Age

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Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson (1831)

in the most general sense of the term, denotes the duration of any substance, animate or inanimate; and is applied either to the whole period of its existence, or to that portion of it which precedes the time to which the description of it refers. In this sense it is used to signify either the whole natural duration of the LIFE of man, or any interval of it that has elapsed before the period of which we speak. When age is understood of a certain portion of the life of man, its whole duration is divided into four different ages, viz. infancy, youth, manhood, and old age: the first extending to the fourteenth year; the second, denominated youth, adolescence, or the age of puberty, commencing at fourteen, and terminating at about twenty five; manhood, or the virile age, concluding at fifty; and the last ending at the close of life. Some divide the first period into infancy and childhood; and the last likewise into two stages, calling that which succeeds the age of seventy-five, decrepit old age: Age is applicable to the duration of things inanimate or factitious; and in this use of the term we speak of the age of a house, of a country, of a state or kingdom, &c.

AGE, in chronology, is used for a century, or a period of one hundred years: in which sense it is the same with seculum, and differs from generation. It is also used in speaking of the times past since the creation of the world. The several ages of the world may be reduced to three grand epochas, viz. the age of the law of nature, called by the Jews the void age, from Adam to Moses. The age of the Jewish law, from Moses to Christ, called by the Jews the present age. And the age of grace, from Christ to the present year. The Jews call the third age, the age to come, or the future age; denoting by it the time from the advent of the Messiah to the end of the world. The Romans distinguished the time that preceded them into three ages: the obscure or uncertain age, which reached down as low as Ogyges king of Attica, in whose reign the deluge happened in Greece; the fabulous or heroic age, which ended at the first olympiad; and the historical age, which commenced at the building of Rome. Among the poets, the four ages of the world are, the golden, the silver, the brazen, and the iron age.

Age is sometimes used among the ancient poets in the same sense as generation, or a period of thirty years. Thus Nestor is said to have lived three ages, when he was ninety years old.

The period preceding the birth of Jesus Christ has been generally divided into six ages. The first extends from the creation to the deluge, and comprehends 1656 years. The second age, from the deluge to Abraham’s entering the land of promise, A.M. 2082, comprehends 426 years. The third age, from Abraham’s entrance into the promised land to the Exodus, A.M. 2512, includes 430 years. The fourth age, from the Exodus to the building, of the temple by Solomon, A.M. 2992, contains 480 years. The fifth age, from the foundation of Solomon’s temple to the Babylonish captivity, A.M. 3416, comprehends 424 years. The sixth age, from the Babylonish captivity to the birth of Jesus Christ, A.M. 4000, the fourth year before the vulgar aera, including 584 years. Those who follow the Septuagint, or Greek version, divide this period into seven ages, viz. 1. From the creation to the deluge, 2262 years. 2. From the deluge to the confusion of tongues, 738 years. 3. From this confusion to the calling of Abraham, 460 years. 4. From this period to Jacob’s descent into Egypt, 215 years; and from this event to the Exodus, 430 years, making the whole 645 years. 5. From the Exodus to Saul, 774 years. 6. From Saul to Cyrus, 583 years. 7. From Cyrus to the vulgar aera of Christians, 538 years; the whole period from the creation to this period containing 6000 years.

Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature by John Kitto (1856) ↑

Age [GENERATION; LONGEVITY]

Fausset's Bible Dictionary by Andrew Robert Fausset (1878) ↑

A period of time characterized by a certain stage of development of God’s grand scheme of redemption (aion) (Eph 2:7; Eph 3:5). The people living in the age. There is the patriarchal age; the Mosaic age or dispensation; the Christian age, in which "the kingdom of God cometh without observation" (and evil predominates outwardly); and the future manifested millennial kingdom: the two latter together forming "the world (Greek: "age") to come," in contrast to "this present evil world" (age) (Eph 1:21; Gal 1:4). The Greek for the physical "world" is kosmos, distinct from aion, the ethical world or "age" (Heb 6:5). If the 1260 prophetical days of the papal antichrist be years, and begin at A.D. 754, when his temporal power began by Pepin’s grant of Ravenna, the Lombard kingdom, and Rome to Stephen II., the beginning of the millennial age would be A.D. 2014.

But figures have in Scripture a mystical meaning as well as a literal; faith must wait until the Father reveals fully "the times and seasons which He hath put in His own power" (Act 1:7). Messiah is the Lord by whom and for whom all these ages, or vast cycles of time, have existed and do exist (Heb 1:2), "through whom He made the ages" (Greek) (Isa 26:4), "the Rock of ages" (Psa 145:13). "This age" (Greek for "world") is under the prince of darkness, the god of this world (Greek: "age") so far as most men are concerned (Eph 2:2; Luk 16:8; Mat 13:22; 2Co 4:4). "The world" when representing the Greek "age" (aion) means not the material "world" (Greek kosmos), but the age in its relation to God or to Satan. Continuance is the prominent thought; so "the ages of ages," expressing continuous succession of vast cycles, stands for eternity; e.g., Messiah’s kingdom (Rev 11:15), the torment of the lost (Rev 14:11).

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature by John McClintock & James Strong (1880) ↑

(represented by several Hebrew and Gr. words), sometimes signifies an indefinite period; at others, it is used for: 1. A generation (q.v.) of the human race, or thirty years; 2. As the Latin soeculum, or a hundred years; 3. The maturity of life (Joh 9:21); 4. The latter end of life (Job 11:17). SEE AEON.

OLD AGE. The strong desire of a protracted life, and the marked respect with which aged persons were treated among the Jews, are very often indicated in the Scriptures. The most striking instance which Job can give of the respect in which he was once held, is that even old men stood up as he passed them in the streets (Job 29:8), the force of which is illustrated by the injunction in the law, “Before the hoary head thou shalt stand up, and shalt reverence the aged" (Lev 19:30). Similar injunctions are repeated in the Apocrypha, so as to show the deportment expected from young men toward their seniors in company. Thus, in describing a feast, the author of Ecclesiasticus (32:3, 7) says, “Speak thou that art the elder, for it becometh thee. Speak, young man, if there be need of thee, and yet scarcely when thou art twice asked." SEE ELDER. The attainment of old age is constantly promised or described as a blessing (Gen 15:15; Job 5:26), and communities are represented as highly favored in which old people abound (Isa 65:20; Zec 8:4; Zec 8:9), while premature death is denounced as the greatest of calamities to individuals, and to the families to which they belong (1Sa 2:32); the aged are constantly supposed to excel in understanding and judgment (Job 12:20; Job 15:10; Job 32:9; 1Ki 12:6; 1Ki 12:8), and the mercilessness of the Chaldeans is expressed by their having “no compassion" upon the “old man, or him who stooped for age" (2Ch 36:17). SEE LONGEVITY. The strong desire to attain old age was necessarily in some degree connected with or resembled the respect paid to aged persons; for people would scarcely desire to be old, were the aged neglected or regarded with mere sufferance. SEE OLD. Attention to age was very general in ancient times; and is still observed in all such conditions of society as those through which the Israelites passed. Among the Egyptians, the young men rose before the aged, and always yielded to them the first place (Herod. 2:80). The youth of Sparta did the same, and were silent — or, as the Hebrew would say, laid their hand upon their mouth — whenever their elders spoke. At Athens, and in other Greek states, old men were treated with corresponding respect. In China deference for the aged, and the honors and distinctions awarded to them, form a capital point in the government (Mem. sur les Chinois, 1, 450); and among the Moslems of Western Asia, whose usages offer so many analogies to those of the Hebrews, the same regard for seniority is strongly shown. Among the Arabs, it is very seldom that a youth can be permitted to eat with men (Lane, Arabian Nights, c. 11, note 26). With the Turks, age, even between brothers, is the object of marked deference (Urquhart, Spirit of the East, 2, 471).

AGE, ADULT, or that at which marriage may be contracted or religious vows made. The canonists agree that men may contract marriage at fourteen years of age, and women at twelve. Until the contracting parties are each twenty-one years of age, no marriage can be legally contracted without the consent of the parents or guardians of the party which is a minor.

AGE, CANONICAL, i.e. proper for receiving orders. In the Latin Church it is forbidden to give the tonsure to any one unless he be seven years of age, and have been confirmed (Conc. Trid. sess. 23, cap. 4). The proper age for conferring the four minor orders is left to the discretion of the bishop: but it is forbidden to promote any one to the rank of subdeacon under twenty-two years of age, to that of deacon under twenty-three, and to that of priest unless in his twenty-fifth year (Ibid. cap. 12). A bishop must be at least in his twenty-seventh year, or, more properly, thirty.

In the Church of England a deacon may be admitted to the priesthood at the expiration of one year from the time of receiving deacon’s orders, and not before, i.e. at twenty-four years of age at the earliest; and it is to be noted that the stat. 13 Eliz. 12 declares all dispensations to the contrary to be absolutely void in law. The preface to the ordination service declares that every man, to be consecrated bishop, must be full thirty years of age.

AGES OF THE WORLD. The time preceding the birth of our Savior has been generally divided into six ages:

1. From the beginning of the world to the Deluge;

2. From the Deluge to the entrance of Abraham into the land of promise;

3. From the entrance of Abraham into the land of promise to the Exodus;

4. From the Exodus to the foundation of the Temple by Solomon;

5. From the foundation of the Temple of Solomon to the Babylonian captivity;

6. From the Babylonian captivity to the birth of our Lord. SEE CHRONOLOGY.

New and Concise Bible Dictionary by George Morrish (1899) ↑

αἰών. A period of time marked off by that which distinguishes it from other periods, as the Patriarchal age, the Apostolic age, etc. Though these terms do not occur in scripture, many allusions are made to the different ages. Thus we speak of the Antediluvian age, and scripture speaks of the same period as ’the old world,’ i. e., the ordered scene which God did not spare. 2Pe 2:5. The ’Patriarchal age’ embraces the time from the call of Abraham to the release from Egypt and the giving of the law. From ’Adam to Moses’ excluding both, is an epoch when men’s sins could not be classed as transgressions, seeing there was no definite law such as was given to Adam, or such as was administered by Moses. Rom 5:13-14. Again, from Moses to Christ formed a definite period: "the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ," Joh 1:17; "the law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it." Luk 16:16. The time when Christ was on earth is in John’s first epistle repeatedly called ’the beginning:’ the beginning of Christianity, though it is not called an age. We may also distinguish the period of the Church (from the day of Pentecost until the Rapture of the saints), though it is separated from recognised times and seasons. Our Lord not only spoke of the age in which He was on earth, but referred some events to ’the end or completion of the age.’ Mat 13:39-40; Mat 13:49. The disciples also asked what would be the sign of that completion. Mat 24:3. Our Lord also spoke of ’the coming age,’ when His own should receive life eternal. Luk 18:30; cf. also Mat 12:32; Eph 1:21; Eph 2:7. God’s kingdom is ’a kingdom of all ages.’ Psa 145:13, margin. Eternity, in reference to the glory of God, to the blessing of the saved, and to the punishment of the wicked, is again and again called the ’age of ages,’ often translated ’for ever and ever:’ all being consummated in the eternal state. The Greek word is αἰών throughout, though often translated ’world’ in the A.V.

Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels by James Hastings (1906) ↑

AGE.—The word ‘age’ is a vague term, as may be seen by its doing duty as a possible translation for αἱών (Lat. aevum, an unmeasured period of existence), for γενεά (Lat. generatio), and even for the more precise and exact terms χρόνος (Lat. tempus), and καιρός (Lat. occasio). Its strictest Greek equivalent, however, is ἡλικία (Lat. aetas). An examination into the significance of the term shows a remarkable parallel between its employment in classical literature and in the Greek of the New Testament. Ἠλικία marks a normal development of life; such development may be registered in the individual by years, or by physique. In classical Greek, the former is the usual reference of the term, and hence the most ordinary meaning of the word is, like the poetical ἥβη, the flower or prime of life. The significance, however, of ἠλικία as stature or height, that feature of physical development which mostly attracts the eye, is quite classical; and this sense occurs in Herodotus (iii. 16),^*^[Note:^{ἕχων τὴν αὑτὴγ ἡλικίην Ἀμάσι}^.] Plato, and Demosthenes. Turning to the New Testament, we find the same oscillation of meaning in ἡλικία. In the Fourth Gospel the parents of the blind man for fear of excommunication evade the question of the Jews, and shift the responsibility of answering upon their son: ‘Therefore said his parents, He is of age,^†^[Note:^{ἡλικὶαν ἕχει}⁽^{Joh 9:21}^;^{Joh 9:23}^).] ask him.’ In the Sermon on the Mount ‘age’^‡^[Note:^{Mat 6:27}^,^{Luk 12:25}^.] appears to be the true rendering of ἡλικία. A cubit would be a prodigious addition to a man’s height, while a span was already a proverbial expression^§^[Note:^{Psa 39:5}^.] to signify the brevity of life. ‘Stature’ is, of course, the only possible rendering in the interesting note about Zacchaeus;^||^{[Note: |}^{Luk 19:3}^{, cf.}^{Eph 4:13}^.] and this is the only place in the Gospel where, as will be seen, ἡλικία bears this meaning with an absolute certainty.

The idea of periodicity, which is largely foreign to the meaning of ἡλικία in classical Greek, appears only once, and that doubtfully, in the New Testament.^¶^[Note:^{Heb 11:11}^.] The different ‘ages of man’*^*^{[Note: *}^{Mar 5:42}^,^{Luk 8:42}^.] and so of our Lord,†^†^{[Note: †}^{Luk 3:23}^.] are indicated by the classical formula of time, ‘years’ being in the genitive case. Hence the word yields no suggestion as to those characteristic periods, or epochs in the earthly life of our Lord—the infancy, childhood, manhood of Christ. Nor would the word deserve a place in this Dictionary were it not for two passages in which it occurs or is referred to when its interest is a real one, as is evident by the attention paid to them by all commentators on St. Luke’s Gospel.‡^‡^{[Note: ‡}^{Luk 2:40}^;^{Luk 2:52}^.] Both passage: appear as a postscript to the narrative of the Holy Child with the doctors in the temple. It is an incident in the regular equable development of His life upon earth. This development is shown in two aspects. The Evangelist declares that Jesus increased (or advanced) in wisdom am stature, and in favour (or grace) with God am man. St. Luke’s phraseology was no doubt influenced by his recollection of a similar encomium passed upon the youthful Samuel,§^§^{[Note: §}^{1Sa 2:26}^.] and already he had found it not unsuitable to be quoted in reference to the Baptist.|| |^|^{[Note: | ||}^{Luk 1:80}^.]

The key to the meaning of ἡλικία in Luk 2:52 may be discovered by a comparison of these four passages—

1Sa 2:26 Καὶ τὸ παιδάριον Σαμουὴλ ἐπορεύτο [+ μεγαλυνόμενον], καὶ ἀγαθὸν καὶ μετὰ Κυρίου καὶ μετὰ ἀνθρώπων (LXX Septuagint, B, said of Samuel).

Luk 1:80 τὸ δὲ παιδίον ηὕξανε καὶ ἐκραταιοῦτο πνεύματι (said of the Baptist).

Luk 2:40 τὸ δὲ παιδίον ηὔξανεν καὶ ἐκραταιοῦτο πληρούμενον σοφίᾳ, καἰ χάρις θεοῦ ἦν ἐπʼ αὐτό (said of Christ).

Luk 2:52 καὶ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ ἠλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις (said of Christ).

A careful comparison of these passages appears determinative of the sense of ἡλικία in the last as ‘stature,’ not ‘age.’ What was noticeable in a measure in Samuel and in the Baptist, was supremely characteristic of the Holy Child, namely, an equal development both on the physical and spiritual side. Translate it as (Revised Version margin), and it is little more than a truism. ‘Stature’ is not only not superfluous, but an interesting and unexpected contribution to that group of references which lay stress on our Lord’s humanity. It helps to explain His ‘favour with men’ with which it stands in parallel. It suggests that our Lord’s personality, even His appearance, may have had a fascination about it. Even more, it may make the student of Messianic prophecy cautions in attaching a too physical meaning to the description of the countenance of Jehovah’s Servant (Isa 52:14; Isa 53:2).

B. Whitefoord.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia by James Orr (ed.) (1915) ↑

āj: A period of time or a dispensation. In the above sense the word occurs only once in the King James Version, in the sing, as the translation of דּור, dor, which means, properly, a “revolution” or “round of time,” “a period,” “an age” or “generation of man’s life”; almost invariable translated “generation,” “generations” (Job 8:8, “Inquire, I pray thee, of the former age”); we have the plural as the translation of aiō̇n, properly “duration,” “the course or flow of time,” “an age or period of the world,” “the world” (Eph 2:7, “in the ages to come”; Col 1:26, “the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations,” the English Revised Version, “from all ages,” etc., the American Revised Version, margin, of geneaı́, “generations” (Eph 3:5 “generations,” Eph 3:21, “unto all generations for ever and ever,” Greek margin, “all the generations of the age of the ages”). “Ages” is given in margin of the King James Version (Psa 145:13; Isa 26:4, “the rock of ages”).

We have “age” in the above sense (2 Esdras 3:18; Tobit 14:5; aiōn) “ages,” aiōn (1 Esdras 4:40 (of Truth) “she is the strength,” etc., “of all ages”), γενεα, genea, the Revised Version (British and American), “generation” (The Wisdom of Solomon 7:27; 1 Macc 2:61); Ecclesiasticus 24:33, eis geneás aionō̇n, “generations of ages”; The Wisdom of Solomon 14:6, “generations” (genéseōs).

Revised Version has “age” for “world” (Heb 6:5); “ages” for “worlds” (the Revised Version, margin Heb 1:2; the American Revised Version, margin; compare 1Ti 1:17) (margin, “unto the ages of the ages”), “ages” for “world” (1Co 10:11; Heb 9:26). the English Revised Version has “all ages” for “the beginning of the world” (Eph 3:9, the American Standard Revised Version “for ages”); “king of the ages” for “king of saints” (Rev 15:3, corrected text; margin, many ancient authorities read “nations”; Jer 10:7). See EVERLASTING.

Dictionary of the Apostolic Church by James Hastings (1916) ↑

The general significance of ‘age’ is a period of time, or a measure of life. Specially, it expresses the idea of advancement in life, or of oldness. Several Greek words are employed in NT for ‘age.’ (1) áἰþí (see aeon). (2) ãåíåÜ, ‘a generation,’ loosely measured as extending from 30 to 33 years. In Eph_3:5; Eph_3:21 Revised Version rightly puts ‘generations’ for ‘ages.’ (3) ôÝëåéïò, ‘full-grown’ or ‘perfect.’ In Heb_5:14 for Authorized Version ‘to them that are of full age’ the Revised Version substitutes ‘fullgrown’ in the text, and ‘perfect’ in the margin (cf. 1Co_2:6, where the Revised Version has ‘perfect’ in the text, and ‘full-grown’ in the margin). (4) ἡëéêßá is the most exact Greek term for ‘age,’ and especially for full age as applied to human life. It includes also the ideas of maturity or fitness, and of stature, as when a person has attained to full development of growth. In Eph_4:13 ‘the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ’ (English Version ) is somewhat difficult to interpret. The phrase is co-ordinate with the words ‘a perfect (or fullgrown, ôÝëåéïò) man,’ which precede it in the text. Both phrases describe the ultimate height of spiritual development which the Church as the body of Christ is to reach. The latter phrase explains what the former implies. The general line of interpretation is that the whole Church as the body of Christ is to grow into ‘a fullgrown or perfect man,’ and the standard or height of the perfect man is the stature of Christ in His fullness (see Comm. of Meyer, Eadie, Ellicott, in loc.; Field, Notes on the Tr. of the NT, 1899, p. 6; Expositor, 7th ser., ii. [1906] 441ff.). In Gal_1:14, where the compound óõíçëéêéþôáò is used, the word has its primary meaning of ‘age’ (= ‘equals in age’).

The question of age was of importance as regards fitness for holding office in the Church (see Novice). In later times the canonical age varied, but in general it was fixed at thirty (see Cathol. Encyc. article ‘Age’). It was also considered in relation to the dispensing of the charity of the Church, at least in the case of widows. In 1Ti_5:9 it is said: ‘Let none be enrolled as a widow under threescore years old.’ The question naturally arises. Were only widows of advanced years eligible for assistance? It is possible that younger widows might be in greater need of help. Because of this it is supposed by some (Schleiermacher, etc.) that the reference is to an order of deaconesses-a supposition that becomes an argument for a late and un-Pauline date for the Epistle. Others think that the reference is to an order of widows who had duties which somewhat resembled those of the presbyters (Huther, Ellicott, Alford). De Wette believes that probably there were women who vowed themselves to perpetual widowhood, and performed certain functions in the Church; but evidences of such an order belong to a later dale in the Church’s history. On the whole, and especially if the Epistle belongs to an early date, it is best to regard the instruction as a direction about widows who were entirely dependent on the charity of the Church. Younger widows would receive help according to their need, but were not enrolled like the older widows as regular recipients of the Church’s charity. The age limit for an old age pension is not a new idea. It is impossible to determine if the widows who were enrolled were bound to give some service in return for the assistance which they received. The probability is that they were not, assuming, of course, the early date of the Epistle (see H. R. Reynolds, in Expos., 1st ser., iii. [1880] 382-390; Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (5 vols) , article ‘Widows’).

The dispensing of charity to widows was a great and grave problem in the early Church. The rule about enrolment only when the threescore years had been reached was evidently intended to restrict the number of those who were entitled to receive regular help. Nestle calls attention to ‘the punning observation in the Didascalia (= Const. Apost. iii. 6) about itinerant widows who were so ready to receive that they were not so much ÷ῆñáé as ðῆñáéʼ (Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, p. 109, note). The pun may be rendered in English as ‘not so much “widows” as “wallets.” ’

In 1Ti_5:1 and 1Pe_5:5 ‘elders’ (ðñåóâýôåñïé) has the primitive signification of ‘men of advanced age.’ Cf. also the following article.

John Reid.

Aquifer Open Bible Dictionary by Mission Mutual, adapted from the Tyndale Open Bible Dictionary (2023)

An age is a long period of time with no exact beginning or end. It can refer to the past or the future.

The Bible describes God as existing and planning "before the ages" ("before time began" in the Berean Standard Bible; 1 Corinthians 2:7). He is the King of ages ("King eternal" in the Berean Standard Bible; 1 Timothy 1:17). He has an eternal purpose (Ephesians 3:11). The Bible also talks about what God will do at the end of the age(s) (Matthew 13:39–49).

The New Testament builds on earlier Jewish writings when it talks about two different time periods. There is "the present age," which is seen as "evil" (Galatians 1:4). And there is "the age to come" when God will judge and set things right, and God's people will inherit their full blessing (Mark 10:30). The Bible suggests we are now living at "the fulfillment of the age" (1 Corinthians 10:11). At the same time, we can experience some of "the powers of the coming age" (Hebrews 6:5) and its life. This means that the future perfect age has started to overlap with the present age.

The word "age" is sometimes linked with "generation." Colossians 1:26 mentions a mystery hidden "for ages and generations" (compare Ephesians 3:21). However, the Bible does not divide time into periods with different ways to be redeemed.

Another related term is "world." Ephesians 2:2 describes unredeemed humanity as following "the ways of this world." Hebrews 1:2 and 11:3 speak of God’s creation of the world.

The Bible also discusses human age, counted in years or other ways. Wisdom is often associated with the elderly (Job 12:12). However, wisdom in old age is not guaranteed (Ecclesiastes 4:13). Age should be respected (Leviticus 19:32). Long life is a blessing from God (Proverbs 16:31). Yet, old age is recognized as frail (Ecclesiastes 12:1–6). Psalm 90:10 says a human lifespan is typically 70 years, extending to 80 with "labor and sorrow."

See Eternity.

Dictionary of Bible Themes by Martin H. Manser (1999)

The number of years reached or expected to be reached in a human life. The span of life is determined by God and may be divided into distinct phases, each with its own characteristics. The term may also refer to an era of history, particularly in contrasting the present age with the coming age to be inaugurated at Jesus Christ's return.

The span of life

In God's hands

MAT 6:27 parallel LUK 12:25 See also 1SA 2:6; PSA 139:16; ECC 8:8; JAS 4:14–4:15

Longevity in the OT

GEN 5:5 See also GEN 5:27, GEN 9:29GEN 6:3, GEN 25:7, GEN 47:28

The present-day span of life

PSA 90:10 See also 2SA 5:4–5:5 David lives to be 70; 2SA 19:34–19:35 Barzillai, aged 80, expects to die soon; ISA 23:15

Its apparent brevity

PSA 39:4–39:6 See also GEN 47:9; JOB 7:6; PSA 89:47, PSA 90:3–90:6

Long life is a blessing from God

PRO 10:27 See also PSA 91:16; PRO 3:1–3:2

Phases of human life

Full maturity reckoned from the age of 30

LUK 3:23 See also NUM 4:3 Levites assumed their duties at the age of 30; NUM 8:24 From the ages of 25 to 30, Levites may have served an apprenticeship.