mah.pe.khet denotes a restraining device used to confine or punish a person in the cited passages.

The occurrences consistently place mah.pe.khet in acts of confinement or intended punishment: Jeremiah is put into it and later released, while an overseer is told to put disruptive prophets into it; 2 Chronicles 16:10 likewise places a person in prison after royal anger.

1. A device used to restrain a confined person · dominant

   In Jeremiah 20:2 the feminine singular absolute form occurs where Pashhur places Jeremiah in the stocks, and Jeremiah 20:3 has him brought out the next day. In Jeremiah 29:26 the same form is named as the restraint to be imposed on a person who prophesies, alongside a collar; 2 Chronicles 16:10 likewise places a prisoner in a setting of anger and oppression. The APB renders the confinement clauses with "stocks" in the Jeremiah passages and "prison" in 2 Chronicles 16:10.

   2 Chronicles 16:10Jeremiah 20:2Jeremiah 20:3Jeremiah 29:26

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB presents the Jeremiah occurrences as "stocks," including Jeremiah's release from them, while 2 Chronicles 16:10 says "prison." This variation reflects the verse renderings rather than distinct lexical senses.