H3608 H3608
Confinement, prison — a place of imprisonment; used in the phrase bêth hakkelĕʾ 'prison house'
This noun denotes a place of confinement or restraint, typically appearing in the construct phrase bêth (hak)keleʾ, 'the house of imprisonment.' It describes literal prisons in the historical and prophetic books — where Micaiah was confined by Ahab (1 Kgs 22:27), where Hoshea was shut up by Assyria (2 Kgs 17:4), and where Jeremiah endured repeated detention (Jer 37:15, 18). Isaiah uses its plural bāttê kelāʾîm ('houses of confinement,' Isa 42:22) to describe Israel's spiritual bondage. The cognate Akkadian bīt kīli confirms this as part of a shared ancient Near Eastern vocabulary for incarceration.
Senses
1. prison, confinement — A masculine noun meaning confinement, restraint, or imprisonment, most often in the construct bêth (hak)keleʾ ('prison house,' 1 Kgs 22:27; 2 Chr 18:26; 2 Kgs 17:4; Jer 37:15, 18). It also appears in the expression bigdê kilʾô ('garments of his imprisonment,' 2 Kgs 25:29 = Jer 52:33), referring to prison clothing. Isaiah's plural bāttê kelāʾîm (42:22) extends the image metaphorically to Israel trapped in captivity. Spanish 'cárcel/prisión,' French 'prison,' and the Akkadian cognate bīt kīli all confirm the core sense of a physically enclosed place of detention — not mere restriction but locked confinement. 10×
AR["الحَبْسِ", "السُّجُونِ", "السِّجنِ", "السِّجْنِ", "سِجْنِهِ"]·ben["কারাগারের", "কারাগারের-তাঁর", "তার-বন্দীত্বের", "বন্দিশালার।"]·DE["[הכלא]", "[כלא]", "[כלאו]", "[כלאים]", "der-prison", "prison", "sein-prison"]·EN["confinement", "his-prison", "prison", "prisons", "the-dungeon", "the-prison"]·FR["[הכלא]", "comme-ne...pas", "le-prison", "prison", "son-prison"]·heb["ה-כלא", "כלא", "כלאו", "כלאים"]·HI["उसके-कारागार-के", "कारागार-के", "कारागारों-के", "की-कारा", "केलेअ", "केलेअ-उसके", "कैद", "बंदीखाने-का", "बंदीगृह"]·ID["kurungan", "penjara", "penjaranya", "tahanan"]·IT["[הכלא]", "come-non", "il-prigione", "prigione", "suo-prigione"]·jav["kunjaran", "kunjaranipun", "pakunjaran"]·KO["감금의", "감옥의", "감옥의-그의", "그-감옥의", "그-의-감옥의"]·PT["a-prisão", "cativeiro", "cativeiros", "o-cárcere", "prisão", "prisão-dele", "sua-prisão"]·RU["а-темницы", "заключения", "заключения-его", "темниц", "темницы", "темницы-его"]·ES["cárceles", "la-cárcel", "prisión", "su-prisión"]·SW["gereza", "gereza-lake", "kifungo", "ya-gereza", "ya-kifungo", "ya-kifungo-chake", "za-gereza"]·TR["hapishane-onun", "hapishanenin", "hapisin", "hapsin", "zindanın"]·urd["اُس-کی-قید-کے", "قید-خانا", "قید-خانہ", "قید-خانے-میں", "قید-کے", "قید-کے-اُس-کی", "قیدخانوں-کے", "قیدخانے-کے"]
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
† כֶּ֫לֶא n.[m.] confinement, restraint, imprisonment;—abs. כ׳ 1 K 22:27 + 6 times; sf. כִּלְאוֹ 2 K 25:29; Je 52:33; pl. כְּלָאִים Is 42:22;—confinement, in combin. בֵּית (ה)כ׳ (cf. Assyrian bît kīli, prison, Dl HWB 328) 1 K 22:27 = 2 Ch 18:26, 2 K 17:4; Je 37:15, 18; Is 42:7; בָּֽתֵּי כְלָאִים v 22 (cf. בַּיִת 1 (ε) (2) p. 109 supr.; v. also כלוא infr.); בִּנְדֵי כִלְאוֹ 2 K 25:29 = Je 52:33 garments of imprisonment = prison-garb.