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Here are the verses in question (NKJV, bold emphasis mine):

Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. (1 Corinthians 11:20)

Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? (1 Corinthians 14:23)

I have two questions:

  1. Does the phrase which the New King James Version translates "in one place" (επὶ το αυτο) reference a "place," or can it simply refer to being "together" without referencing a specific "place"? (See NASB and ESV, which simply translate the phrase "together.")
  2. If the phrase translated "in one place" (επὶ το αυτο) does, in fact, reference a "place," does this suggest that the Corinthians had a room or building separate from their houses to meet in?

1 Answer 1

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ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό literally means "on the same"

Note where the phrase is also used

But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together [ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό⸃]. (Matt. 22:34, KJV)

Two women shall be grinding together [ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό]; the one shall be taken, and the other left. (Luke 17:35, KJV)

And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together [ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ] were about an hundred and twenty,) (Acts 1:15, KJV)

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place [ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό]. (Acts 2:1, KJV)

And all that believed were together [ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ], and had all things common;... (Acts 2:44, KJV)

The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together [ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ] against the Lord, and against his Christ. (Acts 4:26, KJV)

Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together [ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ] again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency. (1 Cor. 7:5, KJV)

Thus, it is unlikely that ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό means any more than together.

Although gathered in the same place, the Corinthians no longer partook of a common meal expressing their union with one another in the Lord, but each group ate apart. -- Brown, R. E., Fitzmyer, J. A., & Murphy, R. E. (1996). The Jerome Biblical commentary (Vol. 2, p. 270). Prentice-Hall.

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  • Very helpful, effective response, +1 Feb 7, 2022 at 19:05
  • Very good response. +1.
    – Dottard
    Feb 7, 2022 at 20:39

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