se.ma.li identifies the left-hand side in descriptions of hands, sides, pillars, and positions.

The attested use consistently marks the left-hand side in spatial contrasts: a priest’s hand or palm, a bodily side, a pillar’s position, and the side of a house. It occurs where the left is set in relation to a corresponding right-hand position or directional boundary.

1. The left-hand side in spatial placement · dominant

   In Leviticus 14:15, Leviticus 14:16, Leviticus 14:26, and Leviticus 14:27, feminine singular adjective forms mark the priest’s hand or palm that receives the oil, while the APB renders the contrasting finger as “right.” In 1 Kings 7:21 the masculine singular adjective identifies the pillar set opposite the right pillar, and in Ezekiel 4:4 it identifies the side on which the prophet is to lie.

   Leviticus 14:15Leviticus 14:16Leviticus 14:26Leviticus 14:271 Kings 7:21Ezekiel 4:4

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB regularly presents the directional contrast with “left,” as in the priest’s “left hand” or “left palm” and the pillar on the “left.” In 2 Kings 11:11 and 2 Chronicles 23:10, it renders the clause as extending from the right side of the house to the left side of the house; these renderings confirm the verse-level spatial contrast.