Dictionary of Bible Themes  »  5000 Humanity  »  5200 Human civilisation  »  5460 prison

A place of confinement, such as a jail or dungeon, used to imprison individuals.

Irregular prisons

Genesis 37:22 A cistern was usually a plaster-coated underground rock cavity used for storing water. See also Numbers 12:14-15 Miriam's confinement may have been as much isolation as punishment; Jeremiah 38:6,13

Houses used as prisons

Jeremiah 37:15 See also 2 Samuel 20:3; Luke 22:54; Acts 28:16

Legally established prisons

Genesis 39:20; Acts 5:18 See also Genesis 42:16-19; Judges 16:21; 1 Kings 22:27; 2 Kings 17:4; Kings 25:27; 2 Chronicles 16:10; Matthew 14:3; Luke 21:12; Acts 4:3; Acts 12:4-7; Acts 16:37

Barracks or guardhouses as prisons

Jeremiah 32:2; Acts 22:24; Philippians 1:12-13

Figurative and poetic use of prisons

Isaiah 42:7 See also Job 11:10; Psalm 88:8; Psalm 142:7; Isaiah 24:22; Luke 12:58; 1 Peter 3:19; 2 Peter 2:4; Revelation 1:18

The restriction of Satan's activity is pictured as his binding and imprisonment:

Revelation 20:1,7

See also

5246  captivity
5344  imprisonment
5364  key
5461  prisoners
6660  freedom through Christ