The first occurrence.
Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for you, and you shall live: and if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you, and all who are yours. Gen 20:7
The primitive root.
Strong’s H6419 פלל palal, a primitive root meaning, “to judge, to intercede.” The 3-letter root is pey + lamed + lamed.
pey פ ף = mouth, thus open, blow, scatter, edge
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
lamed ל = the shepherd’s staff, thus teach, yoke, to, bind
The story: The mouth (pey) of delegated authority (lamed) speaking to absolute authority (lamed). To understand what the parable means, we have to look at the first time palal appears in Scripture.
And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray [palal] for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.” Gen 20:6-7
The context is of impending and visited judgment. Abimelech, the pagan king of the Philistines, had taken Sarah, Abraham’s beautiful wife, into his harem, because Abraham had introduced her as his sister. God came to the king in a dream to warn him. Abraham, God said, was a prophet who would pray [palal] for Abimelech so that Abimelech would live – if he restored the man’s wife.
So Abraham prayed [palal] to God; and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female servants. Then they bore children; for YHVH had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. Gen 20:17-18
Even though Abimelech had restored the man’s wife, his household was experiencing the consequences of his initial sin. They were under a judgment from God (the negative aspect of palal), which was lifted when God’s servant prayed (that is, interceeded, the positive aspect of palal). The prophet was the mouth of delegated authority, who spoke to God, the absolute authority.
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