Greek word · G1201

δεσμωτήριον

desmōtērion

prison

A place of custody, jail. Built on desmos ('bond'), it means literally 'the place where people are bound'. Luke uses it in Acts 5:21, 23 and 16:26, and Matthew in 11:2 (John the Baptist in prison).

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

δεσμωτήριον, -ου, τό

[in LXX for בֵּית סֹהַר (Ge), אָסִיר ;]

a prison: Matthew 11:2, Acts 5:21, 23 16:26.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Acts 16:26

Range of meaning

A place of custody, jail. Built on desmos ('bond'), it means literally 'the place where people are bound'. Luke uses it in Acts 5:21, 23 and 16:26, and Matthew in 11:2 (John the Baptist in prison).

Against the English

'Prison' is the right word, but modern readers picture a prison as where people serve a sentence. In the Roman world a jail mostly held people until trial, flogging, execution or release.

How it drifted

Imprisonment as the punishment itself became normal only in modern times. Roman law treated a jail as a place for holding people, not for punishing them.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek writers from Thucydides and Plato onward use the word for public jails. Roman legal tradition (preserved in the Digest of Justinian 48.19.8.9) states that prison is for holding people, not for punishing them.

From the study of Matthew 11:2

Range of meaning

Prison, jail, place of confinement. Literally "place of bonds". It is related to desmios, "prisoner in chains", and desmeuō, "to bind".

Against the English

English "prison" suggests a sentence served as punishment in an organized penal system. Ancient custody was mostly holding: the prisoner waited on a ruler's whim, a trial or execution, often in chains, and depended on outsiders for food.

How it drifted

Modern prison systems that treat confinement as the punishment itself date mainly from the 18th–19th centuries.

Used elsewhere in the period

Classical and Hellenistic Greek authors (e.g., Thucydides, Plato's account of Socrates' imprisonment before his execution) use it for places of custody. Elsewhere in the NT it appears in Matt 11:2 and Acts 5:21, 23; 16:26. Josephus (Antiquities 18.116–119) says Herod Antipas held John at the fortress of Machaerus, east of the Dead Sea, and executed him there.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 11:2 δεσμωτηρίῳ prison

    Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples

    Here: Literally "place of chains", from desmos, "bond, fetter". It was a place where someone was held in custody, usually while waiting for a ruler's decision or for execution. It was not a fixed sentence served as punishment.

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 5:21 δεσμωτήριον prison house

    At daybreak the apostles entered the temple courts as they had been told and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they convened the Sanhedrin—the full assembly of the elders of Israel—and sent to the jail for the apostles.

  2. Acts 5:23 δεσμωτήριον prison house

    “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards posted at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”

  3. Acts 16:26 δεσμωτηρίου· prison house;

    Suddenly a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison. At once all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose.

    Here: Literally a 'place of bonds', a lock-up where people were held in chains. It shares a root with 'bonds' (desma) at the end of the verse, so Luke opens and closes the verse on the idea of being bound.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.