πίστις (G4102) — Greek Lexicon

πίστις

pístis

G4102 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Firm trust or confidence; the primary sense is trust, conviction, or confidence in someone or something, often connected to reliability or trustworthiness. In various contexts, it denotes: (1) trust or confidence in a person or thing; (2) assurance or conviction of the truth or reality of something (especially on the basis of testimony); (3) fidelity or faithfulness to one’s word, promise, or allegiance; (4) in philosophical and religious writings, trust in the divine, conviction concerning divine realities or invisible things; (5) sometimes, the content of what is believed (doctrine or body of teaching).

Semantic Range

trust, confidence, conviction, faithfulness, reliability, assurance, trust in divine realities, faith in persons or things, fidelity, pledge, body of belief

Root / Etymology

From the root πείθω (to persuade, to convince, to trust), with the suffix -ις forming an abstract noun. Related to verbal forms indicating persuasion or conviction.

Historical & Contextual Notes

πίστις is a central concept in Greek literature with broad usage. In classical Greek, it most often denotes trustworthiness, reliability, or trust/confidence placed in persons or things. In the Hellenistic period, especially in philosophical and epistolary contexts, it acquires nuances of conviction and confidence not only in humans but also in gods or cosmic principles. In the Septuagint, πίστις commonly translates the Hebrew אמונה (ʾemunah), originally meaning steadiness or fidelity, and increasingly carries the sense of trust in God. In Second Temple and New Testament contexts, πίστις can signify not only trust in God or Christ but also faithfulness (as an ethical quality). It is important to note that English 'faith' often narrows the meaning to cognitive belief, whereas πίστις frequently points to relational trust and loyalty as well. In some NT passages, πίστις can refer to the 'faith' as a body of teaching (e.g., Gal 1:23), though this is less common. The semantic range overlaps in part with πειθώ (persuasion) but differs from ἐλπίς (hope) and ἀγάπη (love); while ἐλπίς focuses on expectation and ἀγάπη on affection, πίστις emphasizes trust and reliability.

Translation Consistency

primary "trust" 38 occurrences

“Trust” is the most natural, common English rendering of πίστις’ primary sense of firm confidence or reliance. It appears most frequently in translations and covers the typical uses (confidence in a person or God, assurance, and fidelity). It is plain-language and flexible enough to render contexts where other translations use “faith” or “faithfulness” while keeping consistent wording across all occurrences.

Alternatives (12 occurrences):

"trustful confidence" (12x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from πείθω; persuasion, i.e. credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly, constancy in such profession; by extension, the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself:--assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

Root Family

πείθ- (pístis) — to persuade, to trust, to have confidence

Root πείθ- to persuade, to trust, to have confidence

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE	Surface	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2	Occurrences
`G4102-02`	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	faith	of trust	of trust	94
`G4102-01`	πίστει	pistei	`N DAT F SG`	faith	by trust	by trust	58
`G4102-03`	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust	55
`G4102-04`	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence	36

Occurrences in Scripture

243 occurrences

SIDANCE	Reference	Word	Transliteration	Morphology	Common	SIBI-P1	SIBI-P2
`G4102-03`	Matthew 8:10	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-03`	Matthew 9:2	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-04`	Matthew 9:22	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-03`	Matthew 9:29	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-04`	Matthew 15:28	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-03`	Matthew 17:20	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-03`	Matthew 21:21	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-03`	Matthew 23:23	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-03`	Mark 2:5	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-03`	Mark 4:40	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-04`	Mark 5:34	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-04`	Mark 10:52	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-03`	Mark 11:22	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-03`	Luke 5:20	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-03`	Luke 7:9	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-04`	Luke 7:50	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-04`	Luke 8:25	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-04`	Luke 8:48	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-03`	Luke 17:5	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-03`	Luke 17:6	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-04`	Luke 17:19	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-03`	Luke 18:8	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-04`	Luke 18:42	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-04`	Luke 22:32	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-01`	Acts 3:16	πίστει	pistei	`N DAT F SG`	faith	by trust	by trust
`G4102-04`	Acts 3:16	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-02`	Acts 6:5	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	of faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-01`	Acts 6:7	πίστει	pistei	`N DAT F SG`	faith	by trust	by trust
`G4102-02`	Acts 11:24	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-02`	Acts 13:8	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-03`	Acts 14:9	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-01`	Acts 14:22	πίστει	pistei	`N DAT F SG`	faith	by trust	by trust
`G4102-02`	Acts 14:27	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	of faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-01`	Acts 15:9	πίστει	pistei	`N DAT F SG`	faith	by trust	by trust
`G4102-01`	Acts 16:5	πίστει	pistei	`N DAT F SG`	faith	by trust	by trust
`G4102-03`	Acts 17:31	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	proof	trust	trust
`G4102-03`	Acts 20:21	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-02`	Acts 24:24	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-01`	Acts 26:18	πίστει	pistei	`N DAT F SG`	by faith	by trust	by trust
`G4102-02`	Romans 1:5	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	of faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-04`	Romans 1:8	πίστις	pistis	`N NOM F SG`	faith	trustful confidence	trustful confidence
`G4102-02`	Romans 1:12	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-02`	Romans 1:17	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-03`	Romans 1:17	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-02`	Romans 1:17	πίστεως	pisteos-2	`N GEN F SG`	faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-03`	Romans 3:3	πίστιν	pistin	`N ACC F SG`	faith	trust	trust
`G4102-02`	Romans 3:22	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-02`	Romans 3:25	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-02`	Romans 3:26	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	faith	of trust	of trust
`G4102-02`	Romans 3:27	πίστεως	pisteos	`N GEN F SG`	of faith	of trust	of trust

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