Early English Translations and word "church"

[jonathan.borland]

Udo Schnelle, 'Das frühe Christentum und die Bildung,' NTS 61 (2015), 113-143, thinks we may be confident that more than 50 percent of the members in early Christian congregations could read and write at an acceptable level.

After briefly reviewing the innumerable archaeological finds regarding education levels in the ancient world and citing valuable recent research, Schnelle cites p. 94 of R. Baumgarten’s article “Elementar- und Grammatikunterricht: Griechenland,” pp. 89-100 in Handbuch der Bildung und Erziehung in der Antike (ed. Christes, Klein, Lüth; Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, 2006), which apparently states that in ancient cities probably most of the children went to elementary school, and when the very different grades of reading and writing abilities are included in the estimate, it may be assumed that around 30-50 percent of the population of middle and larger sized cities had an elementary knowledge of reading and writing. Then Schnelle lists his seven reasons in favor of relatively higher literacy in the early churches (anyways more than 50%) in comparison to the general population.

1. In the beginning period it is a matter mainly of urban churches, and the extent of literacy in the cities was notably higher than in the countryside.

2. A considerable part of the church members came from the sphere of influence of Judaism, which exhibited a higher literacy rate than the average in the Roman empire. Also the household slaves (cf. Phlm) who are linked to early churches must have been equipped with a higher-than-average grade of education.

3. A lively literary and intellectual life prevailed in the early churches. The Septuagint was studied, i.e. read aloud, read, and discussed. Paul made use of a secretary (cf. Rom 16:22), the Pauline Epistles were not merely read aloud (cf. 1 Thess 5:27), but the Apostle also took for granted that people took up his epistles with their own eyes to understand, thus that they read (cf. Gal 6:11: “See with what large letters I have written to you with my own hand”; further 1 Cor 16:21; Phlm 19).

4. The texts show that in the churches - as usual in the ancient world - reading loudly or reading aloud was predominant, which gave a special status to the oral tradition, so that also church members with lower writing and reading abilities could actively participate in church life. Furthermore, education was (and is) not identical with reading and writing competence, since one who could not (or could only in a limited way) read and write was not automatically uneducated.

5. Moreover, education was not tied to affiliation with social classes in the 1st century C.E.

6. From the beginning teachers were active in the churches (1 Cor 12:28; Gal 6:6; Rom 12:7b; Acts 13:1). Their duties were concentrated on the interpretation of the (oral or written) kerygma as well as the exegesis of written texts.

7. Above all, the multilingualism (Greek/Latin/Hebrew/Aramaic/local languages) of many church members, the creation of new literary genres (Gospels), and the superior themes handled in the Epistles (foremost in the Pauline Epistles) clearly demonstrate that a great linguistic and intellectual creativity prevailed in the new movement.

 

[TCassidy]

Be careful how you answer that one.

When speaking to Jews He probably spoke Aramaic. (Aramaic of that day may have been the Babylonian/Chaldean brought back from the Babylonian Captivity but written with modified Hebraic orthography.)

When Gentiles were present He probably spoke the common (κοινὴ - short for κοινὴ διάλεκτος, "the common dialect") language of, as you said, commerce and trade, which was Greek. Which was also the common written language.

So, I agree. Regardless of what language He may have been speaking, it was recorded in Greek, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of course, to give us our infallible bible.

 

[Bro. James]

My take on church: the called out for a purpose. Jesus called 12 men from the shores of Galilee and other walks saying,"Come, follow me, I will make you fishers of men." This was an assembly called out for a purpose. They did in fact preach, baptize and teach. At Pentecost, the existing assembly was given another Comforter to abide with them to lead them in all Truth throughout The Age--which is not over yet. Jesus promise: "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of The Age. This refutes Latter Day Saints and others.

The fundamental error in the modern ecclesia is that somehow there is a universal ecclesia. This error goes back to the second and third century. this is a serious departure from Bible doctrine.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Bro. James

 

[HankD]

s a universal ecclesia. This error goes back to the second and third century. this is a serious departure from Bible doctrine.

Hebrews 12:23 To the general assembly and church (ekklesia) of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

HankD

 

[TCassidy]

Hebrews 12:23 To the general assembly and church (ekklesia) of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,

HankD

Amen. To the general assembly and to the specific assembly, belonging to the First Born (the Lord Jesus Christ). Two distinct things. Kinda supports what James is saying, doesn't it.

 

[HankD]

Amen. To the general assembly and to the specific assembly, belonging to the First Born (the Lord Jesus Christ). Two distinct things. Kinda supports what James is saying, doesn't it.

Its as close to the "universal Church" as one can ask.
The names of these members are written in heaven.

Personally I don't like the term "universal" church being a former Catholic.

Soon (IMO) the roll of these members written from the foundation of the world will be filled in heaven.

Then it will be the only local church.

HankD

 

[TCassidy]

Its as close to the "universal Church" as one can ask.

There will be no "universal church" until it meets for the first time in heaven.

 

[Van]

What I may have missed is the distinction between an assembly of professing believers (wheat and tares) and the actual ekklesia, those God has transferred into the body of Christ.

For example, Matthew 18:17 uses ekklesia (or a form of that word) yet the group in view clearly potentially contains tares. It looks like we should translate the same Greek word, which has more than one meaning, with different English words or phrases for each meaning such that the intended meaning is as clear as we can discern.

If we look at various (Biblehub) translations of this verse, we find (1) church, (2) assembly, (3) community of believers, and (4) congregation.

 

[rlvaughn]

What I may have missed is the distinction between an assembly of professing believers (wheat and tares) and the actual ekklesia, those God has transferred into the body of Christ.

It seems to me that the English word church encompasses both of those within its semantic range.

 

[TCassidy]

Ekklasia: “Church”, “Assembly”, or “Congregation”?

Dr. Thomas Cassidy
San Diego, California
© 1997 by the Author

There has been much controversy of late regarding the proper translation of the Greek word ekklasia into English. Actually, "of late" is probably not entirely accurate. William Tyndale, in his New Testament in English, first published in 1526, consistently translates "ekklasia" as "congregation" (including the references to a city assembly meeting in Acts 19:32; 39; & 41).

John Calvin, in his Geneva Bible, first published in 1560 in Geneva (at the time, Geneva was an independent city-state, and did not become part of Switzerland until 1815), uses the word "church" consistently, with the exception of the references to the city assembly in Acts, where he uses the word "assembly." The King James Bible consistently uses the word "church" except in Acts 19, where it also translates "ekklasia" as "assembly."

There has been much discussion of late as to the accuracy of the word "church" and whether or not the correct translation should have been "assembly" or "congregation." Professor Ron Minton, of the Bible Baptist Graduate School of Theology, is of the opinion, expressed in private letters to me, that the word "church" in the King James Bible is the result of the translators caving into the ecclesiastical authority of the Church of England, and maintaining the old ecclesiastical terms, to avoid using a word that violates the monolithic structure of Anglican ecclesiology. Others have stated similar opinions.

There is no doubt that King James the 1st of England did charge the translators: "That a translation be made of the whole Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek, and this to be set out and printed without any marginal notes, and only to be used in all churches of England in time of divine services."

I must note that James' restriction against marginal notes most probably arose from the very anti-Monarchy nature of the Geneva Bible's marginal notes.

King James went on to say:

"The ordinary Bible read in the church, commonly called the Bishop's Bible to be followed and as little altered as the truth of the original will permit."

"The old ecclesiastical words to be kept..."

Of course, as we now know, the KJV translation committees did not fully heed the Kings admonitions, and proceeded to produce an honest and authoritative Bible, complete with marginal notes.

So, if the KJV translation committees felt free to disregard the Kings admonition in one area, why did they not feel free to disregard the King in the area of the "old ecclesiastical words"?

I think the answer is simple. The "old ecclesiastical words" are, in fact, the best words to use to properly understand the Greek words in question for the English speaking people of the early 17th century.

Let us now look at the meaning of the English word "church" and determine its etymology and philology.

Etymology is the study of the origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.

Philology is the literary study of classical or historical linguistics. The study of linguistic change over time in language or in a particular language or language family, sometimes including the reconstruction of unattested forms of earlier stages of a language.

The etymological meaning of the word "ekklasia" is clearly "called out assembly" (the Greek preposition ek - "out of" and the verb kaleo - "I call").

However, we must also look at the philological meaning of the word "ekklasia" to determine how the word was used in classical literature.

Scott and Liddel (A Greek-English Lexicon: page 206) define "ekklasia" as "an assembly of the citizens summoned by the crier; the legislative assembly."

Seyffert (A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities) defines "ekklasia" as "the assembly of the people, which in Greek cities had the power of final decision in public affairs."

There are many historical literary cites supporting this classical meaning of the word "ekklasia" from Thucydides (2,22) and Demosthenes (378,24).

But, what about the Biblical usage of the term "ekklasia"? Does the usage of the term in the Bible differ from the etymological and philological usage of the word? Yes, in my opinion, it does. The primary difference affecting the Biblical usage of the word "ekklasia" is that, with three notable exceptions in Acts chapter 19, the word is used to indicate that which belongs to "The Lord."

Notice Jesus' statement in Matthew 16:18, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The word "my" makes it very clear that Jesus is not referring to just any assembly or congregation of people, but to an assembly or congregation that belongs to Him. The hermeneutical principle of "first mention" requires that we seriously consider this to be the defining illustration of the meaning of the word "church."

If we look at the three English words that have been proposed to render "ekklasia" into English, we can see the wisdom of the KJV translation committee members.

Assembly: (Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press)
I. The action or fact of assembling, the state of being assembled.
1. Gathering together, meeting; the state of being collected or gathered.
2. The coming together of two persons or things; meeting, conjunction, union.
3. Hostile meeting, onslaught, attack. (One of my associates, with a rather strange sense of humor suggested this to be an historical reference to Baptist church business meetings!)

II. The company assembled.
4. A gathering of persons, a number of people met together; a concourse, throng.
5. A gathering of persons for the purpose of deliberation and decision; a deliberative body, a legislative council.
6. A gathering of persons for religious worship; a congregation.
7. A gathering of persons for the purpose of social entertainment.
8. A collection of things.

III. A military call by drum or bugle.

As you can see, the English word "assembly" falls far short of the true meaning of "The Lord's" assembly or congregation. In fact, even the one cite above that mentions religious worship (6) fails to identify what religion and who is being worshipped. The meaning assigned by cite number 5, including as it does the reference to a legislative body, completely contradicts the Lord's churches as executive in nature (administering the laws already given) as opposed to legislative, that is, the making of new laws, which the Lord's churches are forbidden to do.

The Oxford English Dictionary assigns similar generic definitions to the word "congregation."

1. The act of congregating or collecting in one body or mass.
2. The result of congregating, a gathering, assemblage or company.
3. A regular meeting or assembly of a society or body.
4. A collective body of colleagues, a company.
5. & 6. are references to Bible usages by Wycliff and Tyndale.
7. A body of persons assembled for religious worship or to hear a preacher.
8. (Scottish history) The designation given to the Party of Protestant Reformers during the reign of Queen Mary.
9. A community or order bound together by a common rule.
10. The name given to several permanent committees of the Roman College of Cardinals.

However, the same OED, under the entry reading "Church" gives the following information:

The word "church" is derived from the Dutch word "kirk" or the German "kirke" both of which have their etymological roots in the Greek word "kuriakos", defined by Arndt and Gengrich in their "Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature" as meaning "belonging to the Lord, or the Lord's."

So, as we can see, the word "assembly" can mean any assembly. Anybody can assemble. It could be an assembly of football fans in a stadium, an assembly of perverts at the "gay rights" parade, or an assembly of drunks at the local gin mill!

Also, the word "congregation" can mean any congregation. Any people can congregate anywhere. In San Diego the homeless tend to congregate around the downtown mall known as Horton Plaza. The local police officers tend to congregate at the donut shop, and the sodomites congregate in the "gay" bars in Hillcrest, as the prostitutes congregate along El Cajon Boulevard between 30th and 40th streets (or so I have been told, as I have absolutely no first hand knowledge of this whatsoever! Really! Honest!).

However, the word "church," with its historical meaning of "belonging to the Lord" clearly distinguishes just any assembly, or just any congregation from "the Lord's" assembly or congregation, the true church of the New Testament.

God Bless, and think about it!

 

[Van]

It seems to me that the English word church encompasses both of those within its semantic range.

Yes it does, but ambiguity should not be the goal. Only when the intended message does not see clear should be us a word that could mean several very different ideas.

 

[Van]

Does "My ekklesia"" mean just those that belong of Christ, or to the assembly of those professing Christ including wheat and tares?
Certainly in Matthew 16:18 the meaning is ambiguous, either could be in view. But I think more probably a professing assembly of wheat and tares. But if we turn to Matthew 18:17, clearly the same word is used to refer to an assembly of wheat and tares.

Not to get too technical, but scripture tells us to evangelize both within and outside of the church, the assembly of professing believers.

OTOH, ekklesia is clearly used to refer to born anew believers, those being saved by the Lord in Acts 2:47. So it seem to me we should translate ekklesia either as "assembly of"professing believers" or "assembly of born anew believers" depending on the context. And if the meaning is ambiguous (Matthew 16:18) we should default to assembly of"professing believers" which includes those actually saved.

If we look at Acts 5:11 I think it clear the great fear would come over the tares within the assembly of professing believers.

Finally we have Acts 7:38 where ekklesia is used to refer to an assembly of professing believers in Yahweh, but Christ Jesus was still a mystery to them. I think we should use a third term for this assembly.

 

[rlvaughn]

Yes it does, but ambiguity should not be the goal. Only when the intended message does not see clear should be us a word that could mean several very different ideas.

If that logic is correct, wouldn't the conclusion follow that God was ambiguous in using the same Greek word in these places?

 

[Van]

Another nuance with the use of ekklesia is the question of who is in view when Paul addresses the "church" of God?" Certainly not those worshiping Yahweh according to the Old Covenant. Is Paul using God to refer to Jesus as God or the Trinity which includes Jesus as God, or to the Father?

If we look at Acts of the Apostles 20:28, Paul says church (ekklesia) of God (theos) which He purchased with His own blood. Clearly hear God refers to Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity.

Take a gander at 1 Corinthians 1:2; 10:32; 11:22; 15:9; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:13 and 1 Timothy 3:5

 

[Van]

If that logic is correct, wouldn't the conclusion follow that God was ambiguous in using the same Greek word in these places?

God used the language of the common people, and therefore used words with a range of meanings. But to the extent we can present the intended message (one of the meanings) we should. Our yes should be yes, and or no should mean no, God's word tells us to avoid ambiguity.

 

[Van]

God used the language of the common people, and therefore used words with a range of meanings. But to the extent we can present the intended message (one of the meanings) we should. Our yes should be yes, and our no should mean no, God's word tells us to avoid ambiguity.

Another nuance with the use of ekklesia is the question of who is in view when Paul addresses the "church" of God?" Certainly not those worshiping Yahweh according to the Old Covenant. Is Paul using God to refer to Jesus as God or the Trinity which includes Jesus as God, or to the Father?

If we look at Acts of the Apostles 20:28, Paul says church (ekklesia) of God (theos) which He purchased with His own blood. Clearly here God refers to Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity.

Take a gander at 1 Corinthians 1:2; 10:32; 11:22; 15:9; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:13 and 1 Timothy 3:5

[Sorry for the double posts but I needed to correct typos]

 

[HankD]

Ekklasia: “Church”, “Assembly”, or “Congregation”?

Dr. Thomas Cassidy
San Diego, California
© 1997 by the Author

There has been much controversy of late regarding the proper translation of the Greek word ekklasia into English. Actually, "of late" is probably not entirely accurate. William Tyndale, in his New Testament in English, first published in 1526, consistently translates "ekklasia" as "congregation" (including the references to a city assembly meeting in Acts 19:32; 39; & 41).

John Calvin, in his Geneva Bible, first published in 1560 in Geneva (at the time, Geneva was an independent city-state, and did not become part of Switzerland until 1815), uses the word "church" consistently, with the exception of the references to the city assembly in Acts, where he uses the word "assembly." The King James Bible consistently uses the word "church" except in Acts 19, where it also translates "ekklasia" as "assembly."

There has been much discussion of late as to the accuracy of the word "church" and whether or not the correct translation should have been "assembly" or "congregation." Professor Ron Minton, of the Bible Baptist Graduate School of Theology, is of the opinion, expressed in private letters to me, that the word "church" in the King James Bible is the result of the translators caving into the ecclesiastical authority of the Church of England, and maintaining the old ecclesiastical terms, to avoid using a word that violates the monolithic structure of Anglican ecclesiology. Others have stated similar opinions.

There is no doubt that King James the 1st of England did charge the translators: "That a translation be made of the whole Bible, as consonant as can be to the original Hebrew and Greek, and this to be set out and printed without any marginal notes, and only to be used in all churches of England in time of divine services."

I must note that James' restriction against marginal notes most probably arose from the very anti-Monarchy nature of the Geneva Bible's marginal notes.

King James went on to say:

"The ordinary Bible read in the church, commonly called the Bishop's Bible to be followed and as little altered as the truth of the original will permit."

"The old ecclesiastical words to be kept..."

Of course, as we now know, the KJV translation committees did not fully heed the Kings admonitions, and proceeded to produce an honest and authoritative Bible, complete with marginal notes.

So, if the KJV translation committees felt free to disregard the Kings admonition in one area, why did they not feel free to disregard the King in the area of the "old ecclesiastical words"?

I think the answer is simple. The "old ecclesiastical words" are, in fact, the best words to use to properly understand the Greek words in question for the English speaking people of the early 17th century.

Let us now look at the meaning of the English word "church" and determine its etymology and philology.

Etymology is the study of the origin and historical development of a linguistic form as shown by determining its basic elements, earliest known use, and changes in form and meaning, tracing its transmission from one language to another, identifying its cognates in other languages, and reconstructing its ancestral form where possible.

Philology is the literary study of classical or historical linguistics. The study of linguistic change over time in language or in a particular language or language family, sometimes including the reconstruction of unattested forms of earlier stages of a language.

The etymological meaning of the word "ekklasia" is clearly "called out assembly" (the Greek preposition ek - "out of" and the verb kaleo - "I call").

However, we must also look at the philological meaning of the word "ekklasia" to determine how the word was used in classical literature.

Scott and Liddel (A Greek-English Lexicon: page 206) define "ekklasia" as "an assembly of the citizens summoned by the crier; the legislative assembly."

Seyffert (A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities) defines "ekklasia" as "the assembly of the people, which in Greek cities had the power of final decision in public affairs."

There are many historical literary cites supporting this classical meaning of the word "ekklasia" from Thucydides (2,22) and Demosthenes (378,24).

But, what about the Biblical usage of the term "ekklasia"? Does the usage of the term in the Bible differ from the etymological and philological usage of the word? Yes, in my opinion, it does. The primary difference affecting the Biblical usage of the word "ekklasia" is that, with three notable exceptions in Acts chapter 19, the word is used to indicate that which belongs to "The Lord."

Notice Jesus' statement in Matthew 16:18, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." The word "my" makes it very clear that Jesus is not referring to just any assembly or congregation of people, but to an assembly or congregation that belongs to Him. The hermeneutical principle of "first mention" requires that we seriously consider this to be the defining illustration of the meaning of the word "church."

If we look at the three English words that have been proposed to render "ekklasia" into English, we can see the wisdom of the KJV translation committee members.

Assembly: (Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press)
I. The action or fact of assembling, the state of being assembled.
1. Gathering together, meeting; the state of being collected or gathered.
2. The coming together of two persons or things; meeting, conjunction, union.
3. Hostile meeting, onslaught, attack. (One of my associates, with a rather strange sense of humor suggested this to be an historical reference to Baptist church business meetings!)

II. The company assembled.
4. A gathering of persons, a number of people met together; a concourse, throng.
5. A gathering of persons for the purpose of deliberation and decision; a deliberative body, a legislative council.
6. A gathering of persons for religious worship; a congregation.
7. A gathering of persons for the purpose of social entertainment.
8. A collection of things.

III. A military call by drum or bugle.

As you can see, the English word "assembly" falls far short of the true meaning of "The Lord's" assembly or congregation. In fact, even the one cite above that mentions religious worship (6) fails to identify what religion and who is being worshipped. The meaning assigned by cite number 5, including as it does the reference to a legislative body, completely contradicts the Lord's churches as executive in nature (administering the laws already given) as opposed to legislative, that is, the making of new laws, which the Lord's churches are forbidden to do.

The Oxford English Dictionary assigns similar generic definitions to the word "congregation."

1. The act of congregating or collecting in one body or mass.
2. The result of congregating, a gathering, assemblage or company.
3. A regular meeting or assembly of a society or body.
4. A collective body of colleagues, a company.
5. & 6. are references to Bible usages by Wycliff and Tyndale.
7. A body of persons assembled for religious worship or to hear a preacher.
8. (Scottish history) The designation given to the Party of Protestant Reformers during the reign of Queen Mary.
9. A community or order bound together by a common rule.
10. The name given to several permanent committees of the Roman College of Cardinals.

However, the same OED, under the entry reading "Church" gives the following information:

The word "church" is derived from the Dutch word "kirk" or the German "kirke" both of which have their etymological roots in the Greek word "kuriakos", defined by Arndt and Gengrich in their "Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature" as meaning "belonging to the Lord, or the Lord's."

So, as we can see, the word "assembly" can mean any assembly. Anybody can assemble. It could be an assembly of football fans in a stadium, an assembly of perverts at the "gay rights" parade, or an assembly of drunks at the local gin mill!

Also, the word "congregation" can mean any congregation. Any people can congregate anywhere. In San Diego the homeless tend to congregate around the downtown mall known as Horton Plaza. The local police officers tend to congregate at the donut shop, and the sodomites congregate in the "gay" bars in Hillcrest, as the prostitutes congregate along El Cajon Boulevard between 30th and 40th streets (or so I have been told, as I have absolutely no first hand knowledge of this whatsoever! Really! Honest!).

However, the word "church," with its historical meaning of "belonging to the Lord" clearly distinguishes just any assembly, or just any congregation from "the Lord's" assembly or congregation, the true church of the New Testament.

God Bless, and think about it!

Agreed, and of what other assembly can it be said "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it"
and that from the mouth of the son of the living God, God come in the flesh.

HankD

 

[Van]

If we look at 1 Thessalonians 1:1 or 2 Thessalonians 1:1 rather than the church [ekklesia] of God [theos}, we see church of the Thessalonians "in" God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Nearly all the Biblehub translations use "in" but the intended meaning is ambiguous. Were they exclusively addressing the "born anew saints" who God had transferred into Christ and indwelt? Probably not. If the gathering contained both wheat and tares, which it certainly did, then "en" might be less ambiguously translated as "in the presence of God...,"

Certainly ekklesia refers to "called out ones" but in light of the tares, a better understanding might be "those professing to be called out ones.

 

[Yeshua1]

If we look at 1 Thessalonians 1:1 or 2 Thessalonians 1:1 rather than the church [ekklesia] of God [theos}, we see church of the Thessalonians "in" God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Nearly all the Biblehub translations use "in" but the intended meaning is ambiguous. Were they exclusively addressing the "born anew saints" who God had transferred into Christ and indwelt? Probably not. If the gathering contained both wheat and tares, which it certainly did, then "en" might be less ambiguously translated as "in the presence of God...,"

Certainly ekklesia refers to "called out ones" but in light of the tares, a better understanding might be "those professing to be called out ones.

There is the true invisible church, with only saved in her, and the visible one, with lost and saved in her!

 

[TCassidy]

There is the true invisible church,

Where does it meet? Who is the Pastor? Who are the Deacons? What name do I make my tithe check out to?