H5957 H5957
Perpetuity, eternity; also ancient time or antiquity. Aramaic cognate of Hebrew עוֹלָם.
The Aramaic equivalent of Hebrew עוֹלָם, this word appears exclusively in the Aramaic portions of Daniel and Ezra. Its primary force is prospective — pointing forward into limitless duration. When Daniel declares that God's kingdom is 'an everlasting kingdom' (מַלְכוּת עָלַם, Daniel 3:33; 7:27), or when courtiers greet the king with 'live forever!' (לְעָלְמִין, Daniel 2:4), the word stretches into boundless future time. Yet in Ezra 4:15 and 4:19, it looks backward: 'from the days of old' (מִן־יוֹמָת עָלְמָא), describing Jerusalem's ancient rebellious reputation. The dual directionality is captured perfectly in Daniel 2:20: 'from eternity to eternity' (מִן־עָלְמָא וְעַד־עָלְמָא).
Senses
1. eternity, forever — Eternity or perpetuity — limitless duration stretching into the future. This is the overwhelming sense, appearing in royal acclamations ('O king, live forever!', Daniel 2:4; 6:7), in descriptions of God's eternal kingdom (Daniel 3:33; 7:14, 27), and in the doxology of Daniel 2:20. The multilingual renderings converge strikingly: Spanish 'eternidad,' Korean 영원히, Swahili 'milele,' Arabic إلى الأبد, and Hindi सदा के लिए all point to the same unbounded temporal horizon. The emphatic plural עָלְמַיָּא ('ages of ages') in Daniel 7:18 intensifies the concept beyond simple duration. 18×
AR["أَبَدِ","أَبَدِيٌّ","أَبَدِيَّةٌ","إِلَى-الأَبَدِ","الأَبَدِيِّ","الـ-أَبَدِ","الـ-أَزَلِ","الْآبِدِينَ","الْأَبَدِ","لِ-الأَبَدِ"]·ben["-চিরকাল","-চিরকালের-জন্য","চিরকাল","চিরকালের","চিরকালের-জন্য","যুগ"]·DE["Ewigkeit","Ewigkeiten","zu-Ewigkeiten"]·EN["eternities","eternity","eternity-of","forever"]·FR["[לעלמיא]","[עלם]","[עלמא]","[עלמיא]","pour-l'éternité"]·heb["ה-עולם","ל-עולמים","עולם","עולמים"]·HI["जीवित-रहनेवाले-की","युग","सदा","सदा-का","सदा-के-लिए","सदियों-की","सनातन"]·ID["-selama-lamanya","kekal","kekekalan","selama-lamanya","untuk-selama-lamanya"]·IT["a-eternità","eternità"]·jav["ing-salaminipun","langgeng","salami-laminipun","salaminipun"]·KO["사시는-이-를","영원","영원들의","영원한","영원한-이요","영원히"]·PT["a-eternidade","das-eternidades","eternamente","eternidade","para-sempre"]·RU["-века","века","веков","вечная","вечное","во-веки","навеки"]·ES["de-eternidades","eternidad","eterno","la-eternidad","para-siempre","siempre"]·SW["milele","ya-milele"]·TR["ebedi","sonsuza","sonsuza-dek","sonsuzların","sonsuzluktan","sonsuzluğa","yaşayanı"]·urd["ابد","ابد-تک","ابدی","ابدی-کے","الآبدین","ہمیشہ","ہمیشہ-تک"]
2. ancient time, of old — Ancient time or antiquity — the same unbounded temporal concept directed retrospectively toward the distant past. In Ezra 4:15 and 4:19, the phrase מִן־יוֹמָת עָלְמָא means 'from the days of old,' and the context is the Samaritan adversaries' letter warning Artaxerxes that Jerusalem has been rebellious 'since ancient times.' Spanish 'antiguos' and English 'old' confirm this backward-looking usage. The semantic architecture mirrors Hebrew עוֹלָם, which likewise can face either temporal direction depending on the preposition. 2×
AR["القِدَمِ"]·ben["অনন্তকালের"]·DE["[עלמא]"]·EN["old"]·FR["éternité"]·heb["עלמא"]·HI["पुराने"]·ID["dahulu-kala"]·IT["eternità"]·jav["kang-kutha","tumrap-para-ratu"]·KO["영원"]·PT["antiguidade"]·RU["вечных"]·ES["antiguos"]·SW["za-kale"]·TR["kadimin"]·urd["پرانے"]
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
† עָלַם n.[m.] perpetuity, antiquity (v. BH III. עלם, עוֹלָם);—ע׳ abs. Dn 3:33 +, cstr. 7:18; emph. עָֽלְמָא 2:20 +; pl. עָֽלְמִין 2:4 +, emph. עָֽלְמַיָּא 2:44; 7:18;—perpetuity in the future: מַלְכוּת ע׳ Dn 3:33; 7:27, cf. 4:31; 7:14; ע׳ as adv. for ever 4:31; עַד־עָֽלְמָא וְעַד־עָלַם עָֽלְמַיָּא 7:18; pl. לְע׳ for ever 2:4, 44(×2); 3:9; 5:10; 6:7, 22, 27; antiquity, מִן־יוֹמָת עָֽלְמָא Ezr 4:15, 19; of limitless time both past and future: מִן־ע׳ וְעַד־ע׳ Dn 2:20.