DIY
Israel has been saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; You will not be put to shame or humiliated to all eternity. Isaiah 45:17 NASB
Eternity – Isaiah just got it wrong. He wrote long before the continuous anti-Semitism of Europe and certainly before WWII. Israel was humiliated over and over and over again. I guess this is one prophecy that was nothing but a mistake. Well, . . . . maybe.
I’ve been writing about biblical words for a long time. Nearly twenty years now. I’m not particularly brilliant at this (maybe, a little). I just know where to look for answers to the questions that I think about. I’ve spent probably fifty years investigating resources, reading authors, and thinking about these things. Many times people send me emails asking me to give them the answer to some question they have. Most of the time they really haven’t looked themselves. They just expect that I will know. And often I do, but that’s the problem. The answer that I provide is my answer, the result of my investigation over many decades. It’s not their answer. They just adopt what I tell them. That isn’t really learning. It’s just mimicking. So, most of the time I don’t give them an answer. Am I being mean? No, I’m trying to teach them to investigate rather than mimic. Why? Because something you mimic is soon forgotten. It wasn’t really yours in the first place.
You might recognize this technique. Ancient rabbis used it a lot. Answer a question with another question. Make the inquirer dig deeper. Avoid simple replies.
Well, with that in mind, I thought I’d share something from one of my trusted resources. This is the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament entry on the Hebrew term ādâ. Actually, I’m interested in the derivative ʿad, 1565a. I’m sharing the entire entry with you. Once you’ve read it, you will understand why. Oh, I’ve highlighted a few important points:
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1565 עָדָה (ʿādâ) I, go on, pass by; Hiphil, remove. Probably root of the following.
1565a עַד (ʿad) I, perpetuity, continuing future.
1565b עַד (ʿad) II, booty, prey, used only in Gen 49:27; Isa 33:23; Zeph 3:8.
1565c עַד (ʿad) III, עֲדֵי (ʿădê) as far as, even to, until, while.
עַד (ʿad) I. Perpetuity. ASV, RSV translate similarly, except in Isa 45:17. Here the former has “world without end” while the latter has “to all eternity.”
It should be noted that there is no general word for time in Hebrew, neither are there special terms for the past, present, future, and eternity. The word ʿôlām should be compared, with special attention given to the nineteen times when these words are used together.
ʿad, like ʿôlām, is used only in connection with prepositions, as an adverbial accusative or as a genitive in a construct chain. Ugaritic bʿd ʿlm could correspond to Hebrew ʿôd as well as to ʿad (UT 19: no. 1813).
This word is used only twice relative to the past. The knowledge that the success of the wicked is short, has been known from of old (Job 20:4). In Hab 3:6 reference is made to the antiquity of the mountains.
Otherwise it always denotes the unforeseeable future; that is, it means in the following compounds: ʿădê-ʿad “forever” (Isa 26:4; 65:18; Ps 83:17 [H 18]; 92:7 [H 8]; 132:12, 14, laʿad “forever,” (Isa 64:9 [H 8]; Amos 1:11; Mic 7:18; Ps 9:18 [H 19]; 19:9 [H 10]; 21:6 [H 7]; 22:26 [H 27]; 37:29; 61:8 [H 9]; 89:29 [H 30];111:3, 8, 10; 112:3, 9; 148:6; Job 19:24; Prov 12:19; 29:14; I Chr 28:9); lĕōlām waʿad and ʿôlām waʿad “forever and ever” (Ex 15:18; Mic 4:5; Ps 9:5 [H 6]; 10:16; 21:4 [H 5]; 45:6 [H 7], 17 [H 18]; 48:14 [H 15]; 52:8 [H 10]; 104:5; 119:44; 145:1, 2, 21; Dan 12:3); and as well as in a construct chain in which it serves as the modifier (Isa 9:6 [H 5]) ʾăbî-ʿad “father forever”; 57:15; šōkēn ʿad “the eternal throne”; Hab 3:6; harĕrê-ʿad “the everlasting hills.”
Frequently the word ʿad is applied to God. His existence is eternal (Isa 57:15). While his righteousness endures forever (Ps 111:3; 112:3, 9), his anger does not (Mic 7:18). God is worthy of praise and will be praised forever (Ps 45:17 (H 18]; 52:9 [H 10]; 111:10; 145:1, 2, 21). The throne of God (Ps 10:16; 45:6 [H 7]; Ex 15:18) and the law of God (Ps 19:9 [H 10]) will endure forever.
This word is also applied to Israel. The Davidic dynasty will continue forever, depending upon their response to the covenant (Pss 89:29 [H 30]; 132:12). Zion is God’s dwelling place forever (Ps 48:14 [H 15]; 132:14; I Chr 28:9).
A sharp contrast is seen in the use of this word relative to the righteous and wicked. The righteous will not always be forgotten (Ps 9:18 [H 19]) and they will inherit the land forever (Ps 37:29). By contrast the wicked are doomed to destruction forever (Ps 9:6 [H 7]; 92:7 [H 8]).
עַד (ʿad) II, as far as, even to, until, while. The special poetic form, ʿădê is used twelve times. ʿad functions as both preposition and conjunction. It indicates the gamut, beginning with the distance from, the advance toward, and the movement up to. It is used spatially, temporally, and comparatively.
Spatially it can indicate arrival at a geographical location (“as far as Bethel,” Gen 12:6), at a particular object (“up to the horns of the altar,” Ps 118:27) and at a person (“approach to God,” Ex 22:8). When used in combination with min it gives the idea of extent (“from Sidon … as far as Gaza,” Gen 10:19). Idiomatically it designates range (from the young to the old, Gen 19:4).
This word is used temporally to indicate a continuation of an event from a point in the past to the present (Gen 19:37, 38). It can be used of an event clearly in the past (Gen 8:7) and also of an event in the future (Gen 3:19; Deut 7:20, 23). As a conjunction it can refer to action which has already happened (Deut 2:14) or one which has not yet been completed at the time of the writing (II Sam 17:13). A continuing event can be designated under such translations as “while” and “during” (“the exalting of the wicked is but for a moment,” Job 20:5; cf. Jon 4:2; II Kgs 9:22).
It can be used comparatively in the sense of measure or degree to suggest a higher or the highest. Esther is promised her request by the king up to half the kingdom (Est 5:6). Paying the tithe will result in an overwhelming blessing (Mal 3:10). God’s words are said to run even to haste, i.e. swiftly (Ps 147:15). When used with the negative it expresses the concept of “not even as much as.” The family of Shimei did not have as many children as Judah (I Chr 4:27). Abishai was chief of the thirty but he did not attain to the three (II Sam 23:19). The army of Sisera was totally destroyed, not a man was left (Jud 4:16). As a conjunctive it can indicate a degree of achievement which becomes perpetual (Isa 47:7).
Bibliography: Ginsberg, H. L., ’A Preposition of Interest to Historical Geographers,” BASOR 122:12–14; 124:29–30.
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Ah, so there you have it. Well, almost. You see, the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (TDOT) devotes seven full pages to this term (no, I won’t give you those). But at least we’ve scratched the surface. A little. What we still have to do is look at the grammatical expressions, the rabbinic commentaries, the genre, the historical periods when the term is used, etc.
So, now the question. What does eternal life mean? Time for you to figure it out.
Topical Index: eternal, ʿad, resources, Isaiah 45:17
ASV American Standard Version of the Bible
RSV Revised Standard Version of the Bible
UT C.H. Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook, 1965 (Grammar cited by chapter and section; texts cited by chap (16) and no. of line. Glossary cited by chap (19) and no. of word)
BASOR Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research
C.S. SCHULTZ, Carl, Ph.D., Professor of Old Testament, Houghton College, Houghton, New York.
[1] Schultz, C. (1999). 1565 עָדָה. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., pp. 645–646). Chicago: Moody Press.
