Hebrew word · H7095

קֶ֫צֶב

ketzev

shape

Shape, form, outline, the 'cut' of a thing. The noun appears only here and in 1 Kgs 7:37 (the bronze stands: 'one casting, one measure, one shape'). The related verb qatsav means 'to cut off' (a stick, 2 Kgs 6:6) or 'to shear' (sheep, Song 4:2). A related plural noun appears in Jonah 2:6 (Heb.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) cut, shape, extremity, form, base

1a) cut, shape

1b) extremity

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 1 Kings 6:25

Range of meaning

Shape, form, outline, the 'cut' of a thing. The noun appears only here and in 1 Kgs 7:37 (the bronze stands: 'one casting, one measure, one shape'). The related verb qatsav means 'to cut off' (a stick, 2 Kgs 6:6) or 'to shear' (sheep, Song 4:2). A related plural noun appears in Jonah 2:6 (Heb. 2:7), 'the bases/extremities (qitsvei) of the mountains', which suggests the outer limits or cut edges of something.

Against the English

KJV 'size' blurs the distinction, because middah already covers size. BSB 'shape', WEB/YLT 'form' and similar renderings keep the contrast: middah is how big, qetsev is what outline.

Used elsewhere in the period

Its only other biblical use is the parallel craftsmanship formula in 1 Kgs 7:37. That suggests it was a technical term from the workshop for a pattern or template.

From the study of Jonah 2:6

Range of meaning

A rare noun from the root qṣb, 'to cut off, shear'. It occurs only three times. In 1 Kings 6:25 and 7:37 it means the 'cut' or 'shape' of the temple cherubim and stands, which were cast in one mould. In Jonah 2:6 it means the cut-off end, the extremity or base, of the mountains. HALOT lists this as a separate sense: 'extremity, base'.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'bottoms' and BSB/NIV 'roots' both convey the lowest point of the mountains. YLT's 'cuttings' keeps the root meaning but makes no sense in English. 'Roots' fits the picture well, since Job 28:9 speaks of the 'root' (šōreš) of mountains in the same way.

Used elsewhere in the period

Other Hebrew texts place the foundations of the mountains deep below: Deut 32:22 ('sets on fire the foundations of the mountains'), Ps 18:7 [8] and Ps 18:15 [16] (the 'channels of the sea' and 'foundations of the world' laid bare). The Greek version renders the phrase 'into the clefts of the mountains' (schismas orōn), which probably also reads the word as 'cut'.

Where it appears

1 Kings · 2

  1. 1 Kings 6:25 וְקֶ֥צֶב and a shape

    The second cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same size and shape,

    Here: A rare word from a root meaning 'to cut off' or 'to shear'. It means the cut or outline of a thing, its shape as a carver would make it. Both figures were cut to the same pattern.

  2. 1 Kings 7:37 קֶ֥צֶב a shape

    In this way he made the ten stands, each with the same casting, dimensions, and shape.

Jonah · 1

  1. Jonah 2:6 לְקִצְבֵ֤י to extremities of

    To the roots of the mountains I descended; the earth beneath me barred me in forever! But You raised my life from the pit, O LORD my God!

    Here: 'To the cut-off ends / bases of'. The word comes from a root meaning 'to cut off'. Here it means the very bottom where the mountains end, their roots sunk into the deep. Jonah has reached the lowest point of the world.

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