Exodus 21:33
in Exodus 21If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein,
KJV
And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a pit, and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein;
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This verse in Exodus 21
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd if a man shall open a pit, or - dig a pit - That is, if a man shall open a well or cistern that had been before closed up, or dig a new one; for these two cases are plainly intimated: and if he did this in some public place where there was danger that men or cattle might fall into it; for a man might do as he pleased in his own grounds, as those were his private right.
This site's exposition
if a man shall open a pit
on Exodus 21:33-34
An uncovered pit makes the man who dug it liable for what falls in, which stretches responsibility from what a man does to what a man leaves behind him. He pays the owner the value of the beast and keeps the carcase, so the loss moves across rather than doubling. Matthew Henry wrote that it is not enough to avoid designing mischief, since a man must also contrive to prevent it or he becomes accessory to his neighbour's damage.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
If a man shall open a pit,....
Note, We must take heed not only of doing that which will be hurtful, but of doing that which may be so. It is not enough not to design and devise mischief, but we must contrive to prevent mischief, else we become accessory to our neighbours' damage.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
If an ox gore a man or a woman, that they die--For the purpose of sanctifying human blood, and representing all injuries affecting life in a serious light, an animal that occasioned death was to be killed or suffer punishment proportioned to the degree of damage it had caused.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The usual mode of protecting a well in the East was probably then, as now, by building round it a low circular wall.
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכִֽי־ | vekhi- | and if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִפְתַּ֨ח | yiftach | he will open | H6605 → | 144 times |
| אִ֜ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בּ֗וֹר | bor | a pit | H953 → | 66 times |
| א֠וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִכְרֶ֥ה | yikhreh | he will dig | H3738 → | |
| אִ֛ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בֹּ֖ר | bor | a pit | H953 → | 66 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְכַסֶּ֑נּוּ | yekhassenu | he will cover it | H3680 → | 152 times |
| וְנָֽפַל־ | venafal- | and it will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| שָׁ֥מָּה | shamah | there <towards> | H8033 → | 834 times |
| שּׁ֖וֹר | shor | an ox | H7794 → | 79 times |
| א֥וֹ | ʾo | or | H176 → | 321 times |
| חֲמֽוֹר׃ | chamor | a donkey | H2543 → | 96 times |
וְכִֽי־and if
vekhi-H3588 →4482 times
יִפְתַּ֨חhe will open
yiftachH6605 →144 times
אִ֜ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בּ֗וֹרa pit
borH953 →66 times
א֠וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יִכְרֶ֥הhe will dig
yikhrehH3738 →
אִ֛ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בֹּ֖רa pit
borH953 →66 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יְכַסֶּ֑נּוּhe will cover it
yekhassenuH3680 →152 times
וְנָֽפַל־and it will fall
venafal-H5307 →435 times
שָׁ֥מָּהthere <towards>
shamahH8033 →834 times
שּׁ֖וֹרan ox
shorH7794 →79 times
א֥וֹor
ʾoH176 →321 times
חֲמֽוֹר׃a donkey
chamorH2543 →96 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ecclesiastes 10:8He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.
it leads to
- Proverbs 26:27
He who digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 7:15–16
He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Amos 5:19
It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a…
- Proverbs 26:27
Through
Jeremiah 18:20Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
it leads to
- Psalms 35:7
For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 57:6
They spread a net for my feet; my soul was despondent. They dug a pit before me, but they themselves have fallen into it! Selah
- Psalms 35:7
Through
Proverbs 28:10He who leads the upright along the path of evil will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.
it leads to
- Psalms 37:25–26
I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread.
- Psalms 37:25–26
Through
Jeremiah 18:22Let a cry be heard from their houses when You suddenly bring raiders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:26
O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
- Jeremiah 6:26
Through
Psalms 119:85The arrogant have dug pits for me in violation of Your law.
it leads to
- Proverbs 16:27
A worthless man digs up evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire.
- Proverbs 16:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.