Topic
Possess; Possession
10 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Deuteronomy 11:6ISBE
And what he did unto Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel:
- Judith 8:22ISBE
And the slaughter of our brethren, and the captivity of the country, and the desolation of our inheritance, will he turn upon our heads among the Gentiles, wheresoever we shall be in bondage; and we shall be an offence and a reproach to all them that…
- Luke 18:12ISBE
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
- Luke 21:19ISBE
In your patience possess ye your souls.
- Acts 28:7ISBE
In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.
- 1 Corinthians 7:30ISBE
And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
- 2 Corinthians 6:10ISBE
As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
- Ephesians 1:14ISBE
Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
- 1 Thessalonians 4:4ISBE
That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
- 1 Peter 2:9ISBE
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 10 references
po-zes', po-zesh'-un: "Possess" in modern English means normally only "keep in one's possession." But in Elizabethan English it means also "take into possession," and, in fact, the word in the Old Testament always represents Hebrew verbs with the latter as their primary meaning (yarash, in nearly all cases, otherwise nachal, qanah, 'achaz; Aramaic chacan). Consequently, in almost every case "take possession of" could be substituted advantageously for "possess," but the Revised Version (British and American) has not thought the change worth carrying through. In the Apocrypha and New Testament, however, the distinction has been made, the King James Version's "possess" being retained for katecho, in 1Co 7:30; 2Co 6:10, but the same translation for ktaomai, is changed into "take us for a possession (Judith 8:22), "get" (Lu 18:12), "win" (Lu 21:19), and "possess himself of" (1Th 4:4, a very obscure passage). In the noun possession, on the other hand, no such ambiguity exists, and attention need be called only to the following passages. In De 11:6, the King James Version has, "all the substance that was in their possession," Hebrew "all that subsisted at their feet," the Revised Version (British and American) "every living thing that followed them." the King James Version uses "possession" loosely in Ac 28:7 for chorion, the Revised Version (British and American) "lands." peripoiesis, from peripoieo, "cause to remain over," "gain," rendered "God's own possession" in Eph 1:14 the Revised Version (British and American) (the King James Version "possession") and 1Pe 2:9 (the King James Version "peculiar," the King James Version margin "purchased"). "God's own" is a gloss but is implied in the context.
Burton Scott Easton
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.