The Hebrew chatsab means to hew, to cut, or to quarry — specifically the shaping of stone, wood, or cisterns by cutting. It describes the skilled labor of carving materials from their raw state into useful forms.
Chatsab is used for the quarrying of stone for the temple (1 Kings 5:15), the cutting of cisterns (Deuteronomy 6:11), and prophetically in Isaiah 51:1 — 'Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn' — a call to remember one's origins in Abraham and God's covenant faithfulness. Most powerfully, Wisdom herself 'hews out her seven pillars' (Proverbs 9:1) — God's wisdom carves the structures of understanding. The word connects human labor with divine craftsmanship, reminding us that God shapes His people as a skilled craftsman shapes stone.