To judge (officially or mentally); by extension, to intercede , pray
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
פָּלַל (pālal) is the Hebrew verb used for praying, interceding, and entreating before God. Genesis 20:7 and 20:17 show Abraham praying for Abimelech's household, Numbers 11:2 shows Moses interceding after the people cry out, and Numbers 21:7 joins confession with a request that Moses pray.
Reader summary
Full entry for פָּלַל (H6419) · Open the biblical lexicon
פָּלַל (pālal) is the Hebrew verb used for praying, interceding, and entreating before God. Genesis 20:7 and 20:17 show Abraham praying for Abimelech's household, Numbers 11:2 shows Moses interceding after the people cry out, and Numbers 21:7 joins confession with a request that Moses pray.
The BSB source-word alignment has 84 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Pray (12), prayed (11), praying (6), and pray (4), and when they pray (4).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 20:7. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Chronicles (14), 1 Samuel (11), 1 Kings (10), Jeremiah (10).
This entry includes 2 verse guides that explain exact original-language forms in context.
פָּלַל (pālal) is the Hebrew verb used for praying, interceding, and entreating before God. Genesis 20:7 and 20:17 show Abraham praying for Abimelech's household, Numbers 11:2 shows Moses interceding after the people cry out, and Numbers 21:7 joins confession with a request that Moses pray. The verb names the act of prayer; the passage supplies the petition, posture, covenant setting, and outcome.
Personal and communal prayer take many forms. Hannah prays from deep distress in First Samuel 1, Samuel regards ceasing to pray for Israel as sin in 12:23, Solomon's temple prayer addresses forgiveness, exile, drought, war, and the foreigner, and Daniel 9 joins confession, covenant memory, and petition. Nehemiah prays while planning and acting, so prayer is not presented as a substitute for responsibility or wise means.
Scripture also constrains presumptuous claims. Jeremiah is at times forbidden to pray for a people under settled judgment, while Jeremiah 29:7 commands prayer for the welfare of the exile city. Job 42:8-10 uses intercession within the resolution of conflict and divine correction. Answers vary, and prayer does not grant control over God, guarantee a preferred result, or authorize one person to override another's consent by claiming spiritual certainty.
Palal covers petition, lament, confession, intercession, temple prayer, prayer for civic welfare, and prayer within reconciliation. The canonical witness encourages honest approach to God while rejecting technique, entitlement, and outcome control.
God directs Abimelech to return Sarah and says Abraham will pray for him.
The people confess sin and ask Moses to pray for removal of the serpents.
Hannah prays in bitter distress and weeps before the Lord.
Samuel refuses to cease praying for the people while continuing to teach the good and right way.
Solomon asks God to hear prayer directed toward the temple and to forgive.
Hezekiah prays before the Lord under Assyrian threat and begins with God's kingship and creatorship.
Exiles are commanded to seek their city's welfare and pray to the Lord on its behalf.
Daniel's prayer begins with confession of God's covenant faithfulness and Israel's sin.
Job is instructed to pray for his friends after God rebukes their speech.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Hebrew word. Mental discernment and official judgment merge into intercession—appealing to a higher authority through deliberate reasoning.
Mental discernment and official judgment merge into intercession—appealing to a higher authority through deliberate reasoning.
to judge (officially or mentally); by extension, to intercede, pray BDB: intervene Usage: intreat, judge(-ment), (make) pray(-er, -ing), make supplication.
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.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 84 lexical occurrence verses.
פָּלַל is a primitive root - no further derivation.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Palal invites prayer that is honest, covenant-shaped, and joined to responsible action. Hannah shows that anguish may be voiced without polished performance. Moses and Samuel model intercession without pretending the people are innocent. Solomon's prayer makes room for foreigners, failure, discipline, forgiveness, and return. Jeremiah shows that prayer is not a device for avoiding a settled moral crisis, while Daniel and Nehemiah unite confession and petition with truthful history and concrete obedience.
Pastoral teaching should welcome lament, silence, repeated requests, communal prayer, and professional care where needed. It must reject formulas that promise a yes, imply suffering proves weak faith, or use claimed revelation to control another person. Prayer seeks God; it does not place God or a neighbor under the petitioner's command.
1Kings.8.30
H6419 is attested chiefly in prayer and intercession settings. Etymological proposals involving judgment should not displace the contextual sense or be used to redefine prayer as a legal technique.
Jesus teaches prayer oriented to God's name, kingdom, will, provision, forgiveness, and deliverance, and the apostles practice lament, thanksgiving, intercession, and communal discernment. These continuities do not make every New Testament prayer term a direct lexical equivalent of H6419.
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