StrongerBible

pa'al

פָּעַל

HebrewH6466work, do, ...

Appears 57 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Exo 15:17Num 23:23Deu 32:27Job 7:20Job 11:8Job 22:17Job 31:3Job 33:29Job 34:8Job 34:22Job 34:32Job 35:6Job 36:3Job 36:23Job 37:12Psa 5:5(6)Psa 6:8(9)Psa 7:13(14)Psa 7:15(16)Psa 11:3Psa 14:4Psa 15:2Psa 28:3Psa 31:19(20)Psa 36:12(13)Psa 44:1(2)Psa 53:4(5)Psa 58:2(3)Psa 59:2(3)Psa 64:2(3)Psa 68:28(29)Psa 74:12Psa 92:7(8)Psa 119:3Pro 16:4Pro 30:20Isa 26:12Isa 41:4Isa 43:13Isa 44:12 (2×)Isa 44:15Hos 7:1Hab 1:5Zep 2:3
Root family
Names & words formed with this
Word studypah-ALverb

What pa'al means

to do, make, or accomplish: to bring something about by deliberate action

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

This is a poetic word for acting, found mostly in Job, the Psalms, Proverbs, and the prophets, where it sits alongside the everyday word for doing and making. To pa'al something is to carry it out and bring it into being, with the focus on the deed itself and on who is responsible for it.

The word leans heavily on the moral weight of an action. It describes what God does, often his saving and ordering acts, and it describes what people do, very often their wrongdoing. Its single most common form is a set phrase, "those who do iniquity," a standing label for the wicked as people whose whole way of life is producing evil.

So the senses below are not different definitions of the word but the same act of doing seen from different angles: God at work, people producing evil, and human action in general, including doing what is right. The English word stays the same throughout; what changes is the actor and the moral color of the deed.

Nuances

1aof God: to work, perform, or bring about, especially his saving and creative deeds
Exo 15:17Num 23:23Deu 32:27Job 22:17Job 33:29Job 36:3Psa 31:19(20)Psa 44:1(2)Psa 68:28(29)Psa 74:12Pro 16:4Isa 26:12
1bof people: to practice evil; in the fixed phrase "those who do iniquity," a name for the wicked
Job 31:3Job 34:8Job 34:22Job 34:32Job 36:23Psa 5:5(6)Psa 6:8(9)Psa 7:15(16)Psa 14:4Psa 28:3Psa 36:12(13)Psa 53:4(5)
1cof people: to act, make, or do generally, including doing what is right
Job 7:20Job 11:8Job 35:6Psa 11:3Psa 15:2Isa 44:12 (2×)Isa 44:15Zep 2:3

What scholars say about pa'al

BDB and HALOT treat H6466 פעל as a single poetic root meaning to do, make, or accomplish, distributed almost entirely across Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and the prophets, and overlapping in sense with the prose-default עשׂה. The standard lexica organize the usage by agent and moral coloring rather than by distinct meanings: divine activity (creative, salvific, ordering) on one side, and human conduct on the other, where the substantival participle פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן functions as a stock designation for the wicked. The phrase פֹּעֲלֵי אָוֶן is concentrated in the Psalter and has been much discussed in form-critical work on the laments (notably Mowinckel's proposal connecting it to sorcery or curse-workers, generally not followed today). The cognate noun פֹּעַל and the more frequent מַעֲשֶׂה supply the nominal counterparts.

Sources

  • BDB, s.v. פָּעַלlexicon
  • HALOT, s.v. פעלlexicon
  • TDOT, s.v. פָּעַל (paal)dictionary

All attested forms of פָּעַל

qal participle m p construct

פֹּעֲלֵי

Job 31:3, Job 34:8, Job 34:22, Psa 5:5, Psa 6:8, Psa 14:4, Psa 28:3, Psa 36:12

qal perfect 2ms

פָּעַלְתָּ

Exo 15:17, Job 36:23, Psa 31:19, Psa 44:1, Psa 68:28, Isa 26:12

qal imperfect 3ms

יִפְעַל, יִפְעָל, יִּפְעַל

Job 33:29, Isa 44:15, Psa 7:13, Psa 7:15, Job 22:17

qal perfect 3ms

פָּעַל, פָּעָל

Num 23:23, Deu 32:27, Pro 16:4, Isa 41:4, Psa 11:3

qal participle m s absolute

פֹּעֵל

Psa 15:2, Psa 74:12, Hab 1:5

qal perfect 3cp

פָעֲלוּ, פָּעָלוּ

Psa 119:3, Hos 7:1, Zep 2:3

qal imperfect 1cs

אֶפְעַל

Job 7:20, Isa 43:13

qal imperfect 2ms

תִּפְעָל

Job 11:8, Job 35:6

qal perfect 1cs

פָּעַלְתִּי

Job 34:32, Pro 30:20

qal consecutive-imperfect 3ms

וַיִּפְעָלֵ

Isa 44:12

qal consecutive-perfect 3ms

וּפָעַל

Isa 44:12

qal imperfect 2mp

תִּפְעָלוּ

Psa 58:2

qal infinitive-construct construct

פָעֳלָ

Job 37:12

qal participle m s construct

פֹעֲלִ

Job 36:3