Original Word: εὐλαβέομαι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: eulabeomai
Pronunciation: yoo-lab-eh'-om-ahee
Phonetic Spelling: (yoo-lab-eh'-om-ahee)
KJV: (moved with) fear
NASB: reverence
Word Origin: [middle voice from G2126 (εὐλαβής - devout)]

1. to be circumspect
2. (by implication) to be apprehensive
3. (religiously) to reverence

revere, respect

Middle voice from eulabes; to be circumspect, i.e. (by implication) to be apprehensive; religiously, to reverence -- (moved with) fear.

see GREEK eulabes

Cognate: 2125 eulabéomai (from 2126 /eulabḗs) – "showing pious care, reverent circumspection" (M. Vincent). See 2126 (eulabēs).

Word Origin
from eulabés
Definition
to be cautious
NASB Translation
reverence (1).

STRONGS NT 2125: εὐλαβέομαι

εὐλαβέομαι, εὐλαβοῦμαι: 1 aorist participle εὐλαβηθείς; properly, "to show oneself εὐλαβής," i. e.:

1. to act cautiously, circumspectly (Tragg., Xenophon, Plato, and following).

2. to beware, fear: as in 1 Macc. 3:30 1 Macc. 12:40 (Alex. etc.) and often in secular authors, followed by μή lest (Buttmann, 241f (208)), Acts 23:10 R G (Deuteronomy 2:4; 1 Samuel 18:29; Job 13:25; Jeremiah 5:22; Daniel 4:2; 2 Macc. 8:16; Sir. 41:3).

3. to reverence, stand in awe of (τόν Θεόν, Plato, legg. 9, p. 879e.; the Sept. Proverbs 2:8; Proverbs 24:28 (); Nahum 1:7): God's declaration, Hebrews 11:7.

Essence of the Term

The word portrays a careful, reverent responsiveness to God—an inner posture that neither trivializes His warnings nor dreads Him as a hostile tyrant. It is the awe that treats every divine word as weighty and every divine promise as sure, leading to measured, obedience-shaped action.

Biblical Usage: Hebrews 11:7

Hebrews 11 presents a gallery of faith; Noah’s placement there is anchored by this single verb. “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family…” (Hebrews 11:7). The phrase “in holy fear” is the translation of εὐλαβηθεὶς. Noah’s reverence was neither passive piety nor panic; it was a faith-saturated awe that moved him to tireless, counter-cultural labor over many decades. His careful obedience vindicated God’s righteousness, exposed the unbelief of his generation, and secured deliverance for his household.

Old Testament Background

The Greek translators of the Septuagint use cognate terms when describing the “fear of the LORD” that characterized righteous figures such as Job (Job 1:1) and the God-fearing remnant addressed by Malachi (Malachi 3:16). The concept therefore stands in continuity with Israel’s covenant expectation: true fear of God is expressed through obedient action that aligns with His revealed will.

Relation to Other New Testament Ideas

1. Ὁ φόβος τοῦ Κυρίου (“the fear of the Lord” – Acts 9:31) emphasizes corporate, Spirit-engendered reverence; εὐλαβέομαι highlights the personal, deliberate care that flows from such reverence.
2. ἁγιασμός (“sanctification” – 1 Thessalonians 4:3) describes the state toward which godly fear moves the believer: a life set apart.
3. ὑπακοή πίστεως (“obedience of faith” – Romans 1:5) matches the dynamic demonstrated by Noah; reverent fear is the catalyst that turns faith into concrete obedience.

Historical Perspective

Second Temple Jewish writings celebrate Noah as “a man perfected in all generation” (Sirach 44:17). Early Christian teachers drew on Hebrews 11:7 to exhort believers under persecution: just as Noah’s awe empowered him to persevere amid mockery, so the church must remain steadfast under cultural pressures, convinced that unseen realities are more solid than present circumstances.

Theological Significance

1. Revelation of God: His warnings are gracious, not arbitrary. He calls, equips, and honors those who respond with reverent care.
2. Anthropology: Humans bear responsibility to weigh divine revelation seriously; irreverence is moral folly, not intellectual mistake.
3. Soteriology: Noah’s fear “condemned the world” by exposing sin and highlighted faith as the sole means of inheriting righteousness.

Ministry Application

• Preaching: Proclaim divine warnings without dilution, expecting true believers to respond with obedient reverence rather than mere emotion.
• Worship: Shape liturgy that balances joyful confidence with sober awe, embodying the spirit of Hebrews 12:28–29.
• Discipleship: Encourage believers to cultivate holy caution in decisions—testing motives, guarding conscience, and honoring God’s voice above cultural noise.
• Leadership: Elders and teachers should handle Scripture “accurately” (2 Timothy 2:15), modeling the same careful reverence implicit in εὐλαβέομαι.

Contemporary Exhortation

In an age that prizes spontaneity and shrugs at authority, Hebrews 11:7 summons the church to deliberate, faith-driven obedience. Reverent fear does not paralyze; it mobilizes. It listens to God before it speaks to culture, builds arks before rain appears, and thereby testifies that God’s unseen promises define reality more truly than visible circumstances.

ευλαβείσθε ευλαβείσθω ευλαβείτο ευλαβή ευλαβηθεις ευλαβηθείς εὐλαβηθεὶς ευλαβηθή ευλαβηθήσεσθε ευλαβηθήση ευλαβηθήσονται ευλαβήθητε ευλαβουμένοις ευλαβουμένους ευλαβουμένων ευλαβούμην eulabetheis eulabetheìs eulabētheis eulabētheìsInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts