Original Word: בִּעוּתִים
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: bi`uwthiym
Pronunciation: bee-oo-teem
Phonetic Spelling: (be-oo-theme')
KJV: terrors
NASB: terrors
Word Origin: [masculine plural from H1204 (בָּעַת - terrify)]

1. alarms

terrors

Masculine plural from ba'ath; alarms -- terrors.

see HEBREW ba'ath

Word Origin
from baath
Definition
terrors, alarms
NASB Translation
terrors (2).

[בִּעוּתִים] noun masculine plural terrors, alarms, occasioned by God בִּעוּתֵי אֱלוֺהַּ Job 6:4 ("" חִצֵּי שַׁדַּי); בִּעוּתֶיךָ Psalm 88:17 ("" חֲרוֺנֶיךָ).

בֹּץ see בצץ.

Semantic Range and Connotations

בִּעוּתִים evokes overwhelming dread, sudden panic, or annihilating horror that presses upon the inner person. The word carries an intensity beyond ordinary fear, portraying a psychological and spiritual assault that feels inescapable. In both occurrences the terrors are explicitly attributed to God, underscoring the covenantal conviction that no circumstance—however frightening—lies outside His sovereign hand.

Usage in Job 6:4

“For the arrows of the Almighty are in me; my spirit drinks their poison; the terrors of God are arrayed against me.” (Job 6:4)

Job links physical agony (“arrows…poison”) with existential dread (“terrors…arrayed”). The plural image of “terrors” suggests successive waves of anguish. Job recognizes that his deepest panic originates not in secondary causes (disease, bereavement, friends) but in divine providence. The lament refuses superficial comfort, driving the sufferer to wrestle honestly with God’s sovereignty.

Pastorally, Job 6:4 legitimizes the believer’s outcry when trials combine tangible pain with inward dread. The verse invites sufferers to address God directly rather than suppressing fear or attributing it solely to human enemies or chance.

Usage in Psalm 88:16

“Your wrath has swept over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.” (Psalm 88:16)

Heman the Ezrahite situates בִּעוּתִים within a psalm that never resolves into praise, illustrating that inspired Scripture gives voice even to seemingly unanswered despair. The terrors “destroy” (lit. cut off), depicting cumulative devastation that threatens personal identity and life itself. The psalmist still prays, showing that faith can persist inside darkness, trusting that God hears even when He seems silent.

Historical and Literary Background

Ancient Near Eastern literature often portrays gods unleashing “terrors” through plague, war, or cosmic upheaval. Scriptural usage, however, consistently personalizes the experience: the covenant God confronts His people not capriciously but purposefully, whether in chastisement, testing, or mysterious pedagogy. Both Job and Heman are righteous sufferers, indicating that terrifying affliction is not always punitive; it can serve to deepen dependence and reveal hidden assumptions about God’s character.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Sovereignty: בִּעוּתִים never appear outside God’s jurisdiction, safeguarding believers from the dualistic notion that uncontrollable dread originates in a realm beyond His rule.
2. Honest Lament: Scripture sanctifies raw expression of fear, inviting believers to pour out anguish without forfeiting reverence.
3. Anticipation of Deliverance: While the term itself connotes destruction, its placement within prayers anticipates God’s eventual answer, heard most fully in the resurrection hope (Job 19:25; Psalm 88’s canonical placement before Psalm 89’s covenant remembrance).

Connections within the Canon

• Contrast with the commanded “fear of the LORD” (Proverbs 1:7). Healthy reverence drives toward wisdom; בִּעוּתִים paralyze until reinterpreted through faith.
• Foreshadowing Christ’s passion: “My soul is consumed with sorrow to the point of death” (Matthew 26:38) echoes the language of crushing dread, showing the Incarnate Son entering the full range of human terror.
• Eschatological reversal: Revelation 21:4 promises a future where every source of terror is abolished for God’s people, while Revelation 6:15-17 depicts unrepentant humanity crying for rocks to fall on them in terror of the Lamb.

Pastoral and Ministry Implications

• Counseling: Encourage transparent prayer that names terror, using Job 6 and Psalm 88 as models for lament journals or corporate liturgy.
• Intercession: When congregants face panic disorders, terminal diagnoses, or persecution, leaders can weave these passages into prayers, acknowledging both the reality of terror and God’s nearness.
• Spiritual Warfare: Teach discernment between demonic intimidation and divinely permitted testing, while affirming Christ’s authority over both.

Homiletical Suggestions

• Sermon from Job 6:4 titled “When Terrors Are Arrayed,” tracing Job’s movement from despair to eventual confession of faith (Job 42:2-6).
• Series on “Songs from the Pit” featuring Psalm 88, culminating in the assurance of Romans 8:38-39 that nothing—including terrors—can separate believers from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Christological and Eschatological Outlook

At the cross, Christ bore the ultimate בִּעוּתִים, experiencing the Father’s wrath so that terror might never have the final word over those united to Him. Until His return, believers may still encounter seasons marked by Job’s arrows and Heman’s engulfing waves, yet they do so within a account already secured by resurrection. In that light, even the most devastating terrors become temporary teachers that drive the church to deeper hope, faithful endurance, and compassionate ministry.

בִּ֝עוּתֶ֗יךָ בִּעוּתֵ֖י בעותי בעותיך bi‘ūṯê bi‘ūṯeḵā bi·‘ū·ṯê bi·‘ū·ṯe·ḵā biuTei biuTeichaInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts