פַּ֫חַת (pa.chat)
pa.chat
pit
H:N-MQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 8 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-M
Definition
Definition
Brown-Driver-Briggs
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The Hebrew word pachat simply means a pit or a hole dug into the ground. In the Bible, it often represents a place of danger, entrapment, or sudden downfall. When prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah use this image, they are describing how fear and judgment can catch people off guard, leaving them stuck with no easy way out.
For your faith life, this word serves as a sobering reminder of our vulnerability. It highlights that without God’s protection, we can easily fall into situations that seem inescapable. The text shows that what looks like a safe escape might actually lead to a deeper trap, urging us to seek refuge in the Lord rather than relying on our own cleverness.
Yet, the imagery also points to our need for deliverance. Just as someone trapped in a pit cries out for rescue, we are invited to acknowledge our helplessness and trust in God’s power to lift us up. This word reminds us that true safety is found not in avoiding every danger, but in resting in the One who holds our lives.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 8 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- the/ pit5×
- and/ pit2×
- the/ ravines1×
- and/ a pit1×
- a ravine1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- הַ/פַּ֔חַת4×
- וָ/פַ֖חַת2×
- פָֽחַת\׃1×
- וָ/פַ֛חַת1×
- הַ/פַּ֣חַת1×
- הַ/פְּחָתִ֔ים1×
Key Verses
-
Isaiah 24:17
Fear, the pit, and the snare are on you who inhabit the earth.
This verse lists the pit alongside fear and a snare, showing it as one of three sudden traps that catch those living on the earth.
-
Isaiah 24:18
It will happen that he who flees from the noise of the fear will fall into the pit; and he who comes up out of the middle of the pit will be taken in the snare; for the windows on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.
Here the word illustrates a cruel irony where escaping one danger leads directly into another, deeper entrapment.
-
II Samuel 18:17
They took Absalom and cast him into a great pit in the forest, and raised over him a very great heap of stones. Then all Israel fled, each to his own tent.
This historical account uses the pit to mark the final defeat of Absalom, showing it as a place of permanent removal and shame.
-
Jeremiah 48:44
“He who flees from the terror will fall into the pit; and he who gets up out of the pit will be taken in the snare, for I will bring on him, even on Moab, the year of their visitation,” says Yahweh.
The prophet repeats the warning that fleeing from terror only results in falling into the pit, emphasizing the inescapability of divine judgment on Moab.