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Bible Dictionaries
Pit
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or PIT . Of the dozen Heb. words, besides two Gr. words in NT, rendered ‘pit’ in EV [Note: English Version.] , the following are the most important.
1 . The term bôr is responsible for nearly half of all the OT occurrences. It is the usual word for the cistern with which almost every house in the towns was supplied (see Cistern). Disused cisterns in town and country are the ‘pits’ mentioned in Genesis 37:20 ff. (that into which Joseph was cast [cf. art. Prison]), 1 Samuel 13:6 (RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘cisterns’ etc.). In some passages, indeed, the context shows that ‘cistern,’ not ‘pit,’ is the proper rendering, as in Leviticus 11:36 , Exodus 21:33 f. with reference to an uncovered and unprotected cistern; cf. Luke 14:5 , RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘well’ for AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘pit.’ The systematic exploration of Palestine has brought to light many series of underground caves which were used at various periods as dwelling-places (cf. 1 Samuel 13:6 ); hence by a natural figure, ‘pit’ became a synonym of Sheol , the under world ( Isaiah 14:15 , Psalms 28:1 , Proverbs 1:12 , and oft.; cf. Revelation 9:1 ff. and Sheol).
2. A second word rendered ‘pit’ ( shachath ) seems to have denoted originally a pit in which, after concealing the mouth by a covering of twigs and earth, hunters trapped their game ( Ezekiel 19:4; Ezekiel 19:8 ). Like the preceding, it is frequently used in a figurative sense of the under world; so five times in Job 33:1-33 (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ).
3 . A hunter’s pit, denoted by pachath , also supplied the figure of Isaiah 24:17 f. and its parallels Jeremiah 48:43 f. and Lamentations 3:47 RV [Note: Revised Version.] note the association with ‘snare.’ Such a pit served as a place of concealment ( 2 Samuel 17:9 ) and of burial ( 2 Samuel 18:17 ).
4. In Mark 12:1 RV [Note: Revised Version.] rightly recognizes ‘a pit for the winepress,’ where the reference is to what the Mishna calls ‘a cement-vat,’ i.e. a pit dug in the soil for a wine-vat (cf. Matthew 25:18 , where the same expression ‘digged’ is used), as contrasted with the usual rock-hewn vats (see Wine and Strong Drink, § 2 ).
A. R. S. Kennedy.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Pit'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/p/pit.html. 1909.
