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 Construct-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 Numbers — 71 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.
Numbers
- Numbers 1:3 צָבָ֖א לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֖/ם n c bs prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp from twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go out to war in Israel. You and Aaron shall number them by their divisions.
- Numbers 1:20 צָבָֽא n c bs The children of Reuben, Israel's firstborn, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
- Numbers 1:22 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Simeon, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, those who were numbered of it, according to the number of the names, one by one, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
- Numbers 1:24 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Gad, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
- Numbers 1:26 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Judah, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
- Numbers 1:28 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Issachar, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
- Numbers 1:30 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Zebulun, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
- Numbers 1:32 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Joseph, of the children of Ephraim, their generations, by thir families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
- Numbers 1:34 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Manasseh, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
- Numbers 1:36 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Benjamin, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war;
- Numbers 1:38 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Dan, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war;
- Numbers 1:40 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Asher, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war;
- Numbers 1:42 צָבָֽא n c bs Of the children of Naphtali, their generations, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go forth to war;
- Numbers 1:45 צָבָ֖א n c bs So all those who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers' houses, from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go out to war in Israel;
- Numbers 1:52 לְ/צִבְאֹתָֽ/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp The children of Israel shall pitch their tents, every man by his own camp, and every man by his own standard, according to their divisions.
- Numbers 2:3 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp Those who encamp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah, according to their divisions: and the prince of the children of Judah shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
- Numbers 2:4 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of them, were seventy-four thousand six hundred.
- Numbers 2:6 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of it, were fifty-four thousand four hundred.
- Numbers 2:8 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of it, were fifty-seven thousand four hundred.
- Numbers 2:9 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp All who were numbered of the camp of Judah were one hundred eighty-six thousand four hundred, according to their divisions. They shall set out first.
- Numbers 2:10 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp "On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their divisions. The prince of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.
- Numbers 2:11 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of it, were forty-six thousand five hundred.
- Numbers 2:13 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-nine thousand three hundred.
- Numbers 2:15 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-five thousand six hundred fifty.
- Numbers 2:16 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp "All who were numbered of the camp of Reuben were one hundred fifty-one thousand four hundred fifty, according to their hosts. They shall set out second.
- Numbers 2:18 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֖/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp "On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their divisions: and the prince of the children of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.
- Numbers 2:19 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of them, were forty thousand five hundred.
- Numbers 2:21 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of them, were thirty-two thousand two hundred.
- Numbers 2:23 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His host, and those who were numbered of them, were thirty-five thousand four hundred.
- Numbers 2:24 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp "All who were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were one hundred eight thousand one hundred, according to their divisions. They shall set out third.
- Numbers 2:25 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp "On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan according to their divisions: and the prince of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
- Numbers 2:26 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of them, were sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
- Numbers 2:28 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of them, were forty-one thousand and five hundred.
- Numbers 2:30 וּ/צְבָא֖/וֹ conj + n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms His division, and those who were numbered of them, were fifty-three thousand four hundred.
- Numbers 2:32 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֔/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp These are those who were numbered of the children of Israel by their fathers' houses. All who were numbered of the camps according to their hosts were six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty.
- Numbers 4:3 לַ/צָּבָ֔א prep det + n c bs from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:23 צָבָ֔א n c bs from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shall you number them; all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:30 לַ/צָּבָ֔א prep det + n c bs from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old shall you number them, everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:35 לַ/צָּבָ֔א prep det + n c bs from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting.
- Numbers 4:39 לַ/צָּבָ֔א prep det + n c bs from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting,
- Numbers 4:43 לַ/צָּבָ֔א prep det + n c bs from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting,
- Numbers 8:24 צָבָ֔א n c bs "This is that which belongs to the Levites: from twenty-five years old and upward they shall go in to wait on the service in the work of the Tent of Meeting;
- Numbers 8:25 מִ/צְּבָ֣א prep + n c bs cs and from the age of fifty years they shall cease waiting on the work, and shall serve no more,
- Numbers 10:14 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם צְבָא֔/וֹ prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms In the first [place] the standard of the camp of the children of Judah set forward according to their hosts: and over his host was Nahshon the son of Amminadab.
- Numbers 10:15 צְבָ֔א n c bs cs Over the host of the tribe of the children of Issachar was Nethanel the son of Zuar.
- Numbers 10:16 צְבָ֔א n c bs cs Over the host of the tribe of the children of Zebulun was Eliab the son of Helon.
- Numbers 10:18 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם צְבָא֔/וֹ prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms The standard of the camp of Reuben set forward according to their hosts: and over his host was Elizur the son of Shedeur.
- Numbers 10:19 צְבָ֔א n c bs cs Over the host of the tribe of the children of Simeon was Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
- Numbers 10:20 צְבָ֖א n c bs cs Over the host of the tribe of the children of Gad was Eliasaph the son of Deuel.
- Numbers 10:22 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם צְבָא֔/וֹ prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms The standard of the camp of the children of Ephraim set forward according to their hosts: and over his host was Elishama the son of Ammihud.
- Numbers 10:23 צְבָ֔א n c bs cs Over the host of the tribe of the children of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
- Numbers 10:24 צְבָ֔א n c bs cs Over the host of the tribe of the children of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni.
- Numbers 10:25 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם צְבָא֔/וֹ prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms The standard of the camp of the children of Dan, which was the rearward of all the camps, set forward according to their hosts: and over his host was Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
- Numbers 10:26 צְבָ֔א n c bs cs Over the host of the tribe of the children of Asher was Pagiel the son of Ochran.
- Numbers 10:27 צְבָ֔א n c bs cs Over the host of the tribe of the children of Naphtali was Ahira the son of Enan.
- Numbers 10:28 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp Thus were the travels of the children of Israel according to their hosts; and they set forward.
- Numbers 26:2 צָבָ֖א n c bs Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all who are able to go forth to war in Israel.
- Numbers 31:3 לַ/צָּבָ֑א prep det + n c bs Moses spoke to the people, saying, Arm you men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute Yahweh's vengeance on Midian.
- Numbers 31:4 לַ/צָּבָֽא prep det + n c bs Of every tribe one thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall you send to the war.
- Numbers 31:5 צָבָֽא n c bs So there were delivered, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
- Numbers 31:6 לַ/צָּבָ֑א לַ/צָּבָ֔א prep det + n c bs prep det + n c bs Moses sent them, one thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
- Numbers 31:14 מִ/צְּבָ֥א prep + n c bs cs Moses was angry with the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war.
- Numbers 31:21 הַ/צָּבָ֔א ptcl def.art + n c bs Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who went to the battle, This is the statute of the law which Yahweh has commanded Moses:
- Numbers 31:27 לַ/צָּבָ֑א prep det + n c bs and divide the prey into two parts: between the men skilled in war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.
- Numbers 31:28 לַ/צָּבָ֔א prep det + n c bs Levy a tribute to Yahweh of the men of war who went out to battle: one soul of five hundred, [both] of the persons, and of the oxen, and of the donkeys, and of the flocks:
- Numbers 31:32 הַ/צָּבָ֑א ptcl def.art + n c bs Now the prey, over and above the booty which the men of war took, was six hundred seventy-five thousand sheep,
- Numbers 31:36 בַּ/צָּבָ֑א prep det + n c bs The half, which was the portion of those who went out to war, was in number three hundred thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep:
- Numbers 31:48 הַ/צָּבָ֑א ptcl def.art + n c bs The officers who were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses;
- Numbers 31:53 הַ/צָּבָ֔א ptcl def.art + n c bs ([For] the men of war had taken booty, every man for himself.)
- Numbers 32:27 צָבָ֛א n c bs but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before Yahweh to battle, as my lord says.
- Numbers 33:1 לְ/צִבְאֹתָ֑/ם prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp These are the journeys of the children of Israel, when they went forth out of the land of Egypt by their hosts under the hand of Moses and Aaron.
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.
