Captive. 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.