H3372 — יָרֵא (yare)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3372
Original: יָרֵא
Transliteration: yare
Pronunciation: yaw-ray
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: Primitive root
Occurrences: 317 unique verses (414 tokens) across 34 books
First Occurrence: Gen 3:10 — "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A primitive root; to fear; morally to revere; causatively to frighten: — affright, be (make) afraid, dread(-ful), (put in) fear(-ful, -fully, -ing), (be had in) reverence(-end), see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).

Verb Stem Distribution¶

Stem	Count	Typical Meaning
Qal	282	to fear, be afraid, revere
Niphal	45	to be feared, be awesome, be dreadful (always as participle nora)
Piel	5	to frighten, make afraid, terrify

The Qal dominates (85%), covering both natural fear and reverent awe. The Niphal participle (nora) is a distinct theological term meaning "awesome, terrible" applied to God, his deeds, and his name. The Piel is rare, used causatively for intimidation (Neh 6:9, 13, 14, 19; 2 Chr 32:18).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
fear / Fear	73	23.0%
afraid / be afraid	43	13.6%
feared	19	6.0%
terrible / and terrible	20	6.3%
fear ye / fear thou / fear him / fear thee / fear them	16	5.0%
Be / be (in "be not afraid")	19	6.0%
dreadful / and dreadful	5	1.6%
reverence / reverend	3	0.9%
feareth / fearing / fearful / fearfully	8	2.5%
Other (compound phrases)	111	35.0%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Malachi	5	9.1
Zephaniah	4	7.5
Jonah	3	6.2
Joel	4	5.5
Haggai	2	5.3
Deuteronomy	35	3.6
Habakkuk	2	3.6
1 Samuel	22	2.7
Ecclesiastes	6	2.7
2 Kings	19	2.6
Nehemiah	10	2.5
Isaiah	24	1.9
Psalms	46	1.9
Micah	2	1.9
Joshua	10	1.5
Zechariah	3	1.4
2 Samuel	9	1.3
Jeremiah	18	1.3
Genesis	19	1.2
Exodus	13	1.1
Judges	6	1.0
1 Kings	7	0.9
2 Chronicles	7	0.9
Leviticus	8	0.9
Daniel	3	0.8
Job	9	0.8
Amos	1	0.7
Lamentations	1	0.6
1 Chronicles	6	0.6
Hosea	1	0.5
Proverbs	4	0.4
Ezekiel	4	0.3
Numbers	3	0.2
Ruth	1	—

Deuteronomy has the highest raw count (35), consistent with its pervasive theme of covenant loyalty expressed as "fearing the LORD." The prophets show the highest density (Malachi 9.1, Zephaniah 7.5). Narrative books (1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings) use it heavily in contexts of human terror. The word spans every major OT genre: law, narrative, poetry, prophecy, and wisdom.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Reverent Awe / Worship of God¶

The dominant OT usage: covenant loyalty expressed as fearing the LORD. - Deut 6:13 — "Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name." - Deut 10:12 — "What doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways" - Josh 24:14 — "Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth" - Eccl 12:13 — "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

2. Natural Terror / Human Fear¶

Emotional fear in response to danger, enemies, or threatening circumstances. - Gen 3:10 — "I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (first occurrence) - 1 Sam 17:11 — "When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid." - 1 Sam 18:12 — "And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him" - Jon 1:5 — "Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god"

3. Divine Reassurance ("Fear Not")¶

God or his messengers commanding the cessation of fear — a recurring prophetic formula. - Gen 15:1 — "Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." - Isa 41:10 — "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God" - Isa 43:1 — "Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine." - Dan 10:12 — "Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand"

4. The Awesome / Terrible (Niphal Participle nora)¶

God, his name, or his acts described as nora — awe-inspiring, terrible. - Exod 15:11 — "Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" - Deut 10:17 — "The LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible" - Psalm 99:3 — "Let them praise thy great and terrible name; for it is holy." - Joel 2:31 — "before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come"

5. Fearing God as Ethical Foundation¶

Fear of God as the basis for moral behavior, especially toward the vulnerable. - Gen 42:18 — "This do, and live; for I fear God" (Joseph to his brothers) - Exod 1:17 — "But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them" - Lev 19:14 — "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God" - Lev 25:17 — "Ye shall not therefore oppress one another; but thou shalt fear thy God"

6. Deterrent Fear (Public / Judicial)¶

Fear produced by witnessing judgment, deterring others from sin. - Deut 13:11 — "And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness" - Deut 17:13 — "And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously." - Deut 21:21 — "so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear." - 1 Sam 12:18 — "and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel"

7. Syncretistic / Divided Fear¶

Fearing Yahweh alongside other gods — exposed as contradiction. - 2 Ki 17:32-33 — "So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves... priests of the high places... They feared the LORD, and served their own gods" - 2 Ki 17:34-35 — "they fear not the LORD, neither do they after their statutes... Ye shall not fear other gods" - 2 Ki 17:39 — "But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (Yehovah)	H3068	130x (41%)	"fear the LORD" — covenant loyalty formula
אֱלֹהִים (elohim)	H430	92x (29%)	"fear God" — moral/universal usage
אָמַר (amar)	H559	92x (29%)	"said... Fear not" — divine reassurance formula
אַל (al)	H408	78x (25%)	"fear not" — negative imperative
עָשָׂה (asah)	H6213	50x (16%)	"fear and do" — fear leading to obedience
שָׁמַע (shama)	H8085	33x (10%)	"hear and fear" — judicial deterrent formula

Word Family / Cognates¶

H3373 יָרֵא (yare) — adjective: "fearing, reverent" (54 verses). Used in construct: "those that fear him/God"
H3374 יִרְאָה (yir'ah) — feminine noun: "fear, reverence" (42 verses). "The fear of the LORD" (yir'at YHWH)

Synonyms¶

H2729 חָרַד (charad) — tremble, be afraid; emphasizes visibly shaking fear.
H2865 חָתַת (chathath) — be shattered, be dismayed; overlaps with yare in dread/discouragement contexts.
H6206 עָרַץ (arats) — dread, terrify; a stronger fear/terror term in threat contexts.
H366 אָיֹם (ayom) — dreadful, terrifying; adjective in the same fear cluster surfaced by search_relationships.py.
H1219 בָּצַר (batsar) — surfaced by search_relationships.py as a secondary pressure/threat neighbor rather than a direct equivalent of yare.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms returned by search_relationships.py for H3372.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
פַּחַד (pachad)	H6343	"fear" (12x), "dread"	pachad = sudden alarm, dread; more visceral/physical than yare
חָרַד (charad)	H2729	"afraid" (12x)	charad = shudder, tremble with terror; involuntary physical response
פָּחַד (pachad)	H6342	"be afraid" (2x), "fear" (1x)	pachad (verb) = be startled by sudden alarm; yare covers the full range from terror to reverence
חוּל (chuwl)	H2342	"afraid" (2x)	chuwl = writhe, tremble; emphasizes physical anguish
גּוּר (guwr)	H1481	"afraid" (2x), "be afraid" (2x)	guwr = shrink back from; often with min (away from)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
002001002001	Afraid	Core fear/dread field. `search_relationships.py` clusters yare most strongly with the emotional-fear side of the lexeme; the reverence/awe usage remains documented by the canonical categories above.

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
φοβέω (phobeo) G5399	241	31.55	Dominant equivalent — covers both fear and reverence senses
φοβερός (phoberos) G5398	22	18.28	Adjective "fearful, terrible" — maps the Niphal participle nora
θαῤῥέω (tharrheo) G2292	9	13.88	"be bold/courageous" — used for negated yare ("fear not")
ἐπιφανής (epiphanes) G2016	7	11.78	"conspicuous, notable" — another rendering of nora
πτοέω (ptoeo) G4422	9	10.23	"terrify" — captures the fright sense
εὐλαβέομαι (eulabeomai) G2125	7	9.70	"be cautious, reverent" — captures the reverence sense