GROWING BY DECREASING. A Historical Journey through the Concept of Old Age (IV, final)

Lecture given at the EHU (University of the Basque Country) Summer Courses, 2026 (continuation and final)

8. The Jewish and Christian Biblical Tradition

The Judeo-Christian Bible is a world in itself; it contains everything. There are texts that celebrate old age as a blessing from God, and texts that lament the burdens of old age and the brevity of life.

In this section I bring together some major texts from the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible, known in the Christian tradition as the “Old Testament”) and from the Christian biblical literature known as the “New Testament.”

a) Some texts from the Tanakh (Jewish Bible)

“You will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a happy old age”, God promises Abraham when He seals His covenant with him (Gen 15:15). As in so many Indigenous traditions, in ancient Judaism too death can be, not a curse, but a blessing when it comes after a happy old age—that is, when one leaves descendants behind and is “full of days,” as is said of Abraham himself in the account of his death (Gen 25:8).

On the other hand, the wisdom tradition of the Bible accords with the unanimous teaching of the historical traditions to which I have referred when it closely associates old age with wisdom. “Wisdom is found among the aged, and understanding comes with long life,” says Job 12:12.

Yet within this same biblical wisdom tradition, in the book of Qoheleth (or Ecclesiastes), we find a darker and extraordinarily beautiful text that we cannot leave aside:

“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say: ‘I have no pleasure in them’;
before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars grow dark
and the clouds return after the rain.
When the guardians of the house [hands] tremble
and the strong men [legs] bend;
when the women grinding [teeth and molars] cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows [eyes] grow dim;
when the doors to the street are shut
and the sound of the mill fades away,
when the song of the bird dies away
and all the songs grow silent;
when the heights become frightening
and the dangers of the road cause alarm;
when the almond tree is despised,
the grasshopper becomes a burden,
and the caper berry has no effect.
For the human being goes to his eternal home,
and the mourners roam the streets.
Before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden lamp is shattered,
before the pitcher is broken at the spring
and the wheel falls into the well;
before the dust returns to the earth from which it came,
and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
everything is vanity.” (Qoh 12:1–8)

“Remember your Creator”—that is, the mystery at the source of life. Become aware of what is truly valuable; free yourself from whatever separates you from your deepest, good and happy self; learn to live. Live as life is worth living: free from the fears and attachments of your superficial self, your ego. Live.

“I understood,” says Qoheleth a few chapters earlier, “that the only happiness human beings have is to rejoice and enjoy life, since it is also God’s gift that a person should eat, drink and enjoy the fruits of their labour” (Eccl 3:12–13). But the desire to enjoy oneself at any cost and at the expense of anyone else actually prevents us from truly enjoying life.

b) Some texts from the “New Testament” (Christian biblical literature)

If we turn to what the Christian tradition calls the New Testament, I would highlight three texts and one figure.

In the Second Letter to the community of Corinth, in one of the most influential texts in Christianity, Paul writes: “Though our physical condition is deteriorating, our inner being is renewed day by day” (2 Cor 4:16). This is in no way a matter of opposing the outer body to an inner soul; he calls “inner being” the possibility that our being, inseparably physical and spiritual, may gradually become freer and more peaceful, detached from itself, empathetic and happy—the possibility of becoming what we are not.

In the Letter to Titus, whose author is somewhat later than Paul and was one of his disciples, we read: “Let the older men be temperate, serious-minded and prudent; let them live fully in faith, charity and patience” (Tit 2:2). As I indicated above, the Christian churches, following the Jewish tradition, were led by older men. Yet the author of the letter calls upon all older men to embody the virtues of the elders who exercised leadership: temperance, sound judgment, prudence, faith, charity, patience… (And what about older women? We cannot evade the question. All the more so because, immediately after the words quoted above, the author writes words that perfectly illustrate Simone de Beauvoir’s critique and teaching and that, for this very reason, must not be silenced here: “Likewise, let the older women conduct themselves in a manner worthy of holy people; let them not be slanderers or addicted to wine, but good counsellors. In this way they will teach the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to be self-controlled, honest, homemakers, kind and submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be blasphemed” (Tit 2:3–5). The person who wrote these words could not have imagined how many women and men would be led by them to blaspheme, with good reason, the “word of God” and the word God, since such words denigrate the human being.)

Another major text that can be applied to the condition of old age is a saying that the evangelist John places in Jesus’ mouth, words addressed to Peter that describe, through extraordinarily beautiful images, the deeper journey of human existence: “Very truly I tell you, when you were younger, you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go” (Jn 21:18). In itself, this saying attributed to Jesus decades after the death of Jesus himself and of Peter does not refer to Peter’s helplessness as a result of old age, but rather to Peter as a prisoner—presumably still vigorous—who would be executed on the orders of the Emperor Nero. That does not make Jesus’ statement any less true, expressive or beautiful: “A day will come when you will no longer be able to manage on your own and will depend on others who will take you from place to place and lead you where you need to go.” It is not only older people who are dependent. At bottom, this is the condition of every human being at every age: we are always dependent, and the wisdom of life consists in accepting this and learning how to be dependent. Indeed, life and freedom do not consist in being able to do whatever we please, but in wanting to do what is good for ourselves and for others; in accepting and wanting life to take us where it takes us; in accepting the web of relationships and interdependencies that make us who we are, amid the different circumstances and vicissitudes that befall us. And this is true both when we believe that we are self-sufficient and when we are no longer able to manage on our own. And this is always one of the principal challenges for every older person, but also one of their great opportunities: to accept and to want to go where life takes us, when that is what is best for ourselves and for those around us.

To conclude, I would like to mention an elderly figure presented to us in the Gospel of Luke, who can be regarded as the most beautiful icon of old age ever portrayed. He is Simeon, “a righteous and devout man who was waiting for the consolation of Israel.” When, according to Luke’s account, Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple to present him, Simeon receives him and recognises in the child the Messiah who would bring consolation and liberation to his people. And, deeply moved, he takes Jesus into his arms and says: “Now, Lord, according to your promise, you may let your servant die in peace” (Lk 2:29). That would be my highest aspiration for each day and for the final day of my life.

Essential Bibliography

Aristóteles, Retórica, Libro II, capítulos 13–14
https://cristoraul.org/SPANISH/sala-de-lectura/BIBLIOTECATERCERMILENIO/CLASICOS/ARISTOTELES/Aristoteles-Retorica.pdf

Aristóteles, Ética para Nicómaco, Libro VI, 1142-1143
https://www.imprentanacional.go.cr/editorialdigital/libros/literatura%20universal/etica_a_nicomaco_edincr.pdf

Bhagavad Gita (https://nueva-acropolis.es/libros/Bhagavad_Gita.pdf)

Biblia (La Casa de la Biblia)

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (https://yoganidra.com.mx/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Brihadaranyaka-Upanishad-yoga-nidra-mx-cdmx-1.pdf)

Buda Gautama
https://hastinapura.org.ar/editorial/textos/Dhammapada.pdf

Cicerón, Sobre la vejez
file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/de-la-vejez-bilingue-4.pdf

Confucio, Analectas
https://www.suneo.mx/literatura/subidas/vdocuments.mx_analectas-confucio.pdf

Hesse, H., Elogio de la vejez
elogio-de-la-vejez-herman-hesse.pdf

Laozi, Tao Te King
https://nueva-acropolis.es/libros/Lao_Tse-Tao_Te_King.pdf

Platón, República Libro I, 329-331; Libro VII (540a–b)
https://circulosemiotico.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/platc3b3n-la-republica.pdf