What does ἅλυσις (hálysis) mean in the Bible?
ἅλυσις (hálysis): Physical restraint device, often literal chains binding prisoners or demon-possessed persons in NT narratives
Greek · G254
ἅλυσις
A fetter or manacle
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ἅλυσις G254
Pronunciation hálysis
What does ἅλυσις (hálysis) mean in the Bible?
ἅλυσις (hálysis): Physical restraint device, often literal chains binding prisoners or demon-possessed persons in NT narratives
Full entry for ἅλυσις (G254) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G254?
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include chains (7), chain (2), with chains (2).
Where does ἅλυσις (hálysis) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 5:3. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (4), Mark (3), 2 Timothy (1), Ephesians (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It chains 7× Mark 5:4, Luke 8:29, Acts 12:6, Acts 12:7
chain 2× Acts 28:20, Revelation 20:1
with chains 2× Mark 5:3, Mark 5:4
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 5:3 ἁλύσει to with chains Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Mark 5:4 ἁλύσεσιν to with chains Noun - Dative Feminine Plural Mark 5:4 ἁλύσεις to chains Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural Luke 8:29 ἁλύσεσιν to chains Noun - Dative Feminine Plural Acts 12:6 ἁλύσεσιν to chains Noun - Dative Feminine Plural Acts 12:7 ἁλύσεις to chains Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural Acts 21:33 ἁλύσεσι to chains Noun - Dative Feminine Plural Acts 28:20 ἅλυσιν to chain Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Ephesians 6:20 ἁλύσει to chains Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 2 Timothy 1:16 ἅλυσίν to chains Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 5:3
Aligned rows 11
Books represented 6
Mark 3 Luke 1 Acts 4 Ephesians 1 2 Timothy 1 Revelation 1
Source forms
ἁλύσεσιν 3x halysesin Mark 5:4, Luke 8:29, Acts 12:6
ἁλύσει 2x halysei Mark 5:3, Ephesians 6:20
ἁλύσεις 2x halyseis Mark 5:4, Acts 12:7
ἅλυσιν 2x halysin Acts 28:20, Revelation 20:1
ἁλύσεσι 1x halysesi Acts 21:33
ἅλυσίν 1x halysin 2 Timothy 1:16
Parsing patterns
Noun - Dative Feminine Plural 4x Mark 5:4, Luke 8:29, Acts 12:6, Acts 21:33
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 3x Acts 28:20, 2 Timothy 1:16, Revelation 20:1
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 2x Mark 5:3, Ephesians 6:20
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural 1x Mark 5:4
Noun - Nominative Feminine Plural 1x Acts 12:7
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Physical restraint device, often literal chains binding prisoners or demon-possessed persons in NT narratives
Strong's G254
Lexical occurrences 11 verses Greek text appearances 11 times Word forms 5 forms 11 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 12:6-19 Source Gloss
a fetter or manacle
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 5:3 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
ἁλύσεσιν alusesin
a light chain
Read verse Mark 5:4 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
ἁλύσεσι alusesin
a light chain
Read verse Mark 5:4 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
ἁλύσεις, aluseiv
a light chain
Read verse Luke 8:29 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
ἁλύσεσι alusesin
a light chain
Read verse Acts 12:6 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
ἁλύσεσι alusesin
a light chain
Read verse Acts 12:7 Noun Nominative Plural Feminine
ἁλύσεις aluseiv
a light chain
Read verse Acts 21:33 Noun Dative Plural Feminine
ἁλύσεσι alusesin
a light chain
Read verse Acts 28:20 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἅλυσιν alusin
a light chain
Read verse Ephesians 6:20 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
ἁλύσει, alusei
a light chain
Read verse 2 Timothy 1:16 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἅλυσίν alusin
a light chain
Read verse Revelation 20:1 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἅλυσιν alusin
a light chain
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 5 Aligned forms 11 Case pattern Dative (6) Number pattern Plural (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · Feminine Acts 12:7 1×
Dative · Plural · Feminine Mark 5:4 · Luke 8:29 · Acts 12:6 · Acts 21:33 4×
Dative · Singular · Feminine Mark 5:3 · Eph 6:20 2×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Acts 28:20 · 2 Tim 1:16 · Rev 20:1 3×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine Mark 5:4 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Metal restraints or bonds.
Bond or chain.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 11 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἅλυσις is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
Why This Word Matters
Symbolize human constraint overcome by divine power. Acts 12:6-19
Symbolizes the cost of faithful witness. Acts 28:17-22
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain