Hebrew word · H2404

חָטַב

lachto

to chop

'Choppers of wood and drawers of water' is a fixed pair naming the lowest, most basic labor: firewood and water, the two things every household, camp and sanctuary needs every day. ḥāṭab means to cut or gather wood. šāʾab means to draw water from a well or spring.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) to cut, gather

1a) (Qal) to cut, gather (wood)

1b) (Pual) to cut, carve

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Joshua 9:21

Range of meaning

'Choppers of wood and drawers of water' is a fixed pair naming the lowest, most basic labor: firewood and water, the two things every household, camp and sanctuary needs every day. ḥāṭab means to cut or gather wood. šāʾab means to draw water from a well or spring.

Against the English

KJV's 'hewers of wood and drawers of water' became an English proverb for menial laborers. Modern versions have 'woodcutters and water carriers'. Both are accurate. What the English misses is that the phrase already had a set place in Israel's covenant language.

Used elsewhere in the period

Deuteronomy 29:11 (Hebrew 29:10) lists 'the sojourner in your camp, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water' among those standing in covenant before YHWH. In that verse the phrase describes resident foreigners who are humble but included. Joshua 9:23 and 9:27 repeat the phrase but direct the labor to 'the house of my God' and 'the altar of YHWH'. Drawing water was proverbially work for women and servants (Genesis 24:11; 1 Samuel 9:11).

From the study of 2 Chronicles 2:10

Range of meaning

People who chop or split wood (Deuteronomy 29:11; Joshua 9:21–27) or who hew stone (Isaiah 10:15 uses a related form for an axe-wielder). The phrase 'hewers of wood and drawers of water' was proverbial for the lowest rank of labor.

Against the English

KJV has 'hewers'. BSB folds the two Hebrew terms into a single 'woodcutters'. WEB and YLT keep both ('cutters who cut', 'hewers… those cutting'). In Hebrew the doubling is deliberate.

Used elsewhere in the period

Joshua 9:21–27 (Gibeonites as wood-hewers for the sanctuary); Deuteronomy 29:11; Jeremiah 46:22.

From the study of Jeremiah 46:22

Range of meaning

'Hewers of wood' or 'woodcutters': the people who fell and split timber. In Israel this was proverbially the lowest kind of work, paired with 'drawers of water'.

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'hewers of wood/trees' and BSB/WEB 'woodsmen/wood cutters'. BSB's 'woodsmen' loses some of the sense of low-status labor that the Hebrew phrase carried.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Josh 9:21–27 the Gibeonites are made 'cutters of wood and drawers of water', and Deut 29:11 lists them as the lowest members of the community. Mesopotamian kings boasted of felling the cedars of Lebanon. Nebuchadnezzar's own Wadi Brisa inscription records it, and Isa 14:8 and 37:24 echo these boasts.

Where it appears

Deuteronomy · 2

  1. Deuteronomy 19:5 לַחְטֹ֣ב to cut

    If he goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut timber and swings his axe to chop down a tree, but the blade flies off the handle and strikes and kills his neighbor, he may flee to one of these cities to save his life.

  2. Deuteronomy 29:11 מֵחֹטֵ֣ב from [the] cutter of

    your children and wives, and the foreigners in your camps who cut your wood and draw your water—

Joshua · 3

  1. Joshua 9:21 חֹטְבֵ֨י cutters of

    They continued, “Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation.” So the leaders kept their promise.

    Here: A participle used as a job title: 'choppers of'. It means gathering and cutting firewood, which is heavy, endless and lowly work.

  2. Joshua 9:23 וְחֹטְבֵ֥י and cutters of

    Now therefore you are under a curse and will perpetually serve as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”

  3. Joshua 9:27 חֹטְבֵ֥י cutters of

    On that day he made them woodcutters and water carriers, as they are to this day for the congregation of the LORD and for the altar at the place He would choose.

2 Chronicles · 1

  1. 2 Chronicles 2:10 לַֽחֹטְבִ֣ים׀ to the wood-cutters

    I will pay your servants, the woodcutters, 20,000 cors of ground wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of olive oil.”

    Here: 'To the choppers': men who split and dress felled timber. This is the same word as the proverbial 'hewers of wood' (Joshua 9:21), hard manual work.

Psalms · 1

  1. Psalm 144:12 מְ֝חֻטָּב֗וֹת carved

    Then our sons will be like plants nurtured in their youth, our daughters like corner pillars carved to adorn a palace.

    Here: 'Carved / hewn.' Elsewhere the verb is used for cutting wood ('hewers of wood', Deut 29:11; Josh 9:21). Here: shaped and dressed by a craftsman. The ending is feminine plural, matching the daughters and the corners.

Jeremiah · 1

  1. Jeremiah 46:22 כְּחֹטְבֵ֖י like cutters of

    Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent, for the enemy will advance in force; with axes they will come against her like woodsmen cutting down trees.

    Here: 'Like cutters of'. The 'hewers of wood' were the lowest manual laborers (Josh 9:21–27; Deut 29:11). The conquering army treats mighty Egypt as a routine job of clearing timber.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 39:10 יַחְטְבוּ֙ they will cut [it]

    They will not gather wood from the countryside or cut it from the forests, for they will use the weapons for fuel. They will loot those who looted them and plunder those who plundered them, declares the Lord GOD.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.