αἰών G0165
An age, era, or epoch; eternity or perpetuity; in doxologies, 'forever and ever'; rarely, the material world.
Aion is one of the New Testament's most theologically layered nouns, carrying the full weight of biblical eschatology on a single word. At its core it means a span of time — an age or era — but the biblical writers stretch it in both directions: backward into pre-temporal eternity and forward into the unending ages to come. The famous phrase eis tous aionas ton aionon ('unto the ages of the ages') piles era upon era to express what no finite word can contain, and doxologies from Romans to Revelation rely on this intensified plural to ascribe everlasting glory to God. Yet the same word can mean simply 'this present age' (ho aion houtos), the current world-order marked by sin and decay, set against 'the age to come' (ho aion mellon). Arabic preserves a revealing distinction lost in most European translations: al-abad for future-facing eternity, al-azal for eternity past, and ad-dahr for a bounded age — three words for what Greek bundles into one.
Senses
1. eternity, forever (plural doxological) — Plural doxological usage: aiones in liturgical and hymnic formulae expressing unbounded, piled-up eternity — 'forever and ever' (eis tous aionas ton aionon). This is the most frequent sense at 61 occurrences, dominating the epistolary benedictions (Gal 1:5; Phil 4:20; 1 Tim 1:17) and the heavenly worship scenes of Revelation (Rev 1:6; 4:9-10; 5:13). The plural-of-plurals construction is an intensifying device unparalleled in classical Greek; Arabic ad-duhur (the ages) and Korean 세세 (generation upon generation) both attempt the stacking effect. Swahili milele na milele ('forever and forever') mirrors the doubling pattern exactly. 61×
AR["أَبَدِ","الآبادِ","الآبِدينَ","الأَبَدِ","الدُّهورِ","الْأَبَدِ"]·ben["যুগ-যুগ","যুগ-যুগ,","যুগ-যুগান্তের।","যুগযুগ","যুগযুগান্ত","যুগযুগে","যুগসমূহ","যুগসমূহ-র","যুগসমূহে","যুগসমূহের","যুগসমূহের,","যুগসমূহের।","যুগে","যুগে-যুগে।","যুগে।","যুগের"]·DE["Ewigkeit"]·EN["ages"]·FR["éternité"]·heb["עוֹלְמֵי","עוֹלָמִים","עוֹלָמִים.","עוֹלָמוֹת"]·HI["युगों","युगों,","युगों-के","युगों-तक","युगों-युगों","युगोन","युगोन,","युगोन."]·ID["itu","segala-zaman","selama-lamanya","zaman","zaman-zaman","zaman-zaman,","zaman-zaman."]·IT["eternita","eternità"]·jav["jaman","jaman,","jaman-jaman","jaman-jaman,","jaman-jaman.","jaman.","laminipun","salami-laminipun","salami-laminipun,","salami-laminipun.","salaminipun","salaminipun;"]·KO["세대들","세대들-의,","세대들로부터","세대들을","세대들의,","세들","세들의","세상들의","세세-로","세세-의","시대들에,","시대들의.","영원","영원들","영원들,","영원들-의.","영원들의.","영원히"]·PT["séculos","séculos,","séculos."]·RU["веках,","веки","веков","веков,","веков."]·ES["eras","siglos"]·SW["karne","milele","milele,","nyakati","zama"]·TR["-lerin-","caglara","caglarda","caglardan","caglarin","sonsuzların","sonsuzlarına","sonsuzluğa","çağlar","çağlara","çağları","çağların"]·urd["ابد-تک","ابدوں","ابدوں-تک۔","ابدوں-کے","دوروں","زمانوں","زمانوں-کے","زمانوں۔","ہمیشہ"]
2. eternity, forever (singular) — Singular perpetuity: aion in the phrase eis ton aiona ('unto the age,' i.e., forever) expressing unending duration without the stacked-plural intensification. Found 32 times, this is the form used in Jesus' pronouncements of permanent states — 'you shall never eat fruit again' (Matt 21:19), 'shall never have forgiveness' (Mark 3:29), 'shall never die' (John 11:26). Spanish eternidad/siempre, German Ewigkeit, and Korean 영원히 all render this as simple perpetuity. The boundary with sense 1 is formal (singular vs. plural formula) rather than deeply semantic, but the singular tends to appear in speech and narrative while the plural dominates worship. 32×
AR["أَبَد","أَبَدِ","الأَبَدِ","الْأَبَدِ","دَهْرِ"]·ben["চিরকাল","যুগ","যুগে","যুগে।","যুগের","যুগের-আদিতে"]·DE["Ewigkeit"]·EN["age"]·FR["éternité"]·heb["עוֹלָם"]·HI["युग","युग-के","युग;","युगों-युगों","युग।","सदा","सदा।"]·ID["dunia","itu","selama-lamanya","selama-lamanya.","zaman"]·IT["eternita","eternità"]·jav["donya","salami-laminipun","salami-laminipun,","salami-laminipun.","salami-laminipun»,","salaminipun","salaminipun,","salaminipun.","salaminipun;"]·KO["세상","세상에서","영원","영원에","영원히"]·PT["eternidade","eternidade.","sempre","século"]·RU["век","век,","век.","века"]·ES["era","eternidad","siempre","siglo"]·SW["mara","milele","milele."]·TR["sonsuza-dek","sonsuzluğa","çağdan","çağı","çağın"]·urd["-ال","ابد","ابد-تک","زمانہ","ہمیشہ"]
3. age, era, world-age — A bounded age, era, or world-order — 32 occurrences where aion denotes a temporal dispensation rather than eternity. Jesus' parables distinguish 'this age' from 'the age to come' (Matt 12:32; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30), and the disciples ask about 'the end of the age' (Matt 24:3; 28:20). Arabic ad-dahr ('epoch, era') and Korean 세상/세대 ('world/generation') select temporal-bounded vocabulary here, diverging sharply from the 'forever' renderings of senses 1-2. This is the sense that carries the weight of New Testament eschatology: the two-age schema that structures apocalyptic thought. 32×
AR["الدَّهرِ","الدَّهرِ-هٰذا","الدَّهْرِ","دَهرٍ","دَهرِ","دَهْرِ"]·ben["আর","পেতে","যুগে","যুগের","যুগের-সাথে"]·DE["Ewigkeit"]·EN["age","of-age"]·FR["éternité"]·heb["הָעוֹלָם","עוֹלָם"]·HI["युग","युग-क","युग-कि","युग-के","युग-मेइन"]·ID["dunia","zaman"]·IT["eternita","eternità"]·jav["jaman","jaman.","jaman:"]·KO["세대","세대-의","세대를","세대에서","세대의","세상의"]·PT["do-século","era","século"]·RU["века","веке","этому"]·ES["de-siglo","era","siglo"]·SW["-wa-ulimwengu","huu","na","nyakati","ulimwengu","za-zama","zama"]·TR["bu","o-","çağ","çağa","çağda","çağın"]·urd["جہان","زمانہ","زمانے","زمانے-میں","زمانے-کا","زمانے-کی","زمانے-کے"]
Matt 12:32, Matt 13:22, Matt 13:39, Matt 13:40, Matt 13:49, Matt 24:3, Matt 28:20, Mark 4:19, Mark 10:30, Luke 1:70, Luke 16:8, Luke 18:30 (+20 more)
4. eternity past, from of old — Pre-temporal eternity: aion looking backward to 'from of old,' 'from everlasting,' or 'before the ages.' Only one clear occurrence (Acts 15:18, 'known from eternity'), but the concept resonates with ap' aionos constructions elsewhere. Arabic al-azal — a dedicated term for eternity-past as distinct from al-abad (eternity-future) — reveals a conceptual distinction that Greek collapses into the same word. Hindi yugon se ('from the ages') and Swahili zamani za kale ('times of old') both signal backward-looking temporal depth. 1×
AR["الأَزَلِ"]·ben["অনন্তকাল"]·DE["Ewigkeit"]·EN["age"]·FR["éternité"]·heb["לְ-"]·HI["युगों"]·ID["kekekalan"]·IT["eternita"]·jav["jaman"]·KO["영원"]·PT["eternidade,"]·RU["века"]·ES["eternidad"]·SW["zamani"]·TR["ezelden"]·urd["ابد"]
5. world (material realm) — The material world as a spatial-temporal entity, where aion approximates kosmos. A rare but genuine sense visible at 2 Timothy 4:10, where Demas forsakes Paul 'having loved this present aion' — not an abstract epoch but the tangible, alluring world-system with its pleasures and securities. Arabic al-alam ('the world') and Hindi sansar ('the material world, samsara') both select spatial-world vocabulary here rather than time-words, confirming the semantic shift from temporal to spatial. Korean 세상을 similarly means 'the world' as a place of attachment rather than a period of time. 1×
AR["العالَمَ"]·ben["যুগ,"]·DE["Ewigkeit"]·EN["age"]·FR["éternité"]·heb["עוֹלָם"]·HI["सनसअर,"]·ID["dunia"]·IT["eternità"]·jav["jaman,"]·KO["세상-을"]·RU["век"]·ES["siglo"]·SW["ulimwengu"]·TR["çağı"]·urd["زمانے-سے"]
Related Senses
H3117 1. day, specific time (2231×)H5704 1. until, unto, as far as (1238×)H8141 1. year, unit of time (880×)H6258 1. and now (421×)G2250 1. day (388×)H5750 1. again, more, further (288×)H5769 1. forever, to eternity (280×)H6256 1. time, period (264×)H2320 1. month, calendar period (260×)H0310a 2. after (temporal) (258×)H3915 1. night, period of darkness (234×)H1242 1. morning (214×)H5750 2. still, yet (continuative) (166×)G5119 1. then (160×)G3568 1. now (147×)G2193 1. until (143×)G3825 1. (141×)G3752 1. (123×)H6153 1. evening, time of day (123×)H0227a 1. then (122×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
αἰών, ῶνος, ὁ, Ionic dialect and Epic dialect also ἡ, as in Refs 5th c.BC+ apocopation _accusative_ αἰῶ], like{Ποσειδῶ}, restored by Ahrens (from Refs 4th c.BC+, compare aevum, see at {αἰεί}):—period of existence (τὸ τέλος τὸ περιέχον τὸν τῆς ἑκάστου ζωῆς χρόνον.. αἰὼν ἑκάστου κέκληταιRefs 4th c.BC+ __I lifetime, life, ψυχή τε καὶ αἰώνRefs 8th c.BC+; ἀπ᾽ αἰῶνος νέος ὤλεο Refs 5th c.BC+; αἰ.…