Hell on Earth
Let the waters’ current not sweep me away and let not the deep swallow me and let the Pit not close its mouth on me. Psalm 69:16 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter
The Pit – Think of Beersheba. The well of seven. bĕʾēr, the Hebrew word for well or pit, is used in Genesis 16:14 in the phrase bĕʾēr laḥay rōʾî, “well of the Living One who sees me.” In this case, Hagar is rescued from death, but bĕʾēr is often a metaphor for dying.
The state of death is a going down to the pit (Ps 28:1). Hence the dead are those who go down to the pit (Ps 88:4 [H 5], 6 [H 7]; 143:7). The pit is in some sense a synonym of Sheol (q.v.; cf. Prov 1:12; Isa 14:15, 19; 38:18). Ezekiel, however, distinguishes between them (32:18–32). The Psalmist in distress pleads for deliverance from the pit (Ps 30:3 [H 4]) and likens his recovery to being drawn up from the horrible pit (Ps 40:2 [H 3]).[1]
Sheol opens its mouth for all and is never satisfied. The world of the Tanakh doesn’t anticipate an afterlife. Its focus is on living in this world, and the “pit,” the grave, is the end. The last image in David’s list of fearful things is bĕʾēr, the pit. He’s already drawn a connection to Joseph with the word “mire.” But Joseph was rescued from the attempt to kill him. Perhaps David is also thinking of the story of Korah. “and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all those associated with Korah, together with their possessions. They went down alive into the realm of the dead, . . .” (Numbers 16:32-33). There is no escape from the pit. As far as the Semitic world was concerned, you might exist in some shadowy form in the underworld, but you weren’t coming back.
Now that we’ve looked at the whole list of Semitic deathly hollows, we’re ready for God’s response. But perhaps our desire to leave this list behind and find comfort in the divine reply should be delayed—just a bit. It’s too easy to downplay the emotional impact here. We don’t like to think about this kind of inevitable terror. But maybe we should. What good is rescue if we haven’t felt the clutches of the grave pulling on our feet? Maybe we need to be reminded of our built-in denial of death (cf. Ernest Becker The Denial of Death). We all joke about the fact that young people act as if they are invincible. We laugh and dismiss the thought, but there’s a sinister reality behind the quip. We’re all traveling toward the pit. It just takes a while to recognize how short our lives really are. And how frail. I don’t mean to dwell on the subject, but I do mean to acknowledge its presence, and to live accordingly. When David feels as if he’s at the end, images spill forth from his poetic mind. These are images we need to absorb, to spend a little time with, to feel their gravity. Then we’ll be ready for God’s answer.
Go back a day. Remember the slime at the bottom of the cistern, the enemies who hate you, the watery chaos, the open grave. How do you feel? Now hold on to that feeling until the next verse—if you can.
Topical Index: pit, well, bĕʾēr, Hagar, Joseph, Korah, Psalm 69:16
[1] Lewis, J. P. (1999). 194 בָּאַר. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 88). Chicago: Moody Press.
