Disbelief (obstinate and rebellious)
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
Ἀπείθεια is disobedience understood as refusal to be persuaded, a resistant posture toward rightful truth and authority. Ephesians 2 describes humanity's former walk under the world's pattern and the spirit at work in the sons of disobedience.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀπείθεια (G543) · Open the biblical lexicon
Ἀπείθεια is disobedience understood as refusal to be persuaded, a resistant posture toward rightful truth and authority. Ephesians 2 describes humanity's former walk under the world's pattern and the spirit at work in the sons of disobedience.
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include disobedience (3), of disobedience (3), [their] disobedience (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 11:30. Its strongest book concentrations include Ephesians (2), Hebrews (2), Romans (2), Colossians (1).
Ἀπείθεια is disobedience understood as refusal to be persuaded, a resistant posture toward rightful truth and authority. Ephesians 2 describes humanity's former walk under the world's pattern and the spirit at work in the sons of disobedience. Colossians 3 warns that God's wrath comes against the idolatrous and immoral practices associated with that rebellion.
Romans 11 places both Gentile and Jewish disobedience within a humbling argument about mercy, forbidding boasting and directing everyone to God's compassion. The noun names more than an isolated mistake, yet it does not make sinners unreachable. Paul's own logic joins the seriousness of rebellion to the astonishing mercy of God. Teachers should therefore speak with moral clarity, personal humility, and gospel hope rather than using “disobedient” as a contemptuous label for other people.
Paul uses ἀπείθεια for resistant disobedience toward God. It characterizes the old walk, deserves judgment, and becomes the dark backdrop against which divine mercy is magnified.
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
The coming wrath answers idolatrous desire and immoral conduct, so disobedience must be heard within Paul's call to put earthly practices to death and seek things above.
In which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the sons of disobedience.
The phrase sons of disobedience describes the former realm and allegiance from which believers are saved by grace and recreated for good works.
Just as you who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their disobedience,
Romans 11 uses Gentile and Jewish disobedience to humble every group and magnify God's mercy, not to support ethnic pride or presumption.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Stubborn refusal to obey God; disobedience rooted in rebellious disbelief rather than mere ignorance.
Stubborn refusal to obey God; disobedience rooted in rebellious disbelief rather than mere ignorance.
(WH, -θία, exc. Heb.11:1-40. with), -ας, ἡ (ἀπειθής), [in LXX 4Ma.8:9 4Mac 8:18 4Mac 12:4 * ;] disobedience (MM, VGT, see word): Rom.11:30, 32, Heb.4:6, 11; υἱοὶ τῆς ἀ. (genitive of definition, see M, Pr., 73 f.), Eph.2:2 5:6, Col.3:6 (T, WH R, mg., omit).
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
willful unbelief, obstinacy, disobedience
Read versewillful unbelief, obstinacy, disobedience
Read versewillful unbelief, obstinacy, disobedience
Read versewillful unbelief, obstinacy, disobedience
Read versewillful unbelief, obstinacy, disobedience
Read versewillful unbelief, obstinacy, disobedience
Read versewillful unbelief, obstinacy, disobedience
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 3 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
ἀπείθεια is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Disobedience in Paul is not an innocent shortage of facts. It is resistance that takes shape in allegiances, desires, and conduct. Ephesians 2 says believers once lived within that realm, under powers they could not defeat by self-improvement. Colossians 3 refuses to soften the judgment due to idolatrous desire and sexual sin. Romans 11, however, prevents the doctrine from becoming a platform for superiority: Gentiles received mercy after disobedience, and Paul's argument seeks mercy and humility rather than boasting.
Faithful preaching must preserve this sequence. God's wrath is not embarrassed away, human rebellion is not excused, and mercy is not offered as a reward for the more compliant. Salvation is by grace in Christ, producing a new walk of obedience. Churches should call resistant sinners to repentance while remembering that every rescued believer stands by mercy and must therefore speak truth without contempt.
Col.3.6
Ἀπείθεια belongs to a word family built around refusal to be persuaded and thus disobedience. The semantic link between unbelief and disobedience is contextual rather than a claim that every question is rebellion. Paul's phrases and ethical settings show settled resistance to God's truth.
Israel's wilderness rebellion displays resistant unbelief despite God's mighty works. Prophets call the covenant people back from hardened refusal. Paul declares that Jew and Gentile alike need mercy, and the gospel creates a people who walk in the obedience of faith.
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
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain