Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 37:20

"Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, And evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams." — Genesis 37:20 (ASV)

Into some pit. —Hebrew, into one of the pits, that is, cisterns dug to catch and preserve rainwater. In summer they are dry, and a man thrown into one of them would have very little chance of escape, as they are not only deep, but narrow at the top. The Jewish interpreters accuse Simeon of being the prime mover in the plot, and say that this was the reason why Joseph cast him into prison (Genesis 42:24).