pa.lil denotes persons involved in giving judgment, whether deciding a penalty, identified as enemies, or named in an iniquity statement.

The attested plural noun refers to persons associated with judgment: those through whom a penalty is given in Exodus 21:22, enemies called judges in Deuteronomy 32:31, and judges named in Job 31:11.

1. Persons associated with judgment · dominant

   All three occurrences use the masculine plural absolute form. In Exodus 21:22, the APB renders the legal outcome as being given “through the judges”; in Deuteronomy 32:31 it calls the enemies “judges,” and in Job 31:11 it ends with “iniquity for judges.”

   Exodus 21:22Deuteronomy 32:31Job 31:11

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB explicitly uses “judges” in Deuteronomy 32:31 and Job 31:11, while Exodus 21:22 has the penalty given “through the judges.” These renderings show the clauses' presentation rather than a precise word-for-word equivalence.