Hebrew word · H6621

פֶּתַע

peta'

suddenness

Both words come from a root meaning "sudden, unexpected". petaʿ is used of a sudden death beside someone (Numbers 6:9) or an unplanned blow (Numbers 35:22). pitʾōm is the ordinary word for "suddenly", often for disaster coming without warning (Isaiah 47:11; Jeremiah 6:26; Proverbs 6:15).

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

suddenness, in an instant

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 29:5

Range of meaning

Both words come from a root meaning "sudden, unexpected". petaʿ is used of a sudden death beside someone (Numbers 6:9) or an unplanned blow (Numbers 35:22). pitʾōm is the ordinary word for "suddenly", often for disaster coming without warning (Isaiah 47:11; Jeremiah 6:26; Proverbs 6:15).

Against the English

Most versions translate both ("suddenly, in an instant"). The doubling is Hebrew emphasis, not wordiness: "all at once, in a flash".

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 30:13 has the same pair in reverse order ("its collapse comes suddenly, in an instant"). In Isaiah the phrase usually goes with God's sudden intervention.

Where it appears

Numbers · 2

  1. Numbers 6:9 בְּפֶ֣תַע in an instant

    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.

  2. Numbers 35:22 בְּפֶ֥תַע in an instant

    But if anyone pushes a person suddenly, without hostility, or throws an object at him unintentionally,

Proverbs · 2

  1. Proverbs 6:15 פֶּ֥תַע an instant

    Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in an instant he will be shattered beyond recovery.

    Here: A noun used as an adverb: "in an instant". Placed first in the second line, it echoes pitʾōm from the first line. The repeated sound hammers home how abrupt the collapse is.

  2. Proverbs 29:1 פֶּ֥תַע suddenly

    A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.

    Here: Used here as an adverb: "in a moment". It stands against the many reproofs. The warnings came slowly and often, but the ruin comes all at once.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 29:5 לְפֶ֥תַע to suddenness

    But your many foes will be like fine dust, the multitude of the ruthless like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant,

    Here: A noun for a sudden moment, the blink of an eye. With the preposition it means "in a flash".

  2. Isaiah 30:13 לְפֶ֖תַע to suddenness

    this iniquity of yours is like a breach about to fail, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse will come suddenly—in an instant!

    Here: A near-synonym placed right after 'suddenly' to pile up the speed: 'suddenly, in a flash.' Isaiah uses the same pair in 29:5, where it is Jerusalem's enemies who are swept away in a moment. Here it is turned against Judah.

Habakkuk · 1

  1. Habakkuk 2:7 פֶ֗תַע suddenly

    Will not your creditors suddenly arise and those who disturb you awaken? Then you will become their prey.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.