Greek word · G2698

κατατίθημι

katatithēmi

to attain

In the active, 'to lay down' or 'put down'. In the middle, 'to lay down for oneself' or 'deposit': money in a bank or temple, goods in storage, or (figuratively) a favor that earns a claim on the person who receives it. The middle form signals that the subject acts for his own advantage.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κατα-τίθημι

[in LXX: 1 Chronicles 21:27 שׁוּב hi.), Psalms 41:8 (יָצַק), 1Ma.10:23, al. ;]

to lay down, deposit, lay by: Mark 15:46, T; mid., to lay up for oneself: χάριν (Hdt., al., see LS, see word), with dative of person(s), Acts 24:27 25:9.†

(AS)

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

In depth

From the study of Acts 24:27

Range of meaning

In the active, 'to lay down' or 'put down'. In the middle, 'to lay down for oneself' or 'deposit': money in a bank or temple, goods in storage, or (figuratively) a favor that earns a claim on the person who receives it. The middle form signals that the subject acts for his own advantage.

Against the English

Most English versions flatten it to 'do … a favor' or 'grant a favor'. YLT's 'lay a favour on' keeps the image of placing something down. WEB's 'gain favor' and the supplied context gloss 'acquire for himself' capture the self-interest but lose the banking picture. The Strong's gloss 'to attain' is too loose and does not fit the word's actual use.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it occurs only in Mark 15:46 (active, of laying Jesus' body down, in some manuscripts) and in Acts 24:27 and 25:9 (the middle-voice idiom with charis). For the idiom, see Thucydides 1.33 and Demosthenes. BDAG lists the middle sense as 'lay up, store up, deposit' (s.v. κατατίθημι).

Where it appears

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 24:27 καταθέσθαι to acquire for himself

    After two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.

    Here: 'To deposit for himself.' The verb is used for depositing money or goods. The middle form means Felix is doing it for his own benefit: he banks a favor with the Jewish leaders to draw on later.

  2. Acts 25:9 καταθέσθαι, to lay,

    But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to stand trial before me on these charges?”

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