δ. by means of the dat. of thing give credence to, believe (Aeschyl., Pers. 786 θεῶν θεσφάτοισιν; Soph., Phil. 1374 τοῖς ἐμοῖς λόγοις, El. 886; Pla., Phd. 88c, Leg. 7, 798d; Polyb. 5, 42, 9; 9, 33, 1; Herodian 7, 5, 5 ἐλπίδι κρείττονι; BGU 674, 6 τῷ λόγῳ; 2 Ch 9:6 τοῖς λόγοις; Ps 105:24; Pr 14:15; Sir 19:15; En 104:13 ταῖς βίβλοις; Philo, Leg. All. 3, 229 τοῖς κενοῖς λογισμοῖς, Virt. 68 the sayings of God; Jos., C. Ap. 2, 286, Ant. 10, 39 τ. λόγοις; Tat. 18, 2 ὕλης οἰκονομία; Ath. 30, 2 ταῖς γοναῖς τοῦ Διό; Iren. 1, 10, 2 [Harv. I 92, 4] ἡ ἐκκλησία … π. τούτοις [sc. κήρυγμα and πίστις]) οὐκ ἐπίστευσας τοῖς λόγοις μου Lk 1:20 (cp. Iambl., ViPyth. 28, 148 περὶ θεῶν μηδὲν θαυμαστὸν ἀπιστεῖν ‘concerning the gods nothing is so marvelous that it should occasion unbelief’). τῇ γραφῇ καὶ τῷ λόγῳ J 2:22. Cp. 4:50; 5:47ab. τοῖς γεγραμμένοις Ac 24:14 (Diod. S. 16, 52, 7 πιστεύσαντες τοῖς γεγραμμένοις). τῇ ἐπαγγελίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ 2 Cl 11:1 (Diod. S. 1, 53, 10 τῇ τοῦ προρρήσει πιστεύειν; 19, 90, 3). τῷ ψεύδει, τῇ ἀληθείᾳ 2 Th 2:11, 12. τῇ καταλαλιᾷ Hm 2:2. τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν (Is 53:1; cp. Jos., C. Ap. 2, 14 π. ἀκοῇ πρεσβυτέρων) J 12:38; Ro 10:16; 1 Cl 16:3. τοῖς ἔργοις J 10:38b (=their testimony); Hm 6, 2, 10a (that they are good and must be followed).—Pass. ἐπιστεύθη τῷ λόγῳ μου they believed my word Hm 3:3.
ε. w. prepositional expressions: εἰς Ro 4:18, if εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι αὐτόν here is dependent on ἐπίστευσεν. πιστεύειν εἰς τὴν μαρτυρίαν believe in the witness 1J 5:10c. ὁ Χριστιανισμὸς οὐκ εἰς Ἰουδαϊσμὸν ἐπίστευσεν the Christian way of life/Christianity did not commit itself to the Judean way/Judaism (s. Hdb. ad loc.) I Mg 10:3a; cp. b (Χριστιανισμόν, εἰς ὃν πᾶσα γλῶσσα πιστεύσασα). On πιστεύειν εἰς τὸ ὄνομά τινος s. 2aβ below. πιστεύετε ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ believe in the gospel (so Ps 105:12 ἐπίστευσαν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ. Rather in the sense ‘put one’s trust in’ Sir 32:21 μὴ πιστεύσῃς ἐν ὁδῷ ἀπροσκόπῳ. See B-D-F §187, 6; Rob. 540. ALoisy, Les Évangiles synopt. I 1907, 430; 434; comm.) Mk 1:15 (Hofmann understands it as ‘on the basis of ’, Wohlenberg ‘bei’; Lohmeyer is undecided; Dssm. and Mlt. 67f ‘in the sphere of’; s. p. 235). ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ οὐ πιστεύω IPhld 8:2 (s. Bihlmeyer ad loc.).—ἐπί τινι: πιστεύειν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ἐλάλησαν οἱ προφῆται Lk 24:25; Ro 9:33 (Is 28:16).
w. the pers. to whom one gives credence or whom one believes, in the dat. (Demosth. 18, 10; Aristot., Rhet. 2, 14 p. 1390a, 32; Polyb. 15, 26, 6 τοῖς εἰδόσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν; Herodian 2, 1, 10; PHib 72, 18; POxy 898, 29; PTebt 418, 15; Ex 4:1, 5; 3 Km 10:7; 2 Ch 32:15; Tob 2:14; Jer 47:14; JosAs 13:10; Philo, Praem. 49; Just., A I, 33, 5, D 7, 2 al.) τοῖς θεασαμένοις αὐτὸν ἐγηγερμένον οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν they did not believe those who saw him after he was raised from the dead Mk 16:14. Cp. Mt 21:25, 32abc; Mk 11:31; 16:13; Lk 20:5; J 5:46a; Ac 8:12; 26:27a (τ. προφήταις as Jos., Ant. 11, 96); 1J 4:1; Hm 6, 1, 2ab.—Also of Jesus and God whom one believes, in that one accepts their disclosures without doubt or contradiction: Jesus: Mt 27:42 v.l.; J 5:38, 46b; 6:30; 8:45, 46; 10:37, 38a. God: J 5:24; Ro 4:3 (Gen 15:6), 17 κατέναντι οὗ ἐπίστευσεν θεοῦ (= κατέναντι θεοῦ ᾧ ἐπίστευσεν); Gal 3:6; Js 2:23; 1 Cl 10:6 (all three Gen 15:6). ὁ μὴ πιστεύων τῷ θεῷ ψεύστην πεποίηκεν αὐτόν 1J 5:10b. AcPl Ha 3, 7.
w. pers. and thing added π. τινί τι believe someone with regard to someth. (X., Apol. 15 μηδὲ ταῦτα εἰκῇ πιστεύσητε τῷ θεῷ) Hm 6, 2, 6.—W. dat. of pers. and ὅτι foll. (ApcEsdr 4:35 p. 29, 12 Tdf.): πιστεύετέ μοι ὅτι ἐγὼ ἐν τῷ πατρί J 14:11a. Cp. 4:21; Ac 27:25.
abs. (in which case the context supplies the obj., etc.; cp. ParJer 7:19 γέγονε δὲ τοῦτο, ἵνα πιστεύσωσιν) ἐάν τις ὑμῖν εἴπῃ: ἰδοὺ ὧδε ὁ Χριστός, μὴ πιστεύσητε do not believe (him or it [the statement]) Mt 24:23; cp. vs. 26; Mk 13:21; Lk 22:67; J 3:12ab; 10:25f; 12:47 v.l.; 14:29; 16:31; 19:35; 20:8, 25; cp. GJs 19:3. J 20:29ab πιστεύσαντες those who have nevertheless believed (it=the fact of the Resurrection); Ac 4:4; 26:27b; 1 Cor 11:18 πιστεύω I believe (it=that there are divisions among you); 15:11; Js 2:19b even the daemons believe this; Jd 5. Pass. καρδίᾳ πιστεύεται with (or in) the heart men believe (it=that Jesus was raised fr. the dead) Ro 10:10.
believe = let oneself be influenced κατά τινος against someone Pol 6:1.
πιστεύομαι I am believed, I enjoy confidence (X., An. 7, 6, 33; Diod. S. 5, 80, 4 τοῖς μάλιστα πιστευομένοις ἐπηκολουθήσαμεν; 17, 32, 1; 1 Km 27:12; Jos., Ant. 10, 114; PGM 12, 279 πιστευθήσῃ=you will be believed) of Eve παρθένος πιστεύεται people believe that she is a virgin Dg 12:8, or perh. a virgin is entrusted (to someone without fear). S. 3 below.
to entrust oneself to an entity in complete confidence, believe (in), trust, w. implication of total commitment to the one who is trusted. In our lit. God and Christ are objects of this type of faith that relies on their power and nearness to help, in addition to being convinced that their revelations or disclosures are true. The obj. is
given
α. in the dat. (cp. Soph., Philoct. 1374 θεοῖς πιστ.; X., Mem. 1, 1, 5; Ps.-Pla., Epinom. 980c πιστεύσας τοῖς θεοῖς εὔχου; Ptolem. Lagi [300 B.C.]: 138 fgm. 8 Jac.; Maximus Tyr. 3, 8k τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι; Epict., app. E, 10 p. 488 Sch. θεῷ; Himerius, Or. 8 [=23], 18 πῶς Διονύσῳ πιστεύσω; how can I trust D.?; UPZ 144, 12 [164 B.C.] τ. θεοῖς; Jdth 14:10; Wsd 16:26; 4 Macc 7:21 al. in LXX; Philo, Leg. All. 3, 229 πιστεύειν θεῷ, Rer. Div. Her. 92 μόνῳ θεῷ, Op. M. 45, Sacr. Abel. 70 τῷ σωτήρι θεῷ, Abr. 269, Mos. 1, 225, Virt. 216 [on faith in Philo s. Bousset, Rel.3 446ff; EHatch, Essays in Biblical Gk. 1889, 83ff; ASchlatter, D. Glaube im NT4 1927; EBréhier, Les idées philosophiques et religieuses de Philon d’Alexandrie 1908, 21925; HWindisch, Die Frömmigkeit Philos 1909, 23ff; HWolfson, Philo ’47 I, 143–56, esp. II, 215–18; WPeisker, D. Glaubensbegriff bei Philon, diss. ’36]; Jos., Ant. 2, 117; 333; 3, 309; 20, 48, Bell. 3, 387 [s. ASchlatter, D. Theol. d. Judentums nach d. Bericht des Jos. ’32, 104ff]; Just., A I, 18, 6 al.). Some of the passages referred to in 1b above, end, are repeated, since they may be classified here or there w. equal justification. Of God: π. τῷ θεῷ (Orig., C. Cels. 4, 89, 15) Ac 16:34; 13:12 D; Tit 3:8; PtK 4 p. 16, 2; B 16:7; Hm 12, 6, 2; s 5, 1, 5. Cp. m 1:2; AcPl Ha 10, 13f. τῷ κυρίῳ (Sir 11:21; 2:8) Hv 4, 2, 6. οἱ πιστεύσαντες τῷ κυρίῳ διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ s 9, 13, 5. τῷ θεῷ w. ὅτι foll. m 9:7; cp. s 1:7.—Of Christ: Mt 27:42 v.l. (for ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν); J 6:30 (σοί=vs. 29 εἰς ὃν ἀπέστειλεν ἐκεῖνος); J 8:31 (αὐτῷ=vs. 30 εἰς αὐτόν, but see Mlt. 67f; JSwetnam argues for a plpf. sense here: Biblica 61, ’80, 106–9); Ac 5:14; 18:8a (both τῷ κυρίῳ); Ro 10:14b (οὗ οὐκ ἤκουσαν = τούτῳ [about equivalent to εἰς τοῦτον; cp. vs. 14a] οὗ οὐκ ἤκ.); 2 Ti 1:12; ITr 9:2; Hs 8, 3, 2.—Pass. be believed in (X., Cyr. 4, 2, 8; 6, 1, 39; Pla., Lach. 181b; Ps.-Demosth. 58, 44 al.; 1 Km 27:12; Just., D. 7, 3; Tat. 10, 2. S. B-D-F §312, 1; also s. Rob. 815f) ἐπιστεύθη ἐν κόσμῳ 1 Ti 3:16.—π. τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ υἱοῦ believe in the name of the Son, i.e. believe in the Son and accept what his name proclaims him to be 1J 3:23.