Topical Encyclopedia
Definition and Meaning:Reverence in the biblical context refers to a profound respect and awe for God, His Word, and His ordinances. It encompasses a deep sense of honor and veneration that is due to the Creator and is reflected in worship, obedience, and the fear of the Lord. Reverence is not merely an outward expression but an inward attitude of the heart that acknowledges God's supreme authority and holiness.
Biblical Foundation:Reverence is a recurring theme throughout Scripture, emphasizing the appropriate response of humanity to the divine majesty of God. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word often translated as "reverence" is "yare," which is also rendered as "fear" in many contexts. This fear is not about terror but a respectful acknowledgment of God's power and righteousness.
Key Scriptures:1.
Reverence for God:·
Psalm 89:7 : "In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared, and awesome above all who surround Him."
·Hebrews 12:28 : "Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."
2.Reverence in Worship:
·Psalm 5:7 : "But I will enter Your house by the abundance of Your loving devotion; in reverence I will bow down toward Your holy temple."
·Ecclesiastes 5:1 : "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do wrong."
3.Reverence for God's Name and Word:
·Psalm 111:9 : "He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; holy and awesome is His name."
·Isaiah 66:2 : "Has not My hand made all these things, and so they came into being? declares the LORD. This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word."
4.Reverence in Conduct and Relationships:
·Ephesians 5:21 : "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."
·1 Peter 3:15 : "But in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give a defense to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that is in you. But respond with gentleness and respect."
Theological Significance:
Reverence is integral to the believer's relationship with God. It is the foundation of true worship and obedience, reflecting a heart that is aligned with God's will. Reverence for God leads to a life that honors Him in all aspects, recognizing His sovereignty and responding with humility and submission.
Practical Application:
Believers are called to cultivate a lifestyle of reverence, which includes regular worship, prayer, and meditation on God's Word. Reverence should permeate all areas of life, influencing how one interacts with others, makes decisions, and conducts oneself in the world. It is a reminder of the holiness of God and the call to live in a manner worthy of His calling.Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (n.) Profound respect and esteem mingled with fear and affection, as for a holy being or place; the disposition to revere; veneration.2. (n.) The act of revering; a token of respect or veneration; an obeisance.
3. (n.) That which deserves or exacts manifestations of reverence; reverend character; dignity; state.
4. (n.) A person entitled to be revered; -- a title applied to priests or other ministers with the pronouns his or your; sometimes poetically to a father.
5. (v. t.) To regard or treat with reverence; to regard with respect and affection mingled with fear; to venerate.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
REVERENCErev'-er-ens: In the Old Testament, "reverence" occurs as the translation of two Hebrew words, yare' and shachah. The root idea of the former is "fear." It is used to express the attitude toward God Himself, as inPsalm 89:7 the King James Version; or toward His sanctuary, as inLeviticus 19:30;Leviticus 26:2. So the group of ideas there would be "fear," "awe," "reverence." The root idea of the second is "falling down," as prostration of the body. It is used to express the bearing toward another who is considered superior, as in2 Samuel 9:6 the King James Version;1 Kings 1:31 the King James Version;Esther 3:2, 5. The group of ideas here, therefore, is "honor," "obeisance," "reverence."
In the New Testament "reverence" occurs as the translation of three Greek words, aidos, phobeomai, and entrepomai. In the first, the idea is "modesty" (Hebrews 12:28; compare1 Timothy 2:9). In the second, "fear" (Ephesians 5:33 the King James Version), though here it is used to set forth the attitude of proper subjection on the part of a wife toward her husband (compare1 Peter 3:2, 5). In the third, the idea is that of the "self-valuation of inferiority," and so sets forth an attitude toward another of doing him honor (Matthew 21:37Mark 12:6Luke 20:13Hebrews 12:9).
In the Apocrypha entrepomai occurs in The Wisdom of Solomon 2:10; Sirach 4:22. In addition, proskuneo, "make obeisance," occurs in Judith 10:23; 14:07; thaumazo, "wonder," Sirach 7:29, and aischunomai, "be ashamed," Baruch 4:15.
"Reverend" occurs in the Old Testament inPsalm 111:9, of the name of God (yare'), and in the Apocrypha in 2 Maccabees 15:12, "a man reverend (aidemon, "modest") in bearing," and in the New Testament the Revised Version (British and American) has "reverent in demeanor" (hieroprepes) inTitus 2:3 and "reverend" inPhilippians 4:8 margin (semnos).
E. J. Forrester
Greek
1788. entrepo -- to turn about, toreverence, to put to shame... to turn about, to
reverence, to put to shame. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration:
entrepo Phonetic Spelling: (en-trep'-o) Short Definition: I turn to confusion
...4352. proskuneo -- to doreverence to
... to doreverence to. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: proskuneo Phonetic Spelling:
(pros-koo-neh'-o) Short Definition: I worship Definition: I go down on my...
1190a. deos -- fear,reverence
... deos. 1190b . fear,reverence. Transliteration: deos Short Definition: awe. Word
Origin from deido (to fear) Definition fear,reverence NASB Word Usage awe (1...
1190. Derbaios -- fear,reverence
... fear,reverence. Part of Speech: Adjective Transliteration: Derbaios Phonetic Spelling:
(der-bah'-ee-os) Short Definition: belonging to Derbe Definition: Derbean...
2124. eulabeia -- caution
... caution. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: eulabeia Phonetic Spelling:
(yoo-lab'-i-ah) Short Definition:reverence, piety Definition:reverence...
5401. phobos -- panic flight, fear, the causing of fear, terror
... of fear, terror. Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine Transliteration: phobos Phonetic
Spelling: (fob'-os) Short Definition: fear, terror,reverence Definition: (a...
2125. eulabeomai -- to be cautious
... eulabeomai Phonetic Spelling: (yoo-lab-eh'-om-ahee) Short Definition: I fear, am
anxious Definition: I fear, am anxious, am cautious; Ireverence....
2317. theosebeia -- fear of God
... fear of God. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: theosebeia Phonetic
Spelling: (theh-os-eb'-i-ah) Short Definition:reverence for God Definition...
127. aidos -- a sense of shame
... Word Origin from aideomai (to be ashamed) Definition a sense of shame NASB
Word Usage modestly (1).reverence, shamefacedness. Perhaps...
4576. sebo -- to worship
... to worship. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: sebo Phonetic Spelling:
(seb'-om-ahee) Short Definition: Ireverence, worship Definition: Ireverence, worship...
Strong's Hebrew
6399. pelach -- to payreverence to, serve... 6398, 6399. pelach. 6400 . to pay
reverence to, serve. Transliteration:
pelach Phonetic Spelling: (pel-akh') Short Definition: serve.
...3372a. yare -- to fear
... 1), fearfully (1), fearing (5), fears (9), frighten (4), frightened (1),
have...fear (1), made me afraid (1), revere (10), revered (3),reverence (3), showed...
7812. shachah -- to bow down
... bow self down, crouch, fall down flat, humbly beseech, doreverence, worship.
A primitive root; to depress, ie Prostrate (especially...
3372. yare' -- to fear
... affright, be make afraid, dreadful, put in fearfulreverence, terrible
act, A primitive root; to fear; morally, to revere; caus....
3374. yirah -- a fear
... Word Origin from yare Definition a fear NASB Word Usage awesome (1), extremely*
(1), fear (35), fearing (1),reverence (5). dreadful, exceedingly, fearfulness....
4172. mora -- a fear, terror
... Word Origin from yare Definition a fear, terror NASB Word Usage fear (3), respect
(1),reverence (1), terror (3), terrors (1), what they fear (1), who is to be...
Library
Reverence in Prayer
... PART III. SOME ASPECTS OF THE WAY OF PRAYER XVII.REVERENCE IN PRAYER.... With how little
reverence and godly fear do we who are ministers enter the pulpit!...
Reverence for Books. March 8.
...Reverence for Books. March 8. This is the age of books. And we should
reverence books. Consider! except a living man there...
Reverence for Age. April 8.
...Reverence for Age. April 8.Reverence for age is a fair test of the vigour
of youth; and, conversely, insolence towards the old...
The First Chapter: the GreatReverence with which we Should...
... BOOK FOUR. AN INVITATION TO HOLY COMMUNION The First Chapter: The Great
Reverence With Which We Should Receive Christ. The Disciple...
HisReverence for Sacred Places
... HisReverence for Sacred Places. It was but a short time after his settling
at St. Augustine's College, that one of the students...
November the Twenty-Seventh the Value ofReverence
... NOVEMBER The Twenty-seventh THE VALUE OFREVERENCE. ROMANS xiii.1-7. When
I pay honour to honourable ministers I not only honour...
With How GreatReverence Christ must be Received
... THE FOURTH BOOK. OF THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR CHAPTER I With how great
reverence Christ must be received. The Voice of the Disciple...
I Exceedingly Love, and HighlyReverence the Divine Authority of...
... Address 72: I exceedingly love, and highlyreverence the divine authority
of the sacred writings of the? I exceedingly love, and...
Say Now, Out ofReverence to Sound Literature, and Abhorrence of...
... Address 151: Say now, out ofreverence to sound literature, and abhorrence
of enthusiasm? Say now, out ofreverence to sound literature...
Reverence in Worship.
... SERMON I.Reverence in Worship. "Samuel ministered before the Lord, being
a child, girded with a linen ephod.""1 Samuel 2:18....
Thesaurus
Reverence (42 Occurrences)... 3. (n.) That which deserves or exacts manifestations of
reverence; reverend character;
dignity; state.
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
REVERENCE.
...Fear (970 Occurrences)
... true piety (Proverbs 1:7; Job 28:28; Psalm 19:9). It is a fear conjoined with love
and hope, and is therefore not a slavish dread, but rather filialreverence....
Adoration
... II. Meaning. Adoration is intense admiration culminating inreverence and worship,
together with the outward acts and attitudes which accompany suchreverence....
Awe (32 Occurrences)
... emotion inspired by something dreadful and sublime; an undefined sense of the dreadful
and the sublime; reverential fear, or solemn wonder; profoundreverence....
Worship (332 Occurrences)
... 4. (n.) The act of paying divine honors to the Supreme Being; religiousreverence
and homage; adoration, or acts ofreverence, paid to God, or a being viewed...
Revere (26 Occurrences)
... (vt) To regard withreverence, or profound respect and affection, mingled with
awe or fear; to venerate; toreverence; to honor in estimation....
Reverenced (4 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) ofReverence. Multi-Version Concordance...
But Mordecai bowed not, nor did himreverence. (KJV WBS)....
Mother (2641 Occurrences)
... In one place in the Law, the mother is even placed before the father as the object
of filialreverence (Leviticus 19:3). The Psalmist depicts deepest grief as...
Piety (21 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) Veneration orreverence of the Supreme Being, and love of his character;
loving obedience to the will of God, and earnest devotion to his service....
Honor (240 Occurrences)
... 1. (n.) Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration;
reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect orreverence....
Resources
What does it mean to have reverence for God? | GotQuestions.orgWhat is the definition of piety? | GotQuestions.orgWhat does it mean that God is holy, holy, holy? | GotQuestions.orgReverence: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.comBible Concordance •
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