Well, do you know what a colloquialism is? Many times words change depending on times and regions. What do you think the phrase "by and by" means? Today it means "soon," or "in a little while," or something to that effect; but it used to mean "immediately." All of the words you use in your vocabulary are derivatives of older English words, which come from Latin. They have almost never maintained the same meaning. That's the interestig thing about language: it's relative; it changes every day. Dig it? Marvy? What would you say if a sixty year-old asked you if you were gay? Heavy, isn't it?
The English language isn't the only language that changes. Spanish is another fun one. "Joder" is a common word in the Rio Platense region of South America, but it's an expletive in Mexico. "Barbaro" in Uruguay is "awesome," but in Guatemala it's "barbaric." "Factura" is a pastry in Argentina, but it's a phone or gas bill one country away. A situation that is "embarazosa" is embarrassing; but a person that is "embarazada" is pregnant.
Now, put your dictionary away, because it says nothing of what the translators of the Bible thought while they were translating the text. The words they translated dread and fear were incorrect. They should have been translated differently, so as to express a reverent awe. One word in one language can mean five different things in another language, y'know. You remember that Rammstein song from years ago called "Du Hast"? I had to listen to so many stupid people telling me it meant "You hate me," but if you listen to the context it is only half of a sentence. He's really saying "You have asked me, and I have said nothing." These were people that supposedly spoke German, too. Hebrew is even more prone to these mistakes because it does not have Latin roots. Their words are completely unrelated and mean so many different things. Transcription also confuses people. If you transliterated a Hebrew word to English and came up with -'lp-, would you translate it "soldier," or "thousand"? You have no idea, do you? Well, you would have to look at the context, because they are the same word (unless you have the vowels - alluph v. eleph - but you don't, because they didn't add the nikkud until centuries after these texts were written). This is why so many of the numbers in the O.T. are so far out of whack.
Now, one of the many words translated "fear" in the O.T. is -rwg- (read backwards, pronounced "goor"). It is found nine times in Genesis, four times in Exodus, eleven times in Leviticus, and so on and so forth. It is translated thus: abide, fear, assemble, remain, inhabitant, stand in awe, stranger.
Another is -)ry-, pronounced "yaw-ray." It is the word translated "fear" in the verses that speak of fearing the Lord. What does it mean, though?
(Qal)
1) to fear, be afraid of
2) to stand in awe of, be awed
3) to fear, reverence, honor, respect
(Niphal)
1) to be fearful, be dreadful, be feared
2) to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe
3) to inspire reverence or godly fear or awe
I'll spare you the other twenty-four words translated fear. You're more than welcome to look them up if you'd like. There are a number of lexicons available on the Internet. One piece of advice, though: I know what I'm talking about when it comes to languages. You can use every dictionary you have available and I will still show you you're wrong. I'll prove it to you. How do you pronoune the word "forte"?
Y'know, when people say, "That's not my forte." How is it pronounced? There is only one correct pronunciation.