verb
apeithamō
Strong’sG544
I disobey, rebel, am disloyal
stem apeith-14 times in the New Testamentin 5 of 27 books11 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
To disobey, be disobedient, refuse compliance 1234 — used both without an object, of someone simply being disobedient or rebellious 1, and with a dative object naming the person, command, or message not obeyed, such as disobeying God, disobeying a commandment, or disobeying a message 13. Strong's further characterizes this disobedience as a willful and perverse refusal to believe, linking the word to disbelieve and unbelieving 2.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
ἀπειθέω, -ῶ
(< ἀπειθής), [in LXX for מרה, סרר, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G544 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidap-i-theh'-o
to disbelieve (wilfully and perversely)
Fromfrom G545;
King Jamesnot believe, disobedient, obey not, unbelieving.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Attic dialect form of ἀπῐθέω (though even Trag. preferred ἀπιστέω, which see 11), to be disobedient, refuse compliance, Refs 4th c.BC+; opposed to πείθομαι, Refs 5th c.BC+: frequently with dative, disobey, οὐκ ἀπειθήσας θεῷRefs 5th c.BC+; τὰ μεγάλα ἀ. τινί in great matters, Refs; ἀ. ταῖς ἐνεχυρασίαις not to abide by them, Refs; ἐντολῶνLXX
2 of animals, Refs 5th c.BC+; of ships, τοῖς οἴαξιν ἀ.Refs 1st c.BC+
3 of a woman, refuse compliance, Refs 5th c.AD+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| apeithalōἀπειθοῦσιν | happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural | not obey | 1× |
| apeithaleἠπείθουν | was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural | not believe | 1× |
| apeithavaἠπειθήσατε | happened · yeaorist active indicative 2nd person plural | disobedient | 1× |
| apeithalaἠπείθησαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | disobedient | 1× |
| apeitharōntosἀπειθῶν | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine | disobeys | 1× |
| apeitharōntonἀπειθοῦντα | happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative singular masculine | disobedient | 1× |
| apeitharōntoisἀπειθοῦντες | happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine | disobey | 1× |
| apeitharōntoiuἀπειθούντων | happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine | not obey | 2× |
| apeitharōntoiἀπειθοῦσι | happening now · to, forpresent active participle dative plural masculine | not obey | 1× |
| apeitharantoisἀπειθήσαντες | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine | unbelieving | 1× |
| apeitharantoiἀπειθήσασιν | happened · to, foraorist active participle dative plural masculine | disobedient | 3× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 4 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | apeithamō | apeithame | apeithami | apeithama | apeithamē | apeithamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | apeithasō | apeithase | apeithasi | apeithasa | apeithasē | apeithaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apeithatō | apeithate | apeithati | apeithata | apeithatē | apeithatelē |
| we 1st person plural | apeithanō | apeithane | apeithani | apeithana | apeithanē | apeithanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | apeithavō | apeithave | apeithavi | apeithava1×ἠπειθήσατε | apeithavē | apeithavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | apeithalō1×ἀπειθοῦσιν | apeithale1×ἠπείθουν | apeithali | apeithala1×ἠπείθησαν | apeithalē | apeithalelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | apeithameiō | apeithameia | apeithameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | apeithaseiō | apeithaseia | apeithaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apeithateiō | apeithateia | apeithateiē |
| we 1st person plural | apeithaneiō | apeithaneia | apeithaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | apeithaveiō | apeithaveia | apeithaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | apeithaleiō | apeithaleia | apeithaleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | apeithasōr | apeithasar | apeithasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apeithatōr | apeithatar | apeithatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | apeithavōr | apeithavar | apeithavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | apeithalōr | apeithalar | apeithalēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | apeithamoiō | apeithamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | apeithasoiō | apeithasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | apeithatoiō | apeithatoia |
| we 1st person plural | apeithanoiō | apeithanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | apeithavoiō | apeithavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | apeithaloiō | apeithaloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | apeitharō | apeithari | apeithara | apeitharē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 10 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | apeitharōntos6×ἀπειθῶν | apeitharintos | apeitharantos4× | apeitharēntos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
apeith is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Words built on the same stem
Other words sharing the exact same stem — not merely related in meaning.
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
14 occurrences, every one of them listed
apeithalō“not obey”happening now · theypresent active indicative 3rd person plural1×
1 Peter 3:1“not obey”… idioi androi, hina kai ei tinois apeithalō to logo dia tau taiu gunaikaiu …Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives
apeithale“not believe”was happening · theyimperfect active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Acts 19:9“not believe”hōs de tinois sklērunole kai apeithale kakologarōntois tan hodan enōpion teu plētheu, …But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to …
apeithava“disobedient”happened · yeaorist active indicative 2nd person plural1×
Romans 11:30“disobedient”hōsper gar vis pote apeithava to theo, nun de elēiva ta …Just as you who formerly disobeyed God have now received mercy through their …
apeithala“disobedient”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Romans 11:31“disobedient”houtōs kai houtois nun apeithala te humetere elese hina kai autois …so they too have now disobeyed, in order that they too may now receive mercy through the mercy shown to you.
apeitharōntos“disobeys”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative singular masculine1×
John 3:36“disobeys”… huion echatō zōan aiōnian; tos de apeitharōntos to huio ouk horeti zōan, alla …… in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the …
apeitharōnton“disobedient”happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative singular masculine1×
Romans 10:21… ekpetannuama tain cheirain mu pros laon apeitharōnton kai antilegarōnton.… held out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
apeitharōntois“disobey”happening now · subjectpresent active participle nominative plural masculine1×
1 Peter 2:8… petras skandaleu; hois proskoptalō to logo apeitharōntois; eis hem kai tithila.… of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word— and to this they …
apeitharōntoiu“not obey”happening now · of, belonging topresent active participle genitive plural masculine2×
Romans 15:31hina ruimeia apo toiu apeitharōntoiu en ta Ioudaia kai tas diakonias …… I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service …
1 Peter 4:17“not obey”… apo nu, tinem tem telem toiu apeitharōntoiu te tou theou euangelie?… it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?
apeitharōntoi“not obey”happening now · to, forpresent active participle dative plural masculine1×
Romans 2:8“not obey”toi de ek eritheiau kai apeitharōntoi ta alētheia peithorōntoi de ta adikia …But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow …
apeitharantois“unbelieving”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Acts 14:2tois de apeitharantois Ioudaiois epegerala kai kakala tain psuchain …But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and …
apeitharantoi“disobedient”happened · to, foraorist active participle dative plural masculine3×
Hebrews 3:18“disobedient”… tan katapausian autou ei mē toi apeitharantoi?… never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed?
Hebrews 11:31… Raab tas pornas ouk sunapoleta toi apeitharantoi, decherantas toin kataskopoin meta eirēnau.… not perish with those who were disobedient.
1 Peter 3:20“disobedient”apeitharantoi pote hote apekdechote tas tou theou …… long ago when God waited patiently in the days of …