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### Description
In common English, "possession" refers to having something, or to something that a person has. In English that grammatical relationship is shown with < u > of< / u > , or an apostrophe and the letter < u > s< / u > , or a possessive pronoun.
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* the house < u > of</ u > my grandfather
* my grandfather< u > 's</ u > house
* < u > his</ u > house
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Possession is used in Hebrew, Greek, and English for a variety of situations. Here are a few common situations that it is used for.
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* Ownership - Someone owns something.
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* My clothes - The clothes that I own
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* Social relationship - Someone has some kind of social relationship with another.
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* my mother - the woman who gave birth to me, or the woman who cared for me
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* my teacher - the person who teaches me
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* Contents - Something has something in it.
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* a bag of potatoes - a bag that has potatoes in it, or a bag that is full of potatoes
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* Part and whole: One thing is part of another.
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* my head - the head that is part of my body
* the roof of a house - the roof that is part of a house
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### Reasons this is a translation issue
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* Translators need to understand the relationship between two ideas represented by the two nouns when one possesses the other.
* Some languages do not use possession for all of the situations that your source text Bible might use it for.
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### Examples from the Bible
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#### Possession with objects or people
##### Ownership
>... the younger son ... wasted < u > his money< / u > with wildly extravagant living. (Luke 15:13)
In the example above, the son owned the money.
##### Social relationship
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>Then < u > the disciples of John< / u > came to him. (Matthew 9:14 ULB)
In the example above, the disciples were people who learned from John.
##### Material
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>On their heads were something like < u > crowns of gold< / u > (Revelation 9:7)
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In the example above, the crowns were made of gold. Gold was the material used for making the crowns.
##### Contents
>Whoever gives you < u > a cup of water< / u > to drink ... will not lose his reward. (Mark 9:41 ULB)
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In the example above, the cup has water in it.
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##### Part of a whole
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>But Uriah slept at < u > the door of the king's palace< / u > (2 Samuel 11:9 ULB)
In the example above, the door was a part of the palace.
##### Part of a group
>To < u > each one of us< / u > has been given a gift (Ephesians 4:7 ULB)
In the example above, "us" refers to the whole group, and "each one" refers to the individual members.
#### Possession with Events
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Sometimes one or both of the nouns is an abstract noun that refers to an event or action. In the examples below, the abstract nouns are in **bold** print. These are just some of the relationships that are possible between two nouns when one of them refers to an event.
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**Subject** - Sometimes the word after "of" tells who would do the action named by the first noun.
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>The < u > **baptism** of John< / u > , was it from heaven or from men? Answer me." (Mark 11:30)
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In the example above, < u > John baptized people< / u > .
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>Who will separate us from < u > the **love** of Christ</ u > ? (Romans 3:35)
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In the example below, < u > Christ loves us< / u > .
**Object** - Sometimes the word after "of" tells who or what something would happen to.
>For < u > the **love** of money</ u > is a root of all kinds of evil. (1 Timothy 6:10 ULB)
In the example above, < u > people love money< / u > .
**Instrument** - Sometimes the word after "of" tells the instrument that would be used to do something.
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>then be afraid of the sword, because wrath brings < u > the **punishment** of the sword</ u > (Job 19:29 ULB)
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In the example above, God would < u > punish people by sending enemies to attack them with swords< / u > .
**Representation** - Sometimes the word after "of" tells what the idea before "of" represents.
>As John came, he was baptizing in the wilderness and was preaching < u > a **baptism** of repentance</ u > for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:4 ULB)
In the example above, John was teaching people that they should be baptised to show that they were repenting of their sins. Their < u > baptism represented their repentance< / u > .
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### Strategies for learning what the relationship is between the two nouns
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1. Read the surrounding verses to see if they help you to understand the relationship between the two nouns.
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1. Read the verse in the UDB. Sometimes it shows the relationship clearly.
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1. See what the notes say about it.
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### Translation Strategies
If possession would be a natural way to show a particular relationship between two nouns, consider using it. If it would be strange or hard to understand, consider these.
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1. Use an adjective to show that one describes the other.
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1. Use a verb to show how the two are related.
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1. If one of the nouns refers to an event, translate it as a verb.
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### Examples of Translation Strategies Applied
1. Use an adjective to show that one describes the other. The adjective below is in **bold** print.
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* **On their heads were something like < u > crowns of gold</ u > ** (Revelation 9:7)
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* On their heads were < u > **gold** crowns</ u >
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1. Use a verb to show how the two are related. In the example below, the added verb is in bold.
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* **... Whoever gives you < u > a cup of water</ u > to drink ... will not lose his reward.** (Mark 9:41 ULB)
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* ... Whoever gives you < u > a cup that **has** water in it</ u > to drink ... will not lose his reward.
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* **Wealth is worthless on < u > the day of wrath</ u > ** (Proverbs 11:4 ULB)
* Wealth is worthless on < u > the day when God **shows** his wrath</ u > .
* Wealth is worthless on the < u > day when God **punishes** people because of his wrath</ u > .
1. If one of the nouns refers to an event, translate it as a verb. In the examples below, that verb is in bold.
* **Notice that I am not speaking to your children, who have not known or seen < u > the punishment of Yahweh your God</ u > ,** (Deuteronomy 11:2 ULB)
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* Notice that I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen < u > how Yahweh your God **punished** the people of Egypt.</ u >
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* **You will only observe and see the < u > punishment of the wicked</ u > .** (Psalm 91:8 ULB)
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* You will only observe and see < u > how Yahweh **punishes** the wicked</ u > .
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* **... you will receive the gift < u > of the Holy Spirit</ u > .** (Acts 2:38 ULB)
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* ... you will receive < u > the Holy Spirit, whom God will **give** to you</ u > .
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