כְּלִי
vessel
also: article, implement, utensil fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Construct-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
Grammatical forms
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Construct 203 times (62%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Plural, Absolute 50 times (15%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Construct 43 times (13%)
- Noun, Common, Masculine, Singular, Absolute 29 times (9%)
Parsed forms decoded from the imported morphology (morphhb / Westminster Leningrad Codex — WLC text public domain, morphhb tagging CC BY 4.0), counted across 325 parsed occurrences — not distinct verses.
Page 2 of 2 — showing verses 201–276 of 276 distinct verses where H3627 appears, across 30 books. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Ezra 10 verses
- Ezra 8:27 וּ/כְלֵ֨י conj + n c mp cs and twenty bowls of gold, of one thousand darics; and two vessels of fine bright brass, precious as gold.
- Ezra 8:28 וְ/הַ/כֵּלִ֖ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp I said to them, You are holy to Yahweh, and the vessels are holy; and the silver and the gold are a freewill-offering to Yahweh, the God of your fathers.
- Ezra 8:30 וְ/הַ/כֵּלִ֑ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp So the priests and the Levites received the weight of the silver and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
- Ezra 8:33 וְ/הַ/כֵּלִ֜ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp On the fourth day the silver and the gold and the vessels were weighed in the house of our God into the hand of Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest; and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them was Jozabad the son of Jeshua, and Noadiah the son of Binnui, the Levite;
Nehemiah 5 verses
- Nehemiah 10:39 כְּלֵ֣י n c mp cs For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the heave-offering of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, to the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests who minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.
- Nehemiah 12:36 בִּ/כְלֵי prep + n c mp cs and his brothers, Shemaiah, and Azarel, Milalai, Gilalai, Maai, Nethanel, and Judah, Hanani, with the musical instruments of David the man of God; and Ezra the scribe was before them.
- Nehemiah 13:5 וְ/הַ/כֵּלִ֗ים conj + ptcl def.art + n c mp had prepared for him a great chamber, where before they laid the meal-offerings, the frankincense, and the vessels, and the tithes of the grain, the new wine, and the oil, which were given by commandment to the Levites, and the singers, and the porters; and the heave-offerings for the priests.
- Nehemiah 13:8 כְּלֵ֧י n c mp cs It grieved me sore: therefore I cast forth all the household stuff of Tobiah out of the chamber.
- Nehemiah 13:9 כְּלֵי֙ n c mp cs Then I commanded, and they cleansed the chambers: and there brought I again the vessels of the house of God, with the meal-offerings and the frankincense.
Esther 1 verse
Job 1 verse
Psalms 4 verses
- Psalms 2:9 כִּ/כְלִ֖י prep + n c ms cs You shall break them with a rod of iron. You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."
- Psalms 7:13 כְּלֵי n c mp cs He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death. He makes ready his flaming arrows.
- Psalms 31:12 כִּ/כְלִ֥י prep + n c ms I am forgotten from their hearts like a dead man. I am like broken pottery.
- Psalms 71:22 בִ/כְלִי prep + n c ms cs I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God. I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.
Proverbs 2 verses
Ecclesiastes 1 verse
Isaiah 12 verses
- Isaiah 10:28 כֵּלָֽי/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms He is come to Aiath, he is passed through Migron; at Michmash he lays up his baggage;
- Isaiah 13:5 וּ/כְלֵ֣י conj + n c mp cs They come from a far country, from the uttermost part of heaven, even Yahweh, and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole land.
- Isaiah 18:2 וּ/בִ/כְלֵי conj + prep + n c mp cs that sends ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of papyrus on the waters, [saying], Go, you swift messengers, to a nation tall and smooth, to a people awesome from their beginning onward, a nation that measures out and treads down, whose land the rivers divide!
- Isaiah 22:24 כְּלֵ֣י מִ/כְּלֵי֙ כְּלֵ֥י n c mp cs prep + n c mp cs n c mp cs They shall hang on him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, every small vessel, from the cups even to all the pitchers.
- Isaiah 32:7 כֵּלָ֣י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms The instruments of the churl are evil: he devises wicked devices to destroy the humble with lying words, even when the needy speaks right.
- Isaiah 39:2 כֵּלָ֔י/ו n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Hezekiah was glad of them, and shown them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah didn't show them.
- Isaiah 52:11 כְּלֵ֥י n c mp cs Depart you, depart you, go you out from there, touch no unclean thing; go you out of the midst of her; cleanse yourselves, you who bear the vessels of Yahweh.
- Isaiah 54:16 כְלִ֖י n c ms Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals, and brings forth a weapon for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
- Isaiah 54:17 כְּלִ֞י n c ms No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Yahweh, and their righteousness which is of me, says Yahweh.
- Isaiah 61:10 כֵלֶֽי/הָ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3fs I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
- Isaiah 65:4 כְּלֵי/הֶֽם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp who sit among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; who eat pig's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
- Isaiah 66:20 בִּ/כְלִ֥י prep + n c ms They shall bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to Yahweh, on horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and on mules, and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says Yahweh, as the children of Israel bring their offering in a clean vessel into the house of Yahweh.
Jeremiah 25 verses
- Jeremiah 14:3 כְלֵי/הֶם֙ n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Their nobles send their little ones to the waters: they come to the cisterns, and find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are disappointed and confounded, and cover their heads.
- Jeremiah 18:4 הַ/כְּלִ֗י כְּלִ֣י ptcl def.art + n c ms n c ms When the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
- Jeremiah 19:11 כְּלִ֣י n c ms cs and shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, that can't be made whole again; and they shall bury in Topheth, until there be no place to bury.
- Jeremiah 21:4 כְּלֵ֣י n c mp cs Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who besiege you, without the walls; and I will gather them into the midst of this city.
- Jeremiah 22:7 וְ/כֵלָ֑י/ו conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms I will prepare destroyers against you, everyone with his weapons; and they shall cut down your choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
- Jeremiah 22:28 כְּלִ֔י n c ms Is this man Coniah a despised broken vessel? is he a vessel in which none delights? why are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into the land which they don't know?
- Jeremiah 25:34 כִּ/כְלִ֥י prep + n c ms cs Wail, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow [in ashes], you principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and you shall fall like a goodly vessel.
- Jeremiah 27:16 כְלֵ֧י n c mp cs Also I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says Yahweh: Don't listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, Behold, the vessels of Yahweh's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you.
- Jeremiah 27:18 הַ/כֵּלִ֣ים ptcl def.art + n c mp But if they be prophets, and if the word of Yahweh be with them, let them now make intercession to Yahweh of Hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, don't go to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 27:19 הַ/כֵּלִ֔ים ptcl def.art + n c mp For thus says Yahweh of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city,
- Jeremiah 27:21 הַ/כֵּלִ֗ים ptcl def.art + n c mp yes, thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem:
- Jeremiah 28:3 כְּלֵ֖י n c mp cs Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of Yahweh's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried to Babylon:
- Jeremiah 28:6 כְּלֵ֤י n c mp cs even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: Yahweh do so; Yahweh perform your words which you have prophesied, to bring again the vessels of Yahweh's house, and all them of the captivity, from Babylon to this place.
- Jeremiah 32:14 בִּ/כְלִי prep + n c ms cs Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may continue many days.
- Jeremiah 40:10 בִּ/כְלֵי/כֶ֔ם prep + n c mp cs + sfx pers 2mp As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans who shall come to us: but you, gather you wine and summer fruits and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that you have taken.
- Jeremiah 46:19 כְּלֵ֤י n c mp cs You daughter who dwell in Egypt, furnish yourself to go into captivity; for Memphis shall become a desolation, and shall be burnt up, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 48:11 מִ/כְּלִי֙ כֶּ֔לִי prep + n c ms n c ms Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his lees, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remains in him, and his scent is not changed.
- Jeremiah 48:12 וְ/כֵלָ֣י/ו conj + n c mp cs + sfx pers 3ms Therefore, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will send to him those who pour off, and they shall pour him off; and they shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles in pieces.
- Jeremiah 48:38 כִּ/כְלִ֛י prep + n c ms On all the housetops of Moab and in the streets of it there is lamentation every where; for I have broken Moab like a vessel in which none delights, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 49:29 כְּלֵי/הֶ֛ם n c mp cs + sfx pers 3mp Their tents and their flocks shall they take; they shall carry away for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry to them, Terror on every side!
- Jeremiah 50:25 כְּלֵ֣י n c mp cs Yahweh has opened his armory, and has brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, has a work [to do] in the land of the Chaldeans.
- Jeremiah 51:20 כְּלֵ֖י n c mp cs You are my battle-axe and weapons of war: and with you will I break in pieces the nations; and with you will I destroy kingdoms;
- Jeremiah 51:34 כְּלִ֣י n c ms cs Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has, like a monster, swallowed me up, he has filled his maw with my delicacies; he has cast me out.
- Jeremiah 52:18 כְּלֵ֧י n c mp cs The pots also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the basins, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered, took they away.
- Jeremiah 52:20 הַ/כֵּלִ֥ים ptcl def.art + n c mp The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of Yahweh. The brass of all these vessels was without weight.
Ezekiel 13 verses
- Ezekiel 4:9 בִּ/כְלִ֣י prep + n c ms Take for yourself also wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make you bread of it; [according to] the number of the days that you shall lie on your side, even three hundred ninety days, shall you eat of it.
- Ezekiel 9:1 כְּלִ֥י n c ms cs Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause you them that have charge over the city to draw near, every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.
- Ezekiel 9:2 כְּלִ֤י n c ms cs Behold, six men came from the way of the upper gate, which lies toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man in the midst of them clothed in linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. They went in, and stood beside the brazen altar.
- Ezekiel 12:3 כְּלֵ֣י n c mp cs Therefore, you son of man, prepare you stuff for removing, and remove by day in their sight; and you shall remove from your place to another place in their sight: it may be they will consider, though they are a rebellious house.
- Ezekiel 12:4 כֵלֶ֜י/ךָ כִּ/כְלֵ֥י n c mp cs + sfx pers 2ms prep + n c mp cs You shall bring forth your stuff by day in their sight, as stuff for removing; and you shall go forth yourself at even in their sight, as when men go forth into exile.
- Ezekiel 12:7 כֵּ֠לַ/י כִּ/כְלֵ֤י n c mp cs + sfx pers 1cs prep + n c mp cs I did so as I was commanded: I brought forth my stuff by day, as stuff for removing, and in the even I dug through the wall with my hand; I brought it forth in the dark, and bore it on my shoulder in their sight.
- Ezekiel 15:3 כֶּֽלִי n c ms Shall wood be taken of it to make any work? or will men take a pin of it to hang any vessel thereon?
- Ezekiel 16:17 כְּלֵ֣י n c mp cs You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and played the prostitute with them;
- Ezekiel 16:39 כְּלֵ֣י n c mp cs I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your vaulted place, and break down your lofty places; and they shall strip you of your clothes, and take your beautiful jewels; and they shall leave you naked and bare.
- Ezekiel 23:26 כְּלֵ֥י n c mp cs They shall also strip you of your clothes, and take away your beautiful jewels.
- Ezekiel 27:13 וּ/כְלֵ֣י conj + n c mp cs Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were your traffickers; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass for your merchandise.
- Ezekiel 32:27 בִּ/כְלֵֽי prep + n c mp cs They shall not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who are gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are on their bones; for [they were] the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
- Ezekiel 40:42 הַ/כֵּלִים֙ ptcl def.art + n c mp There were four tables for the burnt offering, of hewn stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereupon they laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice.
Daniel 2 verses
- Daniel 1:2 כְּלֵ֣י הַ/כֵּלִ֣ים n c mp cs ptcl def.art + n c mp The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god: and he brought the vessels into the treasure-house of his god.
- Daniel 11:8 כְּלֵ֨י n c mp cs Also their gods, with their molten images, [and] with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold, shall he carry captive into Egypt; and he shall refrain some years from the king of the north.
Hosea 2 verses
- Hosea 8:8 כִּ/כְלִ֖י prep + n c ms Israel is swallowed up. Now they are among the nations like a worthless thing.
- Hosea 13:15 כְּלִ֥י n c ms cs Though he is fruitful among his brothers, an east wind will come, The breath of Yahweh coming up from the wilderness; And his spring will become dry, And his fountain will be dried up. He will plunder the storehouse of treasure.
Amos 1 verse
Jonah 1 verse
Nahum 1 verse
Zechariah 1 verse
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
“vessel” is the headline sense of the Hebrew noun כלי (kᵉlîy). Translators differ — “vessels” in the King James Version, then “articles” (Berean Standard Bible), as the renderings breakdown shows. With 276 verses in 30 books, it is a common word in the Hebrew Bible. First canonically at Genesis 24:53, it enters the text early. Beyond “vessel” it also covers “article”, “implement”, and “utensil” — see its full sense range. The sections below give every sense, occurrence, and version rendering.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H3627 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 276
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 276 distinct verses.
- 30 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 30 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #153
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 153 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 276 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- Exodus 28 verses 10%
- 1 Samuel 27 verses 10%
- 2 Chronicles 27 verses 10%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 276 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 120 verses · 43%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 83 verses · 30%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 73 verses · 26%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Vessels 67×, All the vessels 34×, Vessel 24×
- American Standard Version†: Vessels 67×, All the vessels 31×, Vessel 22×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Articles 58×, Utensils 32×, Weapons 18×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Vessels 46×, Vessels of 39×, Equipment 33×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H3627 across 306† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 61 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 19 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H3627 across 306† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 82 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H3627 across 282† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 35 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 43 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H3627 across 326† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 42 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
10 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 10 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
כלי I
- 1. in gen., article, object, made of any material, thing, especially thing of value כ׳ זָהָב 1 S 6:8, 15 (images of mice, etc.), personal or household property Gn 31:37(×2) (E; v b כֹּל כְּלֵי־בֵיתֶ֑ךָ), 45:20 (E), כִּלֵי בֵית־טוֹבִיָּהוּ Ne 13:8, Jos 7:11 (JE), כֶּסֶף אוֹ כֵּלִים Ex 22:6 (E) money or articles (property), כְּלִי־פָּ֑ז Jb 28:17 (appar. coll.); things carried, pl. = stuff, load, baggage (impedimenta) 1 S 17:22(×2), appar. = baggage-train 10:22; 25:13; 30:24 Is 10:28; (cf. Gn 31:37 supr.); כְּלֵי גוֹלָה things of exile, i.e. the most necessary articles, such as exiles may take, Je 46:19 Ez 12:3, 4b, 7b, cf. v 4a, 7a; = ornament or jewels Gn 24:53 (J כ׳ כֶסֶף וכ׳ זָהָב, prob. = ornaments), כ׳ כסף וכ׳ זהב also Ex 3:22; 11:2; 12:35 (all E); Is 61:10, Ex 35:22 Nu 31:50, כְּלֵי מַעֲשֶׂה v 51 (all P), כְּלִי יְקָר Pr 20:15 (in fig.), כ׳ תִפְאַרְתֵּךְ Ez 16:17, 39; 23:26 (all in fig.); כְּלֵי נְחשֶׁת as merchandise Ez 27:13; כֵּלִים as cargo of ship Jon 1:5; כסף וזהב וּכְלֵי נְחשֶׁת וּבַרְזֶל Jos 6:19, 24 (JE; spoil of war); of any household article (on which one sits) Lv 15:4, 6, 22, 23, 26 (all P); of skin Nu 31:20, or wood v 20 (P) כְּלִי חֶמְדָּה Na 2:10 precious thing, so Ho 13:15 (fig.), Je 25:34 (sim.), 2 Ch 32:27 Dn 11:8, כלי חֲמֻדוֹת 2 Ch 20:25 (appar. = ornaments); also כְּלִי אֵין־חֵפֶץ בּוֹ Je 22:28 (fig. of Coniah, ‖ עֶצֶב נִבְזֶה נָפוּץ), Ho 8:8 (sim.; cf. Je 48:38 infr.); †specif. of garments (one’s ‘things’): כְּלִי־גֶבֶר Dt 22:5 (‖ שִׂמְלַת אִשָּׁה), so כְּלִי־עוֹר Lv 13:49 (cf. מְלֶאכֶת עוֹר v 48), v 52, 53, 57, 58, 59 (all P). e.g. 1 Samuel 6:8
- 2. utensil, implement, apparatus:
- a. implement of hunting and (especially) war, = weapon Gn 27:3 (J), 1 S 20:40; 21:9 (גַּם חַרְבִּי וְגַם כֵּלַי), 1 K 11:8 = 2 Ch 23:7, 1 K 11:11 Is 54:16, 17 Je 22:7; prob. also Nu 35:22, כְּלִי בַּרְזֶל v 16, כְּלִי עֵץ־יָד v 18 (all P); כְּלֵי חָמָם Gn 49:5 (poem); כְּלִי מַשְׁחֵתוֹ Ez 9:1, כ׳ מַפָּצוֹ v 2; fig. of God’s weapons כְּלֵי־מָוֶת ψ 7:14 (‖ חִצָּיו); כ׳ זַעְמוֹ Is 13:5 Je 50:25; of entire equipment of warrior, armour or armament offensive and defensive 1 S 17:54 (cf. v 5 ff.), 21:6, 9 (v DrSm 139, 293), 31:9, 10 = 1 Ch 10:9, 10; hence (כֵּלָיו) נֹשֵׂא כֵלִים armour- or weapon-bearer Ju 9:54 1 S 14:1, 6, 7, 12(×2), 13(×2), 14, 17; 16:21; 31:4(×2), 5, 6 = 1 Ch 10:4(×2), 5, 2 S 18:15; 23:37 = 1 Ch 11:39; fig. וְכֵלַי כֵּלָיו רָעִים Is 32:7 and a knave, his weapons (i.e. devices, Che ‘machinations’) are evil; more precisely כְּלֵי מִלְחָמָה Ju 18:11, 16, 17 1 S 8:12 2 S 1:27 Dt 1:41 Je 21:4; 51:20 (fig.), Ez 32:27 1 Ch 12:34 (van d. H. v 33); כְּלֵי צְבָא מִלְחָמָה 1 Ch 12:38 (van d. H.) v 37); כְּלֵי קְרָב Ec 9:18; בֵּית כֵּלָיו 2 K 20:13 = Is 39:2 is perhaps armoury; כ׳ Ez 40:42 is sacrificial knife. e.g. Genesis 27:3
- b. instrument of music כְּלֵי (הַ)שִּׁיר Am 6:5 1 Ch 15:16; 16:42 2 Ch 5:13; 7:6 23:13; 34:12; כְּלֵי דָוִיד 29:26, 27, כ׳־שִׁיר דָּוִיד Ne 12:36; כְּלִי נֶבֶל ψ 71:22, כ׳ נְבָלִים 1 Ch 16:5; כֵּלִים alone 1 Ch 23:5, cf. Nu 31:6 (P כְּלֵי הַקֹּדֶשׁ);—for (ליהוה) בִּכְלֵי עֹז 2 Ch 30:21 read בְּכָל־עֹז (KauAT, cf. Be). e.g. Amos 6:5
- c. implement of labour, tool כ׳ בַרְזֶל 1 K 6:7, or of one’s calling, pursuit קַח־לְךָ כְּלִי רֹעֶה אֱוִלִי Zc 11:15 (otherwise 1 S 17:40, v 3). e.g. 1 Kings 6:7
- d. equipment of oxen (yoke, etc.) 2 S 24:22 1 K 19:21. e.g. 2 Samuel 24:22
- e. כְּלֵי רִכְבּוֹ 1 S 8:12 his chariot-equipments. e.g. 1 Samuel 8:12
- f. as gen. term for utensils and furniture of Sol.’s palace 1 K 10:21 = 2 Ch 9:20; especially (very often) of tabern. Ex 25:9, 39; 27:3 + (in Hex always P), and temple 1 K 7:45, 47, 48 2 K 12:14 +; of both palace and temple Je 27:18, 19, 21; combinations are כְּלֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן Ex 27:19, כ׳ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ 38:3, כ׳ יהוה Is 52:11, כ׳ בֵית י׳ Je 27:16; 28:3, 6 Ezr 1:7, כְּלֵי חֶמְדַּת בֵּית י׳ 2 Ch 36:10, כ׳ בֵית אֱלֹהִים 2 Ch 28:24(×2); 36:18 Ne 13:9 Dn 1:2, כ׳ הַמִּקְדָּשׁ Ne 10:40; כ׳ הַשָּׁרֵת Nu 4:12 utensil of ministry, כ׳ עֲבֹדָתָם Nu 4:26 1 Ch 9:28; 28:14(×2), כ׳ עֲבוֹדַת בֵּית י׳ 1 Ch 28:13, כ׳ מִשְׁמֶרֶת מַשָּׂאָם Nu 4:32; also כ׳ הַקֹּדֶשׁ 1 K 8:4 1 Ch 9:29; of appliances of idol-worship 2 K 23:4. e.g. 1 Kings 10:21
- 3. >vessel, receptacle, of various materials and for various purposes Gn 43:11 (J); 1 S 9:7 Dt 23:25; = sack Gn 42:25 (E; שַׂק in ‖ cl., cf. אַמְתַּחַת v 27); כְּלִי הָרֹעִים shepherd’s bag or wallet 1 S 17:40, cf. v 49; כ׳ חֶרֶשׂ Je 32:14 is earthernware receptacle for deed of sale; for liquids 1 K 17:10 2 K 4:3(×2), 4, 6(×3), כ׳ מַשְׁקֶה 1 K 10:21 = 2 Ch 9:20, כְּלֵי שַׁמְנָהּ Nu 4:9, cf. v 10; וְלֹא הוּרַק מִכְּלִי אֶל־כֶּ֑לִי Je 48:11 (fig.), cf. v 12 (‖ נְבָלִים); for cooking Lv 6:21 (כ׳ חֶרֶשׂ), v 21 (כ׳ נְחשֶׁת); v also (הַ)יּוֹצֵר 2 S 17:28 Je 19:11 (sim.), ψ 2:9 (sim.), לַצֹּרֵף כֶּ֑לִי Pr 25:4; כ׳ פָתוּחַ Nu 19:15 an open (uncovered) vessel. כ׳ טָהוֹר Is 66:20 a clean vessel; fig. of Eliakim’s relatives כְּלֵי הַקָּטָ֑ן מִכְּלֵי הָאַגָּנוֹת וְעַד כָּל־כְּלֵי הַנְּבָלִים Is 22:24 the vessels of smallness (DaSynt. § 32, R 5), from the basin-vessels to all the pitcher-vessels. e.g. Genesis 43:11
- 4. specif. כְּלֵי־גֹמֶא Is 18:2 vessels (boats) of paper-reed. e.g. Isaiah 18:2
כלי II c., v. sub I. כלה.
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.m. Ho 8:8 article, utensil, vessel (NH id.; according to Thes from כלה = conficere, like Ger. Zeug from zeugen; proposes therefore anything finished, made, produced; according to BaZMG 1887, 605 from meaning enclose, contain; he finds pl. of כְּלִי in כלאי M-I23 (cf. כלאים))—כ׳ abs. Je 18:4 +; הַכֶּ֑לִי 1 S 17:49; 21:6; cstr. כְּלִי Ho 13:15 +; sf. כֶּלְיְךָ Dt 23:25; pl. כֵּלִים Ex 22:6 +; cstr. כְּלֵי Gn 24:53 +; sf. כֵּלַי Gn 31:37 + 2 times; כֵּלֶיךָ Gn 27:3 Ez 12:4; כֵּלֵינוּ 1 S 9:7; כְּלֵיכֶם Gn 43:11 +; כְּלֵיהֶם Jos 7:11 +;—
II. etc., v. sub I. כלה.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from כלה (kâlâh) (H3615) — to finish.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
כְּלִי
- next w.)
- 1. vessel, receptacle; bag &c. B. Bath. 85ᵃ כֶּלְיוֹ של אדם וכ׳ a man’s vessel takes possession for him (of its contents). Ber. 23ᵃ כ׳ שהוא כֶלְיָין a receptacle which is intended for them (the T’fillin). Ib. כ׳ בתוך כ׳ one wrapper within the other. Y. Sabb. VII, 10ᵈ top הגודל כְּלִי צורה he who shapes an earthen vessel; הנופח כ׳ זכוכית who shapes a glass vessel by blowing; העושה כ׳ בדפוס who makes a vessel in a mould. Y. Ḥag. III, 79ᵃ top, a. fr. נזקקו לכֶילְיָין they are tied to their vessel, i.e. the vessel in which they are offered makes them to be considered one mass, though they are otherwise disconnected; Ḥag. III, 2 הכ׳ מצרף וכ׳. Mekh. Yithro, Amalek, 2 (ref. to Ex. XVIII, 19) היה להם ככ׳ מלא דברות be unto them like a vessel filled with divine revelations. Ab. d’R. N., II vers., ch. II, v. יָחַד. Mekh. Bo., beg. כלל לדברות; Tanḥ. Bo. 5 כלול לד׳ (read כלי) a vessel of revelation; a. fr.—Pl. כֵּלִים, constr. כְּלֵי. Ḥag. III, 1 כ׳ בתוך כ׳ vessels put into larger vessels. Kel. I, 1. Ib. II, 1; a. fr. e.g. Exodus 18:19
- 2. outfit, apparel, garment, tool, weapon. Pl. as ab. Keth. 59ᵇ כ׳ פשתן linen garments. Sabb. 114ᵃ כ׳ לבנים white garments; a. v. fr.—Gen. R. s. 90 (expl. Gen. XLI, 44) כ׳ ידים official badge of the hands (bracelets, rings &c.), כ׳ רגלים greaves &c.; (Ar. a. Rashi כלידרים, כלידרין, corrupt. of כלי ידים). Gen. R. s. 89 שאין עבד … כ׳ ידים (some ed. כלידים, Ar. כלידרין; Yalk. ib. 147 כלודי, corr. acc.) that no servant was to hold office or wear rings &c. (v. Sm. Ant. s. v. Annulus).—כלי זיין, v. זַיִין.—B. Mets. IX, 13 חייב משום שני כ׳ he is guilty of having seized two implements (the upper and the lower millstone). Ib. שני כ׳ two objects of use (a mattress and a plough). B. Bath. V, 2 כֵּלָיו the outfit of the ass (saddle &c.); a. fr. e.g. Genesis 41:44
כלי
- v. כָּלַל)
- 1. to enclose; to restrain, keep back. Midr. Till. to Ps. CXIII לִכְלוֹת את המכה וכ׳ to ward this plague off from thee. Midd. IV, 6 כֹּלֵה עֹרֵב ‘keeping off the raven’, an arrangement of iron points on the roof of the Temple; Sabb. 90ᵃ כּוֹלֵי עורב (pl.) Ms. M. (ed. כַּלְיָיא ch.; v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note); Men. 107ᵃ כולי Ms. M. (ed. כַּלְיָה); M. Kat. 9ᵃ כולי Ms. M. (ed. כליא); Arakh. 6ᵃ כליה.—Part. pass. כָּלוּי. Y. Naz. II, beg. 51ᵈ כ׳ אני ממנו I will be restrained from it (for ‘I will abstain’).
- 2. (cmp. שלם) to be full, to be finished, to cease. Ber. 39ᵃ צריך שתִּכְלֶה ברכה וכ׳ the benediction must be finished simultaneously with breaking the bread. Tanḥ. Ki Thissa 5 כבר כָּלוּ ישראל וכ׳ Israel would have ceased to exist; (Pesik. Shek., p. 13ᵇ חיו … מְכוּלִּין, v. infra). Snh. 97ᵇ כלו כל הקצין all the predicted terms of redemption are ended (have passed by); a. fr.—[Pesik. R. s. 12 מת וכלה בקבר, read: ובלה.]—Part. (fr. כּוּל, cmp. חוּל, part. חולות a. חלות) כָּל. Snh. 17ᵃ (ref. to כלאם, Num. XI, 28) הטל … והן כָּלִין מאליהם throw upon them the care for the public, and they will cease (to prophesy) of themselves; a. fr. e.g. Numbers 11:28
- 1. to finish, cease. Yoma 60ᵇ (ref to Lev. XVI, 20) אם כפר כ׳ when he has atoned (for the sanctuary &c.), he has finished (his task). Ib. אם כ׳ כפר when he has done all (the prescribed ritual), he has achieved atonement; Sifra Aḥăré ch. IV, Par. 4; a. e.—Tanḥ. Vayetse 2 מְכַלִּין את שדותיהן they reap their fields entirely (leaving no corners for the poor). Snh. 67ᵇ כַּלֵּה מִדַּבְּרוֹתֶיךָ ולך וכ׳ (some ed. כלך, v. Rab. D. S. a. l. note) cease from thy homiletical interpretations, and turn to &c.; Midr. Till. to Ps. CIV, 6; Ex. R. s. 10, v. כַּלֵּךְ. e.g. Leviticus 16:20
- 2. to finish, destroy. Y. Shek. VI, 50ᵇ top (ref. to מכלות, II Chr. IV, 21) הן כִּילּוּ וכ׳ they (these vessels) consumed all the gold (of the country); Men. 29ᵃ שכִּילַּתּוֹ וכ׳ it consumed &c. Pesik. R. s. 2 שכי׳ אותה וכ׳ whom the Lord destroyed. Num. R. s. 3 היה הארון מְכַלֶּה בבני וכ׳ the Ark made havoc among the sons of Kehath (who had charge of it; cmp. II Sam. VI, 7). Mekh. B’shall., Amalek, s. 2 לכַלָּן to destroy them. Y. Ḥag. II, 78ᵃ bot. (cited in Tosaf. to Ḥag. 17ᵇ a. v. אלא) ובלבד שיְכַלֶּה עיסתו (ed. שיבלים) provided he has used up all his dough for the day; a. fr.—Part. pass. מְכוּלֶּה, pl. מְכוּלִּין. Pesik. Shek., p. 13ᵇ כבר היו ישראל מ׳ וכ׳ Israel would then have been destroyed; a. e. e.g. 2 Chronicles 4:21
- to be destroyed, visited by death. Num. R. s. 5 היו מִתְכַּלִּין they were diminished. Ib. שלא יִתְכַּלּוּ מן וכ׳ that they may not be destroyed from the world. Num. R. s. 3 לא נ׳ וכ׳ not one of them was missing on being counted &c.; a. e.
כְּלֵי
- 1. to keep enclosed, to withhold, restrain. Targ. I Sam. VI, 10. Targ. Ps. XXI, 3. Targ. Is. XXXIII, 15 כָּלֵי (ed. Wil. כָּל) restrains his eyes. Targ. Prov. XI, 26 כָּאלֵא ed. Lag.; ib. XVII, 28 כָּאלֵי ed. Lag.—Part. pass. כְּלֵי. Targ. Jer. XXXII, 2; (Targ. Ps. LXXXVIII, 9 כָּלוּא, h. form).—Sabb. 57ᵇ כַּלְיָא פרוחי, v. בִּזְיוּנָא I; [Var. Ar. דידבי, reminiscence fr. Nidd. 17ᵃ, v. בָּאלֵי.]—כַּלְיָא עורב, v. preced.
- 2. to be finished, gone. Ber. 39ᵃ כַּלְיָא ברכה the benediction is finished &c., v. preced. B. Mets. 79ᵃ וקא כליא קרנא and the capital itself is used up (v. infra). Yoma 69ᵇ כ׳ עלמא the world would come to an end; a. fr.
- 3. (cmp. שלם) [to be entirely with,] to trust. Targ. Ps. XXXI, 7. Ib. 25 כַּלְיָין (ed. Lag. a. oth. כיילין, corr. acc.). Ib. XXXII, 10; a. e.; v. תְּכַל. [Differ. fr. b. h. כָּלָה to be consumed by anxiety, to long, die for.]
- to lock up, restrain. Targ. II Chr. VII, 13.—Kidd. 81ᵇ מַכְלֵי להו מִכּוּלָּהּ וכ׳ Ar. a. Tosaf. (ed. מכלליה, read: מכלי ליה) kept the cattle off from the entire field (in which he walked); (ed.: kept himself aloof from the entire pasture ground). B. Bath. 5ᵃ, v. next w.
- to destroy, use up, diminish. B. Mets. l. c. מְכַלִּינָן קרנא (when hiring the usufruct of an object,) we are permitted to use up the stock itself, e.g. if you hired an ass for travelling, and it died on the road, you may sell its carcass, and hire another ass for the money; ib. לא מכ׳ קרנא we must not use up the stock, i.e. you may buy another ass for the carcass, but not hire one. Ib. Ms. M. לכַלּוּיֵי קרנא לא חיישינן (v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note 8) and as for using up the stock, we need not take that into consideration. B. Kam. 3ᵃ דמְכַלְּיָא קרנא when the obnoxious subject destroys the object itself (not only the fruits).
- to be closed up, withheld; to refrain. Targ. O. Gen. VIII, 2. Targ. Prov. III, 27; a. fr.
כְּלֵי ²
- , Af. אַכְלֵי (v. preced.) [to assemble, call together (cmp. אוֹכְלוֹסָא),]
- 1. to call, give a signal. Targ. Jer. I, 15. Targ. Zeph. II, 15; a. e.
- 2. (of the lion) to roar; to shout, thunder &c. Targ. Ps. CIV, 21, v. אַכְלִי. Ib. XXIX, 3. Ib. LXXIV, 4; a. e.—B. Bath. 5ᵃ עיזא בעלמא אַכְלוּיֵי מַכְלִינָן בה v. Ar. s. v. כל; (incorr. in eds. לאו לאכלויי בעיא) as to a goat, we need only shout at her (to drive her off). Ib. ולאו גברא בעי לאכלויי Rashi (ed. דמיכלי, read דמַכְלֵי) and need you not a man to shout at her?; [oth. opin. we need only keep her off, v. preced.]
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 128 distinct written forms H3627 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 68 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H3627, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
- כלה kâleh H3616 longing
- כלה kâlâh H3617 completion
- כליון killâyôwn H3631 pining
- מכלה miklâh H4357 perfection
- תכלה tiklâh H8502 perfection
- תכלית taklîyth H8503 end
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 10 — not the complete family. 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 252 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 276 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 24:53
- Exodus 3:22
- Leviticus 8:11
- Numbers 1:50
- Deuteronomy 1:41
- Joshua 6:19
- Judges 9:54
- Ruth 2:9
- 1 Samuel 6:8
- 2 Samuel 1:27
- 1 Kings 6:7
- 2 Kings 4:3
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
