H4274 H4274
hewing, cutting; hewn or quarried stone
A noun denoting hewing or cutting, specifically used for hewn or quarried stones prepared for construction. It appears only in the phrase 'hewn stones' (literally 'stones of hewing') in contexts of temple repair. Both 2 Kings passages (12:12, 22:6) and the Chronicles parallel (34:11) mention purchasing hewn stones along with timber for repairing the temple. The term emphasizes deliberately cut and shaped stones as opposed to rough fieldstones, indicating quality construction.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Multilingual glosses identify quarried or cut stone: Spanish 'cantera' (quarry), English 'hewn, quarried.' Second Kings 12:12 and 22:6 record the purchase of hewn stones for Joash's and Josiah's temple repairs respectively, paired with timber in both accounts. Second Chronicles 34:11 parallels the Josiah account. The consistent pairing with timber shows these were major building materials. The hewn stones represent intentional preparation and quality—not random stones but carefully cut blocks for sacred architecture. 3×
AR["مَنْحُوتَةً", "مَنْحُوتَةٍ", "نَحْتٍ"]·ben["কাটা", "খনির"]·DE["[מחצב]", "hewn"]·EN["hewn", "quarried"]·FR["[מחצב]", "taillé"]·heb["מחצב"]·HI["कटे-हुए", "तराशे-हुए", "मखत्सेव-के"]·ID["pahatan"]·IT["[מחצב]", "tagliato"]·jav["pahat", "séla-tatahan"]·KO["다듬은", "떠진", "채석장의"]·PT["cantaria"]·RU["тёсаные", "тёсаных"]·ES["cantera"]·SW["kuchonga", "machtseb", "yaliyochongwa"]·TR["kesilmiş", "yontulmuş"]·urd["تراشے-ہوئے", "کٹے-ہوئے"]
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H6083 1. dust, dry earth, soil (108×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G5457 1. light (illumination) (71×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H4306 1. rain, showers (38×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† מַחְצֵב n.[m.] hewing, always אַבְנֵי מ׳ = hewn stones 2 K 12:13; 22:6 = 2 Ch 34:11 (in all ‖ עֵצִים).