What does ἀπειθέω (apeithéō) mean in the Bible?
Apeitheo describes refusal that joins unbelief and disobedience. It is not merely intellectual uncertainty, and it is not ordinary weakness in a struggling believer.
Greek · G544
ἀπειθέω
To disbelieve (wilfully and perversely)
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ἀπειθέω G544
Pronunciation apeithéō
What does ἀπειθέω (apeithéō) mean in the Bible?
Apeitheo describes refusal that joins unbelief and disobedience. It is not merely intellectual uncertainty, and it is not ordinary weakness in a struggling believer.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀπειθέω (G544) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G544?
The BSB source-word alignment has 14 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include disobeyed (2), [a] disobedient (1), disobey (1), have now disobeyed (1), refuse to believe (1).
Where does ἀπειθέω (apeithéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 3:36. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (5), 1 Peter (4), Acts (2), Hebrews (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Apeitheo describes refusal that joins unbelief and disobedience. It is not merely intellectual uncertainty, and it is not ordinary weakness in a struggling believer. In John 3, the one who believes in the Son has eternal life, while the one who rejects the Son will not see life and remains under God's wrath. Acts uses the word when some stubbornly refuse to believe and publicly malign the Way.
Romans speaks of those who reject the truth and follow wickedness. Hebrews uses Israel's wilderness generation as a warning about disobedience, and Peter applies the word to those who disobey the gospel. The word helps readers see that rejecting God's revealed truth is moral as well as intellectual. Faith receives and obeys; unbelieving resistance refuses the Son, the word, and the gospel.
How the Bible Uses It
Apeitheo joins unbelieving refusal with disobedient resistance. John 3 places rejection of the Son opposite believing in Him. Acts shows refusal hardening into public opposition. Romans connects rejection of truth with wickedness. Hebrews remembers those who did not enter rest because of disobedience. Peter places disobedience in relation to the gospel and God's household judgment. The word is therefore serious gospel-response language.
- John.3.36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.”
John contrasts believing in the Son with rejecting the Son. The word carries eternal-life and wrath significance in direct relation to Christ.
- Acts.19.9
But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
Some stubbornly refuse to believe and malign the Way. Apeitheo appears where unbelief hardens into public resistance.
- Rom.2.8
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
Paul describes those who reject the truth and follow wickedness. The word links refusal of truth with a chosen moral direction.
- Heb.3.18
And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed?
Hebrews recalls those who disobeyed and did not enter rest. The word functions as a warning from Israel's wilderness history.
- 1Pet.3.20
Who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.
Peter refers to those who disobeyed while God waited patiently in Noah's days. The word is set against divine patience and coming judgment.
- 1Pet.4.17
For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
Peter asks about the outcome for those who disobey the gospel of God. The word is directly tied to response to the gospel.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It disobeyed 2× Romans 11:30, Hebrews 3:18
[a] disobedient 1× Romans 10:21
disobey 1× 1 Peter 4:17
have now disobeyed 1× Romans 11:31
refuse to believe 1× 1 Peter 3:1
refused to believe 1× Acts 19:9
rejects 1× John 3:36
they disobey 1× 1 Peter 2:8
unbelievers 1× Romans 15:31
unbelieving 1× Acts 14:2
were disobedient 1× Hebrews 11:31
who disobeyed 1× 1 Peter 3:20
who reject 1× Romans 2:8
Show sample aligned rows
John 3:36 ἀπειθῶν to rejects Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Acts 14:2 ἀπειθήσαντες to unbelieving Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Acts 19:9 ἠπείθουν to refused to believe Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Romans 2:8 ἀπειθοῦσι to who reject Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Plural Romans 10:21 ἀπειθοῦντα to [a] disobedient Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular Romans 11:30 ἠπειθήσατε to disobeyed Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural Romans 11:31 ἠπείθησαν to have now disobeyed Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Romans 15:31 ἀπειθούντων to unbelievers Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Plural Hebrews 3:18 ἀπειθήσασιν to disobeyed Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Dative Masculine Plural Hebrews 11:31 ἀπειθήσασιν to were disobedient Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Dative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 3:36
Aligned rows 14
Books represented 5
John 1 Acts 2 Romans 5 Hebrews 2 1 Peter 4
Source forms
ἀπειθήσασιν 2x apeithēsasin Hebrews 3:18, Hebrews 11:31
ἀπειθούντων 2x apeithountōn Romans 15:31, 1 Peter 4:17
ἀπειθήσαντες 1x apeithēsantes Acts 14:2
ἀπειθήσασίν 1x apeithēsasin 1 Peter 3:20
ἀπειθοῦντα 1x apeithounta Romans 10:21
ἀπειθοῦντες 1x apeithountes 1 Peter 2:8
ἀπειθοῦσι 1x apeithousi Romans 2:8
ἀπειθοῦσιν 1x apeithousin 1 Peter 3:1
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Dative Masculine Plural 3x Hebrews 3:18, Hebrews 11:31, 1 Peter 3:20
Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Plural 2x Romans 15:31, 1 Peter 4:17
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x Romans 11:30
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Romans 11:31
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Acts 14:2
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Acts 19:9
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x 1 Peter 3:1
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular 1x Romans 10:21
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let the word clarify the seriousness of rejecting the Son without crushing those who are honestly seeking and learning.
- Read faith and obedience together where the passages join them, especially in gospel-response contexts.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that apeitheo describes every doubt, question, or moment of weakness.
- Do not claim that obedience earns life; John 3 grounds life in believing in the Son, while rejection remains under wrath.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Willful disobedience rooted in stubborn refusal to believe or submit to God's word.
Strong's G544
Lexical occurrences 14 verses Greek text appearances 16 times Word forms 2 forms 14 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link John 3:36 Source Gloss
to disbelieve (wilfully and perversely)
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Willful disobedience rooted in stubborn refusal to believe or submit to God's word.
(ἀπειθής), [in LXX for מָרָה, סָרַר, etc. ;] as in cl. (MM, VGT, see word); to disobey, be disobedient: absol., Act.14:2 19:9, Rom.10:21 11:31 15:31, Heb.3:18 11:31, 1Pe.3:20; with dative, Jhn.3:36, Rom.2:8 11:30, 1Pe.2:8 3:1 4:17 (Cremer, 475).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
John 3:36 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ἀπειθῶν apeiqwn
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse Acts 14:2 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀπειθοῦντες apeiqountev
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse Acts 17:5 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀπειθοῦντες apeiqountev
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse Acts 19:9 Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
ἠπείθουν, hpeiqoun
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse Romans 2:8 Verb Present Active Participle Dative Plural Masculine
ἀπειθοῦσι apeiqousin
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse Romans 10:21 Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
ἀπειθοῦντα apeiqounta
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse Romans 11:30 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἠπειθήσατε hpeiqhsate
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse Romans 11:31 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἠπείθησαν, hpeiqhsan
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse Romans 15:31 Verb Present Active Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀπειθούντων apeiqountwn
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse Hebrews 3:18 Verb Aorist Active Participle Dative Plural Masculine
ἀπειθήσασι; apeiqhsasin
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse Hebrews 11:31 Verb Aorist Active Participle Dative Plural Masculine
ἀπειθήσασι, apeiqhsasin
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse 1 Peter 2:7 Verb Present Active Participle Dative Plural Masculine
ἀπειθοῦσι apeiqousin
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse 1 Peter 2:8 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀπειθοῦντες· apeiqountev
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse 1 Peter 3:1 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἀπειθοῦσι apeiqousin
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse 1 Peter 3:20 Verb Aorist Active Participle Dative Plural Neuter
ἀπειθήσασί apeiqhsasin
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
Read verse 1 Peter 4:17 Verb Present Active Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀπειθούντων apeiqountwn
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
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.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 14 Tenses Aorist, Present, Imperfect Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 10×
Present Active Rom 15:31 · 1 Pet 4:17 · John 3:36 · Rom 2:8 · Rom 10:21 · 1 Pet 2:8 6×
Aorist Active Heb 3:18 · Heb 11:31 · 1 Pet 3:20 · Acts 14:2 4×
Indicative states a fact or reality 4×
Aorist Active Rom 11:30 · Rom 11:31 2×
Imperfect Active Acts 19:9 1×
Present Active 1 Pet 3:1 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 13 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 7 aorist 6
Voice
active 13
Mood
participle 10 indicative 3
NT Occurrences
John 3:36 ἀπειθῶν present active participle participle Acts 14:2 ἀπειθήσαντες aorist active participle participle Romans 2:8 ἀπειθοῦσι present active participle participle Romans 10:21 ἀπειθοῦντα present active participle participle Romans 11:30 ἠπειθήσατε aorist active indicative completed Romans 11:31 ἠπείθησαν aorist active indicative completed Romans 15:31 ἀπειθούντων present active participle participle Hebrews 3:18 ἀπειθήσασιν aorist active participle participle Hebrews 11:31 ἀπειθήσασιν aorist active participle participle 1 Peter 2:8 ἀπειθοῦντες present active participle participle 1 Peter 3:1 ἀπειθοῦσιν present active indicative ongoing 1 Peter 3:20 ἀπειθήσασίν aorist active participle participle 1 Peter 4:17 ἀπειθούντων present active participle participle
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)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Refusing to believe in the Son results in God's wrath remaining
Israel's willful resistance to God's extended arms of invitation
Those who refuse to enter God's rest through disbelief and hardened hearts
Willful disobedience of antediluvian people to Noah's preaching
Stubborn rejection and speaking evil against the Way before others
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 14 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀπειθέω is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Apeitheo is vital for gospel clarity because it refuses to separate belief from allegiance. John 3 does not place the rejecting person in a neutral middle ground; rejection of the Son leaves a person outside life and under wrath. Acts 19 shows that unbelief can become stubborn public opposition to the Way. Romans 2 ties rejection of truth to self-seeking wickedness.
Hebrews and 1 Peter use earlier judgment scenes to warn the church soberly. Yet the word should not be used to crush tender consciences or treat every struggle as defiant rebellion. Its target is resistant refusal of God's revealed word, especially the gospel of Christ. Faith receives the Son, and obedience follows from that reception.
Anchor passage
John 3:36
Doctrinal connections
- Gospel response: John 3 places believing in the Son and rejecting the Son in eternal contrast.
- Wrath and judgment: rejection is not neutral because God's wrath remains where the Son is refused.
- Faith and obedience: the word joins unbelief and disobedience rather than treating them as unrelated categories.
- Biblical warning: Hebrews uses wilderness disobedience to warn later hearers against hardened unbelief.
- Divine patience: 1 Peter 3 remembers disobedience in Noah's day alongside God's patience before judgment.
- Church witness: Acts 19 shows resistant unbelief maligning the Way, which shapes how mission faces opposition.
Apeitheo is a verb of refusing persuasion, disobeying, or rejecting. In New Testament contexts it often carries both cognitive and moral weight, a refusal to believe that is also refusal to submit.
From Old to New Testament
The New Testament uses wilderness and Noah traditions to show that unbelieving disobedience is not new. The gospel brings the issue into sharper focus because the Son has come and must be believed, received, and obeyed.
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
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain