צָבָא
army
also: war, warfare, host fuller range ↓
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Both
- Attested as both masculine and feminine.
Number
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
- Singular
- One.
Every verse where H6635 appears in the Book of Isaiah — 66 distinct verses. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
Isaiah
- Isaiah 1:9 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Unless Yahweh of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, We would have been as Sodom; We would have been like Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 1:24 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Therefore the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, The Mighty One of Israel, says: "Ah, I will get relief from my adversaries, And avenge myself of my enemies;
- Isaiah 2:12 צְבָא֛וֹת n c bp For there will be a day of Yahweh of Hosts for all that is proud and haughty, And for all that is lifted up; And it shall be brought low:
- Isaiah 3:1 צְבָא֗וֹת n c bp For, behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, takes away from Jerusalem and from Judah supply and support, The whole supply of bread, And the whole supply of water;
- Isaiah 3:15 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp What do you mean that you crush my people, And grind the face of the poor?" says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts.
- Isaiah 5:7 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp For the vineyard of Yahweh of Hosts is the house of Israel, And the men of Judah his pleasant plant: And he looked for justice, but, behold, oppression; For righteousness, but, behold, a cry of distress.
- Isaiah 5:9 צְבָא֑וֹת n c bp In my ears, Yahweh of Hosts says: "Surely many houses will be desolate, Even great and beautiful, unoccupied.
- Isaiah 5:16 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp But Yahweh of Hosts is exalted in justice, And God the Holy One is sanctified in righteousness.
- Isaiah 5:24 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Therefore as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, And as the dry grass sinks down in the flame, So their root shall be as rottenness, And their blossom shall go up as dust; Because they have rejected the law of Yahweh of Hosts, And despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 6:3 צְבָא֑וֹת n c bp One called to another, and said, "Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of Hosts! The whole earth is full of his glory!"
- Isaiah 6:5 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Then I said, "Woe is me! For I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for my eyes have seen the King, Yahweh of Hosts!"
- Isaiah 8:13 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Yahweh of hosts, him shall you sanctify; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.
- Isaiah 8:18 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 9:7 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on the throne of David, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even forever. The zeal of Yahweh of Hosts will perform this.
- Isaiah 9:13 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Yet the people have not turned to him who struck them, neither have they sought Yahweh of Hosts.
- Isaiah 9:19 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Through the wrath of Yahweh of hosts is the land burnt up; and the people are as the fuel of fire: no man spares his brother.
- Isaiah 10:16 צְבָא֛וֹת n c bp Therefore will the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire.
- Isaiah 10:23 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp For a full end, and that determined, will the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, make in the midst of all the earth.
- Isaiah 10:24 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Therefore thus says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, my people who dwell in Zion, don't be afraid of the Assyrian, though he strike you with the rod, and lift up his staff against you, after the manner of Egypt.
- Isaiah 10:26 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Yahweh of Hosts will stir up against him a scourge, as in the slaughter of Midian at the rock of Oreb: and his rod will be over the sea, and he will lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
- Isaiah 10:33 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Behold, the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, will lop the boughs with terror: and the high of stature shall be hewn down, and the lofty shall be brought low.
- Isaiah 13:4 צְבָא֔וֹת צְבָ֥א n c bp n c bs cs The noise of a multitude in the mountains, as of a great people! the noise of a tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together! Yahweh of Hosts is mustering the host for the battle.
- Isaiah 13:13 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Therefore I will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall be shaken out of its place, in the wrath of Yahweh of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
- Isaiah 14:22 צְבָא֑וֹת n c bp I will rise up against them, says Yahweh of Hosts, and cut off from Babylon name and remnant, and son and son's son, says Yahweh.
- Isaiah 14:23 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Isaiah 14:24 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Yahweh of Hosts has sworn, saying, Surely, as I have thought, so shall it happen; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
- Isaiah 14:27 צְבָא֛וֹת n c bp For Yahweh of Hosts has purposed, and who shall annul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?
- Isaiah 17:3 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp The fortress shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria; they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Isaiah 18:7 צְבָא֗וֹת צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp n c bp In that time shall a present be brought to Yahweh of Hosts [from] a people tall and smooth, even from a people awesome from their beginning onward, a nation that measures out and treads down, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of Yahweh of Hosts, Mount Zion.
- Isaiah 19:4 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp I will give over the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts.
- Isaiah 19:12 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Where then are your wise men? and let them tell you now; and let them know what Yahweh of Hosts has purposed concerning Egypt.
- Isaiah 19:16 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp In that day shall the Egyptians be like women; and they shall tremble and fear because of the shaking of the hand of Yahweh of Hosts, which he shakes over them.
- Isaiah 19:17 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp The land of Judah shall become a terror to Egypt; everyone to whom mention is made of it shall be afraid, because of the purpose of Yahweh of Hosts, which he purposes against it.
- Isaiah 19:18 צְבָא֑וֹת n c bp In that day there shall be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan, and swear to Yahweh of hosts; one shall be called The city of destruction.
- Isaiah 19:20 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp It shall be for a sign and for a witness to Yahweh of Hosts in the land of Egypt; for they shall cry to Yahweh because of oppressors, and he will send them a savior, and a defender, and he will deliver them.
- Isaiah 19:25 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp because Yahweh of Hosts has blessed them, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.
- Isaiah 21:10 צְבָא֛וֹת n c bp You my threshing, and the grain of my floor! that which I have heard from Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, have I declared to you.
- Isaiah 22:5 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp For it is a day of confusion, and of treading down, and of perplexity, from the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, in the valley of vision; a breaking down of the walls, and a crying to the mountains.
- Isaiah 22:12 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp In that day did the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
- Isaiah 22:14 צְבָא֑וֹת צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp n c bp Yahweh of Hosts revealed himself in my ears, Surely this iniquity shall not be forgiven you until you die, says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts.
- Isaiah 22:15 צְבָא֑וֹת n c bp Thus says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, Go, get yourself to this treasurer, even to Shebna, who is over the house, [and say],
- Isaiah 22:25 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp In that day, says Yahweh of hosts, shall the nail that was fastened in a sure place give way; and it shall be hewn down, and fall; and the burden that was on it shall be cut off; for Yahweh has spoken it.
- Isaiah 23:9 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Yahweh of hosts has purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.
- Isaiah 24:21 צְבָ֥א n c bs cs It shall happen in that day, that Yahweh will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth on the earth.
- Isaiah 24:23 צְבָא֗וֹת n c bp Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Yahweh of Hosts will reign on Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem; and before his elders shall be glory.
- Isaiah 25:6 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp In this mountain will Yahweh of Hosts make to all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.
- Isaiah 28:5 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp In that day will Yahweh of Hosts become a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, to the residue of his people;
- Isaiah 28:22 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Now therefore don't you be scoffers, lest your bonds be made strong; for a decree of destruction have I heard from the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, on the whole earth.
- Isaiah 28:29 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp This also comes forth from Yahweh of Hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom.
- Isaiah 29:6 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp She shall be visited of Yahweh of Hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.
- Isaiah 31:4 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp For thus says Yahweh to me, As the lion and the young lion growling over his prey, if a multitude of shepherds are called forth against him, will not be dismayed at their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so will Yahweh of Hosts come down to fight on Mount Zion, and on the hill of it.
- Isaiah 31:5 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp As birds hovering, so will Yahweh of Hosts protect Jerusalem; he will protect and deliver [it], he will pass over and preserve [it].
- Isaiah 34:2 צְבָאָ֑/ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp For Yahweh has indignation against all the nations, and wrath against all their host: he has utterly destroyed them, he has delivered them to the slaughter.
- Isaiah 34:4 צְבָ֣א צְבָאָ֣/ם n c bs cs n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp All the host of the sky shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fade away, as the leaf fades from off the vine, and as a fading [leaf] from the fig tree.
- Isaiah 37:16 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, who sits [above] the cherubim, you are the God, even you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.
- Isaiah 37:32 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion those who shall escape. The zeal of Yahweh of Hosts will perform this.
- Isaiah 39:5 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of Yahweh of Hosts:
- Isaiah 40:2 צְבָאָ֔/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs Speak comfortably to Jerusalem; and cry to her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received of Yahweh's hand double for all her sins.
- Isaiah 40:26 צְבָאָ֑/ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these, who brings out their host by number; he calls them all by name; by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is lacking.
- Isaiah 44:6 צְבָא֑וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, Yahweh of Hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; and besides me there is no God.
- Isaiah 45:12 צְבָאָ֖/ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp I have made the earth, and created man on it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens; and all their host have I commanded.
- Isaiah 45:13 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Isaiah 47:4 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Our Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel.
- Isaiah 48:2 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp (for they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves on the God of Israel; Yahweh of Hosts is his name):
- Isaiah 51:15 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp For I am Yahweh your God, who stirs up the sea, so that the waves of it roar: Yahweh of Hosts is his name.
- Isaiah 54:5 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp For your Maker is your husband; Yahweh of Hosts is his name: and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the God of the whole earth shall he be called.
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
צבא (tsâbâʼ) is a Hebrew noun most often rendered “army.” Translators differ — “hosts” in the King James Version, then “armies” (unfoldingWord Literal Text), as the renderings breakdown shows. With 463 verses in 27 books, it is a common word in the Hebrew Bible. It first appears in Genesis 2:1. Beyond its headline sense, its full sense range takes in “war”, “warfare”, and “host”. For the data behind this summary, explore the sense tree and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H6635 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 463
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 463 distinct verses.
- 27 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 27 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #105
- by frequency
- Top 250 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 105 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 463 occurrences in the concordance →
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 463 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 309 verses · 67%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 84 verses · 18%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 70 verses · 15%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 3 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: Hosts 288×, Host 56×, War 39×
- American Standard Version†: Hosts 288×, Host 56×, War 31×
- Berean Standard Bible†: Hosts 285×, Army 64×, Host 22×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: Armies 189×, Army 89×, Hosts 56×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H6635 across 483† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 25 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 2 further occurrences.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H6635 across 483† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 34 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H6635 across 466† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 25 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 17 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H6635 across 439† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus 15 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
17 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
Hebrew verbs can shift meaning by stem (binyan): Qal is the basic action, Niphal is often passive or reflexive, Piel often intensifies or makes it factitive, and Hiphil is typically causative. The senses below are grouped under the stem BDB assigns to each.
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 17 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
צבא I wage war, serve (Sab. צֿבא wage war with, also n. army, campaign HomChrest. 125 CIS iv. 299, 1. 2 DHM VOJ i. 28
Qal
- Pf. 3 mpl. צָֽבְאוּ Ex 38:8 Zc 14:12; Impf. 3 mpl. יִצְבְּאוּ Nu 31:7; Inf. cstr. לִצְבֹּא Is 31:4; לִצְבֹא Nu 4:23; 8:24; Pt. pl. צֹבְאִים Nu 31:42; Is 29:7, 8; sf. צֹבֶיהָ Is 29:7 (Ges§ 75 oo; Di צָרֶיהָ); fpl. צֹבְאֹת Ex 38:8; צֹבְאוֹת 1 S 2:22;— e.g. Exodus 38:8
- 1. wage war, fight, c. עַל against, Nu 31:7 (P) Is 29:7, 8; 31:4; Zc 14:12, c. sf. Is 29:7 (?); abs. Nu 31:42 (P). e.g. Numbers 31:7
- 2. serve at sacred tent, Levites, c. acc. צָבָא Nu 4:23; 8:24 (P); women Ex 38:8(×2) (P) 1 S 2:22. e.g. Numbers 4:23
Hiphil
- Pt. הַמַּצְבִּא אֶת־עַם וגו׳ 2 K 25:19 = Je 52:25 muster. e.g. 2 Kings 25:19
צבא II
- 1. army, host:
- a. organized for war Ju 8:6; 9:29 (J) Is 34:2; Je 51:3; 2 Ch 28:9; צְבָאוֹ his host Nu 2:4, 6 + 10 times 2 (P), לְצִבְאֹתָם 1:3, 52; 2:3, 9 + 11 times 2, 10, 33:1 (P); אַלְפֵי הצ׳ 31:48 (P); צ׳ ישׂראל 2 Ch 25:7; חֵיל (ה)צ׳ 1 Ch 20:1; 2 Ch 26:13; גְּדוּדֵי צ׳ 1 Ch 7:4; כל־הצבא 2 S 3:23; 10:7; 1 Ch 19:8; 2 Ch 26:14; שַׂר (ה)צ׳ captain of (the) host Gn 21:22, 32 (E) 26:26 (J) Ju 4:2, 7; 1 S 12:9 + 21 times; שָׂרֵי (ה)צבא 1 K 1:25 (but read שַׂר), 1 Ch 25:1; 26:26; 2 Ch 33:11; שָׂרִים בצ׳ 1 Ch 12:22; שָׂרֵי (ה)צבאות Dt 20:9; 1 K 2:5; 1 Ch 27:3; רָאשֵׁי הצ׳ 1 Ch 12:14; מַלְכֵי צבאות ψ 68:13; עַל (ה)צ׳ over the host (as captain) Nu 10:14, 15 + 10 times Nu 10 (P), 2 S 8:16 = 1 Ch 18:15; 2 S 17:25; 1 K 2:35; 4:4; אל־כל הצ׳ 2 S 20:23 (אל for על); עַל־צִבְאֹתָם Ex 6:26; 12:51 (P); הוציא צבאות lead out armies Ex 7:4; 12:17 (P); יצא צ׳ army goes forth (to war) Ex 12:41; 1 Ch 7:11; לֹא תֵצֵא בְּצִבְאוֹתֵינוּ ψ 44:10, of י׳ going with our armies = 60:12 = 108:12; fig. of great number, צבא רב 68:12.—On חֲלִיפוֹת וְצָבָא Jb 10:17 v. Di; Bu proposes תַּחֲלֵף צְבָאֲ(ךָ) i.e. thou dost renew (thine) army against me. e.g. Judges 8:6
- b. host (organized body) of angels (cf. Lu 2:13), צבא השׁמים (כל) all the host of heaven 1 K 22:19 = 2 Ch 18:18; Ne 9:6; כל צבאיו ψ 103:21; 148:2; צבא הַמָּרוֹם Is 24:21 host of the high (angel-princes; ‖ earthly monarchs); צבא השׁמים Dn 8:10, הצבא v 10 (al. vb fig. of Israel); שׂר צ׳ י׳ captain of the host of י׳ Jos 5:14, 15 (theophanic angel); שׂר הצבא Dn 8:11 (angel-prince of Israel, others, God). e.g. 1 Kings 22:19
- c. of sun, moon and stars, כל צבא השׁמים Dt 4:19; 17:3; 2 K 17:16; 21:3, 5 = 2 Ch 33:3, 5; 2 K 23:4, 5 Je 8:2; 19:13 (all as objects of worship), Is 34:4; צ׳ השׁמים Je 33:22; Zp 1:5; כל צבאם Ne 9:6 ψ 33:6; Is 34:4; 45:12; צבאם Is 40:26.—Je 3:19 v. i. צְבִי. e.g. Deuteronomy 4:19
- d. of the entire creation, כל צבאם Gn 2:1. e.g. Genesis 2:1
- 2. war, warfare, service: יָצָא צָבָא go out to war Nu 1:3, 20 + 12 times Nu 1, 26:2 (P) 1 Ch 5:18; 7:11; 12:33, 36; 2 Ch 25:5; 26:11; יצא בצ׳ Nu 31:36 (P) Dt 24:5; יצא לצ׳ Nu 31:27, 28 (P); עלה לצ׳ go up to war Jos 22:12, 33 (P); בא מצ׳ come from war Nu 31:14; 2 Ch 28:12; קבץ לצ׳ 1 S 28:1; שׁלח לצ׳ Nu 31:4, 6(×2) (P); התיחשׂם בּצ׳ 1 Ch 7:40; צ׳ תִנָּתֵן Dn 8:12; אַנְשֵׁי (ה)צ׳ men of war Nu 31:21, 53 (P) 1 Ch 12:9, cf. עַם הצ׳ Nu 31:32 (P); v. also II. חלץ; גִבּוֹרֵי חַיִל לצ׳ 1 Ch 12:25; כְּלֵי צ׳ 1 Ch 12:37 instruments of war. e.g. Numbers 1:3
- 3. service:
- a. of Levites in sacred places Nu 4:3, 23, 30, 35, 39, 43; 8:24, 25; קֹדֶשׁ וְצָבָא Dn 8:13 (al. as v 11, 1 b). e.g. Numbers 4:3
- b. of hard service of troubled life Jb 7:1; 14:14; Is 40:2 Dn 10:1. e.g. Job 7:1
- 4. צְבָאוֹת, in name of י׳ as God of war, prob. first in time of warlike David (some connect with sacred ark, but ark older), explained יהוה צבאות אֱלֹהֵי מערכות ישׂראל 1 S 17:45 י׳ Sebaoth God of the battle array of Israel (the thought of angels and stars as army of God is later); e.g. 1 Samuel 17:45
- a. earliest form c. art.: י׳ אֱלֹהֵי הַצְּבָאוֹת Am 3:13; 6:14; 9:5 (אֱלֹהֵי om. by error, cf. We), Ho 12:6. e.g. Amos 3:13
- b. without art., definite by usage, י׳ אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאוֹת 2 S 5:10; Am 5:14, 15, 16; 6:8; 1 K 19:10, 14; Je 5:14; 15:16 ψ 89:9; י׳ אֱלֹהֵי צְבָאֹת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל Je 35:17; 38:17; 44:7; 2 S 7:27 = 1 Ch 17:24; Is 21:10; 37:16; 1st אֱלֹהֵי om. Je 7:3, 21 + 30 times Je; Zp 2:9; י׳ אלהים צ׳ אלהי ישׂראל ψ 59:6 (אלהים variant of י׳); י׳ א׳ צ׳ שְׁמוֹ, י׳ God of hosts his name Am 4:13; 5:27, later reduced to י׳ צ׳ שְׁמוֹ Is 47:4; 48:2; 51:15; 54:5; Je 10:16; 31:35 + 6 times Je. e.g. 2 Samuel 5:10
- c. as n.pr. Sebaoth: י׳ צבאות, י׳ Sebaoth (Lord of hosts, Vrss, owing to Qr אֲדֹנָי, but this never cstr. אֲדֹנֵי; al. י׳ of hosts, but י׳ is n.pr.; צ׳ for earlier אלהי צ׳; cf. Σαβαωθ Ja 5:4; Rom 9:29): 1 S 1:3, 11; 4:4; 15:2; 17:45; 2 S 6:2, 18; 7:8, 26; 1 K 18:15; 2 K 3:14; 19:31; 1 Ch 11:9; 17:7 ψ 24:10 + 6 times ψψ, Mi 4:4; Na 2:14; 3:5 Hb 2:13; Zp 2:10; Is 1:9; 2:12; 5:7, 9, 16, 24 + 35 times Is 6–39; Is 2 only 44:6; 45:13; Je 6:6, 9; 8:3; 9:6, 16 + 26 times Je, Hg 1:2, 5 + 12 times Hg, Zc 1:3(×3), 4 + 40 times Zc 1–8; 9:15 + 8 times 10–14, Mal 1:4, 6, 8 + 21 times Mal; האדון י׳ צ׳ Is 1:24 + 4 times Is (incl. 10:16 Baer Gi > van d. H. אֲדֹנָי for י׳); אֲדֹנָי י׳ צ׳ 3:15 + (on these phr. v. אָדוֹן 1, 6); אלהים צ׳ (א׳ later Qr for orig. י׳) ψ 80:8, 15; י׳ אלהים צ׳ (earlier י׳ + later [inserted] א׳) ψ 80:5, 20; 84:9.—cf. Driver Hastings DB (1900), Lord of Hosts and reff., Löhr Amos (Belhefte zur ZAW iv (1900), 38–67). e.g. 1 Samuel 1:3
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. vb. wage war, serve (Sab. צֿבא wage war with, also n. army, campaign HomChrest. 125 CIS iv. 299, 1. 2 DHM VOJ i. 28; Ethiopic ጸብአ: (> ፀብአ:) wage war; Assyrian ṣâbu, man, soldier; NöZMG xl (1886), 726 al. cp. (on account of Sab. Ethiopic ץֿ) Arabic ضَبَأَ conceal oneself, hence lie in wait; this is phonetically suitable, but better in meaning would be صَبَأَ go or come forth (against one), etc., so Thes LagBN 21; Frä232 cp. صَبِىٌّ young man);—
II. n.m. 2 Ch 28:9 (poss. f. Is 40:2; Dn 8:12, but v. Albr ZAW xv (1895), 319; Bev Dn) army, war, warfare;—abs. צ׳ Nu 1:3 + (מִצָּבָה Zc 9:8 v. p. 663 a); cstr. צְבָא Nu 10:15 +; sf. צְבָאִי Jb 14:14; צְבָאֲךָ Ju 8:9; 9:29; צְבָאָיו ψ 103:21; 148:2 (Kt צבאו; so read prob. in both), etc.; pl. צְבָאוֹת Nu 20:9 + 278 times; cstr. צִבְאוֹת Ex 12:41 + 2 times; sf. צִבְאֹתַי 7:4; צִבְאֹתָם 6:26 +, etc.;—
I. v. further i, ii. צְבִי.
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from צבא (tsâbâʼ) (H6633) — to wage war.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
צַבָּא
- ch. = צָב I. Targ. O. Lev. XI, 29 (v. Berl. Targ. O. II, p. 34).
צִבָּא
- , v. צִיבָּא
צָבָא
- , v. צבי h. a. ch.
צָבָא ²
- צבא to join, follow, v. צָוָה a. צָבַת)service; army, host. Gen. R. s. 10 שלשה צבאים הן צ׳ לשמים וכ׳ there are three kinds of services, there is a service for heaven and earth (ref. to Gen. II, 1); צ׳ לתלמידים there is a service for students (ref. to Job XIV, 14); צ׳ ליסורים a service (message) for sufferings (ref. to ib. VII,. Ib. זכה צ׳ לו אם לאו צ׳ עליו if he is favored, a host (of divine powers) is for him; if not, a host (of hostile forces) is against him. Cant. R. to II, 7 (ref. to צבאות, ib.) בצ׳ של מעלה ובצ׳ של מטה by the host above (the angels) and by the host below (humanity). Ib. אם תשמרו … כצ׳ של מעלה וכ׳ if you guard mine oath, I will make you resemble the host above; if not, I will make you resemble the host below (the animals). Keth. 3ᵇ דאמרי שר צ׳ בא לעיר it was said, a (Roman) general is coming to the place (and will seize things for his maintenance); a. fr.—Pl. צְבָאִים; (fem.) צְבָאוֹת. Gen. R. l. c., v. supra. Ib. הרבה צ׳ מינה וכ׳ the Lord has appointed many hosts (messengers) to revenge the wrongs &c. Cant. R. l. c. בשתי צ׳ וכ׳ he adjured them by the two hosts (v. supra). Ib. בצ׳ … שעשו צביוני וכ׳ ‘by the hosts’, that means the patriarchs who did my will &c. Num. R. s. 2 והם צִבְאוֹתַי and they (the Israelites) are my hosts. Ib. שהם היו צִבְאוֹתָיו וכ׳ they were his hosts, and he wanted to count them &c. Ib. כך צ׳ יש לי בעולמי וכ׳ so and so many troops have I that do my will; a. fr.—(אלהים) ה׳ צבאות the Lord of Hosts. Targ. Jer. V, 14; a. e.—Ber. 7ᵃ.—[צְבָאִים, pl. of צְבִי, q. v.] e.g. Genesis 2:1
צבי
- to swell. Y. B. Kam. VIII, beg. 6ᵇ אם כוייו … וצָבַת if one burnt a person with a heated spit on the palm of his hand, and it swelled; ib. על ראשו וצבת, (read וצבה) a. e.—[Ber. 6ᵇ לִצְבּוֹת Ar., v. צָבַת.]
- same. Y. Sot. V, beg. 20ᵃ (line 20) מים מגולין שתה ונ׳ (ed. Krot. שתת ונצבית, corr. acc.) he drank uncovered water (poisoned by a serpent) and his belly was swollen. Ib. (line 25) שתת ונִצְבֵּית she drank &c.
- 1. to cause to swell. Lev. R. s. 17; Yalk. Ps. 808 [read:] ולא צִבִּיתִים, v. עוֹנָה II.
- 2. to cause the appearance of being swollen. Tosef. Peah IV, 14 המְצַבֶּה את כריסו he that feigns a swollen belly; Y. ib. VIII, 21ᵇ top המְצַבֵּא; Keth. 68ᵃ המצב׳ את בטנו.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 91 distinct written forms H6635 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 31 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H6635, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
Compare all same-root words → 1 of the same-root words is a proper name (a person or place). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 432 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 463 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 2:1
- Exodus 6:26
- Numbers 1:3
- Deuteronomy 4:19
- Joshua 4:13
- Judges 4:2
- 1 Samuel 1:3
- 2 Samuel 2:8
- 1 Kings 1:19
- 2 Kings 3:14
- 1 Chronicles 5:18
- 2 Chronicles 17:18
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.
