---
title: כֶּלֶא — confinement · The Tanakh dictionary
description: כֶּלֶא (3608), a word of Biblical Hebrew, used 10 times: confinement. BDB 1906: confinement, restraint, imprisonment. With 2 verses in Hebrew, word for word and JPS 1917.
---

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# כֶּלֶא

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«כֶּלֶא» in the Tanakh dictionary: **confinement** — how often it is used, MACULA's glosses, its meanings in the printed dictionaries and why they were chosen, and 2 verses in layers.

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**Used:** 10 times · **Key:** 3608 · **BDB:** כֶּ֫לֶא

### Glosses

imprisonment (4); of.imprisonment (3); his.imprisonment (2)

### Meaning (OSHB)

confinement [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3608/#m1)

### Meaning (BDB 1906)

confinement, restraint, imprisonment [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3608/#m2)

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**The whole BDB entry:** n.\[m.\] confinement, restraint, imprisonment;—abs. כ׳ 1 K 22:27 + 6 times; sf. כִּלְאוֹ 2 K 25:29; Je 52:33; pl. כְּלָאִים Is 42:22;—confinement, in combin. בֵּית (ה)כ׳ (cf. Assyrian bît kīli, prison, Dl HWB 328) 1 K 22:27 = 2 Ch 18:26, 2 K 17:4; Je 37:15, 18; Is 42:7; בָּֽתֵּי כְלָאִים v 22 (cf. בַּיִת 1 (ε) (2) p. 109 supr.; v. also כלוא infr.); בִּנְדֵי כִלְאוֹ 2 K 25:29 = Je 52:33 garments of imprisonment = prison-garb.

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Why these entries: BDB: headword, part of speech agrees, 9 of its verses cited, 1 words shared with the glosses, lists its Strong's number (3 candidates); OSHB: headword, part of speech agrees, 1 words shared with the BDB entry, 0 with the glosses (3 candidates)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every English meaning of «כֶּלֶא» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/tanakh/1499/3608/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.

### In the verses

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[Isaiah 42:7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/ISA.42.7/)

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לִפְקֹ֖חַ עֵינַ֣יִם עִוְר֑וֹת לְהוֹצִ֤יא מִמַּסְגֵּר֙ אַסִּ֔יר מִבֵּ֥ית כֶּ֖לֶא יֹ֥שְׁבֵי חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃

*Word for word:* to open eyes blind to bring.out from prison prisoner\[s\] from a.house of.imprisonment \[those.who\].dwell of.darkness

*JPS 1917:* To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house.

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[2 Kings 25:29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/2KI.25.29/)

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וְשִׁנָּ֕א אֵ֖ת בִּגְדֵ֣י כִלְא֑וֹ וְאָכַ֨ל לֶ֧חֶם תָּמִ֛יד לְפָנָ֖יו כָּל־יְמֵ֥י חַיָּֽיו׃

*Word for word:* and he.changed (et) the.clothes his.imprisonment his and he.ate bread continually before him all the.days his.life his

*JPS 1917:* And he changed his prison garments, and did eat bread before him continually all the days of his life.

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