The Hebrew word olam means 'everlasting,' 'hidden,' and 'time' — revealing God as the everlasting God who hides secrets until His appointed time.
In Genesis 21:33, Abraham calls on 'the everlasting God,' which Les Feldick explains is the Hebrew Elohim Olam. The same word is translated 'from everlasting to everlasting' in Psalm 90:2 and 'hidest' in Psalm 10:1. Les teaches that because God is the God of time, He can keep things hidden and reveal them when He is ready.
Genesis 21:33 — Abraham calls on 'the everlasting God' — the Hebrew Elohim Olam that is the subject of this question.
Psalm 90:2 — Uses olam in the expression 'from everlasting to everlasting,' showing the word's meaning of eternity.
In the King James Bible, the Hebrew word olam reaches us in English under several related forms. Genesis 21:33 says that Abraham 'called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.' Psalm 90:2 says of God, 'from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.' Psalm 10:1 asks, 'why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?' And Deuteronomy 29:29 declares, 'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever.' Taken together, these verses show the Bible joining God's eternity with His hiddenness and His keeping of secrets.
Les Feldick teaches that olam is the Hebrew word behind one of the Old Testament names of deity. When Abraham called on 'the everlasting God' at Beersheba, the Hebrew was Elohim Olam. Les also refers to this name as El Olam and Jehovah Olam. He explains that olam is translated with three different meanings: 'from everlasting to everlasting' (God's eternity), 'hid' or 'hideth' (as in Psalm 10:1), and 'the God of time.' Because God is both eternal and the God of time, He has the sovereign ability to hide things in time until He is ready to reveal them. This is why, Les maintains, we must understand progressive revelation — God did not reveal everything in Genesis, and the church age, for example, is not hinted at in the Old Testament prophetic program. He points to Deuteronomy 29:29 — 'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God' — and then turns to Ephesians 3, all with the same thought: the everlasting God keeps things secret until His time to reveal them.
Les Feldick teaches that olam is translated out of the Hebrew with three different meanings that are all closely related. First, it means 'everlasting' or 'from everlasting to everlasting,' describing God's eternal nature. Second, the same word is translated 'hid,' 'hideth,' or 'hidden' — as in Psalm 10:1, where God 'hidest' Himself in times of trouble. Third, olam connects God with time itself; He is the God of time. As Les says in [Clip 0], 'He is the everlasting God... He is Elohim Olam.'
In Genesis 21:33, Abraham called on the name of the LORD, 'the everlasting God' — the Hebrew Elohim Olam, as Les explains in [Clip 0]. In Psalm 90:2, the same Hebrew word stands behind 'from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.' Les notes that olam in regular usage could mean either 'from everlasting to everlasting' or 'hide or hideth' [Clip 1]. So the name 'the everlasting God' is tied directly to the Hebrew word olam.
Les Feldick explains that these meanings are not contradictory; they reveal who God is. God is eternal — 'from everlasting to everlasting' — yet He is also the God of time. Because He is the God of time, He can hide things in time that He wants to keep hidden, and reveal them when He is ready [Clip 4]. Les also cites Deuteronomy 29:29, where the student found 'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God,' as a verse that says this beautifully [Clip 6]. The word olam thus points to God's sovereign ability to hide things until His appointed time.
Les teaches that understanding olam helps explain why Scripture is revealed progressively. He maintains that 'the only way you can understand Scripture, is to get a concept of the progressive revelation' [Clip 4]. God does not tell everything at once in Genesis; He reveals things as time moves on. Because God is the God of time, He kept the church age hidden from the Old Testament prophetic program, where there is 'not one hint of the church age' [Clip 5]. Les then carries the same thought into Ephesians 3, where the everlasting God has 'the sovereign capability of keeping things secret until it's his time to reveal it' [Clip 7].
Elohim Olam — The Everlasting God
Les explains that 'the everlasting God' in Genesis 21:33 is the Hebrew Elohim Olam, and that olam is translated with three different meanings — establishing the foundation for the answer.
Olam Means Everlasting or Hideth
Les shows that olam in regular usage can mean 'from everlasting to everlasting' or 'hide or hideth,' and he cites the Psalms where olam is behind 'why hidest thou thyself.'
El Olam — God's Sovereign Ability to Hide
Les presents 'El Olam' as another name of deity and notes that olam in common usage always refers to things hidden — pointing to God's sovereign ability to hide things.
Jehovah Olam — Hidden Things
Les references the Hebrew name 'Jehovah Olam' for God's encounter with Abraham and notes that the Hebrew word for 'hidden' is olam, as David uses it.
The God of Time and Progressive Revelation
Les concludes that olam teaches God is eternal and timeless but also the God of time, able to hide things in time and reveal them when ready — the basis for progressive revelation.
Olam as Everlasting, Time, and Hidden
Les reiterates that olam is translated as everlasting, the God of time, and hid/hidden, connecting it to the fact that the church age is absent from the Old Testament prophetic program.
God Keeps Secrets Until His Time
Les explains that olam means God is the eternal God who also keeps secrets, and he uses Deuteronomy 29:29 — 'The secret things belong unto the LORD our God' — to confirm the point.
The Sovereign Capability of Secrecy
Les wraps up by stating that olam means the everlasting God has the sovereign capability of keeping things secret until His time to reveal, then turns to Ephesians 3.
Genesis 21:33: And Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God.
This is the verse from which Les draws the name Elohim Olam — 'the everlasting God.'
Psalm 10:1: Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
Shows olam translated as 'hidest,' where the Psalmist asks why God hides Himself in times of trouble.
Psalm 90:2: Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
Uses the phrase 'from everlasting to everlasting,' with olam describing God's eternal existence.
Deuteronomy 29:29: The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Les cites this verse to show that God keeps secret things until He chooses to reveal them.
Olam is a Hebrew word with three closely related meanings. It is translated 'everlasting' or 'from everlasting to everlasting,' as in Genesis 21:33 and Psalm 90:2. It is also translated 'hidest' or 'hidden,' as in Psalm 10:1. Les Feldick adds that olam also identifies God as the God of time.
Yes. In Genesis 21:33, Abraham calls on 'the everlasting God,' which Les Feldick explains is the Hebrew Elohim Olam. Les also refers to this name as El Olam and Jehovah Olam, showing it is one of the names of deity in the Old Testament.
Les Feldick teaches that olam reveals God as both eternal and the God of time. Because God is the God of time, He can keep things hidden until His appointed time to reveal them, as seen in Deuteronomy 29:29 and explained through progressive revelation.
Watch the Teaching: Hagar, Ishmael & The Everlasting God: Genesis 21 Bible Study