ἡλῐκί-α G2244
Stature or bodily height; age, maturity, or time of life
A word that holds two related but distinct ideas in creative tension: physical stature and the progression of age. When Luke says Jesus 'grew in stature' (Luke 2:52), he means bodily height; when Zacchaeus is 'small in stature' (Luke 19:3), it is his shortness that drives him up the sycamore tree. Yet in John 9:21, 23 the same word means 'of age' -- the man born blind is old enough to speak for himself. The famous puzzle in Matt 6:27 and Luke 12:25 ('who by worrying can add one cubit to his helikia?') turns precisely on this ambiguity: is Jesus talking about adding height or lengthening life? Spanish distinguishes 'estatura' from 'edad,' and Arabic separates 'qama' (stature) from 'sinn' (age), but Greek collapses both into a single word rooted in the idea of 'one's stage of growth.'
2. age, time of life — Age, maturity, or time of life -- the stage one has reached in years rather than in height. In John 9:21, 23 the parents of the man born blind deflect questioning with 'he is of age (helikian echei), ask him' -- clearly meaning legal maturity, not physical size. Hebrews 11:11 says Sarah received power to conceive 'beyond the time of age (para kairon helikias),' referring to her being past childbearing years. Spanish 'edad,' French 'age,' and Arabic 'sinn' all distinguish this temporal sense from the spatial 'stature' meaning. 3×
AR["سِنّ","عُمْر"]·ben["বয়স","বয়সের"]·DE["Gestalt"]·EN["Age","age","of-age"]·FR["âge"]·heb["גִּיל"]·HI["आयु,","उम्र"]·ID["Umur","umur","usia,"]·IT["statura","ēlikias"]·jav["Yuswa","yuswa"]·KO["나이가","나이의"]·PT["Idade","da-idade","idade"]·RU["Возраст","возраст","возраста"]·ES["Edad","de-edad","edad"]·SW["Umri","umri","wa-umri"]·TR["Yaşı","yaşı","yaşın"]·urd["عمر","عمر-کے"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. stature, bodily height — Physical stature or bodily height, measuring how tall a person stands. Luke 2:52 records that Jesus 'increased in stature (helikia) and favor'; Luke 19:3 explains Zacchaeus could not see Jesus because he was 'small in stature'; and Eph 4:13 envisions the church reaching 'the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.' Matt 6:27 and Luke 12:25, with their mention of adding 'a cubit,' likely belong here too -- a cubit is a measure of length, not time. Spanish 'estatura' and Arabic 'qama' render the physical dimension directly. 5×
AR["قامَةِ","قامَتِهِ","قَامَةٍ","قَامَتِهِ"]·ben["আয়ুতে","উচ্চতাতে","উচ্চতায়","বয়স-র","বয়সে"]·DE["Gestalt","ἡλικίαν","ἡλικίᾳ"]·EN["in-stature","lifespan","of-stature","stature"]·FR["âge"]·heb["בְּקוֹמָה","קוֹמַת","קוֹמָה"]·HI["अवस्थ","अवस्था","आयु-पर","उम्र","कद-में"]·ID["kedewasaan","tinggi-badan","umur"]·IT["statura","ēlikias"]·jav["dedegipun","saking-yuswa","umur","yuswa,","yuswanipun"]·KO["키","키-와","키가","키에","키의"]·PT["da-estatura","estatura"]·RU["возраста","возрасте","возрасту","ростом"]·ES["de-estatura","estatura"]·SW["cha-kimo","kimo","umri","urefu-wa-umri"]·TR["-nin-","boyca","boyda","ömrüne"]·urd["قد"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἡλῐκί-α, Ionic dialect ἡλικίη, Doric dialect ἁλικία, ἡ, (ἧλιξ) time of life, age, ἤν πως ἡλικίην αἰδέσσεται ἠδ᾽ ἐλεήσῃ γῆρας Refs 8th c.BC+; τήνδ᾽ ἡ. ἀστῶν, i.e. their old age, Refs 4th c.BC+: accusative used adverbially, in age, νέος ἡλικίην Refs 5th c.BC+: so in dative, ἡλικίᾳ ἔτι τότε ὢν νέος Refs 5th c.BC+; προεληλυθότες ταῖς ἡ. Refs 5th c.BC+; also ὑπὸ τῆς ἡ. from our age, Refs 5th c.BC+; οἱ…