What both ירא (yr’) and פחד (phd) show is that, if we are to be faithful to Scripture’s presentation of the fear of God, we should ideally use words that encompass that spectrum of positive and negative experience. What פחד in particular helps us see is the common feature of those fears: trembling. It shows us that the fear of God is no mild-mannered, reserved, or limp thing. It is a startlingly physical, overpowering reaction. And so, respect and reverence are simply too weak and grey to stand in as synonyms for the fear of God. Awe seems a much better fit, though even it doesn’t quite
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