The Hebrew noun edah (עֵדָה) means congregation, assembly, or community. It refers primarily to the gathered community of Israel as a covenantal body — the whole people of God meeting together, making decisions, and acting in concert. It appears over 140 times, concentrated in the Pentateuch, particularly Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.
Edah is the primary term for the covenant community assembled before God. Every major gathering of Israel — at Sinai, at the tabernacle, in judicial proceedings, in war councils — is described with this word. Unlike qahal (the act of assembling), edah emphasizes the community itself as a constituted body. Theologically, the edah represents God's purpose to form not just individual worshippers but a corporate people who bear his name collectively. This concept is directly continued in the New Testament ekklesia — the called-out assembly of those who belong to God.