Greek Words for Love (1 Corinthians 13)

1 Corinthians 13 appears in year C of the Revised Common Lectionary, most recently Jan 30, 2022.

Summary:  Lots are made of the three or even four words for love in the Greek.  Let's look a bit closer at each word and how it appears in the New Testament.  Then we will look at other words for love that appear in Greek (and there are way, way more than four!)

αγαπη/αγαπαω:  Agape  (All citations in this section for "love" are the noun or verb form of αγαπη)

• Basic:  This is a special kind of love meant to describe the divine love.  It is used heavily be a select number of New Testament authors and is rarely found outside of the New Testament.
  
• As the Father loved me, so I love you.  John 15:9
  
• But God proves his love for us...  Romans 8:5
• This is my son, the beloved (αγαπτος) Mark 1:11
  
• Slightly more complex:  It can also describe human love toward other humans
• This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  John 15:12 
•  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  Mark 12:30
• Really complex:  It can be disordered love.  We can "agape" things that are not good.
  
• Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Luke 11:43
  
• No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Matthew 6:24
  

Overall, I think it is fair to say that within the New Testament, this kind of love refers to an "unconditional" and "sustaining" love that reflects God's love for humans.

φιλια/φιλεω:  Philia (All citations in this section for "love" are the noun or verb form of φιλια)

• Basic:  This refers to brotherly or sisterly affection.  
• In fact, the word for friend:  φιλος is clearly a linguistic sibling!
• So the Jews said , "See how Jesus loved Lazarus!" John 11:36
• More complex:  This kind of love is used to describe both divine love and human to divine love
• Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; Matthew 10:37
• I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent.  Revelation 3:19
• The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished.  John 5:20

In short, the easy distinction between αγαπη and φιλια cannot be maintained in the New Testament.  One interpretation of this data is that the two words are fundamentally synonyms.  Another is to consider that there is both something unconditional (αγαπη) and mutual (φιλια) in Jesus love for us.  This is best seen in John 15:13

• No one has greater love (αγαπη) than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends (φιλος).
  

However, I would be cautious about making too much linguistic hay out of how John uses similar words...so one must be able to support this notion of unconditional and mutual love elsewhere in Scripture to make this point.

ερως:  Eros 

• This word means "sexual" or "passionate" love.  Its English cognate is "erotic."  It is not found in the New Testament.  The Septuagint translators of the Old Testament employ it twice.
  
• Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love. Proverbs 7:18 
• Sheol, the barren womb, the earth ever thirsty for water, and the fire that never says, "Enough." Proverbs 30:16  This verse is fascinating because the Septuagint translators just go all over the place (which happens in the proverbs translations).  The verse literally reads in Greek:  'Hades, woman Eros and Tartarus and the earth will never be satisfied."  So let's not worry about this.

Basic point:  While Scripture may deal with the erotic, the word eros is not in its vocabulary, especially not in the New Testament.  There are many books written on discovering this kind of love within Scripture, but it is fair to say that Jesus was not teaching about eros.

στοργή:  Storge

• This word means familial affection. 
• It is not found in the New Testament.  It occurs in some inter-testamental writings, 3rd and 4th Maccabees.   
• There is a derivative word of it that appears in Paul's letter to the Romans (see below).
  

While these are the big "four" in Greek, the New Testament and Scripture employed a number of other words for love.  

• ελεος:  This word typically means mercy.  However, it is the translation of k-s-d (חסד) from Old Testament Hebrew into Greek.  When translated into English, חסד is often translated as "steadfast love."  There are a couple of verses in the New Testament in which this word ελεος could have been translated as love instead of mercy.  This brings up a great discussion about the connection between love and mercy!
  
• He said, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Luke 10:37  
• By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us Luke 1:78 
• But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us Ephesians 2:4
• Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.   Hebrews 4:16
• For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment  James 2:13  
  
•  There are a number of compound words with "φιλια" that occur in the New Testament.  These form words that describe all kinds of love!
  
• φιλοστοργοι, philostorge, lover of familial affection and φιλαδελφια, philadelphia, love of sibling.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Romans 12:10  This means literally:  Be lovers of familial love toward one another in sibling love!
  
• φιλαγαθος, philagaothos:  He must be hospitable, a lover of goodness, prudent, upright, devout, and self-controlled Titus 1:8
• φιλανδρους, philandrous, lover of men, φιλατεκνους, philateknous, lover of children:   That they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children Titus 2:4
• φιληδονος philhedonos, lover of pleasure and φιλοθεος, philotheos, lover of God: treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God 2 Timothy 3:4 
• There is also a great compound word to describe God in Titus 3 - Lover of humans: When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared Titus 3:4
• And finally, there is dear Theopholis (lover of God) to whom Luke writes his Gospel and Acts.

There are others too -- and not all good!  But it is clear that the New Testament employs a LOT of words to talk about love.  How do we get at God's love for us?  How do we describe what love between two humans in like?  

I hope you go love somebody today. 

And last, God loves you.