Alarm or fright
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
G5401 is the noun fear, with contexts ranging from alarm and dread to reverent regard. Its forty-seven governed forms describe terror at extraordinary events, fear of death, fear of punishment, social intimidation, civic consequences, accountable regard before God or Christ, and awe in response to divine action.
Reader summary
Full entry for φόβος (G5401) · Open the biblical lexicon
G5401 is the noun fear, with contexts ranging from alarm and dread to reverent regard. Its forty-seven governed forms describe terror at extraordinary events, fear of death, fear of punishment, social intimidation, civic consequences, accountable regard before God or Christ, and awe in response to divine action.
The BSB source-word alignment has 47 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include fear (24), respect (4), A sense of awe (2), . . . (1), [and] reverent (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 14:26. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (7), 1 Peter (5), 2 Corinthians (5), Acts (5).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
G5401 is the noun fear, with contexts ranging from alarm and dread to reverent regard. Its forty-seven governed forms describe terror at extraordinary events, fear of death, fear of punishment, social intimidation, civic consequences, accountable regard before God or Christ, and awe in response to divine action. The noun does not carry one emotional or theological value everywhere.
First John 4:18 explicitly concerns fear connected with punishment and the perfecting work of love. Acts 9:31 describes churches walking in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 2:15 speaks of death-fear as slavery from which Christ delivers. Other passages expose fear generated by authorities, threats, disaster, or judgment.
Pastoral teaching must not use reverence language to sanctify panic, coercion, abuse, slavery, authoritarian control, or untreated anxiety. Nor should assurance texts shame people whose bodies still respond to trauma or danger. The passage must identify the feared object, cause, moral setting, and promised response before application.
Forty-seven G5401 forms in forty-four verses describe alarm, dread, intimidation, fear of death, fear of punishment, civic fear, reverent regard, and awe. The feared object and the passage's evaluation determine the sense.
There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love.
John explicitly relates this fear to punishment and says mature love drives it out. The verse addresses assurance and love; it should not be turned into shame for trauma responses, anxiety, or prudent awareness of danger.
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
Acts places fear of the Lord beside the encouragement of the Holy Spirit while the churches experience peace, strengthening, and growth. Neither phrase should erase the other or become a complete diagnostic for every church.
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
Paul closes a chain of scriptural testimony with the absence of fear before God. His argument places Jews and Gentiles alike under sin, so the line cannot be aimed at one ethnicity, culture, or social group.
Overwhelmed with fear, they asked one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
After Jesus stills the storm, the disciples respond with great fear and ask who he is. The narrative moves from danger to astonishment at Jesus' authority without making every fear response spiritually exemplary.
And free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Hebrews describes lifelong fear of death as bondage and presents Jesus' shared humanity and death as the means of liberation. The promise does not deny grief, mortality, or the need for care.
Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
After speaking of appearing before Christ's judgment seat, Paul says knowing the fear of the Lord moves him to persuade others. Accountability shapes ministry, but it does not authorize fear-based manipulation.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Reverential awe of God distinct from mere terror; encompasses both fear and worshipful respect
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 47 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
fear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
Read versefear, terror, reverence
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.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 47 lexical occurrence verses.
Healthy church life includes reverence before God, not casual familiarity.1 John 4:17-21
Holy fear preserves the integrity and seriousness of worship and community life.Acts 2:42-47
Contrasted with mature love, which removes anxious anticipation of judgment.Acts 5:1-11
The gospel transforms fearful expectation of punishment into confident assurance.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
G5401 requires contextual calibration because the same noun names fear with different objects and effects. First John 4:18 concerns fear connected with punishment and the way mature love addresses it. Hebrews 2:15 names death-fear as bondage from which Christ liberates. Acts 9:31 places fear of the Lord beside the Spirit's encouragement in churches experiencing peace and growth.
Paul speaks of accountable ministry, while Gospel and Revelation scenes include alarm before power, danger, or judgment. Other texts reveal social and political intimidation. Teachers should neither erase reverent regard nor spiritualize every fear response. Assurance does not shame trauma, anxiety, grief, or prudent safety action, and reverence does not legitimate coercion, slavery, authoritarian control, domestic abuse, or threats.
Application begins by naming the feared object, the source of danger, and the passage's promised response.
1John.4.18
Governed morphology is wholly masculine, with singular forms predominant and one plural subject form. English choices such as fear, dread, alarm, or reverence depend on the feared object, governing construction, actor, and discourse setting; etymology does not decide the pastoral value.
Wisdom texts connect fear of the Lord with knowledge, worship, and ethical life, while prophets and psalms also name terror, enemies, and deliverance. The New Testament retains this range and centers hope in Christ's liberation, God's love, and accountable allegiance rather than collapsing every passage into one emotion.