |
The act: to put to death, mortify |
TODO(need G2289 study) |
| G2222 |
ζωή |
zōḗ |
feminine noun |
126 |
Primary antonym: life |
G2222-zoe |
| G266 |
ἁμαρτία |
hamartía |
feminine noun |
151 |
Death's cause: sin |
TODO(need G266 study) |
| G86 |
ᾅδης |
háidēs |
locative noun |
11 |
Death's realm: hades |
TODO(need G86 study) |
| G386 |
ἀνάστασις |
anástasis |
feminine noun |
40 |
Death's reversal: resurrection |
TODO(need G386 study) |
Relationships
Word Family
- G2288 θάνατος and G2289 θανατόω share the same root (θνήσκω — to die); thanatos = the noun, thanatoo = the causative verb
Co-occurrence (shared distinct verses)
| Word A |
Word B |
Shared Verses |
Typical Context |
| G2288 thanatos |
G2222 zoe |
19x |
"death...life" antithesis axis (Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 3:22; 1 John 3:14) |
| G2288 thanatos |
G266 hamartia |
12x |
Sin-death nexus: sin produces death (Rom 5:12; 6:23; James 1:15) |
| G2288 thanatos |
G86 hades |
5x |
Death and Hades paired as realm + state (Rev 6:8; 20:13–14; 1 Cor 15:55) |
| G2288 thanatos |
G386 anastasis |
4x |
Death contrasted with resurrection (Rom 6:5; Php 3:10) |
| G2222 zoe |
G266 hamartia |
6x |
Sin and life: grace over sin leads to life (Rom 5:21; 8:2) |
| G86 hades |
G386 anastasis |
1x |
Hades could not hold the resurrected Christ (Acts 2:31) |
Shared Hebrew Sources
| Hebrew |
Strong's |
Bridges To |
Notes |
| מָוֶת maveth |
H4194 |
G2288, G86, G2222 |
Primary source of thanatos; also rendered hades and occasionally zoe in LXX contrasts |
| חַי chay |
H2416 |
G2222, G2288 |
"Living" — bridges thanatos/zoe axis; "living death" contexts |
| שְׁאוֹל sheol |
H7585 |
G86 |
Primary Hebrew source of hades (PMI 33.87) |
| מוּת muth |
H4191 |
G2289, G2288 |
Die/kill verb → thanatoo (PMI 23.57) |
| נֶפֶשׁ nephesh |
H5315 |
G2222, G86 |
Soul/life concept; nephesh bridges into zoe and hades via LXX |
Roles in the Concept
- The state: θάνατος (thanatos) — death as noun: what is experienced, feared, defeated
- The act: θανατόω (thanatoo) — to cause death; also "mortify" (Rom 8:13) as spiritual practice
- The realm: ᾅδης (hades) — where the dead reside; thanatos and hades always move together in Revelation
- The cause: ἁμαρτία (hamartia) — sin generates death (Rom 6:23); removing sin removes death's basis
- The antonym: ζωή (zoe) — life is not merely the absence of thanatos but its active opposite (John 5:24)
- The reversal: ἀνάστασις (anastasis) — resurrection undoes thanatos; the final enemy destroyed (1 Cor 15:26)
Key Passages Where Multiple Group Words Appear Together
- Rom 5:21 — [G2288 + G2222 + G266] — "sin hath reigned unto death...grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life"
- Rom 6:23 — [G2288 + G2222 + G266] — "the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life"
- Rom 8:2 — [G2288 + G2222 + G266] — "the law of sin and death...the Spirit of life"
- 1 John 5:16 — [G2288 + G2222 + G266] — "a sin which is not unto death...shall give him life"
- Rev 20:13–14 — [G2288 + G86 + G386 implied] — "death and hell delivered up the dead...cast into the lake of fire"
Generated from: gather_word_group_data.py (G2288 G2222 G266 G86 G386 G2289)
Last updated: 2026-04-01