What is the meaning of "forever" (H5769 olam)?

[TonyChanYT]

Exodus 21:

6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever [H5769]

He would be his slave for a finite amount of time, i.e., the rest of his life.

Genesis 21:

33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting (H5769) God.

It is the same word here, but now it seems to mean infinite time.

Exodus 30:

17The LORD said to Moses, 18“You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its stand of bronze, for washing. You shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it, ... 21 They shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they may not die. It shall be a statute forever [H5769] to them, even to him and to his offspring throughout their generations.”

The temple was destroyed over 2000 years ago. This statute is not working today. Perhaps H5769 means something like perpetual:

occurring repeatedly; so frequent as to seem endless and uninterrupted.

See also Forever vs eternal

 

[amadeus]

Exodus 21:


He would be his slave for a finite amount of time, i.e., the rest of his life.

Genesis 21:


It is the same word here, but now it seems to mean infinite time.

Exodus 30:


The temple was destroyed over 2000 years ago. This statute is not working today. Perhaps H5769 means something like perpetual:


See also Forever vs eternal

[as God defines forever rather than as man does]

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Gen 3:15

“He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted. Job 36:7

“I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. I Kings 8:13 [Who shall claim it?]


“And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. I Kings 9:3 [perpetually- Will our eyes & heart be there?]


”Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks;

Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. Isaiah 32:14-16 [for ever... until the Spirit be poured upon us...]

“It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever. Isaiah 34:10



“Then Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly,

And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.

For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.

Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.

The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head.

I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.

When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. Jonah 2:1-7

 

[marks]

Exodus 21:


He would be his slave for a finite amount of time, i.e., the rest of his life.

Genesis 21:


It is the same word here, but now it seems to mean infinite time.

Exodus 30:


The temple was destroyed over 2000 years ago. This statute is not working today. Perhaps H5769 means something like perpetual:


See also Forever vs eternal

My understanding of "olam" is, "concealed past the vanishing point". Over the horizon. Past what you can see the end of. Context will tell us how far that really goes.

Much love!

 

[ScottA]

Exodus 21:

6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever [H5769]

He would be his slave for a finite amount of time, i.e., the rest of his life.

The above presents an opportunity to point out the cause of many errors in translation and understanding of scripture.

While the words do seem to indicate that the slave would only be a slave for "the rest of his life." But it actually says and means "forever." Thus, by literary logic...you have actually claimed that what the scripture passage says--is not true. And yet, none of us have the authority to actually do that.

That conclusion (of the slave only being a slave for the rest of his life) assumes the context to be that of a worldly scenario, forgetting that the words are not only there for the slave during his times and the practical matters of this world, but are there as an eternal tenet of God. On the contrary, "the words are spirit" and the meaning, as with much if not all the worldly life experiences of Israel--is contextually--more importantly..."a light unto the gentiles."

In which context, the narrative first spells out what is not "forever" and then what is "forever", defined by who one "loves." That is "forever"--and that is the message...just as it is written.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

Exodus 21:


He would be his slave for a finite amount of time, i.e., the rest of his life.

Genesis 21:


It is the same word here, but now it seems to mean infinite time.

Exodus 30:


The temple was destroyed over 2000 years ago. This statute is not working today. Perhaps H5769 means something like perpetual:


See also Forever vs eternal

olam techinically means hidden. As to time it means an undefined time. context determines if it means forever of for an unknown time span.

 

[TonyChanYT]

olam techinically means hidden.

reference?

 

[Jay Ross]

What is the meaning of "forever" (H5769 olam)?

My understanding is that it has the meaning of: -

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

always, ancient time, any more, continuance, eternal, for, everlasting, long time,

Or lolam {o-lawm'}; from alam; properly, concealed, i.e. The vanishing point; generally, time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) eternity; frequentatively, adverbial (especially with prepositional prefix) always -- alway(-s), ancient (time), any more, continuance, eternal, (for, (n-))ever(-lasting, -more, of old), lasting, long (time), (of) old (time), perpetual, at any time, (beginning of the) world (+ without end). Compare netsach, ad.

We need to consider whether "olam "is being used in an infinite context or in a finite context.

Where we find that the translators have used the meaning of an infinite time period, they often change the defined time period that follows, i.e. dowr waadow, which is often translated as "many generations" but when considered as "an generation/age plus a generation/age," it is referring to two generations/ages in time, i.e., around 2,000 years, which for us is a future time which is our of mind where the end point is at the vanishing point of the period in question.

Let us consider one such example which can be verified by History: -

Jeremiah 50:39: - 39“Therefore the wild desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals,
And the ostriches shall dwell in it.
It shall be inhabited no more forever,
Nor shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.

However, this is my understanding of this verse: -

Jeremiah 50:39: - 39 "Therefore the wild desert beasts shall dwell there with the jackals,
And the ostriches shall dwell in it.
Nor shall it be inhabited for a long period of time beyond our comprehension,
It shall not be dwelt in for two ages.

History tells us that around the year 120 BC the land of Babylon was made desolate and the land was also devasted by the Northern Greek Empire. History also confirms for us that Babylon was also remembered before God in 1926 AD to receive once more His wrath for what they had done.

The differences have a very profound impact on our understanding of what Jeremiah was prophesying.

Shalom

 

[Randy Kluth]

Exodus 21:


He would be his slave for a finite amount of time, i.e., the rest of his life.

Genesis 21:


It is the same word here, but now it seems to mean infinite time.

Exodus 30:


The temple was destroyed over 2000 years ago. This statute is not working today. Perhaps H5769 means something like perpetual:


See also Forever vs eternal

This is another one of your excellent questions, and I'm fully on board, obviously. I've raised the point many times myself, that "forever" implies "continuous" or "in perpetuity," and not always "forever" in the infinite sense.

Obviously, one day "forever" in context will apply to eternity in the infinite sense. But for now, we have to ensure the context of our use of the word indicates how we are to use that word, perhaps for something that has meaning as long as the context actually applies.

The Law is a perfect example of the need for context. Israel was given the Law in perpetuity, implying that as long as that Covenant was in place the laws would be in place. As long as Salvation had not yet been completed, the preliminary work of Covenant relationship had to remain in place.

The Law was even carried out to some degree when the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians! Temple Law continued to be applied even when there was no longer any temple!

But the context of the need for the Law's applicability to Israel remained in place even while the temple was destroyed and Israel was in captivity. By mercy Israel remained in Covenant relationship with God. And to indicate this they had to keep the Law as best they could.

So Jesus referred to the Law in the context of Israel's need to continue preparatory work under the Law until he, as Messiah, could actually complete the work implied by the Law. The Law would cease to operate as a preparatory Israeli work when Messiah had completed the work needed for full atonement.

That's why Jesus said that the Law was as indestructible as the universe itself. That is, the law of Human Sin and its need for final atonement would remain in place as long as final atonement had yet to be made.

It was a fixed universal law that Human Sin had to die! Until Christ's vicarious resurrection, the Law of Human Sin had to be made as a testimonial to the need for Christ's redemption. It was a required Good Faith effort by Israel to practice proper Covenant relationship with God until the work was done.

 

[Lambano]

Strange. I've run across the Hebrew word 'olam' (עולם) in Jewish writings, but in the context of "The Olam haZeh" (this world) and "The Olam haBa" (the World to Come).

The Septuagint translators rendered "olam" as "aion" and cognates, which can mean an age, or eternity/eternal.

 

[Ronald Nolette]

reference?

Strong's Hebrew: 5769. עוֹלָם (olam) -- long duration, antiquity, futurity

It means hidden in reference to time, for it is often an undefined time.

What Is the Meaning of the Word ‘Olam’? - The Jewish Link

The word “olam” appears over 400 times in Tanach (in various forms). Even though we are used to it meaning “world,” this was not its original meaning. Rather, almost every time the word appears in Tanach it is being used with a time-oriented meaning, e.g., “a remote period in the past,” “a...

jewishlink.news

 

[TonyChanYT]

Strong's Hebrew: 5769. עוֹלָם (olam) -- long duration, antiquity, futurity

It means hidden in reference to time, for it is often an undefined time.

What Is the Meaning of the Word ‘Olam’? - The Jewish Link

The word “olam” appears over 400 times in Tanach (in various forms). Even though we are used to it meaning “world,” this was not its original meaning. Rather, almost every time the word appears in Tanach it is being used with a time-oriented meaning, e.g., “a remote period in the past,” “a...

jewishlink.news

Thanks for the reference. This is how to do referencing in a scholarly manner:

1. Display and indent the quoted text.
2. Selectively bold the relevant keywords that are important to the point that you are making. No need to bold the entire sentence. Have a laser-sharp focus.
3. Be concise and precise to the point. No need to quote the whole chapter.

This is what I do for others who read my posts. It is a standard high-school scholarship. If you practice this, I guarantee you it will improve your analytical thinking. In any case, no one is required to do it.