αἰώνιος G0166
Eternal, everlasting; pertaining to an age without end, especially of divine life, punishment, and covenant realities.
A weighty theological adjective applied to the most consequential realities in the New Testament: eternal life (John 3:16; Matt 19:16), eternal punishment (Matt 25:46), the eternal covenant (Heb 13:20), and the eternal Spirit (Heb 9:14). Derived from aion (age), aionios describes what belongs to or extends through the age to come — a duration beyond human measure. Translations across all major language families converge remarkably: Spanish 'eterno/eterna,' French 'éternel,' German 'ewig,' Hindi 'anant' — each capturing the sense of boundless duration.
Senses
1. eternal — Eternal or everlasting, describing what pertains to unending duration or the age to come. Covers 70 of 71 occurrences across the full theological spectrum: eternal life (Matt 19:16, 29; John 3:16), eternal fire and punishment (Matt 18:8; 25:41, 46), eternal glory (2 Tim 2:10), and the eternal God (Rom 16:26). The striking uniformity of translations — Spanish 'eterno,' French 'éternel,' German 'ewig' — reflects a stable, unambiguous core meaning across all contexts. 70×
AR["أَبَدِيٍّ", "أَبَدِيَّةً", "أَبَدِيَّةٌ", "أَبَدِيَّةٍ", "الأَبَدِيَّةِ", "الأَبَدِيِّ", "الْأَبَدِيَّةِ"]·ben["অনন্ত", "চিরস্থায়ী"]·DE["ewig"]·EN["eternal", "of-eternal"]·FR["éternel"]·heb["נִצְחִיּוֹת", "נִצְחִית", "עוֹלָם", "עוֹלָמִיים", "עוֹלָמִים", "עוֹלָמִית"]·HI["अनंत", "अनन्त", "अनन्त,", "अनन्त;", "अनन्त।", "के"]·ID["kekal", "kekal,", "kekal.", "kekal;"]·IT["eterno"]·jav["langgeng", "langgeng,", "langgeng.", "langgeng;"]·KO["영원한", "영원한-을"]·PT["de-eterno", "eterna", "eterna,", "eterna.", "eterna;", "eterna?", "eternas", "eterno"]·RU["вечного", "вечное", "вечную", "вечную,", "вечную?", "вечные", "вечный"]·ES["de-eterno", "eterna", "eternas", "eterno"]·SW["-", "atarithi", "wa-milele", "wokovu-wa-milele", "ya-milele", "za-milele"]·TR["ebedi", "sonsuz"]·urd["ابدی", "ہمیشہ-کے"]
Matt 18:8, Matt 19:16, Matt 19:29, Matt 25:41, Matt 25:46, Matt 25:46, Mark 3:29, Mark 10:17, Mark 10:30, Mark 16:20, Luke 10:25, Luke 16:9 (+38 more)
2. forever — An adverbial or intensified sense meaning 'forever, in perpetuity,' attested only at Philemon 1:15, where Paul suggests Onesimus was separated 'for a time so that you might have him back forever (aionion).' The shift from adjective to quasi-adverb is reflected in Spanish 'eternamente' and English 'forever,' both departing from the standard adjectival rendering, suggesting a subtle pragmatic extension from quality ('eternal') to temporal extent ('for all time'). 1×
AR["أَبَديًّا"]·ben["চিরকালের-জন্য"]·DE["ewig"]·EN["forever"]·FR["éternel"]·heb["עוֹלָמִית"]·HI["सद-के-लिये"]·ID["kekal"]·IT["eterno"]·jav["langgeng"]·KO["영원히"]·PT["eternamente"]·RU["навечно"]·ES["eternamente"]·SW["milele"]·TR["sonsuza-dek"]·urd["ابدی"]
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
αἰώνιος, ον, also α, ον NT+5th c.BC+:— lasting for an age (αἰών 11), perpetual, eternal (but distinct from ἀΐδιος, Refs 5th c.BC+; κακά, δεινά, NT+5th c.BC+; αἰ. διαθήκη, νόμιμον, πρόσταγμα, LXX+NT+3rd c.AD+; κόλασις NT+6th c.AD+ __2 holding an office or title for life, perpetual, γυμνασίαρχοςRefs __3 = Latin saecularis, Refs 2nd c.AD+ __4 adverb -ίως eternally, νοῦς ἀκίνητος αἰ. πάντα ὤνRefs 5th c.AD+; perpetually, μισεῖν Refs 5th c.BC+ __5 αἰώνιον, τό, ={ἀείζωον τὸ μέγα}, Ps.-Refs 1st c.AD+