κατα-κλείω G2623
shut up, lock up, confine or imprison someone
This verb means to shut in, lock up, or confine. Luke 3:20 records that Herod 'locked up (κατέκλεισεν) John in prison,' adding this crime to all his others. Paul tells Agrippa (Acts 26:10) how he persecuted Christians, saying, 'I not only locked up (κατέκλεισα) many of the saints in prison... but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them.' The term conveys the forceful confinement of those deemed dangerous or heretical. In both cases, the imprisonment is unjust—John's prophetic witness and the saints' faith leading to their being shut away.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Both uses involve literal imprisonment of God's servants. Classical usage (LSJ) includes shutting in, enclosing (e.g., into a siege or case), shutting someone up in a place. Spanish 'encerrar' and French 'enfermer' (to lock up) fit the imprisoning sense. Herod's act silences the Baptist's prophetic voice temporarily, while Paul's zealous persecution before his conversion involved incarcerating believers. The verb underscores the power of earthly rulers to confine the body but not to silence the truth they proclaim. 2×
AR["حَبَسَ", "حَبَسْتُ"]·ben["বন্দী-করল", "বন্দী-করিলাম"]·DE["κατέκλεισα", "κατέκλεισεν"]·EN["he-locked-up", "shut-up"]·FR["enfermer"]·heb["הִסְגַּרְתִּי", "סָגַר"]·HI["बंद-कर-दिया", "बंदकिया"]·ID["memenjarakan", "mengurung,"]·IT["katekleisen", "rinchiudere"]·jav["kula-kunjara,", "ngunjara"]·KO["가두었다"]·PT["encerrei,", "encerrou"]·RU["заключил"]·ES["encerré", "encerró"]·SW["akamfunga", "nilifunga"]·TR["kapattı", "kapattım"]·urd["بند-کیا"]
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
κατα-κλείω, old Attic dialect κατακλῄω Refs 5th c.BC+future κατακλιῶ uncertain in Refs 5th c.BC+:—middle, aorist -εκλεισάμηνRefs 5th c.BC+ —passive, aorist -εκλῄσθην, -εκλείσθην (see. below); Ionic dialect -εκληΐσθηνRefs 5th c.BC+; Doric dialect -εκλᾴσθηνRefs 3rd c.BC+: perfect -κέκλῃμαιRefs 5th c.BC+ __I with accusative person, shut in, enclose, e. g. a mummy in its case, Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. εἰς…