qa.hal denotes bringing a people or group together, or their coming together for a specified purpose.

The verb consistently concerns people being brought together or coming together at a place and for a stated purpose: instruction, worship-related action, public address, defense, conflict, or other collective action. The Hiphil forms show a person assembling a group, while Niphal forms show the group assembling, without requiring separate lexical senses.

1. Bringing people together or coming together · dominant

   In Deuteronomy 31:12, the Hiphil imperative directs that men, women, children, and the sojourner be assembled so that they may hear the words and learn. In 1 Kings 8:2 and 2 Chronicles 5:3, Niphal plural forms describe all the men of Israel assembling to the king at the feast; in Esther 9:2, the Jews come together in their cities in response to those seeking their harm. The APB also renders the clause in Numbers 20:10 with Moses and Aaron gathering the assembly before the rock.

   Deuteronomy 31:121 Kings 8:22 Chronicles 5:3Esther 9:2Numbers 20:10Exodus 35:1

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB variously uses “assembled,” “gathered,” and “assemble” in these clauses. Because it translates whole verses rather than aligning each English word to the Hebrew form, those variations present the same observed pattern of collective coming together.