G5401 — φόβος (phobos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G5401
Original: φόβος
Transliteration: phobos
Pronunciation: fob'-os
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: from φέβομαι (phebomai) — to be put in fear; cognate verb φοβέω (phobeo, G5399)
Occurrences: 44 unique verses (47 tokens) across 16 books
First Occurrence: Mat 14:26 — "they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Alarm or fright. From a primary φέβομαι (phebomai), to be put in fear. Used of both visceral terror before danger and reverential 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 ἀφόβως (G0870), δέος (G0127a), εὐσεβέω (G2151), προσκυνέω (G4352)

Domain Neighbors (053.007 — Worship, Reverence)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation
G870	ἀφόβως	4	without fear
G1119	γόνυ	8	knee(s)
G1496	εἰδωλολάτρης	7	idolaters
G2151	εὐσεβέω	2	to shew piety, worship
G3686	ὄνομα	179	name
G4352	προσκυνέω	37	worship

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
fear	34	77.3%
terror	2	4.5%
the fear	2	4.5%
a fear	1	2.3%
a terror	1	2.3%
afraid	1	2.3%
exceedingly	1	2.3%
fears	1	2.3%
with fear	1	2.3%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Peter	5	4.8
2 Corinthians	5	1.9
Ephesians	2	1.3
1 John	1	1.0
Romans	4	0.9
1 Timothy	1	0.9
Revelation	3	0.7
Luke	7	0.6
Acts	5	0.5
Matthew	3	0.3
Hebrews	1	0.3
John	3	0.3
Philippians	1	0.2
1 Corinthians	1	0.2
Mark	1	0.1
Jude	1	—

Concentration is highest in 1 Peter (4.8 per 100 verses), followed by 2 Corinthians (1.9). Luke-Acts together contribute 12 of 47 tokens — Luke uses phobos as a narrative marker for divine encounters. Paul accounts for 14 tokens across six epistles, often pairing it with τρόμος (tromos, trembling). Absent from the Pastoral epistles except 1 Timothy, absent from James and 2 Peter.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Reverential Awe / Fear of God¶

Acts 9:31 — "walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost"
Rom 3:18 — "There is no fear of God before their eyes"
2 Cor 7:1 — "perfecting holiness in the fear of God"
Eph 5:21 — "Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God"

2. Alarm at Divine Manifestation¶

Mat 28:4 — "for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men"
Mat 28:8 — "they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy"
Luk 1:12 — "Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him"
Luk 2:9 — "the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid"

3. Fear Spreading through a Community (Narrative Marker)¶

Luk 1:65 — "fear came on all that dwelt round about them"
Acts 2:43 — "fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done"
Acts 5:5 — "great fear came on all them that heard these things"
Acts 5:11 — "great fear came upon all the church"

4. Fear of Human Authorities / Persecution¶

Jhn 7:13 — "no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews"
Jhn 19:38 — "a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews"
Jhn 20:19 — "the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews"

5. Servile Terror / Existential Dread¶

Rom 8:15 — "ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear"
Heb 2:15 — "deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage"
1 Jhn 4:18 — "perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment"

6. Respectful Deference toward People¶

1 Pet 2:18 — "Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear"
1 Pet 3:2 — "your chaste conversation coupled with fear"
1 Pet 3:15 — "give an answer to every man... with meekness and fear"
Eph 6:5 — "be obedient to them that are your masters... with fear and trembling"

7. Eschatological Terror¶

Luk 21:26 — "Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth"
Rev 11:11 — "great fear fell upon them which saw them"
Rev 18:10 — "Standing afar off for the fear of her torment"
Rev 18:15 — "The merchants... shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	14x	"fear came upon all" — universalizing the response
μέγας (megas)	G3173	9x	"great fear" — intensifier (Acts 5:5, 5:11)
θεός (theos)	G2316	9x	"fear of God" — reverential object (Rom 3:18, 2 Cor 7:1)
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	6x	"fear of the Lord" — covenant awe (Acts 9:31, Eph 5:21)
φοβέω (phobeo)	G5399	5x	cognate intensification — "feared with great fear" (Mk 4:41)
τρόμος (tromos)	G5156	4x	"fear and trembling" — Pauline phrase (1 Cor 2:3, Eph 6:5, Php 2:12)
σάρξ (sarx)	G4561	4x	"filthiness of the flesh and spirit" — fear as sanctifying motive
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	4x	"spirit of bondage" → fear (Rom 8:15); Holy Spirit comfort (Acts 9:31)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G5399 φοβέω (phobeo) — verb: to fear, be alarmed, revere (90 verses). Parent verb from which phobos derives its range.
G5398 φοβερός (phoberos) — adjective: fearful, terrible (3 occurrences: Heb 10:27, 31; 12:21)
G5400 φόβητρον (phobetron) — "fearful sight" (1 occurrence: Luk 21:11)

Synonyms¶

G1167 δειλία (deilia) — cowardice, timidity (1 occurrence: 2 Tim 1:7). Always negative; phobos spans positive and negative.
G5156 τρόμος (tromos) — trembling, quaking (5 occurrences). Physical manifestation paired with phobos.
G1629 ἐκφοβέω (ekphobeo) — to frighten utterly (1 occurrence: 2 Cor 10:9). Intensified form.

Antonyms¶

G3982 πείθω (peitho) — to persuade, trust, have confidence. Confidence as the opposite posture.
G4100 πιστεύω (pisteuo) — to believe, trust. Faith displaces fear (contrast Rom 8:15 with Gal 4:6).
G26 ἀγάπη (agape) — love. Explicitly cast out fear: "perfect love casteth out fear" (1 Jhn 4:18).

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
φοβέω (phobeo)	G5399	"fear"	Verb form; phobos is the state/experience, phobeo is the action/response
δειλία (deilia)	G1167	"fear"	Always negative (cowardice, faithlessness); phobos can be positive (reverence)
יָרֵא (yare)	H3372	"fear"	Hebrew verb covering the full OT range; phobos is its primary LXX noun counterpart
פַּחַד (pachad)	H6343	"fear, terror, dread"	Visceral sudden alarm; phobos is broader, including sustained awe

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score
פַּחַד (pachad)	H6343	35	25.66
יִרְאָה (yir'ah)	H3374	31	24.89
אֵימָה ('eymah)	H367	11	17.29
חִתִּית (chittith)	H2851	6	13.95
מוֹרָא (mowra')	H4172	6	12.82
פַּחַת (pachath)	H6354	5	12.38
בָּעַת (ba'ath)	H1204	5	10.93
פָּחַד (pachad)	H6342	5	9.43
עָרַץ ('arats)	H6206	4	9.14
חֲרָדָה (charadah)	H2731	3	8.82

The top two Hebrew sources — pachad (sudden dread) and yir'ah (reverential fear) — together account for 66 LXX co-occurrences, confirming that phobos inherits both the terror and the reverence sides of the Hebrew fear vocabulary.