Prison/watch
φυλακήStrong’s G5438phulakē
Appears in 45 verses of the New Testament
In short
Phulakē is the Greek word usually translated “prison”, “watch” and “prisons”. It appears in 45 verses of the New Testament.
“Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.”
Meaning
Usually translated “prison”, “watch” and “prisons”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.
How it's translated
- prison 32
- watch 5
- prisons 3
- imprisonments 2
- a prison 2
- time of night 1
- guard 1
- imprisonment 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Acts 16
- Matthew 10
- Luke 8
- Mark 3
- Revelation 3
- 2 Corinthians 2
9 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Matthew 14:3For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife.
- Matthew 14:10And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison.
- Matthew 14:25And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
- Matthew 18:30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
- Matthew 24:43But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
- Matthew 25:36Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
All 45 verses, by book
Greek dictionary
φυλακή phulakē · prison/watch
φυλακή, -ῆς, ἡ (φυλάσσω) [in LXX chiefly for מִשְׁמֶרֶת and cogn. forms, also for כֶּלֶא etc. ;] (a) actively, a guarding, guard, watch (Hom., Plat., Xen., al.): cogn. accusative, φυλάσσειν φυλακάς, to keep watch, Luk.2:8; (b) of those who keep watch (as also Lat. custodia), a guard; pl., sentinels, a guard (Hom., al.): Act.12:10; (with) of the place where persons are kept under guard, a prison (Hdt., Thuc., al.): Mat.14:10, Mrk.6:17, Luk.3:20, Act.5:19, 2Co.6:5, 1Pe.3:19, Rev.18:2, al.; …
From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “prison” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
PRISON, noun
priz'n. [Latin prendo.]
- In a general sense, any place of confinement or involuntary restraint; but appropriately, a public building for the confinement or safe custody of debtors and criminals committed by process of law; a jail.
- Any place of confinement or restraint.
- In Scripture, a low, obscure, afflicted condition. Ecclesiastes 4:14
- The cave where David was confined. Psalms 142:7
All definitions and other forms of “prison”
- A state of spiritual bondage. Isaiah 42:7
PRIS'ON, verb transitive
To shut up in a prison; to confine; to restrain from liberty.
- To confine in any manner.
- To captivate; to enchain.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.