Definition

unexpected, i.e. (adverbially) suddenly

Etymology

from a compound of G1 (Α) (as a negative particle) and G5316 (φαίνω) (compare G1810 (ἐξαίφνης)) (meaning non-apparent);

Where the KJV renders it

• sudden
• unawares

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Greek term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.