Aramaic word · H3984

מָאן

manei

utensil

Vessel, container, utensil. Like Hebrew kəlî, it is general, but in context it can mean the sacred equipment of a sanctuary.

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. · Updated October 25, 2026

What it means

vessel, utensil

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: Vessel, container, utensil. Like Hebrew kəlî, it is general, but in context it can mean the sacred equipment of a sanctuary.
Against the English: "Vessels" (most versions) is accurate. "Cups" or "goblets" would be too narrow, because the temple vessels included bowls, basins, ladles and dishes.
Used elsewhere in the period: Biblical Aramaic uses it for these same temple vessels in Ezra 5:14–15; 6:5; 7:19. The Hebrew account of their capture is in 2 Kgs 24:13; 25:13–15; Jer 52:17–19. Daniel 1:2 says Nebuchadnezzar put them in "the treasury of his god." Jeremiah 27:16–22 and 28:3 argue over whether they will soon return, and Ezra 1:7–11 inventories their return under Cyrus.

Range of meaning: In Aramaic, any manufactured article, implement or container. It matches Hebrew kəlî, which covers vessels, tools, weapons and equipment. In a temple setting it means the cultic equipment: bowls for blood and libations, basins, censers, dishes, knives.
Against the English: KJV, WEB and YLT have 'vessels.' BSB has 'articles.' 'Vessels' sounds to a modern reader like containers or even ships. 'Articles' is vaguer but more accurate, since the list in Ezra 1:9–10 includes knives (or 'censers'; the word there is uncertain) as well as bowls.
How it drifted: In 1611 English, 'vessel' covered household and sacred utensils in general. Today the word has narrowed to 'container' or 'boat.'
Used elsewhere in the period: The word is used in Daniel 5:2–3, 23 for the same Jerusalem temple vessels that Belshazzar drank from at his feast, and in Ezra 6:5 and 7:19. Aramaic papyri of the Persian period use it for household goods and utensils.

Range of meaning: In Biblical Aramaic this means a vessel, utensil or implement. It is cognate with Hebrew kli (a container, tool or piece of equipment), and the word covers everything from cups and bowls to tools. In Ezra and Daniel it refers specifically to the gold and silver temple equipment taken from Jerusalem (Ezra 5:14–15; 6:5; 7:19; Dan 5:2–3, 23).
Against the English: KJV and WEB say 'vessels', BSB says 'articles', and NASB uses 'utensils'. 'Vessels' can suggest only containers, while 'articles' is so general that the objects become a vague inventory. The objects were mostly bowls and basins (1:9–10), so 'vessels' fits well. The point is that they were consecrated cult objects, not just valuable metalware.
Used elsewhere in the period: The looting of these objects is recorded in 2 Kings 24:13; 25:13–15 and 2 Chronicles 36:7, 18. Jeremiah 27:16–22 argues about whether and when they would return. In Daniel 5 Belshazzar drinks from them and is judged. Ezra 1:7–11 gives Mithredath's inventory (5,400 items). In Mesopotamia, carrying off a conquered people's cult objects showed that the victor's god had won, and returning them was a recognized act of restoration (compare the Cyrus Cylinder's claim to have returned gods to their sanctuaries).

Ezra · 4

Ezra 5:14 מָאנַיָּ֣א vessels the

He also removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles belonging to the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken and carried there from the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave these articles to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed governor

Here: The temple's sacred equipment: bowls, basins, dishes and knives used in worship (compare Ezra 1:9–10). It does not mean ordinary household pots.
Ezra 5:15 מָֽאנַיָּ֔א vessels the

and instructed, ‘Take these articles, put them in the temple in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be rebuilt on its original site.’

Here: The temple's sacred equipment: bowls, basins, dishes and other cult implements, made of gold and silver (5:14; inventory in 1:9–11). For a temple with no divine statue, these objects were the main surviving physical link with the old sanctuary.
Ezra 6:5 מָאנֵ֣י [the] vessels of

Furthermore, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and carried to Babylon, must also be returned to the temple in Jerusalem and deposited in the house of God.
Ezra 7:19 וּמָֽאנַיָּא֙ and vessels the

You must deliver to the God of Jerusalem all the articles given to you for the service of the house of your God.

Daniel · 3

Daniel 5:2 לְמָאנֵי֙ <obj.> [the] vessels of

Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king could drink from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.

Here: "The vessels of." The prefix lə- here marks the object, as Aramaic often does. The word is general (containers, utensils), but here it means the temple's sacred cups and bowls.
Daniel 5:3 מָאנֵ֣י [the] vessels of

Thus they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king drank from them, along with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines.
Daniel 5:23 וּלְמָֽאנַיָּ֨א and <obj.> vessels the

Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. The vessels from His house were brought to you, and as you drank wine from them with your nobles, wives, and concubines, you praised your gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you have failed to glorify the God who holds in His hand your very breath and all your ways.

Here: 'And the vessels.' These are the gold and silver cups and bowls from the Jerusalem temple (5:2–3; 1:2). The little 'l-' prefix marks the object, as is normal in Aramaic.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.