What does "Joy" mean in the Bible?

What does the Bible say about Joy?

JOY is an agreeable affection of the soul, 1 Sam 18:6, arising from the possession or prospect of good. Ezr 6:16; Esth 8:16. It is reckoned among "the fruit of the Spirit," Gal 5:22, and is chiefly used by the sacred writers, especially of the N.T., to signify a religious emotion. That which springs from a sense of pardoned sin and a union of the soul to Christ is pure, Luke 15:9-10; certain, John 16:22; unspeakable, 1 Pet 1:8; and eternal. Isa 61:7. "Believers are commanded to rejoice, Phil 3:1;Phil 4:4, but there is also a worldly, foolish, or hypocritical joy. Job 20:5; Prov 15:21. That which has no better source than in vanity or sin will in the end be turned to bitterness." — Ayre.

What is the Greek word for Joy?

Where does Joy appear in the Bible?

Joy is referenced in 95 verses across 32 books. Every passage below is about this one, not just every verse the word turns up in.

• 1 Chronicles 12:40
• 1 Chronicles 15:16
• 1 John 1:4
• 1 Kings 1:40
• 1 Peter 1:8
• 1 Thessalonians 1:6
• 1 Thessalonians 2:19
• 1 Thessalonians 2:20
• 2 Chronicles 30:21
• 2 Chronicles 30:23
• 2 Corinthians 1:24
• 2 Corinthians 2:3
• 2 Corinthians 7:13
• 2 Corinthians 8:2
• 2 John 1:12
• 2 Timothy 1:4
• 3 John 1:4
• Acts 8:8
• Acts 13:52
• Deuteronomy 28:47
• Ecclesiastes 2:26
• Ecclesiastes 5:20
• Ecclesiastes 9:7
• Esther 8:17

What else appears in these passages?

These turn up in the same passages as Joy.