φυλακὴ
phylakḗ
prison
An act or process of guarding, watch, or protection; also, a place where guarding occurs (such as a prison or enclosure); by extension, a watch or guard (the person on duty), or a period of time during which a watch is kept (watch of the day or night). Used both for literal guarding and for metaphorical states of being kept, confined, or under guard.
Revelation 18:2 · Word #16
Lexicon G5438
| Lemma | φυλακή |
| Transliteration | phylakḗ |
| Strong's | G5438 |
| Definition | An act or process of guarding, watch, or protection; also, a place where guarding occurs (such as a prison or enclosure); by extension, a watch or guard (the person on duty), or a period of time during which a watch is kept (watch of the day or night). Used both for literal guarding and for metaphorical states of being kept, confined, or under guard. |
Morphology N NOM F SG
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | N — Noun — A person, place, thing, or idea |
| Case | NOM — Nominative — The subject of the sentence |
| Gender | F — Feminine — Grammatical feminine |
| Number | SG — Singular — One |
Common Translation
| Phrase | prison |
| Literal | prison-hold |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | φυλακή |
| Strong's | G5438 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G5438-03
guarding-place
| Morphological Notes | Noun, dative feminine singular (Gr,N,,,,,DFS); denotes a singular instance in the dative case. |
| Rendering Rationale | "Guarding-place" preserves the core root sense of φυλακ- as guarding or keeping watch while allowing for the concrete extension to a place of custody. The dative feminine singular form is reflected as a singular noun, with the case function not directly marked in English but inherent to the form. |
View full lexicon entry for G5438 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
prison
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | Context points to 'prison' or 'enclosure' rather than the generic 'guarding-place'; the term is commonly rendered as 'prison' here. |