Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Binding With Chains and Fetters
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In biblical times, the use of chains and fetters as a form of punishment and restraint is well-documented, serving both as a literal and symbolic representation of captivity and subjugation. These instruments were employed to bind individuals, often as a means of imprisonment or to prevent escape, reflecting the severity of their offenses or the threat they posed.

Old Testament Context

The Old Testament provides several instances where chains and fetters are used. In Judges 16:21, Samson, after being betrayed by Delilah, is captured by the Philistines: "Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes, and took him down to Gaza, binding him with bronze shackles. He was forced to grind grain in the prison." Here, the use of bronze shackles signifies the Philistines' intent to humiliate and incapacitate Samson, a once-mighty judge of Israel.

Similarly, in 2 Kings 25:7, the fate of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, is sealed with chains: "Then they put out Zedekiah’s eyes, bound him with bronze shackles, and took him to Babylon." This act not only signifies the physical restraint of the king but also the end of the Davidic reign in Jerusalem, marking a period of exile and bondage for the Israelites.

New Testament Context

In the New Testament, chains and fetters continue to symbolize oppression and the trials faced by early Christians. The Apostle Paul frequently encountered imprisonment, as seen in Acts 16:24, where he and Silas are placed in the innermost cell and fastened with their feet in stocks: "On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks." Despite their physical restraints, Paul and Silas demonstrate spiritual freedom through prayer and worship, leading to a miraculous release.

In Acts 12:6-7, Peter's imprisonment by Herod is another notable instance: "On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the prison. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared, and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him up, saying, 'Get up quickly.' And the chains fell off his wrists." This miraculous event underscores the power of divine intervention and the futility of human restraints against God's will.

Symbolic Significance

Beyond their physical application, chains and fetters in the Bible often carry a deeper symbolic meaning. They represent the spiritual bondage of sin and the captivity of the soul. In Psalm 107:10-14, the psalmist describes those who "sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in affliction and chains," yet God delivers them from their distress, breaking "their chains apart." This imagery highlights the redemptive power of God to liberate individuals from spiritual enslavement.

Conclusion

The use of chains and fetters in biblical narratives serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of sin and rebellion, as well as the hope of deliverance through divine intervention. These instruments of restraint, while indicative of human authority and judgment, ultimately point to the greater freedom found in faith and obedience to God.
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Psalm 105:18
Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
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Resources
How should Christians discipline their children? What does the Bible say? | GotQuestions.org

What does the Bible say about snakes? Are snakes evil? | GotQuestions.org

Is God a moral monster? | GotQuestions.org

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Subtopics

Punishments

Punishments for Murder not to be Commuted

Punishments were Inflicted by Order of Kings

Punishments were Inflicted by Order of Magistrates

Punishments were Inflicted by Soldiers

Punishments were Inflicted by the People

Punishments were Inflicted by the Witnesses

Punishments were Inflicted without Partiality

Punishments were Inflicted without Pity

Punishments were Inflicted: Immediately After Sentence Was Passed

Punishments were Inflicted: On the Guilty

Punishments were Sometimes Commuted

Punishments: Antiquity of

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Beheading

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Bruising in Mortars

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Burning

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Casting Headlong from a Rock

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Casting Into the Sea

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Crucifying

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Cutting in Pieces

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Exposing to Wild Beasts

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Hanging

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Sawing Asunder

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Slaying With the Sword

Punishments: Capital Kinds of Stoning

Punishments: Designed to be a Warning to Others

Punishments: Inflicting of Capital, not Permitted to the Jews by The

Punishments: Power of Inflicting, Given to Magistrates

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Banishment

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Binding With Chains and Fetters

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Confinement in a Dungeon

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Confinement in Stocks

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Confiscating the Property

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Cutting off Hands and Feet

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Cutting off Nose and Ears

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Fine, or Giving of Money

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Imprisonment

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Mutilating the Hands and Feet

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Plucking out the Hair

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Putting out the Eyes

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Restitution

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Retaliation or Injuring According to the Injury Done

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Scourging

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Selling the Criminal

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Torturing

Punishments: Sometimes Deferred for a Considerable Time

Punishments: Sometimes Deferred Until God Was Consulted

Punishments: Strangers not Exempted From

Related Terms

Asunder (37 Occurrences)

Off (5363 Occurrences)

Cutting (178 Occurrences)

Pharisees (86 Occurrences)

Sounds (64 Occurrences)

Diseases (38 Occurrences)

Nero

Hair (135 Occurrences)

Visitation (17 Occurrences)

Vice (2 Occurrences)

Zoroastrianism

Unpeopled (38 Occurrences)

Oath (286 Occurrences)

Longs (11 Occurrences)

Whoredom (58 Occurrences)

Whore (14 Occurrences)

Fears (40 Occurrences)

Furious (28 Occurrences)

Faint (76 Occurrences)

Famine (99 Occurrences)

Travellers (8 Occurrences)

Evilspeaking

Experiences (7 Occurrences)

Evil-speaking (5 Occurrences)

Ended (146 Occurrences)

Dash (30 Occurrences)

Disasters (5 Occurrences)

Divine (39 Occurrences)

Plucking (8 Occurrences)

Paradise (6 Occurrences)

Prophet's (22 Occurrences)

Prostitution (48 Occurrences)

Parent (2 Occurrences)

Punite (1 Occurrence)

Perjury (3 Occurrences)

Bands (130 Occurrences)

Burn (206 Occurrences)

Blinding (2 Occurrences)

Bribery (2 Occurrences)

Chains (100 Occurrences)

Citizenship (4 Occurrences)

Countries (86 Occurrences)

Crucifixion (4 Occurrences)

Chastisements (5 Occurrences)

Consumption (20 Occurrences)

Accountability

Attacks (45 Occurrences)

Assassination (1 Occurrence)

Seducer

Seduce (8 Occurrences)

Stretching (84 Occurrences)

Sodomy

Slander (34 Occurrences)

Swearing (17 Occurrences)

Stretched-out (21 Occurrences)

Restoration (4 Occurrences)

Addition (112 Occurrences)

Cruel (196 Occurrences)

Chain (21 Occurrences)

Stock (16 Occurrences)

Vessels (210 Occurrences)

Hanging (82 Occurrences)

Purity (16 Occurrences)

Curse (211 Occurrences)

Wondered (45 Occurrences)

Egypt (596 Occurrences)

Leviticus (1 Occurrence)

Prisoner (87 Occurrences)

Everlasting (192 Occurrences)

Yoke (79 Occurrences)

Vine-gardens (41 Occurrences)

Vengeance (63 Occurrences)

Imputation

Pontius (4 Occurrences)

Pilate (60 Occurrences)

Execute (83 Occurrences)

Wild (147 Occurrences)

Quite (55 Occurrences)

Future (88 Occurrences)

Punishments: Secondary Kinds of Banishment
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