ANGER. At least eight Heb. and two Gr. words are used to express the concept of anger in Scripture. The most common Heb. word is אַפ֮, H678, nose, thought of as the seat of anger, from its use in hard breathing, and so anger. Other words are זַ֫עַם, H2405, foam (at the mouth), indignation; H2408, זַ֫עַף, rage; חֵמָה, H2779, heat, fury; חָרָה֒, H3013, to burn, to be angry;פָּעַם, H7192, grief, vexation; עֶבְרָה, H6301, outpouring of anger; קֶ֫צֶפ֒, H7912, the breaking forth of wrath. In the LXX these various Heb. words are almost always tr. by one of the two Gr. words ὀργή, G3973, or θυμός, G2596, which seem interchangeable. In classical Gr. θυμός, G2596, suggested the inward emotion of anger, and ὀργή, G3973, the outward manifestation, but in the NT θυμός, G2596, tends to mean the sudden outburst of passionate anger, while ὀργή, G3973, implies the settled attitude of moral indignation. All ten words are used both with regard to man’s anger and to God’s.

1. The anger of men. The anger of men against other men (individually or in groups) is just and holy in so far as it is concerned with righteousness and not motivated by personal considerations. Examples of righteous anger in the OT are David’s attitude to the unjust rich man of Nathan’s story (2 Sam 12:5), Nehemiah’s anger at the extortion of the Jewish leaders (Neh 5:6), Moses’ anger with the people for their distrust and disobedience of God (Exod 16:20; 32:19; Lev 10:16), Elisha’s disappointed anger with King Joash (2 Kings 13:19). On the other hand, there are examples of selfish and therefore wrongful anger, as that of Cain against Abel (Gen 4:5), Esau against Jacob (27:41-45), Balak against Balaam (Num 24:10), Saul against Jonathan (1 Sam 20:30), Asa against the seer (2 Chron 16:10), Uzziah against the priests (26:19), Ahasuerus against Vashti (Esth 1:12). In many cases, motives are a mixture of regard for righteousness and personal or family self-interest, as in the case of Jacob’s anger against Laban (Gen 31:36-42), Dinah’s brothers against Shechem (34:7), David’s against Amnon (2 Sam 13:21).

In the NT the anger of men is almost invariably condemned. The anger of ungodly men against the innocent is illustrated in the case of Herod (Matt 2:16), the people of Nazareth (Luke 4:28), the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:33), those who stoned Stephen (7:54), Saul before his conversion (9:1), the silversmiths of Ephesus (19:28). Such wrath is in the final analysis directed against God (Luke 15:28; Rev 11:18), and is seen in its most concentrated ultimate form in the devil (12:12, 17). Anger is forbidden to the Christian as one of the works of the flesh (Gal 5:19-21) or clothes of the old nature (Col 3:8) to be put off. Christians should be slow to anger, which does not accord with God’s righteousness (James 1:19, 20), and which hinders true prayer (1 Tim 2:8). Jesus spoke of anger as incipient murder rendering one liable to judgment both human and divine (Matt 5:21, 22). The only hint of any concession to human weakness is Paul’s, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4:26, quoting Ps 4:4), which implies that if anger comes to the heart, it must be controlled and dispelled before nightfall. Otherwise one gives opportunity to the devil. Paul continued to beg the Ephesians to put away all wrath and anger and clamor in favor of tenderhearted, forgiving kindness and love (Eph 4:31-5:2).

2. The anger of Jesus. We are expressly told of Jesus’ anger with the hard-hearted people in the synagogue at Capernaum (Mark 3:5), and of His indignation with the disciples when they sought to stop the children from being brought to Him (Mark 10:14). His actions and words in emptying the Temple precincts of the hucksters suggest anger (11:15-17). His words in various other places seem also to indicate indignation, as against those who cause little ones to stumble (Matt 18:6-9), Peter when he speaks the tempting words of Satan (16:23), the Sadducees with their foolish mockery of a solemn question (Mark 12:24-27), and the Scribes and Pharisees with their hypocritical attitudes (Matt 23:13-36). In all these examples, there is nothing of self-interest, only holy anger against unrighteousness which is abhorrent to God. The suggestion that His cursing of the fig tree (Matt 21:18-20; Mark 11:12-14, 20, 21) showed petulant anger may be dismissed. This was surely an acted parable (cf. Luke 13:6-9). The Lord’s character was not insipidly mild; there was real strength and virility balanced finely with His gentle kindliness. He could be angry, but only for God’s honor.

3. The wrath of God. In the OT God’s anger is directed continually against Israel for forsaking His covenant and breaking His laws, and against His individual servants who fail in their function for His people, as Moses (Exod 4:14; Deut 1:37), Aaron (9:20), Miriam (Num 12:9), various kings and prophets. The prophets speak also of God’s wrath against the nations because of their wickedness (Jonah 1:2), their crimes against humanity (Amos 1; 2), and their attacks against His own people Israel (Jer 10:25). This wrath of God was exercised against His people in national calamities, such as the fiery serpents in the wilderness (Num 21:6), or the three days’ pestilence (2 Sam 24), but most often He used other nations as the instruments of His chastisement of Israel (Amos 3:9-11; Isa 10:5) and in turn of one another (Isa 13:4, 5, 17-19; Jer 50:24-27, 41-43).

The NT Gospel is introduced by the Baptist warning of wrath to come (Matt 3:7; Luke 3:7), a note which continued in Jesus’ preaching (Luke 21:23). This eschatological view of the wrath of God is seen in the epistles (Rom 2:5-9; 5:9; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6; 1 Thess 1:10; 2 Thess 1:7-10) and repeatedly in the Revelation. But Paul emphasizes that all men are by nature “children of wrath” (Eph 2:3); and stand even now under the wrath of God (Rom 1:18-3:20) because of ungodliness (ἀσέβεια, G813) and wickedness (ἀδικία, G94).

C. H. Dodd regards “the wrath of God” not as “the attitude of God to man, but an inevitable process of cause and effect in a moral universe” (Romans, p. 50). But a completely depersonalized concept is not adequate to cover Biblical teaching. The wrath of God is certainly no capricious passion, but it is the personal attitude of a personal God, the “eternal recoil against the unholy on the part of the all-holy God.” One side of God’s holiness is His anger against sin; the other, and more fundamental aspect, is His love and mercy, to which the whole Bible bears witness. If we fail to recognize His wrath, we shall not fully appreciate His mercy.

Bibliography J. Denney, “Anger”, HDCG (1906); C. H. Dodd, The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, MNT (1932); R. V. G. Tasker, The Biblical Doctrine of the Wrath of God (1951); J. Fichtner, G. Stahlin, et al, κργή TWNT V (1954), 382-447; L. L. Morris, The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (1955), chs. 4, 5; A. T. Hanson, The Wrath of the Lamb (1957); G. H. C. Macgregor, “The Concept of the Wrath of God in the New Testament,” NTS VII (1960-61); D. E. H. White-ley, The Theology of St. Paul (1964), 61-72.