SUBJECT · Complete Bible Study

Generation

Beside the common acceptation of this word, as signifying descent, it is used for the history and genealogy of any individual, as “The book of the generations of Adam,” Genesis v, 1, the history of Adam’s creation, and of his posterity. “The generations of the heavens and of the earth,” Genesis ii, 4, is a recital of the creation of heaven and earth. This unified study connects 5 installed resource categories without replacing their source records.

View overview sources
  • Historical Reference: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)
  • Historical Reference: A Biblical and Theological Dictionary
  • Historical Reference: concordance
  • Historical Reference: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible lexical data / BDB-Strong mapping
  • Historical Reference: STEPBible TBESG (based primarily on Abbott-Smith)
  • Historical Reference: A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament
  • Historical Reference: Installed reference work

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Study at a glance

Subject type
Subject
Strong’s
H8435, H1859, G1074, H1755, G1078, G1081, G1085
Hebrew
תּוֹלֵדוֹת · tôwlᵉdâh
Greek
γενεά · genea

Strong’s and original-language information

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible lexical data / BDB-Strong mapping

תּוֹלֵדוֹת

H8435
Transliteration
tôwlᵉdâh
Pronunciation
to-led-aw'
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
39

Glosses

generations, account of a man and his descendants, birth, generations.

Lexicon definition

(plural only) descent, i.e. family

(figuratively) history

Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon

γενεά

G1074
Transliteration
genea
Language
Greek
Part of speech
G:N-F
Indexed occurrences
43

Glosses

generation, age, generation, nation, time

Lexicon definition

γενεά, -ᾶς, ἡ (γίγνομαι), [in LXX chiefly for דּוֹר, דֹּר (Cremer, 148) ;] __1. race, stock, family (in NT, γέννημα, which see). __2. generation; __(a) of the contemporary members of a family: pl., Mat.1:17 (cf. Gen.31:3, מוֹלֶדֶת); metaphorically, of those alike in character, in bad sense, Mat.17:17, Mrk.9:19, Luk.9:41 16:8, Act.2:40; __(b) of all the people of a given period: Mat.24:34, Mrk.13:30, Luk.21:32, Php.2:15; pl., Luk.1:48; esp. of the Jewish people, Mat.11:16 12:39, 41 42, 45 16:4 23:36, Mrk.8:12, 38 Luk.7:31 11:29, 30-32, 50, 51 17:25, Act.13:36, Heb.3:10" (LXX) ; τὴν γ. αὐτοῦ τίς διηγήσεται, Act.8:33 (LXX); __(with) the period covered by the life-time of a generation, used loosely in pl. of successive ages: Act.14:16 15:21, Eph.3:5, Col.1:26; εἰς γενεὰς καὶ γ. (= לִדוֹר וָדוֹר, al.), Luk.34:17, al), Luk.1:50; εἰς πάσας τὰς γ. τοῦ αἰῶνος τῶν αἰώνων, Eph.3:21 (Ellic, in l.; DCG, i, 639f.). † (AS)

A Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament

Γενεά

G1074
Transliteration
geneá
Language
Greek
Indexed occurrences
43

Glosses

age, generation, nation, time

Lexicon definition

pr. birth; hence, progeny; a generation of mankind, Mat. 11.16; 23.36, et al.; a generation, a step in a genealogy, Mat. 1.17; a generation, an interval of time, age; in N.T. course of life, in respect of its events, interests, or character, Lu. 16.8. Ac. 13.36.

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

דּוֹר

H1755
Transliteration
dôwr
Pronunciation
dore
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
167

Glosses

age, [idiom] evermore, generation, (n-) ever, posterity.

Lexicon definition

properly, a revolution of time, i.e. an age or generation

also a dwelling

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

γένεσις

G1078
Transliteration
génesis
Language
Greek
Indexed occurrences
5

Glosses

generation, nature(-ral)

Lexicon definition

nativity

figuratively, nature

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

γέννημα

G1081
Transliteration
génnēma
Language
Greek
Indexed occurrences
4

Glosses

fruit, generation

Lexicon definition

offspring

by analogy, produce (literally or figuratively)

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

γένος

G1085
Transliteration
génos
Language
Greek
Indexed occurrences
20

Glosses

born, country(-man), diversity, generation, kind(-red), nation, offspring, stock

Lexicon definition

"kin" (abstract or concrete, literal or figurative, individual or collective)

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible lexical data / BDB-Strong mapping

דּוֹר

H1755
Transliteration
dôwr
Pronunciation
dore
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
167

Glosses

period, generation, dwelling, age, [idiom] evermore, generation, (n-) ever, posterity.

Lexicon definition

properly, a revolution of time, i.e. an age or generation

also a dwelling

Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Lexicon

מוֹלֶדֶת

H4138
Transliteration
môwledeth
Pronunciation
mo-leh'-deth
Language
Hebrew
Indexed occurrences
22

Glosses

begotten, born, issue, kindred, native(-ity).

Lexicon definition

nativity (plural birth-place)

by implication, lineage, native country

also offspring, family

Complete dictionary entries

Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

Generation

Gen. 2:4, "These are the generations," means the "history." 5:1, "The book of the generations," means a family register, or history of Adam. 37:2, "The generations of Jacob" = the history of Jacob and his descendants. 7:1, "In this generation" = in this age. Ps. 49:19, "The generation of his fathers" = the dwelling of his fathers, i.e., the grave. Ps. 73:15, "The generation of thy children" = the contemporary race. Isa. 53:8, "Who shall declare his generation?" = His manner of life who shall declare? or rather = His race, posterity, shall be so numerous that no one shall be able to declare it. In Matt. 1:17, the word means a succession or series of persons from the same stock. Matt. 3:7, "Generation of vipers" = brood of vipers. 24:34, "This generation" = the persons then living contemporary with Christ. 1 Pet. 2:9, "A chosen generation" = a chosen people. The Hebrews seem to have reckoned time by the generation. In the time of Abraham a generation was an hundred years, thus: Gen. 15:16, "In the fourth generation" = in four hundred years (comp. verse 13 and Ex. 12:40). In Deut. 1:35 and 2:14 a generation is a period of thirty-eight years.

Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) · View data sources

A Biblical and Theological Dictionary

GENERATION

Beside the common acceptation of this word, as signifying descent, it is used for the history and genealogy of any individual, as “The book of the generations of Adam,” Genesis v, 1, the history of Adam’s creation, and of his posterity. “The generations of the heavens and of the earth,” Genesis ii, 4, is a recital of the creation of heaven and earth. “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David,” Matthew i, 1, is the genealogy of Jesus Christ, and the history of his life. The ancients sometimes computed by generations: “In the fourth generation thy descendants shall come hither again,” Genesis xv, 16. “Joseph saw Ephraim’s children of the third generation,” Genesis 1, 23. “A bastard shall not be admitted into the congregation, till the tenth generation,” Deut. xxiii, 2. Among the ancients, when the duration of generations was not exactly described by the age of four men succeeding one another from father to son, it was fixed by some at a hundred years, by others at a hundred and ten, by others at thirty-three, thirty, twenty-five, and even at twenty years; being neither uniform nor settled: only, it is remarked, that a generation is longer as it is more ancient.

Source: A Biblical and Theological Dictionary · View data sources

Concordance

Strong's Concordance

Generation

Indexed occurrences: 94

Source: Strong's Concordance · View data sources

Strong's Concordance

Generations

Indexed occurrences: 82

Source: Strong's Concordance · View data sources

All Scripture references245 references

Genesis 21

Exodus 23

Leviticus 15

Numbers 24

Deuteronomy 15

Joshua 2

Judges 2

Ruth 1

1 Kings 2

2 Kings 2

1 Chronicles 10

Esther 1

Job 5

Psalms 52

Proverbs 5

Ecclesiastes 1

Isaiah 10

Jeremiah 3

Lamentations 1

Daniel 4

Joel 3

Matthew 10

Mark 6

Luke 15

John 1

Acts 5

Ephesians 2

Philippians 1

Colossians 1

Hebrews 1

Sources

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Dictionary

Age

Used to denote the period of a man's life (Gen. 47:28), the maturity of life (John 9:21), the latter end of life (Job 11:17), a generation of the human race (Job 8:8), and an indefinite period (Eph. 2:7; 3:5, 21; Col. 1:26). Respect to be shown to the aged (Lev. 19:32). It is a blessing to communities when they have old men among them (Isa. 65:20; Zech. 8:4). The aged supposed to excel in understanding (Job 12:20; 15:10; 32:4, 9; 1 Kings 12:6, 8). A full age the reward of piety (Job 5:26; Gen. 15:15).

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Ahava

essence; being; generation

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Darah

generation; house of the shepherd or of the companion

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Darkon

of generation; of possession

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Deluge

The name given to Noah's flood, the history of which is recorded in Gen. 7 and 8. It began in the year 2516 B.C., and continued twelve lunar months and ten days, or exactly one solar year. The cause of this judgment was the corruption and violence that filled the earth in the ninth generation from Adam. God in righteous indignation determined to purge the earth of the ungodly race. Amid a world of crime and guilt there was one household that continued faithful and true to God, the household of Noah. "Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations." At the command of God, Noah made an ark 300 cubits long, 50 broad, and 30 high. He slowly proceeded with this work during a period of one hundred and twenty years (Gen. 6:3). At length the purpose of God began to be carried into effect. The following table exhibits the order of events as they occurred: In the six hundredth year of his life Noah is commanded by God to enter the ark, taking with him his wife, and his three sons with their wives (Gen. 7:1-10). The rain begins on the seventeenth day of the second month (Gen. 7:11-17). The rain ceases, the waters prevail, fifteen cubits upward (Gen. 7:18-24). The ark grounds on one of the mountains of Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month, or one hundred and fifty days after the Deluge began (Gen. 8:1-4). Tops of the mountains visible on the first day of the tenth month (Gen. 8:5). Raven and dove sent out forty days after this (Gen. 8:6-9). Dove again sent out seven days afterwards; and in the evening she returns with an olive leaf in her mouth (Gen. 8:10, 11). Dove sent out the third time after an interval of other seven days, and returns no more (Gen. 8:12). The ground becomes dry on the first day of the first month of the new year (Gen. 8:13). Noah leaves the ark on the twenty-seventh day of the second month (Gen. 8:14-19). The historical truth of the narrative of the Flood is established by the references made to it by our Lord (Matt. 24:37; comp. Luke 17:26). Peter speaks of it also (1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5). In Isa. 54:9 the Flood is referred to as "the waters of Noah." The Biblical narrative clearly shows that so far as the human race was concerned the Deluge was universal; that it swept away all men living except Noah and his family, who were preserved in the ark; and that the present human race is descended from those who were thus preserved. Traditions of the Deluge are found among all the great divisions of the human family; and these traditions, taken as a whole, wonderfully agree with the Biblical narrative, and agree with it in such a way as to lead to the conclusion that the Biblical is the authentic narrative, of which all these traditions are more or less corrupted versions. The most remarkable of these traditions is that recorded on tablets prepared by order of Assur-bani-pal, the king of Assyria. These were, however, copies of older records which belonged to somewhere about B.C. 2000, and which formed part of the priestly library at Erech (q.v.), "the ineradicable remembrance of a real and terrible event." (See [154]NOAH; [155]CHALDEA.)

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Dictionary

Dor

generation, habitation

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Eltolad

the generation of God

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En-dor

fountain, eye of generation, or of habitation

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Generation

Gen. 2:4, "These are the generations," means the "history." 5:1, "The book of the generations," means a family register, or history of Adam. 37:2, "The generations of Jacob" = the history of Jacob and his descendants. 7:1, "In this generation" = in this age. Ps. 49:19, "The generation of his fathers" = the dwelling of his fathers, i.e., the grave. Ps. 73:15, "The generation of thy children" = the contemporary race. Isa. 53:8, "Who shall declare his generation?" = His manner of life who shall declare? or rather = His race, posterity, shall be so numerous that no one shall be able to declare it. In Matt. 1:17, the word means a succession or series of persons from the same stock. Matt. 3:7, "Generation of vipers" = brood of vipers. 24:34, "This generation" = the persons then living contemporary with Christ. 1 Pet. 2:9, "A chosen generation" = a chosen people. The Hebrews seem to have reckoned time by the generation. In the time of Abraham a generation was an hundred years, thus: Gen. 15:16, "In the fourth generation" = in four hundred years (comp. verse 13 and Ex. 12:40). In Deut. 1:35 and 2:14 a generation is a period of thirty-eight years.

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Hazar-addar

an imprisoned generation

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Lod

nativity; generation

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Moladah

birth; generation

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Molid

nativity; generation

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Psalms

The psalms are the production of various authors. "Only a portion of the Book of Psalms claims David as its author. Other inspired poets in successive generations added now one now another contribution to the sacred collection, and thus in the wisdom of Providence it more completely reflects every phase of human emotion and circumstances than it otherwise could." But it is specially to David and his contemporaries that we owe this precious book. In the "titles" of the psalms, the genuineness of which there is no sufficient reason to doubt, 73 are ascribed to David. Peter and John (Acts 4:25) ascribe to him also the second psalm, which is one of the 48 that are anonymous. About two-thirds of the whole collection have been ascribed to David. Psalms 39, 62, and 77 are addressed to Jeduthun, to be sung after his manner or in his choir. Psalms 50 and 73-83 are addressed to Asaph, as the master of his choir, to be sung in the worship of God. The "sons of Korah," who formed a leading part of the Kohathite singers (2 Chr. 20:19), were intrusted with the arranging and singing of Ps. 42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, and 88. In Luke 24:44 the word "psalms" means the Hagiographa, i.e., the holy writings, one of the sections into which the Jews divided the Old Testament. (See [510]BIBLE.) None of the psalms can be proved to have been of a later date than the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, hence the whole collection extends over a period of about 1,000 years. There are in the New Testament 116 direct quotations from the Psalter. The Psalter is divided, after the analogy of the Pentateuch, into five books, each closing with a doxology or benediction: (1.) The first book comprises the first 41 psalms, all of which are ascribed to David except 1, 2, 10, and 33, which, though anonymous, may also be ascribed to him. (2.) Book second consists of the next 31 psalms (42-72), 18 of which are ascribed to David and 1 to Solomon (the 72nd). The rest are anonymous. (3.) The third book contains 17 psalms (73-89), of which the 86th is ascribed to David, the 88th to Heman the Ezrahite, and the 89th to Ethan the Ezrahite. (4.) The fourth book also contains 17 psalms (90-106), of which the 90th is ascribed to Moses, and the 101st and 103rd to David. (5.) The fifth book contains the remaining psalms, 44 in number. Of these, 15 are ascribed to David, and the 127th to Solomon. Ps. 136 is generally called "the great hallel." But the Talmud includes also Ps. 120-135. Ps. 113-118, inclusive, constitute the "hallel" recited at the three great feasts, at the new moon, and on the eight days of the feast of dedication. "It is presumed that these several collections were made at times of high religious life: the first, probably, near the close of David's life; the second in the days of Solomon; the third by the singers of Jehoshaphat (2 Chr. 20:19); the fourth by the men of Hezekiah (29, 30, 31); and the fifth in the days of Ezra." The Mosaic ritual makes no provision for the service of song in the worship of God. David first taught the Church to sing the praises of the Lord. He first introduced into the ritual of the tabernacle music and song. Divers names are given to the psalms. (1.) Some bear the Hebrew designation shir (Gr. ode, a song). Thirteen have this title. It means the flow of speech, as it were, in a straight line or in a regular strain. This title includes secular as well as sacred song. (2.) Fifty-eight psalms bear the designation (Heb.) mitsmor (Gr. psalmos, a psalm), a lyric ode, or a song set to music; a sacred song accompanied with a musical instrument. (3.) Ps. 145, and many others, have the designation (Heb.) tehillah (Gr. hymnos, a hymn), meaning a song of praise; a song the prominent thought of which is the praise of God. (4.) Six psalms (16, 56-60) have the title (Heb.) michtam (q.v.). (5.) Ps. 7 and Hab. 3 bear the title (Heb.) shiggaion (q.v.).

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Taxes

First mentioned in the command (Ex. 30:11-16) that every Jew from twenty years and upward should pay an annual tax of "half a shekel for an offering to the Lord." This enactment was faithfully observed for many generations (2 Chr. 24:6; Matt. 17:24). Afterwards, when the people had kings to reign over them, they began, as Samuel had warned them (1 Sam. 8:10-18), to pay taxes for civil purposes (1 Kings 4:7; 9:15; 12:4). Such taxes, in increased amount, were afterwards paid to the foreign princes that ruled over them. In the New Testament the payment of taxes, imposed by lawful rulers, is enjoined as a duty (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13, 14). Mention is made of the tax (telos) on merchandise and travellers (Matt. 17:25); the annual tax (phoros) on property (Luke 20:22; 23:2); the poll-tax (kensos, "tribute," Matt. 17:25; 22:17; Mark 12:14); and the temple-tax ("tribute money" = two drachmas = half shekel, Matt. 17:24-27; comp. Ex. 30:13). (See [623]TRIBUTE.)

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Tradition

Any kind of teaching, written or spoken, handed down from generation to generation. In Mark 7:3, 9, 13, Col. 2:8, this word refers to the arbitrary interpretations of the Jews. In 2 Thess. 2:15; 3:6, it is used in a good sense. Peter (1 Pet. 1:18) uses this word with reference to the degenerate Judaism of the "strangers scattered" whom he addresses (comp. Acts 15:10; Matt. 15:2-6; Gal. 1:14).

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