H4115 H4115
stocks or restraining device for punishment
An instrument of confinement that forced the captive into a bent or twisted posture, used to punish Jeremiah for his prophetic ministry. He was placed in 'the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the Lord' (Jeremiah 20:2-3), and the device is mentioned again in Jeremiah 29:26 as part of the apparatus for restraining mad prophets. The term also appears in Asa's persecution of Hanani the seer (2 Chronicles 16:10), suggesting it was a standard tool for silencing dissident voices.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A restraining device or stocks used for punishment, compelling the victim into an uncomfortable or distorted position. All occurrences involve the punishment of prophets or seers who spoke unwelcome truth to power. The multilingual glosses ('stocks,' 'cepo') consistently identify it as an instrument of confinement, though the exact mechanism remains uncertain—possibly similar to the device mentioned in Acts 16:24. 4×
AR["المِقْطَرَةِ", "الْمِقْطَرَةِ"]·ben["-কাঠগড়া", "-কাঠগড়ায়", "কারাগারের", "শৃঙ্খলে-সেই"]·DE["[המהפכת]"]·EN["the-stocks"]·FR["[המהפכת]", "renversement"]·heb["ה-מהפכת"]·HI["काठ", "की-कारा"]·ID["belenggu", "pasungan"]·IT["[המהפכת]", "il-rovesciamento"]·jav["blok", "lan-ngandika", "wonten-ing-gapura"]·KO["그-감옥의", "그-차고에", "그-차고에서", "그-차고와"]·PT["o-cepo", "o-tronco", "o-tronco;"]·RU["а-колодок", "колодки", "колодок"]·ES["el-cepo"]·SW["gerezani", "minyororo", "pingu"]·TR["cezaevi'nin", "tomruk", "tomruğa-o"]·urd["طوق", "قید-خانے-میں", "کنڈے-سے", "کنڈے-میں"]
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
† מַהְפֶּ֫כֶת n.f. stocks or similar instrum. of punishment (compelling crooked posture, or distorting), mentioned rather late; as punishment for Jeremiah הַמּ׳ אֲשֶׁר בְּשַׁעַר בִּנְיָמִן Je 20:2 (𝔊 εἰς τὸν καταράκτην κ.τ.λ.), cf. אֶל־הַמּ׳ 29:26 (𝔊 εἰς τὸ ἀπόκλεισμα; ‖ אֶל־הַצִּינֹק, 𝔊 εἰς τὸν καταράκτην, but order of words perhaps reversed in 𝔊); הַמַּהְפָּ֑כֶת 20:3; בֵּית הַמַּהְפֶּכֶת…