palm
kaph denotes the hand’s palm, also the sole of a foot and contexts of holding, measuring, or being under a hand.
The term most often identifies the palm or hand surface, especially in gestures of spreading the hands, contact, and bodily description. Its attested uses also include the sole of the foot, a hand as the sphere of power or risk, and palm-sized quantities or comparisons.
Senses in use
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Palm or hand surface · dominant
Dual construct forms identify paired palms in gestures and contact: in 1 Kings 8:54 the APB renders Solomon as bowing with “his palms spread toward heaven,” while 2 Kings 4:34 places a palm upon a palm. The plural construct form in 1 Samuel 5:4 names the severed palms of Dagon’s hands, and Isaiah 49:16 depicts engraving on the palms of hands.
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Hand as power, custody, or personal risk · common
Singular construct forms occur in clauses concerning a person’s life or deliverance. In 1 Samuel 19:5 the APB renders David as putting “his life in his palm,” whereas 1 Samuel 4:3 and 2 Kings 16:7 describe rescue from the hand of enemies or kings.
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Sole of the foot · common
The singular construct form marks the foot’s lower surface in statements about treading, standing, or bodily extent. In Deuteronomy 11:24 the APB renders the clause “the sole of your foot treads,” and Deuteronomy 28:65 speaks of no resting place for that sole.
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Palm-sized amount or comparison · occasional
The singular construct form can frame an amount or a comparison by the size of a palm. In 1 Kings 17:12 the APB renders a small quantity of flour as “a fullness of a palm,” and in 1 Kings 18:44 it describes a cloud “like a man's palm”; Ecclesiastes 4:6 similarly contrasts one handful with two.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously presents the term through “palms,” “hand,” “sole of your foot,” and “handful,” according to the verse’s clause. These renderings reflect the verse-level translation to the Hebrew term.