The Greek noun bothynos (βόθυνος) means a pit, ditch, or cistern. It appears twice in the New Testament (Matthew 12:11; 15:14), both times on the lips of Jesus. The word describes a dug-out hole in the ground — whether a water cistern, an animal trap, or a utility ditch — and Jesus uses it in proverbial contexts to make powerful points about human priorities and spiritual blindness.
Jesus uses bothynos in two famous sayings. In Matthew 12:11, He uses the image of a sheep falling into a pit on the Sabbath to justify acts of mercy — "Is it not lawful to do good on the Sabbath?" In Matthew 15:14 (echoing Luke 6:39), He warns that when a blind guide leads a blind person, "both will fall into a pit." The pit represents spiritual ruin — the inevitable outcome of following those without true spiritual sight. The metaphor is sharp: without the light of Christ, teachers and followers alike stumble toward the same disaster. Only Christ, the Light of the World, keeps us from the pit.