[B-Greek] EKKLHSIA
George F Somsel
gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Sat Jun 9 23:43:16 EDT 2007
EKKLHSIA was generally used of the city assembly. See LSJ s.v.
For the Biblical history of the word ἐκκλησία [EKKLHSIA], which meant originally any public assembly of citizens summoned by a herald, it is sufficient to refer to Hort, The Christian Ecclesia, p. 1 ff. It is the LXX term for the community of Israel, whether assembled or no. In the Gospels the word is confined to Mt 16:18, 18:17, where it denotes Christ’s new ἐκκλησία [EKKLHSIA], as distinguished from the old. Deissmann (LAE p. 112ff.) has emphasized the significance of the fact that the Latin-speaking people of the West, to whom Christianity came, did not translate the word, but simply borrowed it, and cites an interesting bilingual inscr. of a.d. 103–4, found in the theatre of Ephesus, which refers to the gift by a Roman official of a silver image of Artemis (cf. Ac 19:24) and other statues—ἵνα τίθηνται κατʼ ἐκκλησίαν [hINA TIQHNTAI KAT' EKKLHSIAN] (cf. Ac 14:23) ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ ἐπὶ τῶν
βάσεων [EN TWi QEATRWi EPI TWN BASEWN], or, in the parallel text, ita ut [om]n[i e]cclesia supra bases ponerentur. Other reff. to ἐκκλησίαι [EKKLHSIAI] in the theatre at Ephesus will be found s.v. θέατρον [QEATRON]. For the “inclusive” as distinguished from the “exclusive” character of the Greek ἐκκλησία [EKKLHSIA] (cf. Hicks CR i. p. 43), we may cite the case of an ἐκκλησία [EKKLHSIA] summoned at Apamea—ἀγομένης πανδήμου ἐκκλησίας [AGOMENHS PANDHMOU EKKLHSIAS], which the editor Cagnat (note on IV. 7917) describes as “concilium totius populi Apamensis, civium cum Graecorum, tum Romanorum”: see also Ramsay C. and B. ii. p. 465, where the inscr. is dated as perhaps of the time of Vespasian and Titus. MGr ἐκκλησ(ι)ά [EKKLHSI(I)A].
Moulton, J. H., & Milligan, G. (1930). The vocabulary of the Greek Testament. Issued also in eight parts, 1914-1929. (195). London: Hodder and Stoughton.
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(3) The first scattered congregations of Greek-speaking Christians up and down the Roman Empire spoke of themselves as a “(convened) assembly”; at first each single congregation was so called, and afterwards the whole body of Christians everywhere was spoken of collectively as “the (convened) assembly.” That is the most literal translation of the Greek word ἐκκλησία [EKKLHSIA]. This self-bestowed name rested on the certain conviction that God had separated from the world His “saints” in Christ, and had “called” or “convened” them to an assembly, which [Page 113] was “God’s assembly,” “God’s muster,” because God was the convener.
It is one of the characteristic but little considered facts in the history of the early Christian missions that the Latin-speaking people of the West, to whom Christianity came, did not translate the Greek word ἐκκλησία [EKKLHSIA] (as they did many other technical terms) but simply borrowed it. Why was this? There was no lack of words for “assembly” in Latin, and as a matter of fact contio or comitia was often translated by ἐκκλησία [EKKLHSIA]. There must have been some special reason for borrowing the Greek word, and it lay doubtless in the subtle feeling that Latin possessed no word exactly equivalent to the Greek ἐκκλησία [EKKLHSIA]. There is evidence of this feeling even in non-Christian usage. Pliny the Younger employs the Latinised word ecclesia in one of his letters to Trajan. Some years ago a bilingual inscription of the year 103–4 a.d. came to light at Ephesus, which furnishes a still more interesting example. It
was found in the theatre, the building so familiar to readers of Acts 19., and now, thanks to the labours of the Austrian archaeologists, one of the best preserved ruins in the ancient city. A distinguished [Page 114] Roman official, C. Vibius Salutaris, had presented a silver image of Diana (we are reminded at once of the silver shrines of Diana made by Demetrius, Acts 19:24) and other statues “that they might be set up in every ἐκκλησία in the theatre upon the pedestals.” The parallel Latin text has, ita ut [om]n[i e]cclesia supra bases ponerentur. The Greek word was therefore simply transcribed. Here we have a truly classical example (classical in its age and in its origin) of the instinctive feeling of Latin speakers of the West which afterwards showed itself among the Western Christians: ἐκκλησία [EKKLHSIA] cannot be translated, it must be taken over.
The word which thus penetrated into the West is one of the indelible marks of the origin of Christianity. Just as the words amen, abba, etc. are the Semitic birthmarks, so the word ecclesia (and many others besides) points for all time to the fact that the beginnings of Christianity must be sought also in the Greek East.
Deissmann, A., & Strachan, L. R. M. (1910). Light from the ancient East the New Testament illustrated by recently discovered texts of the Graeco-Roman world (112). London: Hodder & Stoughton.
george
gfsomsel
Therefore, O faithful Christian, search for truth, hear truth,
learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth,
defend the truth till death.
- Jan Hus
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----- Original Message ----
From: Delbert Flora <delbert.flora at hotmail.com>
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Saturday, June 9, 2007 11:09:35 PM
Subject: [B-Greek] EKKLHSIA
I was told that the composite of EKKLHSIA, EK + KALEW, does not mean "the
called out ones" as its parts would imply. If EKKLHSIA does not mean "called
out ones" what does it mean? BDAG seem to say it means an assembly or
community, but I don't see how that differs from a group "called out."
Kindly,
Delbert Flora
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