Greek · G1577 · unreviewed

ἐκκλησία

Assembly

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ἐκκλησία G1577

Pronunciation ekklēsía

What does ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía) mean in the Bible?

ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía) is a Greek word meaning "assembly". ἐκκλησία, -ας, ἡ (ἐκ-καλέω), [in LXX chiefly for קָהָל, otherwise for one of its cogn. Shows the local, gathered expression of Christ’s people. This term runs through the canonical themes of Messiah.

Full entry for ἐκκλησία (G1577) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

assembly

Extended definition

Called-out assembly of Christians, both local congregations and the universal body of Christ.

(ἐκ-καλέω), [in LXX chiefly for קָהָל, otherwise for one of its cogn. forms ;]

1prop., an assembly of citizens regularly convened (in Thuc., ii, 22, opposite to σύλλογος, a concourse): Act.19:32, 39 41.

2In LXX of the assembly, congregation, community of Israel (Deu.4:10 23:2, al.): Act.7:38, Heb.2:12" (LXX) .

3NT, esp. of an assembly or company of Christians, a (the) church;

aof gatherings for worship: 1Co.11:18 14:19, 34 35;

bof local communities: Act.8:3, 1Co.4:17; with name added, Act.8:1, Rom.16:1, 1Th.1:1, al.; pl., Act.15:41, 1Co.7:17; τ. Χριστοῦ, Rom.16:16; τ. Ἀσίας, 1Co.16:19; τ. ἁγίων, 1Co.14:33; εἰπο]ν τ. ἐκκλησίᾳ, Mat.18:17 (but see Hort, Ecclesia, 10); of a house-congregation (DB, i, 431a), Rom.16:5, 1Co.16:19, Col.4:15, Phm 2; __(with) of the whole body of Christians: Mat.16:18, 1Co.12:28, Eph.1:22, Php.3:6, al.; τ. θεοῦ, Act.20:28 (Κυρίου, T, R, mg.), 1Co.15:9, Gal.1:13, 1Ti.3:15; ἐ. προτοτόκων ἀπογεγραμμένων ἐν οὐρανοῖς, Heb.12:23.

Synonymsσυναγωγή, which see (see Tr., Syn., §i; DB, i, 426; Hort, Ecclesia, esp. 4ff., 107ff.; Hamilton, People of God, ii, 37ff.; reff. s.vv. "Church," "Congregation," in DB and DCG; Cremer, 332).

Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith

Why This Word Matters

Shows the local, gathered expression of Christ’s people. 1 Timothy 3:14-16

Used ironically for a disorderly civic gathering. Acts 19:28-41

The gathered believers belong to the living God and represent Him in the world. Romans 16:1-16

Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Singular · Feminine Acts 9:31 · Acts 19:32 · 1 Cor 14:5 · 1 Cor 14:23 · Eph 5:24 · Phil 4:15 · Col 1:24 · 1 Tim 3:15 · 1 Tim 5:16 9×

Nominative · Plural · Feminine Acts 16:5 · Rom 16:4 · Rom 16:16 · 1 Cor 11:16 · 1 Cor 16:19 · Rev 1:20 · Rev 2:23 7×

Genitive · Singular · Feminine Matt 18:17 · Acts 11:22 · Acts 12:1 · Acts 12:5 · Acts 15:3 · Acts 15:4 · Acts 20:17 · Rom 16:1 · Rom 16:23 · 1 Cor 11:22 · 1 Cor 14:12 · Eph 3:10 · Eph 5:23 · Col 1:18 · 1 Tim 3:5 · Heb 2:12 26×

Genitive · Plural · Feminine 2 Cor 8:18 · 2 Cor 8:19 · 2 Cor 8:23 · 2 Cor 8:24 · 2 Cor 11:28 · 1 Thess 2:14 · Rev 1:20 7×

Dative · Singular · Feminine Matt 18:17 · Acts 7:38 · Acts 11:26 · Acts 15:22 · Acts 19:39 · 1 Cor 1:2 · 1 Cor 4:17 · 1 Cor 6:4 · 1 Cor 10:32 · 1 Cor 11:18 · 1 Cor 12:28 · 1 Cor 14:19 · 1 Cor 14:28 · 1 Cor 14:35 · 1 Cor 16:19 · 2 Cor 1:1 24×

Dative · Plural · Feminine 1 Cor 7:17 · 1 Cor 14:33 · 1 Cor 14:34 · 1 Cor 16:1 · 2 Cor 8:1 · Gal 1:2 · Gal 1:22 · 2 Thess 1:4 · Rev 1:4 · Rev 1:11 · Rev 2:7 · Rev 2:11 · Rev 2:17 · Rev 2:29 · Rev 3:6 · Rev 3:13 18×

Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 16:18 · Acts 5:11 · Acts 8:1 · Acts 8:3 · Acts 13:1 · Acts 14:23 · Acts 14:27 · Acts 18:22 · Acts 19:40 · Acts 20:28 · Rom 16:5 · 1 Cor 14:4 · 1 Cor 15:9 · Gal 1:13 · Eph 5:25 · Eph 5:27 20×

Accusative · Plural · Feminine Acts 15:41 · 2 Cor 11:8 · 2 Cor 12:13 3×

Canonical Themes

Messiah

Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

New Testament Witnesses

1 Timothy 3:14-16 church ekklēsía Nominative · Singular · Feminine

The gathered community called out by God.

Acts 19:28-41 Assembly ekklēsía Nominative · Singular · Feminine

Assembly or gathering.

Romans 16:1-16 ἐκκλησία ekklēsía Nominative · Plural · Feminine

Assembly, called-out congregation.

Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Acts 12 — The Lord Delivers His Servant and Judges Proud Opposition Acts 19 — The Word of the Lord Grows Mightily in Ephesus Acts 20 — Paul’s Farewell Charge to Shepherd the Church of God Acts 5 — Holy Fear, Bold Witness, and Joyful Suffering Colossians 1 — The Supremacy of Christ and the Gospel of Reconciliation Colossians 4 — Prayer, Wise Witness, Faithful Service, and Gospel Fellowship Matthew 16 — The Confession of the Christ, the Church Christ Builds, and the Cross-Shaped Way of Discipleship Matthew 18 — Kingdom Humility, Care for the Little Ones, Discipline, and Forgiveness in Christ’s Community Romans 16 — Gospel Partnership, Holy Greeting, False-Teacher Warning, and Doxology to the God Who Establishes

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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