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Greek · G5438 · unreviewed

φυλακή

Prison/watch: prison

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φυλακή G5438
Pronunciation phylakḗ

What does φυλακή (phylakḗ) mean in the Bible?

φυλακή (phylakḗ) is a Greek word meaning "prison/watch: prison". φυλακή, -ῆς, ἡ (φυλάσσω) [in LXX chiefly for מִשְׁמֶרֶת and cogn.

Full entry for φυλακή (G5438) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

prison/watch: prison
Extended definition

Prison, sentries, or a night watch—context determines which meaning, not the word itself

(φυλάσσω) [in LXX chiefly for מִשְׁמֶרֶת and cogn. forms, also for כֶּלֶא etc. ;]

aactively, a guarding, guard, watch (Hom., Plat., Xen., al.): cogn. accusative, φυλάσσειν φυλακάς, to keep watch, Luk.2:8;
bof those who keep watch (as also Lat. custodia), a guard; pl., sentinels, a guard (Hom., al.): Act.12:10; __(with) of the place where persons are kept under guard, a prison (Hdt., Thuc., al.): Mat.14:10, Mrk.6:17, Luk.3:20, Act.5:19, 2Co.6:5, 1Pe.3:19, Rev.18:2, al.;
dof the time during which guard was kept by night (Lest. vigilia; Anthol.), a watch: Mat.14:25 24:43, Mrk.6:48, Luk.12:38
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Singular · Feminine Rev 18:2 3×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Acts 5:19 · Acts 12:17 · Acts 16:27 · Acts 16:40 · Heb 11:36 · Rev 20:7 6×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Matt 14:3 · Matt 14:10 · Matt 14:25 · Matt 24:43 · Matt 25:36 · Matt 25:39 · Matt 25:43 · Matt 25:44 · Mark 6:17 · Mark 6:27 · Luke 3:20 · Luke 12:38 · Luke 23:19 · Acts 5:22 · Acts 5:25 · Acts 12:5 17×
Dative · Plural · Feminine Acts 26:10 · 2 Cor 6:5 · 2 Cor 11:23 3×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 5:25 · Matt 18:30 · Mark 6:48 · Luke 12:58 · Luke 22:33 · Luke 23:25 · John 3:24 · Acts 8:3 · Acts 12:4 · Acts 12:6 · Acts 12:10 · Acts 16:23 · Acts 16:24 · Acts 16:37 · Rev 2:10 15×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine Luke 2:8 · Luke 21:12 · Acts 22:4 3×
47 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

Witnesses
Luke 3:19–20 φυλακῇ phylakḗ
Prison, guard
Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

δεύτερος · τρίτος · φυλακή G1208, G5154, G5438
second or third watch of the night
τέταρτος · φυλακή G5067, G5438
fourth watch of the night
Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Acts 16 — The Gospel Enters Macedonia: Opened Hearts, Broken Chains, and Household Faith Matthew 14 — The Death of John, the Compassion of Jesus, and the Son of God over Bread, Sea, and Fear Matthew 18 — Kingdom Humility, Care for the Little Ones, Discipline, and Forgiveness in Christ’s Community Matthew 25 — Readiness, Stewardship, and the Final Judgment of the Son of Man

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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