πάλαι G3819
Long ago, of old; denoting a time far in the past, often contrasting former conditions with the present.
An adverb reaching back into the distant past, often carrying a note of moral contrast: if Tyre and Sidon had seen such miracles 'long ago' (palai), they would have repented (Matt 11:21; Luke 10:13). Spanish 'hace tiempo' and French 'jadis' both capture the temporal remoteness, while German 'längst' ('long since') adds the nuance of overdue expectation. In Hebrews 1:1 it frames the entire Old Testament era as the time when God spoke 'of old' through the prophets, setting up the climactic revelation in the Son.
Senses
1. long ago — Long ago, of old — a temporal marker pointing to the distant past, frequently deployed in comparisons between former and present realities. In the Gospels it intensifies rebuke: Tyre and Sidon would have repented 'long ago' (Matt 11:21; Luke 10:13). In Hebrews 1:1 it sweeps the entire prophetic era into one epochal 'of old,' contrasting it with the Son's definitive word. The uniform rendering across languages — Spanish 'antiguamente,' French 'jadis,' German 'einst' — confirms a single stable sense of remote temporal distance. 7×
amh["ቀድሞ"]·AR["القَديمَةِ", "قديماً", "قَديماً", "قَديمًا", "مُنذُ-زَمانٍ", "مُنْذُ-زَمانٍ", "مُنْذُ-زَمَنٍ"]·ben["অনেক-আগেই", "আগেই", "পূর্বে", "পূর্বেই", "পূর্বের"]·ces["dávno"]·dan["fordum"]·DE["einst", "längst", "vor-langer-Zeit"]·ell["πάλαι"]·EN["long-ago", "of-old"]·FR["depuis-longtemps", "jadis"]·guj["પહેલેથી"]·hat["depi-lontan"]·hau["tun-dā"]·heb["לְפָנִים", "מִזְּמַן", "מִכְּבָר", "מקדם"]·HI["कब-से", "पहले", "पहले-से", "पुराने-समय-में", "बहुत-पहले"]·hun["régen"]·ID["Sejak-dahulu", "dahulu", "dahulu-kala", "sudah-lama"]·IT["anticamente", "palai"]·jav["Dangu", "ing-jaman-kina", "rumiyin", "sampun-dangu"]·JA["昔から"]·KO["옛", "옛적에", "오래-전에", "오래전부터"]·mar["पूर्वी"]·mya["ရှေးကပင်"]·nld["oudtijds"]·nor["fra-gammel-tid"]·pnb["پہلاں"]·pol["dawno"]·PT["Há-muito", "antigamente", "antigos", "há-muito"]·ron["de-mult"]·RU["давно", "древле", "издревле", "прежних"]·ES["Hace-tiempo", "antiguamente", "hace-tiempo"]·SW["Zamani", "zamani"]·swe["fordom"]·tam["முன்பே"]·tel["పూర్వము"]·tgl["noong-una"]·TH["นานมาแล้ว"]·TR["Uzun-zaman-", "eskiden", "çoktan"]·ukr["здавна"]·urd["پہلے", "پہلے-سے", "پہلے-کے"]·VI["từ-xưa"]·yor["láti-ìgbà-àtijọ́"]·yue["好耐之前"]·ZH["早已"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πάλαι [ᾰ], adverb long ago, π. οὔ τι νέον γε Refs 8th c.BC+; π. ποτέ once upon a time, Refs 5th c.BC+present of an act lasting to the present, ὁρῶ.. π. I have long seen, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἰχνεύω π.Refs 5th c.BC+; but, π. ποτ᾽ ὄντες ye who were long ago, Refs: also with perfect, τέθνηχ᾽ ὑμῖν π. Refs 5th c.BC+imperfect of an act lasting to a past time, ἔχεν π. had long been holding it, Refs 8th c.BC+…