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 Jeremiah — 87 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.
Jeremiah
- Jeremiah 2:19 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp Your own wickedness shall correct you, and your backsliding shall reprove you: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and a bitter, that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, and that my fear is not in you, says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts.
- Jeremiah 3:19 צִבְא֣וֹת n c bp cs But I said, How I will put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, You shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me.
- Jeremiah 5:14 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, Because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
- Jeremiah 6:6 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp For thus has Yahweh of Hosts said, Hew you down trees, and cast up a mound against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
- Jeremiah 6:9 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn again your hand as a grape-gatherer into the baskets.
- Jeremiah 7:3 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.
- Jeremiah 7:21 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat you flesh.
- Jeremiah 8:2 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of the sky, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung on the surface of the earth.
- Jeremiah 8:3 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp Death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family, that remain in all the places where I have driven them, says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Jeremiah 9:7 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how [else] should I do, because of the daughter of my people?
- Jeremiah 9:15 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
- Jeremiah 9:17 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, Consider you, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the skillful women, that they may come:
- Jeremiah 10:16 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: Yahweh of Hosts is his name.
- Jeremiah 11:17 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp For Yahweh of Hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have worked for themselves in provoking me to anger by offering incense to Baal.
- Jeremiah 11:20 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp But, Yahweh of Hosts, who judge righteously, who try the heart and the mind, I shall see your vengeance on them; for to you have I revealed my cause.
- Jeremiah 11:22 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine;
- Jeremiah 15:16 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp Your words were found, and I ate them; and your words were to me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by your name, Yahweh, God of hosts.
- Jeremiah 16:9 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp For thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
- Jeremiah 19:3 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp and say, Hear you the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring evil on this place, which whoever hears, his ears shall tingle.
- Jeremiah 19:11 צְבָא֗וֹת n c bp and shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, that can't be made whole again; and they shall bury in Topheth, until there be no place to bury.
- Jeremiah 19:13 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs and the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, shall be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of the sky, and have poured out drink-offerings to other gods.
- Jeremiah 19:15 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring on this city and on all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it; because they have made their neck stiff, that they may not hear my words.
- Jeremiah 20:12 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp But, Yahweh of Hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see your vengeance on them; for to you have I revealed my cause.
- Jeremiah 23:15 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is ungodliness gone forth into all the land.
- Jeremiah 23:16 צְבָא֗וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, Don't listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you: they teach you vanity; they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 23:36 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp The burden of Yahweh shall you mention no more: for every man's own word shall be his burden; for you have perverted the words of the living God, of Yahweh of Hosts our God.
- Jeremiah 25:8 צְבָא֑וֹת n c bp Therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Because you have not heard my words,
- Jeremiah 25:27 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp You shall tell them, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Drink you, and be drunken, and spew, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
- Jeremiah 25:28 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp It shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at your hand to drink, then shall you tell them, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: You shall surely drink.
- Jeremiah 25:29 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp For, behold, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth, says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Jeremiah 25:32 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth.
- Jeremiah 26:18 צְבָא֗וֹת n c bp Micah the Morashtite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
- Jeremiah 27:4 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp and give them a charge to their masters, saying, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall you tell your masters:
- Jeremiah 27:18 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp But if they be prophets, and if the word of Yahweh be with them, let them now make intercession to Yahweh of Hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, don't go to Babylon.
- Jeremiah 27:19 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp For thus says Yahweh of Hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city,
- Jeremiah 27:21 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp yes, thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Yahweh, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem:
- Jeremiah 28:2 צְבָא֛וֹת n c bp Thus speaks Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
- Jeremiah 28:14 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp For thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the animals of the field also.
- Jeremiah 29:4 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captivity, whom I have caused to be carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon:
- Jeremiah 29:8 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: Don't let your prophets who are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither listen you to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.
- Jeremiah 29:17 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp thus says Yahweh of Hosts; Behold, I will send on them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that can't be eaten, they are so bad.
- Jeremiah 29:21 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall kill them before your eyes;
- Jeremiah 29:25 צְבָא֛וֹת n c bp Thus speaks Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying,
- Jeremiah 30:8 צְבָא֗וֹת n c bp It shall come to pass in that day, says Yahweh of Hosts, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds; and strangers shall no more make him their bondservant;
- Jeremiah 31:23 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities of it, when I shall bring again their captivity: Yahweh bless you, habitation of righteousness, mountain of holiness.
- Jeremiah 31:35 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that the waves of it roar; Yahweh of hosts is his name:
- Jeremiah 32:14 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may continue many days.
- Jeremiah 32:15 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp For thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land.
- Jeremiah 32:18 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp who show loving kindness to thousands, and recompense the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, Yahweh of Hosts is his name;
- Jeremiah 33:11 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, Give thanks to Yahweh of Hosts, for Yahweh is good, for his loving kindness endures forever; [and of them] who bring [sacrifices of] thanksgiving into the house of Yahweh. For I will cause the captivity of the land to return as at the first, says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 33:12 צְבָאוֹת֒ n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without animal, and in all the cities of it, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
- Jeremiah 33:22 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs As the host of the sky can't be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites who minister to me.
- Jeremiah 35:13 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Go, and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words? says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 35:17 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard; and I have called to them, but they have not answered.
- Jeremiah 35:18 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he commanded you;
- Jeremiah 35:19 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever.
- Jeremiah 38:17 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and you shall live, and your house.
- Jeremiah 39:16 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Go, and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring my words on this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished before you in that day.
- Jeremiah 42:15 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp now therefore hear you the word of Yahweh, O remnant of Judah: Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, If you indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there;
- Jeremiah 42:18 צְבָאוֹת֮ n c bp For thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath has been poured forth on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured forth on you, when you shall enter into Egypt; and you shall be an object of horror, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more.
- Jeremiah 43:10 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp and tell them, Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne on these stones that I have hidden; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.
- Jeremiah 44:2 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwells therein,
- Jeremiah 44:7 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp Therefore now thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why commit you [this] great evil against your own souls, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, to leave you none remaining;
- Jeremiah 44:11 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah.
- Jeremiah 44:25 צְבָאוֹת֩ n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, saying, You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink-offerings to her: establish then your vows, and perform your vows.
- Jeremiah 46:10 צְבָא֗וֹת צְבָא֛וֹת n c bp n c bp For that day is [a day] of the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour and be satiate, and shall drink its fill of their blood; for the Lord, Yahweh of hosts, has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
- Jeremiah 46:18 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp As I live, says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Hosts, surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.
- Jeremiah 46:25 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with her gods, and her kings; even Pharaoh, and those who trust in him:
- Jeremiah 48:1 צְבָא֜וֹת n c bp Of Moab. Thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Woe to Nebo! for it is laid waste; Kiriathaim is disappointed, it is taken; Misgab is put to shame and broken down.
- Jeremiah 48:15 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Moab is laid waste, and they are gone up into his cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Hosts.
- Jeremiah 49:5 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Behold, I will bring a fear on you, says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, from all who are round about you; and you shall be driven out every man right forth, and there shall be none to gather together the fugitives.
- Jeremiah 49:7 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Of Edom. Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
- Jeremiah 49:26 צְבָאֽוֹת n c bp Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be brought to silence in that day, says Yahweh of Hosts.
- Jeremiah 49:35 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of Hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
- Jeremiah 50:18 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.
- Jeremiah 50:25 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Yahweh has opened his armory, and has brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts, has a work [to do] in the land of the Chaldeans.
- Jeremiah 50:31 צְבָא֑וֹת n c bp Behold, I am against you, you proud one, says the Lord, Yahweh of Hosts; for your day is come, the time that I will visit you.
- Jeremiah 50:33 צְבָא֔וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all who took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to let them go.
- Jeremiah 50:34 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp Their Redeemer is strong; Yahweh of Hosts is his name: he will thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
- Jeremiah 51:3 צְבָאָֽ/הּ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3fs Against [him who] bends let the archer bend his bow, and against [him who] lifts himself up in his coat of mail: and don't you spare her young men; destroy you utterly all her host.
- Jeremiah 51:5 צְבָא֑וֹת n c bp For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah, of his God, of Yahweh of Hosts; though their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.
- Jeremiah 51:14 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp Yahweh of Hosts has sworn by himself, [saying], Surely I will fill you with men, as with the canker-worm; and they shall lift up a shout against you.
- Jeremiah 51:19 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp The portion of Jacob is not like these; for he is the former of all things; and [Israel] is the tribe of his inheritance: Yahweh of Hosts is his name.
- Jeremiah 51:33 צְבָאוֹת֙ n c bp For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor at the time when it is trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.
- Jeremiah 51:57 צְבָא֖וֹת n c bp I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her governors and her deputies, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake up, says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Hosts.
- Jeremiah 51:58 צְבָא֗וֹת n c bp Thus says Yahweh of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the peoples shall labor for vanity, and the nations for the fire; and they shall be weary.
- Jeremiah 52:25 הַ/צָּבָ֔א ptcl def.art + n c bs and out of the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war; and seven men of those who saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city.
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.
