H3374 — יִרְאָה (yirah)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: H3374
Original: יִרְאָה
Transliteration: yirah
Pronunciation: yir-aw
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: יָרֵא (yare, H3372) — to fear, revere
Occurrences: 42 unique verses (45 tokens) across 12 books
First Occurrence: Gen 20:11 — "And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God [is] not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife's sake."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

Feminine of H3373; fear (also used as infinitive); morally, reverence: — dreadful, exceedingly, fear(-fulness).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
fear (with article: "the fear", "The fear")	36	85.7%
dreadful	1	2.4%
fearfulness	1	2.4%
Other phrases	4	9.5%

Nearly every occurrence is translated "fear" — almost always in the construct phrase "the fear of the LORD/God."

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Proverbs	14	1.5
Psalms	8	0.3
Isaiah	5	0.4
Job	5	0.5
Nehemiah	2	0.5
Ezekiel	2	0.2
Genesis	1	0.1
Exodus	1	0.1
Deuteronomy	1	0.1
2 Samuel	1	0.1
2 Chronicles	1	0.1
Jeremiah	1	0.1

Proverbs accounts for one-third of all uses (14/42), confirming this as a wisdom-literature word. Psalms ranks second. The word is absent from the historical books (Joshua–2 Kings except 2 Sam 23:3), from the Torah beyond Genesis–Deuteronomy, and from all Minor Prophets.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Foundational Principle of Wisdom¶

The signature use — yirah as the prerequisite and starting-point of true knowledge and wisdom. - Prov 1:7 — "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." - Prov 9:10 — "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." - Prov 15:33 — "The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility." - Psalm 111:10 — "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments." - Job 28:28 — "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."

2. Moral Compass — Turning from Evil¶

Yirah as a disposition that actively repels sin and evil conduct. - Prov 8:13 — "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate." - Prov 16:6 — "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil." - Ex 20:20 — "God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not." - Neh 5:9 — "Ought ye not to walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the heathen our enemies?"

3. Source of Life, Security, and Blessing¶

Yirah as the condition that yields protection, longevity, and provision. - Prov 14:26 — "In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge." - Prov 14:27 — "The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death." - Prov 10:27 — "The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened." - Prov 19:23 — "The fear of the LORD tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied." - Prov 22:4 — "By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life."

4. Standard for Just Rule and Conduct¶

Yirah as the governing principle for leaders and faithful living. - 2 Sam 23:3 — "He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God." - 2 Chr 19:9 — "Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart." - Neh 5:15 — "But so did not I, because of the fear of God." - Prov 23:17 — "Be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long."

5. Messianic Endowment¶

Yirah as a quality of the Spirit resting on the coming Branch. - Isa 11:2 — "The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD." - Isa 11:3 — "And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD." - Isa 33:6 — "Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure."

6. Dread / Overwhelming Fear (rare)¶

A small cluster where yirah denotes raw terror rather than reverent awe. - Psalm 55:5 — "Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me." - Ezek 1:18 — "As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful." - Deut 2:25 — "This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations."

7. Covenant Promise¶

Yirah as something God himself plants in his people's hearts. - Jer 32:40 — "I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me." - Isa 63:17 — "O LORD, why hast thou… hardened our heart from thy fear?"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
יְהֹוָה (Yehovah)	H3068	23x (55%)	"the fear of the LORD" — the dominant construct
חׇכְמָה (chokmah)	H2451	7x (17%)	Wisdom paired with fear as complementary realities
אֱלֹהִים (elohim)	H430	6x (14%)	"the fear of God" — alternate to "fear of the LORD"
דַּעַת (daath)	H1847	6x (14%)	"knowledge" paired with fear as co-beginnings
סוּר (sur)	H5493	4x (10%)	"depart from evil" — the behavioral fruit of yirah
רַע (ra)	H7451	4x (10%)	"evil" — what yirah repels
בִּינָה (binah)	H998	3x (7%)	"understanding" alongside fear and wisdom
חֶסֶד (chesed)	H2617	3x (7%)	Mercy/lovingkindness paired with fear

Word Family / Cognates¶

H3372 יָרֵא (yare) — root verb: to fear, to revere (317 verses). Yirah is the nominal abstraction of this verb.
H3373 יָרֵא (yare) — adjective: fearing, afraid, reverent. Used in construct "God-fearing" (yeré elohim).
H4172 מוֹרָא (mora) — noun from same root: fear, terror, awesome thing. More concrete than yirah (object of fear rather than disposition).

Synonyms¶

רַעַד (raad) H7461 — trembling. Physical fear-response rather than moral/relational disposition.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
פַּחַד (pachad)	H6343	"fear"	pachad = sudden dread, terror (alarm reaction); yirah = sustained reverent disposition
אֵימָה (emah)	H367	"fear"	emah = horror, dread (Job 20:25, Ex 15:16); yirah = moral/relational
מוֹרָא (mora)	H4172	"fear"	mora = the fearsome object or awe-inspiring deed; yirah = the inner posture of reverence
חֲרָדָה (charadah)	H2731	"fear"	charadah = anxiety, trembling agitation; yirah = settled reverence

LXX Mapping¶

Greek Equivalent	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI
φόβος (phobos)	G5401	31	7.18
εὐσέβεια (eusebeia)	G2150	3	8.70
σοφία (sophia)	G4678	9	5.19
τρόμος (tromos)	G5156	3	6.53

Phobos is the overwhelming LXX equivalent (31 of 42 uses). Eusebeia ("piety, godliness") appears when the LXX translators render "fear of the LORD" as "godliness," signaling that yirah was understood as a disposition, not mere terror. Sophia ("wisdom") maps where yirah and wisdom are treated as near-synonyms.