G254 - ἅλυσις (halysis)

Core Data

• Strong's: G254
• Original: ἅλυσις
• Transliteration: halysis
• Pronunciation: hal
• Part of Speech: Feminine noun
• Occurrences: 10 verses / 11 tokens across 6 NT books
• First Occurrence: Mark 5:3 - "no man could bind him, no, not with chains"
• Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition

-oo-sis; of uncertain derivation; a fetter or manacle:—bonds, chain.

Translation Distribution (KJV)

Translation	Verses	%
chains	4	40.0%
chain	3	30.0%
with chains	2	20.0%
bonds	1	10.0%

Distribution by Book

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 Timothy	1	1.2
Ephesians	1	0.6
Acts	4	0.4
Mark	2	0.3
Revelation	1	0.2
Luke	1	0.1

Semantic Categories

1. Chains as Physical Restraints

• Mark 5:3-4 - chains used and broken in attempts to restrain the demoniac.
• Luke 8:29 - he was kept bound with chains and fetters.

2. Prison / Custody Chains

• Acts 12:6-7 - Peter bound with chains; chains fall from his hands.
• Acts 21:33 - Paul commanded to be bound with two chains.

3. Chains as Personal Imprisonment or Bonds

• Acts 28:20 - Paul speaks of "this chain."
• Ephesians 6:20 - ambassador in bonds.
• 2 Timothy 1:16 - Onesiphorus not ashamed of Paul's chain.

4. Apocalyptic Chain

• Revelation 20:1 - angel has a great chain in his hand.

Common Collocations

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
δέω (bind)	G1210	4	bound with chains
πέδη (fetter)	G3976	2	chains and fetters
χείρ (hand)	G5495	2	chains on/from hands
ἄγγελος (angel)	G32	2	angelic release/confinement scenes
κύριος (Lord)	G2962	2	Acts/Ephesians contexts

Related Words

Domain Neighbors

• G1199 δεσμός (desmos) - bond/band.
• G1196 δεσμέω (desmeo) - to bind.
• G1210 δέω (deo) - bind; most frequent collocation.
• G3976 πέδη (pede) - fetter.

Easily Confused Words

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
δεσμός (desmos)	G1199	chains/bonds	bond or imprisonment as a state/object; halysis is the chain/fetter object
שַׁרְשְׁרָה (sharsherah)	H8333	chain/chains	Hebrew chain term, often ornamental/linked object
זִיקָה (ziqah)	H2131	with chains	Hebrew bond/fetter overlap

Semantic Domain

• 006 Artifacts: relationship output lists halysis among artifact terms.
• 037 Control, Rule: relationship output connects chains with control/restraint vocabulary.

See Also

• G1210-deo.md - bind; primary collocation
• G3089-lyo.md - loose/release counterpart
• G12-abyssos.md - Rev 20:1 abyss context
• G2807-kleis.md - key in Rev 20:1

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Generated from: gather_word_data.py, search_relationships.py, search_strongs.py, louw_nida.db Last updated: 2026-05-07