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Iron Age II - King David and the First Temple Period
  • An ancient cistern discovered in the City of David: was this Jeremiah's Pit? Photo: Eliyahu Yanai. Courtesy of the City of David Archives
    An ancient cistern discovered in the City of David: was this Jeremiah's Pit? Photo: Eliyahu Yanai. Courtesy of the City of David Archives
    View Image
  • An ancient cistern discovered in the City of David: was this Jeremiah's Pit? Photo: Eliyahu Yanai. Courtesy of the City of David Archives
    An ancient cistern discovered in the City of David: was this Jeremiah's Pit? Photo: Eliyahu Yanai. Courtesy of the City of David Archives
    View Image
Iron Age II - King David and the First Temple Period

Out of the Depths, I Call unto You: the Great Pit at the Top of the City of David

Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. Shall evil be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my soul.


Jeremiah 18:19–20

In the picture: A large cistern from the Roman period was discovered in excavations at the top of the City of David hill during the twentieth century. The cistern does not date from the time of Jeremiah, but its great antiquity and location in the City of David illustrate the story of Jeremiah cast into the pit and imprisoned (Jeremiah 38). The pit has been popularly dubbed “Jeremiah’s Pit.”