מַחְצֵב
𐤌𐤇𐤑𐤁
machtsêb
H4274 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A place or site where stone is hewn out of rock; specifically, a quarry. It can also refer to an excavation or hewed stones, especially as a source of building material. In extended usage, the focus is on the act and results of hewing or cutting rock.
Semantic Range
quarry, stone quarry, hewing site, hewed stone, place of excavation
Root / Etymology
From the root חצב (ḥ-ts-b), which broadly means 'to hew, cut, quarry (esp. stone)'. מַחְצֵב is a nominal form indicating a place or product of quarrying—literally, 'a place of (stone) hewing,' i.e., a quarry or extracted stone.
Historical & Contextual Notes
The term מַחְצֵב appears in later biblical texts (e.g., 1 Kings 6:7) regarding the preparation of building materials for monumental construction, such as the First Temple, where quarried stone was dressed off-site. During the monarchic period, the development of stone architecture increased relevance and specificity of terms for quarrying and hewing. מַחְצֵב is less frequent than related terms like גֶּבֶן (rock, stone) or סֶלַע (cliff, crag), as it refers not to the rock itself but to its extraction site. English translations often render it as 'quarry,' which adequately conveys the primary sense, though the Hebrew term may sometimes include reference to hewed material rather than the site alone. In modern Hebrew, the word retains the meaning 'quarry.'
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from חָצַב; properly, a hewing; concretely, a quarry; hewed(-n).
Bantu Hebrew
No Bantu Hebrew comparisons have been submitted for this word yet.
+ Add Bantu Hebrew WordRoot Family
חצב (ḥ-ṣ-b) — hew, cut (stone), carve
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| H2672 | חָצַב | you hewed |
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4274-01 |
מַחְצֵ֔ב | machetsev | HNcmsa |
hewn | stone-hewing site | 3 |
Occurrences in Scripture
3 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H4274-01 |
2 Kings 12:13 | מַחְצֵ֔ב | machetsev | HNcmsa |
hewn | stone-hewing site |
H4274-01 |
2 Kings 22:6 | מַחְצֵ֔ב | machetsev | HNcmsa |
quarried | stone-hewing site |
H4274-01 |
2 Chronicles 34:11 | מַחְצֵ֔ב | machetsev | HNcmsa |
hewn | stone-hewing site |