Fetters

Chains or shackles by which the feet may be fastened either together or to some heavy object. The most usual term for fetters in the Bible is "neḥushtayim" (Judges xvi. 21; II Sam. iii. 34; II Kings xxv. 7; Jer. xxxix. 7, lii. 11; II Chron. xxxiii. 11, xxxvi. 6), indicating that they were made of brass; the dual form shows that they were made in pairs. There were also iron fetters, called in Hebrew "kebel"; in Ps. cv. 18 this noun is used in the singular, and in Ps. cxlix in the plural construct state, which proves that the feet were fastened by means of the fetters to some other object. An additional Hebrew term for fetters is "ziḳḳim" (Job xxxvi. 8; Ps. cxlix. 8; Isa. xlv. 14; Nahum iii. 10), derived from a root meaning "to bind," and which may be applied even to ropes. See Chains.

E. C. M. Sel.