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feÌ„r (יר××”, yir'aÌ„h, יר×, yaÌ„reÌ„'; φοÌβος, phoÌbos, φοβεÌω, phobeÌoÌ„):
Terms, Etc
“Fear†is the translation of many words in the Old Testament; the chief are: yir'āh, “fear,†“terror,†“reverence,†“awe,†most often “the fear of God,†“fear of Yahweh†(; , etc.); also of “fear†generally (; ; , etc.); yārē', “to be afraid,†“to fear,†“to reverence†(; , ; , etc.); paḥadh, “fear,†“terror,†“dread†(, ; ; the King James Version; ; the King James Version, etc.).
“Fearful†(timid) is the translation of yaÌ„reÌ„' (; ); “to be feared,†yaÌ„reÌ„' (; ; compare ); in , it is the translation of maÌ„har, “hasty,†“them that are of a fearful heart,†margin “Hebrew hastyâ€; perhaps, ready to flee (for fear).
“Fearfully†(): yaÌ„reÌ„', “I am fearfully (and) wonderfully made,†so the Revised Version (British and American); “and†is not in the text, so that “fearfully†may be equivalent to “extremely,†to an awesome degree; compare , “by terrible things ... in righteousnessâ€; , “How terrible are thy works (yaÌ„reÌ„' “fearfulâ€); the Septuagint, Peshitta, Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 ad) have “Thou art fearfully wonderful.â€
“Fearfulness†occurs In (yir'aÌ„h); (pallaÌ„cuÌ„th), the Revised Version (British and American) “horrorâ€; (re‛aÌ„dhaÌ„h, “tremblingâ€), “Fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites,†the Revised Version (British and American) “Trembling hath seized the godless ones.â€
In the New Testament the chief words are phobos, “fear,†“terror,†“affright†(; , ; ; , etc.), and phobeoÌ„, “to put in fear†(both used of ordinary fear) (; ; ; , etc.); of the fear of God, the noun (; ), the verb (; , etc.); deilıÌa, “timidity,†“fear,†occurs in , “God hath not given us the spirit of fear,†the Revised Version (British and American) “a spirit of fearfulnessâ€; eÌkphobos, “frightened out (of one's senses),†“greatly terrified†(; compare ; The Wisdom of Solomon 17:9 the King James Version); apoÌ teÌ„Ìs eulabeıÌas is translated () “(of Christ) who was heard in that he feared,†the Revised Version (British and American) “having been heard for his godly fearâ€; so all the Greek commentators; eulaÌbeia, properly, “caution,†“circumspection,†is used in the New Testament for godly fear (, the Revised Version (British and American) “reverence and awe,†margin as the King James Version); compare eulabeÌ„s (; ; ); eulabeÌomai, “to act with caution†(). DeiloÌs, “fearful,†“timid,†occurs in ; ; , “Their part shall be ... the second deathâ€; phoberoÌs, “fearful,†“terrible†(, ); phoÌbeÌ„tron, “something fearful,†“a terrible sign or portent†(, Revised Version (British and American) “terrorsâ€).
Fear is a natural and, in its purpose, beneficent feeling, arising in the presence or anticipation of danger, and moving to its avoidance; it is also awakened in the presence of superiors and of striking manifestations of power, etc., taking the form of awe or reverence. Fear has been said to be the source of religion, but religion can never have originated from fear alone, since men are impelled to draw nigh with expectation to the object of worship.
“Fear†is certainly a prominent element in Old Testament religion; the “fear of God†or of Yahweh, “the fear of the Lord,†is indeed synonymous with religion itself (; ; , ; ; , “the whole duty of man,†the Revised Version, margin “the duty of all menâ€). But although the element of dread, or of “fear†in its lower sense, is not always absent and is sometimes prominent in the earlier stages especially, though not exclusively (, 'eÌ„maÌ„h; ; ; ; , , ), it is more the feeling of reverent regard for their God, tempered with awe and fear of the punishment of disobedience. As such it is a sentiment commanded and to be cherished toward Yahweh (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; , etc.). It is an essential element in the worship and service of Yahweh (2 Ki 17 often; , etc.); it is a Divine qualification of the Messiah (, ). This “fear of Yahweh†is manifested in keeping God's commandments, walking in His ways, doing His will, avoiding sin, etc. (; , ; ; , parallel ; ). It is the true wisdom (; ; ; ); it gives life (, etc.), blessedness (, ), sufficiency (), Divine friendship (), protection (), deliverance (), forgiveness (). In the King James Version has “According to thy fear so is thy wrath,†the Revised Version (British and American) “and thy wrath according to the fear that is due unto theeâ€; the meaning probably is “thy wrath is in proportion to thy fear.â€
The “fear of the Lord†is a frequent phrase in Apocrypha, and is highly exalted, e.g. Ecclesiasticus 1:11-30; the idea of it became gradually more and more elevated; in 2:15, 16 it is joined with the love of God.
“Fear†is the natural consequence of sin (; , ; ); it comes as a punishment (, ). The fear of man and of evils are dangers to be avoided, from which the fear of God delivers (; ; ; , etc.).
“Fear†sometimes stands for the object of fear (; ); for the object of worship (, , “the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac,†paḥadh).
In the New Testament dread, or fear of God in the lower sense, is removed; He is revealed as the loving and forgiving Father, who gives to men the spirit of sonship (; ; ); we are invited even to come “with boldness unto the throne of grace,†with confidence, assurance (parrheÌ„sıÌa), which, however, may have its literal meaning of free “utterance†(; ); but there remains a filial fear and sense of awe and of the greatness of the issues involved (; , the Revised Version (British and American) “of Christâ€; ; ); all other fears should be dismissed (; -28, ; ); in ; , “fear†is used in the sense of “stand in awe of,†so perhaps ; to “fear God†is sometimes used in the New Testament as equivalent to religion (; , ; , , used of proselytes); in , it is said that if Christ be willfully rejected, nothing remains but “a fearful looking for (the Revised Version (British and American) “expectationâ€) of judgment,†and , “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,†in which places “fearful†means “terrible,†something well to be feared. the Revised Version (British and American) gives frequently a more literal rendering of the words translated “fear.â€