Hebrew word · H2698

חֲצֵרוֹת

chatzerot

Hazeroth

Plural of chatser (H2691): an enclosed court (such as the tabernacle or temple courtyard), or an unwalled settlement or pastoral camp, often stone-ringed pens and huts used by semi-nomads (Gen 25:16; Lev 25:31; Josh 13:23). As a place name it means roughly "Enclosures" or "Encampments".

Appears 6 times in 5 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

§ Hazeroth = "settlement"

an Israelite camp in the wilderness

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 Numbers 11:35

Range of meaning

Plural of chatser (H2691): an enclosed court (such as the tabernacle or temple courtyard), or an unwalled settlement or pastoral camp, often stone-ringed pens and huts used by semi-nomads (Gen 25:16; Lev 25:31; Josh 13:23). As a place name it means roughly "Enclosures" or "Encampments".

Against the English

English versions transliterate it as "Hazeroth", which is correct for a name. But readers lose the fact that it named a kind of place: a settled spot with pens or enclosures, perhaps with water. That fits a halt long enough for the events of ch. 12.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hazeroth appears in Num 12:16, 33:17–18 and Deut 1:1. Many place names are built on chatser, such as Hazar-addar and Hazar-enan (Num 34:4, 9). Since 19th-century explorers, 'Ain Khadra in eastern Sinai has often been proposed because the name sounds similar, but this is not certain.

Similar words

Where it appears

Numbers · 5

  1. Numbers 11:35 חֲצֵר֑וֹת בַּחֲצֵרֽוֹת׃ פ Hazeroth, at Hazeroth

    From Kibroth-hattaavah the people moved on to Hazeroth, where they remained for some time.

    Here: A place name meaning "enclosures" or "settlements", the plural of chatser, a courtyard or unwalled pastoral encampment. It stands without a preposition, and Hebrew grammar lets the bare noun mean "to Hazeroth".

  2. Numbers 12:16 מֵחֲצֵר֑וֹת from Hazeroth

    After that, the people set out from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran.

  3. Numbers 33:17 בַּחֲצֵרֹֽת׃ at Hazeroth

    They set out from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

  4. Numbers 33:18 מֵחֲצֵרֹ֑ת from Hazeroth

    They set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

Deuteronomy · 1

  1. Deuteronomy 1:1 וַחֲצֵרֹ֖ת and Hazeroth

    These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—in the Arabah opposite Suph—between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

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