Modern Meaning
What Does “Old as the hills” Mean?
Extremely old or ancient.
Biblical Origin
Where Does This Phrase Come From?
Eliphaz questions Job's claim to wisdom by asking if he was born before the hills themselves. The hills represent the most ancient things in creation, and "old as the hills" became English shorthand for anything extremely ancient.
The phrase appears in Job 15:7 in the King James Version of the Bible, first published in 1611.
Usage Today
How Is It Used Today?
A playful exaggeration for great age. "That recipe is old as the hills — my grandmother's grandmother used it."
The KJV Verse
Job 15:7
“Art thou the first man that was born? or wast thou made before the hills?”
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