Brian, there are many instances where olam is used where it can't be eternal. I only posted the Jonah passage because it was the first one to come to mind. Here are others:
Gen.6:4 The Nephilim were in the earth in those (pre-flood) days...mighty men which were of old,',literally 'from olam'.
Gen.13:15 is recorded the promise to Abraham, 'All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give and to thy seed to olam'.
Genesis 49:26 we have Jacob's blessing upon Joseph, 'Unto the utmost bounds of the olam hills', but we find in
Isa.54:10 'The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed'.
Exodus 21:6 (and Deut.15:17) the 'open-eared' slave is bound to his master le-olam. His servitude lasted till he died
Leviticus 25:46, where the Israelites were enjoined to purchase as bond slaves, the children of strangers, le-olam.
Numbers 10:8, the trumpets signals for the march are described as olam.
Deuteronomy 32:7 commands, 'Remember the days of olam. Consider the years of many generations, Ask thy father...thine elders about the time when the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance'.
Joshua 4:7 states that the twelve stones carried out of Jordon were set up as a memorial ad olam.
Joshua 8:28, of Ai, it is reported that Joshua made the city a tel olam.
Samuel 1:22 Hannah is said to have promised that when her son was weaned she would take him to Shiloh that he might abide there ad olam.
I Chronicles 23:25 records David's words, 'The Lord...hath given rest unto his people and he dwelleth in Jerusalem ad le olam'.
Ezra 4:15, the Jews are reported to the Persian king as 'seditious subjects olam', and in verse 19, 'had made insurrection olam'
Nehemiah 13:1 states that the exiles read 'in the book of Moses... that the Ammonite and the Moabite should not enter into the assembly of God ad olam'. There can be little doubt that the reading was from Deuteronomy 23:3, where the specified period of exclusion was ten generations, no fixed number of years, a long indefinite period.
Job 22:15 asks "Wilt thou keep the olam away which wicked men have trodden?' The common rendering is commended - 'old, ancient, or old-time way'.
Job 41:4 the question is whether man may tame the crocodile to be his servant olam, for the beast's lifetime, not the 'for ever' of common versions.
Psalm 21:4 reads, 'He (the king) asked life of thee, Thou gavest it (to) him, even length of days olam wa ad. The A.V. and R.V. have 'for ever and ever'.
Pslams, referring to times periods, bounded in some way by their contexts may be grouped thus; (a) those meaning 'for all one's lifetime' (Psa.78:66, 79:13, 86:12, 89:1, 110:4, 112:6, 115:18 etc.) or (b) 'while the occasion or need exits'. (89:2, 100:5, 106:1, 107:1, 118:1,2,3 and 4 and so on).
Proverbs contains two examples - the same sentence repeated. (Proverbs 22:28 and 23:10) 'Remove not the olam landmarks'.
Ecc.2:16 the preacher remarks,
Isaiah and Jeremiah both contain many examples of olam bounded both as to beginning and ending. In Isaiah 42:14, 'I have held my peace me olam. In 58:12, 'They shall build the waste places of olam',
Jeremiah 5:15 states, 'I will bring upon you an olam nation', 'ancient' obviously fits as also in 6:6, 'olam paths'.The many other similar cases of olam in Isaiah indubitably referring to limited periods of time need not be quoted here.
Lamentations 3:6 mentions 'those olam dead'
Ezekiel 25:15, 35:5, 36:2 all have the same sense - 'ancient' as also Joel 2:2, Amos 9:11. Micah 5:2, and 7:14 and Malachi 3:4.In Daniel the following contain examples of ritualistic court flattery.('O King live le olamin') Daniel 2:4, 3:9, 5:10, 6:6, 6:21, (M.T.22). |
