Joy (Noun and Verb), Joyfulness, Joyfully, Joyous - Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

Joy (Noun and Verb), Joyfulness, Joyfully, Joyous

[ A-1,Noun,G5479, chara ]
joy, delight" (akin to chairo, "to rejoice"), is found frequently in Matthew and Luke, and especially in John, once in Mark (Mark 4:16, RV, "joy," AV, "gladness"); it is absent from 1 Cor. (though the verb is used three times), but is frequent in 2 Cor., where the noun is used five times (for 2 Corinthians 7:4, RV, See Note below), and the verb eight times, suggestive of the Apostle's relief in comparison with the circumstances of the 1st Epistle; in Colossians 1:11, AV, "joyfulness," RV, "joy." The word is sometimes used, by metonymy, of the occasion or cause of "joy," Luke 2:10 (lit., "I announce to you a great joy"); in 2 Corinthians 1:15, in some mss., for charis, "benefit;" Philippians 4:1, where the readers are called the Apostle's "joy;" so 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20; Hebrews 12:2, of the object of Christ's "joy;" James 1:2, where it is connected with falling into trials; perhaps also in Matthew 25:21, Matthew 25:23, where some regard it as signifying, concretely, the circumstances attending cooperation in the authority of the Lord. See also the Note following No. 3.

Note: In Hebrews 12:11, "joyous" represents the phrase meta, "with," followed by chara, lit., "with joy." So in Hebrews 10:34, "joyfully;" in 2 Corinthians 7:4 the noun is used with the Middle Voice of huperperisseuo, "to abound more exceedingly," and translated "(I overflow) with joy," RV (AV, "I am exceeding joyful").

[ A-2,Noun,G20, agalliasis ]
"exultation, exuberant joy." Cp. B, No. 3, below. See GLADNESS.

[ A-3,Noun,G2167, euphrosune ]
is rendered "joy" in the AV of Acts 2:28, RV, "gladness," as in Acts 14:17. See GLADNESS.

Note: "Joy" is associated with life, e.g., 1 Thessalonians 3:8-9. Experiences of sorrow prepare for, and enlarge, the capacity for "joy," e.g., John 16:20; Romans 5:3-Romans 5:4; 2 Corinthians 7:4; 2 Corinthians 8:2; Hebrews 10:34; James 1:2. Persecution for Christ's sake enhances "joy," e.g., Matthew 5:11-Matthew 5:12; Acts 5:41. Other sources of "joy" are faith, Romans 15:13; Philippians 1:25; hope, Romans 5:2 (kauchaomai, See B, No. 2); Romans 12:12 (chairo, See B, No. 1); the "joy" of others, Romans 12:15, which is distinctive of Christian sympathy. Cp. 1 Thessalonians 3:9. In the OT and the NT God Himself is the ground and object of the believer's "joy," e.g., Psalms 35:9; Psalms 43:4; Isaiah 61:10; Luke 1:47; Romans 5:11; Philippians 3:1; Philippians 4:4.

[ B-1,Verb,G5463, chairo ]
"to rejoice, be glad," is translated "joyfully" in Luke 19:6, lit., "rejoicing;" "we joyed," 2 Corinthians 7:13; "I joy," Philippians 2:17; "do ye joy," Philippians 2:18; "joying," Colossians 2:5; "we joy," 1 Thessalonians 3:9. It is contrasted with weeping and sorrow, e.g., in John 16:20, John 16:22; Romans 12:15; 1 Corinthians 7:30 (cp. Psalms 30:5). See FAREWELL, GLAD, GREETING, HAIL, REJOICE.

[ B-2,Verb,G2744, kauchaomai ]
"to boast, glory, exult," is rendered "we joy," in Romans 5:11, AV (RV, "we rejoice"). It would have been an advantage to translate this word distinctively by the verbs "to glory" or "to exult."

[ B-3,Verb,G21, agalliao ]
"to exult, rejoice greatly," is translated "with exceeding joy" in 1 Peter 4:13 (Middle Voice), lit., "(ye rejoice, chairo) exulting." Cp. A, No. 2. See GLAD, REJOICE.

[ B-4,Verb,G3685, oninemi ]
"to benefit, profit," in the Middle Voice, "to have profit, derive benefit," is translated "let me have joy" in Philemon 1:20 (RV marg., "help"); the Apostle is doubtless continuing his credit and debit metaphors and using the verb in the sense of "profit."

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words