Bible Dictionary
Dungeon
A dungeon was a particularly severe place of confinement, sometimes a deep cell or cistern. Biblical prisoners, including Joseph, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, and Paul’s companions, were held in such places or comparable prisons.
Definition
A dungeon was a severe place of confinement, more restrictive than an ordinary prison. It could consist of a deep cell or cistern and was used in Egypt and under later kings as a place of imprisonment.
Biblical Usage
Joseph was confined in a dungeon in Egypt, and Jeremiah was placed in a cistern. Later biblical examples include imprisonment connected with John the Baptist and the apostles.
Historical Background
The dungeon was not listed in the Mosaic law as a form of punishment, but imprisonment became common under later kings and after the Exile. The Roman inner prison provides a comparable example.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
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 (Jer. 38:6). To be shut up in, a punishment common in Egypt (Gen. 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 Chron. 16:10; Jer. 20:2; 32:2; 33:1; 37:15), and it was customary after the Exile (Matt. 11:2; Luke 3:20; Acts 5:18, 21; Matt. 18:30).
Smith's Bible Dictionary
[Prison]
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>dun'-jun. See PRISON.</p>