G2521 — κάθημαι (káthēmai)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2521
Original: κάθημαι
Transliteration: káthēmai
Pronunciation: kath'-ay-mahee
Part of Speech: Verb (deponent middle/passive)
Root: From κατά (G2596) + ἧμαι (hēmai, "to sit")
Occurrences: 87 unique verses (89 tokens) across 10 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 4:16 — "The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

To sit down; from κατά and ἧμαι (to sit; akin to the base of ἕδρα). A deponent verb — middle/passive in form, active in meaning.

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Count	Description
Present M/P Participle	65	"sitting" / "the one sitting" — overwhelmingly dominant
Imperfect M/P Indicative	11	"was sitting" — narrative past
Present M/P Imperative	7	"Sit!" — command form
Present M/P Indicative	4	"sits" / "I sit" — present state
Present M/P Infinitive	2	"to sit"
Future Middle Indicative	2	"you will sit" (Mat 19:28, Luk 22:30)

The participle accounts for 71% of all tokens, functioning as a substantive ("the one sitting") in the majority of cases — especially in Revelation's throne-room scenes ("him that sat on the throne").

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 17.002: Sit — ἀνακαθίζω (G339), ἐπικαθίζω (G1940), καθέζομαι (G2516), καθίζω (G2523), παρακαθέζομαι (G3869a), συγκάθημαι (G4775), συγκαθίζω (G4776)
Domain 85.003: Remain, Stay — secondary sense of continued occupancy

Domain Neighbors (017.002 — Sit)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G339	ἀνακαθίζω	2	sat up
G1940	ἐπικαθίζω	1	they set
G2516	καθέζομαι	6	sat, sitting
G2523	καθίζω	15	sat, sat down
G4775	συγκάθημαι	2	sat with
G4776	συγκαθίζω	2	sit together

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
sat	24	27.6%
sitting	19	21.8%
that sat	8	9.2%
sitteth	7	8.0%
Sit thou	4	4.6%
and sat	4	4.6%
sit	3	3.4%
Sit	2	2.3%
that sitteth	2	2.3%
there sat	2	2.3%
dwell	1	1.1%
Other (11 renderings)	11	12.6%

KJV renders with "sit/sat/sitting/sitteth" in 98.9% of cases. Only one verse uses "dwell" (Luk 21:35).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	32	7.9
Matthew	17	1.6
Mark	11	1.6
Luke	12	1.0
Colossians	1	1.1
James	1	0.9
Acts	7	0.7
John	4	0.5
Hebrews	1	0.3
1 Corinthians	1	0.2

Revelation dominates with 37% of all occurrences and nearly 5x the density of the next-highest books. The Synoptic Gospels + Acts account for another 54%. The word is absent from Paul's epistles except Col 3:1 and 1 Cor 14:30.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Enthroned Authority — God and Christ on the Throne¶

Rev 4:2 — "a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne"
Rev 5:1 — "in the right hand of him that sat on the throne"
Rev 21:5 — "he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new"
Col 3:1 — "where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God"

2. Messianic Session — "Sit at My Right Hand"¶

Mat 22:44 — "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand"
Mar 12:36 — "The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand"
Act 2:34 — "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand"
Heb 1:13 — "Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool"

3. Apocalyptic Riders and Figures¶

Rev 6:2 — "he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him"
Rev 6:8 — "his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed"
Rev 14:14 — "upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man"
Rev 19:11 — "he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True"

4. Sitting in Darkness / Spiritual Condition¶

Mat 4:16 — "The people which sat in darkness saw great light"
Luk 1:79 — "to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death"

5. Ordinary Posture — Sitting During Daily Life¶

Mat 9:9 — "a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom"
Mar 2:14 — "Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom"
Act 8:28 — "sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet"
Jhn 2:14 — "the changers of money sitting"

6. Sitting as Witness or Vigil¶

Mat 27:36 — "sitting down they watched him there" (guards at the cross)
Mat 27:61 — "Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre"
Mar 16:5 — "a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment"

7. Self-Declared Security (Babylon/Harlot)¶

Rev 18:7 — "she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow"
Rev 17:1 — "the great whore that sitteth upon many waters"
Rev 17:9 — "seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θρόνος (thronos)	G2362	16x	"him that sat on the throne" — enthroned authority
δεξιός (dexios)	G1188	12x	"sitting on the right hand" — messianic session
ὁράω (horao)	G3708	20x	"I saw... and he that sat" — visionary formula
λέγω (lego)	G3004	22x	"he that sat said" — speech from the seated one
ἵππος (hippos)	G2462	9x	"he that sat on the horse" — apocalyptic riders
οὐρανός (ouranos)	G3772	10x	heavenly context for enthroned sitting
γῆ (ge)	G1093	9x	"them that dwell/sit on the earth" — earthly realm

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2516 καθέζομαι (kathezomai) — to sit down (6v; near-synonym, less frequent)
G2523 καθίζω (kathizo) — to seat down, cause to sit (15v; transitive/causative counterpart)
G4775 συγκάθημαι (synkathemai) — to sit with (2v; compound with σύν)
G4776 συγκαθίζω (synkathizo) — to sit together with (2v; compound with σύν)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
καθίζω (kathizo)	G2523	"sat," "sit," "sitteth"	kathizo is transitive/active "to seat (someone)" or ingressive "to sit down"; kathemai is stative "to be seated, remain sitting"
καθέζομαι (kathezomai)	G2516	"sat," "sitting"	Near-synonym; kathezomai less frequent (6v vs. 87v); both stative but kathemai is the standard word for enthroned occupancy
ἀνάκειμαι (anakeimai)	G345	"sat"	anakeimai = "recline at table"; kathemai = "sit upright" — different postures
יָשַׁב (yashab)	H3427	"sat," "sitting," "sitteth"	Hebrew equivalent; broader range including "dwell/inhabit"; kathemai rarely takes the "dwell" sense (only Luk 21:35)

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
יָשַׁב (yashab)	H3427	130x	4.47	Primary source — dominant Hebrew equivalent for "sit/dwell"
כִּסֵּא (kisse)	H3678	22x	4.90	"throne" — kathemai translates verbal constructions with kisse
כְּרוּב (kerub)	H3742	7x	4.14	Cherubim as throne-bearers — "he that sitteth between the cherubim"
שַׁעַר (shaar)	H8179	12x	2.72	"gate" — sitting in the gate as judicial/social posture
דָּוִד (David)	H1732	21x	1.99	David sitting (on throne, before the LORD)