Previously, I briefly introduced a discussion to the nature of things “eternal,” as the term is used in the Bible, by showing that similar language—words like “forever” and “everlasting”—are used in the Bible to speak of time periods that are quite defined and limited. In this, and the next, post, however, I want to specifically address the use of the word “eternal” in the Bible. We begin, in this post, with things “eternal” in the Old Testament, and move, next time, to things “eternal” in the New Testament.

In the Christian Standard Bible, the word “eternal” appears some fourteen times in the Old Testament. The English word translates three different Hebrew terms.

Hebrew Words for “Eternal”

The first Hebrew word that warrants our attention is the word qedem, which literally speaks of “the front” of either a place or of time. It is primarily translated as “east” (Genesis 2:8; 3:24; etc.), but it is also used at times to describe something that is “ancient” or “eternal.” We will see some examples below.

The second Hebrew word is olam, which properly speaks of something concealed or vanishing. It is almost universally used in the sense of time—often as eternal, but sometimes in a more defined and limited sense. Depending on the context, it can describe a period of unending duration or a period of particular duration. We will consider some examples below.

Third, there is the word nesah, which literally speaks of a goal, in the sense of a bright object seen in the distance. Figuratively, it is used of the distance between the person and the goal, and therefore of time, so that it is sometimes translated as “eternal” or even “perpetual.”

Examples of Qedem

As noted, qedem is most often translated as “east.” It is, for example, used of the Garden of Eden, which was planted “in the east” (Genesis 2:8) and of the guarding angels placed at “the east” of the same garden after man was expelled from it (Genesis 3:24).

In a more figurative sense, however, it is sometimes translated in terms of time. For example, Deuteronomy 33:15 as “the ancient mountains.” Later in the same chapter, it speaks of “the God of old” (v. 27). The ESV and the NKJV both translate this as “the eternal God.” When it is used of God, qedem can legitimately be understood as “eternal,” for the Lord is eternal in every sense of the word. Indeed, in the technical sense, the Lord alone is “eternal.” “Eternal,” in its strictest sense, refers to something or someone with no beginning or end. God alone had no beginning. Whatever else might be everlasting is not, in the strictest sense, eternal.

But if the word is used to describe God’s eternal nature, it is also sometimes used to describe time without reference to eternity. For example, when Sennacherib threatened Judah, and Hezekiah lifted his prayer to God for deliverance, the Lord answered, “Have you not heard? I designed it long ago; I planned it in days gone by. I have now brought it to pass, and you have crushed fortified cities into piles of rubble” (2 Kings 19:25). Here, the Lord simply assured Hezekiah that he had a long standing, not necessarily eternal, plan to deliver Judah from its enemies. In Nehemiah 12:46, it is used to describe the singers who were in the temple, “long ago,” in the days of David. Again, it is a reference to a time of defined duration.

Examples of Olam

Olam can likewise be used of eternal time or a more defined time, depending on the context. For example, when Deuteronomy 33:15 speaks of “the eternal hills,” we do not imagine that the hills described are somehow indestructible. In the context, Moses is offering his final blessing upon the tribes of Israel. Verse 15 falls in the section in which he is blessing Joseph. Contextually, he is referring to Joseph’s inheritance as an established land. Its mountains are “ancient” and its hills “eternal” (or “everlasting”). He does not mean to suggest that these hills have somehow been granted immortality, but that the land had long produced fruit and, under God’s blessings, would continue to do so for a long time to come. Ezekiel 38:20 speaks of mountains being demolished and cliffs collapsing. The language of eternal hills seems evokes images of grandeur, permanence and security.¹Carl E. Armerding, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 12 vols. (Grand Rapids: BMH Books,1985), 7:527.

On the other hand, there are times when the word clearly does refer to time of unending duration. For example, when Adam and Eve sinned, God removed their access to the tree of life so that they would not “live forever” (Genesis 3:22). If they retained access to the tree of life, they would have enjoyed unending life.

Similarly, the word is used to describe “the Everlasting God” (Genesis 21:33) and his “everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). As with qedem, when the word is applied to the Lord, it is perfectly legitimate to understand it as having reference to undending duration, for the Lord is truly eternal.

Examples of Nesah

Nesah can also be used in the twofold sense that qedem and olam are.

David uses the word to describe “the eternal ruin” of his enemies. It is important to note the means by which the enemies come to “everlasting ruins”: They “perish” (v. 3) and are “destroyed” (v. 5). Their “eternal ruin” is not a conscious, postmortem existence, but is seen in their very destruction: “You have erased their name forever and ever … and the very memory of them has perished” (vv. 5–6). The entire psalm is very much a celebration of God’s justice against David’s political enemies—justice that was manifested in their death.

On the other hands, the word describes “the eternal pleasures” that David will inherit at God’s right hand (Psalm 16:11). The consistent testimony of Scripture is that those who inherit “life” from the Lord (v. 11) will enjoy unending, conscious joy (“pleasures”) in his presence.

Conclusion

In short, “eternal,” as it is used in the Old Testament—and the Hebrew words from which it is translated—need not necessarily describe the eternal, conscious experience of those to whom it is applied. It may, at times, refer to a limited period. But even when it does refer to unending duration, the context must determine whether or not the object of “eternal” is experiencing the eternal thing, or whether others are considering him for eternity in a particular way.