Hebrew word · H7461

רַ֫עַד

ra'ad

trembling

“Trembling has seized”: a fixed Hebrew image of terror gripping someone like a hand.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

trembling

Another spelling of re.a.dah (רְעַדָה "trembling" H7461B)

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 33:14

Range of meaning

“Trembling has seized”: a fixed Hebrew image of terror gripping someone like a hand.

Against the English

KJV “fearfulness hath surprised” uses “surprise” in its older sense of “overtake suddenly” or “seize.” A modern reader hears mild astonishment.

How it drifted

In early modern English “surprise” meant to capture or attack suddenly. The modern sense of mild unexpectedness came later.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 15:15, “trembling seizes the rams of Moab”; Ps 48:6 (Heb. 48:7), kings attacking Zion: “trembling seized them there.”

From the study of Psalm 2:11

Range of meaning

Trembling, shaking, quaking. It refers to physical shuddering caused by terror or overwhelming awe (Exod 15:15; Job 4:14; Isa 33:14; Ps 48:6; 55:5). A related verb is used of the earth quaking (Ps 104:32).

Against the English

'Trembling' is accurate in every major English version. What gets lost is how physical the word is and how often it is linked with frightened rulers.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 15:15: 'trembling seizes the leaders of Moab' at Yahweh's victory. Psalm 48:4–6 is the closest parallel: kings gather against Zion, see it, panic, and 'trembling seized them there'. The Septuagint uses tromos, the word Paul later pairs with phobos in 'with fear and trembling' (Phil 2:12; 1 Cor 2:3; 2 Cor 7:15; Eph 6:5).

From the study of Psalm 55:5

Range of meaning

Trembling, quaking. The related verb ra'ad means to tremble (Ps 104:32, the earth trembles; Dan 10:11). The noun appears only a few times (Exod 15:15; Ps 55:6 Heb; also as the variant form re'adah in Job 4:14; Ps 2:11; 48:7 Heb; Isa 33:14).

Against the English

'Trembling' matches it well. All the major versions agree.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Exod 15:15 trembling seizes the chiefs of Moab at the news of Israel's victory; in Ps 48:7 (Heb) trembling grips the kings like a woman in labour. It is the bodily reaction of people faced with overwhelming threat. The Septuagint renders it tromos.

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 15:15 רָ֑עַד trembling

    Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; trembling will seize the leaders of Moab; those who dwell in Canaan will melt away,

    Here: Physical shaking, the body losing control under fear. Here it is the subject of the verb, the thing that does the seizing.

Job · 1

  1. Job 4:14 וּרְעָדָ֑ה and trembling

    fear and trembling came over me and made all my bones shudder.

Psalms · 3

  1. Psalm 2:11 בִּרְעָדָֽה׃ with trembling

    Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

    Here: 'With/in trembling.' The word means bodily shaking, the shudder that takes hold of terrified rulers (Exod 15:15; Ps 48:6). It sits beside 'exult' as a deliberate paradox: celebrate, but do it shaking.

  2. Psalm 48:6 רְ֭עָדָה trembling

    Trembling seized them there, anguish like a woman in labor.

  3. Psalm 55:5 וָ֭רַעַד and trembling

    Fear and trembling grip me, and horror has overwhelmed me.

    Here: Bodily shaking, the visible physical side of fear. Paired with yir'ah it makes a set phrase: the inner dread and the outer quaking together.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 33:14 רְעָדָ֖ה trembling

    The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”

    Here: Physical shaking from fear. In Psalm 48:6 this trembling seizes the kings who attack Zion; here it seizes people inside Zion.

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