Word

φόβος

phóbos · G5401 · Greek · 47 occurrences

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Meanings

fear

A state of severe distress, aroused by intense concern for impending pain, danger, evil, etc., or possibly by the illusion of such circumstances

Examples
Matthew 14:26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.
Matthew 28:4 The guards shook from fear of him and became like dead men.
Matthew 28:8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to report to His disciples.
something to be feared

The occasion or source of fear

Examples
Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same;
reverence, awe

Profound respect and awe for deity

Examples
Acts 2:43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
Acts 9:31 So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace, as it was being built up; and as it continued in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it kept increasing.
Romans 3:18 “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”

How it’s used In 7 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive

14 occurrences in 8 groups

Ἰουδαῖοςa Jew, Jewish 3
θεόςGod 2
κύριοςLord 2
αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 2
βασανισμόςtorment 2
θάνατοςdeath 1

Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles

7 occurrences in 2 groups

μέγαςgreat, large 6
πόσοςhow much, how many 1

What it doesIt is the subject

9 occurrences in 4 groups

γίνομαιto become, to happen, to be 4
ἐπιπίπτωto fall upon, to embrace 3
ἔχωto have 1
λαμβάνωto receive, to take 1

What is done to itIt is the object

7 occurrences in 6 groups

φοβέωto fear, to be afraid, to show great reverence for 2
εἴδωto know 1
ἐποπτεύωto observe 1
ἔχωto have 1
κατεργάζομαιto work out, to produce 1
βάλλωto throw, to put 1

What it is said to bePredicate

3 occurrences in 3 groups

ἔσωθενinside, within 1
ἀγάπηlove 1
ὀφθαλμόςeye 1

What is said to be itIt is the predicate

2 occurrences in 2 groups

κἀγώI too 1
ἄρχωνruler, governor, official 1

After prepositionsPrepositional phrases

21 occurrences in 5 groups

ἐνin 12
διάthrough 10
μετάwith, after 10
ἀπόfrom 6
εἰςto 2

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Near synonyms 1 word

αἰδώς aidṓs · G127 · modesty, reverence: Both terms share a sense of reverence or awe, though their primary meanings differ: φόβος centers on fear, with reverence as one extension of that core sense, while αἰδώς centers on modesty or bashfulness, with reverence also as an extension. The genuine overlap lies specifically in the register of reverent restraint before the divine, even though the two words' core senses differ.

In the other Testament 6 words

יִרְאָה yirʼâh · H3374 · fear: Hebrew יִרְאָה denotes the broader semantic range of fear including reverence and awe, whereas Greek φόβος emphasizes the alarm/fright dimension of fear, representing a register difference within the shared fear concept.
פַּחַד pachad · H6343 · trembling, terror, awe: Hebrew פַּחַד (dread, terror) is a direct cross-linguistic equivalent of Greek φόβος (alarm, fright), both denoting fear-response states with overlapping semantic ranges attested through 29 aligned LXX renderings.
חֲרָדָה chărâdâh · H2731 · trembling, shock, terror: φόβος (phóbos, G5401) broadly denotes fear, alarm, or fright across a spectrum from reverence to terror; חֲרָדָה (chărâdâh, H2731) specifically denotes trembling, quaking fear with physical manifestation emphasis — the Hebrew term captures the visceral, bodily dimension of fright that φόβος can express but does not require.
חִתִּית chittîyth · H2851 · terror: φόβος (alarm or fright) and חִתִּית (terror) denote the same core emotional state of intense fear, with the Hebrew term representing the direct lexical equivalent for the Greek rendering in LXX translation contexts.
אֵימָה ʼêymâh · H367 · terror, dread, fierce anger: Greek φόβος (alarm or fright) serves as the standard LXX rendering of Hebrew אֵימָה (dread, fear, horror, terror), both denoting intense fear or terror, with the Hebrew term often carrying connotations of overwhelming dread or panic-inducing fear.
מוֹרָא môwrâʼ · H4172 · fear, awe, terror: Hebrew מוֹרָא, denoting dread, terror, and reverential fear as a state or its object, corresponds directly to Greek φόβος in its sense of alarm or fright; both terms denote the emotional state of fear and its outward expression, and מוֹρָא is regularly rendered by φόβος in translation.

Semantic domains 3 entries

Fear25.251: Matthew 14:26 says the disciples, seeing Him walking on the sea, “were terrified” and cried out in fear.
Something to be feared25.254: Romans 13:3 says “rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil”.
Reverence, awe53.59: Ephesians 5:21 calls believers to “subject yourselves to one another in the fear of Christ”.

Word family 8 words

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

φόβοςphóbos · G5401φοβέω phobéō · G5399 · to fear, to be afraid, to show great reverence for · 95×ἔμφοβος émphobos · G1719 · very frightened, terrified, very much afraid · 5×ἀφόβως aphóbōs · G870 · fearlessly, without fear, not afraid · 4×φοβερός phoberós · G5398 · fearful, causing fear · 3×ἔκφοβος ékphobos · G1630 · very frightened, terrified, very much afraid · 2×ἐκφοβέω ekphobéō · G1629 · to terrify, to greatly frighten · 1×φόβητρον phóbētron · G5400 · dreadful sight, terrifying happening, fearful thing · 1×

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon φοβοῦ, ὁ (φέβομαι; like φόρος, τρόμος, πόνος, from φέρω, τρέμω, πένομαι), from Homer…

φοβοῦ, ὁ (φέβομαι; like φόρος, τρόμος, πόνος, from φέρω, τρέμω, πένομαι), from Homer down, the Sept. for יִרְאָה, פַּחַד, אֵימָה (terror), חִתִּית (terror);
1. fear, dread, terror; in a subjective sense (οὐδέν ἐστι φόβος εἰ μή προδοσία τῶν ἀπό λογισμοῦ βοηθημάτων, Wis. 17:11; προσδοκίαν λέγω κακοῦ τοῦτο, εἴτε φόβον, εἴτε δέος καλεῖτε, Plato, Protag., p. 358 d.): universally, 1 Jn 4:18; φόβος ἐπί τινα πίπτει (Acts 19:17 L Tr); Rev 11:11 Rec.; ἐπιπίπτει, Lk 1:12; Acts 19:17 (R G T WH; Rev 11:11 L T Tr WH); ἐγένετο, Lk 1:65; Acts 5:5, Acts 5:11; λαμβάνει τινα, Lk 7:16 (Homer Iliad 11, 402); γίνεται τίνι, Acts 2:43; πλησθῆναι φοβοῦ, Lk 5:26; συνέχεσθαι φόβῳ, Lk 8:37; ἔχειν φόβον, 1 Tim 5:20 (Herodotus 8, 12); κατεργάζεσθαι; τίνι φόβον, 2 Cor 7:11; φοβεῖσθαι φόβον (see φοβέω, 2), Mk 9:41; Lk 2:9; with a genitive of the object added, 1 Pet 3:14 (so Winer's Grammar, § 32, 2; others subject. genitive); ἀπό φοβοῦ, for fear, Lk 21:26; ἀπό τοῦ φοβοῦ, for the fear, with which they were struck, Mt 14:26; with a genitive of the object added, Mt 28:4; εἰς φόβον, unto (that ye may) fear, Rom 8:15; μετά φοβοῦ, Mt 28:8; with καί τρόμου added, 2 Cor 7:15; Eph 6:5; Phm 2:12; ἐν φόβῳ καί ἐν τρόμῳ (see τρόμος), 1 Cor 2:3; τινα ἐν φόβῳ σῴζειν (Rec.), ἐλεαν (L T Tr WH), with anxious heed lest ye be defiled by the wickedness of those whom ye are rescuing, Jude 1:23; plural φόβοι, feelings of fear, fears (Winer's Grammar, 176 (166)), 2 Cor 7:5; φόβος τίνος, genitive of the object (our fear of one): τῶν Ἰουδαίων, Jn 7:13; Jn 19:38; Jn 20:19; βασανισμοῦ, Rev 18:10, Rev 18:15; θανάτου, Heb 2:15 (Xenophon, mem. l, 4, 7). In an objective sense, that which strikes terror: φόβος ἀγαθῶν ἔργων, or more correctly (with L T Tr WH) τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἔργῳ, a terror to (or for), Rom 13:3.
2. reverence, respect (for authority, rank, dignity): Rom 13:7; 1 Pet 2:18; 1 Pet 3:16 (15); ἡ ἐν φόβῳ ἀναστροφή, behavior coupled with (cf. ἐν, I. 5 e.) reverence for one's husband, 1 Pet 3:2; φόβος with a genitive of the object: τοῦ κυρίου, Acts 9:31; 2 Cor 5:11; Χριστοῦ, Eph 5:21 (not Rec.); Θεοῦ, Rom 3:18; 2 Cor 7:1; (Eph 5:21 Rec.); Θεοῦ is omitted as suggested by the context, 1 Pet 1:17; (often in the O. T. יְהוָה יִרְאַת and אֱלֹהִים יִרְאַת). (Synonyms: see δειλία, δέος, at the end; cf. φοβέω.)

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain

Topical studies with this word 2 entries

Fear, Terror, Alarm37 occurrences Worship, Reverence10 occurrences

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0