Bible Encyclopedia: Pits

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International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

SLIME; SLIME PITS

slim, slim'-pits (chemar; Septuagint asphaltos; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 A.D.) bitumen; the Revised Version margin "bitumen"; compare Arabic chummar, "bitumen"; and compare chomer, "clay," "mortar"): In the account of the ark in Genesis 6:14, kopher Septuagint asphaltos; Vulgate: bitumen; compare Arabic kufr, "pitch") does not necessarily denote vegetable pitch, but may well mean bitumen. The same may be said of zepheth, "pitch" (compare Arabic zift, "pitch"), in Exodus 2:3 and Isaiah 34:9. The word "slime" occurs in the following passages: "And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar" (Genesis 11:3); "Now the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits" (Genesis 14:10, margin "bitumen pits"); "She took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch" (Exodus 2:3).

Bitumen is a hydrocarbon allied to petroleum and natural gas. It is a lustrous black solid, breaking with a conchoidal fracture, burning with a yellow flame, and melting when ignited. It is probably derived from natural gas and petroleum by a process of oxidation and evaporation, and its occurrence may be taken as a sign that other hydrocarbons are or have been present in the strata. It is found in small lumps and larger masses in the cretaceous limestone on the west side of the Dead Sea, and there is reason to believe that considerable quantities of it rise to the surface of the Dead Sea during earthquakes. In ancient times it was exported to Egypt to be used in embalming mummies. Important mines of it exist at Chasbeiya near Mt. Hermon and in North Syria. Springs of liquid bituminous matter exist in Mesopotamia, where according to Herodotus and other classical writers it was used as mortar with sun-dried bricks. Various conjectures have been made as to the part played by bitumen in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Diodorus Siculus calls the Dead Sea limne asphalstitis, "lake of asphalt."

See SIDDIM; CITIES OF THE PLAIN.

Alfred Ely Day

Greek

4618a. siros -- a pit (for grain storage)
... a pit (for grain storage). Transliteration: siros Short Definition: pits. Word Origin
a prim. word Definition a pit (for grain storage) NASB Word Usage pits (1) ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4618a.htm - 5k

Strong's Hebrew

4113. mahamorah -- a flood, watery pit
... 4112, 4113. mahamorah. 4114 . a flood, watery pit. Transliteration: mahamorah
Phonetic Spelling: (mah-ham-o-raw') Short Definition: pits. ...
/hebrew/4113.htm - 5k

4379. mikreh -- a pit
... a pit. Transliteration: mikreh Phonetic Spelling: (mik-reh') Short Definition: pits.
Word Origin from karah Definition a pit NASB Word Usage pits (1). salt pit. ...
/hebrew/4379.htm - 6k

7882. shichah -- a pit
... Word Origin from shuach Definition a pit NASB Word Usage pit (1), pits (1). pit.
For shuwchah; a pit-fall -- pit. see HEBREW shuwchah. 7881, 7882. ...
/hebrew/7882.htm - 6k

6483. Pitstsets -- to break
... 6482, 6483. Pitstsets. 6483a . to break. Transliteration: Pitstsets Phonetic
Spelling: (pits-tsates') Short Definition: break. Pitstsets, a priest -- Apses ...
/hebrew/6483.htm - 5k

875. beer -- a well, pit
... well. Word Origin from baar Definition a well, pit NASB Word Usage pit
(2), pits (1), well (29), well's (1), wells (3). pit, well. ...
/hebrew/875.htm - 6k

7745. shuchah -- a pit
... Word Origin from shuach Definition a pit NASB Word Usage pit (4), pits (1). ditch,
pit. From shuwach; a chasm -- ditch, pit. see HEBREW shuwach. 7744, 7745. ...
/hebrew/7745.htm - 6k

830. ashpoth -- an ash heap, refuse heap, dunghill
... Word Origin from the same as shaphath Definition an ash heap, refuse heap, dunghill
NASB Word Usage ash (2), ash pits (1), refuse (4). dung hill. ...
/hebrew/830.htm - 6k

7825. shechith -- a pit
... Definition: destructions. Word Origin from shachah Definition a pit NASB Word
Usage destructions (1), pits (1). destruction, pit. From ...
/hebrew/7825.htm - 6k

953a. bor -- a pit, cistern, well
... Origin from baar Definition a pit, cistern, well NASB Word Usage cistern (14), cisterns
(3), death (1), dungeon (3), dungeon* (2), pit (35), pits (2), quarry ...
/hebrew/953a.htm - 5k

Library

Psalm LX.
... teaching for David himself, when he burned up Mesopotamia in Syria, and Syria Sobal,
and turned Joab, and smote Edom, in the valley of salt-pits twelve thousand ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/exposition on the book of psalms/psalm lx.htm

The Destruction of the Sodomites by the Assyrian Wall.
... And when they were come over against Sodom, they pitched their camp at the vale
called the Slime Pits, for at that time there were pits in that place; but now ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 9 the destruction of.htm

Athor, the Golden
... There were dust, smoke, stir and moving figures. The stone-pits were active again
after the lapse of half a century. ... The stone-pits were deserted. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/miller/the yoke/chapter vii athor the golden.htm

Chapter xiv
... 10. Now the valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom
and of Gomorrah fled some leaped into the pits, and the rest fled into the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter xiv.htm

Brought up from the Horrible Pit
... He has not been content to leave his fellows their natural liberty, but he built
prisons and digged pits in which to shut up his victims. ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 28 1882/brought up from the horrible.htm

The Testament of Zebulun Concerning Compassion and Mercy.
... And Reuben rose and said, My brethren, let us not slay him, but let us cast him
into one of these dry pits which our fathers digged and found no water. ...
/.../vi the testament of zebulun concerning.htm

Friendship; Or, David and Jonathan
... The Israelites were hidden in thickets, and caves, and pits, for fear of the
Philistines, when Jonathan was suddenly inspired to attack a Philistine garrison ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/david/sermon v friendship or david.htm

Impressive Phrases
... affluent, opulent, abundant, and ample. allurements, pits, snares, and torments.
anger, indignation, resentment, and rage. animate, impel, instigate, and embolden ...
/.../kleiser/fifteen thousand useful phrases/section iv impressive phrases.htm

"Above the Sun. "
... He who in the sandy desert looks for springs to quench his thirst Finds his fountains
are but slime-pits such as Siddim's vale accursed; He who hopes to still ...
//christianbookshelf.org/jennings/old groans and new songs/above the sun.htm

The Story of Gideon and his Three Hundred Soldiers
... And if any Israelite could raise any grain, he buried it in pits covered with earth,
or in empty winepresses, where the Midianites could not find it. ...
/.../marshall/the wonder book of bible stories/the story of gideon and.htm

Thesaurus

Bitumen-pits (1 Occurrence)
Bitumen-pits. Bitumen, Bitumen-pits. Biziothiah . Multi-Version
Concordance Bitumen-pits (1 Occurrence). Genesis 14:10 ...
/b/bitumen-pits.htm - 6k

Pits (13 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia SLIME; SLIME PITS. slim, slim'-pits (chemar;
Septuagint asphaltos; Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible ...
/p/pits.htm - 13k

Salt-pits (1 Occurrence)
Salt-pits. Saltpits, Salt-pits. Salt-sea . Multi-Version Concordance
Salt-pits (1 Occurrence). Zephaniah 2:9 Therefore ...
/s/salt-pits.htm - 6k

Slime-pits (1 Occurrence)
Slime-pits. Slime, Slime-pits. Slimy . Multi-Version Concordance
Slime-pits (1 Occurrence). Genesis 14:10 And the vale ...
/s/slime-pits.htm - 6k

Slime (6 Occurrences)
... (Genesis 11:3; LXX., "asphalt;" RV marg., "bitumen"). The vale of Siddim was full
of slime pits (14:10). ... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. SLIME; SLIME PITS. ...
/s/slime.htm - 11k

Siddim (3 Occurrences)
... It was "full of slime-pits" (RV, "bitumen pits"). Here Chedorlaomer and the confederate
kings overthrew the kings of Sodom and the cities of the plain. ...
/s/siddim.htm - 14k

Bitumen (3 Occurrences)
... Genesis 14:10 And the valley of Siddim 'is' full of bitumen-pits; and the kings
of Sodom and Gomorrah flee, and fall there, and those left have fled to the ...
/b/bitumen.htm - 8k

Pit (110 Occurrences)
... Psalm 30:3). It is used as a figure for mischief (Psalm 9:15), and is the name given
to the unseen place of woe (Revelation 20:1, 3). The slime-pits in the ...
/p/pit.htm - 41k

Pi-beseth (1 Occurrence)
... sacred to Basht, were mummified at other places in Egypt, but at Pibeseth they were
burned and the ashes and bones gathered and buried in great pits lined with ...
/p/pi-beseth.htm - 8k

Pibeseth (1 Occurrence)
... sacred to Basht, were mummified at other places in Egypt, but at Pibeseth they were
burned and the ashes and bones gathered and buried in great pits lined with ...
/p/pibeseth.htm - 8k

Bible Concordance

Pits (13 Occurrences)

2 Peter 2:4 For if God didn't spare angels when they sinned, but cast them down to Tartarus, and committed them to pits of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;
(WEB ASV NAS RSV)

Genesis 14:10 Now the valley of Siddim was full of tar pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and those who remained fled to the hills.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Genesis 37:20 Come now therefore, and let's kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say,'An evil animal has devoured him.' We will see what will become of his dreams."
(WEB JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV)

1 Samuel 13:6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in coverts, and in pits.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS NIV)

2 Samuel 17:9 lo, now, he is hidden in one of the pits, or in one of the places, and it hath been, at the falling among them at the commencement, that the hearer hath heard, and said, There hath been a slaughter among the people who 'are' after Absalom;
(YLT RSV)

Psalms 119:85 The proud have dug pits for me, contrary to your law.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS)

Psalms 140:10 Let burning coals fall on them. Let them be thrown into the fire, into miry pits, from where they never rise.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 42:22 But this is a people whose property has been taken away from them by force; they are all taken in holes, and shut up in prisons: they are made prisoners, and no one makes them free; they are taken by force and no one says, Give them back.
(See NIV)

Jeremiah 2:6 Neither said they, Where is Yahweh who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that none passed through, and where no man lived?
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Jeremiah 14:3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.
(KJV JPS DBY WBS)

Lamentations 4:5 Those who did feed delicately are desolate in the streets: Those who were brought up in scarlet embrace dunghills.
(See NAS)

Lamentations 4:20 The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of Yahweh, was taken in their pits; Of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among the nations.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV)

Zephaniah 2:9 Therefore as I live, says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, surely Moab will be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and salt pits, and a perpetual desolation. The remnant of my people will plunder them, and the survivors of my nation will inherit them.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Pits

Related Terms

Pits (13 Occurrences)

Salt-pits (1 Occurrence)

Slime-pits (1 Occurrence)

Slime (6 Occurrences)

Siddim (3 Occurrences)

Bitumen (3 Occurrences)

Pit (110 Occurrences)

Pi-beseth (1 Occurrence)

Pibeseth (1 Occurrence)