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 favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. read more. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper 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 custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown them.
And they put him in custody, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he did 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 sport for us. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made sport for them: and they set him between the pillars.
And say, Thus says the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.
For the LORD hears the poor, and despises not his prisoners.
Let the sighing of the prisoner come before you; according to the greatness of your power preserve you those that are appointed to die;
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise your name: the righteous shall surround me; for you shall deal bountifully with me.
To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them 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 prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.
Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
Naked, and you clothed me: I was sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came unto me.
I was a stranger, and you took me not in: naked, and you clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and you visited me not.
And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day: for it was now evening.
And laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison.
Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing outside before the doors: but when we had opened it, we found no man within.
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and dragging off men and women committed them to prison.
And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him; intending after the passover to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church 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 a pit: 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 keeper 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 custody in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one 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 to the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of bronze; and he did 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 sport for us. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made sport for them: and they set him between the pillars.
Then Asa was angry 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.
And whosoever will not do the law of your God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.
Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.
The LORD has made you priest in the place of Jehoiada the priest, that you should be officers in the house of the LORD, over every man that is mad, and makes himself a prophet, that you should put him in 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 angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.
Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.
Therefore the princes were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison. When Jeremiah had entered into the dungeon, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
When Jeremiah had entered into the dungeon, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, How have I offended against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?
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,
As for you also, because of the blood of your covenant I have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit in which 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 custody until 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 labors, in watchings, in fastings;
By whom also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
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 prison, which was in the king of Judah's house. For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why do you prophesy, and say, Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will 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, says the LORD: though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper. And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle shall come unto you, saying, Buy my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is yours to buy it. So Hanamel my 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 you, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. And I bought the field of Hanamel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. And I signed the deed, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. So I took the deed of purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open: And I gave the deed of purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that signed the deed of purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.
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,
And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailer 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. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. 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. 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.
By whom also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
And the angels who kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
And when the thousand years are ended, 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 custody in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
And they put him in custody, that the mind of the LORD might be shown them.
And they put him in custody, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
And say, Thus says the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace.
But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, You shall drink no wine, neither you, nor your sons forever: Neither shall you build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days you shall dwell in tents; that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners. read more. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father 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, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at 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 chief captain, 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 barracks.