G1860 — ἐπαγγελία (epangelía)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1860
Original: ἐπαγγελία
Transliteration: epangelía
Pronunciation: ep-ang-el-ee'-ah
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: ἐπαγγέλλομαι (epangellomai, G1861) — to announce upon, to promise
Occurrences: 51 unique verses (53 tokens) across 11 NT books
First Occurrence: Luk 24:49 — "And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G1861; an announcement (for information, assent or pledge; especially a divine assurance of good).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 033025: Promise
Domain 033023: Agree
Other words in Promise domain: ἐπαγγέλλομαι (G1861), ἐπάγγελμα (G1862), ὅσιος (G3741), πίστις (G4102), προεπαγγέλλω (G4279)

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
promise	26	51.0%
promises	11	21.6%
of promise	6	11.8%
a promise	2	3.9%
the promise / the promises	2	3.9%
message	1	2.0%
Other minor variants	3	5.9%

Nearly all renderings (98%) translate epangelia as "promise/promises." The single outlier is 1Jo 1:5, rendered "message" — an unusual use where the content announced is doctrinal rather than promissory.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Galatians	9	6.0
Hebrews	13	4.3
2 Peter	2	3.3
Ephesians	4	2.6
1 John	2	1.9
Romans	8	1.8
2 Timothy	1	1.2
1 Timothy	1	0.9
Acts	8	0.8
2 Corinthians	2	0.8
Luke	1	0.1

Hebrews has the highest raw count (13), but Galatians has the highest density (6.0 per 100 verses) — reflecting the Abraham-promise argument of Gal 3–4. The word is entirely absent from the Gospels except for a single occurrence in Luke's concluding chapter. Paul accounts for 25 of 51 verses (49%); the Hebrews author for 13 (25%); Luke-Acts for 9 (18%).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Abrahamic / Patriarchal Promise¶

The dominant usage — God's covenant commitment to Abraham and his descendants regarding land, seed, and blessing. - Rom 4:13 — "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith" - Gal 3:16 — "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made" - Gal 3:29 — "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" - Heb 11:9 — "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country"

2. Promise of the Holy Spirit¶

The Father's promise identified with the gift of the Spirit, particularly at Pentecost. - Luk 24:49 — "I send the promise of my Father upon you" - Act 1:4 — "wait for the promise of the Father" - Act 2:33 — "having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost" - Gal 3:14 — "that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith"

3. Promise of Life / Eternal Life¶

The eschatological content of the promise — life in Christ. - 2Ti 1:1 — "according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus" - 1Ti 4:8 — "godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come" - 1Jo 2:25 — "this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life" - Heb 9:15 — "they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance"

4. Messianic Promise Fulfilled¶

The promise to the fathers realized in the coming of Jesus as Savior. - Act 13:23 — "Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus" - Act 13:32 — "the promise which was made unto the fathers" - Act 26:6 — "I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers" - Rom 15:8 — "Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision... to confirm the promises made unto the fathers"

5. Promise vs. Law Contrast¶

Paul's theological argument that promise operates on a different principle than law. - Rom 4:14 — "if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect" - Gal 3:17 — "the law... cannot disannul [the covenant], that it should make the promise of none effect" - Gal 3:18 — "if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise" - Gal 3:21–22 — "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid... the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe"

6. Gentile Inclusion in the Promise¶

The extension of God's promise beyond Israel to the Gentiles through Christ. - Act 2:39 — "the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off" - Eph 2:12 — "strangers from the covenants of promise" - Eph 3:6 — "the Gentiles should be fellowheirs... and partakers of his promise in Christ"

7. Second Coming / Eschatological Promise¶

The promise of Christ's return and the new creation. - 2Pe 3:4 — "Where is the promise of his coming?" - 2Pe 3:9 — "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise" - Heb 10:36 — "after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	17x (33%)	"the promise of God" — divine origin
πίστις (pistis)	G4102	12x (24%)	"through faith... the promise" — faith as the receiving instrument
Ἀβραάμ (Abraam)	G11	9x (18%)	"to Abraham... the promise" — patriarchal recipient
πατήρ (pater)	G3962	9x (18%)	"promise of the Father" / "promise to the fathers"
Χριστός (Christos)	G5547	9x (18%)	"promise in Christ" — christological mediation
νόμος (nomos)	G3551	6x (12%)	"promise vs. law" contrast
σπέρμα (sperma)	G4690	6x (12%)	"Abraham and his seed" — seed as promise heir
διαθήκη (diatheke)	G1242	5x (10%)	"covenants of promise" — promise within covenant framework
κληρονόμος (kleronomos)	G2818	4x (8%)	"heirs of/according to the promise"
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	4x (8%)	"promise of the Spirit"
δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosyne)	G1343	3x (6%)	"righteousness of faith... the promise"

Word Family / Cognates¶

G1861 ἐπαγγέλλομαι (epangellomai) — verb: to promise, announce (6v in NT)
G1862 ἐπάγγελμα (epangelma) — noun: a promise, self-committal (2v — 2Pe 1:4, 3:13)
G4279 προεπαγγέλλω (proepangello) — verb: to promise beforehand (1v — Rom 1:2)

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 033025)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV
G1861	ἐπαγγέλλομαι	6	hath promised
G1862	ἐπάγγελμα	2	promise, promises
G3741	ὅσιος	7	holy, Holy One
G4102	πίστις	201	faith
G4279	προεπαγγέλλω	1	he had promised afore

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
דָּבָר (dabar)	H1697	"promise" (4v OT)	dabar = any spoken word/matter; epangelia = specifically a pledge or assurance of future action
ἐπάγγελμα (epangelma)	G1862	"promise" (1v)	epangelma = the concrete content/substance promised; epangelia = the act and declaration of promising

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

No dominant Hebrew source found. This reflects the fact that ἐπαγγελία is not a standard LXX translation word — the Hebrew OT expresses "promise" through verbs (דָּבָר dabar "speak," אָמַר amar "say," שָׁבַע shaba "swear") rather than a single abstract noun for "promise." The concept crystallized as a distinct Greek theological term in the NT.