← Back to Lexicon
G1895 · Greek · New Testament
ἐπείπερ
eieper
Conjunction
since indeed, forasmuch as

Definition

Epeiper appears only once in the New Testament (Romans 3:30), combining epei (since) + per (indeed/precisely) for an emphatic causal assertion. Paul uses it to ground the unity of Jew and Gentile justification: 'since there is only one God [epeiper], who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.' The word is the linchpin of one of the most compact theological arguments in all of Scripture.

Usage & Theological Significance

Romans 3:29-30 is a tour de force of monotheistic logic. The question 'Is God the God of Jews only?' is answered with epeiper — 'since indeed' there is only one God, He must be the God of all peoples. The oneness of God demands the universality of the Gospel. Epeiper thus connects the Shema ('Hear O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one,' Deuteronomy 6:4) to the missionary imperative — one God, one way of salvation (by faith), one family of God spanning every ethnicity. The same logic powers Galatians 3:28 and Ephesians 2:14-16.

Key Bible Verses

Romans 3:30 Since there is only one God [epeiper], who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
Romans 3:29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too.
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.

Related Words

External Resources

🌙
☀️