Bible Dictionary
Age
Age can mean a period of life, old age, a generation, or an extended period of time. Scripture honors the aged and presents a full life as a blessing.
Definition
Age may mean a period of a person’s life, maturity, the latter part of life, a generation, or an indefinite period of time. It can also denote a dispensation or the course and duration of the world’s history.
Biblical Usage
Scripture speaks of the age of individuals and generations, honors the aged, and presents a full age as a blessing and reward of piety. It also uses the term for ages to come, former ages, and the extended periods in which God’s purposes unfold.
Historical Background
The biblical words translated “age” include terms meaning a revolution or round of time, generation, duration, and the course or flow of time. Some translations use “age” where others have “world” or “generation.”
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Used to denote the period of a man’s life (Gen. 47:28), the maturity of life (John 9:21), the latter end of life (Job 11:17), a generation of the human race (Job 8:8), and an indefinite period (Eph. 2:7; 3:5, 21; Col. 1:26). Respect to be shown to the aged (Lev. 19:32). It is a blessing to communities when they have old men among them (Isa. 65:20; Zech. 8:4). The aged supposed to excel in understanding (Job 12:20; 15:10; 32:4, 9; 1 Kings 12:6, 8). A full age the reward of piety (Job 5:26; Gen. 15:15).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>aj: 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 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 aion, properly "duration," "the course or flow of time," "an age or period of the world," "the world" (Eph 2:7, "in the ages to come"; Col 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 geneai, "generations" (Eph 3:5 "generations," Eph 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 (Ps 145:13; Isa 26:4, "the rock of ages").</p><p>We have "age" in the above sense (2 Esdras 3:18; Tobit 14:5; aion) "ages," aion (1 Esdras 4:40 (of Truth) "she is the strength," etc., "of all ages"), genea, the Revised Version (British and American), "generation" (The Wisdom of Solomon 7:27; 1 Macc 2:61); Ecclesiasticus 24:33, eis geneas aionon, "generations of ages"; The Wisdom of Solomon 14:6, "generations' (geneseos).</p><p>Revised Version has "age" for "world" (Heb 6:5); "ages" for "worlds" (the Revised Version, margin Heb 1:2; the American Revised Version, margin; compare 1Ti 1:17) (margin, "unto the ages of the ages"), "ages" for "world" (1Co 10:11; Heb 9:26). the English Revised Version has "all ages" for "the beginning of the world " (Eph 3:9, the American Standard Revised Version "for ages"); "king of the ages" for "king of saints" (Re 15:3, corrected text; margin, many ancient authorities read "nations"; Jer 10:7).</p><p>See EVERLASTING.</p><p>W. L. Walker</p>