ἐφοβήθησαν
ephobethesan
they were frightened
from φόβος; to frighten, i.e. (passively) to be alarmed; by analogy, to be in awe of, i.e. revere:--be (+ sore) afraid, fear (exceedingly), reverence.
Luke 2:9 · Word #12
Lexicon G5399
| Lemma | φοβέω |
| Transliteration | phobéō |
| Strong's | G5399 |
| In-context | they were frightened |
| Literal | they-feared |
Morphology V AOR PASS IND 3P PL
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state of being |
| Tense | AOR — Aorist — Simple occurrence, often past |
| Voice | PASS — Passive — The subject receives the action |
| Mood | IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality |
| Person | 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they") |
| Number | PL — Plural — More than one |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | φοβέω |
| Strong's | G5399 |
SIBI-P1 G5399-03
they were struck with fear
| Morphological Notes | Verb; aorist passive indicative, 3rd person plural (Gr,V,IAP3,,P,). A completed action in past time, with the subject receiving the action: “they were put into fear.” |
| Rendering Rationale | The aorist tense is reflected as a simple, completed past action (“were struck”), and the passive voice is preserved by expressing that fear came upon them rather than that they actively generated it. The rendering keeps the root connection to φόβος (fear) by explicitly naming “fear.” |
View full lexicon entry for G5399 →
AI-generated (openai/gpt-5.2-chat-latest)
Words from Root φοβέω (to frighten, to put in fear, to be afraid, to revere, to stand in awe)
| SILEX Code | Transliteration | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
G5399-01 |
ephobeito | he/she was fearing for himself/herself |
G5399-02 |
ephobethe | he was fear-struck |
G5399-05 |
ephobounto | they were fearing (for themselves) |
Word Usage (95 occurrences of G5399)
| Location | Form | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew 1:20 | φοβηθῇς | phobethes | fear |
| Matthew 2:22 | ἐφοβήθη | ephobethe | he was afraid |
| Matthew 9:8 | ἐφοβήθησαν | ephobethesan |