αἰών
aiṓn
G165 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A segment, period, or span of time; in contexts, a specific era, epoch, or prescribed age, often with distinctive character or significance. αἰών can refer both to a finite lifetime, a historical period (such as a generation or age), or, more abstractly, to the totality of temporal existence ('world-age'). In some contexts, it can imply an ongoing perpetuity or a time of indefinite duration, and by extension, the world order or cosmos as structured within a given age.
Semantic Range
lifetime, era, epoch, age, period of time, indefinite duration, world order, perpetuity, eternity (in some contexts), world (archaic or poetic sense)
Root / Etymology
Related to ἀεί (always, ever), possibly through a form *αἰϝών; originally conveyed the sense of 'life' or 'lifetime,' then developed to signify age, era, or epoch. The precise origin is uncertain, but connection to Indo-European roots meaning 'vital force, life' has been suggested.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, αἰών most commonly referred to a lifetime or the duration of a person's life, or more abstractly, the span or era marking a significant period. By the Hellenistic and Koine periods, especially in the Septuagint and New Testament, αἰών frequently denotes a defined age or epoch (such as 'this present age' vs. 'the age to come'), sometimes marked by moral or cosmological transitions. It also developed the sense of an epochal world or cosmic order but is not synonymous with 'world' in a purely physical or spatial sense (for which κόσμος is standard). In various scriptural contexts, it can refer to an unspecified but significant future or enduring era, especially in expressions about ongoing or future realities (e.g., 'unto the ages of ages,' meaning 'forever'). Early English translations sometimes rendered αἰών as 'world,' but this can obscure the temporal nuance; 'age' or 'era' typically better reflects the original contexts. Not to be confused with χρόνος, which refers to chronological or measurable time.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from the same as ἀεί; properly, an age; by extension, perpetuity (also past); by implication, the world; specially (Jewish) a Messianic period (present or future):--age, course, eternal, (for) ever(-more), (n-)ever, (beginning of the , while the) world (began, without end). Compare χρόνος.
Root Family
αἰών (aiōn) — life, lifetime, age, epoch
Word Forms
6 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G165-01 |
αἰῶνα | aiona | N ACC M SG |
age | an age | 31 |
G165-02 |
αἰῶνας | aionas | N ACC M PL |
ages | ages | 30 |
G165-04 |
αἰώνων | aionon | N GEN M PL |
ages | of ages | 27 |
G165-05 |
αἰῶνος | aionos | N GEN M SG |
age | of an age | 25 |
G165-03 |
αἰῶνι | aioni | N DAT M SG |
age | in the age | 8 |
G165-06 |
αἰῶσιν | aiosin | N DAT M PL |
ages | to the ages | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
122 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G165-03 |
Matthew 12:32 | αἰῶνι | aioni | N DAT M SG |
in the age | |
G165-05 |
Matthew 13:22 | αἰῶνος | aionos | N GEN M SG |
of an age | |
G165-05 |
Matthew 13:39 | αἰῶνός | aionos | N GEN M SG |
of an age | |
G165-05 |
Matthew 13:40 | αἰῶνος | aionos | N GEN M SG |
of an age | |
G165-05 |
Matthew 13:49 | αἰῶνος | aionos | N GEN M SG |
of an age | |
G165-01 |
Matthew 21:19 | αἰῶνα | aiona | N ACC M SG |
an age | |
G165-05 |
Matthew 24:3 | αἰῶνος | aionos | N GEN M SG |
of an age | |
G165-05 |
Matthew 28:20 | αἰῶνος | aionos | N GEN M SG |
of an age | |
G165-01 |
Mark 3:29 | αἰῶνα | aiona | N ACC M SG |
age | an age |
G165-05 |
Mark 4:19 | αἰῶνος | aionos | N GEN M SG |
world | of an age |