Phulake denotes a place or condition of confinement, and in night-time contexts a watch period kept by guards or shepherds.

The attested usage chiefly concerns confinement: people are put, kept, visited, released, or executed in a secured place, while a smaller group of night-time scenes uses the term for successive watches or a period of watchfulness.

1. Confinement under custody · dominant

   The noun identifies the setting or condition of detention: in Acts 12:4 the APB renders Peter as placed “in prison” and handed to soldiers to guard, and in Acts 16:24 it describes an inner secured location with feet fastened in stocks. It also occurs where detainees are released or visited, as in Acts 5:19 and Matthew 25:36, and where confinement is extended to nonhuman figures or creatures in Revelation 18:2 and Revelation 20:7.

   Acts 12:4Acts 16:24Acts 5:19Matthew 25:36Revelation 18:2Revelation 20:7
2. Night watch or watch period · occasional

   In night settings, the noun marks a watch period: Luke 12:38 speaks of the second or third watch, while Mark 6:48 and Matthew 14:25 place an action in the fourth watch of the night. In Luke 2:8 the plural occurs with shepherds keeping the watches of the night over their flock.

   Luke 12:38Mark 6:48Matthew 14:25Luke 2:8Matthew 24:43

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across custody contexts, the APB commonly uses “prison,” “prisons,” or “imprisonment”; in the night-time contexts it uses “watch” or “watches.” These are verse-level renderings rather than definitions.