Hebrew word · H2209

זִקְנָה

ziknah

old age

The state or season of being old. It is related to זָקֵן (zāqēn, 'old man, elder') and זָקָן (zāqān, 'beard'). The noun is rare.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

old age

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Psalm 71:9

Range of meaning

The state or season of being old. It is related to זָקֵן (zāqēn, 'old man, elder') and זָקָן (zāqān, 'beard'). The noun is rare. Besides here it occurs in Gen 24:36 (Sarah bore a son 'in her old age'), 1 Kgs 11:4 (Solomon's old age), 1 Kgs 15:23 (Asa diseased 'in his old age'), Ps 71:18 and Isa 46:4.

Against the English

English 'old age' is accurate. KJV/ESV/NASB keep the Hebrew's 'in the time of old age'. NIV and NLT turn it into 'when I am old'/'in my old age', which is natural English but drops the idea of a season of life.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isa 46:4 is the closest parallel: 'Even to your old age (ʿad-ziqnâ) I am he, and to grey hairs I will carry you.' Here God promises what Ps 71 asks for. Ps 71:18 comes back to it: 'even to old age and grey hairs, O God, do not forsake me.' The two verses bracket the second half of the psalm. 1 Kgs 1:1–4 (David unable to keep warm) and 2 Sam 19:34–35 (Barzillai at eighty) show the bodily decline linked with old age.

From the study of 1 Kings 11:4

Range of meaning

Old age. Related to zaqen, 'old, elder', and to zaqan, 'beard'.

Against the English

'When Solomon was old' (KJV/WEB) or 'grew old' (BSB) is accurate. YLT's 'at the time of the old age' keeps the Hebrew phrasing, which treats it as a stage of life.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of the old age of Abraham's household (Gen 24:36), of Asa's old age, when he was diseased in his feet (1 Kgs 15:23), and in the prayer 'do not cast me off in the time of old age' (Ps 71:9).

Where it appears

Genesis · 1

  1. Genesis 24:36 זִקְנָתָ֑הּ old age her

    My master’s wife Sarah has borne him a son in her old age, and my master has given him everything he owns.

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 11:4 זִקְנַ֣ת [the] old age of

    For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God, as his father David had been.

    Here: Old age, the time when a person's life is weighed up. The king who began young and wise (1 Kgs 3) ends his life divided.

  2. 1 Kings 15:23 זִקְנָת֔וֹ old age his

    Now the rest of the acts of Asa, along with all his might, all his accomplishments, and the cities he built, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? In his old age, however, he became diseased in his feet.

Psalms · 2

  1. Psalm 71:9 זִקְנָ֑ה old age

    Do not discard me in my old age; do not forsake me when my strength fails.

    Here: Old age, from the same root as 'elder' and close to the word for 'beard'. In Israel old age could mean honour and wisdom, but here the focus is its weakness and exposure.

  2. Psalm 71:18 זִקְנָ֨ה׀ old age

    Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.

    Here: The time of being an elder (zaqen), the same word as in verse 9 ('do not cast me off in the time of old age'). It can carry the standing of an elder, but here the stress falls on growing weak.

Isaiah · 1

  1. Isaiah 46:4 זִקְנָה֙ old age

    Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and deliver you.

    Here: The stage of life when a person grows old and weak. There is no "your" in the Hebrew. Context (v. 3) makes clear it is the old age of the people being addressed, Israel pictured as one person.

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