Word study
Awe
5 Hebrew and 4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “awe”. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “awe” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- יָרֵא yârêfeartranslated this way 3 times of its 312 uses · Strong’s H3372Verb · Translated: afraid 109, fear 98, feared 23, awesome 21Full study and all 303 verses →
Deuteronomy 28:10 Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will stand in awe of you.
1 Kings 3:28 When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
- פַּחַד pachaddreadtranslated this way 2 times of its 49 uses · Strong’s H6343Noun · Translated: fear 15, terror 12, dread 10, panic 3Full study and all 48 verses →
Job 25:2 “Dominion and awe belong to God; He establishes harmony in the heights of heaven.
Psalm 119:120 My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.
- עָרַץ âratscause to tremble, trembletranslated this way 1 time of its 15 uses · Strong’s H6206Verb · Translated: terrified 4, feared 2, shake 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Isaiah 29:23 For when he sees his children around him, the work of My hands, they will honor My name, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and they will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
- פָּחַד pâchaddread, be in dread, in awetranslated this way 1 time of its 25 uses · Strong’s H6342Verb · Translated: afraid 4, fear 4, tremble 3, overwhelmed 2Full study and all 25 verses →
Jeremiah 33:9 So this city will bring Me renown, joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the good I do for it. They will tremble in awe because of all the goodness and prosperity that I will provide for it.
- חָתַת châthathbe shattered, dismayedtranslated this way 1 time of its 52 uses · Strong’s H2865Verb · Translated: dismayed 11, discouraged 10, shattered 10, terrified 7Full study and all 46 verses →
Malachi 2:5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, which I gave to him; it called for reverence, and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.
Greek words (New Testament)
- φόβος phóbosfear, terror, reverencetranslated this way 4 times of its 45 uses · Strong’s G5401Noun · Translated: fear 29, respect 5, awe 2, sense of awe 2Full study and all 42 verses →
Luke 1:65 All their neighbors were filled with awe, and people throughout the hill country of Judea were talking about these events.
Acts 2:43 A sense of awe came over everyone, and the apostles performed many wonders and signs.
- φοβέω phobéōI fear, am terrifiedtranslated this way 1 time of its 94 uses · Strong’s G5399Verb · Translated: afraid 47, fear 23, fearing 4, terrified 3Full study and all 91 verses →
Matthew 9:8 When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
- ἐκθαμβέω ekthambéōI am greatly astonishedtranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s G1568Verb · Translated: alarmed 2, filled with awe 1, deeply troubled 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Mark 9:15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were filled with awe and ran to greet Him.
- δειλός deilóscowardly, timidtranslated this way 1 time of its 4 uses · Strong’s G1169Adjective · Translated: afraid 2, awe 1, to 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Hebrews 12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.