κατά-παυσις G2663
Rest, a place or state of rest — God's promised cessation from labor, the eschatological sabbath-rest offered to his people.
Katapausis appears nine times in the NT, with eight of those concentrated in Hebrews 3-4, where the author builds one of the most sustained theological arguments about rest in the Bible. Drawing on Psalm 95 and the Genesis creation account, the writer argues that God's rest — his own katapausis after creation — remains open as a promise for believers to enter. The word carries a dual meaning: it is both a place of rest (as in Acts 7:49, quoting Isaiah 66:1, 'What is the place of my rest?') and a state of cessation from labor. The repeated warning 'they shall not enter my rest' (Heb 3:11,18; 4:3,5) transforms a spatial metaphor into a spiritual reality. French 'repos' and German 'Ruhe' both capture the profound stillness this word conveys.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A state or place of rest, specifically God's promised rest — the cessation from labor that began at creation and remains available to the faithful. In Hebrews 3-4, the author develops katapausis as a theological concept spanning creation, the wilderness generation, and the present age: God rested (katepausen) from his works (Heb 4:4), the disobedient Israelites failed to enter that rest (Heb 3:11,18; 4:3,5), and a sabbath-rest therefore still awaits God's people (Heb 4:9-11). In Acts 7:49 (quoting Isa 66:1), the sense shifts slightly toward a physical 'place of rest' — God's dwelling. The multilingual evidence (French 'repos,' German 'Ruhe,' Spanish 'reposo') uniformly conveys deep, settled peace rather than mere inactivity. 9×
AR["الرَّاحَةِ", "رَاحَتِ", "رَاحَتِهِ", "رَاحَتِي"]·ben["বিশ্রামে", "বিশ্রামের"]·DE["Ruhe", "καταπαύσεώς"]·EN["rest"]·FR["Ruhe", "repos"]·heb["מְנוּחָה", "מְנוּחָתִי"]·HI["विश्राम", "विश्राम-में"]·ID["perhentian"]·IT["riposo"]·jav["kendel", "pangéngganan"]·KO["쉬-의", "안식에"]·PT["descanso"]·RU["покой", "покоя"]·ES["reposo"]·SW["pumziko"]·TR["dinlenme-yerime", "dinlenme-yerine", "dinlenmem"]·urd["آرام"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
κατά-παυσις, εως, ἡ, stopping: metaphorically, putting down, deposing, Refs 5th c.BC+; τῆς βασιληΐης deposition from.., Refs 2nd c.AD+. __II rest, calm, LXX, +others; place of rest, LXX+4-3rd c.BC+: metaphorically, allaying, Refs 1st c.BC+ K.