φιλέω

filevw filevw,
filw'; imperfect 3 person singular
ejfivlei; 1 aorist
ejfivlhsa; perfect
pefivlhka; (
fivlo"); from Homer down;1. to love; to be friendly to one (the Septuagint several times for bh'a;):
tina, ; (here L marginal reading
ajgapa'/); ,; ; ; ; ; ; ; with
ejn
pivstei added, with a love founded in and springing from faith, ;
tiv, to love i. e. delight in, long for, a thing:
thvn
prwtoklisivan, ;
ajspasmouv", ;
thvn
yuchvn, to be desirous of preserving one's life (opposed to
misei'n, to hate it when it cannot be kept without denying Christ), ; with nouns denoting virtues or vices:
tov
yeu'do", (
sofivan, ; ); followed by an infinitive, like the Latin amo facere, to love to do, i. e. to do with pleasure: (; Pindar Nem. 1,15; Aeschylus septem 619; Agam. 763; Suppl. 769; Euripides, Iph. Taur. 1198; Rhes. 394; Xenophon, hipparch. 7, 9; Aelian v. h. 14, 37).2. to kiss:
tina, ; ; (often in the Greek writings; the Septuagint for qv'n:, f, and often).3. As to the distinction between
ajgapa'n and
filei'n: the former, by virtue of its connection with
a[gamai, properly denotes a love founded in admiration, veneration, esteem, like the Latin diligere, to be kindly disposed to one, wish one well; but
filei'n denotes an inclination prompted by sense and emotion, Latin amare;
oJ
mhv
tou'
deovmeno"
oujdev
tiv
ajgapwh
a[n.
oJ
dev
mhv
ajgapwh (
ajgapw'n (?)),
ojud!
a[n
fivloi, Plato, Lysias, p. 215 b.;
ejfilhsate
aujtovn (Julius Caesar)
wJ"
patevra
kaiv
hjgaphsate
wJ"
eujergevthn, Dio Cassius, 44, 48; ut scires, eum a me non diligt solum, verum etiam amari, Cicero, ad fam. 13, 47; L. Clodius valde me diligit vel, ut
ejmfatikwteron dicam, valde me amat, id. ad Brut. 1. Hence, men are said
ajgapa'n God, not
filei'n; and God is said
ajgaph'sai
tovn
kovsmon (), and
filei'n the disciples of Christ (); Christ bids us
ajgapa'n (not
filei'n)
touv"
ejcqrouv" (), because love as an emotion cannot be commanded, but only love as a choice. Wisdom says,
touv"
ejmev
filou'nta"
ajgapw', . As a futher aid in judging of the different, between the two words compare the following passages: ,,; ; (even in some eases where they might appear to be used interchangeably (e. g. ; ) the difference can still be traced). From what has been said, it is evident that
ajgapa'n is not, and cannot be, used of sexual love (but it is so used occasionally by the later writers; cf. Plutarch, Pericl. 24, 12, p. 165 e.; symp. 7, p. 180 b.
oJ
ejrwvmeno"
tovn
ejrasthn
ajgapa'/; cf. Stephanus' Thesaurus i., p. 209 a.; Sophocles' Lexicon, under the word
ajgapavw, 2; Woolsey in the Andover Rev. for Aug. 1885, p. 170f). Cf. Tittma