Bible Dictionary
ABOUT
“About” commonly means around or concerning. In the New Testament it can also indicate something about to happen or immediately impending.
Definition
“About” may mean around or outside, and may also mean concerning. In older biblical translation it can function as an adverb referring to something on the point of occurring or immediately impending.
Biblical Usage
In the New Testament the word is used in idiomatic renderings concerning events about to happen. In Old Testament usage as a preposition, it commonly carries the sense of “around.”
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>a-bout': The use of this word as a preposition, in the sense of "around," is confined to the Old Testament. In the New Testament, generally an adverb, for Greek hos or "hosei." The Revised Version (British and American) adopts it in several idiomatic translations of mello, referring to what is about to be, i.e. on the point of occurring, or immediately impending, amending the King James Version, in Ac 5:35; 27:2; Re 12:4, etc.</p>