generation
genea denotes a people-group identified as “this” generation, and can also mark generations across time or a genealogical sequence.
The term most often identifies a particular people-group addressed or evaluated as “this generation,” especially in sayings about seeking signs, unbelief, rejection, and coming events. It also occurs in plural for successive eras of people, and once for the structured ancestral groupings in Matthew’s account.
Senses in use
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A particular people-group in view · dominant
Singular forms regularly point to a designated group in the immediate setting: in Luke 11:29 the APB renders the clause, “This generation is an evil generation,” and says that it seeks a sign. In Mark 8:12 the same group seeks a sign and is told that none will be given; in Matthew 23:36, Luke 21:32, and Mark 13:30 it is the group upon which events will come or which will not pass away before stated events occur.
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Successive eras of people · common
Plural forms mark people across successive periods. In Acts 14:16 the APB renders “In past generations,” while Acts 15:21 refers to “ancient generations”; Ephesians 3:5 and Colossians 1:26 contrast earlier generations with a present revelation. Ephesians 3:21 and Luke 1:50 extend the expression through continuing generations.
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Genealogical groupings · rare
In Matthew 1:17, nominative plural forms occur in a sequence from Abraham to David, from David to the deportation, and from the deportation to the Christ. The APB presents each segment as fourteen such groupings.
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An individual’s generation · rare
Acts 8:33 uses an accusative singular form in the question, “Who will describe his generation?” The surrounding verse concerns humiliation, justice taken away, and life taken from the earth; the translation does not isolate the term’s precise contribution beyond the gloss-level reference.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term with “this generation” when a particular group is addressed or judged, and with plural “generations” for successive periods. In Matthew 1:17 it uses “generations” for the repeated ancestral groupings.