The concept of "confine" in the Bible often relates to the idea of boundaries, limitations, or restrictions placed by God or circumstances. This term can be understood both in a physical and spiritual sense, reflecting God's order and the consequences of human actions.

Physical Boundaries and Limitations

In the physical realm, God established boundaries in creation. Genesis 1:9-10 describes how God gathered the waters to one place, allowing dry ground to appear, thus setting the boundaries of the seas and land: "And God said, 'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.' And it was so. God called the dry land 'earth,' and the gathering of waters He called 'seas.' And God saw that it was good." This act of confining the waters demonstrates God's sovereign control over creation, establishing order and structure.

The concept of confinement is also evident in the laws given to Israel, which set boundaries for behavior and worship. These laws were designed to confine the Israelites to a path of righteousness and holiness, as seen in Leviticus 18:4-5 : "You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God. Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD."

Spiritual Confinement and Freedom

Spiritually, confinement can refer to the limitations imposed by sin. Sin is depicted as a form of bondage or confinement from which humanity needs deliverance. Romans 6:20-22 illustrates this concept: "For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness. What fruit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life."

Conversely, the Bible speaks of the freedom found in Christ, which breaks the spiritual confinement of sin. Galatians 5:1 states, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be encumbered once more by a yoke of slavery." This freedom is not a license to sin but a call to live within the boundaries of God's will, which leads to true liberty.

Confinement as Protection and Discipline

Confinement can also serve as a form of protection or discipline. In the Old Testament, God sometimes confined His people to protect them or to discipline them for their disobedience. For example, the Israelites' 40 years of wandering in the wilderness was a period of confinement meant to discipline and prepare them for entering the Promised Land (Numbers 14:33-34).

Similarly, the New Testament speaks of God's discipline as a form of loving correction. Hebrews 12:6-7 says, "For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives. Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"

Eschatological Confinement

In eschatological terms, confinement is associated with the final judgment. Revelation 20:1-3 describes the confinement of Satan: "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete."

This confinement signifies God's ultimate victory over evil and the establishment of His eternal kingdom, where righteousness dwells without the presence of sin or its confining effects.1. (v. t.) To restrain within limits; to restrict; to limit; to bound; to shut up; to enclose; to keep close.

2. (v. i.) To have a common boundary; to border; to lie contiguous; to touch; -- followed by on or with.

3. (n.) Common boundary; border; limit; -- used chiefly in the plural.

4. (n.) Apartment; place of restraint; prison.

4912. sunecho -- to hold together, to hold fast, pass. to be ...
... be seized (by illness). Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: sunecho Phonetic Spelling:
(soon-ekh'-o) Short Definition: I press together, confine, compel, am ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4912.htm - 7k

3181. methorion -- border.
... Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: methorion Phonetic Spelling:
(meth-or'-ee-os) Short Definition: confine, border Definition: confine, border ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3181.htm - 6k

2623. katakleio -- to shut up
... to shut up. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: katakleio Phonetic Spelling:
(kat-ak-li'-o) Short Definition: I shut up, confine Definition: I shut up, confine ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2623.htm - 6k

1196. desmeo -- bind, shackle
... desmeo. 1197 . bind, shackle. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: desmeo Phonetic
Spelling: (des-meh'-o) Short Definition: I bind Definition: I bind, confine ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1196.htm - 6k

4729. stenochoreo -- to be made narrow, to compress
... cramp, confine. From the same as stenochoria; to hem in closely, ie (figuratively)
cramp -- distress, straiten. see GREEK stenochoria. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4729.htm - 7k

6696a. tsur -- to confine, bind, besiege
... 6696, 6696a. tsur. 6696b . to confine, bind, besiege. Transliteration:
tsur Short Definition: besieged. Word Origin a prim. root ...
/hebrew/6696a.htm - 5k

6696. tsuwr -- to confine, bind, besiege
... 6695b, 6696. tsuwr. 6696a . to confine, bind, besiege. Transliteration:
tsuwr Phonetic Spelling: (tsoor) Short Definition: adversary. ...
/hebrew/6696.htm - 5k

8104. shamar -- to keep, watch, preserve
... NASB Word Usage attend (4), being careful (1), beware (8), bodyguard* (1), careful
(32), careful to keep (1), cares (1), charge (4), confine (1), confined (1 ...
/hebrew/8104.htm - 7k

7194. qashar -- to bind, league together, conspire
... A primitive root: to tie, physically (gird, confine, compact) or mentally (in love,
league) -- bind (up), (make a) conspire(-acy, -ator), join together, knit ...
/hebrew/7194.htm - 6k

6729. tsinoq -- pillory
... collar (1). stocks. From an unused root meaning to confine; the pillory --
stocks. 6728, 6729. tsinoq. 6730 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/6729.htm - 5k

But He Imbues their Minds, Above All, with Ethical Science; and He ...
... Argument IX."But He Imbues Their Minds, Above All, with Ethical Science; And He
Does Not Confine Himself to Discoursing on the Virtues in Word, But He Rather ...
/.../argument ix but he imbues their.htm

Purpose of Christ's Relatives to Confine Him as a Lunatic. --He ...
... Section 164. Purpose of Christ's Relatives to confine him as a Lunatic."
He declares who are his Relatives in the Spiritual Sense. ...
/.../section 164 purpose of christs.htm

That Although God is Always Judging, it is Nevertheless Reasonable ...
... Book XX. Chapter 1."That Although God is Always Judging, It is Nevertheless Reasonable
to Confine Our Attention in This Book to His Last Judgment. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/augustine/city of god/chapter 1 that although god is.htm

Your Apology Says that There are Three Opinions as to the Origin ...
... three is true. If there is some other possibility, why do you confine the
liberty of discussion within a close-drawn line? and why ...
/.../30 your apology says that.htm

Successful Methods of Public Speaking
... public speaking. Bear in mind, however, that this does not mean you are
always to confine yourself to a conversational level. There ...
/.../successful methods of public speaking/successful methods of public speaking.htm

Explanation of Ungenerate,' and a Study' of Eternity.
... ones; or else, if they are going to judge of it according to human tests, let the
future be more valued by them than the past, and let them confine the being ...
/.../section 42 explanation of ungenerate.htm

An Examination of the Question Where the Ruling Principle is to be ...
... 1. Let there be an end, then, of all the vain and conjectural discussion of those
who confine the intelligible energy to certain bodily organs; of whom some ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/xii an examination of the.htm

The World, Created by God, Still Cherished and Protected by Him. ...
... hand. But if the government of God thus extends to all his works, it is a
childish cavil to confine it to natural influx. [129] Those ...
/.../the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 16 the world created.htm

The Poet.
... The claim has been made not only to confine Jeremiah's genuine Oracles to the metrical
portions of the Book, but, by drastic emendations of the text, to reduce ...
//christianbookshelf.org/smith/jeremiah/lecture ii the poet.htm

Antichrist in Daniel
... Let us now consider briefly what is revealed concerning the Antichrist under this
title of his, the "little horn." We confine ourself to Dan.8:23-25. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the antichrist/4 antichrist in daniel.htm

Confine (3 Occurrences)
... in the plural. 4. (n.) Apartment; place of restraint; prison. Multi-Version
Concordance Confine (3 Occurrences). 2 Corinthians 10 ...
/c/confine.htm - 7k

Cage (3 Occurrences)
... 8. (n.) The catcher's wire mask. 9. (vi) To confine in, or as in, a cage; to
shut up or confine. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. CAGE. ...
/c/cage.htm - 10k

Pinion (4 Occurrences)
... 7. (vt) To bind or confine the wings of; to confine by binding the wings. ... 10.
(vt) Hence, generally, to confine; to bind; to tie up. Int. ...
/p/pinion.htm - 9k

Bind (68 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) To tie, or confine with a cord, band, ligature, chain, etc.; to fetter;
to make fast; as, to bind grain in bundles; to bind a prisoner. ...
/b/bind.htm - 32k

Lock (6 Occurrences)
... 4. (n.) A place from which egress is prevented, as by a lock. 5. (n.) The barrier
or works which confine the water of a stream or canal. ...
/l/lock.htm - 11k

Imprison (3 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) To put in prison or jail; To arrest and detain
in custody; to confine. 2. (vt) To limit, restrain, or confine in any way. ...
/i/imprison.htm - 7k

Fold (23 Occurrences)
... 11. (n.) A boundary; a limit. 12. (vt) To confine in a fold, as sheep. 13. (vi)
To confine sheep in a fold. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. FOLD; FOLDING. ...
/f/fold.htm - 17k

Fetter (4 Occurrences)
... 3. (p. pr. & vb. n.) To put fetters upon; to shackle or confine the feet
of with a chain; to bind. 4. (p. pr. & vb. n.) To restrain ...
/f/fetter.htm - 8k

Dam (5 Occurrences)
... A barrier to prevent the flow of a liquid; esp., a bank of earth, or wall of any
kind, as of masonry or wood, built across a water course, to confine and keep ...
/d/dam.htm - 9k

Bound (175 Occurrences)
... real or imaginary, of any object or space; that which limits or restrains, or within
which something is limited or restrained; limit; confine; extent; boundary ...
/b/bound.htm - 41k

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