G225 — ἀλήθεια (alētheia)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G225
Original: ἀλήθεια
Transliteration: alētheia
Pronunciation: al-ay'-thi-a
Part of Speech: Feminine noun (n-f)
Occurrences: 110 tokens in 99 unique verses across 23 books
First Occurrence: Mat 22:16 — "Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G227 (alēthēs); truth — true, truly, truth, verity.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 72: True, False
Domain 70: Real, Unreal
Glosses: truth, actually, really

Domain 72 Neighbors (True, False)¶

Strong's	Word	Gloss	Key Difference
G227	ἀληθής (alēthēs)	true, truth, real	Adjective — describes a person or statement as truthful
G228	ἀληθινός (alēthinos)	real, really, true	Adjective — emphasizes genuineness or reality vs. imitation
G230	ἀληθῶς (alēthōs)	real, really, true	Adverb — modifies verbs ("he truly said")
G281	ἀμήν (amēn)	truly, indeed	Interjection affirming reliability of what is said
G1650	ἔλεγχος (elegchos)	proof, verification	The evidence that establishes truth
G5462	φωτισμός (phōtismos)	truth, revealed truth	Truth as illumination / making known

Domain 70 Neighbors (Real, Unreal)¶

Strong's	Word	Gloss	Key Difference
G3689	ὄντως (ontōs)	really, certainly, truly	Adverb of reality — "in actual fact"
G1450	ἔγγυος (engyos)	guarantor	One who ensures something is real/valid

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
truth	62	62.6%
the truth	11	11.1%
of truth	10	10.1%
a truth	5	5.1%
of the truth	5	5.1%
in truth	4	4.0%
as the truth	1	1.0%
to truth	1	1.0%
true	1	1.0%
truly	1	1.0%
truth's sake	1	1.0%
verity	1	1.0%

Overwhelmingly rendered "truth" in all its forms (98%+). The single rendering "verity" (1Ti 2:7) and "true" (Eph 4:24) are noteworthy only as translation variation.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
3 John	5	35.7
2 John	4	30.8
1 John	8	7.6
2 Timothy	6	7.2
2 Thessalonians	3	6.4
1 Timothy	5	4.4
Titus	2	4.3
Ephesians	6	3.9
2 Peter	2	3.3
James	3	2.8
Galatians	4	2.7
2 Corinthians	6	2.3
John	20	2.3
Colossians	2	2.1
Romans	8	1.8
1 Peter	1	1.0
1 Corinthians	2	0.5
Mark	3	0.4
Hebrews	1	0.3
Luke	3	0.3
Acts	3	0.3
Matthew	1	0.1
Philemon	1	—

Heaviest concentration in the Johannine epistles (2-3 John, 1 John) and Pastoral epistles (1-2 Timothy, Titus). The Gospel of John has the highest raw count (20). Notably sparse in the Synoptics (Mat 1, Mark 3, Luke 3). Absent from Revelation, Philippians, and minor Pauline letters.

Semantic Categories¶

1. The Gospel / Christian Teaching as "The Truth"¶

Gal 2:5 — "that the truth of the gospel might continue with you"
Eph 1:13 — "after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation"
Col 1:5 — "ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel"
Jas 1:18 — "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth"

2. Moral/Ethical Reality — Truth vs. Falsehood¶

Jhn 8:44 — "he abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him"
Jhn 8:45-46 — "because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not"
Rom 1:18 — "men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness"
Rom 1:25 — "who changed the truth of God into a lie"

3. Walking in / Obeying the Truth — Truth as Way of Life¶

1Pe 1:22 — "ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth"
2Jo 1:4 — "I found of thy children walking in truth"
3Jo 1:3-4 — "testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth"
Jhn 3:21 — "he that doeth truth cometh to the light"

4. The Person of Christ as Truth¶

Jhn 14:6 — "I am the way, the truth, and the life"
Jhn 1:14 — "full of grace and truth"
Jhn 1:17 — "grace and truth came by Jesus Christ"
Eph 4:21 — "as the truth is in Jesus"

5. The Spirit of Truth¶

Jhn 14:17 — "the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive"
Jhn 15:26 — "the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father"
Jhn 16:13 — "when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth"
1Jo 4:6 — "Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error"

6. Knowledge / Acknowledgment of the Truth¶

1Ti 2:4 — "all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth"
2Ti 2:25 — "God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth"
2Ti 3:7 — "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth"
Heb 10:26 — "after that we have received the knowledge of the truth"

7. Factual Statement / "Of a Truth"¶

Luk 4:25 — "I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel"
Luk 22:59 — "Of a truth this fellow also was with him"
Act 4:27 — "For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus"
Act 10:34 — "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	25x	"the truth of God" (Rom 1:25; 3:7; 15:8)
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	12x	"the Spirit of truth" (Jhn 14:17; 15:26; 16:13)
λόγος (logos)	G3056	9x	"the word of truth" (Eph 1:13; 2Ti 2:15; Jas 1:18)
πατήρ (patēr)	G3962	8x	"worship the Father in... truth" (Jhn 4:23-24)
γινώσκω (ginōskō)	G1097	6x	"know the truth" (Jhn 8:32; 1Jo 2:21)
μαρτυρέω (martyreō)	G3140	6x	"bear witness unto the truth" (Jhn 5:33; 18:37)
ἀγαπάω (agapaō)	G25	5x	"love in the truth" (2Jo 1:1; 3Jo 1:1)
ἀδικία (adikia)	G93	5x	"truth vs. unrighteousness" (Rom 2:8; 2Th 2:10-12)
ἐπίγνωσις (epignōsis)	G1922	5x	"knowledge of the truth" (1Ti 2:4; 2Ti 2:25; 3:7)
διδάσκαλος (didaskalos)	G1320	6x	"teachest the way of God in truth" (Mat 22:16; Mk 12:14)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G227 ἀληθής (alēthēs) — adjective: true, truthful
G228 ἀληθινός (alēthinos) — adjective: genuine, real, true
G226 ἀληθεύω (alētheuō) — verb: to speak truth, to be true
G230 ἀληθῶς (alēthōs) — adverb: truly, really, indeed

All derive from the alpha-privative (ἀ-) + λανθάνω (lanthano, "to escape notice"), yielding the sense "not hidden, unconcealed."

Synonyms¶

G4100 πιστεύω (pisteuō) — believe, trust
G1656 ἔλεος (eleos) — mercy
G299 ἄμωμος (amōmos) — without blemish, blameless
G3709 ὀργή (orgē) — wrath
G4990 σωτήρ (sōtēr) — saviour
G1344 δικαιόω (dikaioō) — justify, declare righteous
G1655 ἐλεήμων (eleēmōn) — merciful
G1654 ἐλεημοσύνη (eleēmosynē) — alms, mercy-giving
G5401 φόβος (phobos) — fear
G4991 σωτηρία (sōtēria) — salvation
G5462 φωτισμός (phōtismos) — illumination
G19 ἀγαθωσύνη (agathōsynē) — goodness
G5399 φοβέω (phobeō) — fear, revere
G1343 δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē) — righteousness
G5198 ὑγιαίνω (hygiainō) — be sound, be healthy
G3629 οἰκτίρμων (oiktirmōn) — compassionate
G1922 ἐπίγνωσις (epignōsis) — knowledge, full knowledge
G5046 τέλειος (teleios) — perfect, complete
G2292 θαρρέω (tharreō) — be of good courage
G4678 σοφία (sophia) — wisdom
G2917 κρίμα (krima) — judgment
G3717 ὀρθός (orthos) — straight, right

Antonyms¶

G764 ἀσεβέω (asebeō) — act impiously; ungodly conduct opposed to truth
G459 ἄνομος (anomos) — lawless; living outside revealed truth
G93 ἀδικία (adikia) — unrighteousness, injustice (explicitly tagged in the relationship data)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[072] True, False — includes ἀκρίβεια (G195), ἀκριβής (G196), ἀκριβῶς (G199), ἀληθής (G227), ἀληθινός (G228), ἀμήν (G281)
[070] Real, Unreal — includes ἀληθής (G227), ἀληθινός (G228), ἀληθῶς (G230), ἔγγυος (G1450), ἐν (G1722), κατά (G2596)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἀληθής (alēthēs)	G227	"truth" (1x)	Adjective — "a true person/statement"; alētheia is the noun, the quality itself
ἀληθῶς (alēthōs)	G230	"in truth" (1x)	Adverb — modifies actions; alētheia is the substantive reality
ναί (nai)	G3483	"truth" (1x)	Affirmative particle ("yes/indeed"); no semantic overlap
אֶמֶת (ʼemeth)	H571	"truth" (13x)	Hebrew OT equivalent — broader range including faithfulness/reliability
אֱמוּנָה (ʼemûwnâh)	H530	"truth" (2x)	Hebrew — primarily "faithfulness/steadfastness"; only occasionally "truth"

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
אֶמֶת (ʼemeth)	H571	83	30.78
אֱמוּנָה (ʼemûwnâh)	H530	22	20.06
חֶסֶד (checed)	H2617	36	17.19
צֶדֶק (tsedeq)	H6664	14	12.23
אׇמְנָם (ʼomnam)	H551	5	11.90
מִשְׁפָּט (mishpat)	H4941	14	7.25

Primary Hebrew source is H571 אֶמֶת (ʼemeth), with 83 LXX co-occurrences — the dominant bridge word. H530 אֱמוּנָה (ʼemûwnâh) is a secondary source. Notably, H2617 חֶסֶד (checed, "lovingkindness") appears because the LXX pair "mercy and truth" (chesed we'emeth) is frequent in the OT.