G4102 — πίστις (pistis)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G4102
Original: πίστις
Transliteration: pistis
Pronunciation: pis'-tis
Part of Speech: Feminine noun (n-f)
Root: πείθω (peithō, G3982) — to persuade, convince, rely on
Occurrences: 243 in NT (222 KJV translation instances)
First Occurrence: Matt 8:10 — "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From πείθω (G3982); 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.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - 31.006 — Believe To Be True: "what can be fully believed; believable evidence" - 31.009 — Trust, Rely: trusting reliance on a person or thing - 31.010 — Be a Believer, Christian Faith: the content and practice of Christian belief - 33.025 — Promise: that which is pledged or promised

Other words in domain 31 (Believe/Trust): πιστεύω (G4100), πιστός (G4103), πληροφορία (G4136), πείθω (G3982), ἀπιστία (G570), ἄπιστος (G571), ὀλιγόπιστος (G3640)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [031] Hold a View, Believe, Trust - [033] Communication

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
faith	153	68.9%
of faith	22	9.9%
By faith	15	6.8%
the faith	10	4.5%
by faith	6	2.7%
in faith	3	1.4%
Through faith	3	1.4%
assurance	1	0.5%
belief	1	0.5%
fidelity	1	0.5%
which believeth	1	0.5%
Other minor	6	2.7%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Romans	40	9.2
Hebrews	32	10.6
Galatians	22	14.8
1 Timothy	19	16.8
Acts	16	1.6
Luke	11	1.0
Matthew	8	0.7
Ephesians	8	5.2
1 Thessalonians	8	9.0
2 Timothy	8	9.6
1 Corinthians	7	1.6
2 Corinthians	7	2.7
Titus	6	13.0
Mark	5	0.7
Colossians	5	5.3
2 Thessalonians	5	10.6
1 Peter	5	4.8
Revelation	4	1.0
Philemon	2	8.0
2 Peter	2	3.3
Jude	2	8.0

Patterns: NT only. Overwhelmingly Pauline — Romans, Galatians, and the Pastorals dominate. Hebrews 11 alone accounts for ~20 occurrences ("By faith..."). Absent from John's Gospel, 2 John, 3 John. Highest density in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Tim 16.8/100v, Titus 13.0/100v).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Active Trust / Confidence in God¶

Personal reliance on God's character and promises. - Matt 8:10 — "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" - Mark 11:22 — "Have faith in God" - Luke 7:50 — "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" - Rom 10:17 — "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God"

2. Justifying Faith (Means of Righteousness)¶

Faith as the instrument through which justification/salvation is received. - Rom 3:28 — "a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" - Rom 5:1 — "being justified by faith, we have peace with God" - Gal 2:16 — "not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ" - Eph 2:8 — "by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves"

3. The Body of Belief ("The Faith")¶

The objective content of Christian teaching as a system. - Acts 6:7 — "a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith" - Acts 14:22 — "exhorting them to continue in the faith" - 1 Tim 4:1 — "some shall depart from the faith" - Jude 1:3 — "contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints"

4. Faithfulness / Fidelity¶

The quality of being trustworthy or loyal. - Gal 5:22 — "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace... faith" (KJV; faithfulness) - Titus 2:10 — "shewing all good fidelity" (only KJV instance as "fidelity") - Rev 2:13 — "thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith"

5. Exemplary Faith (Hebrews 11 Catalogue)¶

Historical demonstration of faith through obedience. - Heb 11:1 — "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" - Heb 11:7 — "By faith Noah... prepared an ark" - Heb 11:17 — "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac" - Heb 12:2 — "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith"

6. Assurance / Proof¶

Objective evidence or ground for confidence. - Acts 17:31 — "he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead"

7. Spiritual Gift¶

Extraordinary faith as a specific charism. - 1 Cor 12:9 — "To another faith by the same Spirit" - 1 Cor 13:2 — "though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains" - 1 Cor 13:13 — "now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	52x	"faith in/toward God"
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)	G2424	40x	"faith of/in Jesus"
Χριστός (Christos)	G5547	36x	"faith of/in Christ"
ἀγάπη (agapē)	G26	24x	"faith and love" (1 Tim 1:14, Eph 6:23)
ἔχω (echō)	G2192	22x	"have faith" (Jas 2:14, Mark 11:22)
δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē)	G1343	17x	"righteousness of/by faith" (Rom 9:30, Phil 3:9)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3982 πείθω (peithō) — root verb: to persuade, convince, rely on
G4100 πιστεύω (pisteuō) — verb: to believe, trust (248x)
G4103 πιστός (pistos) — adjective: faithful, trustworthy, believing (67x)
G4104 πιστόω (pistoō) — verb: to give assurance, be convinced (1x)
G570 ἀπιστία (apistia) — noun: unbelief, unfaithfulness (12x)
G571 ἄπιστος (apistos) — adjective: unbelieving, faithless (23x)
G3640 ὀλιγόπιστος (oligopistos) — adjective: of little faith (5x)

Synonyms¶

G1342 δίκαιος (dikaios) — righteous, just
G1343 δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē) — righteousness
G4991 σωτηρία (sōtēria) — salvation, deliverance
G1656 ἔλεος (eleos) — mercy, compassion
G5046 τέλειος (teleios) — perfect, complete
G19 ἀγαθωσύνη (agathōsynē) — goodness
G3809 παιδεία (paideia) — instruction, discipline

Antonyms¶

G570 ἀπιστία (apistia) — unbelief (morphological negation; direct antonym)
G571 ἄπιστος (apistos) — unbelieving, faithless (alpha-privative of pistos)
G94 ἄδικος (adikos) — unjust, unrighteous
G5579 ψεῦδος (pseudos) — lie, falsehood
G150 αἰσχρός (aischros) — shameful, base

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
πιστός (pistos)	G4103	both "faith" in KJV	pistos is an adjective (faithful/trustworthy); pistis is the noun (faith/trust)
πιστεύω (pisteuō)	G4100	both "believe" in KJV	pisteuō is the verb (to believe); pistis is the state/act as noun
ἐλπίς (elpis)	G1680	both in "faith" contexts	elpis = hope (future expectation); pistis = faith (present trust)

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	LXX Count	Notes
אֱמוּנָה (emunah)	H530	18x	Primary; "faithfulness, steadfastness" — emphasizes reliability more than pistis does
אֶמֶת (emeth)	H571	5x	"truth, stability" — broader than pistis

Key distinction: H530 emunah in OT emphasizes God's faithfulness (objective reliability), while pistis in NT more often emphasizes the believer's response of trust (subjective reliance), though both nuances exist in each word.