Stocks

Stocks were a device consisting of blocks of wood through which the legs, arms, and/or head of a prisoner were placed and then securely fastened. Two pieces of wood each had half-circle holes cut in them. When placed together, they formed circular holes that held the limbs or head of the prisoner. The two pieces were then locked together so that the prisoner could not move. Stocks were employed both as an instrument for imprisoning and also as a means of punishment.

In the Bible

The Hebrew and Greek words for it, and every verse where each is used

Also in Prison and penal activity

Sources

Plants and Trees in the Bible, Animals in the Bible and Human-made Things in the Bible © United Bible Societies, 2025 (adapted from Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible by Robert Koops, All Creatures Great and Small: Living Things in the Bible by Edward R. Hope, and The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible by Ray Pritz), CC BY-SA 4.0; adapted for eRhema