Exodus 21:33

If a man opens or digs a pit and fails to cover it, and an ox or a donkey falls into it,

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — God delivers this civil statute to Israel through Moses during the wilderness journey, establishing liability for property hazards. The law follows regulations on goring livestock and precedes restitution protocols for pit owners.

The words — The Hebrew יִפְתַּח (yiftach) means "he will open," paired with בּוֹר (bor), "a pit," to denote the deliberate act of creating an uncovered excavation. This phrasing establishes the legal trigger for the owner's responsibility.

The thread — The uncovered pit motif recurs in Psalms 9:15 and Proverbs 28:10 to illustrate divine judgment and self-inflicted consequences. In Psalms 119:85, the same imagery describes the arrogant digging traps for the psalmist rather than describing their own fate.

Why it lands — The text demands practical accountability for hazards one creates and leaves unsecured. It requires readers to anticipate danger and take preventive action to avoid harming others.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וְכִֽי־ve./khi-and/ if יִפְתַּ֨חyif.Tachhe will open אִ֜ישׁ'ishanyone בּ֗וֹרBora pit א֠וֹ'oor כִּֽי־ki-for יִכְרֶ֥הyikh.Rehhe will dig אִ֛ישׁ'ishanyone בֹּ֖רbora pit וְלֹ֣אve./Lo'and/ not יְכַסֶּ֑נּוּye.khas.Se./nuhe will cover/ it וְנָֽפַל־ve./na.fal-and/ it will fall שָׁ֥מָּהSha.ma/hthere/ <towards>שּׁ֖וֹרShoran ox א֥וֹ'oor חֲמֽוֹר׃cha.Mora donkey

King James Version

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;

Cross-references

Psalms 9:15 The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
Psalms 119:85 The arrogant have dug pits for me in violation of Your law.
Proverbs 28:10 He who leads the upright along the path of evil will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.
Ecclesiastes 10:8 He who digs a pit may fall into it, and he who breaches a wall may be bitten by a snake.
Jeremiah 18:20 Should 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.
Jeremiah 18:22 Let 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.