G2525 — καθίστημι (kathistemi)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2525
Original: καθίστημι
Transliteration: kathistemi
Pronunciation: kath-is'-tay-mee
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: Compound of κατά (kata, G2596 "down") + ἵστημι (histemi, G2476 "to stand/place")
Occurrences: 21 unique verses (27 tokens)
First Occurrence: Mat 24:45 — "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From κατά (G2596) and ἵστημι (G2476); to place down (permanently), i.e. (figuratively) to designate, constitute, convoy: — appoint, be, conduct, make, ordain, set.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domains¶

Domain 37.005: Assign to a Role or Function — to appoint, to designate
Domain 13.001: State — to cause to be in a state, to constitute
Domain 15.023: Lead, Bring, Take — to bring, to conduct
Domain 37: Control, Rule
Domain 13: Be, Become, Exist, Happen
Domain 15: Linear Movement
Glosses: to put in charge of | to appoint | to designate

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Count	Occurrences
Aorist Active Indicative	5	Mat 24:45, Luk 12:14, Acts 7:10, 7:27, 7:35
Future Active Indicative	6	Mat 24:47, 25:21, 25:23, Luk 12:42, 12:44, Acts 6:3
Present Passive Indicative	4	Heb 5:1, 8:3, Jas 3:6, 4:4
Present Active Indicative	2	Heb 7:28, 2Pe 1:8
Aorist Passive Indicative	1	Rom 5:19a
Future Passive Indicative	1	Rom 5:19b
Aorist Active Subjunctive	1	Tit 1:5
Present Active Participle	1	Acts 17:15

Voice summary: Active 14x (67%), Passive 6x (29%), Participle 1x (5%).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
ruler / made ruler / shall make ruler	6	29%
made / be made / were made	5	24%
is / shall	3	14%
is ordained / ordain	3	14%
I will make / he will make / he shall make / maketh	4	19%
didst set	1	5%
they that conducted	1	5%
we may appoint	1	5%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Titus	1	2.2
James	2	1.9
2 Peter	1	1.6
Hebrews	4	1.3
Acts	5	0.5
Matthew	4	0.4
Luke	3	0.3
Romans	1	0.2

Absent from the Johannine corpus, the Prison Epistles, and all other Pauline letters (only Rom 5:19). NT-only word in the KJV canon (LXX maps to OT Hebrew equivalents). Concentrated in narrative contexts (Matthew, Luke, Acts = 12/21 = 57%) and Hebrews (priestly appointment).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Appointment to Authority / Stewardship¶

Mat 24:45 — "whom his lord hath made ruler [kathistemi] over his household"
Mat 24:47 — "he shall make him ruler [kathistemi] over all his goods"
Luk 12:42 — "whom his lord shall make ruler [kathistemi] over his household"
Acts 7:10 — "he made him [kathistemi] governor over Egypt and all his house"

2. Priestly / Sacerdotal Appointment¶

Heb 5:1 — "every high priest taken from among men is ordained [kathistemi] for men in things pertaining to God"
Heb 7:28 — "the law maketh [kathistemi] men high priests which have infirmity"
Heb 8:3 — "every high priest is ordained [kathistemi] to offer gifts and sacrifices"

3. Constitutive Effect — Placing into a Category or State¶

Rom 5:19 — "by one man's disobedience many were made [kathistemi] sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made [kathistemi] righteous"
Jas 4:4 — "whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is [kathistemi] the enemy of God"
2Pe 1:8 — "if these things be in you, and abound, they make [kathistemi] you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful"

4. Designation as Judge / Official¶

Luk 12:14 — "Man, who made [kathistemi] me a judge or a divider over you?"
Acts 7:27 — "Who made [kathistemi] thee a ruler and a judge over us?"
Acts 7:35 — "Who made [kathistemi] thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler"

5. Physical Conveyance / Escort¶

Acts 17:15 — "they that conducted [kathistemi] Paul brought him unto Athens"

6. Constituting as Corrupted / Defiled¶

Jas 3:6 — "the tongue... is [kathistemi] the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature"

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 037.005 — Assign to a Role or Function)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G322	ἀναδείκνυμι	2	appoint, show
G873	ἀφορίζω	10	separate, divide
G1303	διατίθεμαι	7	make, testator, appoint
G1325	δίδωμι	337	give, grant, put
G2523	καθίζω	44	sit, set
G2819	κλῆρος	11	lot, part, inheritance
G3307	μερίζω	14	divide, distribute
G3724	ὁρίζω	8	determine, ordain, declare
G3880	παραλαμβάνω	47	take, receive

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	5x (24%)	The lord who appoints: "whom his lord hath made ruler"
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	5x (24%)	Scope of authority: "ruler over all his goods"
ἄνθρωπος (anthropos)	G444	4x (19%)	Human subjects: "taken from among men" (Heb 5:1)
πιστός (pistos)	G4103	4x (19%)	Quality of appointee: "faithful and wise servant"
ἀρχιερεύς (archiereus)	G749	3x (14%)	Priestly context: "every high priest is ordained"
δοῦλος (doulos)	G1401	3x (14%)	Stewardship parables: servant made ruler
θεός (theos)	G2316	3x (14%)	Divine authority: God as appointing agent
δίδωμι (didomi)	G1325	3x (14%)	Purpose clause: appointed "to give" provisions
δῶρον (doron)	G1435	2x (10%)	Priestly function: "to offer gifts and sacrifices"
ἄρχων (archon)	G758	2x (10%)	Title given: "ruler and a judge"

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2476 ἵστημι (histemi) — root verb: to stand, place, establish (153v)
G2596 κατά (kata) — prefix: down, according to, against
G2523 καθίζω (kathizo) — cognate: to sit, seat, set (44v) — shares kata- prefix; kathizo = seat/enthrone, kathistemi = place into role/category
G450 ἀνίστημι (anistemi) — related compound: ana + histemi = stand up, raise (108v)
G3936 παρίστημι (paristemi) — related compound: para + histemi = present, stand beside (37v)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ποιέω (poieo)	G4160	"made"	poieo = general "do/make"; kathistemi = formally place into a position or status
γίνομαι (ginomai)	G1096	"made" / "is"	ginomai = come into being, become; kathistemi = be constituted/designated by external agency
τίθημι (tithemi)	G5087	"set" / "appoint"	tithemi = place physically or metaphorically; kathistemi = permanently fix in a role or state
χειροτονέω (cheirotoneo)	G5500	"ordain"	cheirotoneo = elect by vote/hand-raising; kathistemi = place by authority without voting
τάσσω (tasso)	G5021	"ordain" / "appoint"	tasso = arrange, assign to a position; kathistemi = constitute into an identity/status

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
פָּקַד (paqad)	H6485	28	4.19	to visit, appoint, muster — primary bridge
מְנָא (mena)	H4483	4	7.12	Aramaic: to number, appoint
שׂוּם (suwm)	H7760	22	2.83	to put, place, set
נָצַב (natsab)	H5324	8	4.26	to station, place
יָצַב (yatsab)	H3320	6	4.57	to set, place firmly
קוּם (quwm)	H6966	5	4.86	Aramaic: to arise, establish, appoint

Primary LXX bridge is H6485 paqad (28 co-occurrences), but PMI is moderate (4.19), indicating a shared but not exclusive relationship — paqad has broader semantic range (visit, punish, muster) than kathistemi captures.