(6) >r.i] occurs variously, as '?K-;f: Snp (Dt 31*"), ni.T •?!!? (Nu 16', 20^), c-.T^xri ^rif (Xeh 13'), and absolutely, '■^n-n (Ex 16', Lv 4"). It is frequently employed in Dt, 1 and 2 Ch, Ezr, and Neh. In the Ps both Ti;; and Srij are used without any per- ccj)tible diti'ercnce of meaning to designate the ' congregation ' of Israel.
In the Sept. (rwayuyri generally answers to nis;, &nd iKicX-njla to 'Jns. The latter statement holds good uniformly in Jos, Jg, S, K, Ch, Ezr, and Neh, also in IJt (with the exception of 6*", where Snj is rendered irvfayay^). On the other hand, '?n7 is rendered by avyayuyfi in E.\, Lv, Nu, probably in order to secure uniformity in the (ir., for ni;;; in these books is always ffwa-, nryi). Once in the Ps Snj is rendered avvayiiryT} (40'") ; elsewhere we find tKKXrjcia, except in 26°, where it is (riWiSpioi'.
While we ciiinut admit tliat the di.stiiution con- tended for by \'itrin';a is traceable in (.IT, yet a somewhat siniiliir distinction is discovered by Schiirer in the usage of the terras by later Judaism. awayiityri was the term applicable to the empirical reslity, the actual congregation existing in any one place, while iKK\i]irla designated the ulcnl, the assembi}' of those called by God to salvation. It is easy to see how, on this account, ^KKX-qala dis- placed irvvaywy^ in Christian circles. In classical Greek, as is well known, 4KK\r]crla was the name for the l)ody of free citizens summoned by a herald, and in this sense it is used in Ac 19 of the assembly at Ephesus. A statutory meeting was designated Kvpla or (vfofim (the latter in Ac 19**), one specially Bummoned was ffir/nXirros. It can hardly be saiu, however, that classical usage throws much light npm the nature of the iKKK-rinia, or 'congregation,' «o often spoken of in OT. The word may be used of an assembly summoned for a definite purpose (1 K 8") or met on a festal occasion (Dt 23'), but far more frequently it has in view the community of Israel collectively regarded as a congregation. CVellhausen (Comp. d. Hex. 205) finds this last usage distinctive of P, denying that the nation is viewed from such a purolj' rhurchly standpoint in JE, or even in D. See A.'^SEMliLY.
In OT A])Ocr. iKuXriaia occurs in the sense of a popular assembly (Jth 6" 14*, Sir 15'), more rarely as a designation for the people as a whole (1 Mac 4™).
In NT iKK\7fala is applied to the congregation of the people of Isr. in tiie speech of Stephen (Ac 7"), but awaytiTfii came gradually to be employed to distinguish Isr. from other nations. (It is charac- teristic of the Ep. of James that in 2" awayuryit is used of an a.ssemlily of Jewish Christians, and of the Kp. tothe Hebrews that in 10'-'°firi<7i;i'a7u>7J) [the word has a ditl'erent meaning in 2 Th 2'] is spoken of a Christian community.) Hence, apart from the reason noted above, it was natural that ^McXijjfo should be chosen as the designatiim of the Christian Church, owing to the Judaistic associations of ffvyayoTfij.
While there is little about OT 'congregation' to recall the popular assembly of a Gr. community (for the elders, or in post-exific times at Jerus., the hi"h priest and his counsellors, seem to have gener- ally acted alone), there are «me or two examples of an op]iosite kincl. In Nti 35-^"- (P) it is the 'con- gregation' that decides the case of the luanslayer who has rciiclicd a city of refuge, altliough even here the decision according to I)' rests with the elders (cf. the above pas.sage with Jos 20^ [D'], or the latter with v."* [P]). Similar functions are a.scribed to the 'congregation' in the late and peculiar narrative of Jg 20, 21, and in Ezr 10, on
the latter of which Kutnen (liel. of Israel, ii. 214) remarks, ' In very weighty matters the decision even rested with the whole community, which was summoned to Jerus. for that purpose.' (All that concerns the OT congregation as a worshipping body wUl be dealt with under CHURCH, SYNAGOGUE, and Tf;MPLK.)
For the sake of completeness it may be well to note the usage of some other words of kindred import to the three we have discussed.
(o) rnxi^ ('dzereth), from a root containing the idea of enclosing or confining, is frequently applied to the ' congregation ' that celebrates the festivals (Jl 1'* 2", Am 5=', 2 K 10=", Is 1", in which last passage it is coupled with N"ip?). The nearest Gr. e<iuivalent is Trarfiyvpit (by which it is rendered in the Sept. of Am 5"', and which occurs in the NT once, He 12^ ' the general assembly '). n-ixj;^ designates especially such assemblies as were convened on the seventh day of the Feast of Un- leavened Bread (Dt 16"), and the eighth day of the F. of Tabernacles (Lv 2S^, Nu 29*>, Neh 8'*, 2 Ch 7»)
(b) ey K-;pp {mil:rd' kodesh), which occurs so frequently in the ' holy convocation ' of AV, is a favourite expression in the priestly sections of Ex, Lv, and Nu, particularly in H (Lv 17-26). The Sept. usually renders it kXtttt] ayta (cf. Sanday, Romans, 12 1. ). The simple !^^,-.p occurs in Nu 10^ and Is 1". It is hard to discover any difl'erence between this term and n-ii;;.