Mat 8:26 Why are you fearful, Oh you of little faith?

The term translated as "why" is tis, is an indefinite pronoun which means "any one" or "any thing." Interrogatively, it means "who" or "what?" Deilos means "cowardly" or "worthless."

So the first phrase is "What are you? Cowardly?" Christ is asking his disciples and us, if we are cowardly and worthless.

Oligopistos is a word built of two words. We have covered pistos before. It is a passive verb meaning "to be trusted" or "to be believed." As an adjective, it means both "trustworthy" and "trusting." It is a great word because it equates trusting others with being faithful to them and worth of their trust. I wonder how this sense of the word got lost in English. Pistos offers both sides of the coin of faith as one. God has as much faith in us as we have in Him. As an adverb, pistos means "faithfully" or "loyally." Oligo is a Greek prefix used to mean "lacking," "wanting," or "having little."

So the complete verse equates cowardliness and worthlessness with a lack of trust. However, it challenges us to ask ourselves what we are.