Captive kap'-tiv (shebhi, galah; aichmalotos and its derivatives): The frequent references in the Old Testament to captives as men forcibly deported (from the Hebrew root shabhah) or inhabiting a land foreign to them (from Hebrew galah) reflect the universal practice of the ancient world. The treatment of captives was sometimes barbarous (2 Samuel 8:2) but not always so (2 Kings 6:21, 2 Kings 6:22).
See further under and WAR.
Figurative: Except in Job 42:10 the figurative use of the idea is confined to the New Testament, where reference is made to the triumphal reign of the Lord Jesus (Luke 4:18, Ephesians 4:8), or, on the other hand, to the power of the devil (2 Timothy 2:26), or of false teachers (2 Timothy 3:6); compare also Romans 7:23, 2 Corinthians 10:5.
See CAPTIVITY.
F. K. Farr