To you, what does the Fear of God mean?

Theology
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INTRODUCTION

Something has been in my thoughts my whole Christian life, and I’d like ask other God fearing Christians for their input, praying I receive Biblically-based responses filled with intent to build-up and edify.

MY QUESTION

All throughout the Bible, the phrase “fear of the Lord,” or it’s equivalent, “fear of God,” and other equivalents, have sparked an interest as to the true meaning of the phrase.

MY TENTATIVE CONCLUSION

I have prayed about it for a while now and believe I have a reasonable explanation defining the phrase. But, I’ve decided to reach out and ask what others may have received as interpretations of what I will refer to as an enigmatic phrase.

Before I post what I believe the phrase to mean, I’d like your input.

Your time and consideration is appreciated.

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Welcome to the forum.

The fear of the Lord, what does it mean?

Who is the Lord?

What is the Lord?

What are the characteristics that make the Lord worth fearing?

                         and

Who are we? What are we? How should we respond to the Lord?

Isaiah6:6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Starts to put things in a right perspective.

God is utterly Holy and we are totally sinful, so there can only be one responce. That of absolute submission to God.
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Fear of the lord! Ive visited this concept in my mind. And ive learned it is appointed. For them to preach.

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@Chris-Hidalgo, I think that Exodus 20:20 can give us 20/20 biblical understanding of the phrase “fear of God.” The Israelites have just finished hearing God give them the ten commandments with his own voice accompanied by smoke, a trumpet call, and rumbling.

Then, they come to Moses and say to him,

“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”
Exo 20:20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.”

The people’s fear involves recoiling terror, but Moses points them to the other kind of fear of God, faith that leads to a reverent respect for God, because of his divine greatness, love, justice, and mercy–his superiority to us in every way.

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I’ll give it a go.

In the Hebrew Bible, the dominant term for “fear of the LORD” is יִרְאָה (yirʾâ), from the root יָרֵא (yāreʾ). Its semantic range includes fear, reverence, awe, and covenantal submission. It can denote terror in some contexts, but in wisdom literature it regularly expresses reverential obedience grounded in recognition of divine holiness and authority.

The classic formulation appears in Proverbs:

Proverbs 9:10[1]

Here “fear” translates יִרְאַת (construct form of יִרְאָה). The word carries epistemological weight. It is not mere emotion but the foundational posture for wisdom.

Another example:

Psalm 111:10[2]

Again, יִרְאָה denotes reverent obedience tied to covenantal fidelity.

A second Hebrew root is פָּחַד (pāḥad), noun פַּחַד (paḥad), which emphasizes dread or terror, often associated with trembling before overwhelming power.

Isaiah 2:10[3]

Here “fear” reflects פַּחַד, highlighting the overwhelming and judicial dimension of divine presence.

A related trembling term appears in Isaiah:

Isaiah 66:2[4]

“Trembleth” reflects חָרֵד (ḥārēd), denoting reverent quaking responsiveness to divine revelation.

When the Hebrew Bible is translated into Greek in the Septuagint, the primary equivalent for יִרְאָה is φόβος (phobos). In the New Testament, this term continues the theological trajectory.

Acts 9:31[5]

Here φόβος κυρίου expresses reverential life within the community of believers.

Another Greek term is εὐλάβεια (eulabeia), meaning reverence, devout caution, or careful piety.

Hebrews 5:7[6]

The word translated “feared” reflects εὐλάβεια, emphasizing reverent submission rather than terror.

So lexically summarized, for this thread.

יִרְאָה / יָרֵא → foundational reverential fear rooted in covenant recognition.
פַּחַד / פָּחַד → dread or overwhelming terror before divine majesty.
חָרֵד → trembling responsiveness to God’s word.
φόβος → Greek continuation of reverential fear.
εὐλάβεια → devout reverence marked by careful submission.

The biblical concept of “fear of the LORD” is therefore not one-dimensional. It spans awe, moral seriousness, covenant loyalty, and in certain contexts, overwhelming dread before divine holiness. The semantic field is layered, not sentimentalized.

J.

  1. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. - KJV ↩︎

  2. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever. - KJV ↩︎

  3. Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty. - KJV ↩︎

  4. …but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. - KJV ↩︎

  5. …walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied. - KJV ↩︎

  6. …and was heard in that he feared. - KJV ↩︎

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First and foremost:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

All those who practice it have a good understanding.

His praise endures forever!” Psalm 111:10

I think Johann was spot on when He said this.

God made it plain to us with the first three Commandments.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30-31

We are told this.

“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.” Proverbs 14:27

God wants our love. He wants our attention. He wants our well-being. He wants us to see Him as our Father. He does not want us to fear anything. Look here.

“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matthew 10:28

We should have no fear of anyone, or anything, including death itself, except for Him. Accept for God. For it is indeed a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. Hebrews 10:31

Reverence for God’s holiness is to recognize that God is holy and cannot tolerate sin. We need to be, and we are, accountable. We need to understand that sin has consequences, and God’s judgment is certain. In all this, and the trials and tribulations that we will encounter, we can, and need to, hold fast to Christ’s finished work, avoiding willful rebellion.

God is holy, just, and present, and we are called to live in a way that honors Him and secures our eternal destiny.

Peter

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Ecclesiastes 12:13[1]

The Hebrew imperative יְרָא (yĕrāʾ) derives from the root ירא (y-r-ʾ), which in wisdom literature denotes reverential awe grounded in recognition of divine sovereignty and moral authority. It is not reducible to terror, though it includes awareness of divine judgment. The parallel imperative “keep” (שְׁמוֹר, šĕmōr) forms a synonymous ethical expansion: fear manifests in covenant obedience. The syntax binds reverence and obedience as inseparable correlates.

This theme is not isolated to the epilogue. Earlier, the Preacher states:

Ecclesiastes 5:7[2]

Here the imperative fear stands in antithesis to הֶבֶל (hebel), the book’s keynote term meaning vapor, breath, transience, absurdity. The rhetorical structure contrasts human verbosity and illusion with the stabilizing imperative of reverence. Fear of God functions as the only non-hebel orientation in a world characterized by ephemerality.

The judicial dimension appears in the final verse:

Ecclesiastes 12:14[3]

The causal conjunction כִּי (kî, “for”) grounds the command to fear in eschatological accountability. Fear is rational because divine judgment is comprehensive, extending even to “every secret thing.” The semantic range of ירא therefore includes moral sobriety before a God whose omniscience nullifies hidden autonomy.

Within the canonical context, this fear is not despairing dread but covenant realism. Ecclesiastes strips away illusions of control, permanence, and self-justifying achievement, and leaves the reader with a stark but coherent conclusion: in a vaporous world, reverent submission to the Creator is the only durable posture.

Bracing, isn’t it. The entire human experiment distilled to reverence and obedience before the One who sees everything. Somehow both humbling and clarifying at the same time.

Ecc 12:9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. **
Ecc 12:10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
Ecc 12:11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. **
**Ecc 12:12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. **
Ecc 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Ecc 12:14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Shalom.

J.

  1. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. - KJV ↩︎

  2. For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God. - KJV ↩︎

  3. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. - KJV ↩︎

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Thats what christianity is about. helping eachother, getting different views on things like fearing the lord. I have some thoughts on it. Im in.

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WOW!

What great thoughts on the subject from all of you.
I did not expect such insight, which was foolish on my part.
So good.

MY LATEST READINGS

This last month I went through the Samuels, the Kings, the Chronicles, Ezra, and am now in in Nehemiah. In so many places the phrase “fear of God,” or “fear of the Lord” are used. I just had to get some input.

A REVELATION ABOUT THE FEAR OF THE LORD

During a discussion with my favorite friend, I mentioned how I regularly like to pray I don’t do anything to fall away from the Great I Am, and that He would continue to draw me nearer to Him, His son Jesus, and His kingdom, all through His Holy Spirit. Then, it hit me and I felt my spirit leap.

ONE OF MANY DEFINITIONS

That was one of many aspects of the fear of the Lord for me. Living life away from God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, and Love is NOT what I want because it would be horrific. I fear living outside of God’s grace and mercy! I’ve already done that, bought the T-Shirt, wore it so much, it’s faded and worn out. It’s only rags now, and I am thankful that is the case.

I AM NOT WORTHY, AND YET…

God has the power to squash me like a bug, and like the rest of us, I deserve that, but His love for us is greater than we will ever know. Instead, God continues to give and give that we might choose Him over he who is in the world.

AN UNEXPECTED POINT OF VIEW

This perspective is kind-of in reverse as far as the fear of the Lord goes, I get it, but it made sense to me and spoke to me on a level that I could understand, grasp, and meditate on it’s power. Again, the Great I Am is all things to everyone, and this revelation is that case in point. The revelation about the fear of the Lord was designed to speak to me in a way I’d understand and appreciate, catering to the situation I was in at the moment. So typical of God. Hallelujah!

**GODLY LEAVENED FEAR **
(Bare with me, I’m leading to something)

The take-away for me was that there is, what I now like to call, a Godly leavened fear, and conversely there is ungodly unleavened fear. I see Godly leavened fear as something that builds up and grows into a deeper prayer life, more intimate worship in song, inherently increases faith, and expands the mind to understanding scripture in ways that would not normally happen.

Ungodly, unleavened fear, on the other hand, only drains the spirit, feeds anxiety, distress, insecurity, distrust, and stimulates everything else that destroys.

INCIDENTAL BY-PRODUCT

With this, I’ve come to realize that as with all things, everything has multiple sides, even fear. I thank God for a new positive understanding about something that troubled me for so long.

My hope is that this new understanding helps others to better grasp what I considered an enigmatic statement mentioned all through out the Bible.

Your time and understanding is appreciated.

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To you, what does the Fear of God mean?

I see it as a starting point, that God is real and powerful and holds us accountable.