Fear (אימה)

Sources

תפל עליהם אימתה THERE SHALL FALL UPON THEM DREAD — upon those of them who are far away (Mekhilta), ופחד AND HORROR — shall fall upon those of them who are near by; and all this really happened just as the matter is stated, (Joshua 2:10) “For we have heard how the Lord dried up [the waters of the Red Sea]” (Mekhilta).

Rashi on Exodus 15:16:1-2

With regard to these creatures, the Gemara cites that which our Sages taught: There are five dreads, i.e., dread that the weak cast over the mighty: The dread of the mafgia, a small creature, over the lion; the dread of the mosquito over the elephant; the dread of the gecko over the scorpion; the dread of the swallow over the eagle; the dread of the kilbit, a small fish, over a whale. Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: What is the verse that alludes to these matters? As it is written: “He that causes destruction…

A Kabbalistic approach: the word אימתה is equivalent to אימת ה', a fear of G’d derived from the attribute פחד. Moses’ prayer was that this attribute should be stretched taut over all the Israelites’ enemies. The letter ה at the end of the word is taken from the last letter of the tetragrammaton so that when you read the sequence אימת ה' ופחד, the reference is to the attribute of G’d as represented always by the Shechinah (symbolized by the Holy Ark in the Tabernacle). The fact that this Holy Ark was fear-inspiring is documented in Samuel I 4…

Rabbeinu Bahya, Shemot 15:16:2

I WILL SEND MY TERROR. The reference is to a fear in the soul. The body immediately weakens. This is what and I will make all thine enemies’ necks towards thee refers to. Its meaning is: your enemies will turn their necks to you; that is, they will flee from you when you look at them.

Ibn Ezra on Exodus 23:27:1

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