old: elder
za.qen identifies elders acting for a people or city and, in singular descriptions, an aged person.
The term most often designates plural groups of elders associated with Israel, a city, or a royal setting, who assemble, advise, receive messages, or carry out public action. In singular contexts it describes an aged man or contrasts old age with youth.
Senses in use
-
Elders as communal representatives · dominant
The masculine plural forms occur for groups connected with Israel or a city. In Deuteronomy 21:3 the APB renders the clause with the elders of the nearest city taking a heifer, while Deuteronomy 19:12 presents the elders of a city sending for and handing over a man; in 1 Kings 12:6 the king consults elders for an answer to the people.
-
An aged individual · occasional
The masculine singular absolute form describes a person by age. In 1 Kings 13:11 the APB calls the resident prophet an old prophet, and in Ecclesiastes 4:13 it contrasts a poor, wise youth with an old, foolish king; 1 Samuel 2:31 describes the absence of an old man from a household.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the cited verses, the APB usually presents plural occurrences as "elders" and singular occurrences as "old," "old man," or "old prophet." These English expressions confirm the verse-level presentation rather than fixing a separate rendering for every token.