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pits in the Bible

Hebrew: בּוֹר ——transliteration: bowr

This word has several meanings in Scripture.

  1. pit—a hole in the ground (Exodus 21:33-34)

  2. pit—a cistern for water (Gen. 37:24; Jer. 14:3)

    These were also sometimes used for other purposes.

    Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had cast all the corpses of the men whom he had struck down because of Gedaliah, it was the one that King Asa had made on account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. —Jeremiah 41:9 NASB

  3. pit—a grave

    O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. —Psalm 30:3 KJV

  4. Hebrew: שַׁחַת —transliteration: shachath —meaning: a pit

    It is used as a figure of speech for troublemaking.

    The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made… —Psalm 9:15 NASB

  5. Hebrew: בְּאֵר ——transliteration: beer —meaning: a pit or well

    tar pits / KJV: slime pits

    Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell into them… —Gen. 14:10 NASB

  6. The Bottomless Pit

    Greek: τοῦ φρέατος τῆς ἀβύσσου —transliteration: tou phreatos ēs abyssou —meaning: “the pit of the Abyss”

    This is the Abyss where Satan and his demons will be bound (Revelation 9:1-12).

    And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. —Rev. 20:1-3 KJV

    More information

    • Snares in the Bible
    • What is The Deep?
    • What is Abaddon?
    • What is Apollyon?
    • About Hell
    • What is the FINAL JUDGMENT? and WHAT do you need to know about it? Answer
    • What is ETERNAL LIFE? Answer
    • What is ETERNAL DEATH? Answer
    • HELL: Fact or Fiction—Is it an actual place? Answer
    • Why was Hell made? Answer
    • Is there anyone in Hell today? Answer
    • Will there literally be a burning fire in Hell? Answer
    • What should you be willing to do to stay out of Hell? Answer
    • How can a God of love send anybody to Hell? Answer
    • About God’s love and an answer to the questions: What is the true nature of God’s love? Is it biblically accurate to say, “God hates the SIN, but loves the SINNER”?
    • What if I don’t believe in Hell? Answer
    • THE GOOD NEWS—How to be saved from Hell. Answer
    • What is ETERNAL DEATH?
    • What is ETERNAL LIFE? and what does the Bible say about it?
Article Version: August 13, 2021