חוּץ H2351
The outside, the area beyond a building, camp, or city; in the plural, streets or public squares; rarely, open countryside.
A spatial noun that organizes Hebrew geography around the boundary between inside and outside. In its singular form with prepositions, chuts functions almost as an adverb — 'outside the camp' (Deut 23:13), 'outside the city' (Gen 19:16) — defining space relative to whatever enclosure is in view. But in the plural (chutsot), it specializes into 'streets' or 'broad places' within a town, the public zones where life unfolds: children play (Zech 8:5), merchants trade, and mourning spills into the open (2 Sam 1:20). Spanish neatly tracks the split, using 'afuera/fuera' for the generic outside and 'calles' for the urban plural. French 'dehors' covers both with characteristic economy. Proverbs personifies Wisdom crying out 'in the streets' (bachutsot, Prov 1:20), transforming this humble spatial term into a stage for divine revelation.
Senses
1. outside, exterior space — The outside, exterior space — the area beyond the walls, door, or boundary of a building, camp, or city. Used with prepositions (min-chuts, 'from outside'; el-chuts, 'to outside'; ba-chuts, 'on the outside') to express location or direction relative to an enclosure. Noah sends the raven 'outside' the ark (Gen 8:7 context); lepers are put 'outside the camp' (Lev 13:46); blood is poured 'outside' the sanctuary. Spanish 'afuera de' and 'fuera de,' French 'dehors' and 'a l'exterieur,' and German 'ausserhalb' all consistently render this fundamental spatial meaning across 119 occurrences. 119×
AR["خارِجَ","خَارِجَ","خَارِجِ"]·ben["-বাইরে","বাইরে","বাহিরে"]·DE["ausserhalb","außerhalb","von-ausserhalb"]·EN["from-outside","outside"]·FR["de-à-l'extérieur","dehors","à-l'extérieur"]·heb["מ-חוץ"]·HI["अशुद्ध","उसका निवास","नगर","बहर","बाहर"]·ID["di luar","di-luar","luar"]·IT["da-fuori","fuori"]·jav["ing-jawi","ing-njawi","jawi","saking-jawi","wonten-ing-jawi","wonten-ing-njawi","wonten-njawi"]·KO["바깥-에","바깥에","바깥으로","밖-에","밖에","밖에서","밖으로","에서-밖"]·PT["de-fora","fora-de"]·RU["вне","внешней-стороне","снаружи"]·ES["afuera-de","fuera","fuera-de"]·SW["kutoka","nje","nje-ya","nje-ya-"]·TR["dısında","dışarı","dışarıda","dışına","dışında"]·urd["باہر"]
Gen 9:22, Gen 19:16, Gen 24:11, Gen 24:31, Exod 21:19, Exod 26:35, Exod 27:21, Exod 29:14, Exod 33:7, Exod 33:7, Exod 40:22, Lev 6:11 (+38 more)
2. street, broad place — Streets, broad places, public squares — the plural form (chutsot) denoting open thoroughfares within a settled area where communal life takes place. David's lament forbids announcing Saul's death 'in the streets of Ashkelon' (2 Sam 1:20); Wisdom cries 'in the streets' (Prov 1:20); children play 'in the streets of Jerusalem' (Zech 8:5). Spanish shifts decisively to 'calles' ('streets') and 'plazas,' marking a clear lexical distinction from the generic 'outside' sense. The 42 occurrences cluster in prophetic and wisdom literature. 42×
AR["الأَزِقَّةِ","الشَّوَارِعِ","الْأَزِقَّةِ","في-الشَّوارِعِ","فِي-أَزِقَّةِ","فِي-الشَّوَارِعِ","وَ-فِي-شَوَارِعِ"]·ben["-রাস্তায়","এবং-রাস্তাগুলিতে","গলির","রাস্তায়","রাস্তার"]·DE["Aussen","der-streets","draussen","streets","und-draussen"]·EN["and-in-the-streets-of","in-streets-of","in-the-streets","street","streets","the-streets"]·FR["dehors","et-dehors","streets"]·heb["ב-חוצות","ו-ב-חוצות","חוצות"]·HI["और-में-गलियों","गलियों-का","गलियों-की","गलियों-के","गलियों-में","में-गलियों"]·ID["Di-jalan-jalan","dan-di-jalan-jalan","di-jalan-jalan","jalan","jalan-jalan","jalanan","persimpangan-jalan;"]·IT["e-fuori","fuori","strade"]·jav["Ing-lurung-lurung","dalan","ing-lurung-lurung","ing-margi-margi","lan-wonten-ing-margi-margi","lurung","lurung-lurung","margi"]·KO["거리들","거리들-에서","거리들-의","거리들의","거리의","그-거리들에서","그리고-에-거리들","길들의","에서-거리들"]·PT["as-ruas","das-ruas","e-nas-ruas-de","nas-ruas","nas-ruas-de","ruas"]·RU["и-на-улицах","на-улицах","по-улицам","улиц"]·ES["En-las-calles","calles","de-las-calles","en-calles-de","en-las-calles","las-calles","por-las-calles","y-en-las-calles-de"]·SW["Barabarani","barabara","barabarani","katika-mitaa-ya","la-mitaani","mitaa","mitaani","na-katika-mitaa-ya"]·TR["Sokaklarda-o","sokaklar","sokaklara","sokaklarda","sokaklarda-","sokaklarin","sokakların","sokakların-","sokakların-o","sokaklarının","ve-sokaklarda"]·urd["اور-گلیوں-میں-کے","سڑکوں-کے","گلی-کے","گلیوں-میں","گلیوں-کی","گلیوں-کے"]
2 Sam 1:20, 2 Sam 22:43, 1 Kgs 20:34, Ps 18:42, Ps 144:13, Isa 5:25, Isa 10:6, Isa 15:3, Isa 24:11, Isa 51:20, Isa 51:23, Jer 5:1 (+30 more)
3. open field, countryside — Open field, countryside — the space beyond any settlement, the rural expanse as opposed to the inhabited zone. Job 5:10 speaks of God sending waters 'upon the open fields' (chutsot), and Proverbs 8:26 references God creating before 'the open places' of the earth existed. This sense extends the inside/outside boundary from the building or camp to the city itself: what lies beyond the town is the open, unsettled terrain. Spanish 'campos' ('fields') and the rarity of only 2 occurrences suggest this is an archaic or literary extension. 2×
AR["الحُقولِ","وَ-بَرَارِيَ"]·ben["এবং-মাঠ","রাস্তাগুলির"]·DE["Aussen","und-Aussen"]·EN["and-the-fields","the-open-places"]·FR["dehors","et-dehors"]·heb["ו-חוצות","חוצות"]·HI["और-खुले-मैदान","बाहर-के"]·ID["dan-ladang-ladang","ladang-ladang"]·IT["e-strada","strada"]·jav["ara-ara","lan-ara-ara"]·KO["거리들의","그리고-들-을"]·PT["e-campos","ruas"]·RU["и-пространства,","полей"]·ES["campos","y-campos"]·SW["mashamba","na-mashamba"]·TR["tarlaların","ve-alanları"]·urd["اور-کھلے-میدان","کھیتوں"]
4. sense 4 — Apart from, aside from — an apparent adverbial or prepositional use meaning 'outside of' in the sense of 'besides, except for.' Ecclesiastes 2:25 asks 'who can eat or who can have enjoyment apart from him (chuts mimmeni)?' Spanish 'fuera de' preserves the spatial metaphor — to be 'outside' someone's provision is to lack it entirely. This single occurrence may represent a semantic bleaching of the spatial noun into a logical preposition, paralleling how English 'outside of' can mean 'other than.' 1×
AR["بِدُونِي"]·ben["বাইরে"]·DE["Aussen"]·EN["apart-from"]·FR["dehors"]·heb["חוץ"]·HI["बाहर"]·ID["terpisah"]·IT["strada"]·jav["kejawi"]·KO["외에"]·PT["afora"]·RU["кроме"]·ES["fuera-de"]·SW["nje"]·TR["disinda"]·urd["باہر"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H0776 1. land, country, territory (2323×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
חוּץ n.[m.] the outside, sometimes, especially in pl., spec. a street, never with sf. in sg., with ָה loc. ח֫וּצָה, חֻ֫צָה, pl. חוּצוֹת, חֻצוֹת, with sf. חוּצֹתָיו etc., Is 15:3 etc.;— 1. the outside, of a house, tent, city, camp, etc., often used, especially with preps., to express the adv. idea of outside, abroad (Aramaic syn., except in sense 2 a, is בַּר, ܒܰܪ): a. as accus. after vb. of…