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ἄπιστος

ápistos

G571 substantive adjective

SILEX Entry

Root πιστ- to trust, to have faith, to be reliable

Definition

Not trusting, not believing; lacking in faith or trust. The term is used to describe someone who does not believe, who is skeptical, or who is untrustworthy. Depending on context, it denotes either unbelief (as in religious or general conviction), lack of trustworthiness (in character or promise), or something not credible. In relation to communities defined by faith, particularly in the New Testament, it often designates those outside such a community: e.g., a person who does not share the belief of the group, or does not hold faith in the proclaimed message. In a broader sense, it can also refer to a lack of reliability or incredibility (something not to be believed).

Semantic Range

not believing, lacking faith, unbeliever, unreliable, untrustworthy, incredible, not credible

Root / Etymology

From the alpha privative (ἀ-, a negative prefix) and πιστός (pistos, 'faithful, trusting, believing'), thus meaning 'not faithful', 'not trusting'.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In Classical Greek, ἄπιστος referred broadly to someone who was untrustworthy, not to be relied upon, or incredible (a claim or thing hard to believe). In Hellenistic and Koine Greek, especially within the context of the New Testament and Jewish-Greek literature, the term often comes to mean 'unbeliever' in both a general and a specifically religious sense. In the Pauline epistles and other early Christian writings, ἄπιστος typically indicates someone who does not accept the Christian message, but it is not limited to that usage: it can also refer to people outside the faith community (such as spouses, 1 Cor 7:12-15), or to a lack of general faith or trust even within established relationships. The term is sometimes rendered in English as 'unbeliever', 'faithless', or (less accurately, and with later theological development) 'infidel,' the latter being a post-biblical borrowing foreign to Koine usage and carrying later connotations. In some contexts (e.g., Luke 24:11), it can describe something ('incredible') rather than someone. The nuance in various passages may be active disbelief (refusal to accept or trust), passive absence of belief, or unreliability. The contrast with πιστός ('trustworthy', 'faithful', 'believing') is central. The term does not, in the Koine period, have an intrinsic ethnic or confessional boundary, and its reference is defined by the speaker's or community's frame of reference (e.g., 'the ἄπιστοι' as those outside the believing group, not a fixed or permanent identity).

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from Α (as a negative particle) and πιστός; (actively) disbelieving, i.e. without Christian faith (specially, a heathen); (passively) untrustworthy (person), or incredible (thing):--that believeth not, faithless, incredible thing, infidel, unbeliever(-ing).

Root Family

ἄπιστος (apistos) — not trusting, not believing, lacking faith, unreliable

Word Forms

5 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
G571-04 ἄπιστος apistos ADJ.A VOC F SG unbelieving unbelieving one 8
G571-03 ἀπίστων apiston ADJ.S GEN M PL unbelievers of untrusting ones 7
G571-02 ἀπίστοις apistois ADJ.S DAT M PL who are unbelievers to the unbelieving ones 5
G571-05 ἀπίστου apistou ADJ.S GEN M SG unbeliever of an unbelieving man 2
G571-01 ἄπιστοι apistoi ADJ.S NOM M PL unbelievers unbelieving ones 1

Occurrences in Scripture

23 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
G571-04 Matthew 17:17 ἄπιστος apistos ADJ.A VOC F SG unbelieving one
G571-04 Mark 9:19 ἄπιστος apistos ADJ.A VOC F SG unbelieving unbelieving one
G571-04 Luke 9:41 ἄπιστος apistos ADJ.A VOC F SG faithless unbelieving one
G571-03 Luke 12:46 ἀπίστων apiston ADJ.S GEN M PL unbelievers of untrusting ones
G571-04 John 20:27 ἄπιστος apistos ADJ.P NOM M SG unbelieving unbelieving one
G571-03 Acts 26:8 ἄπιστον apiston ADJ.S NOM N SG incredible of untrusting ones
G571-03 1 Corinthians 6:6 ἀπίστων apiston ADJ.S GEN M PL unbelievers of untrusting ones
G571-03 1 Corinthians 7:12 ἄπιστον apiston ADJ.A ACC F SG unbelieving of untrusting ones
G571-03 1 Corinthians 7:13 ἄπιστον apiston ADJ.A ACC M SG unbelieving of untrusting ones
G571-04 1 Corinthians 7:14 ἄπιστος apistos ADJ.R NOM M SG unbelieving unbelieving one
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