πιστ-εύω G4100
To believe, trust, have faith in; in the passive, to be entrusted with or believed; the central NT verb for saving faith.
This is the defining verb of New Testament theology — appearing over 240 times, it covers the full spectrum from initial trust to settled conviction. When Jesus says 'whoever believes in him' (John 3:16), pisteuō carries the weight of personal reliance, not mere intellectual assent. Arabic consistently deploys the root ʾ-m-n (آمَنَ), Korean 믿다, and Swahili amini — all selecting their primary 'trust/believe' vocabulary, underscoring the universal centrality of this concept. The passive voice opens a second semantic field: being entrusted with a commission (Rom 3:2; 1 Tim 1:11), where the meaning shifts entirely from 'believe' to 'be given charge of.'
4. entrust / commit to — The active sense 'to entrust / commit to' (2x), where one hands over something or someone to another's care. In John 2:24 Jesus 'was not entrusting himself' to the crowd, and in Luke 16:11 the question is posed 'who will entrust to you the true riches?' Spanish confiaba/confiará and Arabic يَأْتَمِنُ (reflexive Form VIII) confirm the 'hand over for safekeeping' semantics. This reverses the direction of sense 2: here the subject actively commits rather than passively receives. 2×
AR["سَيَأْتَمِنُكُمْ","يَكُنْ-يَأْتَمِنُ"]·ben["বিশ্বাস-করছিলেন","বিশ্বাস-করবে"]·DE["glauben","glaubt"]·EN["was-entrusting","will-entrust"]·FR["croire"]·heb["הֶאֱמִין","יַאֲמִין"]·HI["विश्वास-करता-था","सौंपेगा?"]·ID["akan-mempercayakan","mempercayakan"]·IT["credere"]·jav["badhe-mitados?","pitados"]·KO["맡기겠느냐","신뢰하셨다"]·PT["confiará","confiava"]·RU["доверит","доверял"]·ES["confiaba","confiará"]·SW["atawaaminisha","jiamini"]·TR["güvenecek","güvenmiyordu"]·urd["اعتماد-کرے-گا","بھروسہ-کرتا-تھا"]
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
1. believe / have faith in — The overwhelming primary sense (233x): to believe in, trust, or have faith in God, Christ, a person, or a message. Spans all voice/tense/mood inflections in the active. Arabic آمَنَ and Korean 믿다 uniformly select dedicated 'believe' roots. Key passages include Mark 16:16 ('whoever believes and is baptized'), John 3:16, and Romans 10:9. The construction πιστεύω εἰς ('believe into') is a distinctly NT innovation expressing union with the object of faith. 233×
AR["المُؤمِنِ","الْمُؤْمِنِ","مَن-يُؤمِنُ","مُؤمِنِ","مُؤْمِنٌ","مُؤْمِنُ","مُؤْمِنِ","يُؤْمِنُ"]·ben["বিশ্বাস-করছে-যে","বিশ্বাস-করে","বিশ্বাসকারী","বিশ্বাসকারীকে,","বিশ্বাসী","বিশ্বাসীর-কাছে"]·DE["glauben","glaubt"]·EN["believing","having-believed"]·FR["croire"]·heb["הַמַּאֲמִין","מַאֲמִין"]·HI["विश्वास-करता-है","विश्वास-करने-वाला","विश्वास-करनेवाला","विश्वास-करनेवाला,","विश्वास-करनेवाले","विश्वास-करनेवाले-के-लिए","विश्वास-करे"]·ID["percaya","percaya,","yang-percaya"]·IT["credere"]·jav["ingkang-pitados","ingkang-pitados,","pitados","pitados,"]·KO["믿고","믿는-자-에게","믿는-자가","믿는-자는","믿는-자에게"]·PT["mas-que-crê","que-crê","que-crê,"]·RU["Верующий","Поверивший","верующему","верующий"]·ES["cree","creyendo","creyente","que-cree","que-creyere"]·SW["akamwamini","akiamini","amwaminiye","anayeamini","anayeamini,","anayeniamini","yeamini"]·TR["iman-eden","iman-edene","inanan","inanmayan","İnanan"]·urd["ایمان رکھنے والا","ایمان-رکھنے-والے-کے-لیے","ایمان-لاتا-ہے","ایمان-لانے-والا","ایمان-لانے-والے","مجھ-پر"]
Matt 21:32, Mark 9:23, Mark 16:13, Mark 16:14, Mark 16:16, John 2:11, John 2:22, John 2:23, John 3:15, John 3:16, John 3:18, John 3:18 (+38 more)
2. be entrusted with — The passive sense 'to be entrusted with' (6x), where the subject receives a trust or stewardship. In Romans 3:2 the Jews 'were entrusted with the oracles of God,' and in Galatians 2:7 Paul 'was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised.' Spanish confiado/confiada and Arabic ائتُمِنَ (Form VIII passive) clearly distinguish this from 'believe.' This is not faith but fiduciary responsibility. 6×
AR["اؤتُمِنوا","اؤْتُمِنْتُ","ائتُمِنتُ","لِنُؤْتَمَنَ"]·ben["আমাকে-বিশ্বাস-করা-হয়েছে","আমাকে-সমর্পণ-করা-হয়েছিল","আমাকে-স্থাপন-হয়েছে।","তাদের-কাছে-সমর্পিত-হয়েছিল","বিশ্বস্ত-করা-হল","বিশ্বস্ত-হতে"]·DE["glauben"]·EN["I-have-been-entrusted","they-were-entrusted","to-be-entrusted","was-entrusted"]·FR["croire"]·heb["הֻפְקְדָה-בִּי","הֻפְקַדְתִּי","הוּפְקַדְתִּי","לְהֵאָמֵן","נֶאֶמְנוּ"]·HI["मुझे-सौनप-गय","सौंपा-गया-हूँ","सौंपे-गये","सौनप-गय","सौनप-जअन"]·ID["aku-dipercayakan","dipercaya","dipercayakan","dipercayakan-kepadaku","telah-dipercayakan-kepadaku"]·IT["credere"]·jav["dipun-pitados","dipunpitadosaken","kula-dipun-pitadosi","kula-sampun-dipun-pitados","sampun-kapasrahaken-kula."]·KO["맡겨졌노라","맡겨졌다","맡겨졌으니","맡겨지기-위해"]·PT["lhes-foram-confiados","me-foi-confiada","me-foi-confiada.","me-foi-confiado","ser-confiado"]·RU["были-вверены","быть-вверенными","вверена","вверено-было","вверено-мне","вверено-мне."]·ES["les-fueron-confiados","me-fue-confiada","me-fue-confiado","me-ha-sido-confiada","me-ha-sido-confiado","para-ser-confiados"]·SW["kuaminiwa","nilikabidhiwa","nimekabidhiwa","nimekabidhiwa.","walikabidhiwa"]·TR["emanet edilmiştir","emanet-edildi","emanet-edilmek","emanet-edilmiştim"]·urd["اُن-کو-سپرد-کیے-گئے","سونپی-گئی","سونپی-گئی-ہے","سپرد-کی-گئی-ہے-مجھے","سپرد-کیا-گیا","سپرد-ہونے-کو"]
3. be believed (passive) — The passive meaning 'to be believed' or 'accepted as credible' (3x), where a message or person is the grammatical subject. In 1 Timothy 3:16 Christ 'was believed on in the world,' and in 2 Thessalonians 1:10 the testimony 'was believed.' Arabic صُدِّقَ (passive of 'give credence') and Spanish fue creído capture this nuance. The shift from personal trust (sense 1) to public reception marks this as distinct. 3×
AR["أومِنَ","صُدِّقَ","يُؤْمَنُ"]·ben["বিশ্বাস-করা-হয়","বিশ্বাস-করা-হয়েছিল"]·DE["glauben"]·EN["it-is-believed","was-believed"]·FR["croire"]·heb["הֻאֱמַן","מַאֲמִינִים","נֶאֱמָן"]·HI["मअन-गय","विशवअस-किय-गय","विश्वास-किया-जाता-है"]·ID["dipercayai","dipercayakan"]·IT["credere"]·jav["dipun-pitadosi","pracaya"]·KO["믿어졌다","믿어진다"]·PT["foi-crido","se-crê"]·RU["было-принято-с-верой","верится","принят-был-верой"]·ES["fue-creído","se-cree"]·SW["aliaminiwa","iliaminiwa","inaaminiwa"]·TR["güvenildi","iman-edilir","inanıldı"]·urd["ایمان-لایا-جاتا-ہے","ایمان-لایا-گیا"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πιστ-εύω, future -εύσω: pluperfect πεπιστεύκειν NT: (πίστις):—trust, put faith in, rely on a person, thing, or statement, τινι Refs 5th c.BC+; [σημείοις] Refs 5th c.BC+ adjective or pronoun, λόγοις ἐμοῖσι πίστευσον τάδε believe my words herein, NT+5th c.BC+; εἰς τὸ ὄνομά τινοςNT: absolutely, believe, περὶ μὲν τούτου.. οὔτε ἀπιστέω οὔτε ὦν π. τι λίην Refs 5th c.BC+; χαλεπὰ παντὶ ἑξῆς τεκμηρίῳ…