Hebrew word · Strong's H3372

יָרֵא

yârêʼ · yaw-ray' · verb · “to fear”

In a sentence

Yare means to fear — both ordinary fear and the reverent “fear of the LORD,” which Proverbs calls the beginning of wisdom.

Yare covers fear in many keys — fear of danger, awe of greatness, reverence before holiness. The Old Testament can use one word for both terror and reverence.

The “fear of the LORD” is not nervous dread but reverent love. It is awe of God’s holiness combined with trust in his goodness — and Proverbs calls it the foundation of wisdom.

Strong's reference

Definition: to fear; morally, to revere; caus. to frighten

KJV usage: affright, be (make) afraid, dread(-ful), (put in) fear(-ful, -fully, -ing), (be had in) reverence(-end), [idiom] see, terrible (act, -ness, thing).

Reference gloss from Strong's Concordance (1890, public domain).

Key verses BSB · Public Domain (CC0)

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Psalms 34:9 “Fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing.” Deuteronomy 10:12 “And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,”

Original BibleDawn word study. Original-language data and the public-domain Strong's (1890) gloss are referenced; see sources.