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כֶּלֶא

𐤊𐤋𐤀

keleʼ

H3608 noun

SILEX Entry

Root כלא to shut in, restrain, confine

Definition

Enclosure for restraining or confining a person; prison, place of detention, or holding cell. The term denotes a physical space where individuals are forcibly kept, often as a punitive measure or for pre-trial detention. In extended usage, it refers to places of restraint or confinement more generally.

Semantic Range

prison, place of detention, confinement, jail, holding cell, enclosure for people

Root / Etymology

From the root כָּלָא (k-l-ʼ), meaning 'to shut up, restrain, detain.' כֶּלֶא (keleʼ) is a nominal form referring to the result or place of such action — the location in which confinement occurs. Related nouns include כִּלְאַיִם (kil'ayim, 'mixed kinds') and כְּלִיא (kelî', another term for 'prison' or 'enclosure'), though their relation to the same root varies contextually.

Historical & Contextual Notes

כֶּלֶא is predominantly used in administrative or judicial contexts in the Hebrew Bible, especially within texts associated with later monarchic and post-exilic periods where institutional detention became more systematized. Earlier Israelite society appears to have had fewer formal prison structures; terms like בֵּית הַסֹּהַר ("house of the round trellis," typically translated 'prison') may refer to less formal or temporary holding spaces. By contrast, כֶּלֶא designates a constructed facility for confinement, sometimes distinct from dungeons or pit-like detentions (cf. בּוֹר, bor). Some later English translations use 'prison' consistently, but this can obscure ancient nuances, especially as formal prisons post-date the earliest Israelite legal traditions. In post-exilic and later Second Temple Hebrew, the institutional sense is further developed, reflected in material remains and administrative papyri. Early renderings in the Septuagint and later translations vary (e.g., δεσμωτήριον, phylakē), sometimes conflating with other types of confinement. Related terms like כִּלְאַיִם (kil'ayim, 'mixture, mixed kinds') share the root idea of restriction or prohibition, though the semantic development is different.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from כָּלָא; a prison; prison. Compare כִּלְאַיִם, כְּלִיא.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

כלא (k-l-ʾ) — to shut in, restrain, confine

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3607 כָּלָא I restrain
H3610 כִּלְאַיִם two-kind mixture
H3628 כְּלִיא the confinement-place
H4356 מִכְלָאָה livestock enclosure

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H3608-01 הַ/כֶּ֑לֶא hakele HTd/Ncmsa of the prison the confinement-place 4
H3608-02 כֶּֽלֶא kele HNcmsa of prison confinement enclosure 3
H3608-04 כִלְא֑/וֹ khileo HNcmsc/Sp3ms clothes his confinement-place 2
H3608-03 כְלָאִ֖ים khelaim HNcmpa prisons confinement enclosures 1

Occurrences in Scripture

10 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H3608-01 1 Kings 22:27 הַ/כֶּ֑לֶא hakele HTd/Ncmsa the-prison the confinement-place
H3608-02 2 Kings 17:4 כֶּֽלֶא kele HNcmsa of prison confinement enclosure
H3608-02 2 Kings 25:27 כֶּֽלֶא kele HNcmsa of prison confinement enclosure
H3608-04 2 Kings 25:29 כִלְא֑/וֹ khileo HNcmsc/Sp3ms garments his confinement-place
H3608-02 Isaiah 42:7 כֶּ֖לֶא kele HNcmsa of prison confinement enclosure
H3608-03 Isaiah 42:22 כְלָאִ֖ים khelaim HNcmpa prisons confinement enclosures
H3608-01 Jeremiah 37:15 הַ/כֶּֽלֶא hakele HTd/Ncmsa of the prison the confinement-place
H3608-01 Jeremiah 37:18 הַ/כֶּֽלֶא hakele HTd/Ncmsa of the prison the confinement-place
H3608-04 Jeremiah 52:33 כִלְא֑/וֹ khileo HNcmsc/Sp3ms clothes his confinement-place
H3608-01 2 Chronicles 18:26 הַ/כֶּ֑לֶא hakele HTd/Ncmsa the-prison the confinement-place
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