Reference: Prison
Easton
The first occasion on which we read of a prison is in the history of Joseph in Egypt. Then Potiphar, "Joseph's master, took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound" (Ge 39:20-23). The Heb word here used (sohar) means properly a round tower or fortress. It seems to have been a part of Potiphar's house, a place in which state prisoners were kept.
The Mosaic law made no provision for imprisonment as a punishment. In the wilderness two persons were "put in ward" (Le 24:12; Nu 15:34), but it was only till the mind of God concerning them should be ascertained. Prisons and prisoners are mentioned in the book of Psalms (Ps 69:33; 79:11; 142:7). Samson was confined in a Philistine prison (Jg 16:21,25). In the subsequent history of Israel frequent references are made to prisons (1Ki 22:27; 2Ki 17:4; 25:27,29; 2Ch 16:10; Isa 42:7; Jer 32:2). Prisons seem to have been common in New Testament times (Mt 11:2; 25:36,43). The apostles were put into the "common prison" at the instance of the Jewish council (Ac 5:18,23; 8:3); and at Philippi Paul and Silas were thrust into the "inner prison" (Ac 16:24; comp. Ac 4:3; 12:4-5).
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And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him grace in the sight of the prince of the house of the prison. read more. And the prince of the house of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatever they did there, he was the doer of it. The prince of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
And they put him in ward that the mind of the LORD might be showed them.
And they put him in ward because it was not declared what should be done to him.
But the Philistines took hold of him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with fetters of iron that he should grind in the prison house.
And it came to pass when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson that he may make us laugh. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport, and they set him between the pillars.
and say, Thus hath the king said, Put this fellow in the prison and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.
For the LORD hears the destitute and does not despise his prisoners.
Let the sighing of the prisoners come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve those that are appointed to die
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name; the righteous shall feast with me; when thou shalt have weaned me.
that thou might open the eyes of the blind, that thou might bring out the prisoners from the prison and those that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
for then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's house.
Now when John had heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick and in prison, and ye visited me not.
And they laid hands on them and put them in jail unto the next day, for it was now evening.
and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.
saying, We certainly found the prison shut with all security and the keepers standing outside before the doors, but when we had opened, we found no one within.
As for Saul, he made havoc of the congregation ; entering into the houses and dragging out men and women, he committed them to prison.
And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him, intending after the Passover to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in the prison, and the congregation made prayer without unto God for him.
who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.
Hastings
Imprisonment, in the modern sense of strict confinement under guard, had no recognized place as a punishment for criminals under the older Hebrew legislation (see Crimes and Punishments,
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and they took him and cast him into the cistern; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison.
The prince of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
And he put them in prison in the house of the captain of the guard, into the house of the prison where Joseph was bound.
And both of them dreamed a dream, each man his dream in the same night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison.
And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the animals.
But the Philistines took hold of him and put out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with fetters of iron that he should grind in the prison house.
And it came to pass when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson that he may make us laugh. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport, and they set him between the pillars.
Then Asa was wroth with the seer and put him in the prison house, for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa killed some of the people at the same time.
And whoever will not do the law of thy God and the law of the king, let them be judged speedily, whether it be unto death or to banishment or to confiscation of goods or to imprisonment.
Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were at the gate of Benjamin on the high place, which is in the house of the LORD.
The LORD has made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should preside in the house of the LORD over every man that is furious and prophesies, putting him in the prison and in the stocks.
(Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison.
Therefore 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.
Therefore 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.
Therefore 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. When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, In what have I sinned against thee or against thy slaves or against this people that ye have put me in prison?
And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Evilmerodach 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
As for thee also, by the blood of thy covenant I have taken thy prisoners out of the pit in which there is no water.
For Herod had laid hold on John and bound him and put him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.
And he sent and beheaded John in the prison.
And they laid hands on them and put them in jail unto the next day, for it was now evening.
and laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the common prison.
who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.
who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.
And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came in unto him,
in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings,
in which he also went and preached unto the imprisoned spirits,
Morish
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 (Ps 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 favourable 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. Jehoiachin was in prison in Babylon. Jer 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. Ac 16:23-27.
Fallen angels are said to be kept in 'everlasting chains,' Jude 1:6; and there are spirits which are kept in prison. 1Pe 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. Re 20:7.
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for then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's house. For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus hath the LORD said, Behold, I give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it? read more. 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; and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, said the LORD; if ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper? And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle comes unto thee, saying, Buy my field that is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is thine to buy it. So Hanameel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the guard 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. 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. And I subscribed the evidence and sealed it and took witnesses and weighed him the money in the balances. So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open. And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel my uncle's son and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase before all the Jews that were in the court of the guard.
And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Evilmerodach 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
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely, who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. read more. But at midnight as Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God, and the prisoners heard them, then 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. 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 fled.
in which he also went and preached unto the imprisoned spirits,
And the angels who did not keep their first estate but left their own habitation, he has reserved in eternal chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison
Smith
[For imprisonment as a punishment, see PUNISHMENTS] It is plain that in Egypt special places were used as prisons, and that they were under the custody of a military officer.
See Punishments
During the wandering in the desert we read on two occasions of confinement "in ward" --
but as imprisonment was not directed by the law, so we hear of none till the time of the kings, when the prison appears as an appendage to the palace, or a special part of it.
Private houses were sometimes used as places of confinement. By the Romans the tower of Antoni, was used as a prison at Jerusalem,
and at Caesarea the praetorium of Herod. The royal prisons In those days were doubtless managed after the Roman fashion, and chains, fetters and stocks were used as means of confinement. See
One of the readiest places for confinement was a dry or partially-dry wall or pit.
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And he put them in prison in the house of the captain of the guard, into the house of the prison where Joseph was bound.
And they put him in ward that the mind of the LORD might be showed them.
And they put him in ward because it was not declared what should be done to him.
and say, Thus hath the king said, Put this fellow in the prison and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace.
But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: neither shall ye build a house, nor sow seed, nor plant a vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye are strangers. read more. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab our father, the son of Rechab, in all that he has charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: But we have dwelt in tents and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. But it came to pass, nevertheless, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem from before the army of the Chaldeans and from before of the army of the Syrians: and so we remain in Jerusalem.
who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.
And when there arose a great dissension, the tribunal, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and to take him by force from among them and to bring him into the fortress.