From a primary elpo (to anticipate, usually with pleasure); expectation (abstractly or concretely) or confidence -- faith, hope.

1. rarely in a bad sense, expectation of evil, fear; as, ἡ τῶν κακῶν ἐλπίς, Lucian, Tyrannic c. 3; τοῦ φοβοῦ ἐλπίς, Thucydides 7, 61; κακῇ ἐλπίς, Plato, rep. 1, p. 330 e. (cf. legg. 1, p. 644 c. at the end); πονηρά ἐλπίς Isaiah 28:19, the Sept.

2. much more frequent in the classics, and always in the N. T., in a good sense: expectation of good, hope; and in the Christian sense, joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation: Acts 23:6; Acts 26:7; Romans 5:4; Romans 12:12; Romans 15:13; 1 Corinthians 13:13; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 Peter 3:15; ἀγαθή ἐλπίς (often in secular authors, as Plato, Phaedo 67 c.; plural ἐλπίδες ἀγαθαί, legg. 1, p. 649 b.; Xenophon, Ages. 1, 27), 2 Thessalonians 2:16; ἐλπίς βλεπομένη, hope whose object is seen, Romans 8:24; ὁ Θεός τῆς ἐλπίδος, God, the author of hope, Romans 15:13; ἡ πληροθορια τῆς ἐλπίδος, fullness, i. e. certainty and strength of hope, Hebrews 6:11; ἡ ὁμολογία τῆς ἐλπίδος, the confession of those things which we hope for, Hebrews 10:23; τό καύχημα τῆς ἐλπίδος hope wherein we glory, Hebrews 3:6; ἐπεισαγωγή κρείττονος ἐλπίδος, the bringing in of a better hope, Hebrews 7:19; ἐλπίς with the genitive of the subjunctive, Acts 28:20; 2 Corinthians 1:7 (6); Philippians 1:20; with the genitive of the object, Acts 27:20; Romans 5:2; 1 Corinthians 9:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:8; Titus 3:7; with the genitive of the thing on which the hope depends, ἡ ἐλπίς τῆς ἐργασίας αὐτῶν, Acts 16:19; τῆς κλήσεως, Ephesians 1:18; Ephesians 4:4; τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, Colossians 1:23; with the genitive of the person in whom hope is reposed, 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (cf. Buttmann, 155 (136)). ἐπ' (or ἐφ' — so Acts 2:26 L T; Romans 4:18 L; () T WH; cf. Scrivener, Introduction, etc., p. 565; (but see above, at the beginning)) ἐλπίδι, relying on hope, having hope, in hope (Euripides, Herc. fur. 804; Diodorus Siculus 13, 21; ἐπ' ἐλπίδι ἀγαθή, Xenophon, mem. 2, 1, 187 (Winers Grammar, 394 (368), cf. 425 (396); Buttmann, 337 (290)): Acts 2:26 (of a return to life); Romans 4:18; with the genitive of the thing hoped for added: ζωῆς αἰωνίου, Titus 1:2; τοῦ μετέχειν, 1 Corinthians 9:10 (G L T Tr WH); in hope, followed by ὅτι, Romans 8:20 (21) (but Tdf. reads διότι); on account of the hope, for the hope (Buttmann, 165 (144)), with the genitive of the thing on which the hope rests, Acts 26:6. παῥ ἐλπίδα, beyond, against, hope (Winer's Grammar, 404 (377)): Romans 4:18 (i. e. where the laws of nature left no room for hope). ἔχειν ἐλπίδα (often in Greek writings): Romans 15:4; 2 Corinthians 3:12; with an infinitive belonging to the person hoping, 2 Corinthians 10:15; ἐλπίδα ἔχειν εἰς (Tdf. πρός) Θεόν, followed by an accusative with an infinitive Acts 24:15 (εἰς Χριστόν ἔχειν, τάς ἐλπίδας, Acta Thomae § 28; (τήν ἐλπίδα εἰς τόν Ἰησοῦν ἐν τῷ πνεύματι ἔχοντες, the Epistle of Barnabas 11, 11 [ET])); ἐπί with the dative of person 1 John 3:3; ἐλπίδα μή ἔχοντες (of the heathen) having no hope (of salvation), Ephesians 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:13; ἤ ἐλπίς ἐστιν εἰς Θεόν, directed unto God, 1 Peter 1:21. By metonymy, it denotes a. the author of hope, or he who is its foundation, (often so in Greek authors, as Aeschylus choëph. 776; Thucydides 3, 57; (cf. Ignatius ad Eph. 21, 2 [ET]; ad Magn. 11 [ET] at the end; ad Philad. 11, 2 [ET]; ad Trall. inscr. and 2, 2 [ET], etc.)): 1 Timothy 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; with the genitive of object added, τῆς δόξης, Colossians 1:27.

b. the thing hoped for: προσδέχεσθαι τήν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα, Titus 2:13; ἐλπίδα δικαιοσύνης ἀπεκδέχεσθαι, the thing hoped for, which is righteousness (cf. Meyer edition Sieffert at the passage), Galatians 5:5 (προσδοκῶν τάς ὑπό Θεοῦ ἐλπίδας, 2 Macc. 7:14); διά ἐλπίδα τήν ἀποκειμένην ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, Colossians 1:5; κρατῆσαι τῆς προκειμένης ἐλπίδος, Hebrews 6:18 (cf. Bleek at the passage). — Zöckler, De vi ac notlone vocis ἐλπίς in N. T. Gissae 1856.