Anger

Anger in Scripture is treated both as a natural human emotion and as a moral quality requiring careful governance. The Old Testament uses several Hebrew words for anger, most commonly aph (nostril, face) and chemah (heat), reflecting the physical experience of the emotion. Human anger is not universally condemned; Moses, Nehemiah, and Jesus all exhibit righteous anger in the face of injustice and profanation. The psalms and wisdom literature, however, repeatedly warn against hasty anger and its destructive consequences (Prov. 14:17; 15:18; 29:22).

The anger of God occupies substantial space in both Testaments. Divine wrath is consistently portrayed as a response to idolatry, injustice, and covenant violation rather than as arbitrary passion; it is always tempered by God's commitment to mercy. The New Testament continues this pattern while emphasizing that human anger must be swift to subside: “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph. 4:26). Paul includes wrath among the vices to be put off in favor of the character of the new humanity in Christ (Col. 3:8).