Lexical Summary
pachath: Pit, trap, snare
Original Word: פַחַת
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: pachath
Pronunciation: pah-khath'
Phonetic Spelling: (pakh'-ath)
KJV: hole, pit, snare
NASB: pit, caves, chasm, pitfall
Word Origin: [probably from an unused root apparently meaning to dig]
1. a pit, especially for catching animals
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
hole, pit, snare
Probably from an unused root apparently meaning to dig; a pit, especially for catching animals -- hole, pit, snare.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom an unused word
Definitiona pit
NASB Translationcaves (1), chasm (1), pit (7), pitfall (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
2Samuel 18:17 (in
2 Samuel 17:9 read ) ; — absolute
Jeremiah 48:43 +,
Jeremiah 48:28; plural
2 Samuel 17:9; —
pit,
2 Samuel 17:9;
2 Samuel 18:17;
Jeremiah 48:28 (Gie question text); figurative of calamity
Jeremiah 48:43 compare
Jeremiah 48:44;
Jeremiah 48:44 =
Isaiah 24:17 compare
Isaiah 24:18;
Isaiah 24:18 and
Lamentations 3:47.
Topical Lexicon
Meaning and ImageryThe noun פַחַת paints the picture of a concealed hollow in the ground—natural or man-made—waiting to swallow the unsuspecting. Scripture alternates between literal use (a real depression in terrain) and figurative use (a threatening circumstance engineered by divine judgment or human malice). In each case it communicates sudden danger that cannot be seen until one is already falling into it.
Occurrences and Narrative Context
1. 2 Samuel 17:9 records Hushai’s strategic counsel to Absalom: “Surely by now he lies hidden in one of the caves or in some other place.” The “pit” evokes guerrilla warfare tactics; David is imagined crouching in an ambush point that could reverse Absalom’s fortunes.
2. 2 Samuel 18:17 follows with grim reality: “They took Absalom, threw him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a great heap of stones over him.” The same terrain feature becomes Absalom’s unmarked grave, underscoring poetic justice.
3. The prophetic books (Isaiah 24; Jeremiah 48; Lamentations 3) employ פַחַת nine times as part of the threefold refrain “terror, pit, and snare.” Here the pit is no longer a tactical hideout but a symbol of inescapable calamity decreed by God.
Prophetic Triad: Terror, Pit, and Snare
Isaiah announces global judgment: “Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth” (Isaiah 24:17). Jeremiah applies the same formula to Moab, and Lamentations laments its fulfillment for Judah. The sequence intensifies: terror pursues, the pit engulfs, the snare finalizes capture. The progression underlines the futility of human escape when divine wrath is loosed.
Theology of Divine Retribution
The pit illustrates the moral order of the universe. Those who reject God’s governance find themselves trapped by the very evils they embrace. When Jeremiah warns Moab, he highlights pride (Jeremiah 48:42) as the root sin; the pit is thus the logical end of self-exaltation. Likewise, Absalom’s rebellion leads to a literal pit, demonstrating that Old Testament narrative and prophecy share the same ethical logic.
Echoes in Wisdom Literature and the New Testament
Though פַחַת itself is absent, the motif recurs. Proverbs cautions that “whoever digs a pit will fall into it” (Proverbs 26:27), while Paul writes that sudden destruction will overtake the complacent (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Jesus employs similar imagery: “It will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth like a snare” (Luke 21:35). The pit therefore functions as a canonical metaphor for unanticipated judgment.
Pastoral and Discipleship Applications
• Vigilance: Believers are urged to remain watchful, lest spiritual complacency drop them into hidden pitfalls of sin (1 Corinthians 10:12).
• Humility: The fate of Absalom and Moab warns against pride and self-reliance.
• Refuge in Christ: While “terror, pit, and snare” capture the fate of the ungodly, Psalm 40:2 offers the gospel counterpoint: “He lifted me out of the pit of despair.” The only secure footing is the Rock of salvation.
Eschatological Significance
Isaiah’s global scope (“inhabitant of the earth”) projects the pit motif into final judgment. Revelation echoes the theme with the abyss that imprisons Satan (Revelation 20:3). Thus פַחַת foreshadows the ultimate confinement of evil and vindication of God’s righteousness.
Summary
פַחַת threads together history, prophecy, and eschatology. Whether as David’s covert hideout, Absalom’s grave, or the prophetic symbol of impending doom, the pit warns every generation that hidden dangers lie along the path of rebellion, yet also magnifies the grace that lifts the repentant out of the deepest hollow.
Forms and Transliterations
הַפְּחָתִ֔ים הַפַּ֔חַת הַפַּ֣חַת הפחת הפחתים וָפַ֖חַת וָפַ֛חַת ופחת פָֽחַת׃ פחת׃ Fachat hap·pa·ḥaṯ hap·pə·ḥā·ṯîm hapPachat happaḥaṯ happechaTim happəḥāṯîm p̄ā·ḥaṯ p̄āḥaṯ vaFachat wā·p̄a·ḥaṯ wāp̄aḥaṯ
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