The Hebrew word bor (בּוֹר) means pit, cistern, or dungeon. It appears approximately 67 times in the Old Testament. Unlike a natural ravine, a bor was typically hewn or dug from rock. Cisterns were commonly used for water storage, and when empty they were used as makeshift prisons. The word frequently appears as a metaphor for Sheol, the realm of the dead.
Joseph was thrown into an empty bor (pit/cistern) by his jealous brothers (Genesis 37:24) — one of Scripture's most dramatic scenes of betrayal and ultimate redemption. Jeremiah experienced the same (Jeremiah 38:6). In the Psalms, the pit becomes a powerful metaphor for death, despair, and helplessness before God: "You brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit" (Psalm 30:3). The theme of God rescuing His servant from the pit anticipates the resurrection of Christ from the grave — the ultimate deliverance from the deepest pit.