עוֹלָםʻôwlâm

long duration, antiquity, futurity

Pronunciation: o-lawm' · Hebrew/Aramaic (Old Testament) · H5769

Meanings

1. of past time (Psalms 10:1; Proverbs 8:23; Psalms 93:2)

a. ancient time (Isaiah 63:9; Isaiah 63:11; Amos 9:11)

b. ׳ מֵתֵי ע the long dead (Psalms 143:3; Lamentations 3:6; Ezekiel 26:20)

c. of God (Isaiah 46:9; Isaiah 63:16; Psalms 25:6)

d. of things (Genesis 49:26; Habakkuk 3:6; Deuteronomy 33:15)

e. plural שְׁנוֺת עולמים Ps 77:6 years of ancient times (Psalms 77:6; Isaiah 51:9; Ecclesiastes 1:10)

2.

a. indefinite futurity, with preposition for ever, always (sometimes = during the lifetime) (Deuteronomy 15:17; 1 Samuel 27:12; Job 40:28)

b. = continuous existence (Ecclesiastes 1:4; Psalms 78:69; Psalms 104:5)

c. of divine existence (Genesis 21:33; Isaiah 40:28; Deuteronomy 32:40)

d. of God's covenant (Genesis 9:16; Genesis 17:7; Genesis 17:13)

e. of God's laws (Isaiah 59:21; Psalms 119:89; Psalms 119:160)

f. of God's promises (Isaiah 40:8; 2 Samuel 7:13; 2 Samuel 7:16)

g. of relations between God and his people (1 Chronicles 29:18; Psalms 45:18; Psalms 85:6)

h. of Messianic dynasty and king (Psalms 110:4; Psalms 45:7; Psalms 72:17)

i. = indefinite, unending future (Genesis 3:22; Job 7:16; Zechariah 1:5)

j. after death (Jeremiah 51:39; Jeremiah 51:57; Ecclesiastes 12:5)

k. = age (duration) of the world (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

l. plural intensive everlastingness, eternity (Isaiah 45:17; Daniel 9:24; Isaiah 26:4)

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 438 times in the Bible.

  • Genesis 3:22 Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!”
  • Genesis 6:3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not put up with humans for such a long time, for they are only mortal flesh. In the future, their normal lifespan will be no more than 120 years.”
  • Genesis 6:4 In those days, and for some time after, giant Nephilites lived on the earth, for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times.
  • Genesis 9:12 Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come.
  • Genesis 9:16 When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.”
  • Genesis 13:15 I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession.
See every passage

Source: Brown, Driver and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), public domain; markup by unfoldingWord, CC BY (github.com/unfoldingWord/Brown-Driver-Briggs-Enhanced).