Archaic KJV Word
Cunning
Modern equivalent: skilled
What Was Lost
The direct link between knowing and doing. A cunning craftsman in Exodus was someone whose knowledge of metalwork was so deep it flowed into masterful action. God filled Bezaleel with cunning -- divine skill, not divine trickery. The word honored craft as a form of wisdom.
Closest Survivor in Modern English
canny (Scottish English retains the 'shrewd but respectable' sense)
Peak Usage (1611)
KJV Exodus 31:4 -- 'To devise cunning works, to work in gold'; Genesis 25:27 -- 'Esau was a cunning hunter'
Died ~1750
Shifted from 'knowledgeable/skilled/expert' (from Old English cunnan 'to know') to 'sly/deceitful,' turning descriptions of godly artisans and skilled men into portraits of tricksters.
What Replaced It
“skilled”
Merely competent; cunning-as-skill implied deep, intimate knowledge of a craft -- mastery, not just ability
“clever”
Implies mental quickness; cunning meant accumulated, practiced expertise
“expert”
Credentialed and formal; cunning carried the warmth of hands-on, embodied knowledge