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Articles Is Forever the best translation of Olam?

Is Forever the best translation of Olam?

The word forever does not convey the full meaning

2026-01-11 by Steve Forkin

The English words 'forever' and 'everlasting' convey the notion of infinity in the mind of a Westerner, but is this the full picture the Hebrew word 'Olam' intends to convey? Let's dive in and take a look..

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olam forever everlasting

Do the English words forever & everlasting convey the true meaning of the Hebrew term ʿolam (עוֹלָם) ?

Olam is mostly translated “everlasting” in the older translations such as the KJV and “forever” in the newer translations as the ESV.

I am going to go out on a limb and guess that most Christians think of the meaning “a timeframe without end” when they think of the words forever & everlasting, as they are used in the Bible. I am thinking in particular of the land promise to Abraham in the book of Genesis “And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” (Gen 17:8)

Most believe that this is an unconditional promise that must last forever without end, in the sense of the word forever as “infinity”, but is this the way an ancient Hebrew would have thought of the term Olam?

Even in common English use today the word “forever” does not always mean a time without end, the way most Christians appear to infer when it comes to it’s use in the Bible. Here are just a few common idioms to make my point:

Not one of these uses fits the notion of an endless period of time, they just convey a certain emphasis in a certain direction, no more.

The Cambridge English Dictionary spells out how broad it’s use is in common English: (ref1)

Admittedly, this does not get us any further in terms of the Hebrew meaning, but it does demonstrate the overarching principle in the work of interpreting any text – irrespective of language – the context plays a major role on the correct meaning of any term. We must not import all possible meanings of a term into the context as we run the risk of making a sentence or passage say what the author did not intend.

So What does ʿOlam really mean?

So what did the term mean to an anient Hebrew?

Definition: “long duration, antiquity, futurity… remote time, forever… that which is concealed or hidden.” Notes that the root idea is concealment — something beyond the grasp of human perception. (ref3 - Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament)

“The basic meaning of ʿōlām is most probably ‘long duration, antiquity, futurity.’ The word does not, however, contain in itself the concept of endlessness. When it is applied to God, the context determines that meaning.”

“Hidden time, i.e., obscure and long, either in the past (antiquity) or future (perpetuity).” and “Of time whose beginning or end is either unknown or indefinite.” (ref4)

“From H5956 (‘alam’, to hide); something concealed, i.e., the vanishing point; generally time out of mind (past or future), i.e. (practically) forever.” The implication is that olam is related to hiddenness (from ‘alam, to conceal). (ref5)

So in more simple English terms we might say that olam means roughly:

In the Hebrew language had no word for “infinity” the way modern mathematicians or philosophers do. The few times the word “infinite” appears in the Old Testament it is translated from the Hebrew words “no number” giving the idea that it is bigger that what we can imagine. When they said ʿolam, they meant “indefinitely long,” “perpetual,” or “age-lasting,” depending on context.

What is beginning to emerge, I think, is that “olam” is a term that is longer – even longer than we as humans can imagine – but it does not mean an unconditionally endless period of time.

Here are some examples where ʿOlam clearly has limits (& there are many more in the Old Testament alone)

But that clearly ignores the “interruptions” and also ignores the true intent of the term Olam.

Each of these passages uses the term “olam” to convey the length of a limited nature, something that is not completely conveyed in the word “forever” the way most people use this term today. In each of these, the duration of the ʿolam promise is clearly conditional, covenantal, or epochal — it lasts as long as the relevant era or relationship stands.

Just to make a finer point on the issue that God’s covenantal relations with man always come with stipulations let’s hear what the prophet Jeremiah had to say about this:

“And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.” (Jer 18:9-11)

Summarising we might say that Olam means:

Some Implications

What we have established, so far, does not weaken God’s faithfulness, rather it reveals His covenants are temporal-until-fulfilled, and then their essence is often transferred or transformed (like the priesthood, land, temple, Sabbath—all fulfilled in Christ).

So “forever” in the OT texts points not to metaphysical infinity, but to lasting faithfulness within the intended scope of that promise.

Could one chose a better word than “forever”?

Depending on the translation context, I would suggest these capture the authentic meaning a little fuller than the simple term “forever” - in some instances:

If one word were to replace “forever” in a theological translation, I would choose “age-enduring” — it maintains dignity, keeps the Hebrew nuance of ʿolam, yet protects against the false idea of infinite duration when the text clearly doesn’t mean that.

Interesting side note; The modern NIV translation has actually replaced the terms “forever/everlasting” in several places with the term “throughout your/their generations”, which gives credence that my suggestions are pointing at something valid, indeed.

Now, you might be asking the serious question, what’s the big deal?

I think truth matters and being as precise as we can possibly be with the truth matters too, a lot. We must also consider that language evolves and the use of terms changes over time, newer and updated translations generally reflect these changes which is further evidence that this matters.

Another – much more important – issue is how this term is translated and used in the New Testament. In Jesus’s day most people who read the OT scriptures, read them in the Greek language, they read the Greek translation of the OT called the Septuagint. The Septuagint uses the Greek nouns “aion” and “aionos” for the Hebrew “olam” and it’s different renderings.

Again, it is important to work through what people in the first century thought these terms actually meant – in context, all importantly – and how history, society and translation has impressed certain development of meaning on these terms.

That will be the subject of my next article.

Enjoy.

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