˓olam (עוֹלָם, 5769), “eternity; remotest time; perpetuity.” This word has cognates in Ugaritic, Moabite, Phoenician, Aramaic, Arabic, and Akkadian. It appears about 440 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods.
First, in a few passages the word means “eternity” in the sense of not being limited to the present. Thus, in Eccl. 3:11 we read that God had bound man to time and given him the capacity to live “above time” (i.e., to remember yesterday, plan for tomorrow, and consider abstract principles); yet He has not given him divine knowledge: “He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.”
Second, the word signifies “remotest time” or “remote time.” In 1 Chron. 16:36, God is described as blessed “from everlasting to everlasting” (KJV, “for ever and ever”), or from the most distant past time to the most distant future time. In passages where God is viewed as the One Who existed before the creation was brought into existence, ˓olam (or ˓olam) may mean: (1) “at the very beginning”: “Remember the former things [the beginning things at the very beginning] of old: for I am God, and there is none else …” (Isa. 46:9); or (2) “from eternity, from the pre-creation, till now”: “Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old [from eternity]” (Ps. 25:6). In other passages, the word means “from (in) olden times”: “… Mighty men which were of old, men of renown” (Gen. 6:4). In Isa. 42:14, the word is used hyperbolically meaning “for a long time”: “I have long time holden my peace; I have been still, and refrained myself.…” This word may include all the time between the ancient beginning and the present: “The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied …” (Jer. 28:8). The word can mean “long ago” (from long ago): “For [long ago] I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands …” (Jer. 2:20). In Josh. 24:2, the word means “formerly; in ancient times.” The word is used in Jer. 5:15, where it means “ancient”: “Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation.…” When used with the negative, ˓olam (or ˓olam) can mean “never”: “We are thine: thou never barest rule [literally, “not ruled from the most distant past”] over them …” (Isa. 63:19). Similar meanings emerge when the word is used without a preposition and in a genitive relationship to some other noun.
With the preposition ˓ad, the word can mean “into the indefinite future”: “An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of the Lord for ever” (Deut. 23:3). The same construction can signify “as long as one lives”: “I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him, that he may appear before the Lord, and there abide for everʷ (1 Sam. 1:22). This construction then sets forth an extension into the indefinite future, beginning from the time of the speaker. In the largest number of its occurrences, ˓olam (or ˓olam) appears with the preposition le. This construction is weaker and less dynamic in emphasis than the previous phrase, insofar as it envisions a “simple duration.” This difference emerges in 1 Kings 2:33, where both phrases occur. Le˓olam is applied to the curse set upon the dead Joab and his descendants. The other more dynamic phrase (˓ad ˓olam), applied to David and his descendants, emphasizes the ever-continued, ever-acting presence of the blessing extended into the “indefinite future”: “Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever [le ˓olam]: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever [˓ad ˓olam] from the Lord.” In Exod. 21:6 the phrase le ˓olam means “as long as one lives”: “… And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him for ever.” This phrase emphasizes “continuity,” “definiteness,” and “unchangeability.” This is its emphasis in Gen. 3:22, the first biblical occurrence of ˓olam (or ˓olam): “… And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.…”
The same emphasis on “simple duration” pertains when ˓olam (or ˓olam) is used in passages such as Ps. 61:8, where it appears by itself: “So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.” The parallelism demonstrates that ˓olam (or ˓olam) means “day by day,” or “continually.” In Gen. 9:16, the word (used absolutely) means the “most distant future”: “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature.…” In other places, the word means “without beginning, without end, and ever-continuing”: “Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength” (Isa. 26:4).
Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
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