Greek word · G3944

παροίχομαι

paroichomai

to pass by

To pass by, go past; in the perfect form, to be gone, be over (of time). Used in classical and later Greek for days, years or ages that have slipped away (LSJ, BDAG).

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

παρ-οίχομαι

to have passed by; of time, to be gone by: ἐν τ. παρῳχημέναις γενεαῖς, Acts 14:16.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Acts 14:16

Range of meaning

To pass by, go past; in the perfect form, to be gone, be over (of time). Used in classical and later Greek for days, years or ages that have slipped away (LSJ, BDAG).

Against the English

"In times past" (KJV), "in the past" (NIV), "in past generations" (BSB, ESV) and "in the generations gone by" (WEB, NASB) are all fine. WEB and NASB come closest to the Greek's sense of "gone and finished".

Used elsewhere in the period

This is the only place it appears in the New Testament. It was a refined, literary word, used for example by Josephus and in classical prose for elapsed time. Luke uses it here even though the speech is set before a rural crowd.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 14:16 παρῳχημέναις having past

    In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.

    Here: "That have gone by, now over and done." The Greek form describes a finished state: those ages have passed and are closed. This hints that a new period has begun, which Paul says outright in Athens (Acts 17:30). The verb appears only here in the New Testament.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.