Greek word · G2697

κατάσχεσις

kataschesis

possession

From katechō, 'to hold fast, hold down': holding, occupation, possession, a secure and lasting hold on property.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

κατά-σχεσις, -εως, ἡ

(κατέχω), [in LXX nearly always for אֲחֻזָּה ]

1. a holding back.

2. LXX and NT, a holding fast, possession: Acts 7:5, 45.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: From katechō, 'to hold fast, hold down': holding, occupation, possession, a secure and lasting hold on property. In the LXX it translates Hebrew ʾaḥuzzah (H272), a 'holding' or landed property, as in 'an everlasting possession' (Genesis 17:8; 48:4), the burial 'possession' Abraham bought (Genesis 23:4, 9, 20), and the Levites' holdings (Leviticus 25).
Against the English: 'Possession' is accurate. The overtone English may miss is permanence and legal security: having ground that is truly yours to hold, not land you are camping on as a guest.
Used elsewhere in the period: LXX Genesis 17:8 (eis kataschesin aiōnion, 'for an everlasting possession'); Genesis 48:4; Genesis 23:4, 9. In the New Testament it appears only at Acts 7:5 and 7:45, where Israel brings the tent of witness in with Joshua 'into the possession of the nations.'

Range of meaning: Possession, property held as one's own; also the act of taking possession. In the Greek Old Testament it is a key word for land held as a God-given holding.
Against the English: BSB and ESV turn it into a verb, 'dispossessed the nations', and NASB's wording is similar. NIV has 'took the land from the nations'. All are clear and defensible, though they shift the focus from taking hold to removing. KJV's 'into the possession of the Gentiles' follows the words closely but can sound as if the tent passed into Gentile hands, which is the reverse of the meaning.
How it drifted: 'Possession' in modern English most naturally names what someone currently owns. Followed by 'of the Gentiles', it suggests that Gentiles own the thing being brought in. The Greek describes Israel taking over what the nations had held.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the New Testament it occurs only at Acts 7:5 and 7:45. In the Greek Old Testament it appears in God's promise of the land as an 'everlasting possession' (Genesis 17:8; 48:4) and elsewhere of land holdings (Numbers 32:5, 22; Deuteronomy 32:49).

Acts · 2

Acts 7:5 κατάσχεσιν a possession

He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised to give possession of the land to Abraham and his descendants, even though he did not yet have a child.

Here: Lasting, secure tenure of land, the Greek Bible's word for Hebrew ʾaḥuzzah in Genesis 17:8. It found its fulfilment when Israel 'took possession' under Joshua (Acts 7:45, the only other New Testament use).
Acts 7:45 κατασχέσει taking possession

And our fathers who received it brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations God drove out before them. It remained until the time of David,

Here: The act of taking hold of land as one's own. Stephen used the same word in verse 5 for what God promised Abraham when Abraham owned not a foot of ground, so this is that promise coming true.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.