φῠλᾰκ-ή G5438
A guarding, a watch of the night, a guard post, or (most commonly in the NT) a prison or place of confinement
In classical Greek, phylake primarily meant the act of keeping watch, especially at night. The NT overwhelmingly uses it to denote a prison or place of detention—the dungeon where John the Baptist was held (Matt 14:10), the jail from which an angel freed Peter (Acts 12:10), and the spiritual prison of Revelation 18:2. A second, more archaic sense divides the night into watches, as when Jesus walked on water during the fourth watch (Matt 14:25). Spanish preserves the distinction neatly: cárcel for prison, vigilia for the night watch.
1. prison, place of confinement — The dominant NT usage, referring to a place of imprisonment or detention. Jesus teaches about being thrown into prison until debts are paid (Matt 5:25), John the Baptist languishes in Herod's prison (Matt 14:3, 10), and the righteous visit those in prison (Matt 25:36). Translations uniformly render this as 'prison' (cárcel in Spanish, Gefängnis in German, prison in French). 41×
AR["السِّجْنِ","سِجْنٍ","سِجْنِ"]·ben["কারাগার","কারাগারে"]·DE["Gefaengnis","Gefängnis"]·EN["prison"]·FR["prison"]·heb["בֵּית-הַסֹּהַר","בֵּית-כֶּלֶא","בֵּית-כֶלֶא","כֶּלֶא","מִשְׁמָר"]·HI["-मन्दिर-में","उन्हें","करग्रिह","कारागृह","जेल","बंदीगृह","बंदीशाला","बन्दीखाना","बन्दीखाने-में","बन्दीगृह"]·ID["penjara","penjara,","penjara;"]·IT["prigione"]·jav["kunjara.","kunjaran","pakunjaran","pakunjaran,","pakunjaran.","pakunjaran;"]·KO["감옥","감옥-에","감옥-으로","감옥에","감옥에,","감옥에도","감옥에서","감옥에서,","감옥으로","그-","데리고-나와"]·PT["prisão"]·RU["темнице","темницу","темницы"]·ES["cárcel","prisión"]·SW["gereza","gerezani","ya"]·TR["hapise","hapishanede","hapishanenin","hapishaneye","hapiste","hapse","zindana","zindanda"]·urd["قید","قید-خانہ","قید-خانے","قید-میں"]
Matt 5:25, Matt 14:3, Matt 14:10, Matt 18:30, Matt 25:36, Matt 25:39, Matt 25:43, Matt 25:44, Mark 6:17, Mark 6:27, Luke 3:20, Luke 12:58 (+29 more)
▼ 2 more senses below
Senses
2. watch, period of the night — A division of the night used for guard duty—three watches in Jewish reckoning, four in Roman. Jesus comes to the disciples walking on the sea during the 'fourth watch of the night' (Matt 14:25; Mark 6:48). Luke 12:38 speaks of the second and third watches. Spanish vigilia and guardias capture the temporal sense distinctly from the spatial 'prison' meaning. 5×
AR["حِرَاسَاتِ","هَزيعٍ","هَزيعِ","هَزِيعٍ"]·ben["পাহারা","প্রহরে"]·DE["Gefaengnis","Gefängnis"]·EN["watch","watches"]·FR["prison"]·heb["הַרְבִיעִי","מִשְׁמֶרֶת","מִשְׁמָר","מִשְׁמָרוֹת"]·HI["पहर","पहर-में","पहरे"]·ID["jaga"]·IT["prigione"]·jav["jaga","jaga-dalu"]·KO["밤-번에","야경들-을","야경에","파수"]·PT["vigília","vigílias"]·RU["стражи","стражу"]·ES["guardias","vigilia"]·SW["-","-la-usiku","zamu"]·TR["nöbetinde","nöbetleri","nöbette"]·urd["پہر","پہر-میں","پہرے"]
3. guard, guard post, act of guarding — The concrete act or station of guarding, where phylake denotes the guard post itself rather than a prison cell. In Acts 12:10, Peter and the angel pass through 'the first and second guard' (phylaken)—distinct checkpoints manned by sentries. This sense preserves the word's original connection to phylax ('guardian') and the military function of standing watch. 1×
AR["حِرَاسَةً"]·ben["প্রহরী"]·DE["Gefängnis"]·EN["guard"]·FR["prison"]·heb["מִשְׁמֶרֶת"]·HI["चौकी"]·ID["penjagaan"]·IT["prigione"]·jav["jagi"]·KO["경비를"]·RU["стражу"]·ES["guardia"]·SW["ulinzi"]·TR["nöbeti"]·urd["پہرے"]
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H1129 1. Qal: build, construct (316×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H2691a 1. court, courtyard, enclosure (142×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)G4864 1. synagogue, place of Jewish assembly (56×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
φῠλᾰκ-ή, ἡ, (φύλαξ) watching or guarding, especially by night, φυλακῆς μνήσασθε Refs 8th c.BC+; φυλακὰς ἔχειν keep watch and ward, Refs; φ. κατέχειν Refs 5th c.BC+; φυλακὴ ἔχει αὐτόν watching engages him, variant in Refs 8th c.BC+ tell an unarmed man to stand on the defensive, i.e. to give commands that cannot be obeyed, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὅπως ἀφανὴς εἴη ἡ φ. that there might be nothing visible to…