Words That Appear Only Once in Scripture

A hapax legomenon (plural: hapax legomena) is a word that appears only once in a given body of text. The term comes from the Greek phrase meaning 'said once.' In biblical studies, hapax legomena are words that occur only once in the entire Hebrew Old Testament or Greek New Testament. These rare words have fascinated scholars for centuries because they present unique challenges for translation and interpretation.

When a word appears only once in scripture, translators cannot compare its usage across multiple passages to determine its meaning. They must rely on cognate languages, context, and ancient translations like the Septuagint to make educated guesses. This means that hapax legomena are often the most uncertain words in our English Bibles -- the places where translation is closest to interpretation.

The Hebrew Old Testament contains approximately 1,500 hapax legomena, while the Greek New Testament has around 700. Some are famous: the Hebrew word 'tappuach' in Song of Solomon 2:3 (usually translated 'apple tree') appears only once and its exact identification remains debated. The Greek word 'epiousios' in the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:11, 'daily bread') is so rare it may have been coined by the Gospel writer.

Latter-Day Daily extends hapax legomena analysis beyond the Bible to include all five volumes of LDS scripture. You can explore words that appear only once in the Book of Mormon, only once across all standard works combined, or only once in a specific volume. Each entry includes the original language context (where applicable), the full verse, and analysis of why this particular word is significant and what it tells us about the text.