What does ἔμφοβος (émphobos) mean in the Bible?
Emphobos describes a person as frightened or filled with fear. Its five New Testament witnesses do not give that emotion one spiritual meaning.
Greek · G1719
ἔμφοβος
Emphobos describes a person as frightened or filled with fear. Its five New Testament witnesses do not give that emotion one spiritual meaning.
Reading a lexicon entry
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ἔμφοβοςG1719
Pronunciationémphobos
What does ἔμφοβος (émphobos) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for ἔμφοβος (G1719) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1719?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include frightened (2), in fear (1), in terror (1), terrified (1).
Where does ἔμφοβος (émphobos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 24:5. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (2), Luke (2), Revelation (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Emphobos describes a person as frightened or filled with fear. Its five New Testament witnesses do not give that emotion one spiritual meaning. Women at the empty tomb are terrified before hearing that Jesus has risen. The gathered disciples are frightened because they think they see a spirit, and Jesus addresses them with peace and tangible testimony to His risen body.
Cornelius responds fearfully to an angel but follows the instruction to send for Peter. Felix becomes frightened at Paul's teaching about righteousness, self-control and judgment, yet delays and continues hoping for a bribe. Revelation reports terrified survivors giving glory to God after the earthquake in the two-witness vision. The adjective describes alarm; the narrative tells readers what follows.
Fear alone cannot prove guilt, repentance or a failure to belong to Christ.
How the Bible Uses It
Five direct BSB adjective witnesses describe frightened witnesses at the tomb, startled disciples, Cornelius, Felix and earthquake survivors. The following message and action distinguish the responses rather than the intensity of alarm alone.
- Luke.24.5
As the women bowed their faces to the ground in terror, the two men asked them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
The women's terror is met with the announcement that Jesus has risen and a reminder of His words, which they then remember and report.
- Luke.24.37
But they were startled and frightened, thinking they had seen a spirit.
Jesus responds to the disciples' mistaken expectation of a spirit by showing His hands and feet, inviting touch and eating before them.
- Acts.10.4
Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God.
Cornelius asks what the angel means and then sends for Peter; the story proceeds to hearing the gospel and the Spirit's gift.
- Acts.24.25
As Paul expounded on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “You may go for now. When I find the time, I will call for you.”
Felix postpones Paul's teaching and continues seeking a bribe, so his frightened reaction cannot itself be equated with repentance.
- Rev.11.13
And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand were killed in the quake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
The vision reports terrified survivors giving glory to God; the adjective supplies neither a timetable for present disasters nor a full account of each person's response.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itfrightened2×Luke 24:37, Acts 24:25
in fear1×Acts 10:4
in terror1×Luke 24:5
terrified1×Revelation 11:13
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 24:5ἐμφόβωνtoin terrorAdjective - Genitive Feminine PluralLuke 24:37ἔμφοβοιtofrightenedAdjective - Nominative Masculine PluralActs 10:4ἔμφοβοςtoin fearAdjective - Nominative Masculine SingularActs 24:25ἔμφοβοςtofrightenedAdjective - Nominative Masculine SingularRevelation 11:13ἔμφοβοιtoterrifiedAdjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLuke 24:5
Aligned rows5
Books represented3
Luke2Acts2Revelation1
Source forms
ἔμφοβοι2xemphoboiLuke 24:37, Revelation 11:13
ἔμφοβος2xemphobosActs 10:4, Acts 24:25
ἐμφόβων1xemphobōnLuke 24:5
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural2xLuke 24:37, Revelation 11:13
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Singular2xActs 10:4, Acts 24:25
Adjective - Genitive Feminine Plural1xLuke 24:5
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Listen to a frightened account without demanding immediate composure as proof that the person is truthful or faithful.
- Offer patient explanation and appropriate support while refusing to manufacture fear for control or compliance.
Avoid claiming...
- Feeling fear does not by itself prove guilt, abandonment by God or exclusion from Christ's people.
- This adjective cannot diagnose a reader's condition or establish that a frightened reaction guarantees saving faith.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Fear characterized by reverence or awe, often in encounters with the divine or supernatural.
Strong'sG1719
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms3 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
afraid
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 24:5Adjective Genitive Plural Feminine
ἐμφόβωνemfobwn
full of fear, terrified
Read verseLuke 24:37Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
ἔμφοβοιemfoboi
full of fear, terrified
Read verseActs 10:4Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
ἔμφοβοςemfobov
full of fear, terrified
Read verseActs 22:9Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
ἔμφοβοιemfoboi
full of fear, terrified
Read verseActs 24:25Adjective Nominative Singular Masculine
ἔμφοβοςemfobov
full of fear, terrified
Read verseRevelation 11:13Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
ἔμφοβοιemfoboi
full of fear, terrified
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 3 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns3Aligned forms5Case patternNominative (4)Number patternPlural (3)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · MasculineLuke 24:37 · Rev 11:132×
Nominative · Singular · MasculineActs 10:4 · Acts 24:252×
Genitive · Plural · FeminineLuke 24:51×
Word Origins
ἔμφοβος is built from these roots:
For the Preacher and Teacher
Luke's resurrection accounts place frightened people within a movement toward testimony. The women hear a reminder, remember Jesus' words and report what they have learned, even when others dismiss their account. The gathered disciples receive peace, the sight of Jesus' hands and feet, an invitation to touch and His eating before them. Their fear is addressed through His presence and explanation, not treated as a final verdict about who they are.
Acts offers contrasting responses: Cornelius acts on the message, while Felix postpones and seeks money. The same adjective cannot erase those differences. Teaching emphobos should make room for truthful alarm while asking how a person responds to the message and situation. It must not help a leader manufacture terror or dismiss a frightened report. Patient explanation, attentive listening and accountable action serve the people whom fear has unsettled.
Anchor passage
Luke.24.37
Doctrinal connections
- The risen Jesus meets frightened disciples with peace and testimony to His real embodied presence.
- The empty-tomb message directs the women back to Jesus' words about His death and resurrection.
- Cornelius' encounter leads to Peter proclaiming forgiveness through Jesus and the Spirit being given to Gentile hearers.
- Paul's teaching to Felix joins faith in Christ with righteousness, self-control and the coming judgment.
- Revelation places terrified survivors within the two-witness vision and the announcement of God's kingdom.
- Psalm 56 voices fear and trust together while naming threats, tears and the appeal to God's mercy.
Emphobos is an adjective, with gender, number and case agreeing with those described in each sentence. Its feminine and masculine forms include frightened women and men; grammatical agreement does not rank their courage or faithfulness.
From Old to New Testament
Psalm 56:1-13 names pursuit, fear, trust and tears before God, giving distressed prayer a voice. Its trust does not require pretending the attack is unreal. This Hebrew lament supports careful pastoral use without becoming another occurrence of the five Greek adjective witnesses.