The Hebrew verb pathal (פָּתַל) means to twist, to wrestle, to contend, or to be tortuous. It appears in contexts of physical twisting, relational contention, and moral character. The name Naphtali (H5321) derives from this root.
When Rachel names her son Naphtali, she declares, "With great wrestlings (naphtule Elohim — wrestlings of God) I have wrestled with my sister" (Genesis 30:8). Psalm 18:26 deploys the reflexive: "With the crooked thou wilt shew thyself froward (titpattal)." God meets human twistedness with divine resistance, just as a loving Father does not enable corruption but encounters it.