Congregation or Assembly - Encyclopedia of The Bible

Encyclopedia of The Bible – Congregation or Assembly

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Congregation or Assembly

CONGREGATION OR ASSEMBLY. The Eng. tr. of several Heb. words, the two most important being עֵדָה֒, H6337, and קָהָל, H7736.

1. עֵדָה֒, H6337. This derivative from the Heb. verb יָעַד, H3585, meaning to “assign” or “appoint” expresses predominantly the assembly of the people of Israel. The word occurs about 150 times in the OT and most frequently in the Pentateuch (78 times in the Book of Numbers alone, but not at all in Genesis and Deuteronomy). In later lit. it disappears from use appearing but once in Chronicles (2 Chron 5:6), a few times in the Psalms (i.e. Ps 1:5; 22:22; 82:1, KJV; 107:32, RSV) and in the prophets (Jer 6:18; 30:20; Hos 7:12, KJV).

Application of the term. (1) Its application is not exclusively to human gatherings, it is used as a collective term to denote in Psalm 68:30 “the herd of bulls” (RSV) and in Judges 14:8 “a swarm of bees.” (2) When עֵדָה֒, H6337, is used of human assemblies it can legitimately describe any form of congregation. In Numbers 16:4-9 it is applied to Korah’s rebellious company as well as to the congregation of Israel; see also Psalm 22:16, “a company of evildoers,” and Job 15:34, “company of the godless.” (3) The main application of עֵדָה֒, H6337, however, is to the people of Israel. Frequently, to make this identification quite explicit, to it is added “the people of Israel” (בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל) e.g. Numbers 14:7, Exodus 16:1, 2; or simply “Israel” (עֲדַ֤ת יִשְׂרָאֵל׃֙) as in 12:3 and Numbers 32:4. Occasionally the special character of Israel’s relationship with God is brought out in the phrase “congregation of the Lord” (עֲדַ֣ת יְהוָ֔ה, Numbers 27:17). In the majority of cases, however, it is sufficient to use “the congregation” (הָֽעֵדָ֔ה) as descriptive enough of the body of Israel, whether assembled or not (Num 10:2, 3).

At the head of the עֵדָה֒, H6337, during the wilderness journeys was Moses, and below him in rank were the “leaders” of the congregation (הַנְּשִׂאִ֖ים בָּעֵדָ֑ה) Exodus 34:31, who were chosen representatives of the tribes of Israel (Num 1:16). When Joshua assumed the leadership of the עֵדָה֒, H6337, from Moses, his role was explicitly described as shepherd (רֹעֶ֤ה) of the congregation (27:17).

2. קָהָל, H7736. Derivation is uncertain but possibly is from קול, “to speak.” It appears far less frequently in the Pentateuch than עֵדָה֒, H6337, (31 times against 104), but it is the only term for “assembly” or “congregation” in Genesis and Deuteronomy. Unlike עֵדָה֒, H6337, קָהָל, H7736, is favored by later writers, the Chronicler, Ezra, Nehemiah, the psalmist and Ezekiel. Another difference from עֵדָה֒, H6337, is that קָהָל, H7736, is used exclusively of human gatherings. (1) In Jacob’s blessing upon Joseph (Gen 48:4), it is used of company of peoples (קְהַ֣ל עַמִּ֑ים). (2) קָהָל, H7736, is used also of gatherings for wicked purposes (Gen 49:6; Prov 5:14 and Ps 26:5). (3) It can denote a company assembled for war (1 Sam 17:47; Ezek 16:40); (4) or an assembly of returning exiles (Jer 31:8); and (5) it is applied to the restored community in Jerusalem (Ezra 10:12, 14). As with עֵדָה֒, H6337, קָהָל, H7736, is often qualified by the phrase “of Israel” (קְהַ֤ל יִשְׂרָאֵל׃֙, Josh 8:35; 1 Kings 8:14), and “of the Lord” (קְהַ֥ל יְהוָֽה, Deut 23:2).

If one can detect any difference in meaning between the two words עֵדָה֒, H6337, and קָהָל, H7736, it may be that עֵדָה֒, H6337, denotes Israel as the society itself, and קָהָל, H7736, the actual meeting together of that company; thus, Exodus 12:6 speaks of “the whole assembly (קָהָל, H7736) of the congregation (עֵדָה֒, H6337) of Israel” (see also Num 14:5). It is freely admitted, however, that in the majority of cases עֵדָה֒, H6337, and קָהָל, H7736, appear to be virtually interchangeable words. In both cases it is true to say that the fact that עֵדָה֒, H6337, does not occur before Exodus 12:3, and קָהָל, H7736, before Leviticus 4:13 (apart from Gen 28:3 and 48:4 where it is used prophetically), indicates that the decisive events of the Red Sea and the giving of the Law constituted the Israelites as a עֵדָה֒, H6337, and a קָהָל, H7736. It may be that the frequency of קָהָל, H7736, in postexilic lit., esp. in Ezra and Nehemiah, suggests that it came to combine the shades of meanings belonging to both words.

3. קָהָל, H7736, and עֵדָה֒, H6337, in the LXX. Two Gr. words Συναγωγή and ̓Εκκλησία are employed by the LXX to tr. the two Heb. words. It would seem that the LXX trs., in an atttempt to remain faithful to the original, tried to stick to the same Gr. word in tr., with the result that עֵדָה֒, H6337, is almost always tr. συναγωγη—never ἐκκλησία, G1711—and קָהָל, H7736, generally becomes ἐκκλησία, G1711. In the case of the latter, that may have been determined by the similarity in sound between the Heb. and Gr. words, as well as the similar meanings of the verbal roots, קול and καλέω, G2813. There are, however, exceptions to the general rule that LXX trs. faithfully a Heb. word by its Gr. equivalent. In the Pentateuch, apart from Deuteronomy where קָהָל, H7736, becomes ἐκκλησία, G1711, (except 5:22), קָהָל, H7736, is always tr. by συναγωγη instead of ἐκκλησία, G1711, which might have been expected. Two reasons may be adduced for this; (1) The LXX’s liking for uniformity. Since עֵדָה֒, H6337, occurs over three times as often as קָהָל, H7736, in the Pentateuch, the tr. may well have decided on a common tr., esp. as there seemed little distinction between the two Heb. words. (2) The LXX’s liking for literary style. There are instances where for the sake of style the same word is tr. differently (e.g. Ps 40:9, 10), where קָהָל, H7736, is first tr. ἐκκλησία, G1711, and in the next v. συναγωγη. See also Psalm 28:7 where לֵב, H4213, “heart,” occurs twice and is tr. differently.

It would seem, therefore, that no distinction in meaning is to be detected in the LXX’s use of ἐκκλησία, G1711, and συναγωγη. Differences in tr. depended mainly upon the particular literary tendencies of the individual tr. That neither had come to have a technical sense is shown by the wide use of terms; for instance, if ἐκκλησία, G1711, had become fixed to denote a special type of assembly it would hardly have been used of a company of evildoers (Ps 26:5). “So closely connected in original use are the terms Synagogue and Ecclesia, which afterwards come to be fixed in deep antagonism” (Hort).

4. New Testament usage. When we pass to the NT one finds that the Gr. term ἐκκλησία, G1711, is in the process of becoming a technical term for a definite group of people who meet for religious purposes (Acts 5:11; 8:3; 1 Cor 14:23). It can describe the Church universal to which all Christians belong (Matt 16:18; Acts 9:31; 1 Cor 12:28), or a body of Christians in a particular place (Acts 8:1; Rom 16:1). The word is used in the sing. (1 Cor 14:23) or in the pl. (1 Cor 14:34). It is to be noted that in some references ἐκκλησία, G1711, is not restricted to the Christian community, and to this extent shows affinities to the usage of the LXX. For instance, in Stephen’s speech (Acts 7:38) ἐκκλησία, G1711, is used of Israel, and in Acts 19 (vv. 32, 39, 41) it is used of a secular assembly. Συναγωγή also could still be used to describe a Jewish-Christian assembly place (James 2:2) although its main reference in the NT is to the place of Jewish assembly (Luke 4:16; Acts 13:5). The references to “synagogue of Satan” (Rev 2:9; 3:9) may indicate the increasing antagonism between the Christian Church and the Jewish synagogue. At the end of the 1st cent., ἐκκλησία, G1711, and συναγωγη which had hitherto been interchangeable terms, not in any sense confined to religious assemblies, had become fixed to denote rival religions.

5. Other terms. There are a number of other terms that sometimes indicate a “gathering” in the OT. (1) מﯴעֵד, H4595. Like עֵדָה֒, H6337, this word is derived from יָעַד, H3585, and means “appointed place.” It is used frequently in this way. It may, however, represent seasons (Gen 1:14), appointed times (18:14) or feasts (Lev 23:2). In most of the references מﯴעֵד, H4595, is linked with the “tabernacle” of the congregation, or “the tent of meeting” RSV (אֹ֣הֶל מﯴעֵד׃֩, Exod 27:21; 28:43; 39:32). This explains the true meaning of מﯴעֵד, H4595, because the tabernacle or “tent of meeting,” where the Ark resided, was the appointed place where God and His עֵדָה֒, H6337, (congregation) were brought together (Exod 35:20, 21).

(2) מִקְרָא, H5246. “Convocation” or “Assembly,” RSV. קָרָא֒, H7924, “to call,” appears twenty-one times in the OT with the indication of a religious gathering. It is used to describe an assembly met for the purposes of public worship at the reading of the law (Neh 8:8). In Numbers 10:2 the three terms עֵדָה֒, H6337, מִקְרָא, H5246, and מﯴעֵד, H4595, are brought together to describe a special gathering of the people.

(3.) עֲצָרָה, H6809. Like מִקְרָא, H5246, עֲצָרָה, H6809, describes a religious assembly mainly, and in this way appears ten times. It is used, on the other hand in Jeremiah 9:2, of “a company of treacherous men,” and in 2 Kings 10:20 of an “assembly for Baal.” In three references it is used of a “solemn” assembly marking important events in the Heb. year: (a) seventh day of unleavened bread (Deut 16:8); (b) eighth day of the Feast of Booths (Neh 8:18); (c) Solomon’s dedication of the altar (2 Chron 7:9). The LXX trs. עֲצָרָה, H6809, in Amos 5:21 as πανηγυρίς, which in Hebrews 12:22 is applied to a heavenly gathering.

(4) מﯴשָׁב, H4632, from the verb יָשַׁב, H3782, “to dwell,” is used of “dwelling places” (1 Chron 6:54), the “seating” of Solomon’s officials (2 Chron 9:4), and Job’s “seat” in the city square (Job 29:7). It is noteworthy that in Psalm 107:32 מﯴשָׁב, H4632, is put in parallel to קָהָל, H7736, and is tr. “assembly” by the RSV. The LXX, however, keeping strictly to the true meaning of the original, trs. it ἐν καθέδρᾳ, “in the seat.”

(5). סﯴד, H6051, denotes a secret assembly, the meeting of friends (Ps 55:14), the company of merrymakers (Jer 15:17), and is used of the council of the Holy Ones of God (Job 15:8; Ps 89:7; Jer 23:18). See Church.

Bibliography W. M. Ramsay, “The Lawful Assembly,” The Expositor, 5th Series, III (1896), 137; F. J. A. Hort, The Christian Ecclesia (1897); T. M. Lindsay, The Church and the Ministry in the Early Centuries (1902); M. Flashar, “Assembly,” ZAW (1912); R. C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament (New Ed.) (1915); B. H. Streeter, The Primitive Church (1929); J. Y. Campbell, “The Origin and Meaning of the Christian Use of the Word ̓ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ,” JTS XLIX (1948), 130-142; K. L. Schmidt, ̓ΕΚΚΛΗΣΙΑ, TDNT, III, 501-536 (1965).