ka.teph denotes a bodily shoulder and, by extension in spatial descriptions, a side, flank, or sloping side of an object or place.

The term most often marks a side or flank in descriptions of structures, gates, and locations; it also denotes the bodily shoulder that bears a load or receives physical action, the shoulder-pieces of an ephod, and the side or slope of a named place.

1. Side or flank of a structure · dominant

   In temple and building descriptions, the singular construct form identifies a right or left side of a house, gate, entrance, or pavement. In Ezekiel 40:18 the APB renders pavement as being beside the gate’s “shoulder,” while Ezekiel 47:1 locates water under the right side of the house; 1 Kings 7:30 and 1 Kings 7:34 use plural forms for the supports of the stands.

   1 Kings 7:301 Kings 7:341 Kings 7:39Ezekiel 40:18Ezekiel 41:2Ezekiel 47:1
2. Bodily shoulder in bearing or bodily action · common

   The singular and dual forms occur where a person or animal bears, carries, thrusts, or suffers at the shoulder. In Ezekiel 12:6 the APB renders the action as lifting a load “upon your shoulder,” and Judges 16:3 describes Samson placing gate doors upon his shoulders; Ezekiel 34:21 names the shoulder in thrusting the weak.

   1 Chronicles 15:15Judges 16:3Isaiah 30:6Isaiah 46:7Ezekiel 12:6Ezekiel 34:21
3. Shoulder-pieces of the ephod · occasional

   Plural forms designate the two parts of the ephod where stones, cords, and rings are placed or attached. In Exodus 28:12 the APB renders the stones as set “upon the shoulders of the ephod,” and Exodus 28:25 places the cord ends on those same parts opposite its front.

   Exodus 28:7Exodus 28:12Exodus 28:25Exodus 28:27Exodus 39:7Exodus 39:18
4. Side or slope of a place · occasional

   In boundary and regional descriptions, the construct singular marks the side of a city, mountain, or territory. In Joshua 15:8 the APB renders the border as ascending to the “shoulder of the Jebusite,” and Joshua 18:12 similarly traces it to the shoulder of Jericho; Isaiah 11:14 uses the term in a westward regional movement.

   Joshua 15:8Joshua 15:10Joshua 18:12Joshua 18:13Ezekiel 25:9Isaiah 11:14

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term as “shoulder” or “shoulders” in bodily and ephod contexts, but also uses “side,” “supports,” and similar spatial phrasing in structural or boundary descriptions. These renderings confirm the clauses’ settings rather than supplying a separate definition.