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H272 · Hebrew · Old Testament
אֲחֻזָּה
Achuzzah
Noun, feminine
Possession / Property

Definition

The Hebrew noun achuzzah (אֲחֻזָּה) means possession, property, or holding, especially landed inheritance. It derives from the root achaz (to grasp, seize, possess, H270). The word appears frequently in legal and narrative contexts relating to land ownership in Israel, particularly in the Jubilee and inheritance laws.

Usage & Theological Significance

The concept of achuzzah is central to the theology of the Promised Land. God gave Canaan to Israel as an achuzzah — a permanent, covenantal possession (Genesis 17:8; 48:4). The Jubilee law (Leviticus 25) protected this possession: no land could be permanently sold from a family because the land belonged ultimately to God: "The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine" (Leviticus 25:23). Possession in Israel was always stewardship under God's ultimate ownership. This principle underlies New Testament giving: we are stewards, not ultimate owners, of everything God has placed in our hands.

Key Bible Verses

Genesis 17:8 The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you.
Leviticus 25:23 The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers.
Leviticus 25:10 Each of you is to return to your family property and to your own clan.
Numbers 27:7 You shall surely give them a property as an inheritance among their father's relatives.
Genesis 23:20 So the field and the cave in it were deeded to Abraham by the Hittites as a burial site — his possession.

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External Resources

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