THE ASSEMBLY — a body summoned and standing together, from a root meaning to convoke. Distinguish it from edah, the congregation: an edah is the community as a standing fact, an qahal is that community CALLED and gathered. The Greek Old Testament renders qahal with ekklēsia, which is why 'congregation' rather than 'church' is this project's fixed New Testament rendering. ⚠ Numbers 16 runs the root through a whole argument: the rebels assemble against Moses (v3), Korah assembles the whole congregation against him (v19, a causative — one man convening a nation), and the men who were swallowed 'perished from the midst of the qahal' (v33). The thing Korah invoked as his warrant — 'the assembly of Jehovah' — is what he is finally cut out of. → first discussed at Num 16:3