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  • From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Alleged meaning of ecclesia in OT
  • Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2004 05:25:17 -0600

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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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/






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