Girls · English (from Greek/Latin) · Both Testaments · classic · N/A — concept name
Joy
/JOY/
χαρά (Greek)
"Gladness; delight; deep happiness"
Galatians 5:22
RoleVirtue name — fruit of the Spirit
Etymology
From Old French 'joie', from Latin 'gaudia' (joys), from 'gaudere' (to rejoice). The Greek 'chara' appears 59 times in the New Testament. Biblical joy is not dependent on circumstances — Paul wrote his most joyful letter from a prison cell.
Who they were
Joy is the second fruit of the Spirit listed by Paul in Galatians 5 and one of the most countercultural concepts in the Bible. It is not happiness — happiness depends on happenings. Joy persists through grief, imprisonment, persecution, and loss. Paul wrote to the Philippians from prison: 'Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!' Nehemiah told the weeping Israelites: 'The joy of the Lord is your strength.' James wrote: 'Consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds.' Jesus told his disciples: 'I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.' The psalms are saturated with it: 'Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.' As a given name, Joy is direct and unambiguous — a declaration that gladness is not naivety but a deliberate choice rooted in something deeper than circumstances.
Character qualities
- Gladness not dependent on circumstances
- Strength in difficulty
Key verse
Nehemiah 8:10
Where they appear
Themes
Variants & related forms
Joie · Gioia · Alegría
Read their story
Joy's story begins in Galatians.
The full passage is at Galatians 5:22. Any modern translation will do — the NLT and NIV are the most readable; the ESV and NKJV stay close to the wording the church has used for centuries.
Find a Bible to read it in →