What does פָּתַל (tittappāl) mean in the Bible?
פָּתַל (tittappāl): Twisting motion merges literal struggle with moral crookedness; depicting waywardness or perversity of character.
Hebrew · H6617
פָּתַל
To twine , i.e. (literally) to struggle or (figuratively) be (morally) tortuous
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פָּתַל H6617
Pronunciation tittappāl
What does פָּתַל (tittappāl) mean in the Bible?
פָּתַל (tittappāl): Twisting motion merges literal struggle with moral crookedness; depicting waywardness or perversity of character.
Full entry for פָּתַל (H6617) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H6617?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include You show Yourself shrewd (2), are crooked (1), I have wrestled (1), of the cunning (1).
Where does פָּתַל (tittappāl) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 30:8. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Samuel (1), Genesis (1), Job (1), Proverbs (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It You show Yourself shrewd 2× 2 Samuel 22:27, Psalms 18:26
are crooked 1× Proverbs 8:8
I have wrestled 1× Genesis 30:8
of the cunning 1× Job 5:13
Show sample aligned rows
Genesis 30:8 נִפְתַּ֛לְתִּי to I have wrestled Verb - Nifal - Perfect - first person common singular 2 Samuel 22:27 תִּתַּפָּֽל׃ to You show Yourself shrewd Verb - Hitpael - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Job 5:13 נִפְתָּלִ֣ים to of the cunning Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine plural Psalms 18:26 תִּתְפַּתָּֽל׃ to You show Yourself shrewd Verb - Hitpael - Imperfect - second person masculine singular Proverbs 8:8 נִפְתָּ֥ל to are crooked Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Genesis 30:8
Aligned rows 5
Books represented 5
Genesis 1 2 Samuel 1 Job 1 Psalms 1 Proverbs 1
Source forms
נִפְתָּ֥ל 1x nip̄·tāl Proverbs 8:8
נִפְתָּלִ֣ים 1x nip̄·tā·lîm Job 5:13
נִפְתַּ֛לְתִּי 1x nip̄·tal·tî Genesis 30:8
תִּתַּפָּֽל׃ 1x tit·tap·pāl 2 Samuel 22:27
תִּתְפַּתָּֽל׃ 1x tiṯ·pat·tāl Psalms 18:26
Parsing patterns
Verb - Hitpael - Imperfect - second person masculine singular 2x 2 Samuel 22:27, Psalms 18:26
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine plural 1x Job 5:13
Verb - Nifal - Participle - masculine singular 1x Proverbs 8:8
Verb - Nifal - Perfect - first person common singular 1x Genesis 30:8
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. Twisting motion merges literal struggle with moral crookedness; depicting waywardness or perversity of character.
Strong's H6617
Lexical occurrences 5 verses Word forms 2 forms 5 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Psalms 18:25–29 Source Gloss
to twine , i.e. (literally) to struggle or (figuratively) be (morally) tortuous
Extended definition Source: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
Twisting motion merges literal struggle with moral crookedness; depicting waywardness or perversity of character.
to twine, i.e. (literally) to struggle or (figuratively) be (morally) tortuous BDB: twist Usage: (shew self) froward, shew self unsavoury, wrestle.
Grammatical Forms
How the stem changes the meaning of this verb across the biblical text.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 5
Hithpael reflexive or reciprocal — the subject acts on itself or mutually with others 2×
Imperfect 2Sam 22:27 · Ps 18:27 2×
Niphal passive or reflexive — the subject receives or experiences the action 3×
Participle active Job 5:13 · Prov 8:8 2×
Perfect Gen 30:8 1×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Old Testament Witnesses
You show yourself shrewd; you out-maneuver; you deal tortuously with
Showing 1 selected witness from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
פָּתַל is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain