570. apistia
Lexical Summary
apistia: Unbelief, faithlessness, lack of faith

Original Word: ἀπιστία
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: apistia
Pronunciation: ah-pees-TEE-ah
Phonetic Spelling: (ap-is-tee'-ah)
KJV: unbelief
NASB: unbelief, unbelieving
Word Origin: [from G571 (ἄπιστος - unbelieving)]

1. faithlessness
2. (negatively) disbelief (lack of Christian faith)
3. (positively) unfaithfulness (disobedience)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
unbelief.

From apistos; faithlessness, i.e. (negatively) disbelief (lack of Christian faith), or (positively) unfaithfulness (disobedience) -- unbelief.

see GREEK apistos

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 570 apistía (the negated form of 4103 /pistós, "faithful") – properly, without (divine) persuasion, "no-faithfulness" (unfaithfulness); "want of faith" (betraying a trust)" (J. Thayer).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from apistos
Definition
unbelief
NASB Translation
unbelief (10), unbelieving (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 570: ἀπιστία

ἀπιστία, ἀπιστίας, (from ἄπιστος), want of faith and trust;

1. unfaithfulness, faithlessness (of persons betraying a trust): Romans 3:3 (cf. references under the word ἀπιστέω, 1).

2. want of faith, unbelief: shown in withholding belief in the divine power, Mark 16:14, or in the power and promises of God, Romans 4:20; Hebrews 3:19; in the divine mission of Jesus, Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:6; by opposition to the gospel, 1 Timothy 1:13; with the added notion of obstinacy, Romans 11:20, 23; Hebrews 3:12. contextually, weakness of faith: Matthew 17:20 (where L T Tr WH ὀλιγοπιστίαν); Mark 9:24. (In Greek writings from Hesiod and Herodotus down.)

Topical Lexicon
Overview of ἀπιστία (apistia)

The noun signifies a settled posture of unbelief or faithlessness toward God, standing in deliberate contrast to the active trust conveyed by πίστις (pistis). It is not mere intellectual doubt but a moral refusal to rely on the Lord’s person, promises, and works. Eleven New Testament occurrences trace the theme from Galilee’s villages to the wilderness generation remembered in Hebrews.

Old Testament Background

Although the term itself is Greek, its concept reaches back to Israel’s recurring refusal to trust the covenant God (for example Numbers 14; Psalms 78; Isaiah 7). The Septuagint often renders Hebrew ideas of stubbornness or faithlessness with cognate verbs (ἀπειθέω, ἀπιστέω), preparing Greek-speaking readers to recognize unbelief as the root of covenant breach.

Unbelief and the Ministry of Jesus

Matthew 13:58 and Mark 6:6 report that Jesus “did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief,” and that He “was amazed at their unbelief.” Here apistia is shown to limit human reception of divine power, not the Lord’s ability. The father in Mark 9:24 reveals another facet: “I do believe; help my unbelief!” An honest admission of residual apistia becomes the doorway to deliverance when it drives a person back to Christ in prayer. Conversely, after the resurrection Jesus “rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart” (Mark 16:14), indicating that entrenched apistia warrants firm correction from the risen Lord.

Pauline Theology: Unbelief, Justification, and Covenant Inclusion

Romans 3:3 acknowledges that “some did not believe,” yet their apistia cannot overturn God’s faithfulness. The question serves Paul’s broader argument: divine righteousness is vindicated despite human refusal. In Romans 4:20 Abraham “did not waver through unbelief in the promise of God,” making apistia the antithesis of justifying faith. Romans 11:20-23 extends the point to Israel’s present condition. Branches were “broken off because of unbelief,” and will be re-grafted “if they do not persist in unbelief.” Thus apistia explains temporary hardening while preserving future hope, underlining that covenant standing is always maintained by faith alone.

Personal Testimony of Paul

In 1 Timothy 1:13 Paul recalls acting “in ignorance and unbelief.” Apistia once fueled his persecution of the church; mercy intervened, turning the foremost oppressor into the foremost herald of grace. The verse illustrates that even militant apistia is not beyond God’s transforming compassion.

Hebrews: Warning Against Apostasy

Hebrews 3:12-19 applies Israel’s wilderness failure to Christian congregations. A “wicked heart of unbelief” departs from the living God and prevents entry into His rest. Apistia here is corporate as well as personal, urging vigilant mutual exhortation lest anyone be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Root Causes and Progression

1. Hardness of heart (Mark 16:14; Hebrews 3:13).
2. Ignorance of divine revelation (1 Timothy 1:13).
3. Prideful self-reliance (Romans 11:20).
4. Familiarity that breeds contempt (Matthew 13:57-58).

Left unchecked, apistia progresses from hesitation to obstinacy, then to active rebellion.

Unbelief and Miraculous Works

The Gospels link unbelief to a paucity of signs, not because God’s power is diminished, but because He refuses to endorse resistance with further light. Where faith looks upward and receives, unbelief turns inward and is left empty-handed.

Pastoral and Discipleship Implications

• Preaching must expose apistia as sin, not merely intellectual difficulty.
• Congregational prayer should echo “help my unbelief,” trusting Christ to supply what He commands.
• Discipline within the body guards against the spread of unbelief (Hebrews 3:12-13).
• Evangelism recognizes that the Spirit overcomes unbelief through the gospel’s proclamation (Romans 10:17).

Historical Reflection

Early church writers such as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus viewed Israel’s unbelief as a cautionary tale for Gentile believers who might presume upon grace. The Reformers underscored that unbelief, not ethnicity, excludes from salvation, reinforcing justification by faith alone.

Contemporary Application

Modern skepticism often masquerades as neutrality, yet Scripture identifies persistent unbelief as moral resistance. Apistia cannot be negotiated with but must be repented of. Believers confront it by:

1. Immersion in Scripture, the wellspring of faith.
2. Participation in the church’s means of grace—Word, sacraments, fellowship.
3. Continual remembrance of God’s past faithfulness.

Promise and Warning

God “is able to graft them in again” (Romans 11:23). The same Lord who judges unbelief delights to replace it with saving faith. The ultimate issue is not intellectual capacity but wholehearted surrender to the trustworthy God revealed in Jesus Christ.

Forms and Transliterations
απιστια απιστία ἀπιστία ἀπιστίᾳ απιστιαν απιστίαν ἀπιστίαν απιστιας απιστίας ἀπιστίας apistia apistía apistíāi apistian apistían apistias apistías
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Englishman's Concordance
Matthew 13:58 N-AFS
GRK: διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν
NAS: there because of their unbelief.
KJV: because of their unbelief.
INT: because the unbelief of them

Mark 6:6 N-AFS
GRK: διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν Καὶ
NAS: And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around
KJV: because of their unbelief. And he went
INT: because of the unbelief of them And

Mark 9:24 N-DFS
GRK: μου τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ
NAS: I do believe; help my unbelief.
KJV: help thou mine unbelief.
INT: of me the unbelief

Mark 16:14 N-AFS
GRK: ὠνείδισεν τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν καὶ
NAS: [at the table]; and He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart,
KJV: them with their unbelief and
INT: rebuked the unbelief of them and

Romans 3:3 N-NFS
GRK: μὴ ἡ ἀπιστία αὐτῶν τὴν
NAS: did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify
KJV: shall their unbelief make the faith
INT: not the unbelief of them the

Romans 4:20 N-DFS
GRK: διεκρίθη τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἀλλ' ἐνεδυναμώθη
NAS: he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong
KJV: of God through unbelief; but
INT: he doubted through unbelief but was strengthened

Romans 11:20 N-DFS
GRK: καλῶς τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐξεκλάσθησαν σὺ
NAS: they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand
KJV: Well; because of unbelief they were broken off,
INT: Well by the unbelief they were broken out you

Romans 11:23 N-DFS
GRK: ἐπιμένωσιν τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ ἐνκεντρισθήσονται δυνατὸς
NAS: they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted
KJV: not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in:
INT: they continue in unbelief will be grafted in able

1 Timothy 1:13 N-DFS
GRK: ἐποίησα ἐν ἀπιστίᾳ
NAS: I acted ignorantly in unbelief;
KJV: [it] ignorantly in unbelief.
INT: I did [it] in unbelief

Hebrews 3:12 N-GFS
GRK: καρδία πονηρὰ ἀπιστίας ἐν τῷ
NAS: of you an evil, unbelieving heart
KJV: heart of unbelief, in
INT: a heart evil of unbelief in

Hebrews 3:19 N-AFS
GRK: εἰσελθεῖν δι' ἀπιστίαν
NAS: to enter because of unbelief.
KJV: enter in because of unbelief.
INT: to enter in on account of unbelief

Strong's Greek 570
11 Occurrences


ἀπιστίᾳ — 6 Occ.
ἀπιστίαν — 4 Occ.
ἀπιστίας — 1 Occ.

569
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