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Greek

To fear

φοβέωStrong’s G5399

phobeō

Appears in 92 verses of the New Testament

In short

Phobeō is the Greek word usually translated “do fear”, “fearing” and “were afraid”. It appears in 92 verses of the New Testament.

“But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”
Matthew 1:20 KJV
Meaning

Usually translated “do fear”, “fearing” and “were afraid”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.

How it's translated
  • do fear 25
  • fearing 13
  • they were afraid 8
  • they feared 6
  • do be afraid 5
  • he was afraid 3
  • they were afraid of 3
  • i fear 3

Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.

Where it's used most
  • Luke 21
  • Matthew 17
  • Acts 14
  • Mark 12
  • Revelation 6
  • John 5

14 books in all.

Related words
Explore in Scripture
All 92 verses, by book
2 Corinthians 2
11:312:20
Galatians 2
2:124:11
Ephesians 1
5:33
Colossians 1
3:22
1 Peter 3
2:173:63:14
1 John 1
4:18
Greek dictionary

φοβέω phobeō · to fear

φοβέέω, ῶ (φόβος) [in LXX chiefly for מִן יָרֵא ;] 1. in Hem., to put to flight. Pass., to be put to flight, to flee affrighted 2. to terrify, frighten (Wis 179; Hdt. and Att..). Pass. (so always in NT; cf. M, Pr., 162), to be seized with fear, be affrighted, fear: Mat.10:31 14:27, Mrk.5:33 6:50, Luk.1:13 8:50, Jhn.6:19 12:15, Act.16:38, al.; opposite to ὑψηλοφρονεῖν, Rom.11:20; σφόδρα, Mat.17:6 27:54; with cogn. accusative, φόβον μέγαν, Mrk.4:41, Luk.2:9 (1Ma.10:8); φόβον αὐτῶν (obj, genitive, but cf. ICC, in l), 1Pe.3:14; πτόησιν, 1Pe.3:6; with accusative of person(s), Mat.10:26, Mrk.11:18 …

From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How the English word “fear” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.

FEAR, noun

[See the Verb.]

  1. A painful emotion or passion excited by an expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger. fear expresses less apprehension than dread, and dread less than terror and fright.
  2. Anxiety; solicitude.
  3. The cause of fear
  4. The object of fear“Except the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me” Genesis 31:42
All definitions and other forms of “fear”
  1. Something set or hung up to terrify wild animals, by its color or noise. Isaiah 24:17Jeremiah 48:43
  2. In scripture, fear is used to express a filial or a slavish passion.“I will put my fear in their hearts” Jeremiah 32:40
  3. The worship of God.“I will teach you the fear of the Lord” Psalms 34:11
  4. The law and word of God.“The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever” Psalms 19:9
  5. Reverence; respect; due regard.“Render to all their dues; fear to whom fear” Romans 13:7

FEAR, verb transitive

[Latin vereor.]

  1. To feel a painful apprehension of some impending evil; to be afraid of; to consider or expect with emotions of alarm or solicitude.
  2. To reverence; to have a reverential awe; to venerate.“This do, and live:for I fear God” Genesis 42:18
  3. To affright; to terrify; to drive away or prevent approach by fear or by a scarecrow. [This seems to be the primary meaning, but now obsolete.]

FEAR, verb intransitive

To be in apprehension of evil; to be afraid; to feel anxiety on account of some expected evil.

  1. “But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtility, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” 2 Corinthians 11:3

FEAR, noun

A companion. [Not in use. See Peer.]

    Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.

    Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.