Different from the ordinary prison in being more severe as a place of punishment. Like the Roman inner prison ( Acts 16:24 ), it consisted of a deep cell or cistern ( Jeremiah 38:6 ). To be shut up in, a punishment common in Egypt ( Genesis 39:20 ; 40:3 ; 41:10 ; 42:19 ). It is not mentioned, however, in the law of Moses as a mode of punishment. Under the later kings imprisonment was frequently used as a punishment ( 2 Chronicles 16:10 ; Jeremiah 20:2 ; 32:2 ; 33:1 ; 37:15 ), and it was customary after the Exile ( Matthew 11:2 ; Luke 3:20 ; Acts 5:18,21 ; Matthew 18:30 ).
Source
- part_of
source-manifest/easton— Easton's Bible Dictionary (PD)