מְגוֹרָה

From the study of Proverbs 10:24

Range of meaning

Dread or terror, and more often the object of dread: 'the thing feared'. It comes from the verb gur, 'to be afraid, to stand in awe of, to dread'. The noun is rare, found only three times (Ps 34:4 [Heb. 34:5]; Prov 10:24; Isa 66:4).

Against the English

BSB, ESV, NIV and WEB use 'dreads/fear' as a verb ('what the wicked dreads'), which captures the 'thing feared' sense well. KJV's 'the fear of the wicked' is literal but ambiguous: it could be read as the fear people have of the wicked, or confused with 'the fear of the LORD', which is a different Hebrew word (yir'ah). NLT's 'fears… will be fulfilled' gets the sense, though 'fulfilled' slightly suggests the fear brings itself about.

How it drifted

No real drift in the word. The risk is the English noun 'fear', which today sounds like a feeling or a psychological state. That opens the door to readings in which the feeling causes the outcome.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 66:4 is the closest parallel: 'I will choose their harsh treatment and bring upon them what they dread (megurotam avi lahem)'. There God brings on the rebels the very thing they feared, using the same verb 'come/bring' (bo'). Psalm 34:4 has 'he delivered me from all my terrors (megurotay)', the dangers that threatened. Job 3:25 uses the related verb and the same 'come' verb: 'what I dreaded (yagorti) has come (yavo) to me'. Job is a righteous man, and his words are a deliberate counterpoint to the general rule stated here.

From the study of Psalm 34:4

Range of meaning

Fear, dread, terror. It especially means the thing feared: the danger or disaster a person dreads. It comes from the root gûr, "to be afraid, stand in dread" (a different gûr from the one meaning "to sojourn").

Against the English

"Fears" is a fair rendering, and English can use "fears" for things feared ("my worst fears came true"). But most modern readers hear only the inner feeling: anxiety, worry, panic. The Hebrew points first to real threats, and the dread follows from them. "Terrors" would carry both senses better.

How it drifted

Modern psychological and therapeutic language has made "fears" mostly an inner, emotional word. In the Hebrew the stress falls on the object: what was coming at him.

Used elsewhere in the period

Only three uses. Prov 10:24: "What the wicked dreads (məgôrat) will come upon him," where the dreaded thing is an actual event that arrives. Isa 66:4: "I will bring their fears (məgûrōtām) upon them," meaning the disasters they dreaded. The verb is used in Deut 1:17 ("do not be afraid of anyone") and Ps 22:23 ("stand in awe of him"). A related noun, māgôr, appears in Jeremiah's catchphrase māgôr missābîb, "terror on every side" (Jer 6:25; 20:3, 10; also Ps 31:13).