Solemn Assembly

In ancient Israel, the solemn assembly was a special occasion solemnizing the completion of a feast, or a penitential assembly of the people under threat of national disaster. It was marked by cessation from work and fasting or prayer. The solemn assembly was the gathering and sanctifying of the community of Israel for a solemn occasion. It was used in the technical sense as the eighth day of the Feast of Booths (Lev. 23:36; Num. 29:35; Neh. 8:18) and the seventh day of Passover (Deut. 16:8). In both instances, the people were instructed to "do no work" on this day, for they were in a state of ritual holiness. At the dedication of the temple, Solomon proclaimed a solemn assembly on the eighth day,"for they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days and the festival for seven days more" (2 Chron. 7:9). For a quite different purpose, Jehu ordered the people to "call an assembly in honor of Baal" (2 Kings 10:20). He used the occasion to complete his purge of Baal worshipe…