Word study

Ancient

4 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word

The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: ancient, ancients. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.

At a glance

How often each original word is translated “ancient” or one of its forms.

Compare the Hebrew words side by side

Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)

  • עוֹלָם ôlâmlong duration, antiquity, futuritytranslated this way 17 times of its 341 uses · Strong’s H5769Noun  ·  Translated: forever 114, everlasting 60, endures forever 43, permanent 38

    1 Samuel 27:8 Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)

    Job 22:15 Will you stay on the ancient path that wicked men have trod?

    Full study and all 324 verses →
  • קֶדֶם qedemfront, east, aforetimetranslated this way 3 times of its 85 uses · Strong’s H6924Noun  ·  Translated: east 35, old 13, eastern 5, east side 4

    Deuteronomy 33:15 with the best of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills,

    Psalm 74:12 Yet God is my King from ancient times, working salvation on the earth.

    Full study and all 82 verses →
  • עַתִּיק attîqadvanced, agedtranslated this way 3 times of its 3 uses · Strong’s H6268Adjective  ·  Translated: Ancient 3

    Daniel 7:9 As I continued to watch, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.

    Daniel 7:13 In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.

    Full study and all 3 verses →
  • עָלַם âlamperpetuity, antiquitytranslated this way 2 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H5957Noun  ·  Translated: forever 8, everlasting 3, ancient 2

    Ezra 4:15 that a search should be made of the record books of your fathers. In these books you will discover and verify that the city is a rebellious city, harmful to kings and provinces, inciting sedition from ancient times. That is why this city was destroyed.

    Ezra 4:19 I issued a decree, and a search was conducted. It was discovered that this city has revolted against kings from ancient times, engaging in rebellion and sedition.

    Full study and all 14 verses →

Greek words (New Testament)

  • ἀρχαῖος archaîosoriginal, primitive, ancienttranslated this way 6 times of its 11 uses · Strong’s G744Adjective  ·  Translated: ancient 4, old 3, ancients 2, early 2

    Matthew 5:21 You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’

    Acts 15:21 For Moses has been proclaimed in every city from ancient times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

    Full study and all 11 verses →
How to study a word well
  1. Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
  2. Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
  3. Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
  4. Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
  5. See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
  6. Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
  7. Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.

Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.