SPECIAL TOPIC: FOREVER (GREEK IDIOM)

One Greek idiomatic phrase is "unto the ages" (cf. Luke 1:33; Rom. 1:25; 11:36; 16:27; Gal. 1:5; 1 Tim. 1:17), which may reflect the Hebrew 'olam. See Robert B. Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old Testament, pp. 319-321, and Special Topic: Forever ('Olam).

Other related phrases are "unto the age" (cf. Matt. 21:19; Mark 11:14; Luke 1:55; John 6:58; 8:35; 12:34; 13:8; 14:16; 2 Cor. 9:9) and "of the age of the ages" (cf. Eph. 3:21). There seems to be no distinction between these Greek idioms for "forever." The term "ages" may be plural in a figurative sense of the rabbinical grammatical construction called "the plural of majesty," or it may refer to the concept of several "ages" in the Jewish sense of "age of wickedness," "age to come," or "age of righteousness" (see Special Topic: This Age and the Age to Come).

 

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