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Greek · G165 · unreviewed

αἰών

An age: age

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αἰών G165
Pronunciation aiṓn

What does αἰών (aiṓn) mean in the Bible?

αἰών (aiṓn) is a Greek word meaning "an age: age". αἰών, -ῶνος, ὁ, [in LXX chiefly for עַד ,עוֹלָם ;] __1. Demas' love for the present age illustrates the spiritual danger of prioritizing worldly values over gospel faithfulness.

Full entry for αἰών (G165) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

an age: age
Extended definition

An age or era; theologically, either the present evil age or the future eternal age to come.

1in cl., like Lat. aevum (LS, MM, VGT, see word), a space of time, as, a lifetime, generation, period of history, an indefinitely long period; in NT of an indefinitely long period, an age, eternity, usually with prep. (MM, VGT);
aof the past: ἀπ᾽ αἰ. (cf. Heb. מֵעוֹלָם), Luk.1:70;
bof the future: εἰς τ. αἰ. (cf. לְעוֹלָם), forever, Mat.21:19; id., with neg., never, Jhn.4:14; more strongly, εἰς τὸν αἰ. τοῦ αἰ., Heb.1:8 (LXX); εἰς τοὺς αἰ., Mat.6:13; εἰς τοὺς αἰ. τῶν αἰ. (cf. Isa.45:17, עַד־עוֹלְמֵי עַד), Rom.16:27, LT; cf. also Eph.3:21, 2Pe.3:18, Ju 25, Rev.14:11.
2οἱ αἰ., the worlds, the universe, "the sum of the periods of time, including all that is manifested in them": He :12 11:3 (cf. 1Ti.1:17, where τῶν αἰ. are prob. "the ages or world-periods which when summed up make eternity".
3the present age (Heb. הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה): ὁ αἰ., Mat.13:22; ὁ αἰ. οὗτος, Mat.12:32; ὁ νῦν αἰ., 1Ti.6:17; ὁ ἐνεστὼς αἰ., Gal.1:4; similarly, of the time after Christ's second coming (הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא), ὁ αἰ. ἐκεῖνος, Luk.20:35; ὁ αἰ. μέλλων, Mat.12:32; ὁ αἰ. ὁ ἐρχόμενος, Mrk.10:30.
Synonymsκόσμος, the ordered universe, the scheme of material things; οἰκουμένη, the inhabited earth; in contrast with both of which αἰ. is the world under aspects of time (cf. Westc. on Heb.1:2; Tr., Syn., §lix; Thayer, see word, αἰ.; Cremer, 74, 620; MM, VGT).
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Why This Word Matters
Demas' love for the present age illustrates the spiritual danger of prioritizing worldly values over gospel faithfulness. 2 Timothy 4:9-15
Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Genitive · Plural · Masculine 1 Cor 2:7 · 1 Cor 10:11 · Gal 1:5 · Eph 3:9 · Eph 3:11 · Eph 3:21 · Phil 4:20 · Col 1:26 · 1 Tim 1:17 · 2 Tim 4:18 · Heb 9:26 · 1 Pet 4:11 · 1 Pet 5:11 · Rev 1:6 · Rev 1:18 · Rev 4:9 28×
Genitive · Singular · Masculine Matt 13:22 · Matt 13:39 · Matt 13:40 · Matt 13:49 · Matt 24:3 · Matt 28:20 · Mark 4:19 · Luke 1:70 · Luke 16:8 · Luke 20:34 · Luke 20:35 · John 9:32 · Acts 3:21 · Acts 15:18 · 1 Cor 1:20 · 1 Cor 2:6 25×
Dative · Singular · Masculine Matt 12:32 · Mark 10:30 · Luke 18:30 · Rom 12:2 · 1 Cor 3:18 · Eph 1:21 · 1 Tim 6:17 · Titus 2:12 8×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Eph 2:7 1×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine Matt 21:19 · Mark 3:29 · Mark 11:14 · Luke 1:55 · John 4:14 · John 6:51 · John 6:58 · John 8:35 · John 8:51 · John 8:52 · John 10:28 · John 11:26 · John 12:34 · John 13:8 · John 14:16 · 1 Cor 8:13 31×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine Luke 1:33 · Rom 1:25 · Rom 9:5 · Rom 11:36 · 2 Cor 11:31 · Gal 1:5 · Phil 4:20 · 1 Tim 1:17 · 2 Tim 4:18 · Heb 1:2 · Heb 11:3 · Heb 13:8 · Heb 13:21 · 1 Pet 4:11 · 1 Pet 5:11 · Jude 1:25 29×
122 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

New Testament Witnesses
2 Timothy 4:9-15 Present World aiṓn
age, world system, present era
Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

βασιλεύς · αἰών G935, G165
a sovereign (abstractly, relatively, or figuratively)
αἰών · ἔρχομαι G165, G2064
coming age
μέριμνα · αἰών G3308, G165
care, anxiety, worry of the age
πρόθεσις · αἰών G4286, G165
eternal purpose, purpose of the ages
συντέλεια · αἰών G4930, G165
completion or consummation of the ages
υἱός · αἰών · οὗτος G5207, G165, G3778
sons of this age
Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Galatians 1 — No Other Gospel: Paul’s Apostolic Authority and Gospel Defense John 14 — The Way, the Truth, and the Life, the Father Revealed in the Son, and the Promise of the Spirit Luke 20 — The Rejected Son, the Questioned Authority, and the Lord Who Silences His Opponents Mark 10 — The Way of the Servant King: Marriage, Children, Wealth, Cross, Ransom, and Sight Matthew 12 — The Lord of the Sabbath, the Servant of the Lord, and the Crisis of Unbelief Matthew 13 — The Kingdom in Parables: Hearing, Hiddenness, Growth, Worth, and Judgment Matthew 24 — The Olivet Discourse: Temple Desolation, Coming Judgment, the Son of Man, and Watchful Readiness Matthew 28 — The Resurrection of Jesus and the Great Commission of the Risen King Romans 12 — Living Sacrifices, Renewed Minds, Humble Service, and Love Without Hypocrisy Romans 16 — Gospel Partnership, Holy Greeting, False-Teacher Warning, and Doxology to the God Who Establishes

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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