Genesis 37:24 · Bible study
Genesis 37:24 Commentary: Why the Pit Was Empty
Hebrew · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore why Genesis 37:24 specifies the pit was empty and had no water.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Joseph is cast into a dry pit, highlighting his brothers’ cruelty and his utter helplessness.
- Key words: בּוֹר (bor, pit/cistern), רֵק (req, empty, vain), מַיִם (mayim, water).
- Main debate: Whether the detail is purely historical (Reuben chose a dry pit for rescue) or also symbolic (the pit prefigures Sheol and Christ’s descent).
- Theological theme: God’s sovereignty over human evil and His presence in the depths of suffering (cf. Psalm 139:8; 130:1).
- Best use: Preach or teach on suffering, providence, and the hope of deliverance; also as a type of Christ’s humiliation.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.
WEB World English Bible 2000
and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.
KJV King James Version 1769
And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
and take him and cast him into the pit, and the pit is empty, there is no water in it.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
and they took him and cast him into the pit; now the pit was empty — there was no water in it.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And cast him into an old pit where there was not water.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y tomáronlo, y echáronle en la cisterna; mas la cisterna estaba vacía, no había en ella agua.
E tomaram-no, e lançaram-lhe na cisterna; mas a cisterna estava vazia, não havia nela água.
Ils le prirent, et le jetèrent dans la citerne. Cette citerne était vide; il n’ y avait point d’ eau.
und nahmen ihn und warfen ihn in die Grube; aber die Grube war leer und kein Wasser darin.
En zij namen hem, en wierpen hem in den kuil; doch de kuil was ledig; er was geen water in.
lo presero e lo gettarono nella cisterna. Or la cisterna era vuota; non c’era punt’acqua.
A porwawszy go, wrzucili go w studnią, która studnia była czcza, i nie było w niej wody.
и взяли его и бросили его в ров; ров же тот был пуст; воды в нем не было.
把 他 丟 在坑裡；那坑 是空的，裡頭 沒有 水。
And they took him and put him in the hole: now the hole had no water in it.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Genesis 37:24
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that the detail of the empty, waterless pit serves to underscore Joseph’s vulnerability and the brothers’ cruelty. Matthew Henry characterizes the act as an attempt to starve Joseph, “to perish there with hunger and cold.” John Gill notes the Targum of Jonathan adds that the pit contained “only serpents and scorpions,” and Jarchi suggests the emptiness either made Reuben’s plan of rescue easier or highlighted Joseph’s desperate situation. Keil and Delitzsch observe that the pit “happened to be dry,” which fulfilled Reuben’s secret intention to later pull Joseph out. The absence of water leaves no means of survival; Joseph is utterly dependent on his brothers’ mercy, which they deny. This small sentence, “the pit was empty, there was no water in it”, exposes the depth of their envy and sets the stage for God’s deliverance, a pattern echoed throughout Scripture (cf. Psalm 40:2; Jeremiah 38:6). It reminds readers that even in the driest, most hopeless places, God has not abandoned his servant.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The pit was physically empty of water, and this detail underscores both the brothers' cruel intent and Joseph's helplessness.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose of the detail 'pit was empty' | Commentators agree the detail emphasizes Joseph’s danger and the brothers’ cruelty. | Some (e.g., Gill, Jarchi) see it as showing Reuben chose a dry pit for later rescue; others (Matthew Henry, Wesley) focus on the suffering it caused Joseph, the two emphases are complementary but shift the narrative’s tone. |
| Reuben's plan and knowledge | Reuben intended to rescue Joseph (v.22, 29). | Did Reuben know the pit was dry beforehand? Keil & Delitzsch assume he did, making his plan deliberate; Cambridge Bible’s source-critical reading suggests the Reuben strand (E) may not coordinate with the Judah strand (J), leaving the question open. |
| Connection to Christ (typology) | Many Christian traditions see Joseph’s descent into the pit as a foreshadowing of Christ’s descent into death or Hades. | Reformed and evangelical interpreters often treat this as a typological pattern; Catholic and Orthodox readings may connect it more directly to Christ’s descent into hell in the Apostles’ Creed. The degree of explicit prophecy vs. later application varies. |
| Does the pit symbolize spiritual emptiness? | The physical emptiness points to a deeper spiritual reality, abandonment, suffering, and testing. | Some interpret the emptiness as descriptive only; others (especially in contemplative traditions) read it as an invitation to trust God when every human resource is absent. |
Historical & Cultural Context
In ancient Canaan, cisterns (Heb. בּוֹר, bor) were common: rock-hewn chambers designed to collect rainwater during the wet season. By late summer many stood empty and dry, serving only as storage pits, or, as in Joseph’s case, makeshift prisons. Dothan, the site of the event (Gen 37:17, confirmed by 2 Kings 6:13), sits in a fertile valley, but its surrounding wilderness offered scattered cisterns like this one. Reuben, the eldest brother, was likely aware of a particular dry pit when he advised his brothers to “throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness” (v. 22). His plan was to rescue Joseph secretly, and a dry pit made that possible, no drowning, no mud, just a quick descent and later a rope. Yet the brothers seized the opportunity with malicious intent: they stripped Joseph of his robe, threw him in, and then “sat down to eat bread” (v. 25). The narrative’s composite sources (J and E, noted by the Cambridge Bible) intertwine Reuben’s protective scheme with Judah’s later proposal to sell Joseph, but both strands emphasize the pit’s emptiness. The detail also carries echoes of the Psalms, where the “pit” becomes a metaphor for Sheol or grave distress (Pss 35:7; 88:6). Jeremiah 38:6 later replays the scene: the prophet is cast into a cistern without water, sinking in mire. For Joseph, the empty pit meant no refreshment, no comfort, only the slow threat of dehydration, exposure, and death. It was a physical and emotional darkness that prefigured the deeper darkness of slavery in Egypt.
Textual Notes
Reception History
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Sin, stripped bare: The empty pit reveals the brothers’ envy in its rawest form. They did not merely harm Joseph; they designed his suffering to be drawn out, cold, and solitary. Envy empties a person of compassion.
- God’s hidden hand: The same pit that seemed Joseph’s grave was part of a rescue plan Reuben set in motion, unbeknownst to the others. God works through empty places, the womb of Sarah, the tomb of Jesus, to bring life.
- Hope for the desperate: When your situation feels like a dry cistern with no way out, the Joseph story promises that God sees, remembers, and raises up. The pit is not the final chapter.
Five-point outline
- The pit was a place of humiliation (robe removed, status gone).
- The pit was a place of isolation (no water, no food, no human voice).
- The pit was a place of hidden purpose (Reuben’s plan, God’s larger plan).
- The pit was a place of transition (from son to slave, from Canaan to Egypt).
- The pit foreshadows Christ’s descent (the Innocent one handed over by brothers, raised from the depths).
Illustration hooks
- A student unexpectedly loses a scholarship and feels trapped in a “dry” season of life with no resources.
- A parent waits for a prodigal child and wonders if their prayers have hit an empty ceiling.
- The pause between a medical diagnosis and treatment, a time when hope feels as absent as water in a cistern.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Was God with Joseph in the pit, or did He abandon him for a time?
- Why does the Bible include such a grim detail about a pit being empty?
- How do I trust God when my circumstances feel as barren as that dry well?
Leading a Discussion
This verse invites us to stop and feel the weight of Joseph’s isolation. The brothers’ cruelty is not abstract, they physically lifted him and dropped him into a dark hole, then walked away. The writer takes care to tell us the pit was empty, with no water. That detail lingers. In your small group, take time to consider why such a small phrase matters so much.
Discussion questions
- What does the pit’s emptiness tell you about the brothers’ intentions? (Read verses 18, 24 for context.)
- Compare this pit with other “pits” in Scripture (Psalm 40:2; Jeremiah 38:6; Lamentations 3:52). What patterns do you see?
- Reuben planned to rescue Joseph. How does his presence in the story complicate your view of the brothers? Were any of them fully evil?
- Why do you think the writer emphasizes that there was no water? What emotions does that detail stir?
- Joseph’s pit was physical. What kinds of “empty pits” do people experience today, emotionally, relationally, spiritually?
- Where was God in this moment? Does the text suggest His absence or His hidden presence?
- How does the rest of Joseph’s story (chs. 39, 50) reshape how you read this single verse? What hope does the larger narrative offer?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Psalms 35:7 | For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul. |
| Psalms 40:2 | He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand. |
| Psalms 88:6 | You have laid me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. |
| Psalms 88:8 | You have taken my friends from me. You have made me an abomination to them. I am confined, and I can’t escape. |
| Psalms 130:1 | A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I have cried to you, Yahweh. |
| Psalms 130:2 | Lord, hear my voice. Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my petitions. |
| Jeremiah 38:6 | Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard. They let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire. |
| Lamentations 3:52 | They have chased me relentlessly like a bird, those who are my enemies without cause. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible commentary highlights that the story of Joseph being thrown into a pit actually combines two different traditions. In one version Reuben places Joseph in the pit to rescue him later, while in the other Judah sells him directly to traders.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible highlights that the pit contained no water, underscoring the cruelty of Joseph’s brothers who spared his life only to leave him to die of thirst or exposure. This detail emphasizes their malicious intent: they did not kill him directly but subjected him to a slow, agonizing death by abandonment in a dry cistern.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill notes that the pit contained no water but held serpents and scorpions, a detail he links to Targum Jonathan and Jarchi. He suggests this emptiness served two purposes: it allowed Reuben to plan a rescue without Joseph drowning immediately, and it highlighted Joseph’s severe thirst and discomfort in his new prison.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch highlights a hidden motive behind Reuben’s suggestion to throw Joseph into the pit. Reuben’s plan was not to abandon his brother but to secretly rescue him and return him to their father. The other brothers, satisfied that Joseph would still perish, did not realize Reuben’s true intention.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange treats this verse as part of a larger narrative arc where Joseph’s suffering serves as a divine type of Christ’s path from humiliation to glory. He argues that the history is not merely about Joseph but illustrates how God guides the elect through pain toward exaltation, preparing the way for Israel’s future in Egypt.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights the brothers' cruelty in stripping Joseph of his coat as a deliberate degradation, stripping him of the honour it represented. He reads this as a foreshadowing of Christ being stripped of his seamless garment. He also notes that casting Joseph into a dry pit shows how envy drives out all pity.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley highlights the bitter irony in the brothers' actions: their "tender mercies" meant calling Joseph into a pit to die slowly from hunger and cold. What they presented as sparing his life was actually a cruel, drawn-out death sentence.