🔼The name Perga: Summary
- Meaning
- Capital, Citadel
- Etymology
- From the name Pergamum.
🔼The name Perga in the Bible
Perga was a city in Pamphylia, once renowned for its temple of Artemis but nowadays mostly remembered as the city where young John Mark abandoned Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:13), right after arriving from their stint through Cyprus, which ended with their confrontation with Elymas at Paphos.
After Perga (Acts 13:14), Paul and Barnabas journeyed on to Pisidian Antioch, Iconium and Lycaonia, and on their way back they passed again through Perga and spoke the word there (Acts 14:25). Then they travelled on to Antioch in Syria where they convened with the other apostles.
🔼Etymology and meaning of the name Perga
The name Perga is probably a truncated form of the name Pergamum, which in turn derives from the term περγαμον (pergamon). This word is synonymous with Citadel, but literally means Of First Class Courage (and please see our article on the name Pergamum for the details of this).