פֹּ֫עַל
work
also: deed, doing fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
Stem
- Qal
- The basic, simple active stem — the plain form of the verb (“he wrote”).
Form
- Infinitive Construct
- A bound verbal noun, frequently with prepositions (“to write / in writing”).
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct 33 times (87%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 2 times (5%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 2 times (5%)
- Verb, Qal, Infinitive Construct 1 time (3%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 38 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Every verse where H6467 appears — 38 distinct verses across 10 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Deuteronomy 2 verses
- Deuteronomy 32:4 פָּעֳל֔/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms The Rock, his work is perfect; For all his ways are justice: A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, Just and right is he.
- Deuteronomy 33:11 וּ/פֹ֥עַל conj + n c ms cs Bless, Yahweh, his substance, Accept the work of his hands: Smite through the loins of those who rise up against him, Of those who hate him, that they not rise again.
Ruth 1 verse
2 Samuel 1 verse
1 Chronicles 1 verse
Job 6 verses
- Job 7:2 פָעֳלֽ/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms As a servant who earnestly desires the shadow, As a hireling who looks for his wages,
- Job 24:5 בְּ֭/פָעֳלָ/ם prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert, They go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food; The wilderness yields them bread for their children.
- Job 34:11 פֹ֣עַל n c ms cs For the work of a man will he render to him, And cause every man to find according to his ways.
- Job 36:9 פָּעֳלָ֑/ם n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp Then he shows them their work, And their transgressions, that they have behaved themselves proudly.
- Job 36:24 פָעֳל֑/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms "Remember that you magnify his work, Whereof men have sung.
- Job 37:12 לְ/פָעֳלָ֑/ם prep + Qal inf.cs + sfx pers 3mp It is turned round about by his guidance, That they may do whatever he commands them On the surface of the habitable world,
Psalms 11 verses
- Psalms 9:16 בְּ/פֹ֣עַל prep + n c ms cs Yahweh has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah.
- Psalms 28:4 כְּ/פָעֳלָ/ם֮ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings. Give them according to the operation of their hands. Bring back on them what they deserve.
- Psalms 44:1 פֹּ֥עַל n c ms We have heard with our ears, God; Our fathers have told us, What work you did in their days, In the days of old.
- Psalms 64:9 פֹּ֥עַל n c ms cs All mankind shall be afraid. They shall declare the work of God, And shall wisely ponder what he has done.
- Psalms 77:12 פָּעֳלֶ֑/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms I will also meditate on all your work, And consider your doings.
- Psalms 90:16 פָעֳלֶ֑/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Let your work appear to your servants; Your glory to their children.
- Psalms 92:4 בְּ/פָעֳלֶ֑/ךָ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms For you, Yahweh, have made me glad through your work. I will triumph in the works of your hands.
- Psalms 95:9 פָעֳלִֽ/י n c ms cs + sfx pers 1cs When your fathers tempted me, Tested me, and saw my work.
- Psalms 104:23 לְ/פָעֳל֑/וֹ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Man goes forth to his work, To his labor until the evening.
- Psalms 111:3 פָּֽעֳל֑/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms His work is honor and majesty. His righteousness endures forever.
- Psalms 143:5 פָּעֳלֶ֑/ךָ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms I remember the days of old. I meditate on all your doings. I contemplate the work of your hands.
Proverbs 5 verses
- Proverbs 20:11 פָּעֳלֽ/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Even a child makes himself known by his doings, Whether his work is pure, and whether it is right.
- Proverbs 21:6 פֹּ֣עַל n c ms cs Getting treasures by a lying tongue Is a fleeting vapor for those who seek death.
- Proverbs 21:8 פָּעֳלֽ/וֹ n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms The way of the guilty is devious, But the conduct of the innocent is upright.
- Proverbs 24:12 כְּ/פָעֳלֽ/וֹ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms If you say, "Behold, we didn't know this;" Doesn't he who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, doesn't he know it? Shall he not render to every man according to his work?
- Proverbs 24:29 כְּ/פָעֳלֽ/וֹ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Don't say, "I will do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work."
Isaiah 6 verses
- Isaiah 1:31 וּ/פֹעֲל֖/וֹ conj + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms The strong will be like tinder, And his work like a spark. They will both burn together, And no one will quench them."
- Isaiah 5:12 פֹּ֤עַל n c ms cs The harp, lyre, tambourine, and flute, with wine, are at their feasts; But they don't regard the work of Yahweh, Neither have they considered the operation of his hands.
- Isaiah 41:24 וּ/פָעָלְ/כֶ֖ם conj + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2mp Behold, you are of nothing, and your work is of nothing; an abomination is he who chooses you.
- Isaiah 45:9 וּ/פָעָלְ/ךָ֖ conj + n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Woe to him who strives with his Maker--a potsherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay ask him who fashions it, "What are you making?" or your work, "He has no hands?"
- Isaiah 45:11 פֹּ֥עַל n c ms cs Thus says Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: Ask me of the things that are to come; concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands, command you me.
- Isaiah 59:6 וּ/פֹ֥עַל conj + n c ms cs Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works: their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.
Jeremiah 3 verses
- Jeremiah 22:13 וּ/פֹעֲל֖/וֹ conj + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3ms Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; who uses his neighbor's service without wages, and doesn't give him his hire;
- Jeremiah 25:14 כְּ/פָעֳלָ֖/ם prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3mp For many nations and great kings shall make bondservants of them, even of them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their hands.
- Jeremiah 50:29 כְּ/פָעֳלָ֔/הּ prep + n c ms cs + sfx pers 3fs Call together the archers against Babylon, all those who bend the bow; encamp against her round about; let none of it escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she has done, do to her; for she has been proud against Yahweh, against the Holy One of Israel.
Habakkuk 2 verses
- Habakkuk 1:5 פֹ֨עַל֙ n c ms "Look among the nations, watch, and wonder marvelously; for I am working a work in your days, which you will not believe though it is told you.
- Habakkuk 3:2 פָּֽעָלְ/ךָ֙ n c ms cs + sfx pers 2ms Yahweh, I have heard of your fame. I stand in awe of your deeds, Yahweh. Renew your work in the midst of the years. In the midst of the years make it known. In wrath, you remember mercy.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“work” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun פעל (pôʻal). Beyond “work” it also covers “deed” and “doing” — see its full sense range. It turns up in 38 verses across 10 books, a moderately common footprint. It concentrates in Psalms, which alone accounts for 29% of its uses. Its earliest occurrence is Deuteronomy 32:4. See the sense tree, 38-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H6467 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 38
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 38 distinct verses.
- 10 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 10 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #947
- by frequency
- Top 1000 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 947 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 38 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 38 distinct verses.
- Writings (Ketuvim) 24 verses · 63%
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 12 verses · 32%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 2 verses · 5%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
- King James Version: Work 19×, According to their deeds 2×, Acts 2×
- American Standard Version: Work 15×, According to his work 2×, Deeds 2×
- Berean Standard Bible: Work 14×, Deeds 3×, According to their deeds 2×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text: Work 13×, Work of 5×, Deeds 4×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H6467 across 38 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 15 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H6467 across 38 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 19 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H6467 across 37 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 12 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H6467 across 41 tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 11 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
9 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 9 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
- 1. deed, thing done:
- a. of God, פָּעֳלוֹ his work in providence Dt 32:4; Is 5:12; Jb 36:24; in deliverance ψ 44:2 (as acc. cogn.), 77:13 + 5 times; in judgment 64:10; 95:9, as acc. cogn. Hb 1:5. e.g. Deuteronomy 32:4
- b. of false gods Is 41:24. e.g. Isaiah 41:24
- c. of men, daily toil Jb 24:5 ψ 104:23; specif. act Ru 2:12; פ׳ יָדָיו of sacrificing Dt 33:11; pl. of achievements 2 S 23:20 = 1 Ch 11:32; action as having moral quality Jb 34:11; Pr 20:11; 24:12, 29, evil implied Je 25:14; 50:29; Jb 36:9 ψ 28:4, פ׳ כַּפָּיו 9:17; פ׳ חָמָס Is 59:6; good action Pr 21:8. e.g. Job 24:5
- 2. work, thing made:
- a. by hands of God Is 45:9, 11 (of men). e.g. Isaiah 45:9
- b. by man Is 1:31 (i.e. prob. his idol Ges CheComm. Di al.; > read בַּעֲלוֹ LagSem. 1:5 StaZAW iii (1883), 12 f.). e.g. Isaiah 1:31
- 3. wages of work Je 22:13; Jb 7:2. e.g. Jeremiah 22:13
- 4. acquisition of treasures Pr 21:6. e.g. Proverbs 21:6
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
n.m. Pr 20:11 doing, deed, work (poet. and late, nearly = מַעֲשֶׂה);—פ׳ abs. Hb 1:1 ψ 44:2, cstr. Dt 33:11 +; sf. פָּעֳלוֹ 32:4 +, פֹּעֲלוֹ Is 1:31 (Köii. 1, 35, 493 Ges§ 93 q, v. infr.), Je 22:13; פָּעָלְכֶם Is 41:24, etc.; pl. פְּעָלִים; 2 S 23:20; 1 Ch 11:22;—
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from פעל (pâʻal) (H6466) — to do.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
פָּעַל I
- (b. h.) [to split, cmp. פלח,] to work. Y. Sabb. II, end, 8ᵈ; Tanḥ. Emor 7; Lev. R. s. 27 (ref. to Num. XXIII, 23) כל מי שפ׳ עם לא וכ׳ let whosoever worked with God come and take his reward. Lev. R. s. 4 כל מה שיִפְעַל אדם עם נפשו וכ׳ however much man may do for his soul, he has not done his full duty. Gen. R. s. 15 (ref. to Ps. LXXIV, 12) ראו פועלא טבא שהתקין … עמדתי לִפְעוֹל see the good employer, for the Lord has prepared my wages (the garden of Eden), before yet I arose to work; Yalk. ib. 20. Midr. Till. to Ps. XCII בששת … פָּעַלְתִּי את העולם ובשבת נחתי in the six working days I worked and made the world, and on the Sabbath I rested; a. fr.—Esp. to deal. Lam. R. to III, 33 [read:] בשני מקומות פָּעֲלוּ ישראל עם הקב"ה באחד פעלו בפיהם ולא בלבם ובאחד פעלו בלבם ולא בפיהם in two places Israelites dealt with God, in one they dealt with their mouth (professed faith), but not with their heart, and in the other, they dealt with their heart (were loyal at heart), but not with their mouth; בסיני פעלו בפיהם וכ׳ at Sinai they dealt with their mouth but not with their heart (ref. to Ps. LXXVIII, 36); בבבל פעלו בלבם וכ׳ in Babylonia they dealt with their heart, but not with their mouth (ref. to Lam. l. c.); Cant. R. to VII, 8. e.g. Numbers 23:23
פָּעַל II
- laborer, v. פּוֹעַל II.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 30 distinct written forms H6467 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H6467, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
Compare all same-root words → They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 37 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 38 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Deuteronomy 32:4
- Ruth 2:12
- 2 Samuel 23:20
- 1 Chronicles 11:22
- Job 7:2
- Psalms 9:16
- Proverbs 20:11
- Isaiah 1:31
- Jeremiah 22:13
- Habakkuk 1:5
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
