# G0225 - aletheia **Strong's:** [G0225](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g225/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** al-ay'-thi-a **Part of speech:** feminine noun **Root:** *a-* (not / un-) + *lēthō* / *lanthanō* (to escape notice / be hidden), literally "un-hiddenness" / "non-concealment" **NT occurrences:** 109 ## Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG / TDNT) 1. **Truth as correspondence to reality**, Greek-philosophical sense 2. **Truth as faithfulness / reliability**, Hebrew *emet* sense (the LXX often renders *emet* with *alētheia*) 3. **Truth as the gospel / the Christian message**, the apostolic / NT theological sense 4. **Truth as personal reality**, Christ Himself as the truth ([John 14:6](/codex/john-14-6/)) The semantic range bridges Greek-philosophical and Hebrew-relational truth-concepts. Greek *alētheia* = unhiddenness, openness, what corresponds to reality. Hebrew *emet* = faithfulness, trustworthiness, reliability. The NT preserves both. ## The Hebrew background, *emet* The OT *emet* (אֱמֶת, H571) is closely paired with *hesed* (lovingkindness, see [H2617 - hesed](/codex/h2617-hesed/)). The doublet *hesed v'emet*, "lovingkindness and truth", is one of the most-cited divine-attribute pairings ([Ex 34:6](/codex/exodus-34-6/); [Ps 25:10](/codex/psalms-25-10/); 26:3; 40:11; 57:3; 86:15). *Emet* in Hebrew thought is **relational fidelity**, not just propositional correctness. God's truth is His covenant-faithfulness; His Word is true because He is reliable. The LXX renders *emet* with *alētheia* ~125 times. ## Christological force, *I am the truth* ([John 14:6](/codex/john-14-6/)) **[John 14.6](/codex/john-14-6/)**, *egō eimi hē hodos kai hē alētheia kai hē zōē*, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life." Christ does not just *teach* truth; He *is* the truth. The Greek-philosophical idea (truth as correspondence with reality) and the Hebrew idea (truth as faithfulness) converge in Christ: - He is the *correspondence*, the perfect representation of the Father ([Heb 1:3](/codex/hebrews-1-3/)) - He is the *faithful one*, the One in whom God's promises are "Yes" ([2 Cor 1:20](/codex/2-corinthians-1-20/)) - He embodies divine truth in personal form This is the Christian distinctive: truth is ultimately *personal* (relational with God / Christ), not just *propositional* (logical). Both dimensions are preserved. ## Johannine *alētheia* density John's Gospel and 1 John have the densest *alētheia* concentration in the NT (~50% of NT occurrences). Major Johannine uses: - **[John 1:14](/codex/john-1-14/), [17](/codex/john-1-17/)**, "grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" - **[John 4:23-24](/codex/john-4-23-24/)**, "true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and *alētheia*… God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and *alētheia*" - **[John 8:32](/codex/john-8-32/)**, "you will know the *alētheian*, and the *alētheia* will set you free" - **[John 14:6](/codex/john-14-6/)**, Christ as *alētheia* - **[John 14:17](/codex/john-14-17/); 15:26; 16:13**, the *Pneuma tēs alētheias*, "the Spirit of truth" - **[John 17:17](/codex/john-17-17/)**, "Your word is *alētheia*" - **[John 18:37-38](/codex/john-18-37-38/)**, Christ before Pilate: "for this I have come into the world, to testify to the *alētheia*"; Pilate: "what is *alētheia*?" The Pilate question is the iconic clash: relativism / cynicism (Pilate) vs personal-incarnate Truth (Christ standing before him). ## Truth and the Holy Spirit The Spirit is the **Spirit of truth** ([Jn 14:17](/codex/john-14-17/); 15:26; 16:13). Three functions: 1. **Guides into truth** ([Jn 16:13](/codex/john-16-13/)), the Spirit's pedagogical role 2. **Bears witness to truth** ([Jn 15:26](/codex/john-15-26/); [1 Jn 5:6](/codex/1-john-5-6/)), confirming and corroborating 3. **Glorifies Christ as truth** ([Jn 16:14](/codex/john-16-14/)) The Trinitarian shape: the Father is the source of truth; the Son is the truth incarnate; the Spirit is the agent who guides into truth. ## Pauline *alētheia* Paul develops *alētheia* in apologetic / soteriological contexts: - **[Romans 1:18](/codex/romans-1-18/), [25](/codex/romans-1-25/)**, humanity *suppresses the truth* in unrighteousness; *exchanged the truth of God for a lie* - **[Romans 2:8](/codex/romans-2-8/)**, those who do not obey the truth - **[Romans 9:1](/codex/romans-9-1/)**, Paul speaks the truth in Christ - **[2 Corinthians 4:2](/codex/2-corinthians-4-2/)**, manifestation of truth - **[2 Corinthians 13:8](/codex/2-corinthians-13-8/)**, "we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth" - **[Galatians 2:5](/codex/galatians-2-5/), [14](/codex/galatians-2-14/)**, the truth of the gospel - **[Ephesians 4:15](/codex/ephesians-4-15/)**, speaking the truth in love (*alētheuontes en agapē*) - **[Ephesians 6:14](/codex/ephesians-6-14/)**, the belt of truth - **[2 Thessalonians 2:10-12](/codex/2-thessalonians-2-10-12/)**, those who refused the love of the truth - **[1 Timothy 2:4](/codex/1-timothy-2-4/)**, God desires all to come to *alētheias epignōsin* - **[1 Timothy 3:15](/codex/1-timothy-3-15/)**, the church as *stylos kai hedraiōma tēs alētheias*, "pillar and support of the truth" - **[2 Timothy 2:15](/codex/2-timothy-2-15/), [25](/codex/2-timothy-2-25/); 3:7-8; 4:4**, extensive *alētheia* / counterfeit-truth contrast - **[Titus 1:1](/codex/titus-1-1/)**, "the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness" Paul's pattern: the gospel *is* the truth; Christians stand for it; opponents are characterized by their suppression / rejection of truth. ## Apologetic / epistemic significance *Alētheia* anchors: 1. **Christian truth-claim**, Christianity claims to be objectively true, not just one option among many 2. **Anti-relativism**, *alētheia* is not personal or cultural construct 3. **Truth as personal-relational**, bridges the Western Greek-philosophical and Hebrew-relational dimensions 4. **The unity of doctrine and life**, truth is to be *known*, *believed*, *spoken*, *done*, *walked in* ([1 Jn 1:6](/codex/1-john-1-6/)) 5. **Apologetic engagement with secular epistemology**, the question Pilate asked ("what is truth?") is the modern question ## Notable verses outside the corpus - **[Psalm 117:2](/codex/psalms-117-2/)**, *emet* of the LORD endures forever (Hallel use) - **[Proverbs 23:23](/codex/proverbs-23-23/)**, "buy truth and do not sell it" - **[Isaiah 65:16](/codex/isaiah-65-16/)**, "the God of truth" - **[Daniel 4:37](/codex/daniel-4-37/)**, "all His works are *alētheia*" ## Patristic / scholarly note Patristic engagement enormous; truth-language structures Trinitarian / Christological / apologetic discussions across the patristic period. Modern conservative engagement: D. A. Carson (*The Gagging of God*, 1996); Cornelius Van Til (presuppositional epistemology); Os Guinness (*Time for Truth*, 2000); Francis Schaeffer (*True Truth*, *The God Who Is There*, 1968). The "Justified True Belief" tradition in contemporary epistemology engages *alētheia* via Plato's *Theaetetus*, the Greek philosophical heritage that Christianity inherited and transformed. ## See also - [H0571 - emet](/codex/h0571-emet/), Hebrew faithfulness / truth - [G3056 - logos](/codex/g3056-logos/), Word / Reason / Truth-content - [G4151 - pneuma](/codex/g4151-pneuma/), Spirit of truth - [G3340 - metanoeo](/codex/g3340-metanoeo/), repentance into truth - [John 14.6](/codex/john-14-6/), Christ as truth - [Justified True Belief](/codex/justified-true-belief/), concept hub - *Ingredients in the Truth* (in raw/notes) - [What is Truth](/codex/theories-of-truth/) (in raw/notes) ## Notes _Lexical workspace for alētheia._