The standard translation of πίστις is faith. This article examines whether and how far the contemporary understanding of “faith/believe” does justice to the Pauline uses of the πιστ- words. I argue that (generally) in the Pauline letters πίστις is relational, not an idea that one holds as true. In the LXX passages with πιστ- words that Paul discusses in his letters, the sense of trust is most noticeable. Paul does not make a significant shift in the meaning of πίστις; rather, he gives it a central place which becomes decisive in the human relationship to God. I suggest that πίστις and its cognates are best translated as “trust.” The Bible’s relational understanding of πίστις as trust in God gives us a more reliable guide than faith.
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