2 Chronicles 14:14

14:14 They defeated all the cities surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic. ¹  The men of Judah ²  looted all the cities, for they contained a huge amount of goods. ³ 

Genesis 35:5

35:5 and they started on their journey. ⁴  The surrounding cities were afraid of God, ⁵  and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

Exodus 15:14-16

15:14 The nations will hear ⁶  and tremble;

anguish ⁷  will seize ⁸  the inhabitants of Philistia.

15:15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, ⁹ 

trembling will seize ¹⁰  the leaders of Moab,

and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake.

15:16 Fear and dread ¹¹  will fall ¹²  on them;

by the greatness ¹³  of your arm they will be as still as stone ¹⁴ 

until ¹⁵  your people pass by, O Lord,

until the people whom you have bought ¹⁶  pass by.

Joshua 2:9-11

2:9 She said to the men, “I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. ¹⁷  We are absolutely terrified of you, ¹⁸  and all who live in the land are cringing before ¹⁹  you. ²⁰  2:10 For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. ²¹  2:11 When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. ²²  For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below!

¹ tn Heb “for the terror of the Lord was upon them.”

² tn Heb “they”; the referent (the men of Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Heb “for great plunder was in them.”

⁴ tn Heb “and they journeyed.”

⁵ tn Heb “and the fear of God was upon the cities which were round about them.” The expression “fear of God” apparently refers (1) to a fear of God (objective genitive; God is the object of their fear). (2) But it could mean “fear from God,” that is, fear which God placed in them (cf. NRSV “a terror from God”). Another option (3) is that the divine name is used as a superlative here, referring to “tremendous fear” (cf. NEB “were panic-stricken”; NASB “a great terror”).

⁶ tn This verb is a prophetic perfect, assuming that the text means what it said and this song was sung at the Sea. So all these countries were yet to hear of the victory.

⁷ tn The word properly refers to “pangs” of childbirth. When the nations hear, they will be terrified.

⁸ tn The verb is again a prophetic perfect.

⁹ tn This is a prophetic perfect.

¹⁰ tn This verb is imperfect tense.

¹¹ tn The two words can form a nominal hendiadys, “a dreadful fear,” though most English versions retain the two separate terms.

¹² tn The form is an imperfect.

¹³ tn The adjective is in construct form and governs the noun “arm” (“arm” being the anthropomorphic expression for what God did). See GKC 428 §132.c.

¹⁴ sn For a study of the words for fear, see N. Waldman, “A Comparative Note on Exodus 15:14-16,” JQR 66 (1976): 189-92.

¹⁵ tn Clauses beginning with עַד (’ad) express a limit that is not absolute, but only relative, beyond which the action continues (GKC 446-47 §138.g).

¹⁶ tn The verb קָנָה (qanah) here is the verb “acquire, purchase,” and probably not the homonym “to create, make” (see Gen 4:1; Deut 32:6; and Prov 8:22).

¹⁷ tn Heb “has given the land to you.” Rahab’s statement uses the Hebrew perfect, suggesting certitude.

¹⁸ tn Heb “terror of you has fallen upon us.”

¹⁹ tn Or “melting away because of.”

²⁰ tn Both of these statements are actually subordinated to “I know” in the Hebrew text, which reads, “I know that the Lord…and that terror of you…and that all the inhabitants….”

²¹ tn Heb “and what you did to the two Amorite kings who were beyond the Jordan, Sihon and Og, how you annihilated them.”

²² tn Heb “And we heard and our heart[s] melted and there remained no longer breath in a man because of you.”