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advised Pharaoh to appoint overseers to “gather all the food of those good years that
come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh.…” The verb may also focus on the
result of the process, as in Gen. 41:48: “And he gathered up all the food of the seven
years, which were in the land of Egypt.…” Only in one passage does
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mean “to
harvest” (Isa. 62:9): “But they that have gathered [harvested] it [grain] shall eat it and
praise the Lord; and they that have brought it [wine] together shall drink it in the courts
of my holiness.”
This verb is used metaphorically of things that can be “gathered” only in a figurative
sense. So in Ps. 41:6, the enemy’s “heart gathereth iniquity to itself” while visiting—i.e.,
the enemy considers how he can use everything he hears and sees against his host.
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is often used of “gathering” people or “assembling” them. This “gathering” is
usually a response to a summons, but not always. In 1 Kings 11:24, David “gathered men
unto him, and became captain over a [marauding] band.” This action was not the result of
a summons David issued, but resulted from reports that circulated about him. The entire
story makes it quite clear that David was not seeking to set up a force rivaling Saul’s. But
when men came to him, he marshalled them.
Quite often this verb is used of “summoning” people to a central location. When
Jacob blessed his sons, for example, he “summoned” them to him and then told them to
gather around closer (Gen. 49:2). This same word is used of “summoning” the militia. All
able-bodied men in Israel between the ages of 20 and 40 were members of the militia. In
times of peace they were farmers and tradesmen; but when danger threatened, a leader
would “assemble” them or “summon” them to a common location and organize them into
an army (cf. Judg. 12:4). All Israel could be “summoned” or “gathered” for battle (as a
militia); thus “… Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa” (1 Sam.
28:4). This military use may also signify “marshalling” a standing army in the sense of
“setting them up” for battle. The men of Gibeon said: “All the kings of the Amorites that
dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us” (Josh. 10:6). In 1 Kings 20:1,
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carries this sense in addition to overtones of “concentrating” an entire army
against a particular point: “And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host
together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he
went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.”
Ordered assemblies may include assemblies for covenant-making: “And Abner said
unto David, I will arise and go, and will gather all Israel unto my lord the king, that they
may make a league with thee …” (2 Sam. 3:21). In several instances, assemblies are
“convened” for public worship activities: “Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh.…
And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the Lord,
and fasted on that day …” (1 Sam. 7:5-6; cf. Joel 2:16).
When
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appears in the intensive stem, God is often the subject. This usage
connotes that something will result that would not result if things were left to themselves.
The verb is used in this sense to refer to “divine judgment”: “As they gathered silver, and
brass … into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather
you in mine anger and in my fury (Ezek. 22:20).
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is also applied to “divine
deliverance”: “… The Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon