H2351 — חוּץ (chuwts)¶
Core Data¶
- Strong's: H2351
- Original: חוּץ
- Transliteration: chuwts
- Pronunciation: khoots
- Part of Speech: Masculine noun
- Root: From an unused root meaning to sever; properly, separate by a wall
- Occurrences: 158 unique verses (167 tokens) across 29 books
- First Occurrence: Gen 6:14 — "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch."
- Hapax Legomenon: No
Lexicon Definition¶
Or (shortened) חֻץ chuts; (both forms feminine in the plural) from an unused root meaning to sever; properly, separate by a wall, i.e. outside, outdoors:—abroad, field, forth, highway, more, out(-side, -ward), street, without.
Translation Distribution (KJV)¶
| Translation | Verses | % |
|---|---|---|
| without | 60 | 38.0% |
| abroad | 19 | 12.0% |
| out | 15 | 9.5% |
| in the streets | 10 | 6.3% |
| and in the streets | 7 | 4.4% |
| of the streets | 6 | 3.8% |
| and without | 5 | 3.2% |
| street | 3 | 1.9% |
| forth | 2 | 1.3% |
| from without | 2 | 1.3% |
| in the street | 2 | 1.3% |
| on the outside | 2 | 1.3% |
| out from | 2 | 1.3% |
| the streets | 2 | 1.3% |
| Other (19 renderings, 1x each) | 19 | 12.0% |
The two dominant senses visible in translation are (1) spatial "outside/without" (38%) and (2) "streets" used collectively (total ~22% combining all street-related translations).
Distribution by Book¶
| Book | Count | Per 100 Verses |
|---|---|---|
| Lamentations | 7 | 4.5 |
| Nahum | 2 | 4.3 |
| Leviticus | 20 | 2.3 |
| Zephaniah | 1 | 1.9 |
| Ezekiel | 17 | 1.3 |
| Jeremiah | 16 | 1.2 |
| Numbers | 13 | 1.0 |
| Micah | 1 | 1.0 |
| Zechariah | 2 | 0.9 |
| Genesis | 12 | 0.8 |
| Exodus | 9 | 0.7 |
| 2 Chronicles | 6 | 0.7 |
| Proverbs | 6 | 0.7 |
| Amos | 1 | 0.7 |
| 1 Kings | 5 | 0.6 |
| Deuteronomy | 6 | 0.6 |
| 2 Kings | 4 | 0.6 |
| Isaiah | 8 | 0.6 |
| 2 Samuel | 4 | 0.6 |
| Nehemiah | 2 | 0.5 |
| Hosea | 1 | 0.5 |
| Ecclesiastes | 1 | 0.5 |
| Ezra | 1 | 0.4 |
| Joshua | 2 | 0.3 |
| Judges | 2 | 0.3 |
| Job | 3 | 0.3 |
| Psalms | 4 | 0.2 |
| 1 Samuel | 1 | 0.1 |
| Song of Solomon | 1 | — |
Leviticus has the highest raw count (20) reflecting extensive cultic "without the camp" legislation. Lamentations has the highest density (4.5 per 100 verses), concentrated in the "streets" sense describing siege devastation. The Pentateuch collectively accounts for 60 of 158 verses (38%). Prophetic books (Isaiah through Malachi) account for 57 verses (36%), predominantly in the "streets" sense for urban destruction imagery.
Semantic Categories¶
1. Outside the Camp — Cultic Exclusion and Disposal¶
The most distinctive use: "without the camp" (michuts lamachaneh) designates the space outside the Israelite encampment for burning sin-offering remains, expelling the unclean, and executing offenders. - Lev 4:12 — "Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him" - Lev 4:21 — "And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation" - Num 5:3 — "Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps" - Lev 24:14 — "Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head"
2. Outside a City or Building — Spatial Boundary¶
General spatial "outside" relative to a city wall, gate, building, or defined interior. - Gen 24:11 — "And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water" - Gen 24:31 — "Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without?" - 2 Ki 23:6 — "And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem" - Ezek 40:5 — "And behold a wall on the outside of the house round about"
3. Streets of a City — Public Urban Space¶
Plural chutsoth functions as "streets" — the open passages and public areas of a city — distinct from H7339 rechob (broad plaza) and H7784 shuq (market lane). - Jer 5:1 — "Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now" - Lam 2:21 — "The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets" - Prov 1:20 — "Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets" - Nah 2:4 — "The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another"
4. Abroad / Out from a Place — Movement Outward¶
Denotes going out from an enclosed space, often with motion verbs (yatsa H3318). - Gen 15:5 — "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven" - Exo 12:46 — "thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house" - Deut 24:11 — "Thou shalt stand abroad, and the man to whom thou dost lend shall bring out the pledge abroad unto thee" - Psa 41:6 — "when he goeth abroad, he telleth it"
5. Inner/Outer Contrast — Architectural and Moral Pairing¶
Paired with "within" (bayith or pniymah) to describe spatial completeness or inner/outer duality. - Gen 6:14 — "shalt pitch it within and without with pitch" - Exo 25:11 — "within and without shalt thou overlay it" - Deut 32:25 — "The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin" - Ezek 7:15 — "The sword is without, and the pestilence and the famine within"
6. Open Fields / Outdoors — Unbuilt Space¶
Occasionally denotes open country, fields, or uncultivated land beyond settlement boundaries. - Prov 8:26 — "While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields" - Job 5:10 — "Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields" - Prov 24:27 — "Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field"
Common Collocations¶
| Word | Strong's | Co-occurrences | Typical Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| יָצָא (yatsa) | H3318 | 35x | "carry/bring forth without" — action of removal to the outside |
| מַחֲנֶה (machaneh) | H4264 | 29x | "without the camp" — cultic exclusion formula |
| עִיר (iyr) | H5892 | 27x | "without the city" / "in the streets of the city" |
| בַּיִת (bayith) | H1004 | 25x | "within and without" / "outside the house" |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַם (Yerushalaim) | H3389 | 15x | "in the streets of Jerusalem" — prophetic judgment formula |
| בּוֹא (bo) | H935 | 14x | "come/go without" — movement to exterior |
| אֶרֶץ (erets) | H776 | 12x | "fields / upon the earth" — open country sense |
| אִישׁ (iysh) | H376 | 16x | A man standing or found "without" |
Related Words¶
Synonyms¶
- רְחֹב (rechob) H7339 — broad open plaza within a city; overlaps with the "streets" sense of chuts but denotes a specific wide area, not general outside
- שָׂדֶה (sadeh) H7704 — field, open country; overlaps with the "outdoors/fields" sense of chuts
Cognate / Derived¶
- חִיצוֹן (chiytsown) H2435 — outer, external (adjective derived from chuts); used for "outer court" of the temple, "outward" appearance
Easily Confused Words¶
| Word | Strong's | Shared Translation | Key Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| אַיִן (ayin) | H369 | "without" (33v) | ayin = absence/nonexistence ("without" = "lacking"); chuts = spatial exterior ("without" = "outside") |
| לֹא (lo) | H3808 | "without" (24v) | lo = simple negation; chuts = spatial "outside of" |
| בְּלִי (beliy) | H1097 | "without" (17v) | beliy = privative "without/not" indicating lack; chuts = locative "outside" |
| ἔξω (exo) | G1854 | "without" / "out" (NT) | Greek spatial equivalent used in NT; direct LXX translation of chuts |
| רְחֹב (rechob) | H7339 | "streets" (7v), "in the street" (6v) | rechob = broad plaza/square; chuts = general exterior or street passages |
| שׁוּק (shuq) | H7784 | "streets" (2v) | shuq = specific market lane; chuts = broader "outside" or collective streets |
LXX Mapping¶
| Greek Equivalent | Strong's | Co-occurrences | PMI Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἔξω (exo) | G1854 | 65 | 28.55 |
| ἔξωθεν (exothen) | G1855 | 33 | 25.02 |
| ἔξοδος (exodos) | G1841 | 14 | 14.49 |
| πλατύς (platys) | G4116 | 13 | 14.29 |
| ἔσωθεν (esothen) | G2081 | 8 | 12.83 |
| παρεμβολή (parembole) | G3925 | 19 | 12.05 |
The primary LXX rendering is ἔξω (exo, G1854), used 65 times — a direct spatial equivalent meaning "outside, out of doors." For the "camp" collocations, LXX uses παρεμβολή (parembole) for machaneh, preserving the "without the camp" formula that Heb 13:11-13 echoes.
Semantic Domains¶
- Spatial Referents (SDBH 003002005)
- Roads (SDBH 001002009007)
- Connection (SDBH 002003)
- Land (SDBH 001002001)
Generated from: gather_word_data.py, search_relationships.py Last updated: 2026-05-03