Midvash

φυλακήphylakḗ

a guarding or (concretely, guard), the act, the person; figuratively, the place, the condition, or (specially), the time (as a division of day or night), literally or figuratively

Greek (New Testament) · G5438

Meanings

(a) actively, a guarding, guard, watch: cognate accusative, φυλάσσειν φυλακάς, to keep watch, Luke 2:8

(b) of those who keep watch (as also Lat. custodia), a guard; plural, sentinels, a guard (Hom., and elsewhere): Acts 12:10

(c) of the place where persons are kept under guard, a prison: Matthew 14:10, Mark 6:17, Luke 3:20, Acts 5:19, 2 Corinthians 6:5, 1 Peter 3:19, Revelation 18:2, and elsewhere

(d) of the time during which guard was kept by night (Lat. vigilia; Anthol.), a watch: Matthew 14:25, Matthew 24:43, Mark 6:48, Luke 12:38

Same root

Where it appears

Appears 47 times in the Bible.

  • Matthew 5:25 “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison.
  • Matthew 14:3 For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip).
  • Matthew 14:10 So John was beheaded in the prison,
  • Matthew 14:25 About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.
  • Matthew 18:30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
  • Matthew 24:43 Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into.
See every passage

Source: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), public domain.