Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>]

Dear Dora,

> I have to check this out.   Doesn't quite look like a Hebrew word to me ....
> grin.
>
> I am taking a not very academic class at church on the Gospel of Matthew.
> We are using a definitely not all that academic text.   In Matthew 16:18, it
> says that on Peter Jesus will build his church.   Text says that the word
> ekklesia is also used in the OT to mean "community of the faithful".
>
> OK, it is specifically supposedly used in Solomon 16:13, Job 17:16, Isaiah
> 38:10, and Ps 9:13, 69:15.

HH: The Septuagint is Greek, but the word 
EKKLHSIA does not appear in any of these verses. 
The verse numbering is the same in Hebrew as in 
Greek. It does not occur in the Wisdom of Solomon 
16:13 either. There is no book Solomon 16:13 in 
Scripture.

However, the word EKKLHSIA does occur a hundred 
times in the Septuagint, and it does mean the 
community or assembly there, with reference to 
the people of Israel. The word occurs in 
Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 
and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah.

Here are the verses where it occurs. I give the English:

Deut. 4:10 Remember the day you stood before the 
LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, 
"Assemble the people before me to hear my words 
so that they may learn to revere me as long as 
they live in the land and may teach them to their 
children."
Deut. 9:10 The LORD gave me two stone tablets 
inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all 
the commandments the LORD proclaimed to you on 
the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the 
assembly.
Deut. 18:16 For this is what you asked of the 
LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly 
when you said,  "Let us not hear the voice of the 
LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or 
we will die."
Deut. 23:1 ¶ No one who has been emasculated by 
crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the 
LORD.
Deut. 23:2 ¶ No one born of a forbidden marriage 
nor any of his descendants may enter the assembly 
of the LORD, even down to the tenth generation.
Deut. 23:3 ¶ No Ammonite or Moabite or any of his 
descendants may enter the assembly of the LORD, 
even down to the tenth generation.
Deut. 23:8 The third generation of children born 
to them may enter the assembly of the LORD.
Deut. 31:30 ¶ And Moses recited the words of this 
song from beginning to end in the hearing of the 
whole assembly of Israel:
Josh. 8:35 There was not a word of all that Moses 
had commanded that Joshua did not read to the 
whole assembly of Israel, including the women and 
children, and the aliens who lived among them.
Judg. 20:2 The leaders of all the people of the 
tribes of Israel took their places in the 
assembly of the people of God, four hundred 
thousand soldiers armed with swords.
Judg. 21:5 ¶ Then the Israelites asked,  "Who 
from all the tribes of Israel has failed to 
assemble before the LORD?" For they had taken a 
solemn oath that anyone who failed to assemble 
before the LORD at Mizpah should certainly be put 
to death.
Judg. 21:8 Then they asked,  "Which one of the 
tribes of Israel failed to assemble before the 
LORD at Mizpah?" They discovered that no one from 
Jabesh Gilead had come to the camp for the 
assembly.
1Sam. 17:47 All those gathered here will know 
that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD 
saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will 
give all of you into our hands."
1Sam. 19:20 so he sent men to capture him. But 
when they saw a group of prophets prophesying, 
with Samuel standing there as their leader, the 
Spirit of God came upon Saul's men and they also 
prophesied.
1Kings 8:14 ¶ While the whole assembly of Israel 
was standing there, the king turned around and 
blessed them.
1Kings 8:22 ¶ Then Solomon stood before the altar 
of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of 
Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven
1Kings 8:55 He stood and blessed the whole 
assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying:
1Kings 8:65 ¶ So Solomon observed the festival at 
that time, and all Israel with him - a vast 
assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of 
Egypt. They celebrated it before the LORD our God 
for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days 
in all.
1Chr. 13:2 He then said to the whole assembly of 
Israel,  "If it seems good to you and if it is 
the will of the LORD our God, let us send word 
far and wide to the rest of our brothers 
throughout the territories of Israel, and also to 
the priests and Levites who are with them in 
their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us.
1Chr. 13:4 The whole assembly agreed to do this, 
because it seemed right to all the people.
1Chr. 28:2 ¶ King David rose to his feet and 
said:  "Listen to me, my brothers and my people. 
I had it in my heart to build a house as a place 
of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, 
for the footstool of our God, and I made plans to 
build it.
1Chr. 28:8 ¶  "So now I charge you in the sight 
of all Israel and of the assembly of the LORD, 
and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to 
follow all the commands of the LORD your God, 
that you may possess this good land and pass it 
on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.
1Chr. 29:1 ¶ Then King David said to the whole 
assembly:  "My son Solomon, the one whom God has 
chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is 
great, because this palatial structure is not for 
man but for the LORD God.
1Chr. 29:10 ¶ David praised the LORD in the 
presence of the whole assembly, saying,  "Praise 
be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from 
everlasting to everlasting.
1Chr. 29:20 ¶ Then David said to the whole 
assembly,  "Praise the LORD your God." So they 
all praised the LORD, the God of their fathers; 
they bowed low and fell prostrate before the LORD 
and the king.
2Chr. 1:3 and Solomon and the whole assembly went 
to the high place at Gibeon, for God's Tent of 
Meeting was there, which Moses the LORD's servant 
had made in the desert.
2Chr. 1:5 But the bronze altar that Bezalel son 
of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon in 
front of the tabernacle of the LORD; so Solomon 
and the assembly inquired of him there.
2Chr. 6:3 ¶ While the whole assembly of Israel 
was standing there, the king turned around and 
blessed them.
2Chr. 6:12 ¶ Then Solomon stood before the altar 
of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of 
Israel and spread out his hands.
2Chr. 6:13 Now he had made a bronze platform, 
five cubits long, five cubits wide and three 
cubits high, and had placed it in the center of 
the outer court. He stood on the platform and 
then knelt down before the whole assembly of 
Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven.
2Chr. 7:8 ¶ So Solomon observed the festival at 
that time for seven days, and all Israel with him 
- a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the 
Wadi of Egypt.
2Chr. 10:3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and 
all Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him:
2Chr. 20:5 ¶ Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the 
assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of 
the LORD in the front of the new courtyard
2Chr. 20:14 ¶ Then the Spirit of the LORD came 
upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of 
Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, 
a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in 
the assembly.
2Chr. 23:3 the whole assembly made a covenant 
with the king at the temple of God. ¶ Jehoiada 
said to them,  "The king's son shall reign, as 
the LORD promised concerning the descendants of 
David.
2Chr. 28:14 ¶ So the soldiers gave up the 
prisoners and plunder in the presence of the 
officials and all the assembly.
2Chr. 29:23 The goats for the sin offering were 
brought before the king and the assembly, and 
they laid their hands on them.
2Chr. 29:28 The whole assembly bowed in worship, 
while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. 
All this continued until the sacrifice of the 
burnt offering was completed.
2Chr. 29:31 ¶ Then Hezekiah said,  "You have now 
dedicated yourselves to the LORD. Come and bring 
sacrifices and thank offerings to the temple of 
the LORD." So the assembly brought sacrifices and 
thank offerings, and all whose hearts were 
willing brought burnt offerings.
2Chr. 29:32 ¶ The number of burnt offerings the 
assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred 
rams and two hundred male lambs - all of them for 
burnt offerings to the LORD.
2Chr. 30:2 The king and his officials and the 
whole assembly in Jerusalem decided to celebrate 
the Passover in the second month.
2Chr. 30:4 The plan seemed right both to the king and to the whole assembly.
2Chr. 30:13 ¶ A very large crowd of people 
assembled in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of 
Unleavened Bread in the second month.
2Chr. 30:17 Since many in the crowd had not 
consecrated themselves, the Levites had to kill 
the Passover lambs for all those who were not 
ceremonially clean and could not consecrate 
[their lambs] to the LORD.
2Chr. 30:23 ¶ The whole assembly then agreed to 
celebrate the festival seven more days; so for 
another seven days they celebrated joyfully.
2Chr. 30:24 Hezekiah king of Judah provided a 
thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats 
for the assembly, and the officials provided them 
with a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and 
goats. A great number of priests consecrated 
themselves.
2Chr. 30:25 The entire assembly of Judah 
rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and 
all who had assembled from Israel, including the 
aliens who had come from Israel and those who 
lived in Judah.
Ezra 2:64 ¶ The whole company numbered 42,360,
Ezra 10:1 ¶ While Ezra was praying and 
confessing, weeping and throwing himself down 
before the house of God, a large crowd of 
Israelites - men, women and children - gathered 
around him. They too wept bitterly.
Ezra 10:8 Anyone who failed to appear within 
three days would forfeit all his property, in 
accordance with the decision of the officials and 
elders, and would himself be expelled from the 
assembly of the exiles.
Ezra 10:12 ¶ The whole assembly responded with a 
loud voice:  "You are right! We must do as you 
say.
Ezra 10:14 Let our officials act for the whole 
assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has 
married a foreign woman come at a set time, along 
with the elders and judges of each town, until 
the fierce anger of our God in this matter is 
turned away from us."
Neh. 5:7 I pondered them in my mind and then 
accused the nobles and officials. I told them, 
"You are exacting usury from your own 
countrymen!" So I called together a large meeting 
to deal with them
Neh. 5:13 I also shook out the folds of my robe 
and said,  "In this way may God shake out of his 
house and possessions every man who does not keep 
this promise. So may such a man be shaken out and 
emptied!" ¶ At this the whole assembly said, 
"Amen," and praised the LORD. And the people did 
as they had promised.
Neh. 7:66 ¶ The whole company numbered 42,360,
Neh. 8:2 ¶ So on the first day of the seventh 
month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the 
assembly, which was made up of men and women and 
all who were able to understand.
Neh. 8:17 The whole company that had returned 
from exile built booths and lived in them. From 
the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day, the 
Israelites had not celebrated it like this. And 
their joy was very great.
Neh. 13:1 ¶ On that day the Book of Moses was 
read aloud in the hearing of the people and there 
it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite 
should ever be admitted into the assembly of God,

                                        Yours,
                                        Harold Holmyard
> From peterkirk AT qaya.org  Thu Dec 16 07:21:22 2004
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Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Alleged meaning of ecclesia in OT
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On 16/12/2004 05:38, Dora Smith wrote:

> ...
>
> OK, it is specifically supposedly used in Solomon 16:13, Job 17:16, Isaiah
> 38:10, and Ps 9:13, 69:15.
What these verses and Matthew 16:18 have in common is a reference to the
gates of death/Sheol/Hades/hell. "Solomon" here is the Wisdom of
Solomon, a Greek-only book included in the LXX. So these are the
references not for ekklesia but for these gates.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/