is used (a) to mark a point of time at or from which events take place, e.g., Luk 3:1 (dates were frequently reckoned from the time when a monarch began to reign); in Gal 3:17 the time of the giving of the Law is stated as 430 "years" after the covenant of promise given to Abraham; there is no real discrepancy between this and Exo 12:40; the Apostle is not concerned with the exact duration of the interval; it certainly was not less than 430 "years;" the point of the argument is that the period was very considerable; Gal 1:18, Gal 2:1 mark events in Paul's life; as to the former the point is that three "years" elapsed before he saw any of the Apostles; in Gal 2:1 the 14 "years" may date either from his conversion or from his visit to Peter mentioned in Gal 1:18; the latter seems the more natural (for a full discussion of the subject see Notes on Galatians by Hogg and Vine, pp. 55ff.); (b) to mark a space of time, e.g., Mat 9:20, Luk 12:19, Luk 13:11, Joh 2:20, Act 7:6, where the 400 "years" mark not merely the time that Israel was in bondage in Egypt, but the time that they sojourned or were strangers there (the RV puts a comma after the word "evil"); the Genevan Version renders Gen 15:13 "thy posterity shall inhabit a strange land for 400 years;" Heb 3:17, Rev 1:20-7; (c) to date an event from one's birth, e.g., Mar 5:42, Luk 2:42, Luk 3:23, Joh 8:57, Act 4:22, 1Ti 5:9; (d) to mark recurring events, Luk 2:41 (with kata, used distributively); Luk 13:7; (e) of an unlimited number, Heb 1:12.
originally "a cycle of time," is used (a) of a particular time marked by an event, e.g., Luk 4:19, Joh 11:49, Joh 11:51, Joh 18:13, Gal 4:10, Rev 9:15; (b) to mark a space of time, Act 11:26, Act 18:11, Jam 4:13, Jam 5:17; (c) of that which takes place every year, Heb 9:7; with kata [cp. (d) above], Heb 9:25, Heb 10:1, Heb 10:3. denotes "a space of two years" (dis, "twice," and No. 1), Act 24:27, Act 28:30. denotes "a space of three years" (treis, "three," and No. 1), Act 20:31. Note: In Luk 1:7, Luk 1:18, hemera, "a day," is rendered "years." akin to A, No. 3, denotes "lasting two years, two years old," Mat 2:16. denotes "a hundred years old," Rom 4:19. "last year, a year ago" (from pera, "beyond"), is used with apo, "from 2Co 8:10, 2Co 9:2. Note: In Heb 11:24, AV, ginomai, "to become," with megas, "great," is rendered "when he was come to years" (RV, "when he was grown up").
