Exploring the Meaning of Isotimos in Greek

ἰσότιμος describes something as “equally valuable,” and it appears once in the New Testament, in the greeting of 2 Peter. There it qualifies the faith shared by Peter and his readers, framing their standing in terms of worth.

Root and Related Words

ἰσότιμος is connected with two Greek words: ἴσος (isos), “equal” (Strong’s G2470), and τιμή (time), “honor” (Strong’s G5092). Together these related terms anchor the adjective in the idea of equality and honor/esteem.

Occurrences

“Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:” (2 Peter 1:1)

In this opening address, the writer identifies himself in two roles—“a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ”—and then names his recipients as “those who have obtained a like precious faith with us.” ἰσότιμος stands behind the phrasing “like precious,” and its force is to place the readers’ faith on the same plane of worth as the faith held “with us,” that is, with the writer and his circle. The greeting does not treat faith as a private possession measured by status, office, or seniority; it is presented as something shared across the boundary between an apostle and the addressed believers, equal in value as faith.

The wording also situates this equally valuable faith “in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” In the syntax of the greeting, the faith that is described as of equal value is not floating free; it is tied to a particular sphere or ground, namely “the righteousness” associated with “our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Within the sentence, ἰσότιμος therefore does more than supply a warm compliment: it shapes how the audience is to hear the entire letter’s opening. The recipients are approached not as second-tier learners receiving a lower grade of faith, but as participants possessing faith of equal worth, received in connection with divine righteousness.

Because ἰσότιμος occurs in the salutation, it functions rhetorically at the start: it sets expectations for tone and relationship. The writer’s authority (“apostle”) is real within the line, yet ἰσότιμος keeps that authority from implying a difference in the value of what both parties possess. The address thus combines distinction of role with equality of worth in the faith named.

Sense and Usage

The sense “equally valuable” is expressed here through a relational comparison: the faith of the recipients is measured in worth alongside the faith “with us.” The adjective does not describe a mere resemblance in outward appearance; it assigns equal value. In a greeting where the author could have emphasized distance—an apostolic voice speaking down to others—ἰσότιμος instead levels the value of faith across the relationship between sender and recipients.

This equal valuation is closely linked to how the faith is obtained: the recipients are those “who have obtained” it. The verb choice in the line frames faith as received rather than self-generated, and ἰσότιμος then identifies the received faith as fully valuable, not partial or inferior. The comparison “with us” also implies a shared standard of value within the community addressed by the letter: the author can assume a common reference point for what counts as precious, and then assert that the readers’ faith stands on that same scale.

Within this single verse, the adjective’s contribution is also social: it marks belonging. By describing the readers’ faith as equally valuable, the greeting grants them the same kind of recognized worth that the author attributes to his own group. That is especially significant in a sentence that highlights the author’s official identity; ἰσότιμος prevents that official identity from becoming a criterion for grading the worth of faith. The result is a tightly packed opening claim: difference of calling (“servant and apostle”) coexists with equality of value in what is possessed (“a like precious faith”).

Finally, because the phrase includes “in the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ,” the equally valuable faith is not valued on merely human terms (such as prominence or reputation) but in relation to that righteousness. The greeting presents faith’s equal value as compatible with a shared reference to God and Savior, and it binds the shared worth of faith to the shared confession named in the line.

Implied Imagery

In 2 Peter 1:1 the adjective carries the imagery of weighed worth: faith is treated as something that can be esteemed, compared, and recognized as equal in value. Set in the formal opening of a letter, this valuation acts like a public acknowledgement at the threshold of the message—an assurance that the recipients’ faith stands with the writer’s as fully precious.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).