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Greek · G1680 · unreviewed

ἐλπίς

Expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence

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ἐλπίς G1680
Pronunciation elpís

What does ἐλπίς (elpís) mean in the Bible?

ἐλπίς (elpís) is a Greek word meaning "expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence". ἐλπίς (ἑλ-, Rom. Anchors unity in shared expectation of God’s fulfilled promises. This term runs through the canonical themes of Covenant, Faith, Messiah.

Full entry for ἐλπίς (G1680) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence
Extended definition

Hope anchored in God's character and future promises, not mere wishful thinking or human optimism

(ἑλ-, Rom.8:20, WH, see Bl., § 4, 3; M, Pr., 44), -ίδος, ἡ [in LXX for בָּטַח and its derivatives, תִּקְוָה (frequently in Jb), etc. ;] expectation (in cl., rarely of evil, mostly of good, and so always in NT), hope;

1of hope in general: 2Co.1:6; with genitive obj., Act.16:19; art. inf., Act.27:20, 1Co.9:10; παρ᾽ ἐλπίδα, Rom.4:18; ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίδι, 1Co.9:10.
2Of religious hope: ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίδι, Act.2:26 26:6, Rom.4:18 8:20, Tit.1:2; τῇ ἐ. ἐσώθημεν, Rom.8:24; κατ᾽ ἐλπίδα ζωῆς αἰωνίου, Tit.3:7; of the Messianic hope of Israel, Act.23:6 26:6-7 28:20; of Christian hope, Rom.5:2-5 12:12 15:4, 13, 1Co.13:13, 2Th.2:16, Heb.3:6 6:11 7:19 10:23, 1Pe.1:3 1:21 3:15; with genitive obj., Rom.5:2, Col.1:27, 1Th.1:3 5:8, Tit.1:2; with genitive of that on which the hope is based, Act.26:6, Eph.1:18 4:4, Col.1:23; ὁ θεὸς τῆς ἐ., Rom.15:13; ἔχειν ἐ. (= cl. ἐλπίζειν), Act.24:15, Rom.15:4, 2Co.3:12 10:15, Eph.2:12, 1Th.4:13; before ἐπί, with dative, 1Jn.3:3; εἰς, Act.24:15; ὅτι, Rom.8:20, Php.1:20-21. Meton.,
aof the author or ground of hope (cl.): 1Th.2:19, 1Ti.1:1; with genitive obj., Col.1:27;
bof the thing hoped for: Gal.5:5, Col.1:5, Tit.2:13, Heb.6:18 (Cremer, 252, 712).
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Why This Word Matters
Anchors unity in shared expectation of God’s fulfilled promises.
Believers rejoice in certain hope grounded in Christ’s work. Acts 23:6-10
Expresses forward-looking assurance rooted in God’s promise. Acts 26:1-8
Expresses forward-looking trust in God’s promise. Acts 28:17-22
Defines the reason Paul is bound in chains. Romans 15:7-13
Anchors moral transformation in assured future likeness to Christ. Romans 5:1-11
Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Singular · Feminine Acts 16:19 · Acts 27:20 · Rom 5:5 · Rom 8:24 · 1 Cor 13:13 · 2 Cor 1:7 · Eph 1:18 · Col 1:27 · 1 Thess 2:19 10×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Acts 23:6 · Acts 26:7 · Acts 28:20 · Rom 15:13 · Col 1:23 · 1 Thess 1:3 · 1 Tim 1:1 · Heb 3:6 · Heb 6:11 · Heb 6:18 · Heb 7:19 · Heb 10:23 · 1 Pet 3:15 13×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Acts 2:26 · Acts 26:6 · Rom 4:18 · Rom 5:2 · Rom 8:20 · Rom 8:24 · Rom 12:12 · Rom 15:13 · 1 Cor 9:10 · Eph 4:4 · Titus 1:2 12×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Acts 24:15 · Rom 4:18 · Rom 5:4 · Rom 15:4 · 2 Cor 3:12 · 2 Cor 10:15 · Gal 5:5 · Eph 2:12 · Phil 1:20 · Col 1:5 · 1 Thess 4:13 · 1 Thess 5:8 · 2 Thess 2:16 · Titus 2:13 · Titus 3:7 · 1 Pet 1:3 18×
53 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Canonical Themes
Covenant Faith Messiah
Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

Additional Occurrences
1-john Hope elpís
confident expectation
New Testament Witnesses
Acts 23:6-10 Hope elpís Genitive · Singular · Feminine
Confident expectation.
Acts 26:1-8 Hope elpís Genitive · Singular · Feminine
Confident expectation.
Acts 28:17-22 Hope elpís Genitive · Singular · Feminine
Confident expectation.
Romans 15:7-13 ἐλπίς elpís Genitive · Singular · Feminine
Hope, confident expectation.
Romans 5:1-11 ἐλπίς elpís Nominative · Singular · Feminine
Hope, confident expectation.
Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

ἐλπίς · ζωή · αἰώνιος G1680, G2222, G166
expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence
μακάριος · ἐλπίς G3107, G1680
supremely blest; by extension, fortunate, well off
ἐλπίς · ζάω G1680, G2198
hope that is alive, active, and resurrection-grounded
Χριστός · Ἰησοῦς · ἐλπίς G5547, G2424, G1680
Christ Jesus our hope
Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Acts 23 — The Lord Stands Near Paul and Preserves His Witness Acts 24 — Paul Before Felix: Resurrection Hope, Clear Conscience, and Coming Judgment Acts 26 — Paul Before Agrippa: The Risen Christ Sends Light to Jews and Gentiles Acts 27 — The Storm, the Shipwreck, and the Promise of God Acts 28 — Paul in Rome: The Kingdom Proclaimed Without Hindrance Colossians 1 — The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel of Reconciliation Romans 12 — Living Sacrifices, Renewed Minds, Humble Service, and Love Without Hypocrisy Romans 15 — Bearing with the Weak, Welcoming One Another, and Paul’s Priestly Mission to the Gentiles Romans 5 — Peace with God, Rejoicing in Grace, and Life Through the One Man Jesus Christ Romans 8 — No Condemnation, Life in the Spirit, and the Unbreakable Love of God in Christ

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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