King James Bible Dictionary

One taken in war. Captives were often treated with great cruelty and indignity (1 Kings 20:32; Joshua 10:24; Judges 1:7; 2 Samuel 4:12; Judges 8:7; 2 Samuel 12:31; 1 Chronicles 20:3). When a city was taken by assault, all the men were slain, and the women and children carried away captive and sold as slaves (Isaiah 20; 47:3; 2 Chronicles 28:9-15; Psalms 44:12; Joel 3:3), and exposed to the most cruel treatment (Nahum 3:10; Zechariah 14:2; Esther 3:13; 2 Kings 8:12; Isaiah 13:16, 18). Captives were sometimes carried away into foreign countries, as was the case with the Jews (Jeremiah 20:5; 39:9, 10; 40:7).

Prisoner of war
Genesis 14:12; 1 Samuel 30:1-2

Cruelty to:

Putting to death
Numbers 31:9-20; Deuteronomy 20:13; Deuteronomy 21:10; Joshua 8:29; Joshua 10:15-40; Joshua 11:11; Judges 7:25; Judges 8:21; Judges 21:11; 1 Samuel 15:32-33; 2 Samuel 8:2; 2 Kings 8:12; Jeremiah 39:6

Twenty thousand, by Amaziah
2 Chronicles 25:11-12

Ripping women with child
2 Kings 8:12; 2 Kings 15:16; Amos 1:13

Tortured under saws and harrows
2 Samuel 12:31; 1 Chronicles 20:3

Blinded
Judges 16:21; Jeremiah 39:7

Maimed
Judges 1:6-7

Ravished
Lamentations 5:11-13; Zech 14:2

Enslaved
Deuteronomy 20:14; 2 Kings 5:2; Psalms 44:12; Joel 3:6

Robbed
Ezekiel 23:25-26

Confined in pits
Isaiah 51:14

Other indignities to
Isaiah 20:4

Kindness to
2 Kings 25:27-30; Psalms 106:46

Advanced to positions in state
Genesis 41:39-45; Esther 2:8; Esther 27:1

A prisoner of war. Such were usually treated with great cruelty by the heathen nations. They were kept for slaves, and often sold; but this was a modification of the ancient cruelty, and a substitute for putting them to death Although the treatment of captives by the Jews seems sometimes to be cruel, it was very much milder than that of the heathen, and was mitigated, as far as possible in the circumstances, by their civil code.

CAPTIVE, noun

1. A prisoner taken by force or stratagem in war, by an enemy; followed by to; as a captive to the victor.

2. One who is charmed or subdued by beauty or excellence; one whose affections are seized, or who is held by strong ties of love.

3. One who is ensnared by love or flattery, or by wiles. 2 Timothy 2:26.

4. A slave. Anciently captives were enslaved by their conquerors. But in modern times, they are not made slaves in Christian countries; and the word captive in a literal sense, rarely signifies a slave.

CAPTIVE, verb transitive To take prisoner; to bring into subjection.