qāhāl

Semantic range

1. 1a summoned gathering of the people
2. 2the congregation of Israel as a covenant body
3. 3any assembly, including a hostile one

The Septuagint most often renders qāhāl with ekklēsia — the word the New Testament uses for the Church. The continuity is significant: "church" does not begin as a new institution but as the covenant assembly of Israel, summoned.

The great instance is the day of the assembly at Sinai (Deuteronomy 9:10), which Restoration readers naturally set beside the Kirtland Temple dedication and the promise that the Lord will appear to His people gathered (D&C 110).

See also

• ἐκκλησίαekklēsia
• יִשְׂרָאֵלyiśrāʾēl