Bible word study

Pala (Strong’s H6381): Meaning in the Bible

Pala (פָּלָא) is the Hebrew word numbered H6381 in Strong’s concordance of the Bible. Strong’s defines it as properly, perhaps to separate, i.e. distinguish (literally or figuratively); by implication, to be (causatively, make) great, difficult, wonderful. In the King James Bible it is translated accomplish, (arise...too, be too) hard, hidden, things too high.

• Original wordפָּלָא
• Transliterationpâlâʼ
• Pronunciationpaw-law'
• Part of speechverb (v)
• Strong’s numberH6381
• LanguageHebrew

The full Strong’s definition

Derivation. a primitive root;

How the King James Bible translates it

Where Pala appears in the Bible

In the King James Bible’s text tagged with Strong’s numbers, Pala (H6381) stands behind 73 English renderings in 69 verses across 20 of the 66 books. It is most frequent in Psalms (30), Job (6), Deuteronomy (4).

How the King James Bible renders Pala, by count

• works17 of 73 (23 percent)
• wonders9 of 73 (12 percent)
• marvellous8 of 73 (11 percent)
• wonderful7 of 73 (10 percent)
• things6 of 73 (8 percent)
• hard5 of 73 (7 percent)

Three places to read Pala

• Genesis 18:14 Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.
• Job 9:10 Which doeth great things past finding out; yea, and wonders without number.
• Psalms 107:15 Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Counts are made at build time from the King James text tagged with Strong’s numbers (eBible.org, public domain). Verses are read from the stored King James text, never typed.

Why the word matters

Every word the biblical writers chose carries weight. Studying Pala in the original Hebrew lets you read the passages where it appears more carefully, closer to what the first hearers understood, so the meaning is drawn from the text itself rather than from the English alone.

The lexical data on this page comes from the public-domain Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890), a Hebrew and Greek dictionary keyed to the King James Bible. It is a reference tool, not a settled verdict: no single word decides a doctrine, and meaning is finally shaped by how a word is used in its sentences. Read the passages themselves, prayerfully, and in full.

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