he.khal denotes a sanctuary, especially the LORD’s sacred house, and can also identify a king’s palace.

The word most often identifies the LORD’s sanctuary as a built and furnished sacred space, a place entered, purified, measured, or approached in worship. It also occurs for sanctuaries not explicitly identified with the LORD and for royal palaces.

1. The LORD’s sanctuary and its interior · dominant

   Singular construct and absolute forms identify the LORD’s sacred building and its parts. In 1 Kings 6:17 the APB renders a measured forty-cubit area as “the temple before it”; in 2 Chronicles 29:16 priests enter and remove uncleanness from “the temple of the LORD,” while Ezekiel 41:23 describes doors belonging to this structure.

   1 Kings 6:171 Samuel 1:92 Chronicles 29:16Ezra 3:10Ezekiel 41:23Habakkuk 2:20
2. Sanctuaries not named as the LORD’s house · occasional

   The term can designate religious buildings without the usual explicit association with the LORD. In 2 Chronicles 36:7 the APB says articles taken to Babylon were placed “in his temple in Babylon”; Hosea 8:14 uses the plural absolute form in the statement that Israel “built temples.”

   2 Chronicles 36:7Hosea 8:14
3. A king’s palace · occasional

   In royal clauses, singular construct forms refer to a king’s residence. In 1 Kings 21:1 the APB places Naboth’s vineyard beside Ahab’s “palace,” and Daniel 1:4 describes youths prepared to stand in “the king’s palace.”

   1 Kings 21:12 Kings 20:18Daniel 1:4Isaiah 39:7Proverbs 30:28

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term as “temple,” especially in clauses concerning the LORD’s house, but uses “palace” in royal settings such as 1 Kings 21:1 and Daniel 1:4. These renderings confirm the settings of the clauses rather than supplying a separate definition.