7745. shuchah

Lexical Summary

shuchah: pit, pits

Original Word: שׁוּחָה
Part of Speech: Noun Feminine
Transliteration: shuwchah
Pronunciation: shoo-khah'
Phonetic Spelling: (shoo-khaw')
KJV: ditch, pit
NASB: pit, pits
Word Origin: [from H7743 (שׁוַּח - bowed down)]

1. a chasm

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

ditch, pit

From shuwach; a chasm -- ditch, pit.

see HEBREW shuwach

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from shuach
Definition
a pit
NASB Translation
pit (4), pits (1).

Brown-Driver-Briggs

שׁוּחָה noun feminine pit; — absolute ׳שׁ Jeremiah 2:6 land of steppe and pits (collective); figurative, לי ׳כָּרָה שׁ Jeremiah 18:20, so Jeremiah 18:22 (Qr); עֲמֻקָּה Proverbs 23:27 deep pit (in figurative of harlot), compare Proverbs 22:14.

Topical Lexicon

Overview and Imagery

Shuchah portrays an excavated hole, trench, or ravine—an engineered or naturally eroded cavity that endangers life. In Scripture it becomes a vivid metaphor for moral peril, covenant unfaithfulness, and malicious schemes. In all four occurrences the term stands at the intersection of personal responsibility and divine judgment, underscoring that what a person chooses determines whether he walks secure ground or tumbles into ruin.

Wisdom Literature: Moral Pitfalls (Proverbs 22:14; Proverbs 23:27)

In Proverbs shuchah characterizes the seductive pull of sexual sin.
• Proverbs 22:14 warns, “The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; he who is cursed by the LORD will fall into it.” The pit is “deep,” highlighting difficulty of escape once entrapped. Falling results not merely from poor impulse control but from divine reprobation: the Lord consigns the hard‐hearted to what they insist on chasing.
• Proverbs 23:27 intensifies the imagery: “For a prostitute is a deep pit, and an adulteress is a narrow well.” The “narrow well” stresses constriction; the more one thrashes, the tighter sin’s grip. These maxims teach that illicit desire hollows out a person’s future, stripping him of freedom and communion with God.

Prophetic Literature: National Apostasy and Personal Treachery (Jeremiah 2:6; Jeremiah 18:20)

Jeremiah employs shuchah on two fronts: collective memory and personal lament.
• Jeremiah 2:6 indicts Israel for forgetting the God “who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines.” The word pictures a terrain of yawning chasms. God guided His people across topographical shuchot; therefore spurning Him is irrational. Spiritual amnesia pushes the nation toward a self-dug pit more dangerous than any wilderness ravine.
• Jeremiah 18:20 exposes betrayal: “Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me.” Here shuchah is the trap opponents set for the prophet. The verse connects the imagery from Proverbs (premeditated enticement) to communal violence. To ensnare God’s messenger is to war against God Himself, resulting in reciprocal judgment (cf. Jeremiah 18:22).

Theological Themes

1. Human agency and divine sovereignty intertwine. People dig pits for others or for themselves; yet those who “fall” do so under the righteous governance of the Lord (Proverbs 22:14).
2. Sinful allure is never neutral ground. What appears inviting masks a designed descent.
3. Memory of redemption sustains faithfulness. Forgetting God’s past deliverance (Jeremiah 2:6) leaves one susceptible to every pit that lies ahead.
4. God vindicates His servants. Though enemies devise shuchot, ultimate retribution belongs to the Lord (Jeremiah 18:21–23).

Practical Ministry Implications

• Discipleship: Teach believers to recognize seductive speech and cultural narratives as entrances to shuchah. Scriptural literacy equips them to spot dangers before footing gives way.
• Pastoral Care: When counseling those trapped in sexual sin or betrayal, emphasize both the depth of the pit and the reach of divine grace (Psalm 40:2 echoes the same motif). Restoration requires acknowledging the hole’s reality, repenting, and trusting the One who lifts “out of the miry clay.”
• Preaching: Shuchah offers a gripping illustration for sermons on temptation, memory, and prophetic courage. Connecting Proverbs’ personal warnings with Jeremiah’s societal critiques addresses both individual morality and communal justice.

Christological Reflection

Jesus Christ experienced the metaphorical pit in full measure—betrayed, condemned, and laid in a tomb hewn from rock. Yet He emerged victorious, converting the pit of death into an empty symbol of resurrection hope. Those united to Him are rescued from every shuchah, present or eschatological, and are set upon secure ground (Romans 8:1).

Conclusion

Shuchah reminds readers that life outside covenant wisdom is fragile ground riddled with concealed voids. The God who shepherded Israel through literal ravines and raised His Son from the grave still delivers all who call upon Him, transforming pits of destruction into testimonies of steadfast love.

Forms and Transliterations

וְשׁוּחָה֙ ושוחה שׁוּחָ֖ה שׁוּחָ֣ה שוחה shuChah šū·ḥāh šūḥāh veshuChah wə·šū·ḥāh wəšūḥāh

Englishman's Concordance

Proverbs 22:14
HEB: שׁוּחָ֣ה עֲ֭מֻקָּה פִּ֣י
NAS: is a deep pit; He who is cursed
KJV: [is] a deep pit: he that is abhorred
INT: pit deep the mouth

Proverbs 23:27
HEB: כִּֽי־ שׁוּחָ֣ה עֲמֻקָּ֣ה זוֹנָ֑ה
NAS: is a deep pit And an adulterous woman
KJV: [is] a deep ditch; and a strange woman
INT: for pit deep A harlot

Jeremiah 2:6
HEB: בְּאֶ֨רֶץ עֲרָבָ֤ה וְשׁוּחָה֙ בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ צִיָּ֣ה
NAS: of deserts and of pits, Through a land
KJV: of deserts and of pits, through a land
INT: A land of deserts pits A land of drought

Jeremiah 18:20
HEB: כִּֽי־ כָר֥וּ שׁוּחָ֖ה לְנַפְשִׁ֑י זְכֹ֣ר ׀
NAS: For they have dug a pit for me. Remember
KJV: for they have digged a pit for my soul.
INT: for dig A pit my soul Remember

4 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 7745
4 Occurrences

šū·ḥāh — 3 Occ.
wə·šū·ḥāh — 1 Occ.