the own assembling

Originally posted on September 24, 2008 – by Andre Piet

In Hebrews 10:25 there is mention of the habit of some to forsake the own assembling. What do these words mean? What is the background and to what extent is the exhortation also relevant outside the context of the epistle to the Hebrews?

Good question! What exactly does it say? I will first give the rendering of the NBG51:

24 And let us pay attention to one another, to spur one another on to love and good works.
25 We must not forsaking our own assembling, as some are accustomed to do, but exhort one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.

A more literal rendering is (italicized words are absent from the original text):

24 And let us pay attention to one another, toward the sharpening of love and excellent works;
25 not neglecting the own assembling, according to the custom of some, but encouraging each other, and this so much the more insofar as you see the day drawing near.

The two verbs of verse 25 (“not neglecting” and “encouraging”) are participles, which indicates that they refer back to what precedes. The logical connection is: “And let us pay attention to one another … not neglecting the own assembling.” In the NBG51 this connection does not come through clearly, and the word “must” has been added…

epi-synagogue

Heb. 10:25 is part of a letter addressed to Hebrews, that is, Hebrew-speaking people, Jews therefore who from their background were accustomed to assembling together in the synagogue. This letter was written to the large group of Messiah-confessing Jews in Jerusalem (see Acts 21:20), shortly before 70 AD, and it elaborates especially on the danger of relapse into Judaism and the synagogue (see: setting of the epistle to the Hebrews). In order not to confuse “the own assembling” with the regular Jewish assembly, the word “synagogue” is not used, but an intensification of the word “synagogue” by means of the preposition “epi” (= upon). It refers to an assembling that in significance rises above the synagogue. Paul, incidentally, also uses the same word in 2 Thess. 2:1 (St. Vert. “gathering together”).

pay attention, sharpen, and encourage

It is these three verbs that motivate why one should not have the habit of neglecting the own assembling. It begins with: “let us pay attention to one another.” The same word for “pay attention” (katanoeo; Str.2657) we encounter earlier in 3:1, where NBG51 translates: “fix your eyes on … Jesus.” In Luke 12:27 it is translated as “observe.” “Pay attention” is a word that fits perfectly well in all cases. Obviously, one can only pay attention to one another when one also meets one another regularly, and therefore we read: “pay attention to one another … not forsaking the own assembling.”

sharpen

By attending the own assembling one would sharpen and encourage one another. The word “sharpen” is even better than “incite” (NBG51) because it accurately conveys what the Greek word (paroxusmos; Str.3948) is literally derived from: to make sharp.

encourage

The Greek word “parakaleo” (Str. 3870) is often rendered as “admonition” and “consolation.” So too in the rendering of the St.Vert.: “[one another] admonish.” The true meaning of the Greek word lies somewhere between “console” and “admonish.” The word “encourage” would be an excellent concordant rendering. The assembling should not be the place to be admonished or rebuked (cf. the Mennonite designation for a church building: the admonition), but to encourage and to be encouraged. Reciprocal, that is, the one the other and the other the one. How otherwise than by pointing each other to the riches of God’s Word?

custom

Some, the writer says, have the habit (Gr. ethos > ethics) of neglecting the own assembling. It stands in contrast to the good habit of the others to indeed be present. Of Jesus we read that He “according to His custom went into the synagogue on the sabbath day” (Luke 4:46). Paul also went, as was his custom, every sabbath to the synagogue (Acts 17:2). A custom indicates a fixed rhythm, standard at set times, a matter of course, a habituation.

fully Pauline

All the other letters in the New Testament likewise presuppose the custom of coming together. Not least also the congregational letters of Paul. For a congregation is nothing other than an assembly (ecclesia = assembly; Acts 19:39), that is, a community that is accustomed to coming together. Incidentally, who else than Paul is the writer of Hebrews 10:25? The oldest Greek manuscripts without exception count “Hebrews” as a letter of Paul, since it was given a place among Paul’s letters (between 2 Thessalonians and 1 Timothy). Added to that, we know from Peter (2 Peter 3:15) that “our beloved brother Paul” must have written a letter to the same group as Peter also addresses. That is, to “the circumcision.” Which letter, other than that to the Hebrews, would qualify for that? Even though the writer undoubtedly had good reasons not to mention his name (Gal. 2:7-9?), his identity is nevertheless easy to recognize (see also Heb. 13:23).

Be that as it may, Heb. 10:25 is fully Pauline. Believers come together to encourage one another. And that all the more as they see the day drawing near.

Delen: