Bible Encyclopedias
Age

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

āj : A period of time or a dispensation. In the above sense the word occurs only once in the King James Version, in the sing, as the translation of דּור , dor , which means, properly, a "revolution" or "round of time," "a period," "an age" or "generation of man's life"; almost invariable translated "generation," "generations" (Job 8:8 , "Inquire, I pray thee, of the former age"); we have the plural as the translation of aiō̇n , properly "duration," "the course or flow of time," "an age or period of the world," "the world" (Ephesians 2:7 , "in the ages to come"; Colossians 1:26 , "the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations," the English Revised Version, "from all ages," etc., the American Revised Version, margin, of geneaı́ , "generations" (Ephesians 3:5 "generations," Ephesians 3:21 , "unto all generations for ever and ever," Greek margin, "all the generations of the age of the ages"). "Ages" is given in margin of the King James Version (Psalm 145:13; Isaiah 26:4 , "the rock of ages").

We have "age" in the above sense (2 Esdras 3:18; Tobit 14:5; aiōn ) "ages," aiōn (1 Esdras 4:40 (of Truth) "she is the strength," etc., "of all ages"), γενεα , genea , the Revised Version (British and American), "generation" (The Wisdom of Solomon 7:27; 1 Macc 2:61); Ecclesiasticus 24:33, eis geneás aionō̇n , "generations of ages"; The Wisdom of Solomon 14:6, "generations" (genéseōs ).

Revised Version has "age" for "world" (Hebrews 6:5 ); "ages" for "worlds" (the Revised Version, margin Hebrews 1:2; the American Revised Version, margin; compare 1 Timothy 1:17 ) (margin, "unto the ages of the ages"), "ages" for "world" (1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 9:26 ). the English Revised Version has "all ages" for "the beginning of the world" (Ephesians 3:9 , the American Standard Revised Version "for ages"); "king of the ages" for "king of saints" (Revelation 15:3 , corrected text; margin, many ancient authorities read "nations"; Jeremiah 10:7 ). See EVERLASTING .