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Words That Only Appear Once in the Bible

Each of these words appear just once in the King James Bible (which places them as 9573rd equal in frequency rankings!). Can you name them?
Quiz by TenThousand
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Last updated: March 3, 2021
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First submittedMarch 25, 2015
Times taken1,644
Average score52.0%
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word
Assisted, helped
A
Aided
Underneath
B
Below
How did this word get in? Most people own one,
but it wasn't invented until 1900 years after Christ
C
Car
Someone who tends sick people
D
Doctor
Multi-national region controlled from one place
E
Empire
Barrier, common on farms
F
Fence
Ship's kitchen
G
Galley
The Bible bans the wearing of this in church
H
Hat
Inhabitant of an Asian country
I
Indian
Miss Roberts
J
Julia
Stabiliser on a yacht
K
Keel
Rubbish; or a collection of newborn animals
L
Litter
Sadly
M
Miserably
We all were this once! It's as young as you can possibly get
N
Newborn
Strange; also, for example, 24,651
O
Odd
Gary the golfer
P
Player
Arguing
Q
Quarrelling
A surprise Hindu entry; any of the three avatars of Vishnu (4 letters)
R
Rama
What beaches are
S
Sandy
Animal common in offshore Ecuador
T
Tortoise
Not pretty
U
Ugly
Strongroom where banks store valuables
V
Vault
Squirm or wriggle excitedly
W
Writhe
Desire deeply
Y
Yearn
Princess Anne's daughter, therefore Queen Elizabeth's grand-daughter
Z
Zara
+2
Level 62
Mar 25, 2015
lol, a nice companion piece to your featured quiz. I assume these are not the only words that feature just once? It would be an extraordinary coincidence if the only words to feature just once are also alphabetical!
+8
Level 76
Mar 25, 2015
14,565 words appear once, so I was spoilt for choice. I decided not to include Allonbachuth, Anetothite, Appointedst and Atarothaddar; perhaps I'll save those for an advanced version.
+1
Level 62
Mar 25, 2015
That makes more sense! I'm curious about the word 'car', and its context in the bible. Does your source give you the direct quote? I've tried to search for it online, but can't come up with anything.
+3
Level 76
Mar 26, 2015
I've written to the source website webmaster to ask them for this information. Will update you when I hear back.
+4
Level 55
Sep 9, 2015
Gosh, those were all my first guesses! Darn it, Jerry!
+10
Level 51
Dec 7, 2017
Turns out it's a bit of a mistake: 'And the men of Israel went out from Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them, as far as below Beth-car.' (Beth-car was a Philistine city.) So it's just coincidence and probably a bit of shoddy code.
+1
Level 76
Mar 25, 2015
Nice idea! It'd be fun to see the sentences where they appear but I guess that's too complicated to find out
+2
Level 80
Aug 3, 2015
1 Samuel 7:11 says: "And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth Car."

Beth means "house of" and Car must be a name.

+1
Level 55
Sep 9, 2015
Ah, that makes sense. I was thinking perhaps it was being used as an alternate term for "carriage" or "chariot", or at least, I thought I had seen it used that way somewhere.
+1
Level 57
Jul 4, 2016
Actually, the Bible never had the word "car" in it. Its the word "Bethcär", but it has a hyphen in the middle because they ran out of room on the page.
+2
Level 27
Jul 12, 2016
It might just depend on the version
+1
Level 32
Mar 11, 2017
Hahahaha what the hell? Car? Omg
+1
Level 76
Mar 11, 2017
See Hominka's comment above.
+1
Level 44
Mar 13, 2017
Great quiz! Definitely should be featured.
+2
Level 68
Apr 24, 2017
Hmm one of my favorite trivia facts is that the word "girl" is only in the bible once. Why wasn't this included?
+3
Level 76
Apr 25, 2017
I could only choose one G word! But it's true, "girl" only appears once, at Joel 3:3.
+1
Level 66
Jan 7, 2020
I would have chosen girl, that is shocking!
+1
Level 74
May 4, 2022
"boy" appears only once, too (also in Joel 3:3). "boys" appears twice, once in Gen 25:27 (talking of Jacob and Esau), and once alongside "girls" in Zec 8:5.

The King James usually uses words other than girl like damsel or maiden or young daughter, etc. Other translations use girl more often (ESV uses "girl" 35 times, for e.g.).

+1
Level 73
Jan 26, 2018
Got them all but Zara!

The fun part was trying to think if I could tell what verse or story they might be from.

+4
Level 70
Mar 18, 2018
The "hindu entry" isn't very hindu. Rama is the New Testament version of Ramah, a city which is mentioned quite a few times in the Old Testament.
+5
Level 74
May 4, 2022
For those interested.

Aided: Judges 9:24

Below: 1 Maccabees 6:40

(Beth-)Car: 1 Samuel 7:11

Doctor: Acts 5:34

Empire: Esther 1:20

Fence: Psalm 62:3

Galley: Isaiah 33:21

Hat: 2 Maccabees 4:12

Indian: 1 Maccabees 6:37

Julia: Romans 16:15

Keel: Wisdom 5:10

Litter: 2 Maccabees 3:27

Miserably: Matthew 21:41

Newborn: 1 Peter 2:2

Odd: Numbers 3:48

Player: 1 Samuel 16:16

Quarrelling: Ecclesiasticus 31:29

Rama: Matthew 2:18

Sandy: Ecclesiasticus 25:20

Tortoise: Leviticus 11:29

Ugly: Wisdom 16:3

Vault: 2 Esdras 16:59

Writhe: Ecclesiasticus 27:23

Yearn: Genesis 43:40

Zara: Matthew 1:3

Note: the source evidently includes the Apocrypha (14 books) in addition to the Protestant canon (66 books), both of which were translated for the 1611 King James Version (aka Authorized Version). 10 of the 25 words are non-canonical.

Note: Some words also appear multiple times in plural or some other form (e.g. "fenced" in addition to "fence"; "doctors" and "players"; "Zarah" and Ramah" in the OT; etc).

+2
Level 74
May 4, 2022
For those even more interested:

Judges 9:24: That the cruelty done to the threescore and ten sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid upon Abimelech their brother, which slew them; and upon the men of Shechem, which aided him in the killing of his brethren.

1 Maccabees 6:40: So part of the king's army being spread upon the high mountains, and part on the valleys below, they marched on safely and in order.

1 Sam 7:11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car.

Acts 5:34: Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space

Esther 1:20: And when the king’s decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small.

+2
Level 74
May 4, 2022
Psalm 62:3: How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? ye shall be slain all of you: as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence.

Isaiah 33:21: But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

2 Maccabees 4:12: For he built gladly a place of exercise under the tower itself, and brought the chief young men under his subjection, and made them wear a hat.

1 Maccabees 6:37: And upon the beasts were there strong towers of wood, which covered every one of them, and were girt fast unto them with devices: there were also upon every one two and thirty strong men, that fought upon them, beside the Indian that ruled him.

Romans 16:15: Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.

+2
Level 74
May 4, 2022
Wisdom 5:10: And as a ship that passeth over the waves of the water, which when it is gone by, the trace thereof cannot be found, neither the pathway of the keel in the waves

2 Maccabees 3:27: And Heliodorus fell suddenly unto the ground, and was compassed with great darkness: but they that were with him took him up, and put him into a litter.

Matthew 21:41: They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

1 Peter 2:2: as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby

Numbers 3:48: and thou shalt give the money, wherewith the odd number of them is to be redeemed, unto Aaron and to his sons.

+2
Level 74
May 4, 2022
1 Samuel 16:16: Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.

Ecclesiasticus 31:29: But wine drunken with excess maketh bitterness of the mind, with brawling and quarrelling.

Matthew 2:18: In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

Ecclesiasticus 25:20: As the climbing up a sandy way is to the feet of the aged, so is a wife full of words to a quiet man.

Leviticus 11:29: These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind

+2
Level 74
May 4, 2022
Wisdom 16:3: To the end that they, desiring food, might for the ugly sight of the beasts sent among them lothe even that, which they must needs desire; but these, suffering penury for a short space, might be made partakers of a strange taste.

2 Esdras 16:59: He spreadeth out the heavens like a vault; upon the waters hath he founded it.

Ecclesiasticus 27:23: When thou art present, he will speak sweetly, and will admire thy words: but at the last he will writhe his mouth, and slander thy sayings.

Genesis 43:40: And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

Matthew 1:3: and Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram