Bible Dictionary
Fear of the Lord the
The fear of the Lord is reverent awe toward God joined with love, trust, and hope rather than mere slavish dread. It expresses true piety, encourages obedience, and turns people from sin.
Definition
The fear of the Lord is true piety expressed as reverent fear joined with love and hope. It is filial reverence rather than slavish dread and includes an attitude that turns a person from carelessness and sin toward obedience.
Biblical Usage
The fear of the Lord is used in the Old Testament as a designation of true religion and is also enjoined in the New Testament as an incentive to penitence and carefulness in religious life. God is called “the Fear of Isaac.”
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Is in the Old Testament used as a designation of true piety (Prov. 1:7; Job 28:28; Ps. 19:9). It is a fear conjoined with love and hope, and is therefore not a slavish dread, but rather filial reverence. (Comp. Deut. 32:6; Hos. 11:1; Isa. 1:2; 63:16; 64:8.) God is called “the Fear of Isaac” (Gen. 31:42, 53), i.e., the God whom Isaac feared. A holy fear is enjoined also in the New Testament as a preventive of carelessness in religion, and as an incentive to penitence (Matt. 10:28; 2 Cor. 5:11; 7:1; Phil. 2:12; Eph. 5:21; Heb. 12:28, 29).