Lexical Summary
bowr: Pit, cistern, well, dungeon
Original Word:בּוֹר
Part of Speech:Noun Masculine
Transliteration:bowr
Pronunciation:bohr
Phonetic Spelling:(bore)
KJV: cistern, dungeon, fountain, pit, well
Word Origin:[fromH952 (בּוּר - explain) (in the sense ofH877 (בּוֹאר - cisterns))]
1. a pit hole (especially one used as a cistern or a prison)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
cistern, dungeon, fountain, pit, well
Frombuwr (in the sense ofbo'r); a pit hole (especially one used as a cistern or a prison) -- cistern, dungeon, fountain, pit, well.
see HEBREWbuwr
see HEBREWbo'r
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Genesis 37:20 (= , MI , Arabic
hole or
hollow for cooking, Assyrian
bûrtum Dl
Pr 182,
bûru Lotz
TP 169) — absolute
Genesis 37:22 +;
Exodus 21:33 (2 Samuel 23:20 Qr, see above); construct
2 Kings 10:14 + (2 Samuel 23:15,16 Qr, see above); ( locative)
Genesis 37:24; suffix
Isaiah 36:16 =
2 Kings 18:31;
Proverbs 5:15; plural
Genesis 37:20 3t.;
Deuteronomy 6:11: —
cistern, containing water, made by digging ()Deuteronomy 6:11; 2Chronicles 26:10;Nehemiah 9:25; also (without reference to origin)Proverbs 5:15 ("" )Leviticus 11:36 ("" ),1 Samuel 19:22;Isaiah 36:16 =2 Kings 18:31.
well (= )1 Chronicles 11:17,18 #NAME?2 Samuel 23:15,16 (yet now no well at Bethlehem RobBR i. 470, 473 compare also Surveyiii. 28 GuérinJudée i. 130), compareEcclesiastes 12:6 &Jeremiah 6:7 Ktas a well casteth out its water (Qr ); but perhapskeep cool, fresh Hi Gf.
pitExodus 21:33 (verb ),Exodus 21:33 (), compareExodus 21:34; compare figurativePsalm 7:16 of wickedness ("" ; verb , );1 Samuel 13:6 as hiding-place;2 Samuel 23:20 (Qr) =1 Chronicles 11:22;2 Kings 10:14 ; of pit into which Joseph was castGenesis 37:20,22,24 ()Genesis 37:28;Genesis 37:29;Genesis 37:29 (JE), compare furtherJeremiah 41:7,9; figurative of Sarah as mother of IsraelIsaiah 51:1; figurative of calamityPsalm 40:3 ; comparePsalm 88:7 .
dungeon (pit with no water in itJeremiah 38:6;Zechariah 9:11 compareGenesis 37:24 above)Genesis 40:13;Genesis 41:14 (E)Isaiah 24:22;Jeremiah 38:6 (twice in verse) ( )Jeremiah 38:7;Jeremiah 38:9;Jeremiah 38:10;Jeremiah 38:11;Jeremiah 38:13; alsoprisonExodus 12:29;Jeremiah 37:16; figurative of exileZechariah 9:11 (); compare alsoLamentations 3:53,55.
(in poetry & late; never with article)pit of the graveProverbs 28:17; sostones of the pitIsaiah 14:19 (of sepulchre, walled with stones) & ofSh®°ôlPsalm 30:4 ("" );loins of (the) pit, i.e. remotest pitIsaiah 14:15 ("" )Ezekiel 32:23 especially in phrasethose going down to (the) pitPsalm 28:1;Psalm 143:7;Isaiah 38:18;Ezekiel 26:20;Ezekiel 32:25,29,30; also, ("" ),Psalm 88:5;Proverbs 1:12; furtherEzekiel 26:20;Ezekiel 32:18,24 (all "" ),Ezekiel 31:14,16 (both "" ;Ezekiel 31:14 "" also ,Ezekiel 31:16 ).
2 Samuel 3:26 (cistern of Sirah, Thescist. declinationis, MVof the pot, see ).
(so read for ordinary , see BDGn, p. vi. )
1 Samuel 30:30 (smoking pit), in southwest of Judah; elsewhere q. v.
QrJeremiah 6:7 see . above
I. ,cistern, see below .
Topical Lexicon
OverviewThe Hebrew noun בּוֹר (bor, “pit” or “cistern”) threads through the Law, the Prophets, the Writings, and the Historical Books, appearing about sixty-seven times. In its literal sense it refers to cut-rock water reservoirs or earth pits; figuratively it ranges from a prison cell to the realm of death. Together these uses shape a rich biblical theology that links human vulnerability with God’s power to rescue.
Physical Pits and Cisterns
In the hill-country climate of ancient Israel, water storage was essential. Hewn cisterns collected runoff and could be plastered to hold winter rains (Deuteronomy 6:11;2 Chronicles 26:10). They were usually bottle-shaped—wide below, narrow at the opening—making escape difficult if one fell in.
• Domestic and agricultural provision: “houses full of every good thing… wells you did not dig” (Deuteronomy 6:11).
• Ceremonial cleanliness: “A spring or cistern containing water will remain clean” (Leviticus 11:36).
• Civic hazard: “If a man opens or digs a pit and an ox or a donkey falls into it…” (Exodus 21:33-34). These statutes reveal God’s concern for community safety and restitution.
Military and Hunting Contexts
Pits also served as traps. Benaiah “went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion” (2 Samuel 23:20), showing how courage and providence intersected in battle conditions and wild-animal control.
Judicial and Penal Dungeons
The narrowing throat of a cistern made it an improvised cell.
• Joseph: “They took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty; there was no water in it” (Genesis 37:24).
• Later, Joseph calls Egypt’s prison “the dungeon” (Genesis 40:15).
• Jeremiah: “They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern… and Jeremiah sank down into the mud” (Jeremiah 38:6).
Such scenes underline both human malice and God’s overruling care.
Metaphor for Moral Snares
Wisdom literature uses בּוֹר for hidden dangers:
• Sexual immorality: “The mouth of an adulteress is a deep pit” (Proverbs 22:14).
• Deceitful leadership: “He who leads the upright along an evil path will fall into his own pit” (Proverbs 28:10).
Symbol of Death and Sheol
Gradually בּוֹר becomes interchangeable with the grave and the underworld.
• “O LORD, You pulled me up from Sheol; You spared me from descending into the Pit” (Psalm 30:3).
• “You have laid me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths” (Psalm 88:6).
• Against Babylon’s king: “You will be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit” (Isaiah 14:15).
The pit conveys irretrievable loss unless God intervenes.
Divine Deliverance from the Pit
Praise often follows rescue: “He lifted me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock” (Psalm 40:2). The contrast—muddy cistern versus solid rock—portrays radical reversal by grace.
Prophetic and Messianic Resonance
Zechariah foretells covenantal liberation: “Because of the blood of My covenant, I will release your prisoners from the waterless pit” (Zechariah 9:11). The verse anticipates the Messiah’s atoning blood and the empty tomb that breaks confinement to death. Isaiah’s quarry image (“Look… to the quarry from which you were hewn,”Isaiah 51:1) connects the pit with Israel’s origins and the hope of future restoration.
Historical Background
Archaeology corroborates the ubiquity of plastered cisterns cut into bedrock throughout Judah and Samaria. Many later served as rubbish shafts or holding cells, explaining both the mud that trapped Jeremiah and the foul air that made such pits instruments of torture.
Occurrences Overview
Law: Exodus (2), Leviticus (1), Deuteronomy (1)
Historical Books: Genesis (5), Joshua (1), Judges (1), Samuel–Kings (7), Chronicles (1)
Poetry and Wisdom: Job (4), Psalms (16), Proverbs (4)
Major Prophets: Isaiah (6), Jeremiah (11), Lamentations (2), Ezekiel (5)
Minor Prophets: Zechariah (1)
The distribution shows intensified metaphorical use in exilic and post-exilic writings, where the hope of deliverance is paramount.
Practical and Ministry Applications
1. Pastoral care: The imagery of the pit comforts believers who feel trapped by sin, depression, or injustice; God specializes in lifting people “out of the miry clay.”
2. Evangelism:Zechariah 9:11 points to Christ’s blood as the definitive answer to the waterless pit of spiritual death.
3. Ethical living:Exodus 21:33-34 challenges communities to eliminate hazards and take responsibility for unintended harm.
4. Discipleship: Proverbs’ warnings encourage vigilance against moral compromise, lest one dig a hole that ensnares oneself.
The scriptural motif of בּוֹר thus spans practical engineering, legal responsibility, poetic lament, and eschatological hope, each strand converging in the promise that the Lord “will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor let Your Holy One see decay” (Psalm 16:10).
Forms and Transliterations
ב֑וֹר ב֔וֹר ב֖וֹר ב֜וֹר בְּב֣וֹר בַּבּ֑וֹר בַּבּֽוֹר׃ בַבּוֹר֙ בֹּ֖ר בֹּר֣וֹת בֹּר֨וֹת בּ֔וֹר בּ֖וֹר בּ֗וֹר בּ֣וֹר בּ֤וֹר בּ֥וֹר בַּ֙יִר֙ בֽוֹר׃ בבור בבור׃ בוֹרֽוֹ׃ בור בור׃ בורו׃ ביר בר ברות הַבֹּ֑רָה הַבֹּ֖אר הַבֹּר֔וֹת הַבּ֑וֹר הַבּ֔וֹר הַבּ֖וֹר הַבּ֣וֹר ׀ הַבּ֤וֹר הַבּֽוֹר׃ הַבּוֹר֙ הבאר הבור הבור׃ הברה הברות וְהַבּ֗וֹר וְהַבּ֣וֹר וּב֛וֹר וּבַבֹּרֽוֹת׃ וּבַבּ֤וֹר וּבֹרֹ֤ת וּמִכְרֵה־ ובבור ובברות׃ ובור וברת והבור ומכרה־ מִבּ֔וֹר מִבּ֖וֹר מִבּ֣וֹר מִבּ֤וֹר מִבּ֥וֹר מִבּוֹרֶ֑ךָ מבור מבורך ba·yir bab·bō·wr ḇab·bō·wr babBor babbōwr ḇabbōwr bayir bə·ḇō·wr bəḇōwr beVor bō·rō·wṯ ḇō·w·rōw bō·wr ḇō·wr Bor bōr boRot bōrōwṯ bōwr ḇōwr ḇōwrōw hab·bō·rāh hab·bō·rō·wṯ hab·bō·wr hab·bōr habBor habbōr habBorah habbōrāh habboRot habbōrōwṯ habbōwr mib·bō·w·re·ḵā mib·bō·wr mibBor mibboRecha mibbōwr mibbōwreḵā ū·ḇab·bō·rō·wṯ ū·ḇab·bō·wr ū·ḇō·rōṯ ū·ḇō·wr ū·miḵ·rêh- ūḇabbōrōwṯ ūḇabbōwr ūḇōrōṯ ūḇōwr umichreh ūmiḵrêh- uvabBor uvabboRot uVor uvoRot vabbOr vehabBor Vor voRo wə·hab·bō·wr wəhabbōwr
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