G1680 — ἐλπίς (elpis)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1680
Original: ἐλπίς
Transliteration: elpis
Pronunciation: el-pece'
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: ἔλπω (elpō) — to anticipate, usually with pleasure
Occurrences: 48 unique verses (54 tokens) across 15 NT books
First Occurrence: Acts 2:26 — "Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From a primary ἔλπω (elpō), to anticipate, usually with pleasure; expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence. Translated in KJV as "hope" (75%), "the hope," "of hope," "in hope," "faith" (1x, Heb 10:23).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 025 — Attitudes and Emotions
Subdomain: 025.004 — Hope, Look Forward To
Glosses: to hope / to hope for / hope
Other words in subdomain: ἀπεκδέχομαι (G553, "wait for," 4v), ἀποκαραδοκία (G603, "earnest expectation," 2v), ἐλπίζω (G1679, "trust/hope," 15v), προελπίζω (G4276, "first trusted," 1v)

Domain Neighbors (025.004)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G553	ἀπεκδέχομαι	4	wait for
G603	ἀποκαραδοκία	2	earnest expectation
G1679	ἐλπίζω	15	trust, hope
G4276	προελπίζω	1	first trusted

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
hope	36	75.0%
the hope	6	12.5%
of hope	3	6.2%
in hope	2	4.2%
by hope	1	2.1%
faith	1	2.1%
hope's sake	1	2.1%
upon the hope	1	2.1%

Note: KJV renders elpis as "faith" once (Heb 10:23), where modern translations use "hope."

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Titus	3	6.5
1 Thessalonians	4	4.5
Colossians	3	3.2
1 Peter	3	2.9
Romans	9	2.1
2 Thessalonians	1	2.1
Ephesians	3	1.9
Hebrews	5	1.7
2 Corinthians	3	1.2
1 John	1	1.0
1 Timothy	1	0.9
Acts	8	0.8
Galatians	1	0.7
1 Corinthians	2	0.5
Philippians	1	—

Pauline concentration: 33 of 48 verses (69%) are in Paul's epistles. Highest density in the Pastoral epistles (Titus 6.5/100v). Absent from the Gospels and Revelation entirely — the noun form does not appear in Jesus's recorded speech or in apocalyptic literature.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Eschatological Hope — Future Fulfillment of God's Promises¶

Titus 1:2 — "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began"
Titus 2:13 — "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ"
Col 1:5 — "For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven"
Acts 26:6 — "And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers"

2. Hope as Theological Virtue — Part of the Faith-Hope-Love Triad¶

1 Cor 13:13 — "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity"
1 Thess 1:3 — "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope"
1 Thess 5:8 — "Putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation"
Col 1:23 — "If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel"

3. Resurrection Hope — Confidence in Bodily Resurrection¶

Acts 2:26 — "Moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope" (Psalm 16 quotation, applied to Christ's resurrection)
Acts 23:6 — "Of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question"
Acts 24:15 — "And have hope toward God... that there shall be a resurrection of the dead"
1 Pet 1:3 — "Begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead"

4. Hope as Present Confidence and Anchor¶

Rom 5:2 — "Rejoice in hope of the glory of God"
Rom 5:5 — "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts"
Heb 6:18 — "We might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us"
Heb 7:19 — "The bringing in of a better hope, by the which we draw nigh unto God"

5. Christ as the Content/Object of Hope¶

Col 1:27 — "Christ in you, the hope of glory"
1 Tim 1:1 — "Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope"
Rom 15:13 — "Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing"

6. Hope Absent or Lost — The Condition Without Hope¶

Eph 2:12 — "Having no hope, and without God in the world"
1 Thess 4:13 — "That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope"
Acts 27:20 — "All hope that we should be saved was then taken away" (secular use: physical survival)

7. Secular/Material Hope¶

Acts 16:19 — "The hope of their gains was gone" (masters losing profit from slave girl)
1 Cor 9:10 — "He that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	16x (33%)	"hope toward God," "God of hope"
Χριστός (Christos)	G5547	10x (21%)	"hope in Christ," "Christ our hope"
ἔχω (echō)	G2192	9x (19%)	"having hope," "have such hope"
πίστις (pistis)	G4102	8x (17%)	Faith-hope pairing in triads and pairs
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	7x (15%)	"hope in our Lord Jesus Christ"
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)	G2424	6x (12%)	Christological hope formulas
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	6x (12%)	"all hope," universalizing contexts
δόξα (doxa)	G1391	5x (10%)	"hope of glory," "hope of the glory of God"
πατήρ (patēr)	G3962	5x (10%)	God the Father as source of hope
ἀγάπη (agapē)	G26	4x (8%)	Faith-hope-love triad
νεκρός (nekros)	G3498	4x (8%)	"resurrection of the dead" hope contexts
παράκλησις (paraklēsis)	G3874	4x (8%)	"consolation and good hope"
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	4x (8%)	"abound in hope through the power of the Spirit"
ἀνάστασις (anastasis)	G386	3x (6%)	"hope and resurrection" in Acts
ζωή (zōē)	G2222	3x (6%)	"hope of eternal life"
αἰώνιος (aiōnios)	G166	3x (6%)	"hope of eternal life" (Titus 1:2, 3:7)

Synonyms¶

G1679 ἐλπίζω (elpizō) — verb cognate: "to hope, trust, expect" (15v)
G4276 προελπίζω (proelpizō) — "to hope beforehand" (1v, Eph 1:12)
G603 ἀποκαραδοκία (apokaradokia) — "earnest expectation, eager waiting" (2v)
G553 ἀπεκδέχομαι (apekdechomai) — "to await eagerly, wait for" (4v)
G4328 προσδοκάω (prosdokaō) — "to expect, look for" (16v)
G3982 πείθω (peithō) — "to persuade, trust, have confidence" (52v)
G4006 πεποίθησις (pepoithēsis) — "confidence, trust" (6v)

Antonyms¶

G4417 πταίω (ptaiō) — "to stumble, fall" (5v)
G580 ἀπελπίζω (apelpizō) — "to despair, hope for nothing" (1v, Luke 6:35)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
H8615 תִּקְוָה (tiqvah)	H8615	"hope"	OT Hebrew equivalent; literally "a cord" → metaphor for attachment/expectation; elpis is the primary LXX rendering
H3176 יָחַל (yachal)	H3176	"hope"	Hebrew verb: to wait with expectation; elpis is the noun form
G1679 ἐλπίζω (elpizō)	G1679	"hope"	Verb form of the same root; elpis is the noun (state/object), elpizō is the action
G4102 πίστις (pistis)	G4102	"faith" (Heb 10:23 KJV renders elpis as "faith")	pistis = trust/belief directed at present reality; elpis = confident expectation directed toward the future

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
תִּקְוָה (tiqvah)	H8615	20	23.08
מַחֲסֶה (machaseh)	H4268	10	17.41
מִבְטָח (mibtach)	H4009	9	17.32
בֶּטַח (betach)	H983	12	16.82
תּוֹחֶלֶת (towcheleth)	H8431	4	12.35
בָּטַח (batach)	H982	8	9.64
קַו (qav)	H6957	3	8.37
כָּזָב (kazab)	H3577	3	6.98

Primary bridge: H8615 tiqvah → G1680 elpis (20 co-occurrences, PMI 23.08). The LXX translators consistently chose elpis for tiqvah, establishing the semantic bridge between OT "cord of expectation" and NT "hope."