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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(seizing). Ward or lock-up (
Lev. 24:12
12
And they put him in ward, that the mind of the Lord might be showed them. (Leviticus 24:12)
;
Num. 15:34
34
And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. (Numbers 15:34)
); well or
pit
(
Gen. 37:24
24
And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. (Genesis 37:24)
;
Jer. 38:6-11
6
Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
7
Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
8
Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying,
9
My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.
10
Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.
11
So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 38:6‑11)
); part of a
palace
(
2 Chron. 16:10
10
Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time. (2 Chronicles 16:10)
;
Jer. 32:2
2
For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house. (Jeremiah 32:2)
;
Acts 23:10,35
10
And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. (Acts 23:10)
35
I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall. (Acts 23:35)
).
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
In
Egypt
, in
Babylon
, among the Romans, and doubtless in most other nations, these were used as places in which to secure prisoners.
Joseph
was cast into prison, and his feet were hurt with
fetters
(
Psa. 105:18
18
Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron: (Psalm 105:18)
), though it does not appear that there was any trial as to the crime of which he was accused.
God
interfered on his behalf, and made the keeper or
jailor
favorable to him, and he committed all the prisoners into Joseph’s care. This was the royal prison, but the condition of the place is not known: he called it “the
dungeon
.”
Jeremiah
was confined in “the court of the prison,” a place to which the Jews could come and where they could converse with him (
Jer. 32:2-12
2
For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.
3
For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
4
And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;
5
And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.
6
And Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
7
Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.
8
So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.
9
And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
10
And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
11
So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:
12
And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison. (Jeremiah 32:2‑12)
).
Jehoiachin
was in prison in Babylon (
Jer. 52:31
31
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, (Jeremiah 52:31)
). The prison at
Jerusalem
, under the Romans, is more fully described.
Peter
was bound by two
chains
, and lay asleep between two soldiers. It was under military rule, and the soldiers were responsible for the safety of the prisoners. The angel conducted Peter through the first and second
guard
to the outer
iron
gate
that led into the city. This shows what is meant by the “inner prison” mentioned elsewhere (Acts 12). At
Philippi
there was a jailor who was responsible for the safety of the prisoners. He, supposing some had escaped, was about to destroy himself, when
Paul
stopped him (
Acts 16:23-27
23
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
24
Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
25
And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
26
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.
27
And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. (Acts 16:23‑27)
).
Fallen
angels
are said to be kept in “
everlasting
chains” (
Jude 6
6
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. (Jude 6)
); and there are spirits which are kept in prison (
1 Peter 3:19
19
By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; (1 Peter 3:19)
). The
abyss
in which
Satan
is to be shut up for the thousand years is also called a prison, which may refer to the same place (
Rev. 20:7
7
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, (Revelation 20:7)
).
“72. Prisons” From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
Genesis 40:3
3
And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. (Genesis 40:3)
. He
put
them in ward in the
house
of the
captain
of the
guard
, into the
prison
, the place where
Joseph
was bound.
According to the Eastern
custom
, the state-prison formed a part of the dwelling-house of the chief of the executioners, or of some other prominent personage. See
Jeremiah 37:15
15
Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison. (Jeremiah 37:15)
.
Sometimes
even the king’s
palace
was so used. See
Jeremiah 32:2
2
For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house. (Jeremiah 32:2)
.
“831. Prisoners Chained” From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
Acts 12:6
6
And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. (Acts 12:6)
.
Peter
was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two
chains
.
Among the Romans the prisoner was bound to the
soldier
who had charge of him by means of a chain, which joined the prisoner’s right wrist to the left wrist of the soldier.
Sometimes
, for greater security, the prisoner was chained to two soldiers, one on each side of him. This was the case with Peter.
Paul
was at one
time
bound in a similar way. See
Acts 21:33
33
Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done. (Acts 21:33)
. At another time he was fastened to a single soldier. See
Acts 28:16, 20
16
And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. (Acts 28:16)
20
For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. (Acts 28:20)
.
Related Books and Articles:
831. Prisoners Chained
From:
Manners and Customs of the Bible
By:
James M. Freeman
72. Prisons
From:
Manners and Customs of the Bible
By:
James M. Freeman
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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