StrongerBible

palaios

παλαιός

GreekG3820old

Appears 19 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 9:16Mat 9:17Mat 13:52Mrk 2:21 (2×)Mrk 2:22Luk 5:36 (2×)Luk 5:37Luk 5:39 (2×)Rom 6:61Co 5:71Co 5:82Co 3:14Eph 4:22Col 3:91Jn 2:7 (2×)
Root family
Word studypah-lai-OSSadjective

What palaios means

old: having been around a long time and no longer new, whether worn out, left in the past, or long established

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

This word means "old" in the sense of something that has existed for a long time and stands over against what is new. It is the natural opposite of the two Greek words for "new": καινός, new in kind or quality, and νέος, new or young in time. The Gospels pair it with both in the picture of old garments and old wineskins that cannot hold what is fresh.

Depending on context the "oldness" can pull in different directions. Sometimes it is simply neutral or even positive: an old commandment is one the readers have had from the start, and aged wine is prized over new. But often the word carries a shadow of "worn out" or "obsolete," something that has had its day and is being set aside: the burst wineskin, the old batch of leaven that must be cleared out, the person's former self, the covenant that is passing.

One thing the word does not do is describe how old a person is. For an elderly or senior person the New Testament uses other words. Nor does it reach back to "ancient" or "original" times; that shade belongs to the near-synonym ἀρχαῖος. Here the accent falls on "former" and "no longer new."

Nuances

1aold and worn: a physical thing that has aged, set against what is new
TranslatabilityDirect
Mat 9:16Mat 9:17Mrk 2:21 (2×)Mrk 2:22Luk 5:36 (2×)Luk 5:37Luk 5:39 (2×)
1bthe former order now being left behind: what belonged to an earlier state and is being superseded
Rom 6:61Co 5:71Co 5:82Co 3:14Eph 4:22Col 3:9
1clong-standing: what has been in place from the beginning, not newly introduced
TranslatabilityDirect
Mat 13:521Jn 2:7 (2×)

What scholars say about palaios

Standard lexica treat παλαιός as a single adjective meaning "old" in the sense of having existed a long time, in antithesis to καινός and νέος ("new"). BDAG distinguishes the neutral use (old garments, wineskins, and wine; the old commandment of 1 John 2:7) from the pejorative overtone of what is obsolete or to be discarded (old leaven, the old self, the old covenant). LSJ records the classical opposition to καινός/νέος and the derived nuance "antiquated, obsolete." H. Seesemann (TDNT) and the NIDNTT article on "Old, New" trace the Pauline language of the "old man" (Rom 6:6; Eph 4:22; Col 3:9) and the "old covenant" (2 Cor 3:14) as expressions of the two-age contrast between the order in Adam and the new creation in Christ. The word is kept distinct from ἀρχαῖος ("ancient, original, from the beginning").

Sources

  • BDAG, s.v. παλαιόςlexicon
  • LSJ, s.v. παλαιόςlexicon
  • H. Seesemann, "παλαιός κτλ.," TDNT 5:717-720dictionary
  • NIDNTT, s.v. "Old, New" (παλαιός, καινός, νέος)dictionary

All attested forms of παλαιός

accusative m p

παλαιούς

Mat 9:17, Mrk 2:22, Luk 5:37

accusative m s

παλαιὸν

Luk 5:39, Eph 4:22, Col 3:9

accusative f s

παλαιὰν

1Co 5:7, 1Jn 2:7

accusative n s

παλαιόν

Mrk 2:21, Luk 5:36

dative n s

παλαιῷ

Mat 9:16, Luk 5:36

nominative m s

παλαιὸς

Luk 5:39, Rom 6:6

accusative n p

παλαιά

Mat 13:52

dative f s

παλαιᾷ

1Co 5:8

genitive f s

παλαιᾶς

2Co 3:14

genitive n s

παλαιοῦ

Mrk 2:21

nominative f s

παλαιά

1Jn 2:7