Limited to Phil. 4:5; 1 Tim. 3:3; Tit. 3:2; Jas. 3:17; 1 Pet. 2:18, the Greek adjective “epieikes” meant “gentle,” “considerate,” “yielding.”
Although this word was originally “an expression for balanced and decent behavior” (Silva, 2:240), it “came to be used of a considerate, thoughtful attitude in legal relationships that was prepared to mitigate the rigors of justice, with its laws and claims, in contrast to the attitude that demands that rights, including one’s own, should be upheld at all costs” (ibid).
In Phil. 4:5, the meaning is “contentment with one’s state, even when one has not been treated fairly” (Silva, 2:2412). “In every other instance, this word group certainly conveys the concept of gentleness” (ibid).