What does χαρά (chará) mean in the Bible?
Chara means joy, gladness, delight, or rejoicing. In the New Testament it is not fragile cheerfulness that survives only when circumstances are pleasant.
Greek · G5479
χαρά
Joy
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χαρά G5479
Pronunciation chará
What does χαρά (chará) mean in the Bible?
Chara means joy, gladness, delight, or rejoicing. In the New Testament it is not fragile cheerfulness that survives only when circumstances are pleasant.
Reader summary
Full entry for χαρά (G5479) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5479?
The BSB source-word alignment has 59 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include joy (46), . . . (3), with joy (2), [the] joy (1), [your] joy (1).
Where does χαρά (chará) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 2:10. Its strongest book concentrations include John (9), Luke (8), Matthew (6), 2 Corinthians (5).
What This Word Actually Means
Chara means joy, gladness, delight, or rejoicing. In the New Testament it is not fragile cheerfulness that survives only when circumstances are pleasant. It is the glad response created by God's saving work, sustained by Christ's presence, produced by the Spirit, and strengthened by future hope. The angel announces great joy because the Savior is born. Jesus gives His joy to His disciples and promises a joy no one can take away.
The Spirit fills disciples with joy in mission. Paul names joy as fruit of the Spirit. Hebrews says Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him. James can even call believers to count trials as joy because testing has a forming purpose. Chara therefore holds celebration and endurance together in Christ.
How the Bible Uses It
Chara is gospel-shaped joy. It responds to God's saving news, shares in Christ's joy, grows by the Spirit, and endures because hope is secure.
- Luke.2.10
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:
The angel announces good news of great joy for all the people because the Savior has been born.
- John.15.11
I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.
Jesus speaks so that His joy may be in the disciples and their joy may be complete.
- John.16.22
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Jesus promises a joy no one can take away after sorrow gives way to seeing Him again.
- Acts.13.52
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
The disciples are filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit in the midst of mission pressure.
- Gal.5.22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Joy is named as fruit of the Spirit, not as a personality trait or self-produced mood.
- Heb.12.2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus endures the cross for the joy set before Him, making joy part of faithful endurance.
- Jas.1.2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,
James calls believers to consider trials pure joy because testing works toward steadfast maturity.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It joy 46× Matthew 13:20, Matthew 13:44, Matthew 25:21, Matthew 25:23
. . . 3× John 3:29, 2 Corinthians 7:4, Colossians 1:11
with joy 2× Acts 13:52, 2 Timothy 1:4
[the] joy 1× 1 Thessalonians 1:6
[your] joy 1× 2 Corinthians 1:24
a joy 1× Luke 1:14
enjoyable 1× Hebrews 12:11
joyfully 1× Hebrews 10:34
she was so overjoyed [that] 1× Acts 12:14
vvv 1× 1 Thessalonians 3:9
with great delight 1× Matthew 2:10
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 2:10 χαρὰν to with great delight Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Matthew 13:20 χαρᾶς to joy Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Matthew 13:44 χαρᾶς to joy Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Matthew 25:21 χαρὰν to joy Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Matthew 25:23 χαρὰν to joy Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Matthew 28:8 χαρᾶς to joy Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Mark 4:16 χαρᾶς to joy Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Luke 1:14 χαρά to a joy Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Luke 2:10 χαρὰν to joy Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Luke 8:13 χαρᾶς to joy Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 2:10
Aligned rows 59
Books represented 19
Matthew 6 Mark 1 Luke 8 John 9 Acts 4 Romans 3 2 Corinthians 5 Galatians 1 Philippians 5 Colossians 1 1 Thessalonians 4 2 Timothy 1 Philemon 1 Hebrews 4 James 2 1 Peter 1 1 John 1 2 John 1 3 John 1
Source forms
χαρᾶς 22x charas Matthew 13:20, Matthew 13:44, Matthew 28:8, Mark 4:16
χαρὰ 14x chara Luke 15:7, Luke 15:10, John 3:29, John 15:11
χαρὰν 13x charan Matthew 2:10, Matthew 25:21, Matthew 25:23, Luke 2:10
χαρᾷ 6x chara John 3:29, Romans 15:32, 2 Corinthians 7:4, 2 Corinthians 7:13
χαρά 3x chara Luke 1:14, Galatians 5:22, 1 Thessalonians 2:20
χαράν 1x charan 3 John 1:4
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 22x Matthew 13:20, Matthew 13:44, Matthew 28:8, Mark 4:16
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 16x Luke 1:14, Luke 15:7, Luke 15:10, John 3:29
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 14x Matthew 2:10, Matthew 25:21, Matthew 25:23, Luke 2:10
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 6x John 3:29, Romans 15:32, 2 Corinthians 7:4, 2 Corinthians 7:13
Noun - Vocative Feminine Singular 1x Philippians 4:1
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Invite sufferers to hope in Christ rather than telling them to feel cheerful.
- Teach joy as Spirit-grown fruit and gospel response, not as emotional self-production.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that real Christians always feel happy or visibly upbeat.
- Do not claim that joy removes lament, sorrow, or grief from faithful life.
Evidence Summary
Messiah
Greek word. Joy arising from faith, salvation, or spiritual blessing; often connected with Holy Spirit's presence.
Strong's G5479
Lexical occurrences 59 verses Greek text appearances 60 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 59 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 1 John 1:1-4 Source Gloss
joy
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 60 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 2:10 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
χαρὰν caran
joy, gladness
Read verse Matthew 13:20 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
χαρᾶς carav
joy, gladness
Read verse Matthew 13:44 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
χαρᾶς carav
joy, gladness
Read verse Matthew 25:21 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
χαρὰν caran
joy, gladness
Read verse Matthew 25:23 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
χαρὰν caran
joy, gladness
Read verse Matthew 28:8 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
χαρᾶς carav
joy, gladness
Read verse Mark 4:16 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
χαρᾶς carav
joy, gladness
Read verse Luke 1:14 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
χαρά cara
joy, gladness
Read verse Luke 2:10 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
χαρὰν caran
joy, gladness
Read verse Luke 8:13 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
χαρᾶς carav
joy, gladness
Read verse Luke 10:17 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
χαρᾶς, carav
joy, gladness
Read verse Luke 15:7 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
χαρὰ cara
joy, gladness
Read verse Luke 15:10 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
χαρὰ cara
joy, gladness
Read verse Luke 24:41 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
χαρᾶς carav
joy, gladness
Read verse Luke 24:52 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
χαρᾶς carav
joy, gladness
Read verse John 3:29 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
χαρᾷ cara
joy, gladness
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 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.
Form patterns 5 Aligned forms 59 Case pattern Genitive (22) Number pattern Singular (59)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Luke 1:14 · Luke 15:7 · Luke 15:10 · John 3:29 · John 15:11 · John 16:24 · Acts 8:8 · Rom 14:17 · 2 Cor 2:3 · Gal 5:22 · 1 Thess 2:19 · 1 Thess 2:20 · Jas 4:9 · 1 John 1:4 · 2 John 1:12 16×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Matt 13:20 · Matt 13:44 · Matt 28:8 · Mark 4:16 · Luke 8:13 · Luke 10:17 · Luke 24:41 · Luke 24:52 · Acts 12:14 · Acts 13:52 · Rom 15:13 · 2 Cor 1:24 · 2 Cor 8:2 · Phil 1:4 · Phil 2:29 · Col 1:11 22×
Dative · Singular · Feminine John 3:29 · Rom 15:32 · 2 Cor 7:4 · 2 Cor 7:13 · 1 Thess 3:9 · 1 Pet 1:8 6×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 2:10 · Matt 25:21 · Matt 25:23 · Luke 2:10 · John 16:20 · John 16:21 · John 16:22 · John 17:13 · Acts 15:3 · Phil 1:25 · Phil 2:2 · Phlm 1:7 · Jas 1:2 · 3 John 1:4 14×
Vocative · Singular · Feminine Phil 4:1 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Deep spiritual gladness rooted in God’s saving work and presence rather than in changing circumstances.
Deep gladness rooted in divine blessing.
joy
Additional Occurrences
John 16:16-33 χαά chará
joy
Luke 1:5–25 χαρά chará
Joy, gladness
Luke 15:1–7 χαρά chará
Joy
Showing 6 selected witnesses from 59 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
χαρά is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Irreversible joy grounded in resurrection. 1 John 1:1-4
Describes resurrection-based, enduring joy. Acts 8:1-8
Joy signals the transformative effect of the gospel on an entire community. John 16:16–24
John’s purpose is not bare doctrinal accuracy but the fullness of joy that flows from living fellowship with the Father and the Son. This frames the whole letter as pastoral, not merely corrective.
Canonical Themes
Messiah
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The core insight of chara is that New Testament joy is anchored before it is felt. It begins with news: a Savior is born. It deepens in relationship: Jesus gives His own joy to His disciples. It grows by the Spirit: joy is fruit, not performance. It survives pressure because its object is not the comfort of the moment but the certainty of Christ, His kingdom, and the promised end.
Hebrews 12 prevents any sentimental account of joy by placing it beside the cross. James prevents any shallow account by placing joy beside trials. Chara is not denial of sorrow. It is gladness grounded in God that can sing, endure, repent, hope, and obey because Christ's joy has become the believer's inheritance.
Anchor passage
John.15.11
Doctrinal connections
- Luke.2.10: joy begins as response to the good news of the Savior.
- John.15.11: Jesus gives His joy so the disciples' joy may be complete.
- John.16.22: resurrection hope gives a joy no one can take away.
- Acts.13.52: mission pressure does not prevent Spirit-filled joy.
- Galatians.5.22: joy is fruit produced by the Spirit.
- Hebrews.12.2: Jesus endures the cross for the joy set before Him.
Chara is a noun for joy, gladness, or delight. It is closely related to rejoicing language, but the noun must be read from the event, relationship, or hope that gives rise to it in each passage.
From Old to New Testament
The Old Testament rejoices in the Lord, His salvation, His presence, harvest, restoration, and promised kingdom. The New Testament gathers that joy around Christ's coming, cross, resurrection, Spirit, and return.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain