פָּתַל pâthal — to twine, i.e. (literally) to struggle or (figuratively) be (morally) tortuous
Translated in the KJV as froward, shew self unsavoury, wrestle.
a primitive root; to twine, i.e. (literally) to struggle or (figuratively) be (morally) tortuous.
pâthal in each stem
Niph'al
Participle (active) 2Perfect (qatal) 1
And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali.
He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.
All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.
Hitpa'el
Imperfect (yiqtol) 2
With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself unsavoury.
For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
What the stems mean
A Hebrew verb is its root letters set into a pattern. The pattern — the binyan — is the grammar's way of saying three things at once: whether the action is simple, intensive or causative, and whether its subject is active, passive or reflexive. That is why one Hebrew word can need six English ones. All seven binyanim, explained ›