Foursquare Bible College

Quezon City
A.Y. 2023-2024

A HEBREW WORD STUDY ON FEAR (‫)י ֵָרא‬

In partial fulfillment of the requirements in

Introduction to Biblical Language 2

Submitted by:

Alchel Grace R. Emaas

Submitted to:

Ptr. Melchizedek Eleazar Atienza

February 2024
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

---

I. Introduction - 3

II. Original Word - 4

III. Range of Meanings - 5

IV. Context/Discourse - 6

V. Summary - 8

VI. Bibliography - 9

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 I. Introduction

Fear plays a prominent role in our lives. We are often encouraged by modern
culture to not be afraid, to have no fear, to face our fears and conquer them so that we
can move forward in our lives. It isn’t only modern culture that tells us this. The phrase
“fear not” occurs at least 62 times in the King James translation of the Bible.1 However,
all of this encouragement can be thrown into confusion when we read some passages
in the bible, like Psalm 34:9 (ESV) that says:
“Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!”
This is a promise that when we fear the Lord, we will lack nothing. So how is it that fear,
something we can spend much of our lives avoiding, can now help us have all that we
need?

In this study, we will try to find out what the word fear really means as to how it
was used in Psalm 34:9.

1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK19xCEUkmc

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II. Original Word

The Hebrew word for fear is ‫ י ֵָרא‬- ya.re (H3372H). This word was mentioned for
around 335x in the bible. The first time it was mentioned in the Old Testament is in
Genesis 3:10, and was last mentioned in Malachi 4:52.

Gen 3:10 (ESV)

And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid,
because I was naked, and I hid myself.”
(OHB)
ָ ִ‫וַֹּיאמֶ ר אֶ ת־קֹלְָך ָׁש מַ עְ ִּת י ַּבָּגן ו ָא‬
‫ירא ִּכ ֽי־עֵ יר ֹם ָאנֹכִי ו ָאֵ חָ ֵבֽא׃‬

Mal 4:5 (ESV)

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great
and awesome day of the LORD comes.
(OHB)
‫הִ ֵּנה ָאֽנֹכִי ֹׁשלֵחַ ָלכֶם אֵ ת אֵ לִָּיה הַ ָּנבִיא לִפְ נֵי ּבֹוא יֹום י ְהו ָה הַ ָּגדֹול ו ְהַ ּנ ָֹורֽא׃‬

If you can notice, these 2 verses used ‫ י ֵָרא‬in different ways. We will find out more about
this in the next part of our study.

Other related terms are:

● yir.ah - ‫( י ְִרָאה‬H3374),
● Yiron - ‫( י ְִראֹון‬H3375),
● ָ (H4172A), and
mo.ra - ‫מֹורא‬
● ָ (H4172B)
mo.rah - ‫מֹורה‬

https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=ESV|version=OHB|srchJoin=(1o2)|strong=H3372H|strong=H3372G
&options=NVUGH&display=INTERLEAVED

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III. Range of Meanings

I grouped the different meanings of Fear / ‫י ֵָרא‬ - ya.re into 3 which are:

1. An unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of

danger3
- to be frightened that you might be killed4
- fear, alarm or terror5
- i.e. Genesis 3:10, 19:30, Exodus 14:10, 1 Samuel 7:7

2. To revere
- to show devoted deferential honor to : regard as worthy of great honor6
- to very much respect and admire someone or something7
- act of showing respect
- to love, cleave to, walk in his ways, follow8
- i.e. Exodus 1:21, 14:31, Deuteronomy 13:4, Psalm 33:8

3. To stand in awe of, be awed

- an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder that is inspired by
authority or by the sacred or sublime9
- a feeling of amazement or surprise
- to be astounded10
- Deuteronomy 10:17, Joshua 4:14, Psalm 66:3, Nehemiah 1:5

The second and third set of meanings may look the same but there is a huge
distinction between the two. The 2nd set of meaning which circles around “reverence” is
more of a verb or action showing respect, admiration and honor. On the other hand, the
3rd set of meaning which talks about being “in awe” is more of a feeling only that we get
when we see someone or something that amazes or inspires us.

3
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fear
4
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fear
5
Meier, S. A. (1993). <i>Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Volume VI: yobel-yatar I</i>
(review). Hebrew Studies, 34(1), 103–106.
6
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revere
7
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/revere
8
Meier, S. A. (1993). <i>Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Volume VI: yobel-yatar I</i>
(review). Hebrew Studies, 34(1), 103–106.
9
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awe
10
Meier, S. A. (1993). <i>Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Volume VI: yobel-yatar I</i>
(review). Hebrew Studies, 34(1), 103–106.

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IV. Context/Discourse

Psalm 34 is a praise psalm starting with a call to praise, then moving to take the
majority of its verses to give reasons that we should praise the Lord, and finally ending
with a concluding praise.

What Psalm 34 also very interestingly features is a superscription that says:

KJV Psalm 34:1

<A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour
before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.>

This was a situation in the life of David where he had just discovered with
certainty Saul’s murderous intentions for him. So, he decided to flee to Gath and came
before the king of Gath named Achish – Abimelech might be a title for Philistine kings –
like Pharaoh was for the king of Egypt. But when David discovered that the servants of
Achish were leery of him he decided to pretend to be insane. The trick worked and he
was allowed to leave.

I see this episode as not the most noble time in David’s life. He attempted to flee
his own country to go over to the preeminent enemy of God’s people – the Philistines.
That decision seems premature and not very well-thought out because he ends up
immediately having to deceive Achish into thinking he was crazy.

And yet, David is now going to pen a psalm praising the Lord for this ugly
situation in his life. And we too can praise the Lord – even when we remember
something good he did in the midst of some really bad decision we’ve made. And when
we can do that, I think we demonstrate an appropriate amount of humility. That even
when a situation makes us personally look really bad – we can use it – not to glory in
our shame – but to make God look as good as he truly is.

Going to verses 8-10, we have David calling on his audience to trust and fear the
Lord and to taste his goodness. The verb taste that he used in v.8 which is commonly
used in the OT in the literal sense, is used as a metaphor here for personal experience.
David is implying that to fear the Lord is to show through one’s behavior. He
encourages all that fearing the Lord is to respect, obey and worship Him.11

11
Packer, J. I., Gruden, W., & Fernando, A. (Eds.). (2012). ESV Global Study Bible
(2011th ed.). Bible Society Resources and Crossway.

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 So, even when David had that experience where he ended up altering his good
sense to appear to be insane – he tasted and perceived God’s goodness. And part of
God’s goodness that David wants us to taste is his provision to those who fear him,
according to verse 9.12 David calls on those who worship God to reverence and respect
Him. This is the meaning of the term "fear," which implies an act of submissive honor,
rather than panic or horror. Believers need not to dread God for He is our loving
heavenly Father who cares for His children.13

12
https://explainingthebook.com/2017/08/20/psalm-34-commentary/
13
https://www.bibleref.com/Psalms/34/Psalm-34-9.html

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V. Summary

The Greek word for FEAR is ‫ י ֵָרא‬- ya.re. This word was mentioned for around
335x in the bible which we grouped into three set of meanings: (1) an unpleasant often
strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger, (2) To revere or to show
devoted deferential honor to : regard as worthy of great honor, and (3) To stand in awe
of, be awed which is an emotion variously combining dread, veneration, and wonder
that is inspired by authority or by the sacred or sublime.

Out of these 3 groups of meanings, we can be assured that the word fear that
David was implying in Psalm 34:9 is definitely not related with the first set of meaning
which pertains to being afraid or terrified. David is not encouraging or telling us to be
terrified of God in a sense that we must avoid Him or fear that we might be killed by
Him. That is not what fear means in our selected passage. The 3rd set of meaning can
somehow be related to what David implies, which is to stand in awe or be awed of God,
because it can result in a decision to act about our amazement, but it can also not.
Therefore, I believe that the best meaning of fear in Psalm 34:9 is the 2nd set that talks
about our reverence, respect, devotion and regard of honor to the Lord. This is the
meaning of the term "fear," which implies an act of submissive honor, rather than
panic or horror.

When we respect & honor someone, we do our best not to hurt and embarrass
them, but rather show them our love and support through our thoughts, words, actions &
decisions. So if we want to truly experience the provisions of the Lord for us to lack
nothing, it is now clearer for us that what we need to do is to love, respect, obey,
honor and submit to Him in every aspect of our lives.

Now, allow me to exchange the word fear in Psalm 34:9 with our learning from
this study of its correct implied meaning - respect, obey & submit:

Psalm 34:9
“(Fear) Respect, obey & submit to the Lord, you his godly people, for those who
(fear) respect, obey & submit to him will have all they need.”

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VI. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ancient Insight. (2018, January 9). Ancient Hebrew Word Study: FEAR [Video].
YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK19xCEUkmc

awe. (2024). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/awe

fear. (2024a). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/fear

fear. (2024). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fear

Meier, S. A. (1993). <i>Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament. Volume VI:

yobel-yatar I</i> (review). Hebrew Studies, 34(1), 103–106.
https://doi.org/10.1353/hbr.1993.0025

Packer, J. I., Gruden, W., & Fernando, A. (Eds.). (2012). ESV Global Study Bible
(2011th ed.). Bible Society Resources and Crossway.

Psa 34 | ESV | STEP | Of David , when he changed his behavior before Abimelech , so
that he drove him out , and he went away . I will bless the Lord at all times ; his
praise shall continually be in my mouth . (n.d.). ESV - English Standard Version.
https://www.stepbible.org/?q=version=ESV|version=OHB|reference=Ps.34&optio
ns=NVUGH&display=INTERLEAVED

Psalm 34 Commentary. (2017, August 20). Explaining the Book.

https://explainingthebook.com/2017/08/20/psalm-34-commentary/

revere. (2024a). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/revere

revere. (2024). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revere

What does Psalm 34:9 mean? | BibleRef.com. (n.d.). BibleRef.com.

https://www.bibleref.com/Psalms/34/Psalm-34-9.html