pe.lekh denotes an administrative area under a ruler and, in two verses, an implement held in spinning work.

The predominant use identifies an area associated with a named ruler, often described as half of a larger locality; a rarer use occurs in scenes of holding or grasping a spinning implement.

1. Area governed by a ruler · dominant

   The construct forms occur in ruler designations: in Nehemiah 3:9 the APB renders Rephaiah as ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, and in Nehemiah 3:14 it renders Malchijah as ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem. The same construction identifies areas connected with Jerusalem, Mizpah, Beth-zur, and Keilah in Nehemiah 3:12, Nehemiah 3:15, Nehemiah 3:16, and Nehemiah 3:17.

   Nehemiah 3:9Nehemiah 3:12Nehemiah 3:14Nehemiah 3:15Nehemiah 3:16Nehemiah 3:17
2. Spinning implement · occasional

   In 2 Samuel 3:29, the absolute form occurs among conditions named against Joab's house; the APB renders one person as holding a spindle. In Proverbs 31:19, another absolute form appears in the woman’s handwork scene, where the APB renders hands reaching for a distaff and palms grasping a spindle, so the individual English term cannot be assigned with certainty.

   2 Samuel 3:29Proverbs 31:19

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the Nehemiah passages, the APB regularly presents the construct use in ruler-of-area phrases as “district.” In 2 Samuel 3:29 and Proverbs 31:19 it presents a spinning-tool context with “spindle” and “distaff,” but the translation does not align those English words to individual original-language tokens.