Before starting my blog about pursuing joy, I spent time gaining a deeper understanding of biblical joy. And while I shared a brief summary of my findings (read here), I wanted to start the new year by laying out foundations for biblical joy. Today we will look at the biblical definition of joy.
The Basics
25 different Hebrew words and 10 Greek words make up over 150 references to joy in the Bible.
(Ever had a hard time defining biblical joy? This explains why!) Within the 35 different words for joy, two main definitions emerge.
2 Main Biblical Definitions of Joy
1. Gladness (in the Lord)
If asked to define joy, most people would give a word similar to gladness, such as happiness, contentment, or delight. While these words define the emotion of joy, none reflect the source of the emotion.
Author and minister S.D. Gordon does a good job explaining why joy is uniquely defined, and how it differs from happiness:
“Joy is distinctly a Christian word and a Christian thing. It is the reverse of happiness. Happiness is the result of what happens of an agreeable sort. Joy has its springs deep down inside. And that spring never runs dry, no matter what happens. Only Jesus gives that joy. He had joy, singing its music within, even under the shadow of the cross.”
Simply stated, happiness is tied to our circumstances while joy is not.
Think of verses like Matthew 5:11-12 and James 1:2-3 which tell us to find joy in trials and suffering; this is only possible because joy comes from gladness in the Lord alone.
2. Rejoice
Rejoicing describes the outward expression of our internal joy.
In the Bible, rejoicing takes the form of leaping, shouting, singing, playing music and dancing. The Psalms in particular describe forms of rejoicing.
“Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.” Psalm 27:6
“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.” Psalm 33:1-3
“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.” Psalm 47:1
Notice how the two main definitions of biblical joy are connected; rejoicing flows out of gladness in the Lord and our gladness in the Lord increases the more we rejoice.
With an understanding of the biblical definition of joy, we can now explore what the Bible says about joy. Join me next week for part 2 in foundations of biblical joy.
Are you looking for more on this topic? (Or just wondering where I found this information?) Check out Blue Letter Bible which offers a free online concordance, lexicon, and dictionaries.
Read part of foundations in biblical joy next: What Does the Bible Say About Joy?
Linking up at Grace & Truth
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And we thought love was confusing with its 4 root words!!! This is amazing!! Thank you! I really appreciate the connection between the two kinds of joy – one flows out of the other, and the other develops as we practice the one. I love the picture starting to form in my mind……
Glad this gives you a little different understanding of joy!
Carry your in-depth research on Joy has been very profound can help me prepare a word of encouragement for the congregation. Thank you so much! Tony Parker
I love the thoughts you come up with here, so different to what I came up with and yet so rich, and yes there are sooo many words to sort through for joy!
Thanks Lizzy! I definitely went for the big picture here rather than digging into individual definitions, which I believe is what you did (if I remember correctly).
Thanks for these two main definitions, Kira. Joy is one of my favorite themes, so I enjoyed reading this. I didn’t realize there were so many different Greek and Hebrew words for joy!
You are welcome Besty! With joy being mentioned over 150 times, I think it is one of the favorite themes of the Bible as well!
Yes, we can understand the command to rejoice always if we have a correct understanding of joy. I appreciated the definitions you gave.
Your welcome Carol. Thanks for visiting.
Thank you for sharing this post over at the Grace & Truth Link Up Party!
This is insightful! I never thought about the fact that “gladness” is a closer synonym for “joy” than “happiness” is. Our society needs to realize this! I often watch and listen to my middle schoolers in order to learn the current “norms” of society. I hear them use the word “happiness” often, but almost never the word “glad”! Maybe I should try to train them to be glad….
Happiness has definitely become a key value for our society, and it is causing a lot of problems. I may write about it at some point ;). What made a big difference for me is understand joy is gladness in the Lord, which is how we can have joy in all circumstances.
I always think of the word “peace” when I hear the word “joy”. I think many Christians struggle with the word joy because they must be intentional to not use what the world bombards them with; they ‘deserve’ happiness. We are to walk denying ourselves and not self denial. The first always puts Jesus and others first and the second still has self first. Sounds crazy but that is where my head is right now. I am seeking to be intentional in my life of rejoicing in God and not what I receive from Him. It’s a journey not a destination, and I am at peace (maybe not always happy). Thanks for sharing your learnings.
Love, Peace, and Joy speak to me of many feelings, Joy being gladness and happiness, a celebration. I have a very loving little dog we named Joy as she brought much of that to us at Christmas 2009. As Senior citizens we need love, peace and joy, she gives us all that.