פָּתָה
pa.tah
to entice
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# פָּתָה (patah): To Entice The Hebrew word *patah* carries the fundamental meaning of "to entice"—describing the act of luring or persuading someone toward a particular course of action. Based on its 25 occurrences throughout the Bible, this verb addresses interpersonal influence of a persuasive nature, typically involving deliberate intent to draw another person into compliance or agreement. The significance of *patah* lies in its focus on psychological or emotional persuasion rather than physical coercion. When biblical narratives employ this term, they depict situations where one party attempts to manipulate another's will or judgment through enticement. This makes the word particularly relevant in contexts exploring human vulnerability to temptation, deception, and moral choice—domains where persuasion proves more consequential than force. The frequency of *patah* across the biblical text (25 occurrences) suggests it addresses a recurring concern in the scriptural worldview: the power of words and inducements to sway human behavior. Its consistent use points to an important semantic space in biblical Hebrew for describing the subtle yet potent ways people influence one another, distinguishing between straightforward commands and the more complex dynamics of persuasive enticement.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
25 total occurrences across the text
For resentment kills the foolish man, and jealousy kills the simple.
Job 31:9“If my heart has been enticed to a woman, and I have laid wait at my neighbor’s door,
Job 31:27and my heart has been secretly enticed, and my hand threw a kiss from my mouth,
Psalms 78:36But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied to him with their tongue.
Proverbs 1:10My son, if sinners entice you, don’t consent.
Proverbs 16:29A man of violence entices his neighbor, and leads him in a way that is not good.
Proverbs 25:15By patience a ruler is persuaded. A soft tongue breaks the bone.
Jeremiah 20:7Yahweh, you have persuaded me, and I was persuaded. You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day. Everyone mocks me.
Jeremiah 20:7Yahweh, you have persuaded me, and I was persuaded. You are stronger than I, and have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day. Everyone mocks me.
Jeremiah 20:10For I have heard the defaming of many, “Terror on every side! Denounce, and we will denounce him!” say all my familiar friends, those who watch for my fall. “Perhaps he will be persuaded, and we will prevail against him, and we will take our revenge on him.”
Ezekiel 14:9“ ‘ “If the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, Yahweh, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand on him, and will destroy him from among my people Israel.
Ezekiel 14:9“ ‘ “If the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, Yahweh, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand on him, and will destroy him from among my people Israel.
Hosea 2:14“Therefore behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.
Hosea 7:11“Ephraim is like an easily deceived dove, without understanding. They call to Egypt. They go to Assyria.
Exodus 22:16“If a man entices a virgin who isn’t pledged to be married, and lies with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her to be his wife.
Deuteronomy 11:16Be careful, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn away to serve other gods and worship them;
Judges 14:15On the seventh day, they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, that he may declare to us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you called us to impoverish us? Isn’t that so?”
Judges 16:5The lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and see in which his great strength lies, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”
2 Samuel 3:25You know Abner the son of Ner. He came to deceive you, and to know your going out and your coming in, and to know all that you do.”
1 Kings 22:20Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ One said one thing; and another said another.
1 Kings 22:21A spirit came out and stood before Yahweh, and said, ‘I will entice him.’
1 Kings 22:22Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’ He said, ‘I will go out and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ He said, ‘You will entice him, and will also prevail. Go out and do so.’
2 Chronicles 18:19Yahweh said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Gilead?’ One spoke saying in this way, and another saying in that way.
2 Chronicles 18:20A spirit came out, stood before Yahweh, and said, ‘I will entice him.’ “Yahweh said to him, ‘How?’
2 Chronicles 18:21“He said, ‘I will go, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ “He said, ‘You will entice him, and will prevail also. Go and do so.’