כְּלִי
𐤊𐤋𐤉
kᵉlîy
H3627 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A manufactured object or article designed for specific use, encompassing a broad category of vessels, utensils, tools, weapons, and sometimes articles of apparel or jewelry. The term is highly flexible, referring to implements or equipment in domestic, religious, military, and other settings. Its precise meaning depends on context: a container, a tool, a piece of armor, temple furnishing, or a valued object.
Semantic Range
implement, vessel, utensil, tool, weapon, piece of furniture, article of clothing or jewelry, container, piece of armor, temple furnishing, valued object, article, equipment
Root / Etymology
Derived from the root כָּלָה (kalah), meaning 'to complete, finish, bring to completion.' The noun כְּלִי is formed to indicate that which is made ready, prepared, or completed for a particular use. The transformation from the verbal root to the noun highlights the process of preparing or fashioning articles fit for purpose—hence 'implement, vessel, tool.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
Throughout the Hebrew Bible, כְּלִי appears over 320 times in diverse contexts, especially as a general term for objects necessary for ritual, daily life, and warfare. In the tabernacle and temple narratives, it denotes ritual vessels or sacred implements. In military contexts, it can mean weaponry or armor. In domestic or personal settings, it refers to household utensils, containers, or objects of value (such as jewelry). Translation into English as 'vessel,' 'instrument,' or 'tool' often does not capture its broad flexibility; context determines whether a specific kind of implement or a generic article is intended. The term overlaps partially with other Hebrew words (e.g., כִּיּוֹר for 'basin,' כַּפּוֹת for 'bowls'), but כְּלִי is the most general term for an item or article. Its usage did not significantly shift across biblical periods, though specific meanings may become more concrete in post-exilic and Second Temple texts, especially in priestly literature and later descriptions of temple furnishings. Later translations (especially those influenced by the LXX or Vulgate) sometimes rendered כְּלִי as 'jewel' or 'armor-bearer,' but the term rarely specifically denotes a person except in possessive or compound forms (e.g., 'man of weapons').
Translation Consistency
Keli primarily names a manufactured item—tools, utensils, weapons, containers, temple furnishings, or other articles. "Implement" is a natural, widely-used English noun that comfortably covers tools, utensils and equipment while remaining broad enough for vessels, armor, or valued objects. It was the most common practical rendering in the corpus and yields consistent, natural translations across the word’s wide semantic range.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from כָּלָה; something prepared, i.e. any apparatus (as an implement, utensil, dress, vessel or weapon); armour(-bearer), artillery, bag, carriage, [phrase] furnish, furniture, instrument, jewel, that is made of, [idiom] one from another, that which pertaineth, pot, [phrase] psaltery, sack, stuff, thing, tool, vessel, ware, weapon, [phrase] whatsoever.
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been recorded for this word yet.
Root Family
כלה (k-l-h) — complete, finish, prepare
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H3615 | כָּלָה | I will bring to completion |
| H3616 | כָּלֶה | and wasting-away ones |
| H3617 | כָּלָה | completion |
| H3618 | כַּלָּה | completed woman |
| H3622 | כְּלוּהַי | Yah Completes |
Word Forms
40 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3627-10 |
כְּלֵי | keley | HNcmpc |
vessels | implements of | implements of | 80 |
H3627-15 |
כְּלִ֣י | keli | HNcmsc |
vessel | prepared implement of | prepared implement of | 39 |
H3627-09 |
כֵּלָ֑י/ו | kelayv | HNcmpc/Sp3ms |
its utensils | his implements | his implements | 34 |
H3627-07 |
הַ/כֵּלִ֖ים | hakelim | HTd/Ncmpa |
the vessels | the prepared implements | the implements | 33 |
H3627-30 |
וּ/כְלֵ֤י | ukheley | HC/Ncmpc |
and vessels | and implements of | and implements of | 22 |
H3627-17 |
כֵלָ֗י/ו | khelayv | HNcmpc/Sp3ms |
his weapons | his prepared implements | his implements | 17 |
H3627-03 |
בִּ/כְלֵֽי | bikheley | HR/Ncmpc |
with instruments | with prepared implements of | with implements of | 11 |
H3627-05 |
בִּ/כְלִ֤י | bikheli | HR/Ncmsc |
in a vessel | in a prepared implement | in a vessel | 8 |
H3627-06 |
הַ/כְּלִ֛י | hakeli | HTd/Ncmsa |
the vessel | the prepared implement | the implement | 6 |
H3627-12 |
כֵּלֶ֑י/הָ | keleyha | HNcmpc/Sp3fs |
its utensils | her implements | her implements | 6 |
Occurrences in Scripture
325 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H3627-10 |
Genesis 24:53 | כְּלֵי | keley | HNcmpc |
articles | implements of | implements of |
H3627-30 |
Genesis 24:53 | וּ/כְלֵ֤י | ukheley | HC/Ncmpc |
and articles | and implements of | and implements of |
H3627-21 |
Genesis 27:3 | כֵלֶ֔י/ךָ | kheleykha | HNcmpc/Sp2ms |
your weapons | your implements | your implements |
H3627-08 |
Genesis 31:37 | כֵּלַ֗/י | kelay | HNcmpc/Sp1cs |
my goods | my prepared-implements | my goods |
H3627-10 |
Genesis 31:37 | כְּלֵי | keley | HNcmpc |
household goods | implements of | implements of |
H3627-13 |
Genesis 42:25 | כְּלֵי/הֶם֮ | keleyhem | HNcmpc/Sp3mp |
their vessels | their implements | their implements |
H3627-04 |
Genesis 43:11 | בִּ/כְלֵי/כֶ֔ם | bikheleykhem | HR/Ncmpc/Sp2mp |
in your vessels | in your prepared implements | in your vessels |
H3627-14 |
Genesis 45:20 | כְּלֵי/כֶ֑ם | keleykhem | HNcmpc/Sp2mp |
your belongings | your implements | your belongings |
H3627-10 |
Genesis 49:5 | כְּלֵ֥י | keley | HNcmpc |
implements | implements of | implements of |
H3627-10 |
Exodus 3:22 | כְּלֵי | keley | HNcmpc |
articles of | implements of | implements of |