Aramaic word · H6399

פְּלַח

palach-

to serve

To serve. In biblical Aramaic every occurrence refers to religious service of a deity or temple service. The related Syriac and later Jewish Aramaic verb also means to work or till the ground.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to serve, worship, revere, minister for, pay reverence to

1a) (P'al)

1a1) to pay reverence to

1a2) to serve

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 Daniel 7:14

Range of meaning

To serve. In biblical Aramaic every occurrence refers to religious service of a deity or temple service. The related Syriac and later Jewish Aramaic verb also means to work or till the ground.

Against the English

KJV, ESV, BSB, WEB: 'serve'. NIV: 'worshiped'. NLT: 'obey'. 'Serve' alone sounds political or social to modern ears. 'Obey' loses the religious note completely. 'Worshiped' brings it out but takes a side on a debated point.

How it drifted

English 'serve' is general. The Aramaic verb, as Daniel and Ezra use it, sits in the vocabulary of worship.

Used elsewhere in the period

Daniel 3:12, 14, 17, 18, 28 (serving Nebuchadnezzar's gods, or the friends' God); 6:16, 20 (Daniel 'serves' his God continually); 7:27; Ezra 7:24 (pālḥê, 'temple servants'). The Old Greek uses latreuō (religious service). Theodotion uses douleuō (service as a subject or slave).

From the study of Daniel 6:20

Range of meaning

In Biblical Aramaic, always religious service: worshipping a god, honouring and serving him in cult and devotion. In Ezra 7:24 the related noun names temple staff ('servants of the house of God'). Later Aramaic uses the related noun pulḥan for 'worship/cult.'

Against the English

English 'serve' can sound like general helpfulness or church volunteering. In Daniel the word is close to 'worship.' Theodotion's Greek uses latreuō, the usual Greek verb for religious service.

How it drifted

'Serve God' in older English meant worship, and many readers still hear it that way. But modern talk of 'serving' (volunteering, ministry jobs, serving others) can hide that this is a word about worship and allegiance.

Used elsewhere in the period

Dan 3:12, 14, 17, 18, 28 (the friends will not 'serve' Nebuchadnezzar's gods or worship the golden image); 6:16, 20; 7:14, 27 (all peoples will 'serve' the Son of Man / the Most High); Ezra 7:24. Lexicons: BDB and HALOT (Aramaic), 'serve, worship (a deity).'

From the study of Daniel 6:16

Range of meaning

'To serve' in a religious sense: to worship, to give cultic service, devotion, ritual and allegiance to a god. In Daniel it covers both bowing to an idol and Israel's worship of its God. In 7:14 and 7:27, all peoples 'serve' the Son of Man and the holy ones, so it can also mean the homage owed to a sovereign.

Against the English

'Serve' is correct, but modern readers may hear 'work for' or 'help'. 'Worship' (some paraphrases) catches the religious sense but loses the idea of loyalty and service. NLT's 'serve so faithfully' brings the faithfulness out of the next word.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Ezra 7:24 a related noun, pālḥê, refers to the temple 'servants/ministers' who are exempt from tax, showing the word's temple-service sense. In Daniel 3 it is used for serving Nebuchadnezzar's gods, which the friends refuse. It also appears in Old and Imperial Aramaic inscriptions and documents for serving a god or a master.

Where it appears

Ezra · 1

  1. Ezra 7:24 וּפָ֣לְחֵ֔י and [the] servants of

    And be advised that you have no authority to impose tribute, duty, or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, temple servants, or other servants of this house of God.

Daniel · 9

  1. Daniel 3:12 פָלְחִ֔ין [they are] paying reverence

    But there are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—who have ignored you, O king, and have refused to serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

    Here: 'They are not serving.' This is cultic service: offerings and devotion to a god. The form describes ongoing practice, so the charge widens beyond the statue to their whole religious life: they do not serve your god at all.

  2. Daniel 3:14 פָּֽלְחִ֔ין [are] paying reverence

    and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden statue I have set up?

    Here: "Serving," in the sense of religious service: giving a god the offerings, rites and allegiance a worshipper owes. The participle describes an ongoing pattern.

  3. Daniel 3:17 פָֽלְחִ֔ין [are] paying reverence

    If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king.

    Here: A participle for ongoing action: 'we are serving'. It means religious service and worship given to a deity. This is the exact point at issue in the chapter (vv.12, 14, 18, 28).

  4. Daniel 3:18 פָֽלְחִ֔ין paying reverence

    But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

    Here: "Serving" in the religious sense: the ongoing service and allegiance owed to a deity. It is the same word they used of their own God in verse 17 ("whom we serve"), so the contrast is direct.

  5. Daniel 3:28 יִפְלְח֤וּן they will pay reverence

    Nebuchadnezzar declared, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

    Here: "They would serve," meaning religious service given to a god. It is the verb of 3:12, 14, 17 and 18, where the issue is "serving" Nebuchadnezzar's gods.

  6. Daniel 6:16 פָּֽלַֽח־ [are] paying reverence

    So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”

    Here: 'Are serving'. The form describes ongoing action. In Daniel the word means religious service, worship given to a god (3:12, 14, 17, 18, 28; 7:14, 27). This is the very devotion the officials used to trap him.

  7. Daniel 6:20 פָּֽלַֽח־ [are] paying reverence

    When he reached the den, he cried out in a voice of anguish, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

    Here: In Biblical Aramaic this word means religious service: worship, prayer and devotion to a god. It is not general helpfulness. The verb form describes ongoing action ('you keep on worshipping'), which matches Daniel's habit of praying three times a day (6:10).

  8. Daniel 7:14 יִפְלְח֑וּן they will pay reverence

    And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

    Here: 'They will serve', in the future or ongoing sense. Everywhere else in biblical Aramaic this verb means serving a god or temple service. It is the verb Daniel's friends refused to give Nebuchadnezzar's gods (3:12, 14, 18).

  9. Daniel 7:27 יִפְלְח֖וּן they will pay reverence

    Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey Him.’

    Here: In Biblical Aramaic this verb is used almost always of religious service, the service owed to a god (Dan 3:12–28; 6:16, 20). It suggests homage and allegiance, not only political submission.

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