FEARFULNESS . The adj. ‘fearful’ is often used in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] in the sense, not of causing fear, but of feeling it: and ‘fearfulness’ always denotes the emotion of fear. Thus Matthew 8:26 ‘Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?’; Psalms 55:5 ‘Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me.’ In the RV [Note: Revised Version.] of the NT the only meaning of ‘fearful’ is full of fear, the Revisers, Westcott tells us, having purposely retained this use in order that ‘fear,’ ‘fearful,’ and ‘fearfulness’ might all agree in meaning. They have accordingly changed ‘fearful sights’ in Luke 21:11 into ‘terrors.’ The Revisers of the OT, however, had no such thought, and they have left the word unchanged.
Complete and trustworthy, Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible is a thorough reference (5,915 entries) for all readers of the Bible. For nearly a century, lay people and scholars alike have valued the authoritative contents and the convenient format of this one-volume work.Wikipedia
Read More