Original Word: σῴζω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: sózó
Pronunciation: so'-zo
Phonetic Spelling: (sode'-zo)
KJV: heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole
NASB: saved, save, made well, made well, get well, bring safely, cured
Word Origin: [from a primary sos (contraction for obsolete saos, "safe")]

1. to save, i.e. deliver or protect
{literally or figuratively}

heal, be made whole.

From a primary sos (contraction for obsolete saos, "safe"); to save, i.e. Deliver or protect (literally or figuratively) -- heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.

4982 sṓzō (from sōs, "safe, rescued") – properly, deliver out of danger and into safety; used principally of God rescuing believers from the penalty and power of sin – and into His provisions (safety).

[4982 (sṓzō) is the root of: 4990 /sōtḗr ("Savior"), 4991 /sōtēría ("salvation") and the adjectival form, 4992 /sōtḗrion (what is "saved/rescued from destruction and brought into divine safety").]

Word Origin
from sós (safe, well)
Definition
to save
NASB Translation
bring...safely (1), cured (1), ensure salvation (1), get (1), get well (2), made...well (6), made well (5), preserved (1), recover (1), restore (1), save (36), saved (50), saves (1), saving (1).

STRONGS NT 4982: σῴζω

σῴζω (others, σῴζω (cf. WH. Introductory § 410; Meisterhans, p. 87)); future σώσω; 1 aorist ἔσωσα; perfect σέσωκα; passive, present σώζομαι; imperfect ἐσωζομην; perfect 3 person singular (Acts 4:9) σέσωσται and (according to Tdf.) σέσωται (cf. Kühner, 1:912; (Photius, under the word; Rutherford, New Phryn., p. 99; Veitch, under the word)); 1 aorist ἐσώθην; 1 future σωθήσομαι; (σῶς 'safe and sound' (cf. Latinsanus; Curtius, § 570; Vanicek, p. 1038)); from Homer down; the Sept. very often for הושִׁיעַ , also for מִלֵּט, נִצֵּל, and הִצִּיל, sometimes for עָזַר; to save, to keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction (opposed to ἀπόλλυμι, which see); Vulg.salvumfacio (orfio),salvo (salvifico, libero, etc.);

a. universally, τινα, one (from injury or peril); to save a suffering one (from perishing), e. g. one suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health: Matthew 9:22; Mark 5:34; Mark 10:52; Luke 7:50 (others understand this as including spiritual healing (see b. below)); Luke 8:48; Luke 17:19; Luke 18:42; James 5:15; passive, Matthew 9:21; Mark 5:23, 28; Mark 6:56; Luke 8:36, 50; John 11:12; Acts 4:9 (cf. Buttmann, § 144, 25); . to preserve one who is in danger of destruction, to save (i. e. rescue): Matthew 8:25; Matthew 14:30; Matthew 24:22; Matthew 27:40, 42, 49; Mark 13:20; Mark 15:30; Luke 23:35, 37, 39; passive, Acts 27:20, 31; 1 Peter 4:18; τήν ψυχήν, (physical) life, Matthew 16:25; Mark 3:4; Mark 8:35; Luke 6:9; Luke 9:24 and R G L in ; σῴζειν τινα ἐκ with the genitive of the place, to bring safe forth from, Jude 1:5; ἐκ τῆς ὥρας ταύτης, from the peril of this hour, John 12:27; with the genitive of the state, ἐκ θανάτου, Hebrews 5:7; cf. Bleek, Brief an d. Hebrews 2:2, p. 70f; (Winers Grammar, § 30, 6 a.; see ἐκ, I. 5).

b. to save in the technical biblical sense; — negatively, to deliver from the penalties of the Messianic judgment, Joel 2:32 (); to save from the evils which obstruct the reception of the Messianic deliverance: ἀπό τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, Matthew 1:21; ἀπό τῆς ὀργῆς namely, τοῦ Θεοῦ, from the punitive wrath of God at the judgment of the last day, Romans 5:9; ἀπό τῆς γενεάς τῆς σκολιᾶς ταύτης, Acts 2:40; ψυχήν ἐκ θανάτου (see θάνατος, 2), James 5:20; (ἐκ πυρός ἁρπάζοντες, Jude 1:23) — positively, to make one a partaker of the salvation by Christ (opposed to ἀπόλλυμι, which see): hence, σῴζεσθαι and ἐισέρχεσθαι εἰς τήν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ are interchanged, Matthew 19:25, cf. Matthew 19:24; Mark 10:26, cf. Mark 10:25; Luke 18:26, cf. Luke 18:25; so σῴζεσθαι and ζωήν αἰώνιον ἔχειν, John 3:17, cf. John 3:16. Since salvation begins in this life (in deliverance from error and corrupt notions, in moral purity, in pardon of sin, and in the blessed peace of a soul reconciled to God), but on the visible return of Christ from heaven will he perfected in the consummate blessings of ὁ αἰών ὁ μέλλων, we can understand why τό σῴζεσθαι is spoken of in some passages as a present possession, in others as a good yet future: — as a blessing beginning (or begun) on earth, Matthew 18:11 Rec.; Luke 8:12; Luke 19:10; John 5:34; John 10:9; John 12:47; Romans 11:14; 1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 7:16; 1 Corinthians 9:22; 1 Corinthians 10:33; 1 Corinthians 15:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:10; 2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21; τῇ ἐλπίδι (dative of the instrument) ἐσώθημεν (aorist of the time when they turned to Christ), Romans 8:24; χάριτι ἐστε σεσῳσμένοι διά τῆς πίστεως, Ephesians 2:5 (cf. Buttmann, § 144, 25), 8; — as a thing still future, Matthew 10:22; Matthew 24:13; (Mark 13:13); Romans 5:10; 1 Corinthians 3:15; 1 Timothy 2:15; James 4:12; τήν ψυχήν, Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; ψυχάς, Luke 9:56 Rec.; τό πνεῦμα, passive, 1 Corinthians 5:5; by a pregnant construction (see εἰς, C. 1, p. 185b bottom), τινα εἰς τήν βασιλείαν τοῦ κυρίου αἰώνιον, to save and transport into etc. 2 Timothy 4:18 (ἡ εὐσέβεια ἡ σωζουσα εἰς τήν ζωήν αἰώνιον, 4 Macc. 15:2; many examples of this construction are given in Passow, vol. ii., p. 1802{a}; (cf. Liddell and Scott, under the word II. 2)). universally: (Mark 16:16); Acts 2:21; Acts 4:12; Acts 11:14; Acts 14:9; Acts 15:1,(); f; Romans 9:27; Romans 10:9, 13; Romans 11:26; 1 Timothy 2:4; 1 Timothy 4:16; Hebrews 7:25; James 2:14; ἁμαρτωλούς, 1 Timothy 1:15; τάς ψυχάς, James 1:21; οἱ σῳζόμενοι, Revelation 21:24 Rec.; Luke 13:23; Acts 2:47; opposed to οἱ ἀπολλύμενοι, 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 2:15 (see ἀπόλλυμι, 1 a. β'.). (Compare: διασῴζω, ἐκσῴζω.)

Overview

Strong's Greek 4982 saturates the New Testament with the theme of divine deliverance. From urgent cries on Galilee’s storm-tossed waters (Matthew 8:25) to the cosmic promise that “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26), the verb gathers every facet of God’s rescuing purpose into one word. Of its 108 occurrences, none contradicts another; together they unfold one seamless testimony to the Lord who “came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

Dimensions of Salvation

1. Physical Rescue
• “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” (Matthew 8:25).
• Prisoners spared shipwreck when they heed Paul’s warning (Acts 27:31).

Here σώζω meets tangible danger with immediate deliverance, showcasing God’s sovereignty over nature, illness, and calamity.

2. Bodily Healing
• “Daughter, your faith has healed you” (Mark 5:34).
• Blind Bartimaeus: “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you” (Luke 18:42).

Restoration of health foreshadows the wholeness God intends for those redeemed in Christ.

3. Social Restoration

The healed demoniac “was delivered” (Luke 8:36) and then commissioned as a witness (Luke 8:39). σώζω not only mends bodies but reinstates persons into community and vocation.

4. Spiritual Regeneration
• “He saved us, not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5).
• “By grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:5, 8).

The verb embraces the past act of new birth, the present life of faith, and the future inheritance.

5. Eschatological Deliverance
• “He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
• “The one who perseveres to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

The consummation of salvation awaits the Day when believers are “saved from wrath” (Romans 5:9).

Christ-Centered Focus

Every strand of meaning converges on Jesus Christ. Mockers at Calvary scorned, “He saved others, but He cannot save Himself” (Matthew 27:42). Unwittingly they declared the gospel: by refusing self-rescue, He accomplished eternal rescue for “whoever believes in Him” (John 3:17).

Faith as the Ordained Instrument

Repeatedly σώζω is linked with πιστεύω and πίστις:

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:50).

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

Faith is never meritorious; it is the God-given means whereby grace is received.

Grace Precludes Human Boasting

Passages such as Ephesians 2:8-9 and 2 Timothy 1:9 press the truth that salvation is “not of yourselves.” Even where human agency features—“by so doing I may save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22)—the apostle’s ministry is but the conduit of divine initiative.

Holiness and Perseverance

James warns that a futile faith “cannot save” (James 2:14). While justification is instantaneous, the verb’s future tenses remind believers that authentic faith perseveres (Mark 13:13) and bears fruit, yet this perseverance is itself upheld by the Savior who “is able to save to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25).

Judgment Contexts

John 12:47 records Jesus’ first-advent purpose “to save the world,” but the same context reveals inevitable judgment for unbelief (John 12:48). Acts 4:12 tightens the exclusivity: “There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Corporate and Missional Implications

Acts 2:47 depicts the Lord “adding to their number daily those who were being saved,” demonstrating that σώζω establishes the Church’s very existence. Consequently, every ministry—evangelistic, pastoral, or diaconal—finds its mandate in God’s saving agenda.

Historical Reception

Early Christian writers echoed the apostolic pattern, using σώζω to describe martyr deliverance into glory, baptismal symbolism (1 Peter 3:21), and the Church’s mission. Councils never questioned its scope: salvation is Trinitarian in source, Christological in accomplishment, Spirit-applied, and Scripture-normed.

Pastoral Encouragement

1. Assurance: Because salvation rests on God’s covenant promise, believers may echo Paul, “He will rescue me from every evil deed and will bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom” (2 Timothy 4:18).
2. Urgency: Those outside Christ remain in peril; hence the plea, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation” (Acts 2:40).
3. Compassion: Ministry to body and soul mirrors the comprehensive reach of σώζω.

Conclusion

Strong's 4982 threads through the New Testament as the melody of redemption: God delivers, heals, restores, and preserves all who trust in His Son. It is a verb of hope, calling the lost, assuring the rescued, and glorifying the One who “is Savior of all, and especially of those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10).

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