Lexical Summary
gazith: Hewn stone
Original Word:גָּזִית
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:gaziyth
Pronunciation:gah-ZEETH
Phonetic Spelling:(gaw-zeeth')
KJV: hewed, hewn stone, wrought
NASB:cut stone, stone cut, cut, cut stones, hewn, hewn stone, smooth stones
Word Origin:[fromH1491 (גָּזָה - took)]
1. something cut, i.e. dressed stone
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
hewed, hewn stone, wrought
Fromgazah; something cut, i.e. Dressed stone -- hewed, hewn stone, wrought.
see HEBREWgazah
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
gazahDefinitiona cutting, hewing
NASB Translationcut (1), cut stone (2), cut stones (1), hewn (1), hewn stone (1), smooth stones (1), stone cut (2), well-hewn stone (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
—
Exodus 20:25 10t., always absolute; —
hewing, =
hewn stones (building-stones)
1 Kings 5:31;
1 Chronicles 22:2;
Ezekiel 40:42 (for tables), compare
1 Kings 7:9,11 (but Klo strike out as gloss, compare ); also without =
hewn stonesExodus 20:25 (altar)
Amos 5:11 ()
Isaiah 9:9 (opposed to );
1 Kings 6:36,
1 Kings 7:12; also
Lamentations 3:9 .
see below . below
Topical Lexicon
Overview of Hewn Stone in ScriptureStrong’s Hebrew 1496 (gāzît) designates hewn or dressed stone fashioned by skilled labor. Eleven Old-Testament occurrences trace its movement from prohibited use in primitive altars to celebrated use in temple architecture, then to prophetic images of pride and judgment, and finally to eschatological worship.
Exodus 20:25 – Altars Untouched by Iron
“Now if you make an altar of stones for Me, you must not build it with cut stones; for if you strike a chisel on it, you will defile it.” The untouched stone underscores that atonement rests solely on what God provides; human art must not intrude upon the basis of sacrifice.
Solomon’s Temple and Palace Complex
1 Kings 5:17; 6:36; 7:9-12 present gāzît as a hallmark of royal construction:
“At the king’s command they quarried large blocks of high-quality stone to provide a foundation of hewn stone for the temple.”
“He built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of cedar beams.”
The stones are shaped off-site (1 Kings 6:7) so the sacred area remains silent. Thus the earlier altar prohibition is respected while architectural splendor is permitted, provided it serves and surrounds true worship.
David’s Preparations (1 Chronicles 22:2)
“So David gave orders to gather the foreigners in the land of Israel, and he appointed stonecutters to prepare finished stones for building the house of God.” The verse highlights covenantal foresight: one generation prepares materials that the next will set in place.
Prophetic Images of Pride and Judgment
•Isaiah 9:10: “The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with dressed stone; the sycamores have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars.” Israel’s boastful resolve to upgrade disaster debris with gāzît exposes self-confidence and invites divine chastening.
•Amos 5:11: “You have built houses of hewn stone but you will not dwell in them.” Oppressors erect luxurious residences but are deprived of enjoyment because justice has been trampled.
•Lamentations 3:9: “He has walled me in with stone and blocked my path.” The very material once used for sanctuary beauty now pictures captivity and grief.
Ezekiel 40:42 – Hewn Stone in Future Worship
“There were also four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering.” In the restored-temple vision, sanctified craftsmanship is fully integrated into sacrificial service, signaling an era when every human skill is purified for God’s glory.
Key Ministry Lessons
1. Worship’s foundation is God-given, not human-engineered (Exodus 20:25).
2. Skill and excellence honor the Lord when governed by His revealed pattern (1 Kings 5–7).
3. Material splendor obtained through arrogance or injustice brings inevitable loss (Isaiah 9:10;Amos 5:11).
4. Seasons of confinement (Lamentations 3:9) can become tools of refinement.
5. Future worship will perfectly harmonize divine holiness and human artistry (Ezekiel 40:42).
Christological and Ecclesiological Reflections
Hewn stones prefigure Jesus Christ, the chosen “cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20), and the Church, “living stones…being built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). The uncut altar anticipates His once-for-all, God-wrought sacrifice; the shaped temple stones foreshadow Spirit-formed believers fitted together for a dwelling place of God. Ministry, therefore, involves both proclaiming the finished work of the altar and patiently shaping lives into a holy temple that displays His glory.
Forms and Transliterations
בְּגָזִ֔ית בגזית גָּזִ֑ית גָּזִ֔ית גָּזִ֖ית גָזִ֑ית גָזִ֔ית גָזִ֗ית גָזִ֛ית גָזִֽית׃ גזית גזית׃ וְגָזִ֣ית וגזית bə·ḡā·zîṯ begaZit bəḡāzîṯ gā·zîṯ ḡā·zîṯ gaZit gāzîṯ ḡāzîṯ vegaZit wə·ḡā·zîṯ wəḡāzîṯ
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