What does κάθημαι (káthēmai) mean in the Bible?
Κάθημαι (káthēmai) means to sit, be seated, or remain in a seated position. Matthew's prophecy pictures people sitting in darkness until a great light dawns.
Greek · G2521
κάθημαι
And (to sit; akin to the base of ); to sit down; figuratively, to remain, reside
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κάθημαι G2521
Pronunciation káthēmai
What does κάθημαι (káthēmai) mean in the Bible?
Κάθημαι (káthēmai) means to sit, be seated, or remain in a seated position. Matthew's prophecy pictures people sitting in darkness until a great light dawns.
Reader summary
Full entry for κάθημαι (G2521) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2521?
The BSB source-word alignment has 91 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include seated (18), sitting (16), Sit (8), . . . (7), was sitting (6).
Where does κάθημαι (káthēmai) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 4:16. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (33), Matthew (19), Luke (13), Mark (11).
What This Word Actually Means
Κάθημαι (káthēmai) means to sit, be seated, or remain in a seated position. Matthew's prophecy pictures people sitting in darkness until a great light dawns. Jesus sits in a boat to teach a shoreline crowd. Neighbors remember the healed man as one who used to sit and beg, locating his former disability within daily public life. Revelation portrays a rider seated on a black horse and, at the book's climax, the sovereign One seated on the throne making all things new.
Sitting can express settled condition, practical teaching posture, habitual dependence, mounted agency, or enthroned rule. The verb does not make every seated figure authoritative, passive, or royal. The subject, seat, duration, and action performed while seated establish whether the posture conveys need, instruction, threatening commission, or sovereignty.
How the Bible Uses It
Κάθημαι describes sitting or being seated. Its scenes include people settled in darkness, Jesus teaching from a boat, a former beggar's habitual place, an apocalyptic rider, and God enthroned while making all things new.
- Matt.4.16
The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.”
People sitting in darkness and death's shadow receive a dawning great light, so a settled condition of need is interrupted by God's messianic visitation.
- Mark.4.1
Once again Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and such a large crowd gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people crowded along the shore.
Jesus sits in the boat as a practical teaching platform while the crowd remains on shore, ordering space so the parable discourse can be heard.
- John.9.8
At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
Neighbors identify the healed man by his former pattern of sitting and begging, and their question highlights the public, verifiable change Jesus has made.
- Rev.6.5
And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” Then I looked and saw a black horse, and its rider held in his hand a pair of scales.
The rider sits on a black horse carrying scales, a mounted posture that belongs to the third seal's vision of scarcity and measured food.
- Rev.21.5
And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”
The One seated on the throne declares that He makes all things new, joining stable sovereign rule to the trustworthy promise of renewal.
Passage contextBook context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It seated 18× Mark 3:34, Luke 22:56, Luke 22:69, John 12:15
sitting 16× Matthew 9:9, Matthew 11:16, Matthew 20:30, Matthew 26:64
Sit 8× Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42, Luke 22:30
. . . 7× Revelation 6:2, Revelation 6:4, Revelation 6:5, Revelation 6:8
was sitting 6× Matthew 24:3, Matthew 26:69, Mark 3:32, Mark 10:46
sits 5× Revelation 5:13, Revelation 7:10, Revelation 17:1, Revelation 17:9
[and] sat 3× Matthew 13:1, Matthew 15:29, Mark 4:1
[and] sat down 2× Matthew 13:2, Matthew 26:58
dwell 2× Luke 21:35, Revelation 14:6
living 2× Matthew 4:16
sat 2× Matthew 28:2, Revelation 4:4
sat down 2× Luke 22:55, John 6:3
sitting [there] 2× Mark 5:15, Luke 5:17
[Pilate] was sitting 1× Matthew 27:19
[someone] seated 1× Revelation 4:2
a seat 1× James 2:3
I sit 1× Revelation 18:7
is seated 1× 1 Corinthians 14:30
live 1× Luke 1:79
seated [at their tables] 1× John 2:14
seated there 1× Revelation 4:3
sit [here] 1× Acts 23:3
sitting down 1× Matthew 27:36
there sat 1× Acts 14:8
used to sit 1× John 9:8
was seated 1× Revelation 17:15
who sits 1× Matthew 23:22
who used to sit 1× Acts 3:10
will also sit 1× Matthew 19:28
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 4:16 καθήμενος to living Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Matthew 4:16 καθημένοις to living Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Dative Masculine Plural Matthew 9:9 καθήμενον to sitting Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Singular Matthew 11:16 καθημένοις to sitting Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Dative Neuter Plural Matthew 13:1 ἐκάθητο to [and] sat Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 13:2 καθῆσθαι to [and] sat down Verb - Present Infinitive Middle or Passive Matthew 15:29 ἐκάθητο to [and] sat Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 19:28 καθήσεσθε to will also sit Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Plural Matthew 20:30 καθήμενοι to sitting Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural Matthew 22:44 Κάθου to Sit Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 4:16
Aligned rows 91
Books represented 10
Matthew 19 Mark 11 Luke 13 John 4 Acts 6 1 Corinthians 1 Colossians 1 Hebrews 1 James 2 Revelation 33
Source forms
καθήμενος 16x kathēmenos Matthew 4:16, Luke 22:69, John 9:8, John 12:15
ἐκάθητο 11x ekathēto Matthew 13:1, Matthew 15:29, Matthew 26:58, Matthew 26:69
καθήμενον 11x kathēmenon Matthew 9:9, Matthew 26:64, Mark 2:14, Mark 5:15
καθημένῳ 8x kathēmenō Matthew 23:22, 1 Corinthians 14:30, Revelation 4:9, Revelation 5:13
καθήμενοι 7x kathēmenoi Matthew 20:30, Matthew 27:36, Mark 2:6, Luke 5:17
καθημένου 7x kathēmenou Mark 13:3, Revelation 4:10, Revelation 5:1, Revelation 5:7
καθημένους 6x kathēmenous Mark 3:34, Luke 21:35, John 2:14, Revelation 4:4
Κάθου 5x Kathou Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42, Acts 2:34
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 16x Matthew 4:16, Luke 22:69, John 9:8, John 12:15
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 11x Matthew 13:1, Matthew 15:29, Matthew 26:58, Matthew 26:69
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Singular 11x Matthew 9:9, Matthew 26:64, Mark 2:14, Mark 5:15
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Singular 9x Matthew 24:3, Matthew 27:19, Mark 13:3, Revelation 4:10
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Dative Masculine Singular 8x Matthew 23:22, 1 Corinthians 14:30, Revelation 4:9, Revelation 5:13
Verb - Present Imperative Middle or Passive - 2nd Person Singular 7x Matthew 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:42, Acts 2:34
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural 7x Matthew 20:30, Matthew 27:36, Mark 2:6, Luke 5:17
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural 6x Mark 3:34, Luke 21:35, John 2:14, Revelation 4:4
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not assign royal or spiritual symbolism to every sitting posture; many occurrences simply locate a person for teaching, work, need, or travel.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that people seated in darkness are beyond hope when Matthew announces the dawning messianic light.
- Do not equate the black-horse rider's seated position with the sovereign holiness of the One seated on the throne.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Posture of settled position or authority; metaphorically denotes abiding presence or established residence.
Strong's G2521
Lexical occurrences 91 verses Greek text appearances 89 times 16 shown below Word forms 4 forms 91 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 8:26-39 Source Gloss
and (to sit; akin to the base of ); to sit down; figuratively, to remain, reside
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 89 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 4:16 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
καθήμενος kaqhmenov
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 4:16 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Dative Plural Masculine
καθημένοις kaqhmenoiv
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 9:9 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
καθήμενον kaqhmenon
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 11:16 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Dative Plural Neuter
καθημένοις, kaqhmenoiv
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 13:1 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἐκάθητο ekaqhto
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 13:2 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Infinitive
καθῆσθαι· kaqhsqai
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 15:29 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἐκάθητο ekaqhto
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 20:30 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
καθήμενοι kaqhmenoi
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 22:44 Verb Second Person Singular Present Middle or Passive Deponent Imperative
Κάθου kaqou
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 23:22 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Dative Singular Masculine
καθημένῳ kaqhmenw
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 24:3 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
Καθημένου kaqhmenou
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 26:58 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἐκάθητο ekaqhto
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 26:64 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
καθήμενον kaqhmenon
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 26:69 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἐκάθητο ekaqhto
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 27:19 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
καθημένου kaqhmenou
I sit, am seated
Read verse Matthew 27:36 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
καθήμενοι kaqhmenoi
I sit, am seated
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 4 Aligned forms 91 Tenses Present, Imperfect, Future Voices Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 65×
Present Middle Matt 4:16 · Luke 22:69 · John 9:8 · John 12:15 · Acts 3:10 · Acts 8:28 · Col 3:1 · Rev 4:2 · Rev 4:3 · Rev 6:2 · Rev 6:5 · Rev 6:8 · Rev 7:15 · Rev 14:16 · Rev 19:11 · Rev 21:5 65×
Indicative states a fact or reality 17×
Imperfect Middle Matt 13:1 · Matt 15:29 · Matt 26:58 · Matt 26:69 · Matt 28:2 · Mark 3:32 · Mark 10:46 · Luke 18:35 · Luke 22:55 · John 6:3 · Acts 14:8 11×
Present Middle Rev 17:9 · Rev 17:15 · Acts 23:3 · Rev 18:7 4×
Future Middle Matt 19:28 · Luke 22:30 2×
Imperative command or strong request 7×
Present Middle Matt 22:44 · Mark 12:36 · Luke 20:42 · Acts 2:34 · Heb 1:13 · Jas 2:3 7×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Present Middle Matt 13:2 · Mark 4:1 2×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 86 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 73 imperfect 11 future 2
Voice
middle 86
Mood
participle 60 indicative 17 imperative 7 infinitive 2
NT Occurrences
Matthew 4:16 καθήμενος present middle participle participle Matthew 4:16 καθημένοις present middle participle participle Matthew 9:9 καθήμενον present middle participle participle Matthew 11:16 καθημένοις present middle participle participle Matthew 13:1 ἐκάθητο imperfect middle indicative background Matthew 13:2 καθῆσθαι present middle infinitive infinitive Matthew 15:29 ἐκάθητο imperfect middle indicative background Matthew 19:28 καθήσεσθε future middle indicative prospective Matthew 20:30 καθήμενοι present middle participle participle Matthew 22:44 Κάθου present middle imperative imperative Matthew 23:22 καθημένῳ present middle participle participle Matthew 24:3 Καθημένου present middle participle participle Matthew 26:58 ἐκάθητο imperfect middle indicative background Matthew 26:64 καθήμενον present middle participle participle Matthew 26:69 ἐκάθητο imperfect middle indicative background Matthew 27:19 Καθημένου present middle participle participle Matthew 27:36 καθήμενοι present middle participle participle Matthew 28:2 ἐκάθητο imperfect middle indicative background Mark 2:14 καθήμενον present middle participle participle Mark 2:6 καθήμενοι present middle participle participle Mark 3:32 ἐκάθητο imperfect middle indicative background Mark 3:34 καθημένους present middle participle participle Mark 4:1 καθῆσθαι present middle infinitive infinitive Mark 5:15 καθήμενον present middle participle participle Mark 10:46 ἐκάθητο imperfect middle indicative background Mark 12:36 Κάθου present middle imperative imperative Mark 13:3 καθημένου present middle participle participle Mark 14:62 καθήμενον present middle participle participle Mark 16:5 καθήμενον present middle participle participle Luke 1:79 καθημένοις present middle participle participle Luke 5:27 καθήμενον present middle participle participle Luke 7:32 καθημένοις present middle participle participle Luke 8:35 καθήμενον present middle participle participle Luke 10:13 καθήμενοι present middle participle participle Luke 18:35 ἐκάθητο imperfect middle indicative background Luke 20:42 Κάθου present middle imperative imperative Luke 21:35 καθημένους present middle participle participle Luke 22:30 καθήσεσθε future middle indicative prospective Luke 22:55 ἐκάθητο imperfect middle indicative background Luke 22:56 καθήμενον present middle participle participle
+46 more occurrences
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
literal physical posture: demon-possessed man sitting at Jesus' feet in mental restoration
Showing 1 selected witness from 91 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
κάθημαι is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
A seated posture can make a condition visible. Matthew's people sit in darkness because their need is longstanding, yet light dawns from beyond their capacity to produce it. Jesus sits in a boat not to withdraw from the crowd but to teach them wisely from a setting suited to the gathered shore. John remembers the blind man's old seat as a beggar, so the familiar posture becomes evidence of the transformation his neighbors can no longer ignore.
Revelation complicates the image: a rider seated on a black horse carries an ominous commission, while the One seated on the throne possesses unthreatened authority to make all things new. The difference lies not in sitting itself but in identity and action. Teachers can use κάθημαι to notice condition, visibility, instruction, and rule without inventing symbolic meaning wherever a person takes a seat.
Anchor passage
Matt.4.16
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 4:12-17, light dawning on those seated in darkness
- Mark 4:1-20, Jesus seated to teach beside the sea
- John 9:1-12, a seated beggar transformed and recognized
- Revelation 6:5-6, the rider seated on the black horse
- Revelation 21:1-8, the enthroned One making all things new
- Psalm 47:5-9, God reigning over the nations from His holy throne
Κάθημαι is a stative verb for sitting or being seated and may describe an ongoing position. Prepositional phrases identify the seat or location, while participles frequently characterize a person by that posture.
From Old to New Testament
Judges, kings, teachers, mourners, and beggars sit in varied settings throughout Scripture. Throne-sitting reaches its highest sense in God's sovereign reign, but ordinary seated actions remain ordinary.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain