Ancient
Ancient [1]
ān´shent : This word renders several Hebrew words: (1) קדם , ḳedhem , which denotes "beforetime," "yore"; generally the remote past (compare Deuteronomy 33:15 , "ancient mountains"; Judges 5:21 , Kishon, the "ancient river"; Isaiah 19:11 "ancient kings"). (2) זקן , zāḳēn , "old" in years. Whereas the King James Version generally renders the word by "old" (or "elders" when the plural form is found) in six cases "ancient" is used and "ancients" in nine cases. See Ancients . (3) עולם , ‛ōlām , which denotes "long duration" - past or future. In regard to the past it suggests remote antiquity. The connotation may be discovered in such expressions as: "the years of ancient times" ( Psalm 77:5 ); "ancient land-mark" or "paths" ( Proverbs 22:28; Jeremiah 18:15 ); "ancient people" or "nation" ( Isaiah 44:7; Jeremiah 5:15 ); "ancient high places" ( Ezekiel 36:2 ). (4) עתּיק , ‛attı̄q ̌ . This word - really Aramaic - comes from a stem which means "to advance," i.e. in age; hence old, aged ( 1 Chronicles 3:22 ). (5) ישׁישׁ , yāshı̄sh , literally, "weak," "impotent," hence decrepit aged; a rare and poetical word, and found only in Job. It is rendered "ancient" only in one instance ( Job 12:12 the King James Version).
