Psalm 111 · a question people ask
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (111:10). Does that mean being afraid of God?
The word is yir'ah (tap fear). Brown-Driver-Briggs gives it as "fear", and also as "fear of God, reverence, piety"; Strong's has "morally, reverence". The psalm doesn't define it, but it says what goes with it. Those who fear the LORD are given food: "He has given food to those who fear him" (111:5). And the psalm says of his name, "His name is holy and awesome!" (111:9), where awesome is nora, a form of the verb yare', fear, which Brown-Driver-Briggs gives in this form as "be fearful, dreadful" and "inspire reverence, godly fear, and awe". Another verse has being afraid and his fear side by side. At Sinai, "Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin" (Exodus 20:20), where be afraid is the verb yare' and his fear is yir'ah. Psalm 111 puts the fear of the LORD first in its last verse and, in the same verse, speaks of "All those who do his work" (111:10). It doesn't say more, and these notes don't either.
The verses
“He has given food to those who fear him. He always remembers his covenant.”
“He has sent redemption to his people. He has ordained his covenant forever. His name is holy and awesome! The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. All those who do his work have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!”
“Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.””