Denotes a starting point or foothold from which further action proceeds. In classical Greek it referred to a military base of operations, but in the New Testament it takes on a moral and relational sense: the foothold that sin exploits through the commandment (Rom 7:8, 11), or the occasion for boasting or criticism in community disputes (2 Cor 5:12; 11:12). Spanish 'ocasión,' French 'occasion,' and German 'Anlass' all preserve the notion of a precipitating opportunity rather than a mere moment in time. Paul's repeated use in Romans 7 vividly personifies sin as an adversary seizing a strategic position.