G544 — ἀπειθέω (apeitheo)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G544
Original: ἀπειθέω
Transliteration: apeitheo
Pronunciation: ap-i-theh'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: ἀ- (negative) + πείθω (peitho, G3982) — to persuade; lit. "unpersuadable"
Word Family: G543 ἀπείθεια (apeitheia, noun), G545 ἀπειθής (apeithes, adjective), G3982 πείθω (peitho, root verb)
Occurrences: 16 unique verses (17 tokens) in NT
First Occurrence: Jhn 3:36 — "he that believeth not the Son shall not see life"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From ἀ- (negative prefix) + πείθω (to persuade); to disbelieve wilfully and perversely; to be unpersuadable; to refuse compliance. KJV: not believe, disobedient, obey not, unbelieving.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 36.003: Obey, Disobey — grouped with ὑπακούω (G5219), πειθαρχέω (G3980), ἀπείθεια (G543), παρακοή (G3876), ὑποτάσσω (G5293)
Domain 31.010: Be a Believer, Christian Faith — grouped with πιστεύω (G4100), πίστις (G4102), πιστός (G4103), ἀπιστέω (G569), ἀπιστία (G570)

The dual-domain classification is linguistically significant: Louw-Nida places apeitheo in both the obedience and the belief domains, reflecting the word's inherent fusion of the two concepts.

Domain Neighbors (036.003 — Obey, Disobey)¶

Strong's	Word	Transliteration	Verses	Primary KJV Translation
G5219	ὑπακούω	hupakouo	21	obey
G5218	ὑπακοή	hupakoe	14	obedience
G5293	ὑποτάσσω	hupotasso	38	subject, submit
G3982	πείθω	peitho	55	persuade, trust, obey
G5083	τηρέω	tereo	75	keep, observe, reserve
G5442	φυλάσσω	phylasso	31	keep, guard, observe
G3845	παραβαίνω	parabaino	4	transgress
G3876	παρακοή	parakoe	3	disobedience
G543	ἀπείθεια	apeitheia	7	disobedience, unbelief
G545	ἀπειθής	apeithes	6	disobedient

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
believed not / not believed / have not believed	5	31%
disobedient / being disobedient	3	19%
obey not / do not obey	3	19%
believeth not / do not believe	2	12%
unbelieving	1	6%
Other (have, with them that believed not)	2	12%

The KJV translators themselves oscillated between "believed not" (31%) and "disobedient/obey not" (38%), reflecting the word's inherent semantic overlap. No single English gloss captures both dimensions.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Peter	5	4.8
Romans	5	1.2
Acts	3	0.3
Hebrews	2	0.7
John	1	0.1

Concentrated in epistolary literature (12 of 16 uses). 1 Peter has the highest density by far (4.8 per 100 verses), where the word appears in every chapter from 2–4. Romans uses it 5 times, all in chapters dealing with Jewish unbelief and Gentile inclusion (2, 10, 11, 15). Absent from the Synoptic Gospels, the Pastoral Epistles, and Revelation.

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Tense/Voice	Count	Example
Present active participle	ongoing disposition	6	ἀπειθοῦσι (Rom 2:8), ἀπειθούντων (Rom 15:31, 1Pe 4:17)
Aorist active participle	completed act	4	ἀπειθήσαντες (Act 14:2), ἀπειθήσασιν (Heb 3:18, 11:31, 1Pe 3:20)
Aorist active indicative	past narrative	2	ἠπειθήσατε (Rom 11:30), ἠπείθησαν (Rom 11:31)
Present active participle (nom sg)	substantival	1	ἀπειθῶν (Jhn 3:36)
Imperfect active indicative	ongoing past	1	ἠπείθουν (Act 19:9)

The participle dominates (11 of 14 parseable forms = 79%), describing apeitheo as a settled disposition or character trait rather than a momentary act. The present tense forms (7 of 14 = 50%) emphasize ongoing, habitual refusal.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Rejection of the Gospel / Refusal to Believe¶

Jhn 3:36 — "he that believeth not (apeithon) the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him"
Act 14:2 — "the unbelieving (apeithesantes) Jews stirred up the Gentiles"
Act 17:5 — "the Jews which believed not (apeithesantes), moved with envy"
Act 19:9 — "when divers were hardened, and believed not (epeithoun)"

2. Disobedience to Truth / to the Word¶

Rom 2:8 — "unto them that are contentious, and do not obey (apeithousi) the truth, but obey unrighteousness"
1Pe 2:8 — "which stumble at the word, being disobedient (apeithountes)"
1Pe 3:1 — "if any obey not (apeithousin) the word, they also may without the word be won"

3. Israel's Historical Unbelief-Disobedience¶

Rom 10:21 — "All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient (apeithounta) and gainsaying people" (quoting Isa 65:2)
Rom 11:30 — "as ye in times past have not believed (epeithesate) God"
Rom 11:31 — "even so have these also now not believed (epeithesian)"
Rom 15:31 — "them that do not believe (apeithounton) in Judaea"

4. Old Testament Examples of Disobedience¶

Heb 3:18 — "to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not (apeithesasin)?" (wilderness generation)
Heb 11:31 — "Rahab perished not with them that believed not (apeithesasin)"
1Pe 3:20 — "which sometime were disobedient (apeithesasin), when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah"

5. Eschatological Judgment on the Disobedient¶

1Pe 4:17 — "what shall the end be of them that obey not (apeithounton) the gospel of God?"
1Pe 2:7 — "unto them which be disobedient (apeithousin), the stone which the builders disallowed"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	4x (25%)	Object of unbelief: "not believed God" (Rom 11:30)
ὀργή (orge)	G3709	2x (12%)	Consequence: wrath follows apeitheo (Jhn 3:36, Rom 2:8)
πιστεύω (pisteuo)	G4100	2x (12%)	Antithetical pairing: believing vs. not-believing (Jhn 3:36, 1Pe 2:7)
λόγος (logos)	G3056	2x (12%)	Object: disobey "the word" (1Pe 2:8, 3:1)
λίθος (lithos)	G3037	2x (12%)	Stumbling-stone motif (1Pe 2:7-8)
ἐλεέω (eleeo)	G1653	2x (12%)	Mercy-after-disobedience pattern (Rom 11:30-31)
ψυχή (psyche)	G5590	2x (12%)	Winning souls despite disobedience (1Pe 3:1, 20)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G543 ἀπείθεια (apeitheia) — noun: disobedience, obstinate unbelief (7v)
G545 ἀπειθής (apeithes) — adjective: disobedient, unpersuadable (6v)
G3982 πείθω (peitho) — root verb: to persuade, convince, trust, obey (55v)

Synonyms¶

G3893 παραπικραίνω (parapikraino) — to embitter alongside, provoke (1v NT — Heb 3:16; LXX usage for Israel's wilderness rebellion)
G4645 σκληρύνω (skleruno) — to harden, render stubborn (6v — Act 19:9 co-occurs with apeitheo: "hardened and believed not")
G569 ἀπιστέω (apisteo) — to disbelieve, be incredulous (7v; overlaps in "believed not" translation)

Antonyms¶

G4100 πιστεύω (pisteuo) — to believe, trust, have faith (248v; the direct antonym — see Jhn 3:36 where "believeth" [pisteuo] and "believeth not" [apeitheo] are set in explicit contrast)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἀπιστέω (apisteo)	G569	"believed not"	apisteo = intellectual disbelief, failure to credit a report (Mk 16:11, Lk 24:11); apeitheo = willful, obstinate refusal to be persuaded — moral rebellion, not mere incredulity

Semantic Domain (L-N 031.010 — Be a Believer, Christian Faith)¶

Strong's	Word	Role
G4100	πιστεύω (pisteuo)	to believe/trust — positive pole
G4102	πίστις (pistis)	faith/belief — noun form
G4103	πιστός (pistos)	faithful/trustworthy — adjective
G544	ἀπειθέω (apeitheo)	to disbelieve-disobey — negative pole
G543	ἀπείθεια (apeitheia)	disobedience/unbelief — noun
G569	ἀπιστέω (apisteo)	to disbelieve — intellectual
G570	ἀπιστία (apistia)	unbelief — noun

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
מָרָה (marah)	H4784	9	7.14	to rebel, be contentious — primary LXX equivalent
סָרַר (sarar)	H5637	5	7.94	to be stubborn, refractory — highest PMI score
מָאַס (ma'as)	H3988	3	4.99	to reject, spurn, refuse
שָׁמַע (shama)	H8085	8	2.38	to hear — negated ("did not hear/obey")

The LXX translators chose apeitheo primarily for marah (rebel) and sarar (be stubborn), confirming that the word's semantic center is willful resistance rather than mere intellectual doubt. The connection to shama (hear → obey) negated also shows the obedience dimension.