κτῆμα

From the study of Acts 2:45

Range of meaning

Something acquired and owned: a possession. In Hellenistic Greek, and especially in the papyri, it very often means landed property: a field, farm, estate or vineyard. In the plural it can mean a person's holdings or estates.

Against the English

English 'possessions' (BSB, KJV, WEB, ESV) suggests personal belongings: clothes, furniture, stuff. NIV's and NLT's 'property' is closer here. The Greek puts land first, which is the biggest and least liquid kind of wealth in an agrarian economy.

How it drifted

Modern English 'possessions' has shifted toward movable personal items. In earlier English 'possessions' could mean landed estates, as the Greek does.

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 5:1 calls Ananias's sale a ktēma, and 5:3 says it was a 'field' (chōrion). Matthew 19:22 / Mark 10:22 say the rich man 'had many ktēmata'. In the LXX it translates words for fields and vineyards (e.g. Proverbs 23:10; 31:16). Moulton-Milligan documents frequent use for estates and vineyards in the papyri.

From the study of Acts 5:1

Range of meaning

Literally "something acquired", hence a possession or property. In the plural, and very often in the papyri (everyday documents preserved in Egypt), it means landed property: fields, vineyards, estates. Related to κτάομαι, "to acquire".

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT "a possession" can sound to a modern reader like any belonging, even a household object. BSB "a piece of property" and other modern versions' similar phrasing are closer.

How it drifted

In 1611 "possession" commonly meant estate or land. Modern English uses it for any owned thing.

Used elsewhere in the period

BDAG gives "property, possession" and specifically "landed property, field, piece of ground". Matthew 19:22 / Mark 10:22 ("he had many ktēmata") and Acts 2:45 ("they sold their ktēmata and belongings") use the same word. In Acts 2:45 ktēmata (real property) is distinguished from hyparxeis (other goods).

From the study of Mark 10:22

Range of meaning

Something acquired or owned; a possession or piece of property. In later Greek, and especially in the documentary papyri, it very often means landed property: a field, estate, farm or vineyard.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'great possessions', BSB/NIV 'great wealth', NASB 'much property'. 'Possessions' can suggest movable belongings, and 'wealth' can suggest money. NASB's 'property' is closest to the likely sense of land.

How it drifted

To a modern reader 'possessions' sounds like stuff and 'wealth' like a bank balance. In first-century Judea wealth was mainly land and its produce, held by families and passed down to heirs.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Acts 2:45 believers sell 'their ktēmata and belongings (hyparxeis)', two separate categories. In Acts 5:1 Ananias sells a ktēma, which 5:3 and 5:8 call a χωρίον, a field or plot. Moulton–Milligan cites papyri where κτῆμα refers to a farm or vineyard. LSJ notes the sense 'landed property, estate'. BDAG treats the Gospel uses under the general sense 'property, possession', so the narrower 'land' reading is likely but not certain.