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 in the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound. And he was there in the prison. But Jehovah 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 gave all the prisoners in the prison into Joseph's hand. And whatever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison did not look to anything under his hand, because Jehovah was with him; and whatever he did, Jehovah made it to prosper.
And they put him under guard, so that the mind of Jehovah might be declared to them.
And they put him under guard because it had not been clearly said what should be done to him.
And the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass. And he ground in the prison house.
And when their hearts were merry, it happened that they said, Call for Samson and he will 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, So says the king, Put this one in the prison and feed him with bread of affliction and the water of affliction, until I come in peace.
For Jehovah hears the needy, and does not despise His prisoners.
Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; according to the greatness of Your power, leave a remnant of those who are to die,
Bring my soul out of prison that I may praise Your name; the righteous shall gather around me; for You shall reward me.
to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness out of the prison house.
For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem. And Jeremiah the prophet was shut in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's house.
But when John heard in the prison of the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples.
I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.
I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me; I was sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me.
And they laid hands on them and put them under guard until the next day, for it was already evening.
And laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the public custody.
saying, We indeed found the prison shut with all safety, and the keepers standing outside in front of the doors. But having opened it, we found no one inside.
But Saul ravaged the church, entering into every house. And dragging men and women, he delivered them up to prison.
And capturing him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four sets of four soldiers to keep him; intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. Then, indeed, Peter was kept in prison. But earnest prayer was made to God for him by the church.
who, having received such a command, 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 threw him into a pit. And the pit was empty, with no water in it.
And Joseph's master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound. And he was there in the prison.
The keeper of the prison did not look to anything under his hand, because Jehovah was with him; and whatever he did, Jehovah made it to prosper.
And he put them under guard in the house of the chief of the executioners, 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 cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison.
And it happened at midnight Jehovah struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne to the first-born of the captive that was in the prison; also all the first-born of cattle.
And the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass. And he ground in the prison house.
And when their hearts were merry, it happened that they said, Call for Samson and he will 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 Asa was angry with the seer and put him in a prison-house. For he was in a rage with him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.
And whoever will not do the Law of your God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily on him, whether it is to death, or to exile, or to confiscation of goods, or imprisonment.
then Pashur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of Jehovah.
Jehovah has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be officers in the house of Jehovah, over every madman who prophesies, that you should put him into the stocks and into the collar.
And Jeremiah came in and went out among the people, for they had not put him into prison.
And the rulers were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison, the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.
And the rulers were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison, the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.
And the rulers were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison, the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison. When Jeremiah had entered into the house of the pit, and into the cells, then Jeremiah remained there many days.
When Jeremiah had entered into the house of the pit, and into the cells, then Jeremiah remained there many days.
And Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, What have I offended against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?
And it happened in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty-fifth of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him out from prison,
You also, by the blood of Your covenant I have freed Your prisoners out of the pit in which is no water.
For Herod had laid hold on John, and had bound him, and had put him in prison because of Herodias his brother Philip's wife.
And he sent and beheaded John in the prison.
And they laid hands on them and put them under guard until the next day, for it was already evening.
And laid their hands on the apostles and put them in the public custody.
who, having received such a command, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.
who, having received such a command, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.
And Paul remained two years in his own hired house. And he welcomed all who came in to him,
in stripes, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;
in which also He went and preached to 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 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 do you prophesy and say, So says Jehovah, 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 into Babylon, and there he shall be until I visit him, says Jehovah; though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not be blessed. And Jeremiah said, The Word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum your uncle shall come to you, saying, Buy for yourself my field in Anathoth; for the right to redeem it is yours, to buy it. So Hanameel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the Word of Jehovah and said to me, Please buy my field in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the right to redeem is yours. Buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was the Word of Jehovah. And I bought the field in Anathoth, of Hanameel my uncle's son, and weighed him the silver, seventeen shekels of silver. And I wrote it in the document, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed the silver in the scales. So I took the document of the purchase, that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and the open copy. And I gave the document of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, before the eyes of Hanameel my uncle's son, and before the eyes of the witnesses who wrote in the purchase document, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard.
And it happened in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty-fifth of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him out from prison,
And after laying on them many stripes, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailor to keep them safely; who, having received such a command, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. read more. And toward midnight Paul and Silas prayed and praised God in a hymn. And the prisoners listened to 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 all the bonds were loosened. And being awakened, and seeing the doors of the prison being open, drawing a sword, the jailer was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
in which also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
And those angels not having kept their first place, but having deserted their dwelling-place, He has kept in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of a great Day;
And when the thousand years have expired, Satan will 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 under guard in the house of the chief of the executioners, into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound.
And they put him under guard, so that the mind of Jehovah might be declared to them.
And they put him under guard because it had not been clearly said what should be done to him.
and say, So says the king, Put this one in the prison and feed him with bread of affliction and the 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, you nor your sons forever. Nor shall you build houses, nor sow seed, nor plant a vineyard, nor have anything; but all your days you shall live in tents, so that you may live many days in the land where you are strangers. read more. So we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he has commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; nor to build houses for us to live in. Nor do we have vineyard, nor field, nor seed. But we have lived in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. But it happened when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, Come and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the Chaldean army, and for fear of the Syrian army. So we are living at Jerusalem.
who, having received such a command, thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks.
And dissension arising, the chiliarch, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and to take him from among them by force, and to bring him into the fortress.