how to say “jail” in Hebrew

 

בֵּית סֹהַר, כֶּלֶא

 

 
The most common Hebrew word for jail or prison is בֵּית סֹהַר  listen and repeat, as parents sometimes threaten their children:
 
אִם לֹא תִּתְנַהֵג יָפֶה, יָשִׂימוּ אֹתְךָ בְּבֵית הַסֹּהַר.
If you don’t behave nicely, they’ll put you in (the) jail. (to a son)
 
The origin of the word סוהר  listen and repeat itself, appearing only once in Biblical Hebrew, is unclear, though it may have to do with the fact that prisoners used to be kept in solitary confinement in a rounded pit, of the shape of a סַהַר  listen and repeat – some kind of round vessel.
 
A common synonym of בית סוהר is כֶּלֶא  listen and repeat, where the root כ.ל.א (k.l.a) means confinement.
 
Another lesson common synonym is בֵּית אֲסוּרִים  listen and repeat house of (the) bound.

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