MOMENT

mo'-ment (regha`, "a wink"; atomos, "an atom," stigme, "a point," parautika, immediately," "forthwith"): "Moment" is not used in Scripture for a division of time, but for an instant of time, as the wink or twinkling of the eye (Exodus 33:5; Numbers 16:21,45; Lamentations 4:6; 1 Corinthians 15:52), or for a short period of time (Job 20:5; Psalms 30:5; Isaiah 26:20; 2 Corinthians 4:17). The division of the hour into sixty minutes was certainly known in Babylonia, and the Jews were made acquainted with it, at least during the captivity, but they do not seem to have adopted it very extensively.

H. Porter

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.