Word study
Suddenly
4 Hebrew and 6 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with “suddenly”. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “suddenly” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- הִנֵּה hinnêhlo! behold!translated this way 20 times of its 689 uses · Strong’s H2009Interjection · Translated: Behold 175, Look 83, saw 47, indeed 36Full study and all 662 verses →
Genesis 15:12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and suddenly great terror and darkness overwhelmed him.
Numbers 12:10 As the cloud lifted from above the Tent, suddenly Miriam became leprous, white as snow. Aaron turned toward her, saw that she was leprous,
- פִּתְאוֹם pithômsuddennesstranslated this way 16 times of its 24 uses · Strong’s H6597Adverb · Translated: suddenly 16, sudden 3Full study and all 24 verses →
Numbers 12:4 And suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “You three, come out to the Tent of Meeting.” So the three went out,
Joshua 11:7 So by the waters of Merom, Joshua and his whole army came upon them suddenly and attacked them,
- פֶּתַע pethasuddennesstranslated this way 4 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s H6621Adverb · Translated: suddenly 3, instant 3, someone suddenly 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Numbers 6:9 If someone suddenly dies in his presence and defiles his consecrated head of hair, he must shave his head on the day of his cleansing — the seventh day.
Proverbs 29:1 A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- אֲרוּ ărûlotranslated this way 4 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H718Interjection · Translated: suddenly 4, saw 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Daniel 7:2 Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.
Daniel 7:5 Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’
Greek words (New Testament)
- καί kaíand, even, also, namelytranslated this way 7 times of its 6,414 uses · Strong’s G2532Conjunction · Translated: and 5,245, then 262, also 157, even 101Full study and all 4,279 verses →
Matthew 8:2 Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
Matthew 8:24 Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves. But Jesus was sleeping.
- ἰδού idoúSee! Lo! Behold! Look!translated this way 6 times of its 163 uses · Strong’s G2400Verb · Translated: Look 50, Behold 31, See 23, here 10Full study and all 160 verses →
Matthew 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.
Luke 9:30 Suddenly two men, Moses and Elijah, began talking with Jesus.
- ἐξαίφνης exaíphnēssuddenly, unexpectedlytranslated this way 3 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s G1810Adverb · Translated: suddenly 3, without notice 1, abruptly 1Full study and all 5 verses →
Luke 2:13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:
Acts 9:3 As Saul drew near to Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
- ἄφνω áphnōsuddenlytranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s G869Adverb · Translated: Suddenly 3Full study and all 3 verses →
Acts 2:2 Suddenly a sound like a mighty rushing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Acts 16:26 Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.
- εὐθέως euthéōsimmediately, soontranslated this way 2 times of its 73 uses · Strong’s G2112Adverb · Translated: immediately 27, once 21, soon 9, quickly 4Full study and all 72 verses →
Mark 1:23 Suddenly a man with an unclean spirit cried out in the synagogue:
Acts 12:10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself. When they had gone outside and walked the length of one block, the angel suddenly left him.
- αἰφνίδιος aiphnídiosunexpected, suddentranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G160Adjective · Translated: suddenly 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Luke 21:34 But watch yourselves, or your hearts will be weighed down by dissipation, drunkenness, and the worries of life — and that day will spring upon you suddenly like a snare.
1 Thessalonians 5:3 While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.