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βόθυνος

bóthynos

G999 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A cavity or hollow in the ground, especially one that is manmade or naturally formed for the purpose of storing water or acting as a trap. The term broadly includes a pit, a cistern, a ditch, or any kind of excavation in the earth. It most often refers to a deep hole, whether for holding water, as with a cistern, or as a trap or hazard (e.g., a pit into which someone might fall).

Semantic Range

hole in the ground, pit, cistern, ditch, excavation, cavity, trap

Root / Etymology

From the Greek root βαθύς ('deep'), likely related through the verb βαθύνω ('to deepen, make deep'). The form denotes a substantive made from the concept of 'depth.' No certain derivation from non-Greek languages is attested.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Greek of the Hellenistic and Roman periods, βόθυνος generally referred to any deep hole or pit, with applications from rural/agricultural (watering cisterns, wells) to everyday dangers (pitfalls, traps). In the Septuagint, βόθυνος sometimes renders Hebrew terms for 'pit' (e.g., בּוֹר, שַׁחַת), especially where water-cisterns or hazards are meant. In the New Testament and contemporaneous literature, it distinguishes practical, physical holes or cisterns from symbolic or metaphoric pits (e.g., ἄβυσσος), and it is less likely than φρέαρ ('well') to refer to a water source unless context makes this explicit. Standard English translations render it as 'pit,' 'ditch,' or 'cistern,' but context determines nuance: the word does not, in itself, denote either danger or utility apart from context. The term did not acquire distinctly theological connotations in Koine Greek.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

akin to βαθύνω; a hole (in the ground); specially, a cistern:--ditch, pit.

Root Family

βόθυνος (bothynos) — deep place, pit, cistern, excavation

Root βαθ- deep, depth, to make deep

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G999-01 βόθυνον bothunon N ACC M SG pit a deep pit a deep pit 3

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G999-01 Matthew 12:11 βόθυνον bothunon N ACC M SG pit a deep pit a deep pit
G999-01 Matthew 15:14 βόθυνον bothunon N ACC M SG pit a deep pit deep pit
G999-01 Luke 6:39 βόθυνον bothunon N ACC M SG a pit a deep pit a deep pit
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