Bible Dictionary
AMAZED
To be amazed is to experience astonishment, awe, perplexity, or even joyful wonder. The Gospels often use the term for the response to Jesus’ teaching and miracles, and Acts uses it for the Spirit’s work at Pentecost.
Definition
To be amazed is to experience startled emotion ranging from terror and trembling to perplexity, wonder, awe, and joyful surprise. Biblical words translated “amazed” cover a broad range of astonished responses.
Biblical Usage
The term especially describes the response of people who saw and heard Christ’s miracles, teaching, character, and divine personality. The miracles at Pentecost and the Holy Spirit’s gift of tongues likewise caused universal wonder and amazement.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>a-mazd': A term which illustrates the difficulty of expressing in one English word the wide range of startled emotion, wonder, astonishment, awe, covered, in the Old Testament, by four Hebrew words and in the New Testament by as many Greek words. Its Scripture originals range in meaning from amazement accompanied with terror and trembling to an astonishment full of perplexity, wonder, awe and joyous surprise. It is the word especially used to show the effect of Christ's miracles, teaching, character and Divine personality on those who saw and heard Him, and were made conscious of His supernatural power (Mt 12:23: "All the multitudes were amazed"). The miracles of Pentecost and the Holy Spirit's bestowal of the gift of tongues produced the same universal wonder (Ac 2:7: "They were all amazed and marveled").</p><p>Dwight M. Pratt</p>