This thread is intended to be a revision of this thread, to accomplish two purposes:

• (1) to clear up the Greek font that became garbled when TWeb switched from Unicode to cirisme's customized Greek font, and

• (2) to narrow the focus to occurrences of the Greek word γενεα (genea) rather than occurrences of the English rendering generation.

Hebrew definitions in this thread are by William L. Holladay in A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Eerdmans/E. J. Brill: 1988).

Greek definitions in the LXX are by J. Lust, E. Eynikel, and K. Hauspie in A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft: 1992).

Genesis 6:9

These are the generations (תולדות / tōl^edōt) of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation (דור / dōr). Noah walked with God.

Definitions (per Holladay):

• The first word rendered “generations” (תולדות / tōl^edōt) = (line) of descendants (i.e., genealogical list from ancestor).

• The second word rendered “generation” (דור / dōr) occurs in the Hebrew text in the plural form with a prepositional prefix and a possessive pronoun suffix: (בדרתיו / b^edōrōtāyw) = "among his contemporaries".

The LXX rendering of the first Hebrew word (תולדות / tōl^edōt) is γενεσεις (geneseis) = plural of γενεσις (genesis), offspring.

The LXX rendering of the second Hebrew word is γενεα (genea), "generation", the exact sense of which is that of the Hebrew word which it renders (דור / dōr), defined by Holladay as

• 1. singular: circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man's birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people)

• 2. plural: generations; b^edōrōtāyw among his contemporaries Gn 6:9

thank you for this thread

Originally posted by Darth Xena

thank you for this thread

Thank you for this forum.

Gn 7:1 (NICOT/Hamilton)

Then Yahweh said to Noah, "Go, you and all your household, into the ark, for I have chosen you, a righteous person, in this generation.

The word rendered “generation” is דור (dōr).

Here is Holladay’s definition of דור (brackets added):

– 1. singular : circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man’s birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people) : דור הזה [dōr hazzeh this generation] Gn 7:1.

The LXX rendering is τη γενεα ταυτη (tē genea tautē) this generation.

Nota bene: The term τη γενεα ταυτη (tē genea tautē) is the exact same term used in Mt 24:34 ("this generation"), excepting only that in Matthew the term is in the nominative case (being the subject of a clause in the sentence), whereas in Gn 7:1 the term is in the dative case (being the object of a preposition in the predicate of the sentence).

Gn 9:12-13 (ESV)

¹² And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³ I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.

The word rendered “generations” is the plural of דור (dōr).

Holladay’s definition of דור (brackets added):

• 1. singular : circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man’s birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people)

• 2. plural : generations

The LXX rendering is the plural of γενεα (genea) generation, the exact sense of which in this context is that of the Hebrew word (דור [dōr]) which it renders.

Gn 15:16 (ESV)

And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.

The word rendered “generation” is דור (dōr), the sense of which is "circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man’s birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people)".

The LXX rendering is γενεα (genea) generation, the sense of which is that of (דור [dōr]).

In The Greek & Hebrew Bible: Collected Essays on the Septuagint, Emanuel Tov (on page 109) cites a monograph by D. Hill in which Hill

"demonstrates that certain words in the New Testament are used in senses which reflect their Hebraic background (through the LXX) rather than their natural Greek heritage."

The Hebrew word דור (dōr) and its Greek rendering in the LXX (γενεα / genea) -- and subsequent usage in the New Testament -- is an example of the phenomenon demonstrated by Hill and noted by Tov.

Gn 17:7, 9, 12 (NRSV)

⁷ I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout all their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. [...] ⁹ God said to Abraham, "As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. [...] ¹² Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not your offspring.

Each of the three occurrences of the word "generation in the three verses cited above is a rendering of the plural of the Hebrew word
דור (dōr), the sense of which is "circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man’s birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people)".

The rendering in the LXX is the plural of γενεα (genea).

Ex 1:6

Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.

In the text above, the Hebrew word rendered generation is דור (dōr), the sense of which is "circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man’s birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people)".

The rendering in the LXX is γενεα (genea).

Exodus 3:15. (NIV)

God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob — has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

Each of the two occurrences of generation in the text above is a rendering of דור (dōr), the sense of which is "circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man’s birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people)".

The rendering of each of the two occurrences in the LXX is γενεα (genea).

Exodus 12:14, 17, 42. (NIV)

¹⁴ "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -- a lasting ordinance.

¹⁷ "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.

⁴² Because the LORD kept vigil that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep vigil to honor the LORD for the generations to come.

Each of the three occurrences of generations in the text above is a rendering of the plural of דור (dōr), the sense of which is "circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man’s birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people)".

The rendering of each of the three occurrences in the LXX is the plural of γενεα (genea).

Exodus 13:18. (Brenton's Rendering of the LXX -- brackets added)

And God led the people round by the way to the wilderness, to the Red Sea : and in the fifth generation [γενεα (genea)] the children of Israel went out of the land of Egypt.

The Hebrew text of the verse differs from the LXX, and English versions are renderings of the Hebrew (rather than the LXX):

Exodus 13:18. (ESV)

But God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle.

The comparison of verses aboves shows that there is no word in the Hebrew text that corresponds to the word English word generation, which is a rendering of γενεα (genea) in the LXX version.

Exodus 16:32-33 (ESV)

³² Moses said, "This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.'" ³³ And Moses said to Aaron, "Take a jar, and put an omer of manna in it, and place it before the LORD to be kept throughout your generations."

Each of the two occurrences of generations in the text above is a rendering of the plural of דור (dōr), the sense of which is "circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man’s birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people)".

The rendering of each of the two occurrences in the LXX is the plural of γενεα (genea).

Exodus 17:16b (NIV)

The LORD will be at war against the Amalekites from generation to generation."

Each of the two occurrences of generation in the text above is a rendering of דור (dōr), the sense of which is "circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man’s birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people)".

The rendering of each of the two occurrences in the LXX is γενεα (genea).

Exodus 20:5. (NIV)

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

There is no corresponding Hebrew word/occurrence for the word rendered generation in the English versions; the word is simply understood but not stated after the Hebrew words rendered "to the third and fourth."

In the Greek text the word rendered "generation in English is γενεα (genea).

Exodus 27:21 (NIV)

In the tent of meeting, outside the veil that is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the LORD. It shall be a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel.

The word generations in the text above is a rendering of the plural of דור (dōr), the sense of which is "circuit, lifetime, generation (from a man’s birth to the birth of his first son; the totality of (adult) contemporaries; a time with its noteworthy events and people)".

The rendering of the word in the LXX is the plural of γενεα (genea).