Exodus 21:33

Open a pit. Literally, “leaves a pit open” (RSV). The remainder of the chapter deals with injuries to property, which among the Hebrews consisted largely of cattle and flocks. Pits, or cisterns, were necessary in Palestine for the storage of water. They were usually covered by a flat stone. It was the duty of the one drawing water to re-cover the cistern after taking water from it.

Dig a pit. In the unfenced fields of Palestine it was always possible that a neighbor’s animal might go astray and suffer injury because of another’s negligence. Unable to extricate itself, an animal falling into a pit might drown. The owner of the cistern was to make good the loss of the animal and receive the carcass.