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TR: yashab → katoikeo (Dwell / Inhabit)

The Chain

Hebrew OT          LXX (Greek OT)         Greek NT
───────────        ───────────────         ────────
יָשַׁב (yashab)  →  κατοικέω (katoikeo)  →  κατοικέω (katoikeo)
H3427, 975x        LXX co-occ: 459x        43x in NT
"sit, dwell"       PMI score: 26.72        "dwell, inhabit"

OT Usage (Hebrew)

Strong's Word Occurrences Primary Meaning
H3427 יָשַׁב (yashab) 975 sit, dwell, remain, inhabit

Key OT passages: - Gen 4:16 — "Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod" (first occurrence — exile as the opposite of divine presence) - 1 Ki 8:27 — "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee" (divine dwelling question) - Isa 6:1 — "I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up" (enthroned God) - Jer 29:5 — "Build ye houses, and dwell in them" (exile settlement command)

H3427-yashab.md

LXX Bridge

Hebrew Greek Translation Co-occ Notes
yashab (H3427) κατοικέω (G2730) 459x Primary — permanent dwelling/inhabiting
yashab (H3427) καθίζω (G2523) 160x Active sitting, being seated
yashab (H3427) κάθημαι (G2521) 130x Sitting posture
yashab (H3427) οἰκέω (G3611) 55x Occupy a house
yashab (H3427) ἐνοικέω (G1774) 29x Dwell in (figuratively)
yashab (H3427) θρόνος (G2362) 55x Throne (contextual — sitting on throne)

The LXX systematically separates yashab's two core senses: katoikeo for dwelling/inhabiting (the dominant rendering at 459x) and kathizo/kathemai for physical sitting (290x combined). The single Hebrew word yashab semantically forks into two Greek word families.

Reverse bridge — other Hebrew words rendered katoikeo: | Hebrew | Co-occ | Notes | |--------|--------|-------| | yashab (H3427) | 459x | Overwhelmingly primary source | | yarash (H3423) | 38x | Possess/inherit — overlaps when "dispossessing" inhabitants | | shakan (H7931) | 25x | Settle/tabernacle — theological dwelling |

NT Usage (Greek)

Strong's Word Occurrences Primary Meaning
G2730 κατοικέω (katoikeo) 43 dwell permanently, inhabit, reside
G2731 κατοίκησις (katoikesis) 1 dwelling (Mark 5:3 — "had his dwelling among the tombs")
G2732 κατοικητήριον (katoiketerion) 2 habitation (Eph 2:22, Rev 18:2)

Key NT passages: - Mat 2:23 — "he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth" (geographical settlement) - Eph 3:17 — "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" (spiritual indwelling) - Col 1:19 — "in him should all fulness dwell" (divine fulness residing in Christ) - 2 Pet 3:13 — "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (eschatological dwelling) - Act 1:19 — "known unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem" (inhabitants — participial, echoing OT formula) - Rev 18:2 — "Babylon... is become the habitation [katoiketerion] of devils" (echoing Jer 51:37)

TODO(need G2730 study)

Direct OT→NT Quotations

NT Verse Quotes OT Shared Word Significance
Act 2:5 Joel 2:1 (inhabitants context) yashab → katoikeo "there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men" — Peter's Pentecost sermon, "inhabitants of Jerusalem" formula from prophets
Act 7:4 Gen 11:31, 12:1 yashab → katoikeo Stephen recounts Abraham's settlement — "he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell"
Heb 11:9 Gen patriarchal narratives yashab → katoikeo (paroikeo used, but katoikeo in the concept) "dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob" — sojourning motif from Genesis

Continuity and Shifts

What stays the same across testaments: - The core sense of permanent, settled dwelling persists from OT yashab through LXX katoikeo into NT katoikeo. The "inhabitants of [place]" formula (OT prophets) carries directly into Acts (2:5, 1:19). - Divine dwelling language continues: OT "will God indeed dwell on the earth?" (1 Ki 8:27) → NT "in him should all fulness dwell" (Col 1:19).

What shifts: - The NT extends katoikeo beyond geographical dwelling into spiritual/metaphorical indwelling: "Christ may dwell in your hearts" (Eph 3:17), "righteousness dwelleth" in the new earth (2 Pet 3:13). The OT uses yashab almost exclusively for physical dwelling. - The "sitting on throne" sense of yashab does not transfer through katoikeo. Instead, the LXX's kathizo/kathemai carries that sense into the NT separately (e.g., Heb 1:3, Rev 3:21 use kathizo for enthronement). - The participial "inhabitants" usage, dominant in OT prophets (Jeremiah, Zechariah), appears in Acts but is otherwise rare in the epistles, which prefer the spiritual indwelling sense.


Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source, --lookup) Last updated: 2026-04-27