What does מִקְרָא mean in the Bible?
An assembly or public reading concerns a called occasion or the reading identified by its context. Exodus and Leviticus name holy assemblies within Israel's appointed observances.
Hebrew · H4744
מִקְרָא
An assembly or public reading concerns a called occasion or the reading identified by its context. Exodus and Leviticus name holy assemblies within Israel's appointed observances.
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מִקְרָאH4744
What does מִקְרָא mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for מִקְרָא (H4744) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render H4744?
The BSB source-word alignment has 23 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include assembly (15), assemblies (3), . . . (2), for calling (1), her assemblies (1).
Where does מִקְרָא appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Exodus 12:16. Its strongest book concentrations include Leviticus (11), Numbers (7), Exodus (2), Isaiah (2).
What This Word Actually Means
An assembly or public reading concerns a called occasion or the reading identified by its context. Exodus and Leviticus name holy assemblies within Israel's appointed observances. Numbers gives trumpet signals for summoning the community, while Isaiah condemns solemn assemblies joined to iniquity. Isaiah also speaks of the Lord's shelter over Zion's assemblies.
Nehemiah uses the term in an account of reading the law clearly and helping the people understand. These settings show that an occasion's name does not settle the faithfulness of those gathered. A congregation can consider why people assemble and whether they are being helped to hear and respond, but the noun cannot establish a calendar for every community, make attendance proof of righteousness, or excuse mistreatment under the name of worship.
How the Bible Uses It
Appointed observances and summons, a rebuke of worship joined to wrongdoing, promised shelter and an explained reading show different assembly and reading contexts. Their purposes remain governed by each addressed passage.
- Exod.12.16
On the first day you are to hold a sacred assembly, and another on the seventh day. You must not do any work on those days, except to prepare the meals—that is all you may do.
Holy assemblies are appointed within the Passover instructions, with the passage's stated limits on work.
- Lev.23.2
“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘These are My appointed feasts, the feasts of the Lord that you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.
The Lord identifies His appointed feasts as holy assemblies to be proclaimed within Israel's calendar.
- Num.10.2
“Make two trumpets of hammered silver to be used for calling the congregation and for having the camps set out.
The trumpets serve the stated purposes of summoning the congregation and directing the camps' departure.
- Isa.1.13
Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me. New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations—I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.
The Lord refuses iniquity joined to solemn assembly within a chapter confronting violence and failed justice.
- Isa.4.5
Then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud of smoke by day and a glowing flame of fire by night. For over all the glory there will be a canopy,
The promised covering over Zion and its assemblies belongs to the chapter's cleansing and shelter announcement.
- Neh.8.8
So they read from the Book of the Law of God, explaining it and giving insight, so that the people could understand what was being read.
The law is read and explained so that the gathered people can understand what is being read.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itassembly15×Exodus 12:16, Leviticus 23:3, Leviticus 23:7, Leviticus 23:8
assemblies3×Leviticus 23:2, Leviticus 23:4, Leviticus 23:37
. . .2×Exodus 12:16, Isaiah 1:13
for calling1×Numbers 10:2
her assemblies1×Isaiah 4:5
what was being read1×Nehemiah 8:8
Show sample aligned rows
Exodus 12:16מִקְרָא־toassemblyNoun - masculine singular constructExodus 12:16מִקְרָא־to. . .Noun - masculine singular constructLeviticus 23:2מִקְרָאֵ֣יtoassembliesNoun - masculine plural constructLeviticus 23:3מִקְרָא־toassemblyNoun - masculine singular constructLeviticus 23:4מִקְרָאֵ֖יtoassembliesNoun - masculine plural constructLeviticus 23:7מִקְרָא־toassemblyNoun - masculine singular constructLeviticus 23:8מִקְרָא־toassemblyNoun - masculine singular constructLeviticus 23:21מִֽקְרָא־toassemblyNoun - masculine singular constructLeviticus 23:24מִקְרָא־toassemblyNoun - masculine singular constructLeviticus 23:27מִֽקְרָא־toassemblyNoun - masculine singular construct
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowExodus 12:16
Aligned rows23
Books represented5
Exodus2Leviticus11Numbers7Nehemiah1Isaiah2
Source forms
מִקְרָא־10xmiq·rā-Exodus 12:16, Leviticus 23:3, Leviticus 23:7, Leviticus 23:8
מִֽקְרָא־6xmiq·rā-Leviticus 23:21, Leviticus 23:27, Numbers 28:26, Numbers 29:1
מִקְרָאֵ֣י2xmiq·rā·’êLeviticus 23:2, Leviticus 23:37
בַּמִּקְרָֽא׃ס1xbam·miq·rāNehemiah 8:8
לְמִקְרָ֣א1xlə·miq·rāNumbers 10:2
מִקְרָ֔א1xmiq·rāIsaiah 1:13
מִקְרָאֶ֗הָ1xmiq·rā·’e·hāIsaiah 4:5
מִקְרָאֵ֖י1xmiq·rā·’êLeviticus 23:4
Parsing patterns
Noun - masculine singular construct16xExodus 12:16, Leviticus 23:3, Leviticus 23:7, Leviticus 23:8
Noun - masculine plural construct3xLeviticus 23:2, Leviticus 23:4, Leviticus 23:37
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular1xIsaiah 4:5
Noun - masculine singular1xIsaiah 1:13
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular1xNehemiah 8:8
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct1xNumbers 10:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Make instruction understandable and consider people who face physical or practical barriers to gathering.
- Hear reports of harm in a religious assembly without assuming its sacred name proves safety.
Avoid claiming...
- This noun alone cannot establish one mandatory calendar for every present Christian community.
- A full meeting cannot prove that its leaders or participants act justly.
Evidence Summary
Hebrew word. something called out, i.e. a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the place); also a rehearsal
Source Gloss
something called out, i.e. a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the place); also a rehearsal
Extended definitionSource: Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon + Brown-Driver-Briggs
something called out, i.e. a public meeting (the act, the persons, or the place); also a rehearsal BDB: convocation Usage: assembly, calling, convocation, reading.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Word Origins
מִקְרָא is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Gathering has a defined purpose in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers: appointed observance, a proclaimed occasion or a summons that serves the community's movement. Isaiah 1 shows why a sacred assembly can still be unacceptable when wrongdoing accompanies it. Isaiah 4, within its own announcement, portrays covering and shelter over Zion's assemblies. Nehemiah 8 directs attention to the people's understanding as the law is read and explained.
These witnesses call teaching beyond counting attendees or repeating the name of an occasion. Clear hearing, appropriate response and responsibility toward harmed neighbors matter within the stated contexts. A congregation should not use attendance as a substitute for repentance, accessible instruction or care. Nor can this noun alone dictate a universal modern calendar, authenticate a leader's meeting or guarantee that everyone present is safe from future trouble.
Anchor passage
Neh.8.8
Doctrinal connections
- Exodus' holy assembly belongs to the appointed remembrance of deliverance in the Passover setting.
- Leviticus names occasions within the Lord's stated calendar and instructions addressed to Israel.
- Numbers gives the trumpets a practical role in summoning and directing the community.
- Isaiah rejects solemn worship joined to the violence and injustice named in the chapter.
- Isaiah's shelter over assemblies remains within its addressed cleansing and restoration promise.
- Nehemiah joins reading with explanation so that the people understand the law.
The licensed range includes a called assembly and reading, whose particular sense depends on the passage. Twenty-three tagged BSB tokens in twenty-two verses remain distinct from the canonical count of twenty-three; the artifact's blank transliteration is preserved without replacing broader assembly nouns.
From Old to New Testament
First Corinthians 11:17-34 confronts gatherings that humiliate those with little and treats the meal within its stated remembrance and proclamation. This is a canonical comparison with Isaiah's rebuke of worship joined to wrongdoing; it supplies no direct claim that Paul quotes this Hebrew noun or prescribes Israel's calendar.