There is something profound and awe-inspiring in the contemplation of, or shall we

say the attempt to contemplate, the idea conveyed in the words "everlasting", and

"for ever".

Perhaps we feel it would have been more comfortable for our orthodoxy if the

concordance did not put the possession of the land of Canaan, the covenant of

circumcision, and the everlasting hills all together under the one heading. The same

applies to the words "for ever" in Exodus. The feast of the passover, the service of the

willing Hebrew servant, the sign of the sabbath between the Lord and Israel are all

spoken of as "for ever".

To many of the readers of The Berean Expositor the suggestion that the passages in

our title should not contain the words "everlasting" and "for ever" will not be new, and

we believe that by a close following of the meaning of the original, a fuller conception of

the Lord and His purposes will be discovered than is possible from the words as they

stand in the A.V.

We have in previous articles discussed the meaning of the Hebrew word olam,

translated "everlasting"; the conclusion of our study was that the word must always be

given the meaning "age", and by that we understand a period of time of undefined or

hidden duration, having both a beginning and an end, but that this end is hidden from the

view of man. Some may say that we are tampering with the nature of God by substituting

"age" for "everlasting". We seek to understand the message of these titles, feeling sure

that to do so will be far more to the glory of God than any undue stress upon His eternal

Being, concerning which finite minds cannot expect to contain very clear or adequate

conceptions. Turning to the passages of our title, let us consider the context, then seek a

literal translation. The word that stands out prominently is Beer-Sheba, the well of the

oath; covenants, too, are the feature of the passage. Abraham is a sojourner (20: 1;

21: 34), Isaac, the child of promise, is born, the bondwoman and her son are cast out, and

God was with Abraham in all that he did. As a result of the oath between Abimelech and

Abraham, the name of the place was called Beer-Sheba, the well of the oath. Abraham

was nearing his perfecting; the next recorded incident is that of his great trial, his

endurance, and his obtaining of the promise.  The covenant between Abraham and

Abimelech brought to mind the great covenant God of Abraham, and Beer-Sheba

assumed a grander meaning. Abraham called there on the name of JEHOVAH EL

OLAM (the God of the age). Already we have read in connection with Abraham El

Shaddai, the Almighty God. This occurs at the commencement of Abraham's walk and