The period of time between the birth of parents and the birth of their children; all of the people alive during that time. The OT uses “generation” only loosely as a measure of time, and it is therefore difficult to use the term in exact chronological calculations. Although a generation sometimes covers up to a hundred years (
Gen 15:13;
Gen 15:16;
Exod 12:40), most biblical writers seem to consider thirty to forty years to be a normal generation (
Deut 2:14;
Job 42:16;
Ps 95:10). Usually “generation” simply refers to all of the people at a given time (
Gen 6:9;
Ps 14:5;
Ps 24:6;
Ps 49:19;
Ps 112:2;
Jer 2:3).
Gen 15:13
13Then the Lord! said to Abram, “Know this for certain, that your offspring shall be aliens in a land that is not theirs, and shall be slaves there, and they sh ... View more
Gen 15:16
16And they shall come back here in the fourth generation; for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
Exod 12:40
40The time that the Israelites had lived in Egypt was four hundred thirty years.
Deut 2:14
14And the length of time we had traveled from Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the Wadi Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation of warriors had ... View more
Job 42:16
16After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children, and his children's children, four generations.
Ps 95:10
10For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they do not regard my ways.”
Gen 6:9
Noah Pleases God
9These are the descendants of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
Ps 14:5
5There they shall be in great terror,
for God is with the company of the righteous.
Ps 24:6
6Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
Ps 49:19
19they will go to the company of their ancestors,
who will never again see the light.
Ps 112:2
2Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Jer 2:3
3Israel was holy to the Lord,
the first fruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it were held guilty;
disaster came upon them,
says the Lord.
