Greek word · G3819

πάλαι

palai

of old

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πάλαι

adv. of time, [in LXX: Isaiah 48:5, 7 (אָז), etc. ;]

long ago, of old, in time past (denoting past time absolutely, as πρότερον relatively) : Matthew 11:21, Luke 10:13, Hebrews 1:1, Jude 1:4; as adj., with art., 2 Peter 1:9; of time just past, Mark 6:47 (WH, mg.), Mark 15:44 (WH, mg., R, txt.); with durst. praes. (RV, all this time), 2 Corinthians 12:19.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 11:21 πάλαι long ago

    “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

    Here: Tyre would not have waited. It would have turned long since, and that shows up how long Chorazin and Bethsaida have held out.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 15:44 πάλαι of old

    Pilate was surprised to hear that Jesus was already dead, so he summoned the centurion to ask if this was so.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 10:13 πάλαι long ago

    Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

    Here: 'Long since.' Tyre and Sidon would not have needed this long. They would have responded at once, which stresses how slow the Galilean towns have been.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 12:19 Πάλαι Previously

    Have you been thinking all along that we were making a defense to you? We speak before God in Christ, and all of this, beloved, is to build you up.

    Here: Paired with a present-tense verb, it means 'you have been thinking this for some time now' or 'all along.' Paul suspects the readers have been taking the whole of chapters 10–12 the wrong way from the start.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 1:1 πάλαι long ago

    On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.

    Here: Places the earlier speaking in the distant past. It is set against 'at the end of these days' in verse 2.

2 Peter · 1

  1. 2 Peter 1:9 πάλαι former

    But whoever lacks these traits is nearsighted to the point of blindness, having forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

    Here: "Long ago / formerly." These are the sins of his life before conversion. The word sets the old life against the new one he is now forgetting he entered.

Jude · 1

  1. Jude 1:4 πάλαι long ago

    For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

    Here: 'Long ago.' This points to old writings, which Jude goes on to cite: the wilderness generation, the angels, Sodom, Cain, Balaam, Korah, and Enoch's prophecy (vv. 5–15).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.