Abarim Publications' online Biblical Greek Dictionary

παλλακη

The noun παλλακη (pallake) or παλλακις (pallakis) means young girl or concubine, and it's a mystery where it came from. Similar words exist in other languages — palaca in Latin, פילגש (pilagesh) in Hebrew — but these are obviously alien to the languages they ended up in.

The best candidate for our noun's ancestor is the Proto-Indo-European root "pel-", meaning to beat, push or drive. From that same root came the verb παλλω (pallo), that describes the hurling of a spear (see next). Carrying a spear was a mark of authority (see our article on κυριος, kurios, meaning lord but literally spear-carrier), and our noun παλλακη (pallake) may very well literally mean something like: belonging to a lord.

The epithet Pallas (of Pallas Athena) is often considered to derive from our noun παλλακη (pallake), which makes her other main epithet — παρθενος, parthenos, Virgin — such a big deal. How precisely the name Pallas was formed is no longer clear (since this appears to have happened before Greek was Greek), but perhaps from its dative plural: παλλακαις (palakais), as an early wonder-woman called: to the slave-girls! (compare Revelation 18:7 to Isaiah 47:8: a woman without a husband, yet not a widow). Our name may also have been drawn from the verb παλλω (pallo), and mean spear-thrower, as a mark of sovereign authority.

There were quite a few mythological characters named Pallas in Greek mythology, but these were all male. Athena obtained her name from a Giant named Pallas, along with his skin that she flayed from his body and covered her shield with. An identical PIE root "pel-" means to cover or wrap, and yields nouns that mean skin, hide or cloth (hence the word pelt). Shields were normally covered in ox-hides (see our article on βους, bous, ox), and it is no coincidence that the Logos first introduced himself to humanity by stating that he was a shield (Genesis 15:1). An obviously similar story is told in the New Testament, when Saul of Tarsus locked horns with Bar-Jesus, and ended up with the name of his host, namely Sergius Paulus.

Our noun παλλακη (pallake) or παλλακις (pallakis) is not used in the New Testament.

παλλω

The verb παλλω (pallo) isn't used in the New Testament, but it's part of a cluster of words that all emphasize the proverbial bough between extremes, and that most often extremes in time: the stretch between the now and some point in the past. Our verb παλλω (pallo) is mostly used to describe a charged poise, like a compressed spring just prior to its release and launch — most recognizably depicted as a person brandishing a spear in defense (see our article on κυριος, kurios). As we discuss above, it may be the root of the noun παλλας (pallas), meaning youth, or that time just prior to launching into adolescence and onto maturity. This noun is of course most famously part of the name of Pallas Athena, and read our article on the name Mary for more on her.

From our verb derives:

• The noun παλη (pale), which was a very common word in the classics and mostly denoted a wrestling match: the familiar encounter of two slithery men standing poised in engagement. This word occurs only once in the New Testament, namely in Ephesians 6:12, where Paul famously described mankind's condition as that of a wrestling match with the forces of old and evil. It should be noted that Paul had words at his disposal that would describe bloody battles and violent bludgeoning, but instead he used this word, which has a strong connotation of sport (2 Timothy 4:7) and even a battle with the foolishness of one's own youth (Psalm 25:7).

παλαι

• Together with the preposition εκ (ek), meaning out or from: the adverb εκπαλαι (ekpalai), meaning out of antiquity. This word refers to the same phenomenon as does the name Moses, namely the wisdom that came to us through the mists of time. It's used in 2 Peter 2:3 and 3:5 only.
• The adjective παλαιος (palaios), meaning old, either time honored or time worn. It's used 19 times, see full concordance, and from it in turn come:
  • The noun παλαιοτης (palaiotes), meaning oldness (Romans 7:6 only).
  • The verb παλαιοω (palaioo), meaning to make old. This verb is used 4 times in three verses: see full concordance.

παλιν

• Together with the familiar noun γενεσις (genesis) meaning origin: the noun παλιγγενεσια (paliggenesia), meaning regeneration or rebirth (Matthew 19:28 and Titus 3:5 only).