Hebrew word · H6382

פֶּ֫לֶא

fele'

wonder

Peleʾ is a noun meaning a wonder or marvel: something extraordinary and beyond human power or understanding. In the Hebrew Bible it is used almost only of God's own deeds (Exod 15:11 'doing wonders'; Ps 77:11, 14; 88:10; 89:5). Isaiah's own phrasing points this way.

Appears 13 times in 13 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) wonder, marvel

1a) wonder (extraordinary, hard to understand thing)

1b) wonder (of God's acts of judgment and redemption)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Isaiah 9:6

Range of meaning

Peleʾ is a noun meaning a wonder or marvel: something extraordinary and beyond human power or understanding. In the Hebrew Bible it is used almost only of God's own deeds (Exod 15:11 'doing wonders'; Ps 77:11, 14; 88:10; 89:5). Yoʿets is the participle of yaʿats, 'to advise, plan, decide on a course of action'. It is the title of a king's chief adviser (Ahithophel is 'David's counselor', 2 Sam 15:12; compare Isa 1:26; 3:3). Together the words mean 'wonder-counselor': one whose counsel or plan is a marvel. Isaiah's own phrasing points this way. The LORD 'makes counsel wonderful' (28:29, the same two roots), and 'you have done a wonder, plans formed of old' (25:1).

Against the English

The KJV prints a comma ('Wonderful, Counsellor'), which Handel's Messiah made famous, so English readers often hear two titles. Most modern versions print 'Wonderful Counselor'. Either way, the English adjective 'wonderful' now usually means 'very pleasant'. The Hebrew is a noun for a supernatural marvel.

How it drifted

In 1611 'wonderful' still meant 'full of wonder, causing astonishment'. Over the following centuries it weakened into general praise ('a wonderful evening'). The KJV comma has some support in the medieval Jewish accent marks, which put a small pause after peleʾ. But the other three names are all pairs, and Isaiah elsewhere joins these two roots, so most scholars read one paired title.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 15:11; Ps 77:11, 14; Isa 25:1; 28:29; 29:14 ('wonder upon wonder'). In Judg 13:18 the angel calls his own name pilʾi, 'wonderful', meaning beyond human grasp. The Septuagint turns the whole list into one name, 'Messenger of great counsel'. That keeps the word 'counsel' but loses 'wonder'.

From the study of Isaiah 25:1

Range of meaning

Something extraordinary, beyond what humans can do or understand. Related to the verb pala', 'to be too difficult, too marvellous' (Gen 18:14, 'Is anything too hard for the LORD?'). It is used almost entirely of God's acts, especially rescue and judgment on a large scale.

Against the English

KJV and WEB have 'wonderful things'; BSB and NASB have 'wonders'. Today 'wonderful' usually means very pleasant or lovely. Pele' means astonishing and beyond human power, and it can be frightening: in verse 2 the wonder is a city turned into rubble.

How it drifted

In the 1600s 'wonderful' still meant 'full of wonder, causing astonishment'. Since then it has faded into general approval ('a wonderful evening').

Used elsewhere in the period

Exod 15:11, in the Song of the Sea: 'who is like you… doing wonders (oseh fele')', after the drowning of Pharaoh's army. Ps 77:12, 15 and Ps 78:12 use it for the Exodus acts. Isa 9:5 (Eng. 9:6) has the throne-name Pele' Yo'ets, 'Wonder of a Counsellor'. Isa 29:14 uses the verb for God doing 'wonders' that confound the wise.

From the study of Exodus 15:11

Range of meaning

"Wonder, marvel": something extraordinary that is beyond human capacity to do or understand. The verb pālāʾ means "to be extraordinary, too difficult" (Gen 18:14, "Is anything too hard [hayippālēʾ] for Yahweh?"; Deut 17:8, cases "too difficult" for local judges). The noun and verb are used almost entirely of God's acts, especially the Exodus (Exod 3:20, "I will strike Egypt with all my wonders [niphlĕʾōtay]"; Ps 78:12).

Against the English

"Wonders" is accurate, but modern English "wonder" often means a feeling of amazement and "wonderful" means "very nice". Peleʾ refers to the deed itself, something only a god could do.

How it drifted

"Wonderful" weakened into a general word of approval in modern English, especially from the 19th century onward.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 77:14 (Heb 15) has "You are the God who does wonders (ʿōśēh peleʾ)", the same phrase. Isa 25:1 says "you have done peleʾ". In Isa 9:6 (Heb 5) the royal name peleʾ yôʿēṣ means "a wonder of a counsellor". The Septuagint renders it τέρατα ("portents, wonders").

Where it appears

Exodus · 1

  1. Exodus 15:11 פֶֽלֶא׃ <of> wonder[s]

    Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?

    Here: An act beyond human ability or explanation. It is singular but collective ("wonder/wonders"), summing up the plagues and the parting of the sea.

Psalms · 7

  1. Psalm 77:11 פִּלְאֶֽךָ׃ wonder[s] your

    I will remember the works of the LORD; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old.

    Here: 'Your wonder': singular in Hebrew, standing for God's wonderful works as a whole, or perhaps for one great wonder in particular. The word means something beyond human power or understanding. It echoes Exod 15:11, 'doing wonder (peleʾ)', and vv. 16–20 go on to describe the parting of the sea.

  2. Psalm 77:14 פֶ֑לֶא <of> wonder[s]

    You are the God who works wonders; You display Your strength among the peoples.

    Here: A singular noun used collectively: 'wonder' as a category of deed. It means something beyond what humans can do or grasp, and here it points especially to the Exodus wonders the psalmist has just resolved to remember (v. 11, 'your wonder of old').

  3. Psalm 78:12 פֶ֑לֶא wonder[s]

    He worked wonders before their fathers in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.

    Here: A singular noun used for the whole group: 'wonder-work', everything God did in Egypt taken as one. It means something beyond human ability that leaves people astonished. It picks up 'his wonders' (niflaʾotav) in verse 11, from the same root.

  4. Psalm 88:10 פֶּ֑לֶא wonder[s]

    Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah

    Here: Singular but standing for a whole class: the kind of act that is beyond human possibility and belongs to God alone, above all rescue. The singer has in mind a wonder of deliverance done for him.

  5. Psalm 88:12 פִּלְאֶ֑ךָ wonder[s] your

    Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

  6. Psalm 89:5 פִּלְאֲךָ֣ wonder[s] your

    The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD—Your faithfulness as well—in the assembly of the holy ones.

    Here: 'Your wonder.' The noun is singular but stands for a whole class of acts: deeds beyond what any creature could do. In this psalm that means taming the sea and crushing Rahab (vv. 9–10).

  7. Psalm 119:129 פְּלָא֥וֹת [are] wonders

    Wonderful are Your testimonies; therefore I obey them.

Isaiah · 3

  1. Isaiah 9:6 פֶּ֠לֶא a wonder

    For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

    Here: A noun, not an adjective. It means a marvel beyond human power, the word used for God's miracles at the Exodus (Exod 15:11). It is tied to the next word: 'a wonder of a counselor'.

  2. Isaiah 25:1 פֶּ֑לֶא wonder[s]

    O LORD, You are my God! I will exalt You; I will praise Your name. For You have worked wonders—plans formed long ago—in perfect faithfulness.

    Here: 'A wonder' (singular). It means an act beyond human power or expectation, the kind of thing only God does. It recalls the Exodus ('doing wonders', Exod 15:11). The main pause in the verse, marked by the traditional accents, falls on this word.

  3. Isaiah 29:14 וָפֶ֑לֶא and a wonder

    Therefore I will again confound these people with wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of the wise will vanish, and the intelligence of the intelligent will be hidden.”

    Here: "And a wonder". The noun crowns the sequence: verb, verb, noun from the same root, three times over. It is the same noun used in the royal title "Wonderful Counselor" (9:6), a pointed echo in a passage about human counselors failing.

Lamentations · 1

  1. Lamentations 1:9 פְּלָאִ֔ים wonders

    Her uncleanness stains her skirts; she did not consider her end. Her downfall was astounding; there was no one to comfort her. Look, O LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed!

    Here: Used here as an adverb: she fell 'astonishingly', in a way beyond anything normal. The word usually describes God's saving marvels (Exod 15:11), so the bitter irony is that her collapse is now the 'wonder'.

Daniel · 1

  1. Daniel 12:6 הַפְּלָאֽוֹת׃ the wonders

    One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long until the fulfillment of these wonders?”

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.