article/utensil
ke.li denotes physical items, especially service vessels, weapons, containers, and practical equipment.
The term most often identifies articles assigned to house-of-the-LORD service or made from precious metals, while other contexts show military gear, containers for water or oil, and equipment used for work or transport. Its observed range is therefore broad: a concrete item is specified by the activity, material, or setting in the clause.
Senses in use
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Service and crafted articles · dominant
Plural forms occur for objects of sanctuary service and manufacture: in 1 Kings 7:45 the APB renders a list of pots, shovels, and bowls followed by “all the articles” made for the house of the LORD. In 1 Chronicles 28:14, plural construct forms occur in the clause about gold and silver articles for every kind of service; 1 Kings 8:4 likewise places such articles in the tent alongside the ark and tent of meeting.
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Weapons and military gear · common
Plural construct forms occur in scenes involving an armor-bearer and items carried for combat. In 1 Samuel 14:6 the APB renders the youth as carrying Jonathan’s “weapons,” while 1 Chronicles 10:4 places the same form in Saul’s address to his armor-bearer about drawing a sword; 1 Samuel 17:54 similarly says David put the Philistine’s weapons in his tent.
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Containers and portable objects · occasional
Singular and plural forms identify receptacles or portable items in domestic and travel settings. In 1 Kings 17:10 the APB renders the request for water “in the vessel,” and 2 Kings 4:6 repeatedly refers to vessels being filled with oil. In 1 Samuel 17:40 and 1 Samuel 17:49, the singular occurs in the account of David’s bag and taking a stone from it.
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Equipment and working implements · occasional
The singular form occurs with implements used for a particular task. In 1 Kings 6:7 the APB renders the building restriction with “every iron tool,” while Deuteronomy 23:25 names a sickle in the instruction about a neighbor’s standing grain. In 1 Kings 19:21, the form occurs in the clause about using the oxen’s equipment to boil their flesh.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the cited verses, the APB variously presents the term through “articles,” “vessels,” “weapons,” “equipment,” and “tool,” according to the surrounding object and activity. Because the APB is a whole-verse translation, these renderings show the clause-level context rather than fixed English equivalents.