In biblical times, stocks were a form of physical restraint and punishment used to secure and immobilize individuals, often in a public setting. The use of stocks is mentioned in the Bible, providing insight into the judicial and punitive practices of ancient societies.

Biblical References:

1. Jeremiah 20:2 · "he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the house of the LORD." In this passage, the prophet Jeremiah is subjected to punishment by Pashhur, the priest and chief officer in the house of the LORD. The stocks were likely a wooden frame with holes for securing the feet, and possibly the hands and neck, causing discomfort and humiliation.

2. Acts 16:24 · "On receiving this order, he placed them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks." This verse describes the imprisonment of Paul and Silas in Philippi. After being beaten, they were placed in the innermost part of the prison, and their feet were fastened in stocks. Despite their physical constraints, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God, demonstrating their faith and resilience.

Historical and Cultural Context:

Stocks were a common punitive measure in ancient Near Eastern cultures, including Israel. They served not only as a means of restraint but also as a public display of shame and correction. The use of stocks was intended to deter others from committing similar offenses by making an example of the punished individual.

The stocks mentioned in the Bible were likely constructed of wood and designed to hold the feet, and sometimes the hands and neck, in a fixed position. This immobilization would cause physical discomfort and pain over time, as well as psychological distress due to the public nature of the punishment.

Theological Implications:

The use of stocks in the Bible highlights themes of suffering, endurance, and faithfulness. In the case of Jeremiah, his experience in the stocks underscores the persecution faced by prophets who spoke God's truth in the face of opposition. For Paul and Silas, their imprisonment and subsequent miraculous release (Acts 16:25-26) illustrate the power of faith and worship even in dire circumstances.

These accounts serve as reminders of the trials faced by God's servants and the divine deliverance that can follow steadfast faith. The accounts of Jeremiah, Paul, and Silas encourage believers to remain faithful and trust in God's sovereignty, even when subjected to unjust treatment or suffering.Stocks

(An instrument of punishment, consisting of two beams, the upper one being movable, with two small openings between them, large enough for the ankles of the prisoner.--ED.) The term "stocks" is applied in the Authorized Version to two different articles one of which answers rather to our pillory, inasmuch as the body was placed in a bent position, by the confinement of the neck and arms as well as the legs while the other answers to our "stocks," the feet alone being confined in it. The prophet Jeremiah was confined in the first sort, (Jeremiah 20:2) which appears to have been a common mode of punishment in his day, (Jeremiah 29:26) as the prisons contained a chamber for the special purpose, termed "the house of the pillory." (2 Chronicles 16:10) (Authorized Version "prison-house"). The stocks, properly so called, are noticed in (Job 13:27; 33:11; Acts 16:24) The term used in (Proverbs 7:22) (Authorized Version "stocks") more properly means a fetter.

3586. xulon -- wood
... Word Origin a prim. word Definition wood NASB Word Usage clubs (5), cross (4),
stocks (1), tree (7), wood (3). staff, stocks, tree, wood. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3586.htm - 6k

805. asphalizo -- to make firm, secure
... fast). Cognate: 805 -- properly, make safe (fast); used of fixing a prisoner's
feet in wooden stocks (Ac 16:24). See 804 (). Word ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/805.htm - 7k

5465. sad -- stocks (for securing feet of prisoners)
... 5464, 5465. sad. 5466 . stocks (for securing feet of prisoners). Transliteration:
sad Phonetic Spelling: (sad) Short Definition: stocks. ...
/hebrew/5465.htm - 6k

4115. mahpeketh -- stocks (instrument of punishment)
... 4114, 4115. mahpeketh. 4116 . stocks (instrument of punishment). Transliteration:
mahpeketh Phonetic Spelling: (mah-peh'-keth) Short Definition: stocks. ...
/hebrew/4115.htm - 6k

5914. ekes -- an anklet, bangle
... stocks, tinkling ornament. From akac; a fetter; hence, an anklet -- stocks, tinkling
ornament. see HEBREW akac. 5913, 5914. ekes. 5915 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/5914.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

Preaching from the Stocks
... Chapter 17. Wesley Arrested; A Terrible Ride; A Methodist Isaac Newton; Wesley
and the American War Preaching from the Stocks. 1776. ...
/.../wesley/the journal of john wesley/preaching from the stocks.htm

That Gospel Sermon on the Blessed Hope
... a man takes hold of the truth that Jesus Christ is coming back again to receive
his friends to himself, this world loses its hold upon him; gas-stocks and water ...
/.../moody/that gospel sermon on the blessed hope/that gospel sermon on the.htm

The Writings of Phileas the Martyr Describing the Occurrences at ...
... malignity. For some, with their hands bound behind them, were suspended on
the stocks, and every member stretched by certain machines. ...
/.../pamphilius/church history/chapter x the writings of phileas.htm

iii.
... And there were also some who, after the tortures, were placed upon the stocks and
had both their feet stretched through all the four holes, so that they were ...
//christianbookshelf.org/phileas/the writings of phileas/iii.htm

The Opinions of the Philosophers Respecting God.
... Atheists surely these are to be reckoned, who through an unwise wisdom worshipped
matter, who did not indeed pay religious honour to stocks and stones, but ...
/.../clement/exhortation to the heathen/chapter v the opinions of the.htm

Answer to Objections: Man's Freewill and God's Foreknowledge
... and those which are moved by force of nature and of life in the same manner and
not like things which move occasionally, for stones and stocks that have been ...
/.../origen/origen on prayer/chapter iv answer to objections .htm

Directions to Sinners.
... great ado, and brought them before the magistrates, and raised such a clamor that
the magistrates shut them up in prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks ...
/.../finney/lectures on revivals of religion/lecture xviii directions to sinners.htm

How the Errors of Later Heretics have Been Condemned and Refuted ...
... As we began by setting down in the first book some things by which we showed that
our new heretic is but an offshoot from ancient stocks of heresy. ...
/.../cassian/the seven books of john cassian /chapter i how the errors.htm

Rom. I. 18
... Ver.19. "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath
showed it unto them.". But this glory they invested stocks and stones with. ...
/.../chrysostom/homilies on acts and romans/homily iii rom i 18.htm

The Introduction of the Gospel into Europe, and the Ministry of ...
... and the jailer exceeded the exact letter of his instructions by thrusting them
"into the inner prison," and by making "their feet fast in the stocks." [94:1 ...
/.../killen/the ancient church/chapter vi the introduction of.htm

Stocks (10 Occurrences)
...Stocks (10 Occurrences). Acts 16:24 who, having received such a command, threw them
into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks. ...
/s/stocks.htm - 9k

Prisoner (87 Occurrences)
... Isaiah, Jeremiah, with "house"), (3) maTTarah, "guard," "sentry" (13 times in Jeremiah
and Nehemiah), (4) mahaphekheth, "distorting," ie stocks or pillory (4 ...
/p/prisoner.htm - 42k

Pashur (12 Occurrences)
... 3; Comp. 2 Corinthians 11:24), to put him in the stocks in the high gate
of Benjamin, where he remained all night. On being set ...
/p/pashur.htm - 14k

Stock (16 Occurrences)
... companies, or in the obligations of a government for its funded debt; -- so in the
United States, but in England the latter only are called stocks, and the ...
/s/stock.htm - 16k

Pashhur (12 Occurrences)
... 1) A priest, son of Immer, and "chief governor in the house of the Lord" (Jeremiah
20:1), who persecuted Jeremiah, putting him in "the stocks" hard by the ...
/p/pashhur.htm - 12k

Shackles (14 Occurrences)
... (See NIV). Job 13:27 You also put my feet in the stocks, and mark all my paths. ... Job
33:11 He puts my feet in the stocks. He marks all my paths.' (See NIV). ...
/s/shackles.htm - 9k

Prison (131 Occurrences)
... Isaiah, Jeremiah, with "house"), (3) maTTarah, "guard," "sentry" (13 times in Jeremiah
and Nehemiah), (4) mahaphekheth, "distorting," ie stocks or pillory (4 ...
/p/prison.htm - 52k

Launch (3 Occurrences)
... 5. (vi) To move with force and swiftness like a sliding from the stocks into the
water; to plunge; to make a beginning; as, to launch into the current of a ...
/l/launch.htm - 8k

Magor-missabib (1 Occurrence)
... side"): A name given by Jeremiah to Pashhur ben Immer, the governor of the temple,
who had caused the prophet to be beaten and set in the stocks (Jeremiah 20:3 ...
/m/magor-missabib.htm - 8k

Magormissabib (1 Occurrence)
... side"): A name given by Jeremiah to Pashhur ben Immer, the governor of the temple,
who had caused the prophet to be beaten and set in the stocks (Jeremiah 20:3 ...
/m/magormissabib.htm - 7k

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