pa.tal describes twisting or crookedness, and in one passage a contest of wrestling with a sister.

The attested uses chiefly concern what is crooked or twisted in conduct, counsel, or speech; Genesis 30:8 separately uses the form in Rachel’s statement about wrestling with her sister.

1. Crooked or twisted character and speech · dominant

   The Niphal participles occur where the APB speaks of “the counsel of the crooked” in Job 5:13 and says that nothing is “twisted or crooked” in the speaker’s words in Proverbs 8:8. In 2 Samuel 22:27, the Hithpael imperfect occurs in the contrast with “the crooked,” while Psalm 18:27 has the same Hithpael imperfect form but the translation does not isolate its contribution.

   2 Samuel 22:27Job 5:13Proverbs 8:8Psalm 18:27
2. Wrestling in a personal contest · occasional

   In Genesis 30:8, the Niphal perfect appears in Rachel’s first-person statement concerning her sister; the APB renders the clause, “With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed.”

   Genesis 30:8

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the term’s contexts with “crooked,” “twisted,” and “wrestlings,” rather than one fixed English wording. In Psalm 18:27, the translation’s wording does not make the term’s specific contribution clear.