A Notable Question

‘Isaiah 40:8-The grass withers the flower fades but the word of our God stands forever.

The grass withers-the grass dies and goes away
The flower fades-the flower dies and goes away

Since those two situations mean that the grass and flower goes away how do you say that God’s word goes away if the word forever is translated from the word olam in the Hebrew OT and αἰών in the LXX as age(s)which also goes way? This doesn’t make sense that grass and a flower goes away as well as God’s word is we are to translate olam and aion as temporary fading ages? Isaiah was emphasizing that God’s word must laster longer than a flower and grass which forever would be the correct term wouldn’t it? How does an EU approach this?’

Please consider two replies for Edification:

(i) First Reply:

To Quote:

“A COMMON OBJECTION NOTICED.

“Then eternal life is not endless, for the same Greek adjective qualifies life and punishment.” This does not follow, for the word is used in Greek in different senses in the same sentence; as Hab. iii:6. “And the everlasting mountains were scattered –his ways are everlasting.” Suppose we apply the popular argument here. The mountains and God must be of equal duration, for the same word is applied to both. Both are temporal or both are endless. But the mountains are expressly stated to be temporal –they “were scattered,” –therefore God is not eternal. Or God is eternal and therefore the mountains must be. But they cannot be, for they were scattered. The argument does not hold water. The aiónion mountains are all to be destroyed. Hencethe word may denote both limited and unlimited duration in the same passage, the different meanings to be determined by the subject treated.”

Source:

http://www.tentmaker.org/books/Aion_lim.html

(ii) Second Reply

Another explanation:

The mountains discussed in verse (in comment above, Habakkuk 3:6) which were “scattered” (no more) is “age-during or ages-during”.

But when the ‘same word’ is used for God in this ‘exact same verse’ and ‘same sentence’ and we translate ‘the same’ as “age-during” or “Ages-during” respectively, it’s ‘highlighting’ God’s Ways to the ‘age or ages time-span’ in which the ‘mountains existed’ as He fulfills His Will —> or as He continues His Will into the next set of “age or ages” (as some translations render “Him marching on” in His Ways).

I see it thus, peace

*Olam is the English transliteration for the Hebrew word meaning “age or ages” according to its ‘singular or plural’ form “lexigraphically”; “usage” in Holy “Scripture” (and not popular worldly literature) determines its meaning best. An “Etymological” approach could be insightful too though I am not aware of any.