G543 — ἀπείθεια (apeitheia)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G543
Original: ἀπείθεια
Transliteration: apeitheia
Pronunciation: ap-i'-thi-ah
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: ἀ- (negative prefix) + πείθω (peithō, G3982) — "to persuade"; thus "un-persuadableness"
Occurrences: 7 unique verses (7 tokens) in 4 books
First Occurrence: Rom 11:30 — "For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G545 (apeithēs); disbelief (obstinate and rebellious): — disobedience, unbelief. The definition itself signals the fusion of cognitive rejection and volitional resistance that marks this word.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 36 — Guide, Discipline, Follow
Subdomain 36.003 — Obey, Disobey
Domain 31 — Hold a View, Believe, Trust
Subdomain 31.010 — Be a Believer, Christian Faith
Other words in 31.010: πιστεύω (G4100), πιστός (G4103), πίστις (G4102), ἀπειθέω (G544), ἀπιστέω (G569), ἀπιστία (G570), ἄπιστος (G571)

The dual-domain classification is significant: Louw-Nida places apeitheia in both the disobedience domain and the belief domain, confirming lexicographically that the word straddles both concepts.

Domain Neighbors (Subdomain 36.003 — Obey, Disobey)¶

Strong's	Word	Transliteration	Verses	Primary KJV
G5218	ὑπακοή	hupakŏē	14	obedience
G5219	ὑπακούω	hupakouo	21	obey
G3876	παρακοή	parakoē	3	disobedience
G3878	παρακούω	parakouo	3	neglect to hear
G3982	πείθω	peithō	55	persuade, trust, obey
G3980	πειθαρχέω	peitharcheō	4	obey
G544	ἀπειθέω	apeitheo	16	disobey, not believe

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
of disobedience	3	42.9%
of unbelief	2	28.6%
their unbelief	1	14.3%
unbelief	1	14.3%

The KJV translators split roughly 43/57 between "disobedience" (3x) and "unbelief" (4x). The variation reflects the word's inherent semantic range rather than distinct senses.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Ephesians	2	1.3
Colossians	1	1.1
Hebrews	2	0.7
Romans	2	0.5

Exclusively Pauline (including Hebrews). No Gospels, no General Epistles, no Revelation. The word appears only in theological argumentation about the consequences of rejecting God's message — never in narrative.

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Case	Count	Passages
ἀπειθείᾳ	Dative singular	1	Rom 11:30
ἀπείθειαν	Accusative singular	2	Rom 11:32, Heb 4:6
ἀπειθείας	Genitive singular	3	Eph 2:2, 5:6, Heb 4:11

No plural forms occur. The genitive "of disobedience/unbelief" dominates (3x), used attributively to characterize persons ("children of disobedience") or to name the pattern to avoid ("example of unbelief").

Semantic Categories¶

1. Israel's Unbelief in God's Mercy Plan (Romans)¶

Rom 11:30 — "For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief [apeitheia]"
Rom 11:32 — "For God hath concluded them all in unbelief [apeitheia], that he might have mercy upon all"

Paul uses apeitheia to describe Israel's collective rejection of the gospel, but within a framework of divine purpose — their apeitheia opened the door for Gentile mercy, and God "shut up" (synekleisen) all in apeitheia so that mercy might be universal. Dative (11:30) and accusative (11:32) usage.

2. The "Children of Disobedience" Under Wrath (Ephesians / Colossians)¶

Eph 2:2 — "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience [apeitheia]"
Eph 5:6 — "for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience [apeitheia]"
Col 3:6 — "For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience [apeitheia]"

The formula "children of disobedience" (huioi tēs apeitheias) characterizes a settled condition rather than individual acts. These are persons whose defining trait is apeitheia. The phrase echoes Semitic idiom ("son of X" = person characterized by X). In all three occurrences, divine wrath (orgē) is the stated consequence.

3. Exclusion from God's Rest (Hebrews)¶

Heb 4:6 — "they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief [apeitheia]"
Heb 4:11 — "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief [apeitheia]"

Hebrews applies apeitheia to the wilderness generation who heard the gospel (euangelisthentes) but failed to enter Canaan. The word appears alongside eiserchomai ("enter") and katapausis ("rest"), framing apeitheia as the barrier to promised rest. Heb 4:11 uses it as a warning "example" (hypodeigma) for the Christian community.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	4x (57%)	Wrath of God upon children of apeitheia; God concludes all in apeitheia
υἱός (huios)	G5207	3x (43%)	"children [sons] of disobedience" formula
ὀργή (orgē)	G3709	2x (29%)	Wrath as consequence of apeitheia
ἐλεέω (eleeō)	G1653	2x (29%)	Mercy as God's counter-response to apeitheia (Rom 11)
εἰσέρχομαι (eiserchomai)	G1525	2x (29%)	Apeitheia as barrier to entering God's rest (Heb 4)
κατάπαυσις (katapausis)	G2663	1x (14%)	"Rest" that apeitheia forfeits

Word Family / Cognates¶

G544 ἀπειθέω (apeitheo) — verb: to disbelieve (willfully), to disobey; 16v across 5 books
G545 ἀπειθής (apeithes) — adjective: disobedient, unpersuadable; 6v
G3982 πείθω (peitho) — root verb: to persuade, convince, trust, obey; 55v
G3988 πεισμονή (peismone) — noun: persuasion; 1v (Gal 5:8)

Synonyms¶

G570 ἀπιστία (apistia) — unbelief, unfaithfulness; 12v. Emphasizes the cognitive side — failure to believe. Shares KJV "unbelief" with apeitheia. Used of Thomas's doubt (Mark 16:14), Israel's unbelief (Rom 3:3, 11:20, 11:23), and Hebrews' wilderness warning (Heb 3:12, 19).
G3876 παρακοή (parakoe) — disobedience (literally "hearing amiss"); 3v. Emphasizes refusal to listen rather than refusal to be persuaded. Used in the Adam/Christ contrast (Rom 5:19) and punishment language (2 Cor 10:6, Heb 2:2).

Antonyms¶

G5218 ὑπακοή (hupakoe) — obedience; 14v. From hupo + akouō ("hearing under"), direct opposite in the obey/disobey domain.
G4102 πίστις (pistis) — faith, faithfulness, belief; 243v. Direct opposite in the believe/disbelieve domain.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἀπιστία (apistia)	G570	"unbelief"	Apistia = inability or failure to believe (cognitive); apeitheia = obstinate refusal to be persuaded (volitional + cognitive). Apistia can describe weakness of faith (Mark 9:24 "help my unbelief"); apeitheia never describes mere weakness — always willful resistance.

Hebrew Source¶

No Hebrew sources found via LXX mapping. This is a distinctly NT word with no direct OT Hebrew equivalent. The LXX uses apeitheia-group words to translate various Hebrew terms for stubbornness and rebellion, but no single Hebrew word maps consistently to G543.