αἰών,
-ῶνος,
ὁ, (as if
αἰὲν — poetic for
ἀεί —
ὤν, so teaches Aristotle, de caelo 1, 11, 9, vol. i., p. 279
a, 27; [so Proclus book iv. in Plato, Timaeo, p. 241; and others]; but more probable is the conjecture [cf.
Etym. Magn. 41, 11] that
αἰών is so connected with
ἄημι to breathe, blow, as to denote properly
that which causes life, vital force; cf. Harless on
Ephesians 2:2). [But
αἰών (=
αἰϝών) is now generally connected with
αἰεί,
ἀεί, Sanskrit
êvas (
aivas), Latin
aevum, Gothic
aivs, German
ewig, English
aye, ever; cf. Curtius, § 585; Fick, Part i., p. 27; Vanicek, p. 79;
Benfey, Wurzellex, i., p. 7f;
Schleicher, Compend. edition 2, p. 400;
Pott, Etymologicum Forsch., edition 2, 2:2, p. 442;
Ebeling, Lex. Homer under the word; Liddell and Scott, under the word
ἀεί; Cremer, edd, 2, 3, 4 (although in edition 1 he agreed with Prof. Grimm); Pott and Fick, however, connect it with Sanskrit
âyus rather than
êvas, although both these forms are derived from
i to go (see Pott, Sehleicher, Fick, Vanicek, as above).]
In Greek authors:
1. age (Latin
aevum, which is
αἰών with the Aeolic digamma),
a human lifetime (in Homer, Herodotus, Pindar, Tragic poets),
life itself (Homer Iliad 5, 685
μὲ καὶ λίποι αἰών etc.).
2. an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity, (Plato, Tim., p. 37 d. 38 a.; Tim. Locr., p. 97 d. [quoted below]; Plutarch, others).
With this signification the Hebrew and Rabbinic idea of the word
עוֹלָם (of which in the
Sept. αἰών is the equivalent) combines in the Biblical and ecclesiastical writings.
Hence, in the
N. T. used:
1.
a. universally: in the phrases
εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα,
לְעוֹלָם (
Genesis 6:3),
forever, John 6:51,
58;
John 14:16;
Hebrews 5:6;
Hebrews 6:20, etc.; and strengthened
εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος,
Hebrews 1:8 [from
Psalm 44:7 (
Ps. 45:7) Alexandrian
LXX, cf. Winer's Grammar, § 36, 2] (Tobit 6:18; Psalm 82:18 (
Ps. 83:18), etc.);
εἰς αἰῶνα,
Jude 1:13;
εἰς ἡμέραν αἰῶνος unto the day which is eternity (genitive of apposition),
2 Peter 3:18 [cf. Sir. 18:10 (9)]; with a negation:
never, John 4:14 [Lachmann in brackets];
John 8:51;
10:28;
11:26;
13:8;
1 Corinthians 8:13; or
not for ever, not always, John 8:35;
εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, unto the ages,
i. e., as long as time shall be (the plural denotes the individual ages whose sum is eternity): [
Luke 1:33];
Romans 1:25;
Romans 9:5;
Romans 11:36; [
Romans 16:27 R G Tr WH];
2 Corinthians 11:31;
Hebrews 13:8;
εἰς πάντας τ.
αἰῶνας,
Jude 1:25;
εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων (in which expression the endless future is divided up into various periods, the shorter of which are comprehended in the longer [cf. Winers Grammar, § 36, 2; among the various phrases to express duration composed of this word with preposition or adjuncts (which to the number of more than fifteen are to be found in the
Sept., cf. Vaughan on
Romans 1:25), this combination of the double plural seems to be peculiar to the
N. T.]): [
Romans 16:27 L T];
Galatians 1:5; [
Philippians 4:20];
1 Timothy 1:17; [
2 Timothy 4:18;
1 Peter 4:11];
Revelation 1:6,
18;
Revelation 4:9;
Revelation 5:13;
Revelation 7:12;
Revelation 10:6;
Revelation 11:15;
Revelation 15:7;
Revelation 19:3;
Revelation 20:10;
Revelation 22:5;
εἰς αἰῶνας αἰώνων,
Revelation 14:11;
ὁ αἰὼν τῶν αἰώνων the (whole) age embracing the (shorter) ages,
Ephesians 3:21 (cf. Meyer [or Ellicott] at the passage);
ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων from the ages down, from eternity,
Colossians 1:26;
Ephesians 3:9;
πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων before time was, before the foundation of the world,
1 Corinthians 2:7;
πρόθεσις τῶν αἰώνων eternal purpose,
Ephesians 3:11.
b. in hyperbolic and popular usage:
ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος (
מֵעוֹלָם Genesis 6:4, cf.
Deuteronomy 32:7)
from the most ancient time down (
within the memory of man),
from of old, Luke 1:70;
Acts 3:21;
Acts 15:18 (Tobit 4:12
οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος;
οἱ ἀπʹ αἰῶνος Ῥωμαῖοι, Dion Cass. 63, 20, 2 cf. 5; Longinus, 34
τούς ἀπʹ αἰῶνος ῥήτορας); also
ἐκ τοῦ αἰῶνος,
John 9:32 (1 Esdr. 2:19, 22 (23); Diodorus 4:83 of the temple of Venus
τήν,
ἐξ αἰῶνος ἀρχήν λαβόν, 17, 1
τούς ἐξ αἰῶνος βασιλεῖς [excerpt. de legat, xl.], p. 632
τήν ἐξ αἰῶνος παραδεδομένην ἐλευθερίαν).
2. by metonymy of the container for the contained,
οἱ αἰῶνες denotes
the worlds, the universe, i. e. the aggregate of things contained in time [on the plural cf. Winers Grammar, 176 (166); Buttmann, 24 (21)]:
Hebrews 1:2;
Hebrews 11:3; and (?)
1 Timothy 1:17; [
Revelation 15:3 WH text; cf.
Psalm 144:13 (
Ps. 145:13); Tobit 13:6, 10; Sir. 36:22; Philo de plant. Noë § 12 twice;
de mundo § 7; Josephus, Antiquities 1, 18, 7; Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 61, 2; 35, 3 (
πατὴρ τ.
α.); 55, 6 (
θεὸς τ.
α.); Apostolic Constitutions 7, 34; see Abbot in Journal Society for Biblical Literature etc. i., p. 106 n.]. So
αἰών in Wis. 13:9; Wis. 14:6; Wis. 18:4; the same use occurs in the Talmud, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic; cf.
Bleek, Hebräerbr. ii., 1, p. 36ff;
Gesenius, Thesaurus ii., p. 1036; [cf. the use of
οἱ αἰῶνες in the Fathers, equivalent to the world of mankind,
e. g. Ignatius ad Eph. 19, 2]:
3. As the Jews distinguished
הַזֶּה הָעוֹלָם the time before the Messiah, and
הַבָּא הַעוֹלָם, the time after the advent of the Messiah (cf.
Riehm, Lehrb. d. Hebräerbr., p. 204ff; [Schürer, § 29, 9]), so most of the
N. T. writers distinguish
ὁ αἰὼν οὗτος this age (also simply
ὁ αἰών,
Matthew 13:22;
Mark 4:19 G L T Tr WH;
ὁ ἐνεστὼς αἰών,
Galatians 1:4;
ὁ νῦν αἰών,
1 Timothy 6:17; [
2 Timothy 4:10];
Titus 2:12), the time before the appointed return or truly Messianic advent of Christ
(i. e., the
παρουσία, which see), the period of instability, weakness, impiety, wickedness, calamity, misery — and
αἰὼν μέλλων the future age (also
ὁ αἰὼν ἐκεῖνος,
Luke 20:35;
ὁ αἰὼν ὁ ἐρχόμενος,
Luke 18:30;
Mark 10:30;
οἱ αἰῶνες οἱ ἐπερχόμενοι,
Ephesians 2:7),
i. e., the age after the return of Christ in majesty, the period of the consummate establishment of the divine kingdom and all its blessings:
Matthew 12:32;
Ephesians 1:21; cf. Fritzsche on Romans, vol. 3:22f.
Hence, the things of 'this age' are mentioned in the
N. T. with censure:
ὁ αἰὼν οὗτος, by metonymy, men controlled by the thoughts and pursuits of this present time,
Romans 12:2, the same who are called
υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰ.
τούτου in
Luke 16:8;
Luke 20:34;
κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου conformably to the age to which this (wicked) world belongs,
Ephesians 2:2 [cf. Trench, § 59 under the end];
ἀγαπᾶν τὸν νῦν αἰῶνα,
2 Timothy 4:10 (see
ἀγαπάω);
ἄρχοντες τοῦ αἰ.
τούτου,
1 Corinthians 2:6 (see
ἄρχων);
ὁ θεὸς τοῦ αἰ. τούτου, the devil, who rules the thoughts and deeds of the men of this age,
2 Corinthians 4:4;
αἱ μέριμναι τοῦ αἰῶνος, the anxieties for the things of this age,
Mark 4:19;
πλούσιος ἐν τῷ νῦν αἰῶνι, rich in worldly wealth,
1 Timothy 6:17;
σοφία τοῦ αἰ.
τούτ. such wisdom as belongs to this age — full of error, arrogant, hostile to the gospel,
1 Corinthians 2:6;
συζητητὴς τοῦ αἰ. τούτ. disputer, sophist, such as we now find him,
1 Corinthians 1:20;
συντέλεια τοῦ αἰ. τούτ., the end, or rather consummation, of the age preceding Christ's return, with which will be connected the resurrection of the dead, the last judgment, the demolition of this world and its restoration to a more excellent condition [cf. 4 Esdr. 7:43],
Matthew 13:39f,
49;
Matthew 24:3;
Matthew 28:20; it is called
συντέλεια τῶν αἰώνων in
Hebrews 9:26 [so Test xii. Patr., test.
Levi 10, test. Benj. 11 (cf. Vorstman, p. 133)];
τὰ τέλη τῶν αἰώνων the ends (last part) of the ages before the return of Christ,
1 Corinthians 10:11;
δυνάμεις τοῦ μέλλοντος αἰῶνος, powers which present themselves from the future or divine order of things,
i. e., the Holy Spirit,
Hebrews 6:5;
τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐκείνου τυχεῖν, to partake of the blessings of the future age,
Luke 20:35. Among the
N. T. writers James does not use the word
αἰών.
[On the word in its relation to κόσμος see Trench, § 59: Its biblical sense and its relation to עוֹלָם are discussed by Stuart, Exeget. Essays on Words relating to Future Punishment, Andover, 1830 (and Presbyterian Publishing Committee, Philadelphia); Tayler Lewis in Lange's Commentary on Ecclesiastes, pp. 44-51; J. W. Hanson, Aion-Aionios (pp. 174), Chicago, 1880. See especially E. Abbot, Literature of the Doctrine of a Future Life, etc. (New York, 1867), Index of subjects, under the word. For its meanings in ecclesiastical writings see Suicer, Thesaurus Eccl. i. col. 140ff, cf. ii. col 1609; Huet, Origeniana (Appendix to Vol. iv. of De la Rue's Origen) book ii. c. ii. quaest. 11, § 26. Its use in Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristotle, Plato, Tim. Locr., is exhibited in detail by E. S. Goodwin in the Christ. Exam. for March and May, 1831, March and May, 1832. "On αἰών as the complete period, either of each particular life or of all existence, see Aristotle, cael. 1, 9, 15; on αἰών and χρόνος, cf. Philo [quis rer. div. her. § 34] i. 496, 18f; [de mut. nom. § 47] i. 619, 10f." Liddell and Scott, edition 6; see also Philo de alleg. leg. iii. 8; quod deus immut. § 6 at the end; de secular § 11; de praem, et poen. § 15; and (de mund, opif. § 7) especially J. G. Müller, Philo's Lehre v. d. Weltschöpfung, p. 168 (Berl. 1864). Schmidt (chapter 44) gives the distinction, for substance, as follows: both words denote the abstract idea of time and with special reference to its extent or duration; χρόνος is the general designation for time, which can be divided up into portions, each of which is in its turn a χρόνος; on the other hand, αἰών, which in the concrete and simple language of Homer (Pindar and the Tragedians) denotes the allotted lifetime, even the life, of the individual (Iliad 4, 478 μινυνθάδιος δέ οἱ αἰών etc.), in Attic prose differs from χρόνος by denoting time unlimited and boundless, which is not conceived of as divisible into αἰῶνες (contrast here biblical usage and see below), but rather into χρόνοι. In philosophical speech it is without beginning also. Cf. Tim. Locr. 97 c. d. χρόνω δὲ τὰ μέρεα τάσδε τὰς περιόδως λέγοντι, ἅς ἐκόσμησεν ὁ θεὸς σὺν κόσμῳ· οὐ γὰρ ἦν πρὸ κόσμω ἄστρα· διόπερ οὐδ’ ἐνιαυτὸς οὐδ’ ὠρᾶν περίοδοι, αἷς μετρέεταί ὁ γεννατὸς χρόνος οὗτος. εὶκὼν δέ ἐστι τῶ ἀγεννάτω χρόνω, ὅν αἰῶνα ποταγορεύομες· ὡς γὰρ ποτ’ ἀΐδιον παράδειγμα, τὸν ἰδανικὸν κόσμον, ὅδε ὁ ὠρανὸς ἐγεννάθη, οὕτως ὡς πρὸς παράδειγμα, τὸν αἰῶνα, ὅδε ὁ χρόνος σὺν κόσμῳ ἐδαμιουργήθη — after Plato, Timaeus, p. 37 d. (where see Stallbaum's note and references); Isocrates 8, 34 τοὺς δὲ μετ’ εὐσεβείας κ. δικαιοσύνης ζῶντας (ὁρῶ) ἐν τε τοῖς παροῦσι χρόνοις ἀσφαλῶς διάγοντας καὶ περὶ τοῦ σύμπαντος αἰῶνος ἡδίους τὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχοντας. The adjective ἄχρονος independent of time, above and beyond all time, is synonymous with αἰώνιος; where time (with its subdivisions and limitations) ends eternity begins: Nonnus, metaph, evang. Johan. 1:1, ἄχρονος ἦν, ἀκίχητος, ἐν ἀρρήτω λόγος ἀρχῇ. Thoroughly Platonic in cast are the definitions of Gregory of Nazianzus (orat. xxxviii. 8) αἰὼν γὰρ οὔτε χρόνος οὔτε χρόνου τι μέρος· οὐδὲ γάρ μετρητόν, ἀλλ’ ὅπερ, ἡμῖν ὁ χρόνος ἡλίου φορᾷ μετρούμενος, τοῦτο τοῖς ἀϊδίοις αἰών, τὸ συμπαρεκτεινόμενον τοῖς οὖσιν οἷον τι χρονικὸν κίνημα καὶ διάστημα (Suicer as above). So Clement of Alexandria, strom., i. 13, p. 756 a., Migne edition, ό γ’ οὖν αἰὼν τοῦ χρόνου τὸ μέλλον καὶ τὸ ἐνεστὼς, αὐτὰρ δὴ καὶ τὸ παρῳχηκὸς ἀκαριαίως συνίστησι. Instances from extra-biblical writings of the use of αἰών in the plural are: τὸν ἀπ’ αἰώνων μύθον, Anthol. vol iii., part ii., p. 55, Jacobs edition; εἰς αἰῶνας, ibid. vol. iv. epigr. 492; ἐκ περιτροπῆς αἰώνων, Josephus, b. j. 3, 8, 5; εἰς αἰῶνας διαμένει, Sextus Empiricus, adv. Phys. i. 62. The discussions which have been raised respecting the word may give interest to additional references to its use by Philo and Josephus. Philo: ὁ πᾶς (ἅπας, σύμπας) or πᾶς (etc.) ὁ αἰών: de alleg. leg. iii. § 70; de cherub. § 1 (a noteworthy passage, cf. de congressu erud. § 11 and references under the word θάνατος); de sacrif. Ab. et Caini § 11; quod det. pot. § 48; quod deus immut. § 1, § 24; de plantat. § 27; de sobrietate § 13; de migr. Abr. § 2; de secular § 9; de mut. nom. § 34; de somn. ii., § 15, § 31, § 38; de legat. ad Gaium § 38; (ὁ) μακρὸς αἰ.: de sacrif. Ab et Caini § 21; de ebrietate § 47; de secular § 20; αἰ. μήκιστος: de sobrietate § 5; de secular § 21; ὁ ἄπειρος αἰ.: de legat, ad Gaium § 11; ὁ ἔμπροσθεν αἰ.: de praem, et. poen. § 6; αἰ. πολύς: de Abrah. § 46; τίς αἰ.: de merc. meretr. § 1; δἰ αἰ.: de cherub. § 26; de plantat. § 27; εἰς τὸν αἰ.: de gigant. § 5; ἐν (τῷ) αἰ.: de mut. nom. § 2 (twice) (note the restriction); quod deus immut. § 6; ἐξ αἰ.: de somn. 1 § 3; ἐπ’ αἰ.: de plantat. § 12 (twice); de mundo § 7; πρὸ αἰ.: de mut. nom. § 2; πρὸς αἰ.: de mut. nom. § 11; (ὁ) αἰ.: de secular § 18; de alleg. leg. iii. § 70; de cherub. § 22; de migr. Abr. § 22; de somn. i., § 18, § 22; de Josepho § 5; de vita Moys. ii. § 3; de decalogo § 14; de victimis § 3; fragment in Mang. 2:660 (Richter vi., p. 219); de plantat. § 12 (bis); de mundo § 7. Josephus: (ὁ) πᾶς αἰών: Antiquities 1, 18, 7; 3, 8, 10; contra Apion 2, 11, 3; 2, 22, 1; μακρὸς αἰ.: Antiquities 2, 7, 3; πολὺς αἰ.: contra Apion 2, 31, 1; τοσοῦτος αἰ.: contra Apion 1, 8, 4; πλῆθος αἰῶνος: Antiquities prooem. § 3; ἀπ’ αἰ.: b. j. prooem. § 4; δι’ αἰ.: Antiquities 1, 18, 8; 4, 6, 4; b. j. 6, 2, 1; εἰς (τὸν) αἰ.: Antiquities 4, 8, 18; 5, 1, 27; 7, 9, 5; 7, 14, 5; ἐξ αἰ.: b. j. 5, 10, 5; (ὁ) αἰ.: Antiquities 19, 2, 2; b. j. 1, 21, 10; plural (see above) 3, 8, 5. See αἰώνιος.]
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