G5399 — φοβέω (phobeo)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G5399
Original: φοβέω
Transliteration: phobeo
Pronunciation: fob-eh'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: from φόβος (phobos, G5401) — fear, terror, reverence
Occurrences: 90 unique verses (110 tokens) across 14 books
First Occurrence: Mat 1:20 — "But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife..."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

To frighten, i.e. (passively) to be alarmed; by analogy, to be in awe of, revere. From φόβος (phobos, G5401). Used of both terror before danger and reverent awe before God or authority.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domains¶

Domain 025.022: Fear, Terror, Alarm — alongside δειλία (G1167), δειλιάω (G1168), ἐκφοβέω (G1629), ἔκφοβος (G1630), ἔμφοβος (G1719), θροέω (G2360)
Domain 053.007: Worship, Reverence — alongside δέος (G0127a), εὐσεβέω (G2151), προσκυνέω (G4352)
Domain 087.002: Honor or Respect in Relation to Status — alongside δόξα (G1391), δοξάζω (G1392), ἐντρέπω (G1788)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
025	Attitudes and Emotions	`search_relationships.py` places phobeō in the core emotional field of fear/alarm.
087	Status	The same tool also groups it with status/honor language, matching uses where fear overlaps with reverence and deference.
053	Religious Activities	The worship domain fits commands such as "Fear God" where reverence functions as explicitly religious response.

Voice and Tense Distribution¶

Voice/Tense	Count	Notes
Present middle/passive	41	Imperative (μὴ φοβοῦ/φοβεῖσθε), participle (φοβούμενος), indicative
Aorist passive	33	Indicative (ἐφοβήθησαν), imperative (φοβήθητε), participle, subjunctive
Imperfect middle/passive	12	Ongoing past fear: ἐφοβοῦντο
Future passive	1	Heb 13:6 quoting Ps 118:6

Nearly all forms are middle/passive voice — the active ("to frighten someone") does not occur in the NT. The word is consistently deponent, meaning "to be afraid" or "to fear/revere."

Present vs. Aorist imperative pattern: "Fear not" commands split between present imperative (μὴ φοβοῦ — "stop fearing," ongoing) and aorist imperative (φοβήθητε — "do not begin to fear," punctiliar). The aorist imperative in Rev 14:7 (Φοβήθητε τὸν θεόν) is a decisive call to action.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
fear / Fear	24	27%
afraid / was afraid / were afraid	22	24%
they feared	12	13%
fearing	6	7%
be (not afraid)	5	6%
feareth / one that feareth	4	4%
ye that fear	2	2%
feared	2	2%
she reverence	1	1%
Other minor forms	12	13%

The KJV translates with "fear" and "afraid" as the dominant renderings, with one notable outlier: Eph 5:33 uses "reverence."

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Peter	3	2.9
Luke	21	1.8
Mark	12	1.8
Matthew	16	1.5
Revelation	6	1.5
Hebrews	4	1.3
Acts	13	1.3
Galatians	2	1.3
Colossians	1	1.1
1 John	1	1.0
2 Corinthians	2	0.8
Romans	3	0.7
John	5	0.6
Ephesians	1	0.6

Heavily concentrated in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts (62 of 90 verses). The Gospels use it for both human terror and reverence for God. Absent from the Pastoral Epistles, Philippians, 1 Corinthians, James, 2 Peter, Jude, and all minor Pauline letters. Revelation uses it 6 times, all in theologically significant contexts (commands to fear God, or statements about who fears Him).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Reverent Awe / Fear of God¶

Rev 14:7 — "Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come"
Rev 15:4 — "Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?"
Rev 19:5 — "Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him"
Acts 10:2 — "A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house"
Acts 10:35 — "in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted"
Acts 13:16 — "Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience"
1 Pet 2:17 — "Fear God. Honour the king."
Luke 1:50 — "his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation"
Col 3:22 — "Servants, obey... fearing the Lord"
Luke 23:40 — "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?"

2. Terror / Alarm Before the Supernatural¶

Mat 17:6 — "when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid"
Mat 27:54 — "the centurion... saw the earthquake... they feared greatly"
Mark 4:41 — "they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this"
Luke 2:9 — "the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid"
Luke 9:34 — "they feared as they entered into the cloud"
Rev 1:17 — "when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead"

3. Angelic "Fear Not" Reassurances¶

Mat 1:20 — "Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife"
Mat 28:5 — "Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus"
Luke 1:13 — "Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard"
Luke 1:30 — "Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God"
Luke 2:10 — "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy"
Acts 27:24 — "Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar"

4. Jesus' "Fear Not" Commands¶

Mat 10:26 — "Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed"
Mat 10:28 — "fear not them which kill the body... but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell"
Mat 10:31 — "Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows"
Luke 12:32 — "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom"
John 6:20 — "It is I; be not afraid"

5. Fear of Human Authorities / Consequences¶

Mat 14:5 — "he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet"
Mat 21:26 — "we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet"
John 9:22 — "his parents... feared the Jews"
Luke 22:2 — "the chief priests and scribes... feared the people"
Acts 5:26 — "they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned"
Gal 2:12 — "he withdrew... fearing them which were of the circumcision"

6. Anxious Apprehension / Dread¶

Mat 25:25 — "I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth"
Luke 19:21 — "I feared thee, because thou art an austere man"
2 Cor 11:3 — "I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve"
2 Cor 12:20 — "I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would"
Gal 4:11 — "I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain"
Heb 4:1 — "Let us therefore fear, lest... any of you should seem to come short"

7. Appropriate Caution / Healthy Fear¶

Rom 11:20 — "thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear"
Rom 13:4 — "if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain"
Eph 5:33 — "the wife see that she reverence her husband"
Heb 11:23 — "Moses, when he was born, was hid... because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment"
Heb 11:27 — "he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	15x	"fear God" — direct object of reverence
λέγω (lego)	G3004	22x	introduces "Fear not" speech formula
ἔπω (epo)	G2036	18x	"said... Fear not" narrative frame
Ἰησοῦς (Iesous)	G2424	12x	Jesus as speaker of "Fear not"
ἄγγελος (aggelos)	G32	7x	angel as speaker of "Fear not"
λαός (laos)	G2992	6x	"feared the people" — political fear
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	8x	"fear the Lord" — reverence formula
μέγας (megas)	G3173	6x	"feared greatly" — intensive

Word Family / Cognates¶

G5401 φόβος (phobos) — noun: fear, terror, reverence (47 verses)
G5398 φοβερός (phoberos) — adjective: fearful, terrible (3 verses: Heb 10:27, 31; 12:21)
G1629 ἐκφοβέω (ekphobeo) — verb: to frighten utterly (1 verse: 2 Cor 10:9)
G1630 ἔκφοβος (ekphobos) — adjective: exceedingly afraid (2 verses: Mark 9:6; Heb 12:21)
G870 ἀφόβως (aphobos) — adverb: without fear (4 verses)

Synonyms¶

G1629 ἐκφοβέω (ekphobeō) — the closest lexeme-family parallel returned by search_relationships.py; "to frighten utterly."
G2292 θαρρέω (tharreō) — listed by search_relationships.py within the same emotional field, on the courage side of the fear/courage polarity.
G225 ἀλήθεια (alētheia) — listed by search_relationships.py in the broader reverence/truth network tied to fearing God.
G2274 ἡσσάομαι (hēssaomai) — listed by search_relationships.py as a status/defeat neighbor in the same broader semantic field.

Antonyms¶

ὑψηλοφρονεῖν — "to be high-minded"; contrast term returned through the Abbott-Smith antonym bucket used by search_relationships.py.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
δειλιάω (deiliao)	G1168	"afraid"	Cowardly fear, timidity — always negative; phobeo is neutral/positive
εὐλαβέομαι (eulabeomai)	G2125	"fearing"	Cautious, pious reverence — more formal/ritual nuance
ἔμφοβος (emphobos)	G1719	"afraid"	Adjective: "in fear" — state description, not action verb
τρέμω (tremo)	G5141	context overlap	Physical trembling — physiological response vs. phobeo's broader range

Domain Neighbors (087.002 — Honor/Respect in Relation to Status)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV	Key Difference
G1391	δόξα (doxa)	125	glory	Outward splendor/reputation; phobeo is inward response
G1392	δοξάζω (doxazo)	27	glorify	Active giving of honor; phobeo is receptive awe
G1788	ἐντρέπω (entrepo)	4	reverence, ashamed	Shame-tinged respect; phobeo is broader
G4352	προσκυνέω (proskyneo)	54	worship	Physical act of worship; phobeo is inner disposition

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
יָרֵא (yare)	H3372	241	31.55	Primary equivalent — the standard Hebrew "fear/revere" verb
יָרֵא (yare)	H3373	45	22.65	Adjective form — "fearing, reverent"
חָתַת (chathath)	H2865	18	14.24	To prostrate, break down — terror/dismay
פָּחַד (pachad)	H6342	10	11.52	To be startled by sudden alarm
עָרַץ (arats)	H6206	6	9.35	To awe, dread — strong terror

H3372 יָרֵא (yare) is the dominant Hebrew equivalent by a wide margin (241 co-occurrences, PMI 31.55). The LXX consistently uses φοβέω to translate yare across both its fear and reverence senses.