H0530 H0530
Faithfulness, fidelity, trustworthiness; also personal faith/trust and physical steadiness
Emunah is one of the great covenant words of the Hebrew Bible. In its dominant sense it names the rock-solid faithfulness of God — 'a God of faithfulness and without iniquity' (Deut 32:4) — and the trustworthy character expected of those who serve him (2 Kgs 12:15; 22:7). Its most famous occurrence, Habakkuk 2:4 ('the righteous shall live by his emunah'), became the seedbed for Paul's theology of faith (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11). Spanish notably renders this verse 'por su fe' rather than 'fidelidad,' signaling a shift from attribute to act. In one vivid physical use, Moses' hands were 'emunah' — steady, firm — held aloft during battle (Exod 17:12).
3. steadiness, firmness — Physical steadiness or firmness — the concrete, literal root meaning. In Exodus 17:12, Aaron and Hur hold Moses' hands so that they are 'emunah' (steady) until sunset. Spanish 'firmeza,' Hindi 'स्थिर,' and Arabic equivalents all render this as physical stability rather than moral faithfulness, marking a clear semantic boundary. 1×
AR["ثَابِتَتَيْنِ"]·ben["স্থির"]·DE["steady"]·EN["steady"]·FR["steady"]·heb["אמונה"]·HI["स्थिर"]·ID["tetap"]·IT["steady"]·jav["kukuh"]·KO["한결같이"]·PT["firmeza"]·RU["твёрдыми"]·ES["firmeza"]·SW["imara"]·TR["sabit"]·urd["مضبوط"]
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
1. faithfulness, fidelity, reliability — The quality of being faithful, reliable, and trustworthy — the dominant sense across 47 occurrences. Used of God's covenant fidelity (Deut 32:4; Ps 36:5) and of human integrity in office (2 Kgs 12:15; 1 Chr 9:22). Frequently paired with chesed ('steadfast love'). French 'fidélité' and Spanish 'fidelidad/con-verdad' capture this relational trust. 47×
AR["أَمانَةً","أَمانَتَكَ","أَمانَتُكَ","أَمَانَتَكَ","أَمَانَتُكَ","بِ-أَمَانَةٍ","بِ-الْأَمَانَةِ","بِأَمَانَة","بِأَمَانَةٍ","بِالأَمانَةِ","بِـ-أَمَانَةٍ"]·ben["-বিশ্বস্ততায়","আপনার-বিশ্বস্ততা","তোমার-বিশ্বস্ততা","তোমার-বিশ্বস্ততাকে","বিশ্বস্ততা","বিশ্বস্ততায়"]·DE["Treue","[אמונתך]","[באמונה]","dein-Treue","in-Treue"]·EN["Your-faithfulness","faithfulness","in-faithfulness","your-faithfulness"]·FR["[באמונה]","dans-fidélité","fidélité","ta-fidélité"]·heb["אמונה","אמונת-ך","אמונתך","ב-אמונה"]·HI["-में-विश्वसनीयता","तेरी-विश्वासयोग्यता","तेरी-सच्चाई","बे-ईमानदारी-से","में-विश्वासयोग्यता","में-सच्चाई","विश्वास-से","विश्वासमें","विश्वासयोग्यता","विश्वासयोग्यता-तेरी","विश्वासयोग्यता-में","विश्वासयोग्यता-से"]·ID["dalam-kebenaran","dalam-kesetiaan","dengan-kejujuran","dengan-kesetiaan","dengan-setia","kesetiaan-Mu"]·IT["fedelta","fedelta'","fedeltà","in-fedelta'","in-fedeltà","la-tua-fedelta'"]·jav["ing-kasetyan","ing-kayekten","ing-setya","kaliyan-setya","kanthi-kasetyan","kanthi-setya","kasetyan","kasetyan-Panjenengan","kayekten-Paduka"]·KO["당신-신실함-이","당신-의-신실함-을","당신-의-신실함-이","당신-의-진실하심-이","성실함으로","신실함-을","에-성실함으로","에-신실함","에-신실함-에서","에-신실함과","주-의-신실하심","주-의-신실함-을","진실로-","진실하도다","충실하게"]·PT["Tua-fidelidade","a-tua-fidelidade","com-fidelidade","de-fidelidade","em-fidelidade","em-verdade","tua-fidelidade","é-a-tua-fidelidade"]·RU["в-верности","верность-Твою","верность-Твоя","верностью"]·ES["con-fidelidad","con-verdad","en-fidelidad","fidelidad","fidelidad-de-ti","tu-fidelidad"]·SW["beּemwּnah","kwa-uaminifu","uaminifu-wako"]·TR["-güvenilirlikle","doğrulukta","guvenirilirlikte","güvenilirlikle","güvenilirlikte","sadakatin-senin","sadakatle","sadakatte","sadâkatin","sadık-olarak","sadıkatın","sadıkatını","sadıklık","sadıklığın","sadıklığını"]·urd["-وفاداری-میں","امانت-میں","ایمانداری-سے","ایمانداری-میں","تیری-وفاداری","دیانت-سے","میں-امانت","وفاداری","وفاداری-سے","وفاداری-میں"]
Deut 32:4, 1 Sam 26:23, 2 Kgs 12:15, 2 Kgs 22:7, 1 Chr 9:22, 1 Chr 9:26, 1 Chr 9:31, 2 Chr 19:9, 2 Chr 31:12, 2 Chr 31:15, 2 Chr 31:18, 2 Chr 34:12 (+35 more)
2. faith, trust, belief — Personal faith or trust directed toward God, distinctively in Habakkuk 2:4: 'the righteous shall live by his emunah.' Multilingual evidence supports the distinction — Spanish 'por su fe' (not 'fidelidad') and the three NT citations (Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38) all treat this as trust exercised, not merely trustworthiness possessed. 1×
AR["بِـ-إيمانِهِ"]·ben["তার-বিশ্বাসতায়"]·DE["[באמונתו]"]·EN["by-his-faithfulness"]·FR["fidélité"]·heb["ב-אמונתו"]·HI["अपने-विश्वास-से"]·ID["dalam-imannya"]·IT["fedeltà"]·jav["ngangge-kapitadosanipun"]·KO["그-의-믿음-으로"]·PT["por-sua-fidelidade"]·RU["верой-своей"]·ES["por-su-fe"]·SW["kwa-imani-yake"]·TR["imanıyla-onun"]·urd["اپنے-ایمان-سے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† אֱמוּנָה n.f. firmness, steadfastness, fidelity Ex 17:12 + 46 times; אֱמוּנוֹת Pr 28:20. 1. lit. firmness, steadiness: Ex 17:12 וַיְהִי יָדָיו א׳ his hands were steadiness (i.e. steady). 2. steadfastness, אֱמוּנַת עִתֶּיךָ steadfastness of thy times Is 33:6. 3. faithfulness, trust: a. of human conduct ψ 37:3 Pr 12:22 Je 5:3; 7:28; 9:2; in office 2 K 12:16; 22:7 2 Ch 19:9; 31:12; 34:12; (על)…