What does κατάκειμαι (katákeimai) mean in the Bible?
Katakeimai means to lie down, recline, or be laid up, depending on context. The New Testament uses it for sickness, paralysis, table settings, and helpless bodily conditions.
Greek · G2621
κατάκειμαι
To recline
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κατάκειμαι G2621
Pronunciation katákeimai
What does κατάκειμαι (katákeimai) mean in the Bible?
Katakeimai means to lie down, recline, or be laid up, depending on context. The New Testament uses it for sickness, paralysis, table settings, and helpless bodily conditions.
Reader summary
Full entry for κατάκειμαι (G2621) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2621?
The BSB source-word alignment has 12 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include eating (2), - (1), [and] bedridden (1), [Jesus] was dining (1), he had been lying (1).
Where does κατάκειμαι (katákeimai) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 1:30. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (4), Luke (3), Acts (2), John (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Katakeimai means to lie down, recline, or be laid up, depending on context. The New Testament uses it for sickness, paralysis, table settings, and helpless bodily conditions. Simon mother-in-law is sick in bed with fever. Friends lower a paralytic on his mat because he cannot reach Jesus himself. Jesus reclines at tables where sinners, hosts, and worshiping women are present.
In John 5, Jesus sees a man lying there in a long condition and asks whether he wants to get well. In Acts 28, Publius father is sick in bed until Paul prays and lays hands on him. Katakeimai therefore helps readers attend to bodies at rest, bodies in weakness, and bodies placed near Jesus or His servants, without treating illness or table posture as interchangeable themes.
How the Bible Uses It
Katakeimai can describe being sick in bed, lying on a mat, or reclining at table. Its range serves scenes of healing, access, hospitality, devotion, and mercy. The word should be read through the body and setting in each passage.
- Mark.1.30
Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and they promptly told Jesus about her.
Simon mother-in-law is sick in bed, and the disciples tell Jesus. The word marks bodily weakness that Jesus addresses.
- Mark.2.4
Since they were unable to get to Jesus through the crowd, they uncovered the roof above Him, made an opening, and lowered the paralytic on his mat.
The paralytic is lowered on his mat because he cannot get to Jesus through the crowd. Lying down becomes a scene of dependent access.
- Mark.14.3
While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.
Jesus reclines at table in Bethany when the woman anoints Him. The meal posture sets the scene for costly devotion before His death.
- Luke.7.37
When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.
A sinful woman comes because Jesus is dining there. The table setting becomes a place of repentance, love, and forgiveness.
- John.5.6
When Jesus saw him lying there and realized that he had spent a long time in this condition, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?”
Jesus sees a man lying there and addresses his long condition. The word marks helplessness met by Christ command.
- Acts.28.8
The father of Publius was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him, and after praying and placing his hands on him, he healed the man.
Publius father is sick in bed until Paul prays, lays hands on him, and he is healed. The word frames embodied need and apostolic mercy.
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 eating 2× Luke 5:29, 1 Corinthians 8:10
- 1× Mark 2:4
[and] bedridden 1× Acts 9:33
[Jesus] was dining 1× Luke 7:37
he had been lying 1× Luke 5:25
lay 1× John 5:3
lying [there] 1× John 5:6
reclining at the table 1× Mark 14:3
sick in bed 1× Acts 28:8
was dining 1× Mark 2:15
was sick in bed 1× Mark 1:30
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 1:30 κατέκειτο to was sick in bed Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Mark 2:4 κατέκειτο to - Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Mark 2:15 κατακεῖσθαι to was dining Verb - Present Infinitive Middle or Passive Mark 14:3 κατακειμένου to reclining at the table Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Singular Luke 5:25 κατέκειτο to he had been lying Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Luke 5:29 κατακείμενοι to eating Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural Luke 7:37 κατάκειται to [Jesus] was dining Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular John 5:3 κατέκειτο to lay Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular John 5:6 κατακείμενον to lying [there] Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Singular Acts 9:33 κατακείμενον to [and] bedridden Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 1:30
Aligned rows 12
Books represented 5
Mark 4 Luke 3 John 2 Acts 2 1 Corinthians 1
Source forms
κατέκειτο 4x katekeito Mark 1:30, Mark 2:4, Luke 5:25, John 5:3
κατακείμενον 3x katakeimenon John 5:6, Acts 9:33, 1 Corinthians 8:10
κατακεῖσθαι 2x katakeisthai Mark 2:15, Acts 28:8
κατακείμενοι 1x katakeimenoi Luke 5:29
κατακειμένου 1x katakeimenou Mark 14:3
κατάκειται 1x katakeitai Luke 7:37
Parsing patterns
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 4x Mark 1:30, Mark 2:4, Luke 5:25, John 5:3
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Singular 3x John 5:6, Acts 9:33, 1 Corinthians 8:10
Verb - Present Infinitive Middle or Passive 2x Mark 2:15, Acts 28:8
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Luke 7:37
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Singular 1x Mark 14:3
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Luke 5:29
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use this word to help readers see embodied weakness and access to Jesus in concrete scenes.
- Keep healing applications humble, text-governed, and pastorally careful.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that katakeimai always refers to sickness.
- Do not claim that every person lying down in these passages represents spiritual passivity.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Recline at table for meals or lie sick; distinguishes physical posture from standing or sitting positions.
Strong's G2621
Lexical occurrences 12 verses Greek text appearances 11 times Word forms 3 forms 12 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Mark 1:30 Source Gloss
to recline
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Recline at table for meals or lie sick; distinguishes physical posture from standing or sitting positions.
1to lie down.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 1:30 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
κατέκειτο katekeito
I recline, am lying ill
Read verse Mark 2:4 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
κατέκειτο. katekeito
I recline, am lying ill
Read verse Mark 2:15 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Infinitive
κατακεῖσθαι katakeisqai
I recline, am lying ill
Read verse Mark 14:3 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
κατακειμένου katakeimenou
I recline, am lying ill
Read verse Luke 5:25 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
κατέκειτο, katekeito
I recline, am lying ill
Read verse Luke 5:29 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
κατακείμενοι. katakeimenoi
I recline, am lying ill
Read verse John 5:3 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
κατέκειτο katekeito
I recline, am lying ill
Read verse John 5:6 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
κατακείμενον, katakeimenon
I recline, am lying ill
Read verse Acts 9:33 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
κατακείμενον katakeimenon
I recline, am lying ill
Read verse Acts 28:8 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Infinitive
κατακεῖσθαι· katakeisqai
I recline, am lying ill
Read verse 1 Corinthians 8:10 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
κατακείμενον, katakeimenon
I recline, am lying ill
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 3 Aligned forms 12 Tenses Imperfect, Present Voices Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 5×
Imperfect Middle Mark 1:30 · Mark 2:4 · Luke 5:25 · John 5:3 4×
Present Middle Luke 7:37 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 5×
Present Middle John 5:6 · Acts 9:33 · 1 Cor 8:10 · Mark 14:3 · Luke 5:29 5×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Present Middle Mark 2:15 · Acts 28:8 2×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 11 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 7 imperfect 4
Voice
middle 11
Mood
indicative 5 participle 4 infinitive 2
NT Occurrences
Mark 1:30 κατέκειτο imperfect middle indicative background Mark 2:15 κατακεῖσθαι present middle infinitive infinitive Mark 2:4 κατέκειτο imperfect middle indicative background Mark 14:3 κατακειμένου present middle participle participle Luke 5:25 κατέκειτο imperfect middle indicative background Luke 7:37 κατάκειται present middle indicative ongoing John 5:3 κατέκειτο imperfect middle indicative background John 5:6 κατακείμενον present middle participle participle Acts 9:33 κατακείμενον present middle participle participle Acts 28:8 κατακεῖσθαι present middle infinitive infinitive 1 Corinthians 8:10 κατακείμενον present middle participle participle
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 Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 12 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
κατάκειμαι is built from these roots:
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
Katakeimai is valuable because it forces teachers to keep bodies and settings visible. A person lying sick in bed is not the same as Jesus reclining at a table, and a paralytic lowered through a roof is not the same scene as a woman approaching Jesus during a meal. Yet all these uses remind readers that the Gospel meets people in embodied places: sickrooms, crowded houses, tables, and long conditions of helplessness.
Jesus is not distant from those places. He heals, forgives, receives costly devotion, and sends His servants into rooms of suffering. The word therefore helps teachers speak concretely about human weakness and nearness to Christ without making every occurrence carry the same application.
Anchor passage
John.5.6
Doctrinal connections
- Mark 1:30: Jesus mercy reaches ordinary household sickness.
- Mark 2:4: dependent friends bring a helpless man to Jesus through costly effort.
- Mark 14:3: Jesus table setting becomes the place of costly anointing before His death.
- Luke 7:37: a sinful woman approaches Jesus at table with repentant love.
- John 5:6: Jesus sees long-standing helplessness and speaks with authority.
- Acts 28:8: apostolic prayer and healing mercy reach a sickbed among Gentiles.
Katakeimai can mean lie down, be laid up, be sick in bed, or recline at a meal. English renderings vary because the verb follows the physical situation.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture repeatedly shows God meeting people in embodied weakness: beds of illness, places of helplessness, and meals of hospitality or need. The New Testament centers those scenes on Jesus mercy, authority, and mission through His servants.
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