ἐφοβήθησαν
ephobethesan
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.
Matthew 21:46 · Word #5
Lexicon G5399
| Lemma | φοβέω |
| Transliteration | phobéō |
| Strong's | G5399 |
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
| Root | φοβέω (phobeō) |
| Core Meanings | to frighten, to put in fear, to be afraid, to revere, to stand in awe |
| Semantic Range | to be frightened, to be alarmed, to fear harm, to stand in awe, to show reverence, to shrink back in dread |
| Conceptual Significance | In biblical usage, φοβέω can denote terror in the face of danger or divine manifestation, but also reverent awe before God. The term bridges emotional fear and covenantal reverence, marking appropriate human response to divine power and holiness. |
| 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.” |
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 |