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Greek · G1679 · unreviewed

ἐλπίζω

To expect or confide

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ἐλπίζω G1679
Pronunciation elpízō

What does ἐλπίζω (elpízō) mean in the Bible?

ἐλπίζω (elpízō) is a Greek word meaning "to expect or confide". ἐλπίζω [in LXX chiefly for בָּטַח, also for חָסָה, יָחַל pi. Ministry endurance flows from confident trust in the living God. This term runs through the canonical themes of Faith.

Full entry for ἐλπίζω (G1679) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

to expect or confide
Extended definition

To look forward with confident expectation, often directed toward God's promised fulfillment.

to look for, expect, hope (for): with accusative of thing(s), Rom.8:24-25, 1Co.13:7, Heb.11:1; with dative of thing(s) (τ. τύχῃ, Thuc., iii, 97, 2), Mat.12:21; before καθώς, 2Co.8:5; with inf., Luk.6:34 23:8, Act.26:7, Rom.15:24, 1Co.16:7, 2Co.5:11, Php.2:19, 23, 1Ti.3:14, II Jn 12, 3Jn.14; before ὅτι, with pres., Luk.24:21; with fut., Act.24:26, 2Co.1:13 13:6, Phm 22. As in LXX (WM, § xxxiii, d; and esp. in the pf., Ellic. on 1Ti.4:10; Bl., § 59, 2), with prep.; εἰς, Jhn.5:45 (see Ellis., l.with), 1Pe.3:5; before ὅτι, 2Co.1:10; ἐπί, with dative, Rom.15:12 (LXX 1Ti.4:10 6:17; ἐν, 1Co.15:19; with accusative, 1Pe.1:13 (aor. imper. see Bl., § 58, 2); τ. θεόν, 1Ti.5:5 (of. ἀπ-, προ-ελπίζω, see Cremer, 255).

Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Why This Word Matters
Ministry endurance flows from confident trust in the living God. 1 Timothy 4:6-10
True dependence rests on God, not merely institutional support. 1 Timothy 5:3-16
The core issue is misplaced trust, not mere possession. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Grammatical Forms

How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.

Tenses
Present Future Perfect Imperfect Aorist
Voices
Active Passive
Indicative states a fact or reality 24×
Present Active Rom 15:24 · 1 Cor 16:7 · 2 Cor 1:13 · 2 Cor 5:11 · 2 Cor 13:6 · Phil 2:19 · Phil 2:23 · Phlm 1:22 · 2 John 1:12 · 3 John 1:14 · Acts 26:7 · Rom 8:24 · 1 Cor 13:7 · Luke 6:34 · Rom 8:25 15×
Perfect Active 2 Cor 1:10 · 1 Tim 4:10 · John 5:45 · 1 Tim 5:5 4×
Future Active Matt 12:21 · Rom 15:12 2×
Imperfect Active Luke 23:8 · Luke 24:21 2×
Aorist Active 2 Cor 8:5 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 5×
Present Active Acts 24:26 · 1 Tim 3:14 · 1 Pet 3:5 3×
Perfect Active 1 Cor 15:19 1×
Present Passive Heb 11:1 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Perfect Active 1 Tim 6:17 1×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Aorist Active 1 Pet 1:13 1×
31 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Discourse Aspect

How this verb appears across 30 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).

Aspect
completed 1 ongoing 15 prospective 2 resultant 4 imperative 1 background 2 infinitive 1 participle 4
Tense
present 19 perfect 5 aorist 2 imperfect 2 future 2
Voice
active 29 passive 1
Mood
indicative 24 participle 4 imperative 1 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 12:21 ἐλπιοῦσιν future active indicative prospective Luke 6:34 ἐλπίζετε present active indicative ongoing Luke 23:8 ἤλπιζέν imperfect active indicative background Luke 24:21 ἠλπίζομεν imperfect active indicative background John 5:45 ἠλπίκατε perfect active indicative resultant Acts 24:26 ἐλπίζων present active participle participle Acts 26:7 ἐλπίζει present active indicative ongoing Romans 8:24 ἐλπίζει present active indicative ongoing Romans 8:25 ἐλπίζομεν present active indicative ongoing Romans 15:12 ἐλπιοῦσιν future active indicative prospective Romans 15:24 ἐλπίζω present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 13:7 ἐλπίζει present active indicative ongoing 1 Corinthians 16:7 ἐλπίζω present active indicative ongoing 2 Corinthians 1:10 ἠλπίκαμεν perfect active indicative resultant 2 Corinthians 1:13 ἐλπίζω present active indicative ongoing 2 Corinthians 5:11 ἐλπίζω present active indicative ongoing 2 Corinthians 8:5 ἠλπίσαμεν aorist active indicative completed 2 Corinthians 13:6 ἐλπίζω present active indicative ongoing Philippians 2:19 Ἐλπίζω present active indicative ongoing Philippians 2:23 ἐλπίζω present active indicative ongoing 1 Timothy 3:14 ἐλπίζων present active participle participle 1 Timothy 4:10 ἠλπίκαμεν perfect active indicative resultant 1 Timothy 5:5 ἤλπικεν perfect active indicative resultant 1 Timothy 6:17 ἠλπικέναι perfect active infinitive infinitive Philemon 1:22 ἐλπίζω present active indicative ongoing Hebrews 11:1 ἐλπιζομένων present passive participle participle 1 Peter 1:13 ἐλπίσατε aorist active imperative imperative 1 Peter 3:5 ἐλπίζουσαι present active participle participle 2 John 1:12 ἐλπίζω present active indicative ongoing 3 John 1:14 ἐλπίζω present active indicative ongoing

Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.

Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)

Canonical Themes
Faith
Biblical Occurrences

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

New Testament Witnesses
1 Timothy 4:6-10 hope elpízō Indicative · Perfect Active
To place confident trust in future fulfillment.
1 Timothy 5:3-16 hope elpízō Indicative · Perfect Active
To place confident trust in God.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 hope elpízō Infinitive · Perfect Active
To rest confidence upon.
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.

ἐλπίζω · θεός G1679, G2316
to set hope on God
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.

1 Corinthians 13 — The More Excellent Way of Love Matthew 12 — The Lord of the Sabbath, the Servant of the Lord, and the Crisis of Unbelief Romans 15 — Bearing with the Weak, Welcoming One Another, and Paul’s Priestly Mission to the Gentiles

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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