Lexical Summary
chatsab or chatseb: To hew, cut, carve, dig
Original Word:חָצַב
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:chatsab
Pronunciation:khaw-tsab'
Phonetic Spelling:(khaw-tsab')
KJV: cut, dig, divide, grave, hew (out, -er), made, mason
NASB:hewn, dig, hew, hewed, masons, quarry, chops
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to cut or carve (wood, stone or other material)
2. (by implication) to hew, split, square, quarry, engrave
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
cut, dig, divide, grave, hew out made, mason
Or chatseb {khaw-tsabe'}; 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.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto hew, hew out, cleave
NASB Translationchops (1), cut in pieces (1), dig (2), engraved (1), hew (2), hewed (2), hewers (1), hewn (5), hewn them in pieces (1), hews (1), masons (2), quarry (2), stonecutters (1), stonecutters to hew (1), stonecutters* (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (Late Hebrew
id., Aramaic ; SI
4. 6 participle plural ; compare Phoenician = Hebrew
id.) —
PerfectIsaiah 5:2;Proverbs 9:1;Hosea 6:5, etc.;Imperfect 2Chronicles 26:10; 2 masculine singularDeuteronomy 8:9;Infinitive constructJeremiah 2:13;1 Chronicles 22:2;Participle activeIsaiah 10:15 4t.; constructIsaiah 22:16;1 Chronicles 22:2 3t.;2 Kings 12:13; passiveDeuteronomy 6:11;Nehemiah 9:25; —
hew out, (dig), wine-vatIsaiah 5:2; sepulchre ()Isaiah 22:16 (twice in verse); cisternsDeuteronomy 6:11 (twice in verse); 2Chronicles 26:10;Nehemiah 9:25, compareJeremiah 2:13; of miningDeuteronomy 8:9out of its mountains thou mayst hew out copper.
hew stone1 Chronicles 22:2; metaphor of pillarsProverbs 9:1 (subject wisdom); elsewhere participle,hewer of stone2 Kings 12:13;1 Chronicles 22:2,15 (see SI4.6above); probably1 Kings 5:29; 2Chron 2:1; 2 Chronicles 2:17 ( see Be), compare 2 Chronicles 24:12;Ezra 3:7.
apparentlyhew woodIsaiah 10:15 (i.e. ).
.hew in piecesHosea 6:5 figurative of attacking people by agency of prophets ("" );divide, cleave subject s voicePsalm 29:7 object , i.e. the thunder of his voice sends forked lightnings (but on text compare Che and critical note)
Imperfectbe cut, hewn, graven (words on rock)Job 19:24.
PerfectIsaiah 51:1 figurative,hewn out of rock (of Israel's origin; "" ).
ParticipleIsaiah 51:9hew in pieces = , figurative of destroying = Egypt (comparePsalm 89:11).
Topical Lexicon
Literal Stonecutting and Constructionחָצַב most frequently describes the skilled labor of quarrying and shaping stone for building projects. Huge labor forces of “stonecutters” were conscripted by Kings Solomon, Joash, and Uzziah (1 Kings 5:15;2 Kings 12:12;2 Chronicles 26:10), and by David for materials his son would need (1 Chronicles 22:2,1 Chronicles 22:15). Their craftsmanship supplied “great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house” (Ezra 3:7). The term therefore evokes durability and careful preparation—a fitting image for that which is intended to stand before the Lord for generations.
Provision of Resources in the Promised Land
חָצַב is used for wells, cisterns, and minerals that Israel “did not dig” but inherited by grace (Deuteronomy 6:11;Deuteronomy 8:9;Nehemiah 9:25). These verses frame physical resources as gifts from God and underscore His covenant faithfulness. The living God supplies what His people could never secure on their own, a truth that undergirds biblical teaching on stewardship.
Temple and Royal Building Projects
From the quarrying of foundation stones for the First Temple (2 Chronicles 2:2,2 Chronicles 2:18) to Joash’s repairs (2 Chronicles 24:12), חָצַב highlights human cooperation in sacred work. Although human hands hew the stones, the ultimate architect is God, who fills the house with His glory. The motif anticipates New Testament teaching that believers are “living stones” being built into a spiritual house.
Agricultural Water Management
Uzziah “dug many cisterns” because he had much livestock (2 Chronicles 26:10). Jeremiah rebukes Judah for rejecting “the spring of living water” and “digging their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water” (Jeremiah 2:13). The same act of chiseling can either sustain life when done in dependence on God or become an image of futile self-reliance when done without Him.
Wisdom and House-Building
“Wisdom has built her house; she has carved out its seven pillars” (Proverbs 9:1). The verb lends architectural solidity to Wisdom’s invitation: her house is not a flimsy shelter but a hewn structure with perfect completeness (“seven pillars”). Those who enter heed divine counsel and find long-lasting security.
Prophetic Judgment Imagery
חָצַב supplies forceful metaphors of divine judgment: “Therefore I cut them to pieces by the prophets” (Hosea 6:5). Isaiah pictures the LORD “hewing” a winepress in His vineyard (Isaiah 5:2) and “cutting Rahab to pieces” (Isaiah 51:9). Such language affirms God’s active role in history—He chisels nations just as surely as stonemasons carve rock.
Human Pride Carved in Rock
Shebna’s self-aggrandizing tomb—“cutting a resting place for yourself in the rock” (Isaiah 22:16)—stands as a warning against prideful self-promotion. What man engraves for his own glory, God can overturn (Isaiah 22:17-18). The permanence of carved stone cannot secure the self-exalting heart.
Identity and Covenant Memory
“Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn” (Isaiah 51:1) calls Israel to remember Abraham and Sarah and to trace their spiritual lineage to divine initiative. Identity is not self-made but God-hewn; therefore, covenant faithfulness rests on remembering the quarrying grace of God.
Divine Voice and Elemental Power
“The voice of the LORD strikes with flames of fire” (Psalm 29:7). The Hebrew pictures the Lord’s voice “cutting out” flames—an image of irresistible creative and destructive power. Job longs for words “engraved in the rock forever” (Job 19:24), recognizing that what is hewn endures; by contrast, human suffering is transient before the eternal decree.
Christological and Ministry Implications
The repeated association of hewn stone with temple worship points forward to the Cornerstone, Jesus Christ, by whom and in whom God is building a house of living stones (1 Peter 2:4-6). Ministry that shapes believers must be fashioned with the precision and reverence reflected in חָצַב—patient, purposeful, and aligned with the Master Builder. As the prophets wielded God’s word to “cut,” so faithful proclamation today must expose sin, carve out repentance, and construct lives on the solid foundation of Scripture.
Forms and Transliterations
הַחֹצֵ֣ב הַמַּחְצֶ֥בֶת החצב המחצבת וַיַּחְצֹב֙ וּלְחֹצְבֵ֣י ויחצב ולחצבי חֲצוּבִ֜ים חֲצוּבִים֙ חָצְבָ֖ה חָצֵ֣ב חָצַ֔בְתָּ חָצַ֙בְתִּי֙ חָצַ֧בְתָּ חֹֽצְבִ֗ים חֹצְבִ֕ים חֹצְבִ֣ים חֹצְבִ֤י חֹצֵ֗ב חֹצֵ֣ב חֹצֵ֥ב חֻצַּבְתֶּ֔ם חצב חצבה חצבי חצבים חצבת חצבתי חצבתם חצובים יֵחָצְבֽוּן׃ יחצבון׃ לַחְצֹ֤ב לַחְצוֹב֙ לַחֹצְבִ֖ים לחצב לחצבים לחצוב תַּחְצֹ֥ב תחצב chaTzavta chaTzavti chaTzev chatzeVah chatzuVim choTzev chotzeVi chotzeVim chutztzavTem ha·ḥō·ṣêḇ ḥā·ṣaḇ·tā ḥā·ṣaḇ·tî ḥā·ṣə·ḇāh ḥā·ṣêḇ ḥă·ṣū·ḇîm hachoTzev haḥōṣêḇ ham·maḥ·ṣe·ḇeṯ hammachTzevet hammaḥṣeḇeṯ ḥāṣaḇtā ḥāṣaḇtî ḥāṣêḇ ḥāṣəḇāh ḥăṣūḇîm ḥō·ṣə·ḇî ḥō·ṣə·ḇîm ḥō·ṣêḇ ḥōṣêḇ ḥōṣəḇî ḥōṣəḇîm ḥuṣ·ṣaḇ·tem ḥuṣṣaḇtem la·ḥō·ṣə·ḇîm lachotzeVim lachTzo lachtzOv laḥ·ṣō·wḇ laḥ·ṣōḇ laḥōṣəḇîm laḥṣōḇ laḥṣōwḇ tachTzo taḥ·ṣōḇ taḥṣōḇ ū·lə·ḥō·ṣə·ḇê ulechotzeVei ūləḥōṣəḇê vaiyachTzo way·yaḥ·ṣōḇ wayyaḥṣōḇ yê·ḥā·ṣə·ḇūn yechatzeVun yêḥāṣəḇūn
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