Olam #62

Olam is the Hebrew word most often translated “forever” or “everlasting.” Its root idea is a time hidden from view, one whose boundary cannot be seen, and it can point either backward or forward: to the distant past (“of old,” “ancient”) or to the distant future (“forever”). Hebrew has no single term for abstract eternity, so context must decide how much duration is meant.

Biblical Usage

Olam is used of God. Abraham planted a tree at Beersheba and called on the LORD as “the everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33), and Psalm 90:2 says that God is God “from everlasting to everlasting,” a phrase the Hebrew builds from olam twice, and that this is so before the mountains were born. The word also marks the long reach of promises: God’s covenants with Abraham and with David are described as lasting for olam, and Psalm 136 repeats that his mercy endures for ever after every line.

The word can describe limited spans too. In Exodus 21:6, a slave who chooses to stay with his master is to “serve him for ever,” which is generally understood to mean for life. Micah 5:2 says the ruler to come from Bethlehem has goings forth “from of old, from everlasting,” using olam for a distant past. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says God has put olam in human hearts, and the King James Version renders it “the world,” while other versions read “eternity” or “a sense of past and future,” a well-known translation difficulty.

Theological Significance

Interpreters must decide how to read olam in each case: as “for a very long time,” “for life,” or “without end.” Theological arguments about eternity, the permanence of the covenants, and the duration of punishment sometimes depend on this. For example, whether the Mosaic ordinances described as lasting for olam remain in force is contested between Jewish and Christian traditions, and Christians differ on how the everlasting covenant with Abraham relates to the church. The word is also the source of the later Hebrew term for “world,” which reflects the ancient link between time and creation.