Greek EKKLHSIA and English "church"

Jim Talon china at tyler.net
Thu Oct 24 22:16:58 EDT 2002


I trust that this finds all well and in good spirits.

By way of preface, I am a novice Bible student, and to that end I have a
question, if I may: in reading the N.T. within the Greek-English
Interlinear Bible, the English word "church" is almost universally
attributed to the Greek word EKKLHSIA (Strong's Ref# 1577), but when I
check the Webster's Unabridged Dictionary for etymology there exists no
reference to such a Greek word. Futhermore, a search of a Greek-English
lexicon suggests that the Greek word EKKLHSIA has a more general meaning
than that of "church." In fact, it seems to indicate that it means a
"calling out from" or an "assembly" unless I have misread the information.

In assigning the word "church" universally to the Greek word EKKLHSIA,
it is difficult to prove whether the reference is to the the "church",
denominated as Christ's bride and universally inclusive of all christians,
or to corporate denominational entities which serve the function of
providing a location wherein like-minded individuals might
assemble for worship , which may or may not have any correlative
association with the "real" church referenced by Christ's bride.

My request is therefore this: would anyone be so kind as to explain how
the word "church" came to be universally associated with the Greek word
EKKLHSIA, and is this an accurate and happy translation of that Greek
word?

[Moderator's note: let's keep discussion focused on lexicography and steer clear
of ecclesiastical doctrine, please.]

[Jim Talon <china at tyler.net> -- name appended by Moderator; new list-members
please take note: BG Protocol requires a full-name signature to be appended to
all messages sent to the list.]



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