"Generation" is used in a variety of senses in the Scriptures. In some cases, it means a period of limitless duration; in others it means the past (Isa. 51:8), and still others the future (Ps. 100:5) > again, it means both the past and future (Ps. 102:24). In Gen. 6:9 it means all men living at any given time. In Prov. 30:11,14 it refers to a class of men with some special characteristics, and in Ps. 49:19 it may be interpreted to mean the "dwelling-place." A generation, in modern phraseology, means thirty to thirty-five years, but there is no instance of the word being used in this particular sense in the Bible. Thus, "the book of the generation of Jesus Christ" is a genealogical record extending back to Abraham. In I Peter 2:9 it means an elect race.
