Hebrew word · H4172

מוֹרָא

mora'

fear

A noun from yareʾ, 'to fear.' It can mean (1) fear or terror felt; (2) the object of fear, what or who one fears; (3) awe-inspiring deeds, 'great terrors' (Deut 4:34; 26:8); (4) the reverent fear owed to God or a superior (Mal 1:6, 'where is my fear?').

Appears 12 times in 12 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) fear, reverence, terror

1a) fear, terror

1b) reverence

1c) object of reverence

1d) awe-inspiring spectacle or deed

Also means: mo.rah (מוֹרָה "fear" H4172B)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 8:13

Range of meaning

A noun from yareʾ, 'to fear.' It can mean (1) fear or terror felt; (2) the object of fear, what or who one fears; (3) awe-inspiring deeds, 'great terrors' (Deut 4:34; 26:8); (4) the reverent fear owed to God or a superior (Mal 1:6, 'where is my fear?'). It covers a range from dread to reverence, and context decides.

Against the English

English 'fear' is accurate here. The risk runs the other way: popular teaching often softens 'the fear of God' into mere 'respect.' Here the word is exactly the same as the fear of invading armies in verse 12, so real fear is meant, though now directed at a new object.

Used elsewhere in the period

Gen 9:2 has the same suffixed form: 'the fear of you (moraʾakhem) and the dread of you shall be on every beast.' Deut 11:25 has 'the fear of you and the dread of you.' Mal 1:6 has 'If I am a master, where is my fear?' Isa 8:12 has 'its fear do not fear.'

From the study of Isaiah 8:12

Range of meaning

A noun from the root yrʾ ('fear'). It can mean (1) fear or terror as a feeling, (2) the object that causes fear, and (3) awe or reverence owed to a superior. It is used of the 'great terrors' God worked at the Exodus (Deut 4:34; 26:8; 34:12), of the dread animals feel toward humans (Gen 9:2), and of the honour due to God ('where is my fear?', Mal 1:6).

Against the English

BSB, NIV and ESV have 'what they fear', which takes it as the object, the thing feared. The KJV's 'their fear' keeps the Hebrew's ambiguity. WEB's 'their threats' takes it as the fear the people cause, a reading close to 1 Peter 3:14.

Used elsewhere in the period

Its close pairing with the root ʿrṣ ('dread') appears again in v. 13. The Septuagint renders it phobos, and 1 Peter 3:14 quotes the line as 'do not fear their phobos'.

From the study of Genesis 9:2

Range of meaning

Fear, terror, awe: both the feeling that something formidable causes and the formidable thing or deed itself. It comes from the same root as yare' ('to fear'). Depending on context it can mean the reverence owed to a master or to God (Mal 1:6, 'where is my fear?'), the 'great terrors' of God's acts at the Exodus (Deut 4:34; 26:8; 34:12), or the dread a victorious people causes in its enemies (Deut 11:25).

Against the English

'Fear' is accurate. The thing to notice is the suffix: 'your fear' means fear of you (the grammar points to the one feared). Most versions say 'the fear of you'. YLT's 'your fear' could be misread as the humans' own fear.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deuteronomy 11:25 is the closest parallel: 'the fear of you and the dread of you (pachdekhem u-mora'akhem) the LORD your God will lay upon all the land.' It is conquest language, God putting terror into the peoples in front of Israel. Compare Deut 2:25 ('I begin to put the dread of you and the fear of you on the peoples'). In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, this verse uses tromos ('trembling') for mora'.

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 9:2 וּמוֹרַאֲכֶ֤ם and fear your

    The fear and dread of you will fall on every living creature on the earth, every bird of the air, every creature that crawls on the ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are delivered into your hand.

    Here: 'Your fear' means the fear others feel toward you, not fear you feel. Mora' is the fear that something overwhelming and powerful causes. The opening 'and' joins this verse to the blessing of 9:1.

Deuteronomy · 4

  1. Deuteronomy 4:34 וּבְמוֹרָאִ֖ים and by terrors

    Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?

    Here: 'And by terrors': deeds that produce dread and awe in those who see them. The word covers both the feeling and the terrifying act that causes it.

  2. Deuteronomy 11:25 וּמֽוֹרַאֲכֶ֜ם and fear your

    No man will be able to stand against you; the LORD your God will put the fear and dread of you upon all the land, wherever you set foot, as He has promised you.

    Here: A related word from the same root as yir'ah, 'fear'. It means fear, awe, or something terrifying. Paired with pachad, it makes the terror complete.

  3. Deuteronomy 26:8 וּבְמֹרָ֖א and by terror

    Then the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, signs, and wonders.

    Here: "And by terror." The noun comes from the root for 'fear' (yare'). It means the overwhelming dread that God's acts caused in Egypt, and by extension the awe-striking deeds that caused it.

  4. Deuteronomy 34:12 הַמּוֹרָ֣א the terror

    and no prophet who performed all the mighty acts of power and awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 9:20 מוֹרָ֗ה terror

    Lay terror upon them, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. Selah

  2. Psalm 76:11 לַמּוֹרָֽא׃ to the awesome one

    Make and fulfill your vows to the LORD your God; let all the neighboring lands bring tribute to Him who is to be feared.

    Here: Literally 'to the Fear': with the article, 'the fear-inspiring thing' becomes a title for God, 'the Dreaded One' or 'the Awesome One.' It caps a stanza built on the root 'fear' (vv. 7, 8, 12).

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 8:12 מוֹרָא֥וֹ fear its

    “Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.

    Here: 'Its fear': the thing this people is terrified of. The singular 'its' refers to 'this people'. Verse 13 answers it directly: the LORD 'is your môrāʾ'.

  2. Isaiah 8:13 מוֹרַאֲכֶ֖ם [will be] fear your

    The LORD of Hosts is the One you shall regard as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be dreaded.

    Here: 'Your fear,' meaning the thing you fear. It is the same noun as verse 12, 'its fear (moraʾo) do not fear.' The prophet takes the people's fear and points it at a new object.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 32:21 וּבְמוֹרָ֖א and with terror

    You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror.

    Here: 'And by terror'. From the root 'to fear', it means the overwhelming, dread-inspiring display of power that left Egypt and the nations shaken. It refers to the deeds that cause awe as much as to the feeling itself.

Malachi · 2

  1. Malachi 1:6 מוֹרָאִ֜י [is] fear my

    “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

    Here: 'The fear of me,' meaning the reverent fear a servant owes his master: respect that takes his authority seriously. It is the respect God is owed, not his own fear (hence BSB 'your fear of Me').

  2. Malachi 2:5 מוֹרָ֖א fear

    “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, which I gave to him; it called for reverence, and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.

    Here: 'Fear,' a single noun dropped into the sentence without a joining word. It names what the gift was meant to produce or demand: fear of God. It answers God's complaint to the priests in 1:6, 'where is my fear (môrā’î)?'

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.