Pit'om is an adverb meaning 'suddenly' or 'in an instant,' derived from the noun peta' ('suddenness') with the adverbial ending -om. Its 25 occurrences overwhelmingly describe events that erupt without warning, and the word carries an ominous charge: the majority of its contexts involve catastrophe, invasion, or divine intervention. Jeremiah cries 'suddenly my tents are destroyed' (Jer 4:20), the psalmist's enemies 'suddenly shoot at the upright' (Ps 64:4-7), and Isaiah warns that Babylon's ruin will 'come upon you suddenly, in a day' (Isa 47:11). Yet the word also describes divine speech and action that arrive without human anticipation: YHWH 'said suddenly to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam' (Num 12:4), and Malachi promises 'the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple' (Mal 3:1). The threefold alliterative phrase peta' pit'om ('in an instant, suddenly,' Isa 29:5; Num 6:9; 35:22) intensifies the element of shock. Spanish 'de repente,' French 'soudain/soudainement,' and German 'ploetzlich' all render the adverb consistently.