[b-greek] RE: Translation of EKKLHSIA

From: Marc Pembroke (maplaw@gwi.net)
Date: Tue Aug 22 2000 - 15:30:38 EDT


>
> What makes you think it had a specifically "religious" tone when used by
the
> writers of the NT? Isnt it possible that the NT writers merely used the
> word they had at hand for "assembly" with nothing denoted thereby other
than
> the fact that folk gathered together?

Recall that "ekklhsia appears at least 100 times in the Septuagint to
translate quahal and edah, which were the religious Jewish assemblies. So
after 300 years of Biblical usage, it would seem to me that the New
Testament writers were using a term already known to refer to religious
assemblies.

Given the evident familiarity of the New Testament writers with Septuagint
translations, it would seem difficult to argue that their use of the term
came strictly from the general language of the time.

Marc A. Pembroke
P.O. Box 882
Jackman, ME 04945
USA
(207) 668-4160
maplaw@gwi.net

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim West" <jwest@highland.net>
To: "Biblical Greek" <b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Cc: <b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2000 2:14 PM
Subject: [b-greek] RE: Translation of EKKLHSIA

> At 12:57 PM 8/22/00 -0500, you wrote:
>
> >Let me try to rephrase it. It appears to me that in Classical Greek
EKKLHSIA
> >was predominantly, if not altogether, a secular word--referring to
political
> >and, otherwise, secular assemblies. Did the use of the word with
reference
> >to a religious "assembly" have any effect on the way the word was used
> >following the time of the New Testament?
 To be sure, the word later became
> loaded as an ecclesiastical one - meaning "church assembly". But I dont
> think this happened as early as the NT itself and im not anything near a
> patristics scholar- so the exact date of that transformation is unknown to
me.
>
> >
> >I hope that's clearer. If not, I may have to give up.
>
> its not you- its me. im extraordinarily dense.
> thanks for clarifying.
>
>
> Jim
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> "going around stirring up apathy "
>
> Jim West, ThD
> http://web.infoave.net/~jwest
>
>
> ---
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