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חָצַב

𐤇𐤑𐤁

châtsab

H2672 verb

SILEX Entry

Root חצב to cut, cleave, hew

Definition

To cut or carve, especially in the context of working with stone, wood, or other hard materials; to hew, quarry, or shape by cutting; to dig or fashion by means of cutting. Contextually, the verb can refer to acts of quarrying stone, making engravings or inscriptions, or preparing timber or other materials for construction.

Semantic Range

to cut, chop, or cleave; to hew stone or wood; to quarry stone; to dig (through hard material); to carve or engrave; to shape by cutting; to square (stone); to make or fashion by cutting

Root / Etymology

The verb derives from the root חצב, which conveys the action of cutting or cleaving, particularly with the hands or implements suitable for separating material. The lexical sense develops from the idea of forcefully dividing or shaping material by striking or cutting.

Historical & Contextual Notes

Throughout the Hebrew Bible, חָצַב occurs in contexts involving physical labor with natural materials, notably stone and wood. In narratives relating to building or construction (e.g., the Solomon narrative about quarrying stone for the Temple), the root signifies the practical and skilled labor of shaping and extracting building materials. It can also be used for secondary senses such as engraving (carving inscriptions or decorations into stone) and, occasionally, of digging. The word does not generally have specialized religious or cultic technical meanings but may be found in parallel with terms for skilled laborers (e.g., stonecutters, masons) and is more general than terms like חָרַשׁ (to engrave, craft). English translations such as 'hewn,' 'quarried,' and 'engraved' provide specific but partial senses; the underlying Hebrew carries a broader semantic field connected to shaping by cutting. Over time, the root remained tied to material production and construction, consistently denoting manual acts of shaping hard material, without significant semantic shift between the monarchic and later post-exilic periods.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

or חָצֵב; a primitive root; to cut or carve (wood, stone or other material); by implication, to hew, split, square, quarry, engrave; cut, dig, divide, grave, hew (out, -er), made, mason.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

חצב (ḥ-ṣ-b) — cutting, cleaving, hewing

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H4274 מַחְצֵב stone-hewing site

Word Forms

17 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H2672-06 חֹצֵ֥ב chotsev HVqrmsa cutters one who hews 4
H2672-08 חֹֽצְבִ֗ים chotsevim HVqrmpa stonecutters hewing ones 3
H2672-01 חָצַ֔בְתָּ chatsaveta HVqp2ms you dug you hewed 2
H2672-12 לַ/חְצֹ֤ב lachetsov HR/Vqc to cut to hew 2
H2672-05 חֲצוּבִים֙ chatsuvim HVqsmpa hewn hewn ones 2
H2672-11 הַ/מַּחְצֶ֥בֶת hamachetsevet HTd/Vhrfsa who cut in pieces the one who hews out 1
H2672-02 חָצַ֨בְתִּי֙ chatsaveti HVqp1cs I have hewn I hewed 1
H2672-10 הַ/חֹצֵ֣ב hachotsev HTd/Vqrmsa him who hews the hewer 1
H2672-17 יֵחָצְבֽוּ/ן yechatsevun HVNi3mp/Sn they were engraved they will be hewn 1
H2672-04 חָצְבָ֖ה chatsevah HVqp3fs has hewn she has hewn 1

Occurrences in Scripture

25 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H2672-05 Deuteronomy 6:11 חֲצוּבִים֙ chatsuvim HVqsmpa hewn hewn ones
H2672-01 Deuteronomy 6:11 חָצַ֔בְתָּ chatsaveta HVqp2ms you dug you hewed
H2672-14 Deuteronomy 8:9 תַּחְצֹ֥ב tachetsov HVqi2ms you can dig you will hew
H2672-06 1 Kings 5:29 חֹצֵ֥ב chotsev HVqrmsa hewers one who hews
H2672-15 2 Kings 12:13 וּ/לְ/חֹצְבֵ֣י ulechotsevey HC/R/Vqrmpc and-to-the-stonecutters and to the hewers of
H2672-03 Isaiah 5:2 חָצֵ֣ב chatsev HVqp3ms hewed he hewed
H2672-10 Isaiah 10:15 הַ/חֹצֵ֣ב hachotsev HTd/Vqrmsa him who hews the hewer
H2672-01 Isaiah 22:16 חָצַ֧בְתָּ chatsaveta HVqp2ms you have hewn you hewed
H2672-07 Isaiah 22:16 חֹצְבִ֤י chotsevi HVqrmsc hewer hewer of
H2672-09 Isaiah 51:1 חֻצַּבְתֶּ֔ם chutsavetem HVPp2mp from which you were cut you were hewn
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