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פְּלַח

𐤐𐤋𐤇

pᵉlach

H6399 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To perform service, especially religious or cultic service; to serve, attend to duties, or conduct worship. In Aramaic biblical texts, primarily refers to serving deities or performing religious rites, but may also denote general service or attendance depending on context.

Semantic Range

to serve (especially in a religious or cultic context), to worship, to minister (in a ritual sense), to attend, to labor

Root / Etymology

Aramaic verb from the root פלח, which in both Hebrew and Aramaic conveys the sense of 'to work, serve, cultivate.' In Biblical Aramaic, פְּלַח takes on a strong association with cultic or religious service, especially in relation to serving deities.

Historical & Contextual Notes

פְּלַח appears only in Biblical Aramaic sections of the Hebrew Bible (especially in Daniel, e.g., Dan 3:12, 14, 17, and 28), where it describes the act of serving or worshipping a deity—whether the God of Israel (the Hebrew deity worshipped by the Israelite exiles) or foreign gods. In the broader Aramaic and later Jewish Aramaic usage, the term continues to signify service or worship but can also extend to general meanings of labor or work. There is a semantic overlap with the Hebrew עָבַד (avad, 'to serve, worship'), but פְּלַח tends to be used in Aramaic contexts and may carry a slightly more ritual or cultic nuance. English translations such as 'worship' or 'serve' do not always fully capture the ritual dimension of the term in its original context. During the exilic and post-exilic periods, when Aramaic became a lingua franca, פְּלַח acquired prominence in expressions of fidelity to the deity of Israel among exiles, contrasting with serving the gods of the surrounding empires.

Translation Consistency

primary "serve" 9 occurrences

The primary and most natural English rendering across the semantic range is “serve,” which covers cultic/religious service (worship, ministering) as well as general attending or laboring. It matches the majority of existing renderings and yields clear, idiomatic forms for all inflections.

Alternatives (1 occurrence):
"servants of" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) corresponding to פָּלַח; to serve or worship; minister, serve.

Bantu Hebrew

No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.

Root Family

פלח (pâlach) — to split, cleave, break open, pierce

Root פלח to work, to serve, to cultivate
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H6398 פָּלַח one who splits open
H6402 פׇּלְחָן for ritual service of

Word Forms

5 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
H6399-01 פָלְחִ֔ין falechin AVqrmpa serve ministering ones serving 3
H6399-05 יִפְלְח֤וּן yifelechun AVqi3mp serve they will serve they will serve 3
H6399-02 פָּֽלַֽח palach AVqrmsa hast-served the serving one serve 2
H6399-03 פָּֽלְחִ֔ין palechin AVqrmpa serving serving ones serving ones 1
H6399-04 וּ/פָ֣לְחֵ֔י ufalechey AC/Vqrmpc and-servants and serving-ones of and servants of 1

Occurrences in Scripture

10 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
H6399-01 Daniel 3:12 פָלְחִ֔ין falechin AVqrmpa they serve ministering ones they serve
H6399-03 Daniel 3:14 פָּֽלְחִ֔ין palechin AVqrmpa serving serving ones serving ones
H6399-01 Daniel 3:17 פָֽלְחִ֔ין falechin AVqrmpa serve ministering ones serve
H6399-01 Daniel 3:18 פָֽלְחִ֔ין falechin AVqrmpa serving ministering ones serving
H6399-05 Daniel 3:28 יִפְלְח֤וּן yifelechun AVqi3mp serve they will serve they will serve
H6399-02 Daniel 6:17 פָּֽלַֽח palach AVqrmsa serve the serving one serve
H6399-02 Daniel 6:21 פָּֽלַֽח palach AVqrmsa hast-served the serving one the serving one
H6399-05 Daniel 7:14 יִפְלְח֑וּן yifelechun AVqi3mp should serve they will serve they will serve
H6399-05 Daniel 7:27 יִפְלְח֖וּן yifelechun AVqi3mp shall serve they will serve they will serve
H6399-04 Ezra 7:24 וּ/פָ֣לְחֵ֔י ufalechey AC/Vqrmpc and-servants and serving-ones of and servants of
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