What "Fear of God" Actually Means in Hebrew

Grab the 52 Weeks of Bible Investigation: https://www.discernmentmadeclear.com This video explains the biblical meaning of the fear of God and shows why the phrase is one of the most misunderstood ideas in Scripture by examining the original Hebrew and Greek words behind it. The study opens at Mount Sinai in the book of Exodus, where Moses tells a terrified Israel both to not fear and to let the fear of God be before them, and it uses that apparent contradiction to launch a word study across the Old and New Testaments. It separates the Hebrew word yirah, meaning reverence and awe, from the Hebrew words for raw terror, and then traces the same distinction into the Greek words used in the New Testament. The central claim is that the fear of God in the Bible is reverent awe that draws a person toward God, not dread that drives them away. The video follows this single idea from Genesis through the Psalms, the prophets, the Gospels, and the letters of the New Testament. What's covered in this video: The opening scene at Mount Sinai in Exodus, where Moses says "Do not fear" and that God has come "that His fear may be before you" in the same breath, using two forms of the Hebrew root yare. Why the phrase is commonly misread, including the familiar view of it as respect for God and the carefulness of not wanting to let God down, and the opposite view of it as low background dread. A Hebrew word study contrasting yirah and its root yare with pachad, meaning dread, and eimah, meaning raw terror. How Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:10, and Psalm 111:10 connect the fear of the LORD to the beginning of wisdom and knowledge. Why the fear of the LORD is tied to life rather than death in Proverbs 14:27, Proverbs 10:27, and Psalm 19:9. The example of the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah chapter 6, who is undone before God and then answers, "Here am I. Send me." Psalm 25:14 and the idea that the fear of the LORD is a posture of intimacy in which God shares His covenant. The teaching of Jesus in Luke chapter 12 about fearing God rather than fearing those who can only kill the body. The apparent conflict with 1 John 4:18, "perfect love casts out fear," and how it is resolved through the Greek word phobos and its link to the fear of punishment. The Greek word eulabeia in Hebrews 5:7 and Hebrews 12:28, used of the godly fear Jesus showed in the garden of Gethsemane before the cross. Deuteronomy 10:12, where fearing God and loving God appear together in a single command. The example of Adam hiding in the garden as a picture of the terror that makes a person run from God. The closing contrast between the terror that kept the Exodus generation out of the promised land and the reverence that draws a person near, with the conclusion that the fear of God is the one fear that makes a person unafraid of everything else. Mentioned in this video: the fear of God, the fear of the LORD, Moses, Mount Sinai, the book of Exodus, Israel, yirah, yare, pachad, eimah, phobos, eulabeia, Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 9:10, Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 14:27, Proverbs 10:27, Psalm 19:9, the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 6, Psalm 25:14, Jesus, Luke 12, the apostle John, 1 John 4:18, Hebrews 5:7, Hebrews 12:28, the garden of Gethsemane, Adam, Deuteronomy 10:12, the beginning of wisdom, fountain of life, perfect love casts out fear, godly fear, reverence and awe.