Word study
Terrify
8 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: terrified, terrify, terrifying, terrifies. 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 “terrify” 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)
- בָּהַל bâhalalarm, dismaytranslated this way 12 times of its 37 uses · Strong’s H926Verb · Translated: terrified 8, dismayed 7, terror 3, rushed 2Full study and all 37 verses →
Genesis 45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But they were unable to answer him, because they were terrified in his presence.
Judges 20:41 Then the men of Israel turned back on them, and the men of Benjamin were terrified when they realized that disaster had come upon them.
- יָרֵא yârêfeartranslated this way 9 times of its 312 uses · Strong’s H3372Verb · Translated: afraid 109, fear 98, feared 23, awesome 21Full study and all 303 verses →
Genesis 20:8 Early the next morning Abimelech got up and summoned all his servants; and when he described to them all that had happened, the men were terrified.
Exodus 14:10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified and cried out to the LORD.
- חָתַת châthathbe shattered, dismayedtranslated this way 9 times of its 52 uses · Strong’s H2865Verb · Translated: dismayed 11, discouraged 10, shattered 10, terrified 7Full study and all 46 verses →
Job 31:34 because I greatly feared the crowds and the contempt of the clans terrified me, so that I kept silent and would not go outside —
Isaiah 31:4 For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey — and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor — so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights.
- בָּעַת bâathfall upon, startle, terrifytranslated this way 5 times of its 16 uses · Strong’s H1204Verb · Translated: terrify 4, overwhelmed 2, frighten 2Full study and all 16 verses →
Job 7:14 then You frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions,
Daniel 8:17 As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
- עָרַץ âratscause to tremble, trembletranslated this way 4 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H6206Verb · Translated: terrified 4, feared 2, shake 2Full study and all 15 verses →
Deuteronomy 1:29 So I said to you: “Do not be terrified or afraid of them!
Deuteronomy 7:21 Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.
- גּוּר gûrsojourntranslated this way 2 times of its 88 uses · Strong’s H1481Verb · Translated: residing 8, reside 6, living 6, dwell 6Full study and all 85 verses →
Numbers 22:3 and Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous. Indeed, Moab dreaded the Israelites.
Job 41:25 When Leviathan rises up, the mighty are terrified; they withdraw before his thrashing.
- בְּהַל behalalarm, dismaytranslated this way 2 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s H927Verb · Translated: alarmed 4Full study and all 10 verses →
Daniel 5:9 Then King Belshazzar became even more terrified, his face grew even more pale, and his nobles were bewildered.
Daniel 5:10 Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.
- דְּחַל dechalfeartranslated this way 2 times of its 6 uses · Strong’s H1763Verb · Translated: fear 2, terrifying 2, awesome 1, frightened 1Full study and all 6 verses →
Daniel 7:7 After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying — dreadful and extremely strong — with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.
Daniel 7:19 Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others — extremely terrifying — devouring and crushing with iron teeth and bronze claws, then trampling underfoot whatever was left.
Greek words (New Testament)
- φοβέω phobéōI fear, am terrifiedtranslated this way 3 times of its 94 uses · Strong’s G5399Verb · Translated: afraid 47, fear 23, fearing 4, terrified 3Full study and all 91 verses →
Matthew 27:54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
Luke 2:9 Just then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
- ταράσσω tarássōI agitate, stir up, troubletranslated this way 2 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s G5015Verb · Translated: troubled 5, terrified 2, troubling 2Full study and all 17 verses →
Matthew 14:26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.
Mark 6:50 for they all saw Him and were terrified. But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
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.