EXTRA · Parashas Vayeishev · Passuk 37:20 · not a Torah Temimah citation on this passuk
Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we can say, ‘A savage beast devoured him.’ We shall see what comes of his dreams!”
Classical source (EXTRA side-ring): Bereshis Rabbah 84:14.
Sefaria — Bereshis Rabbah 84:14
English: “And cast him into one of the pits” — R’ Akiva said: there were three pits there; one was full of snakes and scorpions.
Derash on the verse (Bereshis Rabbah) — not a formal named middah of the 13. “One of the pits” is specified as a choice among dangerous options.
The brothers’ plan included pits that could kill by themselves; the cruelty is deliberate.