G2722 — κατέχω (katéchō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2722
Original: κατέχω
Transliteration: katéchō
Pronunciation: kat-ekh'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Components: G2596 κατά (kata, "down, against, intensive") + G2192 ἔχω (echō, "to have, hold")
Occurrences: 18 tokens in 18 unique verses (NT only; Blue Letter Bible count is 19 — variant reading at John 5:4 "angel went down… troubled the water")
Books: 10 (Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, Philemon, Hebrews)
First Occurrence: Matthew 21:38 — "let us seize on his inheritance"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From Strong's (G2596 + G2192): "to hold down (fast), in various applications." The κατά prefix intensifies and/or directs the holding — it can mean holding downward/against (to suppress, restrain), holding firmly (to retain, keep fast), or holding-in-place (to occupy, possess). All three senses are attested in the NT.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida:

G2722 maps to multiple domains, reflecting its broad semantic range:

Domain	Label	Sense
037 / 037001	Control, Rule / Control, Restrain	"prevent, hinder, restrain" (2 Thess 2:6–7; Luke 4:42; Phlm 13)
057 / 057001	Possess, Transfer, Exchange / Have, Possess, Property	"possess, occupy" (1 Cor 7:30; 2 Cor 6:10; Matt 21:38)
031 / 031006	Hold a View, Believe, Trust / Believe To Be True	"hold fast (to a teaching)" (1 Cor 11:2, 15:2; 1 Thess 5:21; Heb 3:6, 3:14, 10:23)
085 / 085001	Existence in Space / Be in a Place	"occupy a place, take a position" (Luke 14:9)
054	Maritime Activities	"head for, steer toward" (Acts 27:40)
013 / 013004	Be, Become, Exist, Happen / Happen	general "take hold of"

Glosses in the Louw-Nida database: to prevent | to hinder | to restrain.

UBS Semantic Domains: - [013] Be, Become, Exist, Happen - [031] Hold a View, Believe, Trust - [057] Possess, Transfer, Exchange - [037] Control, Rule - [085] Existence in Space - [054] Maritime Activities

Morphological Distribution (NT)¶

From greek_parser.py --lemma κατέχω (18 occurrences):

Form	Parsing	Count	Verses
κατεῖχον	Imperfect Active Indicative 3pl	2	Luke 4:42; Acts 27:40
κατέχουσιν	Present Active Indicative 3pl	1	Luke 8:15
κατέχειν	Present Active Infinitive	2	Luke 14:9; Phlm 1:13
κατείχετο	Imperfect Passive Indicative 3sg	1	John 5:4
κατεχόντων	Present Active Participle Gen Pl Masc	1	Rom 1:18
κατειχόμεθα	Imperfect Passive Indicative 1pl	1	Rom 7:6
κατέχοντες	Present Active Participle Nom Pl Masc	2	1 Cor 7:30; 2 Cor 6:10
κατέχετε	Present Active Indicative 2pl	2	1 Cor 11:2; 1 Cor 15:2
κατέχετε	Present Active Imperative 2pl	1	1 Thess 5:21
κατέχον	Present Active Participle Acc Sg Neuter	1	2 Thess 2:6
κατέχων	Present Active Participle Nom Sg Masculine	1	2 Thess 2:7
κατάσχωμεν	2nd Aorist Active Subjunctive 1pl	2	Heb 3:6; 3:14
κατέχωμεν	Present Active Subjunctive 1pl	1	Heb 10:23

Two participial forms appear only once each in the NT, and they sit in adjacent verses: τὸ κατέχον (neuter) in 2 Thess 2:6 and ὁ κατέχων (masculine) in 2:7. See "The 2 Thess 2:6–7 Gender Shift" below.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
keep / ye keep	3	~16%
hold fast / let us hold fast / we hold fast	4	~22%
hold / we hold	2	~11%
possessing / though they possessed	2	~11%
stayed	1	~5%
let us seize	1	~5%
to take	1	~5%
and made (toward)	1	~5%
who hold (the truth)	1	~5%
we were held	1	~5%
have retained	1	~5%
withholdeth	1	~5%
letteth	1	~5%
(made whole — variant at John 5:4)	1	—

From search_strongs.py --lookup G2722. No single English rendering dominates; the KJV uses 18 distinct translations across 19 tokens — the widest translation spread of any mid-frequency NT verb.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Corinthians	3	0.69
Hebrews	3	0.99
Luke	3	0.26
2 Thessalonians	2	4.21
Romans	2	0.46
Matthew	1	0.09
John	1	0.11
Acts	1	0.10
2 Corinthians	1	0.37
1 Thessalonians	1	1.12
Philemon	1	3.85

Pauline concentration: 11 of 18 tokens are in Paul (1–2 Cor, Rom, 1–2 Thess, Phlm), plus 3 in Hebrews. Highest per-verse density is in 2 Thessalonians (the two restrainer participles in back-to-back verses) and Philemon (the single v. 13 request). Absent from the Johannine epistles, Revelation, the Petrine letters, James, and Jude.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Hold Down / Suppress (pressing against)¶

Rom 1:18 — "the wrath of God is revealed… against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold [κατεχόντων] the truth in unrighteousness" — holding the truth down, suppressing it. The preposition ἐν ἀδικίᾳ ("in unrighteousness") frames the holding as imprisonment of truth.

2. Hold Back / Detain / Restrain (preventing movement)¶

Luke 4:42 — "the people sought him… and stayed [κατεῖχον] him, that he should not depart" — they tried to detain Jesus from leaving.
Phlm 1:13 — "Whom I would have retained [κατέχειν] with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered" — Paul wanted to keep Onesimus by his side.
2 Thess 2:6 — "ye know what withholdeth [τὸ κατέχον]" — the thing that restrains.
2 Thess 2:7 — "only he who now letteth [ὁ κατέχων]" (KJV archaic "letteth" = hinders/restrains) — the person who restrains.

3. Hold Fast / Keep / Retain (firm adherence to teaching, tradition, hope)¶

1 Cor 11:2 — "ye… keep [κατέχετε] the ordinances, as I delivered them to you" — retain the παραδόσεις.
1 Cor 15:2 — "ye are saved, if ye keep in memory [κατέχετε] what I preached" — hold fast the gospel.
1 Thess 5:21 — "Prove all things; hold fast [κατέχετε] that which is good" — imperative.
Heb 3:6 — "whose house are we, if we hold fast [κατάσχωμεν] the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end."
Heb 3:14 — "if we hold [κατάσχωμεν] the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end."
Heb 10:23 — "Let us hold fast [κατέχωμεν] the profession of our faith without wavering."
Luke 8:15 — "having heard the word, keep [κατέχουσιν] it, and bring forth fruit" — parable of the sower.

4. Possess / Have in Hand (occupying, owning)¶

Matt 21:38 — "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on [κατάσχωμεν] his inheritance" — take possession.
1 Cor 7:30 — "they that buy, as though they possessed [κατέχοντες] not" — the paradox of owning under the παράγει-ing form of the world.
2 Cor 6:10 — "as having nothing, and yet possessing [κατέχοντες] all things."

5. Held Fast By (passive — under a binding power)¶

Rom 7:6 — "we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held [κατειχόμεθα]" — held captive/bound by the law.
John 5:4 — "whatsoever disease he had" (in the textual tradition that includes the verse: "κατείχετο" — was held fast by).

6. Occupy / Take (a place or position)¶

Luke 14:9 — "thou begin with shame to take [κατέχειν] the lowest room" — occupy the last seat.

7. Head Toward / Make For (maritime)¶

Acts 27:40 — "hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made [κατεῖχον] toward shore" — Luke's nautical technical use: to steer/bear down on a harbor.

The 2 Thessalonians 2:6–7 Gender Shift¶

In consecutive verses, Paul uses the same present active participle of κατέχω, but changes grammatical gender:

Verse	Greek	Article	Participle	Parsing	KJV
2 Thess 2:6	τὸ κατέχον	τό (neuter)	κατέχον	Pres Act Ptcp Acc Sg Neuter	"what withholdeth"
2 Thess 2:7	ὁ κατέχων	ὁ (masculine)	κατέχων	Pres Act Ptcp Nom Sg Masculine	"he who now letteth"

Both participles are substantival ("the one who/what restrains") from the same verb κατέχω in the same tense, voice, and mood. The only differences: - v. 6: neuter substantival participle, accusative (object of οἴδατε, "you know"). Refers to "what" — a thing, impersonal force, principle, institution, or collective entity. - v. 7: masculine substantival participle, nominative (subject). Refers to "who" — a person, personal agent, or personified figure.

This is the only place in the NT where κατέχω appears as a substantival present active participle, and the only place it appears in both neuter and masculine in the same immediate context. The gender shift across one verse boundary is grammatically unforced — Paul could have used the same gender in both verses — so the deliberate alternation communicates something about the referent (whether one entity viewed two ways, or two entities, is an interpretive question the grammar alone does not decide).

Semantically the verb in both verses falls within Category 2 above: "hold back, restrain, prevent from moving forward." The lexical force is detainment / hindrance (the sense of Luke 4:42 and Phlm 13), not suppression (the sense of Rom 1:18). The object in 2 Thess 2:6–7 is the revelation/manifestation of the "man of lawlessness" — the restrainer holds back his appearing, not his truth.

Common Collocations¶

From co-occurring words across the 18 verses (via context inspection, not a tool query):

Word / Phrase	Co-occurrences	Pattern
ἀλήθεια (truth, G225)	Rom 1:18	"hold down the truth"
λόγος (word, G3056)	Luke 8:15; 1 Cor 15:2	"keep the word / what was preached"
παράδοσις (tradition, G3862)	1 Cor 11:2	"keep the ordinances / traditions"
ὁμολογία (profession, G3671)	Heb 3:14 (related); Heb 10:23	"hold fast the profession"
ἐλπίς (hope, G1680)	Heb 3:6	"the rejoicing of the hope firm"
καλός / ἀγαθός (good)	1 Thess 5:21; Luke 8:15	"hold fast that which is good / an honest and good heart"
νόμος (law, G3551)	Rom 7:6	"held by the law"
κληρονομία (inheritance)	Matt 21:38	"seize the inheritance"

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2192 ἔχω (echō) — "to have, hold" — the simplex root. κατέχω intensifies and directs.
G4912 συνέχω (synechō) — "hold together, constrain, oppress" (Luke 8:45; 2 Cor 5:14). συν- = hold with / around.
G1907 ἐπέχω (epechō) — "hold to, pay attention" (Phil 2:16; 1 Tim 4:16).
G436 ἀνθίστημι — "to stand against, resist" — different root, overlapping restraining sense; semantic parallel in 2 Thess-style contexts.
G2902 κρατέω (krateō) — "to seize, hold fast, lay hold" — often parallel to κατέχω in "hold fast" contexts (cf. Heb 4:14 κρατῶμεν τῆς ὁμολογίας alongside Heb 10:23 κατέχωμεν τὴν ὁμολογίαν).

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G2722.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G2722.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἔχω	G2192	"have, hold"	simplex — mere possession, not forceful holding
κρατέω	G2902	"hold fast, lay hold of"	seize/grip by strength; κατέχω = hold-down/hold-in-place
τηρέω	G5083	"keep"	keep/guard/observe; κατέχω = physically retain
φυλάσσω	G5442	"keep"	guard/watch over; κατέχω = hold on to
συνέχω	G4912	"constrain, hold"	hold together/press upon; κατέχω = hold down/back
ἀνέχομαι	G430	"bear, endure"	hold up under (middle); κατέχω = active restraint
ἀνθίστημι	G436	—	"stand against" (resist) vs. "hold down" (restrain); 2 Thess domain overlap
ἐπέχω	G1907	—	"hold to, attend to"; close semantic kin

Hebrew Source (LXX Background)¶

From search_strongs.py --hebrew-source G2722 (PMI-weighted LXX correspondences):

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Count	PMI	Meaning
אָחַז (ʼâchaz)	H270	10	6.74	to seize, grasp, take hold
חָזַק (châzaq)	H2388	6	3.85	to be strong, seize, hold fast, strengthen
קֶרֶן (qeren)	H7161	3	4.91	horn (projection — likely LXX idiom)
יָמִין (yâmîyn)	H3225	3	3.87	right hand (context of grasping)
נוּס (nûwç)	H5127	3	3.79	flee (context of preventing flight)
נָטָה (nâṭâh)	H5186	3	3.21	stretch, extend

Primary LXX background is H270 אָחַז ("seize, grasp, take hold") and H2388 חָזַק ("be strong, hold fast"). The Hebrew chazaq → katecho bridge is especially relevant for the "hold fast" category (Heb 3:6, 14; 10:23; 1 Thess 5:21), where chazaq covenantal language ("be strong and of good courage") maps naturally into NT exhortation to perseverance.