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כְּלִי kelī – vessel, tool, etc.

Semantic Fields: Utensils   
Author(s): Bob Becking, Paul Sanders *
First published: 2024-10-10
Citation: Bob Becking, Paul Sanders, כְּלִי kelī – vessel, tool, etc.,
               Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database (sahd-online.com), 2024 (WORK IN PROGRESS)

Introduction

Grammatical type: noun masc.
Occurrences: 325x HB (99/140/86); 6x Sir; 72x Qum; 0x Inscr. (Total: 403)

  • Torah: Gen 24:53 (2x); 27:3; 31:37 (2x); 42:25; 43:11; 45:20; 49:5 (see A.1 below); Exod 3:22 (2x); 11:2 (2x); 12:35 (2x); 22:6; 25:9, 39; 27:3, 19; 30:27 (2x), 28; 31:7, 8 (2x), 9; 35:13, 14, 16, 22; 37:16, 24; 38:3 (2x), 30; 39:33, 36, 37, 39, 40; 40:9, 10; Lev 6:21 (2x); 8:11; 11:32 (2x), 33, 34; 13:49, 52, 53, 57, 58, 59; 14:5, 50; 15:4, 6, 12 (2x), 22, 23, 26; Num 1:50 (2x); 3:8, 31, 36; 4:9, 10, 12, 14 (2x), 15, 16, 26, 32 (2x); 5:17; 7:1 (2x), 85; 18:3; 19:15, 17, 18; 31:6, 20 (2x), 50, 51; 35:16, 18, 22; Deut 1:41; 22:5; 23:25;
  • Nebiim: Josh 6:19, 24; 7:11; Judg 9:54; 18:11, 16, 17; 1 Sam 6:8, 15; 8:12 (2x); 9:7; 10:22; 14:1, 6, 7, 12 (2x), 13 (2x), 14, 17; 16:21; 17:22 (2x), 40, 49, 54; 20:40; 21:6 (2x), 9; 25:13; 30:24; 31:4 (2x), 5, 6, 9, 10; 2 Sam 1:27; 8:10 (3x); 17:28; 18:15; 23:37; 24:22; 1 Kgs 6:7; 7:45, 47, 48, 51; 8:4; 10:21 (2x), 25 (2x); 15:15; 17:10; 19:21; 2 Kgs 4:3 (2x), 4, 6 (3x); 7:15; 11:8, 11; 12:14 (2x); 14:14; 20:13; 23:4; 24:13; 25:14, 16; Isa 10:28; 13:5; 18:2 (see A.2 below); 22:24 (3x); 32:7 (see A.3 below); 39:2; 52:11; 54:16, 17; 61:10; 65:4; 66:20; Jer 14:3; 18:4 (2x); 19:11; 21:4; 22:7, 28; 25:34; 27:16, 18, 19, 21; 28:3, 6; 32:14; 40:10; 46:19; 48:11 (2x), 12, 38; 49:29; 50:25; 51:20, 34; 52:18, 20; Ezek 4:9; 9:1, 2; 12:3, 4 (2x), 7 (2x); 15:3; 16:17, 39; 23:26; 27:13; 32:27; 40:42; Hos 8:8; 13:15; Amos 6:5; Jonah 1:5; Nah 2:10; Zech 11:15;
  • Ketubim: Pss 2:9; 7:14; 31:13; 71:22; Job 28:17; Prov 20:15; 25:4; Ruth 2:9; Eccl 9:18; Esth 1:7 (3x); Dan 1:2 (2x); 11:8; Ezra 1:6, 7, 10, 11; 8:25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 33; Neh 10:40; 12:36; 13:5, 8, 9; 1 Chron 9:28, 29 (2x); 10:4 (2x), 5, 9, 10; 11:39; 12:34, 38; 15:16; 16:5, 42; 18:8, 10; 22:19; 23:5, 26; 28:13, 14 (3x); 2 Chron 4:16, 18, 19; 5:1, 5, 13; 7:6; 9:20 (2x), 24 (2x); 15:18; 20:25; 23:7, 13; 24:14 (3x); 25:24; 28:24 (2x); 29:18 (2x), 19, 26, 27; 30:21; 32:27; 34:12; 36:7, 10, 18, 19;
  • Sira: 12:5A; 27:5A;1 39:15B; 43:2Mas (see A.5 below); 43:8Mas,B; 50:9B;
  • Qumran:
    • CD-A2 VI:8 (= Isa 54:16); X:12 (= 4Q270/4QDe fr6.IV:213); X:13;4 XI:2, 9 (= 4Q271/4QDf fr5.I:55), 17 (= 4Q270/4QDe fr6.V:20= 4Q271/4QDf fr5.I:116); XII:17, 18;7
    • 1QpHab VI:4;
    • 1QHoda X:28; XII:10; XIV:31, 34;
    • 1Q33 (1QM) VII:2; VIII:8; XVI:6; XVII:1, 12;
    • 3Q15 (Copper Scroll) I:3, 9; II:6, 8; III:2, 9; V:6; VIII:3 (2x); X:11; XI:1, 4, 10, 14; XII:5, 6 (2x);
    • 4Q159 (4QOrda) fr2-4:6;
    • 4Q163 (4Qpap pIsac) fr25:3;
    • 4Q175 (4QTest) 25;
    • 4Q265 (4QMiscellaneous Rules) fr6:4, 7;
    • 4Q274 (4QToh A) fr1.I:4; fr2.I:4, 5; fr3.II:10;
    • 4Q276 (4QToh Ba) 3;
    • 4Q365 (4QRPc) fr12a-b.II:9;
    • 4Q379 (4QapocrJoshb) fr22.II:11;
    • 4Q385a (4Qapocr Jer Ca) fr18.Ia-b:5;
    • 4Q394 (4QMMTa) fr3-7.I:9;
    • 4Q416 (4QInstrb) fr2.II:21;
    • 4Q417 (4QInstrc) fr2.II+23:26;
    • 4Q429 (4QHodc) fr4.II:12;
    • 4Q436 (4QBarkhi Nafshic) 1ab.I:2;
    • 4Q460 (4QNarrative Work and Prayer) fr8:4;
    • 4Q491 (4QMa) fr11.II:5, 21;
    • 4Q503 (4QpapPrQuot) fr1-6.III:9;
    • 4Q504 (4QDibHama) fr15.II:2;
    • 4Q521 (4QMessianic Apocalypse) fr8:8;
    • 11Q16 (11QHymnsb) 3;
    • 11Q19 (11QTemplea) III:8; XXXIII:13; XLV:48; XLIX:8, 14, 15 (2x), 19, 20; L:12, 16,9 17.10
  • Text doubtful:
    • Ben Sira: 33:10E (see A.4 below);
    • Qumran:11 1Q33 (1QM) I:17; 3Q15 XII:8; 4Q161 (4QpIsaa) fr5-6:6 (= Isa 10:28); 4Q165 (4QpIsae) fr6:4 (= Isa 32:7);4Q167 (4QpHosb) fr11-13:7 (= Hos 8:8); 4Q264a (4QHalakha B) fr1:3; 4Q269 (4QDd) f8.II:4; 4Q271 (4QDf) fr2:11; fr3:3; 4Q277 (4QToh Bb) fr1.II:4; 4Q365 (4QRPc) fr12a-b.II:11; fr16:1, 2; fr20:2; 4Q394 (4QMMTa) fr3-7.II:3; 4Q395 (4QMMTb) fr1:1; 4Q397 (4QMMTd) fr1-2:2; 4Q402 (4QShirShabbc) fr4:8; 4Q421 (4QWays of Righteousnessb) fr11:2; 4Q491 (4QMa) fr13:5; 11Q19 (11QTemplea) III:13; 11Q20 (11QTempleb) XIV:20 (2x), 21; 11Q21 (11QTemplec) fr1:1.

Text Doubtful

A.1 In Gen 49:5 SP (cf. LXX) has the following reading: שמעון ולוי אחים כלו חמס מכרתיהם, ‘Simeon and Levi are brothers; they put an end to iniquity’ (BHQ, 195*). This reading is clearly secondary. According to Stefan Schorch (2015: 347-48), the Samaritan tradition interpreted מכרתיהם as ‘covenants’ and regarded this word as the subject of the verbal form כַּלוּ: ‘their covenants finished violence’; cf. TgSmr1 אסכמו שקר בקיומיון, ‘with their covenant-making’. TgSmr2 reads אסכמו שקר בקטעותם.

A.2 Isa 18:2 mentions כְּלֵי־גֹמֶא, ‘papyrus-vessels’. Traditionally, the first noun is analysed as an attestation of the noun כְּלִי, which in view of the context should be rendered with ‘ship’. Recently, Noonan (2019:123) suggested to regard כלי in this verse as an Egyptian loanword, just like גֹמֶא. In Ramesside texts the nouns qr, ‘cargo boat for carrying corn’, qrr, ‘type of boat’, and kr, ‘kind of small boat’, are known. In Demotic, a noun qry, ‘boat’, occurs, albeit not frequently. From a phonetic point of view, a shift from Egyptian /r/ into Semitic /l/ is very much possible. The fact that the noun does not occur in Egyptian texts contemporary to Isa 18, renders Noonan's proposal less convincing.

A.3 The beginning of Isa 32:7 has the following vocalization in the MT: וְכֵלַי כֵּלָיו רָעִים. The second word is commonly interpreted as a plural form of כְּלִי: ‘his vessels/tools’. William Henry Irwin proposed to interpret כלי כליו as a sequence of two masc.pl. forms of a noun meaning ‘kidney’: כִּלֵי כִּלָיו, ‘his kidney of kidneys’.12 Irwin regarded these forms as alternatives to the usual fem.pl. כְּלָיוֹת, ‘kidneys’. He interpreted כילי in Isa 32:5 as a masc.pl. form of the same noun.13 However, since in 32:5 the expected ending ם- (masc.pl. abs.) is missing, and because of the lack of any other occurrences of the masc.pl. form in the Hebrew Bible, Irwin's interpretation must be rejected as too speculative. At first sight, the Masoretic vocalization of the beginning of Isa 32:7 (וְכֵלַי כֵּלָיו רָעִים) seems to indicate that not only the second but also the first word was interpreted as a plural form of כְּלִי, but with a personal sf. 1 sg.: ‘And my vessels/tools’. However, this interpretation renders the phrase וְכֵלַי כֵּלָיו רָעִים untranslatable. It is better to regard כלי as a defective spelling, next to the full spelling כילי; cf. the form וכילי, with which 32:7 begins in 1QIsaa (DJD XXXII, 52). This means that the consecutive words are forms of different nouns, although they constitute a paronomasia. The only other form of כילי occurs in Isa 32:5, where the usual interpretation of וּלְכִילַי as ‘and for a villain’ corresponds with the parallelisms within the verse and suits the context quite well. Vg translates both occurrences of כִּילַי with fraudulentus.14 The etymology of כִּילַי is uncertain. The phrase וְכִלַי כֵּלָיו רָעִים in Isa 32:7 can be translated as follows: ‘As for the villain, his devices are evil’.15 The vocalization וְכֵלַי instead of וְכִלַי may have been intended to create assonance with the following כֵּלָיו.

A.4 Part of the Hebrew text of Sir 33:10 is visible in the mediaeval Ms E.16 Unfortunately, the passage is damaged and the right side of the line with Sir 33:10 is missing:

    ומן עפר נוצר אדם     לי חמר [… … …] (E Ir 18)

The meaning of the second colon is clear: ‘and out of dust Adam was formed’. The meaning of the damaged first colon may have been similar. In the first edition of the manuscript, Joseph Marcus proposed the following reconstruction of the line:17

    ומן עפר נוצר אדם     לי חמר[וכל איש מכ]

The weakest point of this reconstruction is the mem before לי[כ], which can better be omitted.18 Without the mem, the colon can be translated as ‘And every human is a vessel of clay’. Mosheh Segal reconstructed the line slightly differently, but retained the reading לי[כ]:19

    וּמִן עָפָר נוֹצַר אָדָם     לִי חֹמֶר[וְגַם אִישׁ כְּ]

According to both reconstructions, a human being is designated as ‘a vessel of clay’. Although many scholars accept the reconstruction לי[כ], this reading is not certain, despite the collocation of חֹמֶר and כְּלִי in Jer 18:4 and even though the upper part of a kaf may be visible before לי[...].20 The most problematic aspect of the reconstruction is that the oldest translations do not support it:

    LXX: καὶ ἄνθρωποι πάντες ἀπὸ ἐδάφους καὶ ἐκ γῆς ἐκτίσθη Αδαμ
        'And all human beings are from the ground, and out of earth Adam was created’ (NETS).

    Pesh: ܘܐܦ ܒ̈ܢܝ ܐܢܫܐ ܟܠܗܘܢ ܡܢ ܛܝܢܐ ܐܬܥܒܕܘ ܘܡܢ ܥܦܪܐ ܐܬܒܪܝ ܐܕܡ
        'And also all humans were made of clay, and out of dust Adam was created.’

    Vg: et homines omnes de solo et ex terra unde creatus est Adam,
        'And all humans are from the ground, and out of the earth, from which Adam was created.’

These translations correspond with the Hebrew text of Sir 33:10 as far as it is preserved in Ms E, but not with the reconstructions of the beginning of the line. Therefore, the reconstruction לי[כ] remains dubious.

A.5 In the ancient Ben Sira scroll from Masada (Ms Mas), Sir 43:2b reads as follows: כלי נורא מעשי [ע]ליון, ‘a wonderful instrument, the work of the Most High’.21 The reading in the mediaeval Ms B is different and does not contain the word כלי: מה נורא מעשי ייי, ‘How wonderful is the work of the Most High’.22 The latter reading is clearly secondary.23 All the ancient translations presuppose the reading with כלי (see A.4 above): LXX, σκεῦος θαυμαστόν ἔργον ὑψίστου; Pesh, ܡܐܢܐ ܕܬܕܡܘܪܬܐ ܥܒܕܗ ܕܡܪܝܡܐ; Vg, vas admirabile opus Excelsi, ‘a wonderful instrument, the work of the Most High’.

1. Root and Comparative Material

A.1 Root: It is uncertain from which root the noun כְּלִי should be derived. Various proposals have been made. However, none of them is fully convincing and a consensus has not been reached. Some scholars see a connection with a noun kalītu (Akk.), *klyt (Ug.), *כליה (Heb.), ‘kidney’. This feminine noun would derive from the same root as כְּלִי and construed as originally meaning ‘small vessel’.24 Both nouns would then go back to a biliteral root, either kol-, ‘gourd, calabash, jug, pot’,25 or *kul-.26 The latter root is connected to the Hebrew verb כול, ‘to contain’. The ostensible root כלה > כלי may have evolved from כול, ‘to contain’, by metathesis. Both possibilities would argue in favour of ‘vessel’ as the primary meaning of the word כְּלִי, which by a process of metonymy – the ‘vessel’ with all its paraphernalia – acquired an ever-broader semantic spectrum.

A.2 Akkadian: In Akk. no cognate for כְּלִי is attested. Nevertheless, two nouns occur that are assonant to כְּלִי, but most probably not etymologically related to the Heb. noun: kallu, ‘1. bowl; 2. crown of the human skull; 3. a bronze or iron implement’ (see CAD K, 83; AHw, 426); kullatu, B. ‘potter's clay’ (CAD K, 506; AHw, 502). Both nouns could be etymologically related to Heb. כְּלִי. The common Akk. word for ‘pot, vessel’ is karpatu; see CAD. K, 219-21; AHw, 449-50; that equals Sum. d u g.27 A karpatu could have been made from clay or metal and was generally used to contain liquids. The metaphorical language of scattering a pot – as present in the HB at Jer 22:28; 25:34; Ps 2:9 – has an equivalent in the Mesopotamian expression karpāniš/kīma karpāt ḫepû, ‘to scatter like a pot’.28

A.3 Arabic: kelāw, gḥēle, ‘jar’, but only in dialects of Oman29, and Southern Arabia.30

A.4 Aramaic: The noun כלי is attested only once in Aram., albeit in a broken context. In an ostracon from the reign of Cambyses, …]כלן בבלי, ‘Babylonian vessels’ (?), are mentioned next to משכי עפרן, ‘hides of stags’.31 This interpretation is questioned in DNWSI, 512. The Aram. semantic counterpart of כלי is מאנא, which has about the same broad spectre of meaning, see DNWSI, 588-89.

A.5 Ethiopic: kalē, ‘vessel’, in Tigre.32

A.6 Jewish Aramaic: A JAram. inscription on an amulet includes the phrase מידה בכלין[ת], ‘wine in vessels’(?).33 The context, however, is too uncertain to draw any conclusion as to the character of the vessels or to their role in the alleged ritual. Generally, the Aram. equivalent מאנא, ‘utensil, instrument, garment’ (Sokoloff, DJPA, 288), is used in JAram. The attestation on the amulet is probably a Hebraism.

A.7 Moabite: The noun כלי is not clearly attested, but almost all scholars accept the reading ואקח משם א[ת כ]לי יהוה, ‘I took from there the [vess]els of YHWH’ in the Mesha Inscription KAI 181:17-18.34 Tigay seems to imply that this temple vessel could have the form of a holy pomegranate as the one edited by Andre Lemaire, the authenticity of which is now disputed.35 In the Ancient Near East, cultic vessels could be deified.36

A.8 Palmyrenean: Not attested; the reference in HAL, 456; ThWAT 4, 179, to a Palm. noun klyn, is incorrect, see DNWSI, 508.

A.9 Punic: CIS I 1948:1 פעל כל, ‘constructor of vessels’, hesitantly accepted in DNWSI, 512. Schlousz, however, construes פעל כל as ‘someone who does everything’, i.e. an unskilled labourer.37

A.10 Samaritan Aramaic: The usual rendering of כלי in TgSmr is מאנא, ‘vessel, instrument, garment’38 (see Ancient Versions: Targumim below). However, TgSmr2, which displays an alternative version of TgSmr (see Ancient Versions: Targumim A.2), twice represents Hebrew כלי by a form of כלי: כליכון for Hebrew כליכם in Gen 43:11; 45:20 (Tal, STP I: 185, 197).39 This unusual rendering must be due to a Hebraising tendency. TgSmr1, the other version of the Samaritan Targum, reads מניכון in both cases (Tal, STP I: 184, 196).

A.11 Ugaritic: Probably attested in Ug. as kl. The expression yd kl klh corresponds to Akk. qadu gabbi mimmûšu, ‘with all its equipment’, in the Babylonian texts from Ugarit. The reading qštm [kl] mhrm in KTU 1.17 vi:39-40, translated in ARTU, 239, as ‘the bow is a warrior's [weapon/equipment]’, is tentative.40 Differently: DULAT, 438. kly in KTU 2.72:43 probably does not mean ‘vase’, as supposed by Caquot,41 but ‘to put an end to’.42

A.12 The fairly broad attestation of apparently related words in pre-dominantly North-West Semitic languages (see above) seems to indicate that כלי is an ancient Semitic word. In some South Semitic languages it occurs in late texts only and both here and in New Egyptian (Helck, BÄV, No. 254 versus SWET, No. 472) it may well be a loan word from some North-West Semitic language.

2. Formal Characteristics

כְּלִי (sg. st.abs./cstr.), כֶּלִי (pausal),43 כֵּלִים (pl. st.abs.; 3Q15: כלין, in 5:6 plene כאלין44), כְּלֵי (pl. st.cstr.).

3. Syntagmatics

A.1 The noun כְּלִי occurs in over a dozen nominal clauses. In addition to this, the noun is the subject of the following descriptive verbs, which describe the character of the כְּלִי:

  • היה, ‘to be’ (Deut 22:5; 1 Sam 21:6; 2 Sam 8:10 [3x]; CD-A XII:17; 4Q379 fr22.II:11)
  • חמד, ‘to be desirable’ (Ezr 8:27)
  • טהר, ‘to be pure’ (Lev 11:32; 13:58)
  • טמא, ‘to be impure’ (Lev 11:32; 15:4, 26; CD-A XII:17; 11QTemplea XLIX:8; L:12).

The noun is also the grammatical subject to a series of verbs of action:

  • אבד qal, weapons of war can perish, as in the complaint of David (2 Sam 1:27);
  • אבד niph., ‘to be destroyed’ (Ps 31:13; 1QHoda XII:10);
  • בוא hoph. ‘to be brought’ (Lev 11:32);
  • טוח ‘to be sealed with pitch’ (CD-A XI:9 = 4QDf fr5.I:5);
  • יצר hoph. ‘to be formed’ (Isa 54:17);
  • יתר niph., ‘to remain’ (Jer 27:18, 21);
  • מלא ‘to be full’ (2 Kgs 4:6);
  • מצא niph., ‘to be found’ (2 Kgs 14:14 | 2 Chron 25:24);
  • עשׂה part.pass., ‘to be made’ (2 Kgs 23:4), niph., ‘to be made’ (2 Kgs 12:14 [2x]);
  • פתח part.pass., ‘to be opened’ (Num 19:15);
  • שׁבר niph., ‘to be broken’ (Lev 6:21; 11:33; 15:12; 11QTemplea L:17);
  • שׁוב hoph. ‘to be taken back (Jer 27:16);
  • שׁחת niph., ‘to be spoiled’ (Jer 18:14);
  • שׁטף niph., ‘to be washed’ (Lev 15:12);
  • שׁמע niph., ‘to be heard’ (1 Kgs 6:7);
  • שׁנה, ‘to be different’ (Est 1:7);
  • שׁקל niph., ‘to be weighed’ (Ezra 8:33).

In these constructions with verbs of action, כְּלִי is formally the subject of the verb but never the real subject of the action. In a few cases only, the noun is the subject of the action: בוא, ‘to come’ (Isa 13:5; Jer 27:18), חבל pi., ‘to destroy’ (Isa 13:5), יצא, ‘to go out’ (Prov 25:4), כרת, ‘cut down’ (Jer 22:7), נפל hiph., ‘cause to fall’ (Jer 22:7), נשׂא, ‘to carry’ (4QToh A fr2.I:5).

A.2 The noun כְּלִי is found as the direct object of a variety of verbs. A variety of acts could be undertaken with a כְּלִי or with כֵּלִים. These activities range from ‘making’ to ‘destroying’ and from ‘bringing’ to ‘taking’.

  • אסף: utensils can be gathered together, as was done by King Ahaz before smiting them (2 Chron 28:24).
  • בוא hiph.: a utensil can be brought from one place to another. King Asa, for example, brought all sorts of כלים to the house of God (1 Kgs 15:15).
  • בער pi.: according to Sir 27:5 utensils can be burned. Note that in Lev 13:52 the verb שׂרף is used for the same act.
  • זנח hiph.: cultic vessels can be removed from use, as was done by king Ahaz (2 Chron 29:19).
  • חגר: weapons of war can be girded on, see Deut 1:41.
  • חטא hithp.: impure vessels of leather (עוֹר) and wood (עֵץ) need to be purified from transgressions (Num 31:20).
  • חשׁב: musical instruments can be mentally construed, i.e. invented, see Amos 6:5.
  • חלה: the יָתֵד, ‘peg’, mentioned in Ezek 15:3 could be used to hang utensils.
  • טבל: a purification rite from Qumran summons that an impure vessels needs to be dipped in water to get purified (4QToh A fr2.I:4-5).
  • טהר: impure clothing needs to be purified (e.g., Lev 13:59; (11QTemplea XLIX: 19, 20).
  • טמא: a garment can be declared impure, as in Lev 13:59.
  • יצא hiph.: a vessel can also be taken out, such as the vessels made for Baal and Astarte were taken out of the temple during the reign of Hezekiah (2 Kgs 23:4). Weapons of war can be taken out (Jer 50:25; 1QHoda XIV:34).
  • יצג hiph.: after the conquest of Jerusalem, Israel feels like an empty vessel that has been placed down Nebuchadnezzar (Jer 51:34).
  • כבס: impure clothing needs to be washed (Lev 13:58; 11QTemplea XLIX:15).
  • כון: deadly weapons can be prepared for battle (Ps 7:14).
  • כסה pi.: utensils containing olive oil should be covered with a blue cloth (Num 4:9, 15).
  • לקח: utensils can be taken and placed elsewhere (e.g., Num 4:12; 1 Sam 21:9).
  • מלא: Joseph, when viceroi in Egypt, ordered regarding his brothers that the אֶת־כְּלֵיהֶם, ‘their vessels’ would be filled with corn (Gen 42:25).
  • מעט hiph.: Elisha summons a widow to ask her neighbours to provide a small number of utensils (2 Kgs 4.3).
  • מצא: utensils can be found, as was done by Jehoshaphat and his people when looting after a victory over the Ammonites and the Moabites (2 Chron 20:25).
  • משׁח: utensils can be anointed for their role in the cult (e.g., Exod 40:10).
  • משׁשׁ: Jacob accused Laban for having searched through his belongings by feeling all his belongings (Gen 31:37).
  • נוח hiph.: in Ezekiel's vision of a new temple, the instruments with which the animals would be slaughtered were laid to rest upon hewn stones (Ezek 40:42).
  • נטשׁ: David left his baggage up in the care of a keeper (שׁוֹמֵר; 1 Sam 17:22).
  • נשׂא: utensils can be carried, as, for instance, the Levites are ordered to do in Num 1:50; see also Judg 9:54. The same verb is used for the act of taking a weapon (Gen 27:3).
  • נתן: utensils can be given or entrusted, see, e.g., Exod 22:7; 1 Sam 20:40; Sir 12:5.
  • סבב hiph.: weapons of war can be removed, as in Jer 21:4.
  • עלה hiph.: a vessel can be brought up, as for instance the Levites did when bringing the holy vessels into the newly built temple (1 Kgs 8:4).
  • עשׂה: in about two dozen texts, a utensil is the object of the verb ‘to make’, e.g., at Jer 18:4. 1 Chron 23:5 narrates the ‘making’ of 4,000 musical instruments.
  • פקד: the military baggage is deposited up at Michmash (Isa 10:28 hiph.). The same verb qal is used at Num 4:32, albeit with a different connotation: all the utensils connected to the pillars of the court need to be listed.45
  • פשׁט hiph.: weapons of war can be stripped off, as was done by the Philistines with the armour of Saul after his death (1 Sam 31:9).
  • פתח: the Damascus Document refers to the opening of vessels, an act that is, however, forbidden on Shabbath (CD-A XI:9).
  • קבל pi.: in Ezra 8:30 the cultic vessels are received by the priests and Levites and brought to the temple.
  • קבץ pi.: even precious vessels can be cut into pieces (2 Kgs 24:13; 2 Chron 28:24).
  • קדשׁ pi.: Exod 40:9 states that all the furnishings of the tabernacle will be consecrated by anointing them. The same can be done to weapons of war (Jer 22:7).
  • ריק: an oracle against Moab states that one of the calamities that will befall that country will be that the utensils will be emptied (Jer 48:12).
  • שׂים: a weapon of war can be put or placed, as by David in his tent after the confrontation with Goliath (1 Sam 17:54), or in the temple of Astarte as the Philistines did with the armour of Saul after his death (1 Sam 31:10// 1 Chron 10:10).
  • שׂרף: according to Lev 13:52 utensils can be burned. Note that in Sir 27:5 the verb בער pi. is used for the same act.
  • שׁאל: Elisha summons a widow to ask for or borrow utensils from her neighbours (2 Kgs 4:3).
  • שׁבר: Jer 19:11 compares the future of Judah with that of a potter's vessel that has been broken.
  • שׁוב hiph.: a utensil can be brought back or returned, as for instance Hananiah wishfully promised to do (Jer 28:3).
  • שׁחת: A utensil can be brought to destruction; 2 Chron 36:19.
  • שׁלח utensils can be sent, as was done by Tou, the king of Hamath (1 Chron 18:10).
  • שׁלך hiph.: utensils could be thrown away (e.g., Num 35:22).
  • שׁמר qal: Num 3:8. Weapons of war can be kept and looked after; see 1QM VII:2.
  • שׁנן hiph.: weapons of war can be sharpened; see 1QM XVII:1.
  • שׁסה: The prophet Hosea presents the idea the utensils can be plundered, Hos 13:15.
  • שׁקל: after his arrival in Jerusalem, Ezra weighed out utensils he had been given by the Babylonian king (Ezra 8:25, 26).

A.3 The noun כְּלִי is nomen regens of over a hundred nouns and personal names. A large number of these cases are connected with the semantic field of the ‘vessels of the temple’. We give the more important combinations:

  • כְּלֵי הָאֹהֶל, כְּלֵי אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ‘the vessels of the tent (of meeting)’, Exod 31:7; Num 3:8.
  • כְּלֵי בֵּית הָאֱלֹהִים, ‘vessels of the house of God’, Dan 1:2; Neh 13:9; 2 Chron 28:24 (2x); 36:18.
  • כְּלֵי בֵּית טוֹבִיָּה, ‘vessels of the house of Tobiah’, Neh 13:8.
  • כְּלֵי בֵּית יְהוָה, ‘vessels of the house of YHWH’, Jer 27:16; 28:3, 6; Ezra 1:7; 2 Chron 36:7.
  • כְּלֵי בֵּית יַעַר הַלְּבָנוֹן, ‘vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon’, 1 Kgs 10:21 | 2 Chron 9:20.
  • כְּלֵי בֵּיתֶךָ, ‘vessels of your household’, Gen 31:37.
  • כְּלֵי יְהוָה, ‘vessels of YHWH’, Isa 52:11; see also the phrase ואקח משם א[ת כ]לי יהוה, ‘I took from there the [ves]sels of YHWH’, in the Mesha Inscription (KAI 181:17-18).
  • עֲבוֹדָה(הָ) כְּלֵי, ‘vessels of the (temple) service’, Exod 39:40; Num 4:26; 1 Chron 9:28; 28:13, 14.
  • כְּלֵי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, ‘the vessels of the altar’, Exod 38:3, 30; Num 4:14; 11QTemplea XXXIII:13.
  • כְּלֵי הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, ‘the vessels of the sanctuary’, Neh 10:40.
  • כְּלֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן, ‘the vessels of the tabernacle’, Exod 27:19.
  • כְּלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ, ‘the vessels of holiness’, Num 3:31; 4:15; 18:3; 31:6; 1 Kgs 8:4 | 2 Chron 5:5; 1 Chron 9:29; 22:19.
  • כלי קדשו, ‘the vessels of his holiness; his holy vessels’, 4QMessianic Apocalypse fr8:8.

In a second group of constructs, the nomen rectum indicates the material of which the vessel is made:

  • כְּלִי בַּרְזֶל, ‘vessel of iron’, e.g., Num 35:16; 1 Kgs 6:7; 11QTemplea XLIX:15.
  • כלי זָהָב, ‘vessel(s) of gold’, e.g., 2 Kgs 12:14; Sir 50:9.
  • לִי חֹמֶר[כְּ] (?), ‘vessel of clay’, according to an uncertain reconstruction of Sir 33:10E; see Introduction B.2.
  • כְּלִי חֶרֶשׂ, ‘vessel of clay’, Lev 6:21; 11:33; 14:5, 50; 15:12; Num 5:17; Jer 32:14; 4QToh A fr3.II:10; 11QTemplea XLIX:8; L:17.
  • כְּלֵי כֶּסֶף, ‘vessel of silver’, Gen 24:53; Exod 3:22; 11:2; 12:35; 2 Sam 8:10; 1 Kgs 10:25; 2 Kgs 12:14; Ezra 1:6; 2 Chron 9:24.
  • כלי נְחֹשֶׁת, ‘vessel(s) of bronze’, e.g., Lev 6:21; Josh 6:19; 2 Sam 8:10; Ezek 27:13; Ezra 8:27; 11QTemplea XLIX:15.
  • כְּלִי עוֹר, ‘vessel of skin’, i.e. leather closing, e.g., Lev 13:49, 53, 57, 59; Num 31:20.
  • כְּלִי עֵץ, ‘vessel of wood’, Lev 11:32; 15:12; Num 31:20; 35:18; 11QTemplea XLIX:15.
  • Rather specific is כלי אור, ‘vessel of light’, 4QpapPrQuot fr1-6.III:9.

A third group informs about form and or function of the utensil:

  • כְּלֵי הָאַגָּנוֹת, ‘banquet bowls’, Isa 22:24.
  • כלי הַבָּקָר, ‘equipment of the oxen’, 2 Sam 24:22; 1 Kgs 19:21.
  • כְּלֵי גּוֹלָה, ‘exiles’ bag’, Jer 46:19; Ezek 12:3, 4, 7.
  • כלי דמע, ‘tithe-vessels’, 3Q15 (Copper scroll) 1:9; 3:9; 8:3; 11:1.4.10.14.
  • יוֹצֵר(הַ) כְּלִי, ‘potter's vessel’, 2 Sam 17:28; Jer 19:11; Ps 2:9; Sir 27:5.
  • כְּלֵי מִשְׁמֶרֶת מַשָּׂאָם, ‘the items they have to carry’, Num 4:32.
  • כְּלֵי מַשְׁקֵה הַמֶּלֶךְ, ‘drinking vessels of the king’, 1 Kgs 10:21 | 2 Chron 9:20.
  • כְּלֵי הַנְּבָלִים, ‘vessels of flagons’, Isa 22:24.
  • כְּלֵי הַקָּטָן, ‘small vessels’, Isa 22:24.
  • כְּלִי רִיק, ‘vessel of emptiness; empty vessel’, Jer 51:34.
  • כְּלֵי רֶכֶב ‘equipment of a chariot’, 1 Sam 8:12.
  • כְּלִי רֹעֶה, ‘equipment of a (worthless) shepherd’, Zech 11:15.
  • כְּלֵי שֶׁמֶן, ‘vessel for olive oil’, Num 4:9.

Fourthly, a few constructions indicate the emotional value of a utensil:

  • כּלי חֶמְדָּה, ‘precious vessel(s)’: Jer 25:34; Hos 13:15; Nah 2:10; Dan 11:8; 2 Chron 32:27; 36:10; 4QBarkhi Nafshic 1ab.I:2.
  • כְּלֵי חֲמֻדוֹת, ‘precious vessels’: 2 Chron 20:25.
  • כְּלֵי מַחֲמַדִּים, ‘precious vessels’: 2 Chron 36:19.

Musical instruments form a fifth group:

  • כְּלֵי עֹז, powerful instruments, i.e. musical instruments making an impressive sound, see 2 Chron 30:21.
  • [ם]כלי מיני, ‘string instruments’, are mentioned in Sir 39:15.
  • כְּלֵי דָּוִיד, ‘musical instruments of king David’, are mentioned in 2 Chron 29:26, 27.
  • כְּלֵי שִׁיר ‘instruments of song’, i.e. to accompany singing, are attested at Amos 6:5; Neh 12:36; 1 Chron 15:16; 16:42; 2 Chron 7:6; 34:12.

A sixth group is formed by various utensils:

  • כְּלִי גֶּבֶר, ‘clothes/implements of a man’, are not to be worn by women, Deut 22:5; 4QOrda fr2-4:6.
  • כְּלֵי גֹּמֶא, ‘vessels of papyrus’; in Isa 18:2, Ethiopia is depicted as a country that is ‘sending ambassadors by the Nile in ‘vessels of papyrus’, on the waters!’

Weapons are often explicitly named:

  • כְּלֵי יוֹאָב, ‘weapons of Joab’, the armour of Joab is designated as such in 2 Sam 18:15; 23:37; 1 Chron 11:39.
  • כלי חמס, ‘weapons of violence’, occur at Gen 49:5; 4QTest 25 | 4QapocrJoshb fr22.II:11.
  • כְּלֵי זַעְמוֹ, the inimical instruments of his indignation are mentioned at Isa 13:5; Jer 50:25.
  • מלחמה(ה) כלי, ‘weapon(s) of war’, occurs throughout the Hebrew Bible: Deut 1:41; Judg 18:11, 16, 17; 1 Sam 8:12; 2 Sam 1:27; Jer 21:4; 51:20; Ezek 32:27; 1 Chron 12:34; and the Qumran scrolls: 1QpHab VI:4; 1QHoda X:28; XIV:31, 34; 1QM VIII:8; XVI:6-7; XVII:1, 12; 4QMa fr11.II:5, 21; and once in the Book of Ben Sira: Sir 12:5.
  • כְּלֵי מָוֶת, ‘deadly weapons’, are attested in Ps 7:14.
  • כְּלֵי קְרָב, ‘weapons for battle’, is used in a simile in Eccl 9:18.

A.4 The noun כְּלִי is as nomen rectum connected with a series of nouns. A first group describes the contents of the utensil:

  • מימי הכלי, ‘water from the vessel’, CD-A X:13;
  • כֶּסֶף הַכֵּלִים, ‘silver from the vessels’, Num 7:85.

A second group refers to the acts of the utensil or the acts that have been done with it:

  • תסובות הכלי, ‘the rotations of the vessels’, 4QpapPrQuot fr1-6.III:9.

A third group indicates a selection of the utensils:

  • מִקְצָת כְּלֵי בֵית־הָאֱלֹהִים, ‘part of the vessels of the house of God’, Dan 1:2;
  • אחד כלי מעשה, ‘one of the tools’, CD-A XII:18. In about 100 texts the noun is preceded by כל, ‘all, any’, referring to the utensils, tools, or vessels present in their entirety. This construction is attested throughout the Hebrew Bible as well as in the Qumran Scrolls.

A.5 The noun כְּלִי is specified by the following adjectives:

  • אחר, ‘other’, Jer 18:4; Ezra 1:10;
  • אחד, ‘one’, Ezek 4:9;
  • אלה, ‘these’, 1 Kgs 7:45; 2 Kgs 25:16 | Jer 52:20;
  • גָּדוֹל, ‘big’, 2 Chron 36:18;
  • חדש, ‘new’, 4QTohBb 1:3;
  • טהור, ‘pure’, Isa 66:20;
  • קָטָן, ‘small’, 2 Chron 36:18;
  • ריק, ‘empty’, 2 Kgs 4:3.

4. Ancient Versions

a. Septuagint (LXX) and other Greek versions (αʹ, σʹ, θʹ):

A.1 σκεῦος as dominant rendering of כְּלִי
The Greek noun σκεῦος is the Septuagint's counterpart of ca. 242 occurrences of כְּלִי in MT46 and of 4 occurrences of כְּלִי in Ben Sira (27:5; 43:2; 43:8; 50:9). This means that σκεῦος represents almost 75% of the occurrences of כְּלִי in MT and Ben Sira. In most cases, the number of the noun σκεῦος (plural/singular) corresponds with the number of כְּלִי in the MT.47
σκεῦος has about the same semantic field as כְּלִי. If an occurrence in the LXX has a counterpart in the Hebrew Bible, this counterpart is always a form of כְּלִי or, in the Aramaic sections of Daniel and Ezra, of מאנא, ‘vessel, utensil, garment’. σκεῦος is translated as ‘implement, utensil, tool, vessel, container, movable object’, etc.48 Over 25% of the occurrences of כְּלִי either have different counterparts, or are not represented in the LXX. The occurrences of כְּלִי that are rendered differently or omitted in LXX are mentioned in the following surveys.

A.2 Exceptional renderings of כְּלִי

  • ἀγγεῖον, ‘container for holding liquids or dry substances’, etc.:49 Gen 42:25; 43:11; Lev 11:34; 14:5; Num 4:9; 5:17; 1 Sam 9:7; Jer 14:3; 18:4 (2x); 39:14 (32:14MT); 47:10 (40:10MT); 31:11 (2x) (48:11MT); 31:38 (48:38MT). Further, in 2 Kgs 4:3 (1st), 4, 6 (1st, 3rd), LXXAnt represents the forms of כְּלִי by forms of ἀγγεῖον,50 while in this passage most manuscripts of LXX consistently represent forms of כְּלִי by forms of σκεῦος;
  • ἄγγος, ‘container’:51 Deut 23:26/24:2 (23:25MT); 1 Kgs 17:10; Jer 19:11; Ezek 4:9;
  • ἅπας, ‘all, entire’:52 Prov 25:4, see the discussion below;
  • βουλή, ‘decision, deliberation’, etc.:53 Isa 32:7(?);
  • διασκευή, ‘furniture’ (LXX sg., MT pl.):54 Exod 31:7;
  • ἐμποδίζω, ‘put in bonds, fetter’, etc.,55 ‘deprive of freedom of movement or action’:56 Sir 12:5;
  • ἐπιστολή, ‘letter’, etc. (pl. in MT and LXX):57 Isa 18:2 (ἐπιστολὰς βυβλίνας);
  • ἐργαλεῖον, ‘tool, instrument’:58 Exod 39:21 (39:40);
  • ἔργον, ‘activity’, etc.:59 Num 4:16; apparently also 1 Kgs 7:32 (7:47MT);60
  • κάδιον, ‘small container for liquid’, dim. of κάδος (sg. in MT and LXX):61 1 Sam 17:40, 49;
  • κόσμος, ‘ornaments’, etc. (LXX sg., MT pl.):62 Isa 61:10;
  • κριός, ‘ram’:63 Jer 32:34 (25:34MT), see the discussion below;
  • κυλίκιον, ‘small cup’, dim. of κύλιξ:64 Est 1:7 (2nd);
  • ὅπλον, ‘implement of warfare’:65 Jer 21:4; Ezek 32:27;
  • ὄργανον, ‘instrument’, etc.:66 1 Chron 15:16 (LXXa); 16:5, 42; 23:5; 2 Chron 5:13; 7:6; 23:13; 29:26, 27; 34:12; see further ‘One-word renderings of combinations with כְּלִי’ (below);
  • πᾶς, ‘all’:67 1 Sam 21:5 (21:6MT) (1st) (LXX: πάντα τὰ παιδάρια), see the discussion below;
  • πέλεκυς, ‘two-edged axe, battle-axe’ (LXX sg., MT pl.):68 Jer 22:7;
  • ποτήριον, ‘drinking-vessel’:69 Est 1:7 (1st);
  • συντελέω, ‘finish, perpetrate’, etc.:70 Gen 49:5 (συνετέλεσαν ἀδικίαν ἐξαιρέσεως /ἐξ αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν), see the discussion below;
  • τάλαντον, ‘talent’,71 ‘definitive measure of weight’:72 Est 1:7 (3rd?).

A.3 One-word renderings of combinations with כְּלִי

  • κατασκευή, ‘fittings, furniture’:73 Exod 27:19, for כְּלֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן, ‘the vessels of the tabernacle’ (but LXXa: ἀποσκευή, ‘baggage’, etc.);74
  • κινύρα, ‘string instrument’:75 Sir 39:15B, ἐν κινύραις, ‘with string instruments’, for [ם]כלי מיני, ‘instruments of (many) kinds';
  • ὁπλομάχος, ‘fighting with heavy arms’:76 Isa 13:5, οἱ ὁπλομάχοι αὐτοῦ, ‘his armed men’ (NETS), for כְּלֵי זַעְמוֹ, ‘instruments of his indignation’;
  • ὄργανον, ‘instrument’, etc.:77 ἐν ὀργάνοις, ‘with instruments’; in 2 Chron 30:21 for MT בִּכְלֵי עֹז, ‘with instruments of power’ (but LXXAnt renders each Hebrew word with a Greek word: ἐν ὀργάνοις ἰσχύος, ‘with instruments of power’78); in 1 Chron 15:16 for MT בִּכְלֵי שִׁיר, ‘with instruments of …’ (LXXa, LXXs, etc., while LXXa renders each Hebrew word with a Greek word: ἐν ὀργάνοις ᾠδῶν, ‘with instruments of songs’; see above);
  • πέλυξ, ‘a kind of axe’:79 Ezek 9:2, for כְּלִי מַפָּץ, ‘instrument of destruction’;
  • σκευοφύλαξ, ‘storekeeper’:80 1 Sam 17:22, for שׁוֹמֵר הַכֵּלִים, ‘keeper of the utensils' (only LXXAnt; verse omitted in other manuscripts of LXX);
  • ψαλμός, ‘song sung to the harp, psalm’,81 ‘music made with an instrument’:82 Isa 66:20, μετὰ ψαλμῶν, ‘with music/psalms’, for בִּכְלִי טָהוֹר, ‘in a pure vessel’;
  • ᾠδή, ‘song’:83 Neh 12:36, ἐν ᾠδαῖς for בִּכְלֵי שִׁיר, ‘instruments accompanying singing’.

A.4 Absence of renderings of כְּלִי
The following verses, each containing at least one form of כְּלִי, are omitted entirely in the LXX: Exod 37:24; 39:39; 1 Sam 17:22; Jer 27:21; Prov 20:15. However, if a verse does have a counterpart in the LXX the translation of a form of כְּלִי may also be omitted. In the Greek translation of the expression כְּלֵי כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב, ‘objects of silver and objects of gold’, a rendering of the second כְּלֵי is omitted in Gen 24:53; Exod 3:22; 11:2; 12:35 (σκεύη ἀργυρᾶ καὶ χρυσᾶ, ‘objects of silver and gold’). Instead, a word-by-word translation of the expression occurs in 2 Chron 9:24 (σκεύη ἀργυρᾶ καὶ σκεύη χρυσᾶ; cf. σκεῦος χρυσοῦν καὶ σκεῦος ἀργυροῦν for כְּלִי זָהָב וּכְלִי כָסֶף in 2 Kgs 12:1484). In the Greek translation of the longer list in 2 Sam 8:10, each occurrence of כְּלֵי is represented as well: σκεύη ἀργυρᾶ καὶ σκεύη χρυσᾶ καὶ σκεύη χαλκᾶ for כְּלֵי כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב וּכְלֵי נְחֹשֶׁת, ‘objects of silver and objects of gold and objects of bronze’.
A translation of a form of כְּלִי is also omitted in Exod 31:9; 38:23 (38:3MT, כָּל כֵּלָיו);39:7 (38:30MT); 39:16 (39:37MT);Josh 6:19, 24; 1 Kgs 10:25 (MT: כְּלֵי כֶסֶף); Jer 34:15/18 (27:18MT); 52:20; Dan 1:2 (2nd); 2 Chron 28:24 (2nd). In 2 Kgs 14:14 a rendering of וְאֵת כָּל הַכֵּלִים is missing in LXXAnt,85 but most manuscripts represent the Hebrew expression by πάντα τὰ σκεύη . In 1 Chron 28:14, most manuscripts of LXX do not represent the three occurrences of כְּלִי, but LXXAnt represents them by forms of σκεῦος .86 In 2 Chron 24:14, most manuscripts of LXX leave the third form of כְּלִי untranslated, but LXXAnt represents it by σκεύη .87 The rendering of Isa 22:24 (3 forms of כְּלִי) and Amos 6:5 is too paraphrastic to establish whether specific words represent Hebrew כְּלִי.

A.5 Instead of the exceptional renderings of כְּלִי in the LXX, α´σ´θ´ sometimes read a form of σκεῦος. The following examples are illustrative:88

  • In Gen 49:5, α´ has the awkward reading σκεύη ἀδικίας ἀνασκαφαὶ, ‘instruments of injustice (are their) excavations’ (Field I:69;89 LXX: συνετέλεσαν ἀδικίαν ἐξαιρέσεως /ἐξ αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν);
  • In Deut 23:26/24:2 (23:25MT), α´ reads σκεύη (Field I:308; LXX: ἄγγος);
  • In 1 Sam 17:40, α´ σ´θ´ read σκεύει (Field I:517; LXX: καδίῳ);
  • In 1 Sam 21:5 (21:6MT), α´θ´ translate כלי הנערים by τὰ σκεύη τῶν παιδαρίων (Field I:525; LXX: πάντα τὰ παιδάρια);
  • In Isa 13:5, σ´ translates כלי זעמו by σκεύη ὀργῆς αὐτοῦ (Field II:454; LXX: οἱ ὁπλομάχοι αὐτοῦ);
  • In Isa 18:2, כלי גמא is translated by ἐν σκεύεσι βιβλίου (α´), by διὰ σκευῶν παπυρίνων (σ´), or by ἐν σκεύεσι παπύρου (θ´); see Field II:461. LXX reads ἐπιστολὰς βυβλίνας;
  • In Isa 61:10, α´σ´ read forms of σκεῦος (Field II:555; LXX: κόσμῳ);
  • In Isa 66:20, σ´ translates בכלי טהור by ἐν σκεύει καθαρῷ (Field II:566; LXX: μετὰ ψαλμῶν);
  • In Jer 32:20 (25:34MT), α´σ´ translate ככלי חמדהby ὡς σκεῦος ἐπιθυμητόν (Field II:641; LXX: ὥσπερ οἱ κριοὶ οἱ ἐκλεκτοί);
  • In Ezek 9:2, α´σ´ translate כלי מפצו by σκεῦος διασκορπισμοῦ αὐτοῦ (Field II:790; LXX: πέλυξ);
  • In Ezek 32:27, α´σ´θ´ read σκεύεσι (Field II:859; LXX: ὅπλοις).

A.6 Discussion:

  • In LXX, the stereotyped lexical equivalent of כְּלִי is σκεῦος, which has about the same semantic field as כְּלִי. Relatively frequent renderings of כְּלִי are ἀγγεῖον (15 times, especially in Jeremiah, 4 additional cases in LXXAnt) and ὄργανον (11 or 12 times, only in the Book of Chronicles). All the other translations of כְּלִי are much rarer.
  • Most manuscripts of Gen 49:5LXX read συνετέλεσαν ἀδικίαν ἐξ αἱρέσεως αὐτῶν, ‘they perpetrated injustice by their choice/course of action’ (NETS), where MT has כְּלֵי חָמָס מְכֵרֹתֵיהֶם. The majuscules LXXA and LXXB omit the blank space between ἐξ and αἱρέσεως and seem to intend the following word division: συνετέλεσαν ἀδικίαν ἐξαιρέσεως αὐτῶν, ‘they perpetrated injustice of removal/killing’. This latter word division seems to represent the original interpretation of the word מכרתיהם, since in LXX the verb ἐξαιρέω around twenty times represents forms of the verb כרת.90 The division ἐξ αἱρέσεως seems to be secondary. The rendering συνετέλεσαν, ‘they put an end to’, shows that the translators either read כלו instead of כלי (see SP, Introduction, A.10), or interpreted the reading כלי as כלו, a form of the verb כלה, ‘come to an end’ (qal), here rather ‘put an end to’ (pi.).
  • In Sir 12:5A the Hebrew expression כלי לחם, ‘instruments of war’, was translated as ἐμπόδισον τοὺς ἄρτους, ‘hold back loaves of bread’. While the word לחם was interpreted as לֶחֶם, ‘bread’, the word כלי was apparently interpreted as a sg. imperat. form of the verb כלא, ‘to restrain, to withhold’.
  • In Isa 66:20, μετὰ ψαλμῶν, ‘with music/psalms’, is a remarkable rendering of בִּכְלִי טָהוֹר, ‘in a pure vessel’.

b. Peshitta (Pesh):

A.1 ܡܐܢܐ as dominant rendering of כְּלִי
The noun ܡܐܢܐ (mānā), ‘tool, instrument, utensil, vessel’, etc.,91 is the Syriac rendering of virtually all the occurrences of כְּלִי in MT and Ben Sira. In the Torah, the rendering of כְּלִי is always a form of ܡܐܢܐ, also in Gen 49:5 ܡܐܢܐ ܕܪܘܓܙܐ, ‘weapons of violence’, for כְּלֵי חָמָס. The exceptions (ca. 7% of all the occurrences in MT and Ben Sira) are mentioned hereafter. The noun ܡܐܢܐ has about the same semantic field as כְּלִי. In most cases, the number of the noun ܡܐܢܐ (plural/singular) corresponds with the number of כְּלִי in MT.92

A.2 Exceptional renderings of כְּלִי

  • ܙܝܢܐ (zaynā), ‘shield, armor, implements’,93 ‘arms, armour, weapons’, etc.:94 2 Kgs 11:8, 11; cf. 1 Chron 10:10 ܡܐܢ̈ܝܗܘܢ ܘܙܝܢܗܘܢ ('their weapons and their shield’, double translation of כֵּלָיו); 2 Chron 23:7 ܘܡܐ̈ܢܝ ܙܝܢܗ ('his engines of war, weapons, arms’; extensive translation of וְכֵלָיו);95
  • ܡܘܪܢܝܬܐ (mūrānīṯā), ‘spear’, etc.:96 1 Sam 21:9;
  • ܢܪܓܐ (nārgā), ‘axe’:97 Jer 22:7;
  • ܥܒܝܕܬܐ (ʿabīdṯā), ‘affairs, materials, objects’:98 1 Chron 9:29 (2nd);
  • ܥܩܐ ('eqqā), ‘necklace’, etc.:99 Sir 50:9;
  • ܬܫܒܚܬܐ (tešbūḥtā), ‘praise, honour, glory, hymn, etc.’:100 2 Chron 29:26.

A.3 One-word renderings of combinations with כְּלִי

  • ܟܢܪܐ (kennārā), ‘lyre, stringed instrument’,101 ‘harp, cithera, cithern’, lyre’:102 Ps 71:22, MT כְּלִי נֶבֶל, ‘harp instrument’.
  • ܢܝܪܐ (nīrā), ‘yoke’:103 2 Sam 24:22, MT כְּלֵי הַבָּקָר,‘the equipment of the oxen’;
  • ܬܫܒ̈ܚܬܐ (tešbūḥtā), ‘praises, hymns’: 2 Chron 23:13, MT כְּלֵי הַשִּׁיר;
  • ܬܫܒ̈ܚܬܐ (tešbūḥtā), ‘praises, hymns’: 2 Chron 30:21, MT כְּלֵי עֹז, ‘powerful instruments’.

A.4 Absence of renderings of כְּלִי
Pesh leaves the Hebrew word כֵּלֶיהָ in Isa 61:10 untranslated, just like the expression כְּלֵי נְבָלִים in 1 Chron 16:5. Further, the following verses, each containing at least one form of כְּלִי, are omitted entirely in Pesh: 1 Chron 23:5; 2 Chron 4:16, 19; 5:13; 24:14; 29:18, 19. The rendering of the following verses is quite paraphrastic: Job 28:17; 1 Chron 28:13, 14; 2 Chron 29:27; Sir 27:5; 39:15. It is unclear whether in these verses specific words represent Hebrew כְּלִי.

A.5 Discussion:

  • The stereotyped lexical equivalent of כְּלִי is ܡܐܢܐ (mānā), which has about the same semantic field as כְּלִי. However, sometimes the translators selected different renderings, most of which are more specific than ܡܐܢܐ. In the following verses the specifications were induced by the context: 1 Sam 21:9 (see preceding חֲנִית, which in Pesh is also translated as ܡܘܪܢܝܬܐ, ‘spear’); 2 Sam 24:22; 2 Kgs 11:8, 11; Jer 22:7; Ps 71:22 (see the following כִּנּוֹר, in Pesh also translated as ܟܢܪܐ, ‘lyre’); 1 Chron 10:10; 2 Chron 23:7 (cf. 23:9-10).
  • In 1 Chron 9:29 כְּלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ is translated as ܥܒ̈ܝܕܬܐ ܕܩܘܕܫܐ, ‘affairs/objects of the sanctuary’, probably to distinguish the expression more clearly from the preceding הַכֵּלִים, for which Pesh has the usual translation ܡܐ̈ܢܐ. Elsewhere, כְּלֵי in the expression כְּלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ is consistently translated with a plural form of ܡܐܢܐ.
  • It is awkward that in 2 Chron 29:26 the expression כְּלֵי דָוִיד was not translated by terminology denoting musical instruments but by the immaterial ܬܫܒ̈ܚܬܗ ܕܕܘܝܕ, ‘praises/hymns of David’. It is also surprising that the expression כְּלֵי הַשִּׁיר in 2 Chron 23:13 and the expression כְּלֵי עֹז in 2 Chron 30:21 were translated with the single word ܬܫܒ̈ܚܬܐ, ‘praises/hymns’.

c. Targumim (Tg: O/N/PsJ/Smr/J/K):

A.1 מ(א)נא as dominant rendering of כְּלִי
In the Targumim, the noun מ(א)נא, ‘vessel, utensil, garment’, etc.,104 is the usual rendering of Hebrew כְּלִי. The word מ(א)נא has about the same semantic field as כְּלִי. In Targum Onkelos (TgO) 96% of the occurrences of כְּלִי are translated by מ(א)נא, in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (TgPsJ) 91%, and in Targum Neofiti (TgN) 94%. In Targum Jonathan to the Nebiim (TgJ) 73% of the occurrences of כְּלִי are translated as מ(א)נא, and in the Targumim to the Ketubim (TgK) 70%. The exceptions listed below account for ca. 15% of the occurrences.105
Two versions of the Samaritan Targum have been transmitted, which are here labelled as TgSmr1 and TgSmr2.106TgSmr1 always has the rendering מ(א)נא, in Gen 49:5 having a reading that is more in line with the Hebrew Samaritan text כלו (see Introduction, A.10). TgSmr2 has a different rendering in four cases (Gen 27:3; 42:25, 43:11; 45:20).

A.2 Renderings with זַיינָא/זֵינָא

Renderings of כְּלִי by זַיינָא/זֵינָא or expressions including forms of זַיינָא/זֵינָא are relatively frequent:

  • זַיינָא/זֵינָא, ‘weapon, armament, armour, weapon, steel’:107 Gen 27:3 (only TgO,Smr2); Judg 9:54; 1 Sam 14:1, 6, 7, 12 (1,2) 14:13 (1,2), 14,17; 16:21; 17:54; 20:40; 21:9; 31:4 (1,2), 5, 6, 9, 10; 2 Sam 18:15; 23:37; Isa 54:17; Jer 22:7; Ps 7:14; 1 Chron 10:4 (1,2), 5, 9, 10; 11:39; 12:34, 38; 16:42; 2 Chron 23:7, 13; 30:21; 34:12;
  • זיני זֶמֶר, ‘musical instruments’:108 Ps 71:22; 1 Chron 16:5; 23:5, 2 Chron 5:13; 7:6; 29:27;
  • זיני תּוּשְׁבַחְתָּא, ‘instruments of praise’:109 2 Chron 29:26;
  • מאני זיינא שנינא, ‘sharp weapon utensils’:110 Gen 49:5 (only TgPsJ; TgO unclear; TgN: מרי זיינה שנינה);
  • מָנֵי זֵינֵיה, ‘weapon utensils’: Deut 22:5 (only TgN); 2 Kgs 11:8, 11;
  • מרי זיינה שנינה, ‘masters of sharpened weapons’:111 Gen 49:5 (only TgN; TgO unclear; TgPsJ: מאני זיינא שנינא);
  • תִּיקוּן זֵין, meaning disputed (see below): Deut 22:5 (only TgO).

A.3 Exceptional renderings of כְּלִי

  • וְתוּמַּיָּא אוּרַיָּא, ‘Urim and Thummim’: Num 31:6 (only TgPsJ);
  • אַתְרָא, ‘place, town’:112 Jer 48:11 (1,2);
  • כָּהֲנָא, ‘priest’: Isa 22:24;
  • כָּל, ‘all’:113 2 Chron 36:10, see the discussion below;
  • כלי: Gen 43:11; 45:20 (only TgSmr2); see Root and Comparative Material A.10;
  • כְּלִילָא, ‘wreath, crown’, etc.:114 Num 31:50? (only TgN; see A.10 below);
  • לויא/ לואה, ‘Levite’:115 Isa 22:24;
  • נבי/נבא (niph.,/itp.) ‘to prophesy’:116 Zech 11:15;
  • נִכְסַיָּא (plur), ‘property’, etc.:117 Jer 48:12;
  • סכם (aph.), ‘to finish, to put an end to’:118 Gen 49:5, אסכמו שקר, ‘they put an end to iniquity’ (TgSmr1);
  • עוֹבָדָא, ‘act, action, deed, etc.’:119 Isa 32:7;
  • צַנָא, ‘basket’:120 Deut 23:25 (only TgPsJ);
  • רַבָּא, ‘master, superior’,121 ‘master, chief, head’:122 Isa 22:24;
  • רַבָּנֵי מַשרְיָתֵיה, ‘the masters of his armies’:123 Isa 10:28;
  • שקלב, ‘bag’:124 Gen 42:25 (TgSmr2);
  • תִּיקּוּנָא, ‘adornment’, etc.:125 Isa 61:10;
  • תִּיקּוּנֵי, ‘adornments’, etc.,126 specified by preceding גוליין דציצית ותפילין, ‘fringed cloaks and phylacteries’:127 Deut 22:5 (only TgPsJ);
  • תַּכְשִׁיטָא, ‘jewel’,128 ‘ornament’, etc.:129 Exod 35:22 (only TgPsJ).

A.4 One-word renderings of combinations with כְּלִי

  • דְּגוֹגָא, ‘fisher boat, light shallow-going boat’:130 Isa 18:2 plur דְּגוֹגִין for MT כְּלֵי־גֹמֶא, ‘vessels of papyrus’;
  • קֵיסָא, ‘wood, twig’:131 Num 35:18 (only TgN) for MT כְּלִי עֵץ, ‘wooden utensil’.

A.5 Absence of renderings of כְּלִי

  • TgPsJ leaves the word כְּלִי untranslated in Exod 39:37; 40:9; Num 3:36; 4:12.
  • TgN does not represent the second כְּלִי in Num 7:1 (כֵּלָיו) as a result of homoioteleuton.132 Due to the large expansion of TgN in Num 31:50, it is not entirely clear which word represents MT כְּלִי, but it could be כלילייה, ‘crown’.
  • In TgO it is unclear which word represents כְּלִי in Gen 49:5. In all other instances כְּלִי is represented by one or more words.

A.6 Discussion

  • The usual rendering of כְּלִי is מָנָא/מָאנָא, which has about the same semantic range as כְּלִי. The exceptional renderings can loosely be divided into three categories: first, the character of objects is specified on the basis of the context; secondly, metaphors are clarified; and lastly, the text is expanded or altered.
  • A frequent rendering of כְּלִי is זַיינָא/זֵינָא, ‘weapon’. This translation especially occurs in combination with נָטֵיל, when the MT has נֹשֵׂא כֵלָיו, resulting in the Targum translation נָטֵיל זֵינֵיה, ‘his armor-bearer’.133 Other occurrences of זַיינָא/זֵינָא indicate a military context too.134 Apart from weaponry, an axe can be meant, because זַיינָא is mentioned in the context of chopping down trees.135 זֵינָא is further used in the context of musical instruments and is found together with זְמָרָא, ‘music’.136 The word זַיינָא can also be combined with תוּשבחָא/תוּשבַחתָא, ‘praise’.137 For example in 2 Chron 30:21, the Targum translation is זיני תושבחתא for the Hebrew כְלֵי־עֹז. One of the translations the Targum provides for כְּלִי is thus in the semantic field of weaponry; another, with the same word, is in the context of musical instruments. The latter meaning is not always represented in the dictionaries.
  • In Gen 49:5 (TgPsJ), Deut 22:5 (TgN), and 2 Kgs 11:8, 11, the usual rendering מ(א)נא is followed by a form of the word זֵינָא. In this double rendering, מ(א)נא is in construct state and the meaning of this combination is therefore: ‘weapon utensils’. In Gen 49:5, for example, TgPsJ uses this combination together with the part. שנינא to describe the characteristics of Simeon and Levi: מאני זיינא שנינא למחטוף, ‘sharp weapon utensils for robbery’. TgN, however, renders כְּלֵי with מרי זיינה שנינה: ‘masters of sharp weapons’. The same semantic field of weaponry is implied, but the combination of מ(א)נא with זֵינָא is absent.
  • More specific renderings of כְּלִי are usually induced by the context:
    • In Num 31:6, TgPsJ translates כְלֵי as וְתוּמַּיָּא אוּרַיָּא, ‘Urim and Thummim’, because of the nomen rectum הַקֹּדֶשׁ in MT.
    • In Deut 23:25 (TgPsJ) כֶּלְיְךָ is rendered as צנך, ‘your basket’, an object in which grapes can be gathered.
    • In Isa 18:2 TgJ translates the combination כְלֵי־גֹמֶא with a single word: דְּגוֹגִין, ‘fisher boats’.
    • In the same way TgN translates in Num 35:18 the combination כְלִי עֵץ with one word: קֵיסָא, ‘twig’.
    • As a result of the context in Isa 61:10, TgJ provides the translation בְתִקוּנַהָא, ‘with her adornments’, for the Hebrew כֵלֶיהָ, the ב is added due to the verb.138 In the MT a bride adorns herself with כֵלֶיהָ, jewelry is therefore a logical explanation by Tg.
    • In Exod 35:22 (TgPsJ) the word כְּלִי is rendered as תַּכְשִׁיטָא, ‘ornament’. In the text all sorts of jewelry are mentioned and therefore כְּלִי is translated as such.
  • Another translation technique of Tg is to clarify and specify abstract metaphors in the MT and translate those into concrete concepts. כְּלִי sometimes has a metaphorical use. The three occurrences in Isa 22:24 are translated in TgJ with the words רַבָּא, ‘master’, כָּהֲנָא, ‘priest’, and לויא, ‘Levite’, in order to explain the text. In Jer 48:11 the two occurrences of a form of כְּלִי are translated as אַתְרָא, ‘place’, to interpret the metaphor. It is complicated to derive the meaning of כְּלִי from the translations of those occurrences, because in those instances the metaphors are interpreted by Tg.
  • The exceptional renderings of כְּלִי can also be caused by the expansion or alteration of the text by the Targumim. These expansions are interpretations of the word כְּלִי:
    • In Deut 22:5 rules for clothing are given. TgPsJ translates כְלִי as תִּיקּוּנֵי, ‘adornments’, and specifies its meaning as גוליין דציצית ותפילין, ‘fringed cloaks and phylacteries’. This reflects the practice that the תְּפִילִין, ‘phylacteries’, are worn by men.139
    • In Isa 10:28 כֵּלָיו is translated as רַבָּנֵי מַשרְיָתֵיה, ‘the masters of their armies’. In Isa 32:7 the translation is עוּבָדֵיהוֹן, ‘their deeds’. In both instances the Targum expands the text or fills in a more specific meaning in the MT.
    • In Zech 11:15 the Targum renders a verbal form for the noun כְּלִי. The translation of the Targum is אִתנַבִי, ‘prophesy against’. It is possible that the Hebrew כְּלִי was connected with the Aramaic verb כלא and therefore the noun altered in a verbal paraphrasis.
    • While in MT 2 Chron 36:10 reads כְּלֵי חֶמְדַּת בֵּית יְהוָה, ‘the precious objects of the house of YHWH’, the Targum reads כל רוגגת בית מקדשא דייי, ‘all that was precious of the holy temple of YHWH’. It is possible that the targumists had a Hebrew source text that differed from MT.140 Another possibility is that כל is an interpretation of כְּלֵי. In that case the objects of value (כְּלֵי חֶמְדַּת) in the temple are rendered as everything that was in the temple, because every object in the temple is valuable according to the Targum.
    • Lastly, TgSmr2 has two Hebraising translations in Gen 43:11 and 45:20 using the Hebrew word כְּלֵי.
  • According to the Tgs, all kinds of objects can be meant when כְּלִי is used in the MT, ordinary items, such as a basket, items for decoration, an ornament, a crown, weaponry, musical instruments, holy objects, etc. Most of those renderings of כְּלִי are induced by context. Furthermore, מָנָא/מָאנָא has a broad meaning, ‘vessel, utensil, garment, etc.’ and therefore shows a variety in meaning.

d. Vulgate (Vg):

A.1 Dominant rendering of כְּלִי
vas, ‘container for liquids, food, etc., vessel, utensil’; alternatively (pl.): ‘equipment, apparatus (rarely sg.: an instrument)’.141 The noun vas is by far the most frequent rendition for כְּלִי in Vg. The Latin noun is the counterpart of 206 occurrences (ca. 63%) of כְּלִי in MT. In most cases, the number of the noun vas (pl./sg.) corresponds with the number of כְּלִי in MT.142 Almost 37% of the occurrences of כְּלִי either have different Latin counterparts, or have no counterparts in Vg. All the occurrences of כְּלִי that are rendered differently or omitted in Vg are mentioned in the following surveys.

A.2 Exceptional renderings of כְּלִי

  • aratrum, ‘plough’ (sg. in MT and Vg):143 1 Kgs 19:21;
  • arma (pl. tantum), ‘implements, etc., used in warfare, arms, weapons’, etc. (pl. in MT and Vg):144 Gen 27:3; Deut. 1:41; Judg 18:11; 1 Sam 17:54; 20:40; 21:8 (21:9MT); 31:9, 10; 2 Sam 1:27; 2 Kgs 11:8, 11; Jer 22:7; Eccl 9:18; 1 Chron 10:9, 10; 12:33 (12:34MT), 12:37 (12:38MT); 2 Chron 23:7;
  • iugum, ‘yoke’, etc. (pl. in MT and Vg):145 2 Sam 24:22;
  • monile, ‘necklace, ornamental collar’; alternatively (pl.): ‘jewellery’ (pl. in MT and Vg):146 Isa 61:10;
  • organum, ‘mechanical device, instrument, musical instrument’ (pl. in MT and Vg):147 1 Chron 15:16; 16:5, 42; 23:5; 2 Chron 7:6; 29:26, 27; 30:21;
  • pera, ‘bag worn slung over the shoulder (for carrying the day's provisions, etc.), satchel’ (sg. in MT and Vg):148 1 Sam 17:40, 49;
  • poculum, ‘drinking-vessel, cup, bowl’ (pl in MT and Vg):149 Est 1:7 (1st);
  • praeda, ‘booty’, etc. (sg. in MT and Vg):150 Num 31:50;
  • saccus, ‘bag’ (pl. in MT and Vg):151 Gen 42:25;
  • sarcina, ‘bundle of things tied together so as to be conveniently carried by a man or animal, a pack, a soldier's kit’; alternatively (pl.): ‘Any movable goods, belongings, chattels’ (pl. in MT and Vg):152 1 Sam 17:22 (2nd); 25:13; 30:24;
  • sarcinula, ‘(small, light) pack or bundle’; alternatively (pl.): ‘one's traps, baggage, belongings, chattels, paraphernalia, effects’ (pl. in MT and Vg):153 Ruth 2:9;
  • sitarcia, ‘provisions for a journey’ (pl. in MT and Vg):154 1 Sam 9:7;
  • substantia, ‘sum or aggregate (of one's possessions)’, etc. (Vg sg., MT pl.):155 Gen 31:37 (2nd);
  • supellex (sg. in Vg, mostly pl. in MT, but sg. in Lev 13:59), ‘furnishings, furniture, outfit, paraphernalia’, etc.:156 Gen 31:37 (1st); 45:20; Exod 30:28; 39:32 (39:33MT); Lev 13:59; Num 19:18; 1 Kgs 10:21 (2nd); Isa 39:2; 2 Chron 29:19;
  • utensilis, with the plural (utensilia) meaning ‘things needful, necessaries (often: food, provisions)’ (pl. in MT and Vg):157 Exod 30:27 (2nd); 39:36 (39:37MT); Num 1:50 (2nd); 1 Chron 9:29 (2nd).
  • vestis, ‘personal attire, dress, costume, clothes’; alternatively (pl.): ‘clothing, garments’ (sg. in MT and Vg):158 Deut 22:5

A.3 One-word renderings of combinations with כְּלִי

  • arma (pl. tantum), ‘Implements, etc., used in warfare, arms, weapons’, etc. (pl. in MT and Vg):159 1 Sam 8:12 (1st); Ezek 32:27 (both for כְּלֵי מִלְחָמָה);
  • armiger, ‘armour-bearer, ‘squire’,160 for כְּלִי (pl.) including the preceding part. of נשׂא, ‘to carry’ (qal, sg./pl. cstr.; mostly: נֹשֵׂא כֵלָיו, ‘he who carried his implements’): Judg 9:54; 1 Sam 14:1, 6, 7, 12 (1,2), 13 (1,2), 14, 17; 16:21; 31:4 (1,2), 5, 6; 2 Sam 18:15; 23:37; 1 Chron 10:4 (1,2), 5; 11:39;
  • currus, ‘chariot’ (pl. in MT and Vg):161 1 Sam 8:12 (2nd) (for כְּלֵי רֶכֶב);
  • ferramentum, ‘iron implement or tool’ (sg. in MT and Vg):162 1 Kgs 6:7 (for כְּלִי בַרְזֶל).
  • organum, ‘mechanical device, instrument, musical instrument’ (pl. in MT and Vg):163 2 Chron 23:13 (for כְּלֵי הַשִּׁיר); 34:12 (for כְּלֵי שִׁיר).

A.4 Absence of renderings of כְּלִי
In the Latin translation of the expression כְּלֵי כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב, ‘objects of silver and objects of gold’, a rendering of the second כְּלֵי is omitted in Gen 24:53; Exod 3:22; 11:2; 12:35; 1 Kgs 10:25; 2 Chron 9:24 (vasa argentea et aurea, ‘objects of silver and gold’). Similarly, the expression כְּלִי זָהָב וּכְלִי כָסֶף in 2 Kgs 12:14 (12:13v) is translated as vas aureum en argenteum, ‘an object of gold and silver’. In the Latin translation of the longer list in 2 Sam 8:10 (כְּלֵי כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב וּכְלֵי נְחֹשֶׁת), each occurrence of כְּלֵי is represented by a form of vas: vasa argentea et vasa aurea et vasa aerea, ‘objects of silver and objects of gold and objects of bronze’.

A.5 Discussion
The most frequent rendering of כְּלִי is vas, which has about the same semantic field as כְּלִי. Relatively frequent renderings of כְּלִי are arma (20 times, pl. tantum), supellex (9 times) and organum (8 times, only in Chron). If a plural form of כְּלִי is preceded by a part. of the verb נשׂא, ‘to carry’, the sequence of these words is virtually always represented by a form of armiger, ‘armour-bearer’ (21 times). The only exception occurs in Isa 52:11, where the כֵּלִים belong to YHWH and not to humans. Here, the expression נֹשְׂאֵי כְּלֵי יְהוָה is rendered as qui fertis vasa Domini, ‘you that carry the vessels of the Lord’. All the other renderings of כְּלִי occur less than five times.

5. Lexical/Semantic Fields

[Discussion will be added later.]

6. Exegesis

A.1 The masculine noun כְּלִי has a broad spectre of meaning. The noun generally signifies vessels and utensils of all sorts, but can – depending of the context – also refer to various specific objects, such as, e.g., weapons, musical instruments, ornaments, ships. The utensils under consideration have been made of a variety of materials, but mainly from stone or metal. The Hebrew Bible mentions the following: כלי זָהָב, ‘vessel(s) of gold’ (e.g., Num 31:50; 2 Kgs 12:14; Est 1:7); כלי כֶסֶף, ‘vessel(s) of silver’ (e.g., 1 Kgs 10:25; Ezra 1:6); כלי נְחֹשֶׁת, vessel(s) of bronze’ (e.g., Lev 6:21 [ET 6:28]; 2 Kgs 25:14); כְּלִי בַרְזֶל, ‘implement of iron’ (Num 35:16; 1 Kgs 6:7); כְּלִי עֵץ, ‘wooden utensil’ (e.g., Lev 15:12; Num 35:18); כְּלִי חֶרֶשׂ, ‘vessel of (baked) clay’ (Lev 6:21; 11:33; 14:5, 50; 15:12; Num 5:17; Jer 32:14; 4QToh A fr3.II:10; 11QTemplea XLIX:8; L:17); צֶמֶר, ‘garments of wool’ (Lev 13:47-58); עוֹר, ‘garment of leather’ (Lev 13; Num 31:20). The various meanings of the general term כְּלִי are discussed according to their life-settings.

A.2 In some contexts the word כְּלִי clearly denotes a receptacle used for holding liquids or dry substances. A clear example occurs in 2 Kgs 4:1-7, a short story about Elisha and a miraculous multiplication of the olive oil of a poor widow. The widow's only possession is an אָסוּךְ שָׁמֶן (4:2), apparently a small receptacle filled with olive oil. In the following verses, the more general word כְּלִי is used to refer to other receptacles. Elisha orders the widow to borrow many כֵּלִים רֵקִים, ‘empty vessels’, from her neighbours (4:3). He continues as follows: וְיָצַקְתְּ עַל כָּל הַכֵּלִים הָאֵלֶּה וְהַמָּלֵא תַּסִּיעִי, ‘and you shall pour out into all those vessels and you shall set aside that which is full’ (4:4). The widow follows Elisha's orders and, assisted by her two sons, she pours out the olive oil (וְהִיא מוֹצָקֶת, ketiv מיצקת; 4:5). When the vessels are full (כִּמְלֹאת הַכֵּלִים; מלא qal, ‘to be full’), she asks one of her sons: הַגִּישָׁה אֵלַי עוֹד כֶּלִי, ‘bring me another vessel’. Her sons answers: אֵין עוֹד כֶּלִי, ‘there is no other vessel’ (4:6). Then the multiplication of the olive oil stops.

[More discussions will be added later.]

7. Conclusion

Even though the primary meaning of North-West Semitic kly may have been ‘vessel’, the Hebrew noun כְּלִי developed a much broader semantic spectrum. In the majority of its attestations in the Hebrew Bible this semantic potential slumbers. In various instances the context evoked a variety of meanings, that at times can be very specific, as has been outlined above. Both the cognates and ancient translations underscore this pattern. As a result, modern non-committal renditions might be English ‘thing’, German ‘Zeug’ or colloquial French ‘truc’.

[Conclusions will be supplemented later.]

Bibliography

For the abbreviations see the List of Abbreviations.

Awabdy 2019
Mark A. Awabdy, ‘“Their Sacrifices with Psalms” in the Septuagint of Isaiah 66:20’, JSCS 52, 167-75.
Beentjes 1997
Pancratius C. Beentjes, The Book of Ben Sira in Hebrew: A Text Edition of All Extant Hebrew Manuscripts and a Synopsis of All Parallel Hebrew Ben Sira Texts (VTSup 68; Leiden: Brill).
Caquot 1981
André Caquot, ‘<> (Genése 49,5)’, in: Joseph Doré et al. (eds), De la Tôrah au Messie: Études d'exégése et d'herméneutique bibliques offertes á Henri Cazelles pour ses 25 années d'enseignement á l'Institut Catholique de Paris, octobre 1979, Paris: Desclée, 113–19.
De Hoop 1998
Raymond de Hoop, Genesis 49 in Its Literary and Historical Context (OTS 39; Leiden: Brill).
Gottlieb 2016
Leeor Gottlieb, ‘The Hebrew Vorlage of Targum Chronicles’, Aramaic Studies 14, 36-65.
Grillet and Lestienne 1997
Bernard Grillet and Michel Lestienne, La Bible d'Alexandrie, 9.1: Premier livre des Régnes, Paris: Cerf.
Irwin 1977
William Henry Irwin, Isaiah 28 - 33: Translation with Philological Notes (BibOr 30; Rome: Biblical Institute).
Lefkovits 2000
Judah K. Lefkovits, The Copper Scroll (3Q15), A Reevaluation: A New Reading, Translation and Commentary (STDJ 25; Leiden: Brill).
Marcus 1930-31
Joseph Marcus, ‘A Fifth Ms. of Ben Sira’, JQR 21, 223-240.
Noonan 2019
Benjamin J. Noonan, Non-Semitic Loanwords in the Hebrew Bible: A Lexicon of Language Contact (LSAWS, 14), University Park, Pennsylvania: Eisenbrauns.
Olszowy-Schlanger 2018
Judith Olszowy-Schlanger, ‘The “Booklet” of Ben Sira: Codicological and Paleographical Remarks on the Cairo Genizah Fragments’, in James K. Aitken et al. (eds.), Discovering, Deciphering and Dissenting: Ben Sira Manuscripts after 120 years, Berlin: de Gruyter, 67–96.
Rey 2013
Jean-Sébastien Rey, ‘Le motif de la poussiére en Gn 2,7 et sa réception dans le judaïsme du second Temple’, in: Anne-Laure Zwilling (ed.), Lire et interpréter: Les religions et leurs rapports aux textes fondateurs, Genéve: Labor et Fides, 79-94.
Segal 1972
Mosheh Zvi Segal, ספר בן סירא השלם׃ כולל כל השרידים העבריים שנתגלו מתוך הגניזה והחזרת הקטעים החסרים, עם מבוא, פירוש ומפתחות (Sefer Ben-Sira ha-shalem), 3rd impr.; Jerusalem: Bialik, 1972).

Notes

Many thanks are due to Benjamin Bogerd (Veenendaal), especially for his analysis of the renderings in the Targumim.

Many thanks are due to Benjamin Bogerd (Veenendaal), especially for his analysis of the renderings in the Targumim.

  1. Ms A inserts Sir 27:5-6 after 6:22 (A IIr 23-25; cf. Beentjes 1997:3-4, 28). ↩

  2. Ms CD-A of the Damascus Document, discovered in the Cairo Genizah, is dated to the 10th century ce. 4Q270/4QDe, 4Q271/4QDf, and other fragmentary manuscripts prove that the composition was known in Qumran and predates the first century bce. For the reliability of CD-A's text, see DJD XVIII, 6-7. Some of the fragments from Qumran show damaged lines in whose missing parts a form of כלי can be reconstructed on the basis of CD-A or other fragments from Qumran. See the following endnotes. ↩

  3. Same form of כלי reconstructed in the corresponding line in 4Q266/4QDa (fr8.III:10). ↩

  4. Same form of כלי reconstructed in the corresponding line in 4Q270/4QDe (fr6.V:1). ↩

  5. Same form of כלי reconstructed in the corresponding line in 4Q270/4QDe (fr6.V:14). ↩

  6. Same form of כלי reconstructed in the corresponding line in 4Q266/4QDa (fr9.I:3). ↩

  7. Same forms of כלי reconstructed in the corresponding lines in 4Q266/4QDa (fr9.II:4, 5). ↩

  8. Same form of כלי reconstructed in the corresponding line in 11Q20/11QTempleb (XI:25). ↩

  9. Same form of כלי reconstructed in the corresponding lines in 11Q20/11QTempleb (XIV:15) and 4Q524/4QTempleb (fr2:1). ↩

  10. Same form of כלי reconstructed in the corresponding lines in 11Q20/11QTempleb (XIV:16) and 4Q524/4QTempleb (fr2:2). ↩

  11. Virtually all the references concern reconstructions of missing sections. Most of them are based on parallels in the MT of the Hebrew Bible, or in other literature from Qumran. ↩

  12. Irwin 1977:125: ‘Reading kīlê kīlāyw, lit. “his kidney of kidneys”; cf. Latin cor cordium “heart of hearts”. See vs. 5’. Despite the translation ‘his kidney of kidneys’, Irwin seems to have interpreted כִּלֵי as a plural form ('his kidneys of kidneys’). Irwin translated וכלי כליו רעים as ‘His inmost mind is evil’ (1977:118, 125). ↩

  13. Irwin 1977:123: ‘Taking kîlay (correct spelling kīlay) as masc. plur., lit. “kidneys”, more commonly kelāyôt’. Irwin translated Isa 32:5 as follows (1977:118, 121): ‘then no longer will the fool be called generous, nor will his mind be termed beneficent’. ↩

  14. OLD, 732: ‘Dishonest, deceitful, fraudulent’. ↩

  15. DCH iv:424, cf. 392. ↩

  16. The manuscript has not been dated precisely (Beentjes 1997:5-6). ↩

  17. Marcus 1930-31:232. ↩

  18. Rey 2013:87 n.22. ↩

  19. Segal 1972:רו. ↩

  20. Rey 2013:87 n.22. ↩

  21. Masada VI:186, 204-05; Beentjes 1997:119, 170. Y. Yadin dated Ms Mas to 100-50 bce (Masada VI:156-58, with n. 11), but Tov (2004:168) favours a date between 10 BCE and 50 CE. ↩

  22. Beentjes 1997:75, 170. Ms B is dated around 1000 CE (Olszowy-Schlanger 2018:85, 92–93). ↩

  23. Masada VI:186. ↩

  24. Gesenius, TPC, 687; HCHAT, 596. ↩

  25. BL 577, §72h‘; V.E. Orel, O.V. Stolbova, Hamito-Semitic Etymological Dictionary: Materials for a Reconstruction (HdO, 18), Leiden: Brill, 1995, 321; see also Hebrew III כֹּל, ‘measure’, e.g., DCH iv:413. ↩

  26. Orel, Stolbova, Hamito-Semitic Etymological Dictionary, 326; HAL, 456. ↩

  27. See Salonen, Hausgeräte. ↩

  28. See Bob Becking, ‘“Wie Töpfe sollst du sie zerschmeissen”: Mesopotamische Parallelen zu Psalm 2,9b’, ZAW 102 (1990), 59-79. ↩

  29. See K. Vollers, ‘Rezension von Carl Reinhardt, Ein arabischer Dialekt, gesprochen in ‘Omān und Zanzibar, nach praktischen Gesichtspunkten für das Seminar für Orientalische Sprachen in Berlin’, ZDMG 49 (1895), 514. ↩

  30. See H. Grimme, ‘Südarabische Tempelstrafgesetze’, OLZ 9 (1906), 261. ↩

  31. J.B. Segal, Aramaic Texts from North Saqqâra with some Fragments in Phoenician, London 1983, 99:2. ↩

  32. E. Littmann, M. Höfner, Wörterbuch der Tigre-Sprache, Wiesbaden 1962, 389b. ↩

  33. J. Naveh, S. Shaked, Amulets and Magic Bowls: Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity, Jerusalem Leiden 1985, 1:14. ↩

  34. K.P. Jackson, ‘The Language of the Mesha-Inscription’, in: A. Dearman (ed.), Studies in the Mesha Inscription and Moab, Atlanta 1989, 116; DNWSI, 512; M. Weippert, Historisches Textbuch zum Alten Testament (GAT 10), Göttingen 2010, 247. ↩

  35. A. Lemaire, ‘Une inscription paléo-hébraïque sur grenade en ivoire’, RB 88 (1981), 236-39. Criticised by, e.g., J.H. Tigay, You Shall Have No Other God (HSS 31), Atlanta 1986, 34 + n. 67. The authenticity is defended by Y. Goren et al., ‘A Re-examination of the Inscribed Pomegranate from the Israel Museum’, IEJ 55 (2005), 3-20. ↩

  36. See Bob Becking, ‘A Voice from Across the Jordan: Royal Ideology as Implied in the Moabite Stela’, in: R. Müller, C. Levin (eds), Herrschaftslegitimation in vorderorientalischen Reichen der Eisenzeit (ORA 21), Tübingen 2017, 134. ↩

  37. N. Slouschz, Thesaurus of Phoenician Inscriptions edited with Commentary, Tel Aviv 1942, 315. ↩

  38. Tal, DSA, 448-49. ↩

  39. Tal, DSA, 389; see also p. XX and p. XX below. ↩

  40. See Baruch Margalith, The Ugaritic Poem of Aqhat (BZAW, 182), Berlin: de Gruyter, 1989, 187. ↩

  41. André Caquot, ‘Hébreu et Araméen’, ACFr 1974-75, 432. ↩

  42. Hennie J. Marsman, Women in Ugarit and Israel: Their Social and Religious Position in the Context of the Ancient Near East (OTS 49), Leiden 2003, 666. ↩

  43. Num 19:17; 1 Sam 17:49; 21:6; 2 Kgs 4:6 (2nd); Jer 48:11 (2nd); Ezek 15:3; Prov 25:4. ↩

  44. See Lefkovits 2000:192. ↩

  45. On the wide semantic range of the verb פקד, see G. André, Determining the destiny: PQD in the Old Testament (CB OT 16), Gleerup 1980, with a discussion of Isa 10:28 at pp. 44-45 and a discussion of Num 4:32 at pp. 27-28, 214-15. ↩

  46. Because of some variety within the Greek tradition, it is not possible to give a fixed number of cases in which σκεῦος is the counterpart of כְּלִי. The following examples are illustrative. In the LXX, the expression וְאֶת הַשֻּׁלְחָן וְאֶת כָּל כֵּלָיו in Exod 30:27 is rendered in 30:28 (καὶ τὴν τράπεζαν καὶ πάντα τὰ σκεύη αὐτῆς), but in LXXa וְאֶת כָּל כֵּלָיו is also represented at the beginning of 30:27 (καὶ πάντα τὰ σκεύη αὐτῆς). In most manuscripts of the LXX 1 Sam 17:22 is omitted, but in LXXAnt the verse is translated, with τὰ σκεύη representing the first occurrence of הַכֵּלִים (Fernández Marcos and Busto Saiz 1989:50). In 1 Kgs 7:37 (7:51MT)καὶ τὰ σκεύη represents וְאֶת הַכֵּלִים, but the phrase is missing in LXXa. ↩

  47. Exceptions MT sg., LXX pl.: Deut 22:5; 1 Sam 21:6 (2nd); 1 Kgs 19:21; Ezek 9:1; Hos 13:15; Nah 2:10; Zech 11:15; Job 28:17; similarly LXXAant Ps 2:9 (cf. Rev 2:27). Exceptions MT pl., LXX sg.: Gen 27:3; 2 Kgs 11:8, 11; 2 Chron 23:7; 36:19. ↩

  48. LSJ, 1607; GELS, 623; Montanari, BDAG, 1923-24. ↩

  49. GELS, 4; similarly LSJ, 7. ↩

  50. Fernández Marcos and Busto Saiz 1992:87-88. ↩

  51. GELS, 4 ↩

  52. GELS, 65; similarly LSJ, 181. ↩

  53. GELS, 121. ↩

  54. GELS, 158. ↩

  55. LSJ, 546-47. ↩

  56. GELS, 229. ↩

  57. LSJ, 660; GELS, 281. ↩

  58. LSJ, 681; GELS, 289. ↩

  59. GELS, 289-90; similarly LSJ, 682-83. ↩

  60. In 1 Kgs 7:32 (7:47MT),LXXAnt reads πάντα τὰ σκεύη, while most manuscripts of LXX read πάντα τὰ ἔργα; see Fernández Marcos and Busto Saiz 1992:21. ↩

  61. GELS, 347; Grillet and Lestienne 1997:305. ↩

  62. LSJ, 985; GELS, 409. ↩

  63. LSJ, 996; similarly GELS, 414. ↩

  64. LSJ, 1008; GELS, 418. ↩

  65. GELS, 501. ↩

  66. GELS, 503; similarly LSJ, 1245. ↩

  67. GELS, 537-38. ↩

  68. GELS, 543; similarly LSJ, 1357. ↩

  69. GELS, 579; LSJ, 1454. ↩

  70. GELS, 660-61. ↩

  71. LSJ, 1753-54. ↩

  72. GELS, 669. ↩

  73. GELS, 383. ↩

  74. LSJ, 217; GELS, 82. ↩

  75. GELS, 398; similarly LSJ, 953. ↩

  76. GELS, 501; similarly LSJ, 1240. ↩

  77. GELS, 503; similarly LSJ, 1245. ↩

  78. Fernández Marcos and Busto Saiz 1996:140. ↩

  79. LSJ, 1358; GELS, 543. ↩

  80. LSJ, 1608; similarly GELS, 624. For the text, see Fernández Marcos and Busto Saiz 1989:50. ↩

  81. LSJ, 2018. ↩

  82. GELS, 741. ↩

  83. LSJ, 2030; GELS, 746. ↩

  84. However, LXXAnt reads σκεῦος χρυσοῦν ἢ ἀργυροῦν, see Fernández Marcos and Busto Saiz 1992:119. ↩

  85. Fernández Marcos and Busto Saiz 1992:123. ↩

  86. Fernández Marcos and Busto Saiz 1996:69. ↩

  87. Fernández Marcos and Busto Saiz 1996:124. ↩

  88. The examples could be found using the list in HRCS, 1271. Other occurrences of σκεῦος in α´σ´θ´ included in this list represent forms of כְּלִי that have been left untranslated in the LXX. ↩

  89. Cf. Caquot 1981:114. The translation ἀνασκαφαὶ seems to indicate that מכרתיהם was interpreted as a form of כור/כרה, ‘to dig’. ↩

  90. HRCS, 485-86; Caquot 1981:113-14; De Hoop 1998:102. Actually, the spelling in LXXA and LXXB is εξερεσεως (De Hoop 1998:102 n.124). ↩

  91. Sokoloff, SLB, 702-03; cf. Payne Smith, CSD, 247. ↩

  92. Exceptions MT sg., Pesh pl.: Exod 35:22; Num 31:50, 51; Deut 22:5; 1 Sam 21:6; 2 Sam 17:28; 1 Kgs 19:21; 2 Kgs 4:6 (2nd, 3rd); 12:14 (2nd); Isa 66:20; Jer 25:34; Ezek 9:1, 2; 15:3; Hos 13:15; Nah 2:10; Zech 11:15; Ps 2:9; Prov 20:15. Exception MT pl., Pesh sg.: Isa 22:24 (3 occurrences). Plural forms are marked by a seyamē (ܡܐܢ̈ܐ, etc.). In some cases, the seyamē is missing in one or more manuscripts: Num 31:50; 2 Kgs 4:6 (3rd occurrence); Ezra 8:25; Neh 10:40. The analysis was based on The Old Testament in Syriac According to the Peshiṭta Version (not yet available for Jeremiah). ↩

  93. Sokoloff, SLB, 379. ↩

  94. Payne Smith, CSD, 115. ↩

  95. Payne Smith, CSD, 115, 247. ↩

  96. Payne Smith, CSD, 259; Sokoloff, SLB, 730. ↩

  97. Sokoloff, SLB, 951; Payne Smith, CSD, 353. ↩

  98. Sokoloff, SLB, 1063-64. ↩

  99. Payne Smith, CSD, 424; Sokoloff, SLB, 1128. ↩

  100. Payne Smith, CSD, 622; Sokoloff, SLB, 1673. ↩

  101. Sokoloff, SLB, 636. ↩

  102. Payne Smith, CSD, 219. ↩

  103. Payne Smith, CSD, 339; Sokoloff, SLB, 916. ↩

  104. Jastrow, DTT, 723, 796. Dalman, ANHT, 240: ‘Gerät, Gefäß , Gewand, insbes. Pflug’. Sokoloff, DJBA, 637-8, ‘vessel, utensil, garment, plowshare’. ↩

  105. This percentage is based on the sum of the total occurrences of a rendering other than simply a form of מ(א)נא in TgO, TgPsJ, TgN, TgJ (Nebiim), and the Targumim on the Ketubim, taking into account that no Targumim for Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah are attested. Because of the three Targumim on the Pentateuch, the occurrences of כְּלִי in the Pentateuch are counted three times: (95+90+93+102+54)/(99x3+140+74)=0.85. ↩

  106. The two versions are displayedin Tal, STP. TgSmr2 ends in Num 29:39. ↩

  107. Sokoloff, DJBA, 410. Dalman, ANHT, 127 ‘Waffe’. ↩

  108. זְמָרָא Jastrow, DTT, 405, ‘music, song’; Sokoloff, DJBA, 417, ‘music, song’. ↩

  109. Jastrow, DTT, 1659, ‘song, glory’; Sokoloff, DJBA, 1200, ‘praise’. ↩

  110. שנן (ptc. pass.) Jastrow, DTT, 1607, ‘sharpened’. ↩

  111. מַריָא Sokoloff, DJBA, 707, ‘master, owner’. ↩

  112. Jastrow, DTT, 133-4; Sokoloff, DJBA, 179, ‘place’. Dalman, ANHT, 46 ‘Platz, Ort’. ↩

  113. Jastrow, DTT, 638; Sokoloff, DJBA, 559. ↩

  114. Jastrow, DTT, 642; Sokoloff, DJBA, 582-3; Dalman, ANHT, 199 ‘Kranz, Krone’). ↩

  115. Jastrow, DTT, 697. ↩

  116. Jastrow, DTT, 868; Sokoloff, DJBA, 726. ↩

  117. Jastrow, DTT, 911; Dalman, ANHT, 270. ↩

  118. Tal, DSA, 587-88. ↩

  119. Sokoloff, DJBA, 845. ↩

  120. Jastrow, DTT, 1290; Sokoloff, DJBA, 967-8. Dalman, ANHT, 365 ‘Korb’. ↩

  121. Jastrow, DTT, 1438. ↩

  122. Sokoloff, DJBA, 1052-3. ↩

  123. רַבָּנָא Jastrow, DTT, 1444, ‘chief, teacher’; Sokoloff, DJBA, 1053, ‘lord’. מַשרִיתָא Jastrow, DTT, 858, ‘camp, resting place’. Sokoloff, DJBA, 717, ‘retinue’. ↩

  124. Tal, DSA, 926: ‘blend of šqyhm + klyhm’. ↩

  125. Jastrow, DTT, 1666. Dalman, ANHT, 447 ‘Befestiging, Rüstung, Putz/Schmuck’. ↩

  126. Jastrow, DTT, 1666. Dalman, ANHT, 447 ‘Befestiging, Rüstung, Putz/Schmuck’. ↩

  127. גּוּלָא Jastrow, DTT, 222, ‘cloak’. צִיצִית Jastrow, DTT, 1280, ‘hair-lock, fringe, esp. the show-fringes’; Dalman, ANHT, 362, ‘Haarlocke, Schaufädenquaste’. תְּפִילִּין Jastrow, DTT, 1687, ‘T'fillin, the phylacteries tied on arm and head’; Sokoloff, DJBA, 1224, ‘phylactery’; Dalman, ANHT, 446 ‘Gebetskapsel’. ↩

  128. Sokoloff, DJBA, 1207. ↩

  129. Jastrow, DTT, 1669. Dalman, ANHT, 442 ‘Kette’. ↩

  130. Jastrow, DTT, 279. ↩

  131. Sokoloff, DJBA, 1014. Dalman, ANHT, 377 ‘Holz, Baum’. ↩

  132. Martin McNamara, Ernest G. Clarke and Shirley Magder, Targum Neofiti 1, Numbers, The Aramaic Bible, vol. 4 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1995, 52. ↩

  133. This combination is attested in Judg 9:54; 1 Sam 14:1,6,7,12(1,2), 13(1,2), 14, 17; 16:21; 31:4(1,2), 5, 6; 2 Sam 18:15; 23:37; 1 Chron 10:4(1,2), 5; 11:39. נטל Jastrow, DTT, 900, ‘to take, to lift, to move, to carry’. ↩

  134. 1 Sam 17:54; 20:40; 21:9; 31:9, 10; 2 Kgs 11:8, 11; Isa 54:17 (in Isa 54:16 however, כְּלִי is translated as מ(א)נא); Ps 7:14; 1 Chron 10:9, 10; 12:34, 38; 2 Chron 23:7. ↩

  135. Jer 22:7. ↩

  136. Ps 71:22; 1 Chron 16:5; 23:5; 2 Chron 29:27. In 2 Chron 5:13 and 7:6 כְלֵי־שִׁיר is translated as זיני זמר. ↩

  137. 1 Chron 16:42; 2 Chron 23:13; 34:12, כְלֵי שִׁיר is translated as זיני תוּשבחָא/תוּשבַחתָא. Jastrow, DTT, 1659, ‘praise, song, glory’; Sokoloff, DJBA, 1200, ‘praise’. ↩

  138. קשט itpa. ‘to adorn oneself’; Sokoloff, DJBA, 1048. ↩

  139. Wearing Tefillin was viewed as studying Torah. For the development of this practice, see: Elizabeth Shanks Alexander, ‘Women's Exemption from Shema and Tefillin and How These Rituals Came to Be Viewed as Torah Study 1’, Journal for the Study of Judaism 42, no. 4-5 (2011): 531-79. ↩

  140. Gottlieb 2016:55, 64 n.90. ↩

  141. OLD, 2014. ↩

  142. Exceptions MT sg., Vg pl.: 1 Sam 21:5 (2nd) (21:6MT); 2 Sam 17:28; Jer 25:34; Nah 2:9 (2:10MT); Zech 11:15; Ps 70:22 (71:22MT); Job 28:17. Exceptions MT pl., Vg sg.: Exod 22:7 (22:6MT); Isa 22:24 (1,2,3). ↩

  143. OLD, 159. ↩

  144. OLD, 170-71. ↩

  145. OLD, 981 ↩

  146. OLD, 1130. ↩

  147. OLD, 1268 ↩

  148. OLD, 1327 ↩

  149. OLD, 1395 ↩

  150. OLD, 1427. ↩

  151. OLD, 1673-74. ↩

  152. OLD, 1691. ↩

  153. OLD, 1691 ↩

  154. OLD, 1774 (s.v. sitachia). ↩

  155. OLD, 1851. ↩

  156. OLD, 1872. ↩

  157. OLD, 2116. ↩

  158. OLD, 2049-50. ↩

  159. OLD, 170-71. ↩

  160. OLD, 172. ↩

  161. OLD, 476. ↩

  162. OLD, 690. ↩

  163. OLD, 1268 ↩

Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database