G5479 — χαρά (chará)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G5479
Original: χαρά
Transliteration: chará
Pronunciation: khar-ah'
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: From χαίρω (chaírō, G5463) — "to rejoice, be glad"
Occurrences: 57 unique verses (59 tokens) across 18 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 2:10 — "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From χαίρω (G5463); cheerfulness, i.e. calm delight — translated: gladness, greatly, joy, joyful(-ness), joyous. The nominal counterpart to the common verb of rejoicing; denotes the inner emotional state of gladness/delight itself rather than the act of rejoicing.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 25 — Attitudes and Emotions
Subdomain: 25.123 (group 011) — Happy, Glad, Joyful
Other words in subdomain: ἀγαλλίασις (G20), ἀγαλλιάω (G21), ἀσμένως (G780), εὐφραίνω (G2165), εὐφροσύνη (G2167), ἡδέως (G2234), ἱλαρός (G2431), ἱλαρότης (G2432), μακαρίζω (G3106), μακάριος (G3107), μακαρισμός (G3108)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[025] Attitudes and Emotions — search_relationships.py keeps χαρά squarely in the joy / gladness affect field.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
joy	47	82.5%
gladness	3	5.3%
with joy	2	3.5%
greatly	1	1.8%
joyful	1	1.8%
joyfully	1	1.8%
joyfulness	1	1.8%
joyous	1	1.8%
the joy	1	1.8%

Nominal "joy" dominates; adverbial/adjectival forms are rare renderings of the same noun in context.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 John	1	7.7
3 John	1	7.1
1 Thessalonians	4	4.5
Philippians	5	~4.7
2 Corinthians	5	1.9
James	2	1.9
Hebrews	4	1.3
2 Timothy	1	1.2
Colossians	1	1.1
1 John	1	1.0
1 Peter	1	1.0
John	7	0.8
Luke	8	0.7
Romans	3	0.7
Galatians	1	0.7
Matthew	6	0.6
Acts	5	0.5
Mark	1	0.1

Heavily concentrated in Johannine literature (John + 1-3 John), Pauline epistles (Philippians leads by density; "epistle of joy"), and Luke-Acts. Highest density in 2-3 John (brief letters where "joy" is the theme of fellowship). Absent from Revelation, the Catholic Epistles 2 Peter and Jude, the Pastorals except 2 Tim, Ephesians, Titus, Philemon.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Joy at Christ's Appearing / Salvation Events¶

Messianic and gospel-event joy tied to Christ's coming, resurrection, or news of salvation. - Mat 2:10 — "they rejoiced with exceeding great joy" (at the star) - Luk 2:10 — "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people" - Mat 28:8 — "departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy" - Luk 24:52 — "returned to Jerusalem with great joy" (after ascension)

2. Joy of the Kingdom / Joy in the Holy Ghost¶

Joy as a constitutive element of the Kingdom of God, a Spirit-produced state rather than a circumstantial emotion. - Rom 14:17 — "the kingdom of God is... righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost" - Gal 5:22 — "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace..." - Act 13:52 — "the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost" - 1Th 1:6 — "received the word... with joy of the Holy Ghost"

3. Full / Fulfilled Joy (plērōthē)¶

Joy brought to completion, especially as result of Christ's word, prayer, or fellowship. - Jhn 15:11 — "that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" - Jhn 16:24 — "ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" - Jhn 17:13 — "that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves" - 1Jn 1:4 — "these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full"

4. Joy Amid / Through Suffering¶

Joy coexisting with or produced by affliction, trial, and chastening — a distinctively Christian paradox. - Jas 1:2 — "count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations" - Heb 12:2 — "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross" - 2Co 8:2 — "in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy... abounded" - 1Pe 1:8 — "ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory"

5. Joy Over Repentance / Salvation of Others¶

Heavenly and pastoral joy at conversion, perseverance, or the faith of others. - Luk 15:7 — "joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth" - Luk 15:10 — "joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner" - 1Th 2:19-20 — "what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?... ye are our glory and joy" - 3Jn 1:4 — "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth"

6. Joy as Disposition in Ministry / Fellowship¶

Joy as the affective climate of apostolic labor and Christian assembly. - 2Co 1:24 — "helpers of your joy" - Phl 2:2 — "fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded" - Phl 4:1 — "my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown" - Heb 13:17 — "that they may do it with joy, and not with grief"

7. Superficial / Uprooted Joy¶

Emotional response to the word that lacks depth and perishes under pressure — the only clearly negative use. - Mat 13:20 / Mar 4:16 / Luk 8:13 — "heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it... yet hath he not root"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἔχω (echō) "have"	G2192	15x (26%)	"have joy" — joy as a possession/state held
πᾶς (pas) "all"	G3956	13x (23%)	"all joy" / "with all joy" — totalizing intensifier
πληρόω (plēroō) "fulfill"	G4137	11x (19%)	"joy fulfilled / full" (Johannine signature)
κύριος (kyrios) "Lord"	G2962	8x (14%)	"joy of / in the Lord"
χαίρω (chairō) "rejoice"	G5463	8x (14%)	cognate pairing: "rejoice with joy"
θεός (theos) "God"	G2316	7x (12%)	joy grounded in God
πολύς (polys) "much/great"	G4183	7x (12%)	"great/much joy" (quantitative)
μέγας (megas) "great"	G3173	6x (11%)	"great joy" (magnitude)
πνεῦμα (pneuma) "Spirit"	G4151	6x (11%)	joy "of / in the Holy Spirit"
λόγος (logos) "word"	G3056	6x (11%)	joy at receiving/hearing the word
λύπη (lypē) "sorrow"	G3077	5x (9%)	antonym pairing: joy replaces/contrasts sorrow
θλῖψις (thlipsis) "tribulation"	G2347	4x (7%)	joy coexists with/arises through affliction
πίστις (pistis) "faith"	G4102	4x (7%)	joy as companion of faith/believing

Word Family / Cognates¶

χαίρω (chairō) G5463 — cognate verb: "rejoice, be glad" (the verbal form of this same root; ~74 NT occurrences)
χάρις (charis) G5485 — same χαρ- root: "grace, favor" — grace and joy are etymologically linked
χαρίζομαι (charizomai) G5483 — "give freely, forgive" (from charis)
συγχαίρω (synchairō) G4796 — "rejoice together with"
χαρίτοω (charitoō) G5487 — "bestow grace upon"

Synonyms¶

G2165 εὐφραίνω (euphrainō) — rejoice / make merry; verbal near-neighbor in festal joy contexts.
G20 ἀγαλλίασις (agalliasis) — exultation / gladness; a more exuberant expression of joy.
G2167 εὐφροσύνη (euphrosynē) — gladness / festal cheer; joy in celebratory settings.

Antonyms¶

G2726 κατήφεια (katēpheia) — heaviness / dejection; downcast affect opposed to joy.
G3997 πένθος (penthos) — mourning; grief-state contrasted with gladness.
G4726 στεναγμός (stenagmos) — groaning; sorrowful burden opposite joyful expression.
G3077 λύπη (lypē) — sorrow; the clearest emotional opposite repeatedly paired with joy in NT usage.

Easily Confused / Overlapping Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared KJV	Key Difference
ἀγαλλίασις (agalliasis)	G20	joy, gladness	Exuberant, demonstrative exultation; "leaping joy" — more intense/outward than chara
ἀγαλλιάω (agalliaō)	G21	rejoice, be exceeding glad	Verbal form of G20 — exult loudly
εὐφροσύνη (euphrosynē)	G2167	gladness	Good cheer, festal mirth (Acts 2:28; 14:17) — more the mood of the banquet
εὐφραίνω (euphrainō)	G2165	rejoice	Verb: make merry, be festive (the prodigal's father "let us eat, and be merry")
καυχάομαι (kauchaomai)	G2744	joy, boast	Boasting/glorying (translated "joy" once) — oriented toward an object of confidence

Chara is the baseline noun for the settled state of joy; agalliasis is its high-intensity exulting expression; euphrosynē leans festal/convivial.

Hebrew Source (LXX Reverse Mapping)¶

Hebrew	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
שִׂמְחָה (simchâh)	H8057	13	7.33	Primary OT equivalent — general "joy, gladness"
שָׂשׂוֹן (sâsôwn)	H8342	6	8.20	Parallel term — "gladness, exultation," often paired with simchâh
מִשְׁתֶּה (mishteh)	H4960	4	6.68	"Feast, banquet" — joy of festal occasions
שָׂמַח (sâmach)	H8055	4	4.88	Verb "rejoice" (verbal cognate of simchâh)
נוּחַ (nûwach)	H5117	3	5.60	"Rest" — occasional overlap in peace/joy contexts
טוֹב (ṭôwb)	H2896	4	3.08	"Good" — background contextual overlap

The LXX primarily renders simchâh (H8057) and sâsôwn (H8342) with chara, giving this word the full OT joy-tradition heritage: covenant festival joy, joy of harvest and deliverance, messianic restoration joy (Isa 35:10; 51:11).