Greek elpis, hope, the principal NT term for hope. Unlike English hope in its modern weak sense (I hope it will be a sunny day, equivalent to I wish or maybe), biblical elpis is the believer's confident expectation of the consummation of salvation in Christ, grounded in God's covenant promise and Christ's accomplished work. The NT lexicon is rich: Abraham as the great OT exemplar of hope (Romans 4:18, against hope believed in hope); hope as one of the three abiding theological virtues (1 Corinthians 13:13, and now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity); hope as the believer's anchor of the soul (Hebrews 6:18-19, that we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast); the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as our hope (1 Timothy 1:1, Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope); the blessed hope of His glorious appearing (Titus 2:13). Paul defines hope explicitly: we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it (Romans 8:24-25). The Reformed-confessional reading distinguishes hope from vague optimism: biblical hope is confident expectation anchored in the LORD's character, His covenant promise, and the accomplished work of Christ. The patriarchal-Reformed reader recovers elpis as the substantive theological virtue against the modern reduction of hope to mere wishful thinking.