A word of wider meaning and more general application is DJiiy, connected with Assyr. vlldmi, meaning 'remote time.' D^iy is frequently used of the fast-days (Is 639. ", Mie 51 T" etc.), people (Is 44'', Jei- 515), hills (Gn 4926, Hab 36). It is also used, like ly, of God or His attributes as existing from the remote past
everlasting to everlasting ' (Ps 90'- IDS", Neh 9^ etc.). But in the case of D7iy also there are many places in OT where ita meaning is obviously limited to the atfairs and lives of human beings, e.g. of a slave (Dt Ifi', 1 S 2712), of careless dwellers (Ps 7312), and in the familiar phrase, 'May the king live for ever' (1 K 131, Neh 23). Often, however, the word is used to indicate the writer's hope or belief that a certain state of good \e.g. God's covenant (Gn 910), or His promises (Is 4ll»), or His relations to His people (Ps 451** j^se, etc.)], may continue indefinitely. Par- ticularly is this true of the Messianic hope (Is 96, Ps 1101 453). Sometimes this thought of permanence is emphasized by the use of the plural (Is 26-1 451', Dn 924). in Ec 311, a very diffl?ult passage, RVm gives as an alternative rendering of ojiyri
The other Hebrew phrases worthy of note are n^ J • perpetuity ' in the frequent phr.ase nsjS ' for ever' (Is 1320 268, Am 8', Hab 1^ etc.), and □•p; -^nN 'length of days,' Dt 3020, Job 1212, pg 214, and in the well-known passage Ps 236 * I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for eiier.' Here the meaning is disputed, but the probability is that the hi^rhest .inticipation of the Psalmist was to have the joy of spending an indefinite period in the Temple in prayer and meditation. .Similar to D^iyS is the phra.se 111 llS, lit. 'to age and age,' i.e. to future ages (Ex 310, ps 106 33*1 491I). It is mainly poetical.
The idea of eternity, like the idea of iminortality, was probably beyond the range of early Je\vish thought. It arose after the Exile, partly through a natural development of the Hebrew conception of God, and partly through the force of circumstances. (1) "The pious Jew, turning away more and more from the anthropomorphism of cruder religions, strove to diftereutiate tiie infinite God from finite man. God is transcendent — above the limitations of earthly existence. Hence He is eternal, from everlasting to everlasting. A thousand years in His sight are but as yesterday. (2) With the Exile came a decay of national ideals, and the Jew began to consider more his own personality and its relation to this eternal God. This thought de\elo|ir4 slouly, and was mixed with various elriiiriii< The .lew found himself in an evil world. Hi- own iialioTi was oppressed, almo.st blotted out. ( looil men suffered; wicked men seemed to prosper. It llieeternal, omnipotent God ruled the world, then all this must surely end. The Day of the Lord w ouUl come for oppressed Israel, for the oppressors, for the whole world, and (in Apocalyptic literature, Ps-Sol 3'" 13" etc.) for the Jew himself. Then the present evil world (ntn obSii) would give place to a new and glorious era (nan oSiy, see GENERATION). Whether this n^rr ojiiy would be endless the Jew did not at first stop to inquire. Sufficient for him that it wordd come with countless blessings in ' the end of the days ' (□•.■3;n i'R, cf. Mt 13'» 24'). In the Book of Enoch, however, ' Time ' is followed by ' Eternity ' in the K3n oViy. Later Judaism de\'eloped the idea, [jrobably borrowed from the Zend religion, of a series of world epochs (<-f. the worhl empires of Daniel's vision), followed by the Messianic age.
In the time of Christ, Jewish thought on the future had developed very nnieh, and hail .assumed many forms (see EsCHATOLOGV). Jesus nmst have
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sifted the various elements. He retained and per- liaps developed the view of a new age (n?!i nSiy) about to daM'n on the world as opposed to the pre- sent (ain oSiy ; Mt l-2-'=, cf. 13-« 28="). Then ' the kino;- dom oi heaven ' (c'?^' n?D^?) m'ouUI be established. Jesus endeavoured to concentrate the thoughts of His hearers on their personal relation to this king- dom, and the desirability of sharing it (see Life, Eternal Life). Doubtless this kingdom would be for ever and its members live for ever (cf. Dn 12-' D^iy '.'n ' eternal life '). The vexed question of the absolute endlessness of this kingdom, with its rewards and punishments, would probably never be raised in the minds of Jesus' hearers. At the same time, there is no evidence in the teaching of Jesus of any limit to the njn nSiy, and while the frequent adjective oMmos, 'eternal,' must be taken in the Gospels as referring in the first place to this coming kingdom, it may, so far as we know, be taken as implying also that quality of absolute permanence with which that kingdom has always been associ- ated in the minds of men.
Literature.— The subject is practically part of the larger topic Eschatology, and all books dealing with this latter subject refer more or less to Eternity. On the OT and Apocalyptic? views see Stade, Die Alttest. Vorstellutigen vnin Zvslnnii nach dem Tode ; Schwally, Das Leben nach dan Tmle ; s..liultz, OT