H2208 H2208
Old age; used exclusively in the construct 'son/child of old age' for a late-born child.
A plural noun denoting old age, found only in Genesis in the touching phrase 'son of his old age.' It first appears when Sarah bears Isaac to the aged Abraham (Gen 21:2, 7), then surfaces again in the Jacob narrative: Joseph is the beloved 'son of his old age' (Gen 37:3), and Benjamin is similarly described as 'a child of old age' (Gen 44:20). The multilingual evidence is uniform—Spanish 'en su vejez,' French 'dans son ancien age,' German 'in seinem Alter'—all capturing the poignancy of a child born to aging parents. The word carries deep emotional freight: these late-born sons become pivotal figures in the biblical story.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Old age, specifically as the life-stage context for a late-born child. Every occurrence participates in the construct 'son/child of old age' (בֶּן־זְקֻנִים or יֶלֶד זְקֻנִים), marking a child as especially cherished because born to elderly parents. Isaac (Gen 21:2, 7), Joseph (Gen 37:3), and Benjamin (Gen 44:20) are each so designated—each one becoming a figure of extraordinary narrative significance. The cross-lingual glosses converge precisely: Spanish 'en su vejez,' French 'dans son ancien age,' German 'in seinem Alter,' all pointing to advanced parental age as the defining circumstance. 4×
AR["شَيْخُوخَتِ-هِ", "شَيْخُوخَتِهِ", "فِي-شَيْخُوخَتِهِ"]·ben["বৃদ্ধ-বয়সের", "বৃদ্ধত্বে-তাঁর", "বৃদ্ধাবস্থার"]·DE["des-Alters", "in-seinem-Alter"]·EN["in-his-old-age", "old-age"]·FR["ancien-âge", "dans-son-ancien-âge"]·heb["זקנים", "ל-זקניו-ו"]·HI["उसकी-वृद्धावस्था-में", "बुढ़ापे-का"]·ID["di-masa-tuanya", "masa-tua"]·IT["in-suo-vecchio-age", "vecchio-age"]·jav["ing-yuswa-sepuh", "sepuhipun", "sepèh"]·KO["그의-늙음-에", "늘그막의", "늘은-나이의"]·PT["para-sua-velhice", "velhice"]·RU["в-старости-его", "старости"]·ES["en-su-vejez", "vejez"]·SW["kwa-uzima-wake", "uzee", "wa-uzamili"]·TR["yaşlılığında", "yaşlılığının"]·urd["اُس-کے-بڑھاپے-میں", "بڑھاپے-کا"]
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
† זְקֻנִים n.pl.[m.] old age—בֶּן־ז׳ Gn 37:3 i.e. a late-born son; יֶלֶד ז׳ Gn 44:20 id.; (ילדה)בֵּן לִזְקֻנָיו Gn 21:2, 7 (all JE).