Day 53 of 75 · Parables and teaching
P-ʿ-L
paʿla: worker
פעלא · פעלא
ܦܥܠܐ · ܦ݁ܳܥܠܶܐ
The feel
Paʿla is a laborer, a hired worker in a field or vineyard who works for wages. In Matthew 20 a landowner goes out early in the morning to hire them. The root also gives the Aramaic verb patterns their names, Peal, Pael, and Aphel.
The root family
| Form | Pattern | Transliteration | Script | Standard | Qala rendering |
|---|
| Noun, "laborer" | doer pattern, singular | pāʿlā | פעלא ܦ݁ܳܥܠܳܐ | worker | laborer · worker · hired hand |
| Noun plural, "laborers" | doer pattern, plural | pāʿle | פעלא ܦ݁ܳܥܠܶܐ | workers | the laborers (Mt 9:37–38; Mt 20:1) |
The Peal verb pʿal, to work or do, is found in the classical dictionaries, but in the Gospels the root appears only as the noun paʿla, and grammarians use it as the model verb that names the stems.
In his voice
Matthew 9:38
So beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest."
pāʿle, "workers." The great harvest needs labor, and the request for workers goes to the Master of the harvest himself.
Matthew 20:1
The reign of the heavens is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
pāʿle, "workers," with dneʾgur, "to hire." The verb comes from ʾ-G-R, the wage root and tomorrow's lesson. The reign is compared to a landowner hiring workers.
Luke 10:7
Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they set before you, for the worker is worth his wages. Don't move from house to house.
pāʿlā … ʾagreh, "the worker … his wages." The worker's right to be paid is stated as a rule. The students sent out may accept what they are given as wages they have earned.
Practice
Name three people whose work makes your day possible, and thank one of them today for what they do. Then say paʿla, worker, aloud.
Connections