δεσμ-ωτήριον G1201
desmoterion -- a prison or place of confinement; a jail where prisoners are held under guard
Desmoterion denotes a prison or jail -- a secured place where persons are held in custody. Derived from desmos ('bond, chain'), it emphasizes the place where one is bound, giving it a more institutional feel than the common phulake. In the New Testament it appears exclusively in the Synoptics and Acts: John the Baptist sends word from the desmoterion (Matt 11:2), and the apostles are miraculously freed from one (Acts 5:21-23; 16:26). Spanish carcel, French prison, and German Gefangnis all render it uniformly, confirming a single concrete sense of 'place of imprisonment.'
Senses
1. sense 1 — A place of incarceration or confinement, where prisoners are held under guard and in bonds. The word's etymology (from desmos, 'chain, bond') foregrounds the binding aspect of imprisonment. All four New Testament occurrences involve physical custody: John the Baptist imprisoned by Herod (Matt 11:2), and the apostles locked in the public prison in Jerusalem (Acts 5:21, 5:23, 16:26). Cross-lingual evidence -- Spanish carcel, French prison -- converges on a single undifferentiated sense of 'jail, prison.' 4×
AR["السِّجْنَ", "السِّجْنِ", "سِجنِ"]·ben["কারাগার", "কারাগারে", "কারাগারের"]·DE["δεσμωτήριον", "δεσμωτηρίου", "δεσμωτηρίῳ"]·EN["prison"]·FR["prison"]·heb["בֵּית-הַסּוֹהַר", "בֵּית-הָאֲסוּרִים", "מִשְׁמָר"]·HI["पाया", "बन्दीगृह-की", "बन्देए-ग्रिह-मेइन"]·ID["penjara"]·IT["desmoterio", "prigione"]·jav["pakunjaran", "penjara"]·KO["감옥", "감옥-을", "감옥의", "데려오게-하려고"]·PT["prisão", "prisão."]·RU["темнице", "темницу", "темницы"]·ES["cárcel", "prisión"]·SW["gereza"]·TR["hapishanede", "tutukevine", "tutukevini", "zindanın"]·urd["قید-خانے"]
Related Senses
H1129 1. Qal: build, construct (316×)H2691a 1. court, courtyard, enclosure (142×)G4864 1. synagogue, place of Jewish assembly (56×)G5438 1. prison, place of confinement (41×)H4013 1. fortress, stronghold (37×)H0875 1. well, cistern (dug water source) (35×)H0352b 1. pillar or jamb of gateway (32×)H2474 1. window, opening in wall (32×)H1406 1. roof / rooftop (31×)H4609b 1. steps, stairs, stairway (31×)H1129 2. Nifal: be built, be established (30×)H0361 1. portico, porch (architectural structure) (27×)H1129 3. Qal participle: builder (27×)H1219 1. fortified, inaccessible (25×)H4581 1. fortress, stronghold (25×)H3805 1. capital of a pillar (24×)H4350 1. stand, base, pedestal (24×)H0759 1. palace, royal residence (21×)H4692 1. siege, besiegement (20×)G3618 1. build or construct physically (19×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
δεσμ-ωτήριον, τό, prison, Refs 5th c.BC+: plural, = Latin ergastula, Refs 1st c.AD+