ζωγρῶν in Luke 5:10

[Jedothek]

I just noticed something in Luke, and since I am sure that I am not the first to have noticed it , I would be interested in any comment someone might care to make . In my opinion, in Luke 5:10, zogron is a pun, meaning both taking and reviving, the phrase thus meaning either, You will take people as one takes fish in a net; and , You will raise people from the dead (e.g., Acts 9:36-40).

[Jason Hare]

I just noticed something in Luke, and since I am sure that I am not the first to have noticed it , I would be interested in any comment someone might care to make . In my opinion, in Luke 5:10, zogron is a pun, meaning both taking and reviving, the phrase thus meaning either, You will take people as one takes fish in a net; and , You will raise people from the dead (e.g., Acts 9:36-40).

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It's a great idea to post the Greek text that you're asking about (and to use Greek rather than English letters). In this case:

ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην υἱοὺς Ζεβεδαίου, οἳ ἦσαν κοινωνοὶ τῷ Σίμωνι. καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα ὁ Ἰησοῦς· Μὴ φοβοῦ· ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν.

The word ζωγρῶν is a present participle of ζωγρέω, as a part of a periphrastic verbal expression (ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν "you will be capturing alive"). It's about catching the men, not bringing them to life. It doesn't seem to me that there is anything there to insinuate what you're proposing.

[Barry Hofstetter]

I just noticed something in Luke, and since I am sure that I am not the first to have noticed it , I would be interested in any comment someone might care to make . In my opinion, in Luke 5:10, zogron is a pun, meaning both taking and reviving, the phrase thus meaning either, You will take people as one takes fish in a net; and , You will raise people from the dead (e.g., Acts 9:36-40).

Okay, I see where you might be getting this:

ζωγρέω, (ζωός, ἀγρέω) take, save alive, take captive instead of killing, ζώγρει, Ἀτρέος υἱέ, σὺ δʼ ἄξια δεξαι ἄποινα Il.6.46, cf. 10.378, Hdt.1.86, etc.; εἷλε .. καὶ ἐζώγρνσε Id.3.52; τοὺς μὲν ἀπέκτειναν, τινὰς δὲ καὶ ἐζώγρησαν Th.2.92; πλὴν ὅσον ἐκ τριῶν νεῶν οὓς ἐζώγρησαν Id.7.23; πλὴν μηδαμῇ μηδαμῶς ζωγροῦντας provided that they do not spare him alive, Pl.Lg.868c; opp. διαφθείρειν, ἀποκτεῖναι, Plb.3.84.10, LXXNu.31.18: metaph., ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν Ev.Luc.5.10; of ships, ἃς ἐζώγρησεν αὐτάνδρους Charito7.6:—Pass., Isoc.12.194, Hdt.1.66, 5.77.
II. restore to life and strength, revive, περὶ δὲ πνοιὴ Βορέαο ζώγρει ἐπιπνείουσα Il.5.698 (quoted by Aret.CA2.3); perh. activate, ἐπὶ φλογὶ ζωγρηθεῖσα χαλβάνη Nic.Th.51 (v.l. μοιρηθεῖσα), preserve alive, ζώγρει, δέσποτʼ ἄναξ, τὸν σὸν ναετῆρα Epigr.Gr.841.7 (Thrace, ii A.D.).

Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., Jones, H. S., & McKenzie, R. (1996). A Greek-English lexicon (p. 758). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

However, the context is one of drawing a metaphorical extension from real fishing, where people catch fish all the time, so I don't think that the second meaning listed in LSJ would be triggered for any of the original hearers or readers.

BDAG lists only the first meaning as current to the NT:

ζωγρέω (ζωός, ἀγρέω) fut. 2 pl. ζωγρήσετε Dt 20:16; aor. ἐζώγρησα LXX; pf. pass. ptc. ἐζωγρημένος (Hom. et al.; Kaibel 841, 7; LXX) capture alive (Suda: ζωγρεῖ· ζῶντας λαμβάνει. So as early as Hom.; also Hdt. 1, 86, 1; X., An. 4, 7, 22; Polyb. 3, 84, 10; Num 31:18; 2 Ch 25:12; Philo, Virt. 43; Jos., Bell. 2, 448, Ant. 9, 194; 20, 210; Tat. 18, 3) fig. ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν you will catch people i.e., win them for God’s kgdm. Lk 5:10 (on the metaphor of fishing cp. Aristaen., Ep. 2, 23 ἀντὶ ἰχθύων παρθένους ζ.). ἐζωγρημένοι ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ ἐκείνου θέλημα held captive by him (the devil) to perform his (the devil’s; s. B-D-F §291, 6; Rob. 707; on the thought cp. Vi. Aesopi W 106 P. εἱμαρμένη ἐζώγρησεν fate caught [me] to destroy [Aesop]) will 2 Ti 2:26 (differently LBunn, ET 41, 1930, 235–37).—DELG s.v. ζωάγρια. M-M. Spicq.

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., pp. 429–430). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.