Ἐκκλησία in the Septuagint and Greek Literature
Ἐκκλησία is used to describe groups gathered together for various purposes, in a way which largely parallels Greek literary usage elsewhere, but with some differences of nuance related to the genre of the works being discussed. In all these occurrences, an actual assembly assembled is in view.
The cognate verb is used for the act of gathering, for a gathering of the assembly,275 of the people more generally,276 of elders and officials,277 a mustering for war,278 and a gathering of the Jews of Susa.279 This usage is similar to the general contours previously noted.
The noun ἐκκλησία is used to describe a gathering of prophets,280 a gathering of armies,281 an army confronted by a prophet and some leaders,282 and a gathering for a judicial function, such as in Nehemiah 5:7 and 5:13, where Nehemiah gathers an assembly to deal with the nobles.283 The reference in Nehemiah 5 may well be the closest of anything in the Hebrew Bible to the working of a Greek assembly, with the emphasis on holding the nobles to account, and a decision agreed upon by the whole assembly,284 although the covenant renewal element of this assembly and therefore its links with assemblies such as those in Deuteronomy should not be underplayed.285
In keeping with the different genre of writings here, ἐκκλησία is used where the setting of worship is more explicit than in Greek usage. For example, in Psalm 25,286 the assembly of the wicked in v. 5287 is contrasted with the regular assemblies in v. 12,288 whilst in Psalm 88:6, God is praised in an assembly of the holy ones in heaven,289 and the Holy Ones in view are most likely heavenly begins, not human.290 This is not a usage noted elsewhere in the Greek literature, however in all these instances, there is still an actual assembly in view.
In those works in the Septuagint which are not part of the Hebrew Bible, the relationship with the use of ἐκκλησία in wider Greek literature, and yet the distinctive character of these assemblies can be seen. Perhaps clearest is Judith,291 where four times the assembly of the people of Bethulia is mentioned.292 Here we have a local assembly after the Greek pattern, and the assembly here questions, laments, and summons.293 However, in two of the four occurrences in Judith, there are explicit requests to God for help, from or associated with the assembly.294 So here we have a Greek assembly of the polis, but one with a particular character because the population are Israelites.
In 1 Maccabees, assembly is used in a number of ways. In 1 Maccabees 2:56, assembly refers to the testimony of Caleb in the assembly of Numbers 13:26, and thus the whole assembly of Israel in the wilderness is in view.295 It is also used for a body of faithful soldiers,296 for a theoretically comprehensive gathering after the restoration of the altar in the temple,297 for a great assembly, whose precise composition is unclear, but which looks in its behavior to follow the general pattern of a Greek polis assembly,298 and for diplomacy at the assembly in Jerusalem.299 With the exception of 1 Maccabees 2:56, these occurrences follow the pattern observed here: local assemblies with particular Jewish characteristics.
The book of Sirach contains several references to the assembly. In many of them, a specific assembly is not in view, but the assembly in general, where wisdom exalts,300 where the acts of the righteous will be recognized,301 or where the adulteress will be punished.302 One use relates closely to the Greek assembly, where Sirach discusses how craftsmen are not sought for the βουλή or the ἐκκλησία303 and Sirach calls upon the people and the leaders of the ἐκκλησία to listen.304 ἐκκλησία is also used for a gathering of a mob.305 Du Toit argues that Ben Sira is important given the marks of interculturality in the document, that Sirach has “the meeting of a Greek δῆμος in mind,” and that a local assembly is in view here.306 However for a number of reasons, I don’t think Du Toit’s conclusion can be established with such certainty. First, in Sirach 50:13 and 20, the assembly in view is the assembly of all Israel at Sinai,307 and in Sirach 46:7, the assembly in the wilderness.308 Although these are past occurrences, at 39:10, Sirach parallels the praise of the scribe by the assembly and by nations, suggesting that an assembly of all Israel may be in view here too. Second, most of the references in Sirach are general in nature, which, allied with the poetic genre of the work, makes it impossible to be certain that Sirach generally has a local assembly in view. He certainly sometimes has an assembly of all Israel in view and may have that assembly in view on other occasions, however theoretical it might be in Sirach’s historical setting.
Looking at the references from Judith, 1 Maccabees, and Sirach as a whole, the influence of the Greek polis is discernible. However, I do not detect a straightforward line of development towards a local assembly. Instead, in all the occurrences mentioned here, we have an actual assembly assembled, which shares many characteristics with the assembly of the polis, but which also has a particular Jewish character.
Turning to Philo, a similar pattern can be observed. There are times when Philo has in mind the Greek polis assembly,309 other occasions when the assembly in view is more general but owes more to Moses and Sinai,310 and one occasion when Philo refers to a divine assembly of the gods, referring back to Plato in the Timaeus.311 Here we see Greek usage with a particular Jewish character, and in the final example, a particular usage driven by the context.
There are then marked similarities between