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Matthew 18:34 records the only New Testament use of the noun, describing the king who, “in anger … handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed”. The setting is the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus’ climactic warning against harboring unforgiveness.

Historical Background

• In the Roman world a debtor could be confined to a guarded prison where professional “tormentors” extracted payment through physical hardship and public shame.
• Such facilities were often attached to the governor’s residence or a private estate; the goal was both punishment and coercion.
• Jewish listeners, familiar with Babylonian and later Herodian prisons, would immediately grasp the dread implicit in being delivered to these officials.

Theological Significance

Judicial Symbolism: The parable uses earthly custodians of pain to foreshadow divine justice. As a king’s jailers administer discipline in time, so God’s judgment addresses unrepentant sin in eternity (Matthew 18:35;Revelation 20:11-15).

Retributive Equity: The servant who refused mercy receives measure-for-measure treatment (compareJames 2:13). The image of tormentors dramatizes the moral law that forgiven people must forgive.

Foretaste of Eternal Torment: Scripture elsewhere speaks of final torment for the unredeemed (Luke 16:23-28;Revelation 14:10-11). The parable’s temporal suffering previews the ultimate consequence of rejecting God’s grace.

Practical Ministry Implications

Pastoral Counseling: Persistent bitterness often manifests in emotional “torment” such as anxiety, restlessness, or fractured relationships. TeachingMatthew 18 underscores that release comes through extending forgiveness.

Church Discipline: The community may suspend privileges for an unrepentant member (1 Corinthians 5:5), echoing the parable’s pattern of temporary hardship designed to awaken repentance.

Evangelism and Apologetics: The figure of the tormentor offers a vivid entry point to discuss sin’s seriousness, God’s holiness, and the urgency of reconciliation through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).

Intercessory Prayer: Recognizing spiritual torment motivates prayer for deliverance of believers caught in unforgiveness and for unbelievers facing ultimate judgment.

Related Biblical Themes

• Divine Mercy and Human Obligation –Matthew 6:12-15;Colossians 3:13
• Debtor Imagery –Luke 7:41-43;Romans 8:12
• Imprisonment as Discipline –Isaiah 42:7;Acts 12:6-7
• Torment in Final Judgment –Mark 9:48;Revelation 20:10

The solitary appearance of this term thus opens a window onto the gravity of grace, the peril of an unforgiving heart, and the reality of both temporal and eternal consequences.