[B-Greek] EPISUNAGWGHN in Hebrews 10:25

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Thu Nov 29 05:51:17 EST 2007


On Nov 29, 2007, at 12:30 AM, Ted & Robin Shoemaker wrote:

> Greetings.
>
> Although I found this verse and this word in the B-Greek archives, I  
> did not find this question.
>
> Hebrews 10:25 reads, in part:
> MH EGKATALEIPONTES THN EPISUNAGWGHN hEAUTWN
>
> I'm trying to get a good sense of EPISUNAGWGHN.  The Abbott-Smith  
> lexicon (1973) says, in part:
> EPISUNAGWGH
> "a gathering together, an assembly",
> and indirectly implies that the word is a compound of EPI + SUN + AGW.
>
> The lexicon does not explicitly say so, but the word EPISUNAGWGH, by  
> all appearances, seems to be related to SUNAGWGH.
>
> My question is about the force of EPISUNAGWGH.  Would it be accurate  
> to understand this as a generic word for "group" or "gathering" (as  
> suggested by the use of EPISUNAGW in LXX Micah 4:11 and elsewhere)?   
> Or is it more likely to refer specifically to formal and religious  
> gatherings such as the SUNAGWGH (i.e. is EPISUNAGWGH a rough synonym  
> for EKKLHSIA)?  The evidence appears to be scattered in both  
> directions.
>
> In other words: is Hebrews 10:25 saying "get together with others,"  
> or "go to a church meeting"?  (I've heard many sermons claiming one  
> of those interpretations, but the other seems to be slightly better  
> attested.)

BDAG s.v. EPISUNAGWGH: "scarcely to be differentiated fr.  
συναγωγή (SUNAGWGH)" and offers:
	1. a gathering together to or toward at some location, meeting (Heb  
10:25)
	2. the action of ἐπισυνάγεσθαι EPISUNAGESQAI,  
assembling ἐπί τινα EPI TINA with someone 2 Th 2:1.

Louw and Nida differentiate BDAG's #1 as 'passive' in 2 Th 2:1  
(§15.126), #2 as 'active' in Heb 10:25 (§15.128).

>
> Ted Shoemaker
> Procrastinate -- tomorrow.

I procrastinated yesterday, but now it's tomorrow.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)





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