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שׁוּחָה

𐤔𐤅𐤇𐤄

shûwchâh

H7745 noun

SILEX Entry

Root שׁוּחַ to sink down, bow low, be depressed

Definition

A vertical shaft or deep hollow in the ground, typically an artificial pit, cistern, or trap, and in some contexts a metaphor for peril or entrapment. The term primarily refers to a deep, excavated or natural chasm used as a pit, ditch, or trap, but occasionally extends metaphorically to situations of grave danger, destruction, or moral ruin.

Semantic Range

pit, chasm, ditch, deep hole, trap, place of entrapment, threat of destruction, metaphor for peril or ruin

Root / Etymology

Feminine noun derived from the root שׁוּחַ (shuach, 'to sink down, bow low'), with the ו often reflecting a havarah vowel in the noun pattern. The base meaning of the root indicates downward movement or depression, from which the sense of 'pit' or 'chasm' is extended.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In the Hebrew Bible, שׁוּחָה appears predominantly in poetic contexts (e.g., Psalms, Proverbs, Jeremiah), often alongside terms like בּוֹר (bor, 'pit/cistern'), כֶּבֶר (qeber, 'grave'), and שַׁחַת (shachat, 'pit/destruction'). Unlike בּוֹר, which often denotes a water cistern or prison, שׁוּחָה generally emphasizes a trap or snare into which one might fall. It is frequently used in metaphoric warnings about moral or existential danger. In certain passages, the imagery overlaps with that of the grave or Sheol, yet שׁוּחָה rarely means 'grave' in the strict burial sense. Late biblical and some post-biblical translations sometimes rendered it as 'pit' or 'ditch,' but English translations may obscure its nuance as a place of entrapment or threat, not merely a trench. The semantic overlap with שַׁחַת accentuates its connotation of ruin, though שׁוּחָה remains more concrete in reference than the more abstract shachat. Across Israelite and Monarchic periods, the term maintains its basic signification, but by exilic and post-exilic periods, it acquires additional metaphorical weight, reflecting existential peril. Later usage in translation traditions sometimes conflates שׁוּחָה with broader senses of 'pitfall' or 'calamity.'

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from שׁוּחַ; a chasm; ditch, pit.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

שוח (sh-w-ḥ) — to sink down, bow low, be depressed

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3439 יְשׁוֹחָיָה Yahweh will bring low
H7744 שׁוּחַ Shuach
H7845 שַׁחַת in the pit
H7878 שִׂיחַ Meditate!
H7882 שִׁיחָה trap-pits

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H7745-01 שׁוּחָ֖ה shuchah HNcfsa pit sunken pit 4
H7745-02 וְ/שׁוּחָה֙ veshuchah HC/Ncfsa and-pits and a deep pit 1

Occurrences in Scripture

5 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H7745-02 Jeremiah 2:6 וְ/שׁוּחָה֙ veshuchah HC/Ncfsa and-pits and a deep pit
H7745-01 Jeremiah 18:20 שׁוּחָ֖ה shuchah HNcfsa a pit sunken pit
H7745-01 Jeremiah 18:22 שׁוּחָה֙ shuchah HNcfsa snares sunken pit
H7745-01 Proverbs 22:14 שׁוּחָ֣ה shuchah HNcfsa pit sunken pit
H7745-01 Proverbs 23:27 שׁוּחָ֣ה shuchah HNcfsa pit sunken pit
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