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.
98 distinct verses where H6635 appears in the Construct state, across 19 books. Filtered view — show all forms. 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.
Genesis 4 verses
- Genesis 2:1 צְבָאָֽ/ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
- Genesis 21:22 צְבָא֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms It happened at that time, that Abimelech and Phicol the captain of his host spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do.
- Genesis 21:32 צְבָא֔/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms So they made a covenant at Beersheba. Abimelech rose up with Phicol, the captain of his host, and they returned into the land of the Philistines.
- Genesis 26:26 צְבָאֽ/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host.
Exodus 5 verses
- Exodus 6:26 צִבְאֹתָֽ/ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom Yahweh said, "Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts."
- Exodus 7:4 צִבְאֹתַ֜/י n c bp cs + sfx pers 1cs But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand on Egypt, and bring forth my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
- Exodus 12:17 צִבְאוֹתֵי/כֶ֖ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 2mp You shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this same day have I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall you observe this day throughout your generations by an ordinance forever.
- Exodus 12:41 צִבְא֥וֹת n c bp cs It happened at the end of four hundred thirty years, even the same day it happened, that all the hosts of Yahweh went out from the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 12:51 צִבְאֹתָֽ/ם n c bp cs + sfx pers 3mp It happened the same day, that Yahweh brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
Numbers 38 verses
- 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 1:52 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 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 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 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.
Deuteronomy 2 verses
- Deuteronomy 4:19 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs and lest you lift up your eyes to the sky, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of the sky, you are drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Yahweh your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole sky.
- Deuteronomy 17:3 צְבָ֥א n c bs cs and has gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of the sky, which I have not commanded;
Joshua 2 verses
- Joshua 5:14 צְבָֽא n c bs cs He said, No; but [as] prince of the host of Yahweh am I now come. Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said to him, What says my lord to his servant?
- Joshua 5:15 צְבָ֨א n c bs cs The prince of Yahweh's host said to Joshua, Put off your shoe from off your foot; for the place whereon you stand is holy. Joshua did so.
Judges 4 verses
- Judges 4:2 צְבָא/וֹ֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth of the Gentiles.
- Judges 4:7 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs I will draw to you, to the river Kishon, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into your hand.
- Judges 8:6 לִֽ/צְבָאֲ/ךָ֖ prep + n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms The princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hand, that we should give bread to your army?
- Judges 9:29 צְבָאֲ/ךָ֖ n c bs cs + sfx pers 2ms Would that this people were under my hand! then would I remove Abimelech. He said to Abimelech, Increase your army, and come out.
1 Samuel 3 verses
- 1 Samuel 12:9 צְבָ֨א n c bs cs But they forgot Yahweh their God; and he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Hazor, and into the hand of the Philistines, and into the hand of the king of Moab; and they fought against them.
- 1 Samuel 14:50 צְבָא/וֹ֙ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms and the name of Saul's wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the captain of his host was Abner the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.
- 1 Samuel 26:5 צְבָא֑/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms David arose, and came to the place where Saul had encamped; and David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of Ner, the captain of his host: and Saul lay within the place of the wagons, and the people were encamped round about him.
2 Samuel 2 verses
- 2 Samuel 10:16 צְבָ֥א n c bs cs Hadarezer sent, and brought out the Syrians who were beyond the River: and they came to Helam, with Shobach the captain of the host of Hadarezer at their head.
- 2 Samuel 10:18 צְבָא֛/וֹ n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms The Syrians fled before Israel; and David killed of the Syrians [the men of] seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and struck Shobach the captain of their host, so that he died there.
1 Kings 3 verses
- 1 Kings 2:5 צִבְא֣וֹת n c bp cs Moreover you know also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, even what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner, and to Amasa the son of Jether, whom he killed, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war on his sash that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
- 1 Kings 2:32 צְבָ֣א צְבָ֥א n c bs cs n c bs cs Yahweh will return his blood on his own head, because he fell on two men more righteous and better than he, and killed them with the sword, and my father David didn't know it, [to wit], Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
- 1 Kings 22:19 צְבָ֤א n c bs cs [Micaiah] said, Therefore hear you the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.
2 Kings 6 verses
- 2 Kings 5:1 צְבָ֨א n c bs cs Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honorable, because by him Yahweh had given victory to Syria: he was also a mighty man of valor, [but he was] a leper.
- 2 Kings 17:16 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs They forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshiped all the host of the sky, and served Baal.
- 2 Kings 21:3 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel, and worshiped all the host of the sky, and served them.
- 2 Kings 21:5 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs He built altars for all the host of the sky in the two courts of the house of Yahweh.
- 2 Kings 23:4 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs The king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold, to bring forth out of the temple of Yahweh all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the Asherah, and for all the host of the sky, and he burned them outside of Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron, and carried the ashes of them to Bethel.
- 2 Kings 23:5 צְבָ֥א n c bs cs He put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of the sky.
1 Chronicles 3 verses
- 1 Chronicles 7:4 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs With them, by their generations, after their fathers' houses, were bands of the host for war, thirty-six thousand; for they had many wives and sons.
- 1 Chronicles 12:37 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs On the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, with all manner of instruments of war for the battle, one hundred twenty thousand.
- 1 Chronicles 19:16 צְבָ֥א n c bs cs When the Syrians saw that they were put to the worse before Israel, they sent messengers, and drew forth the Syrians who were beyond the River, with Shophach the captain of the host of Hadarezer at their head.
2 Chronicles 4 verses
- 2 Chronicles 18:18 צְבָ֤א n c bs cs [Micaiah] said, Therefore hear you the word of Yahweh: I saw Yahweh sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left.
- 2 Chronicles 25:7 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, don't let the army of Israel go with you; for Yahweh is not with Israel, [to wit], with all the children of Ephraim.
- 2 Chronicles 33:3 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; and he reared up altars for the Baals, and made Asheroth, and worshiped all the host of the sky, and served them.
- 2 Chronicles 33:5 צְבָ֣א n c bs cs He built altars for all the host of the sky in the two courts of the house of Yahweh.
Nehemiah 1 verse
Job 1 verse
Psalms 6 verses
- Psalms 33:6 צְבָאָֽ/ם n c bs cs + sfx pers 3mp By Yahweh's word the heavens were made; All their host by the breath of his mouth.
- Psalms 44:9 בְּ/צִבְאוֹתֵֽי/נוּ prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 1cp But now you rejected us, and brought us to dishonor, And don't go out with our armies.
- Psalms 60:10 בְּ/צִבְאוֹתֵֽי/נוּ prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 1cp Haven't you, God, rejected us? You don't go out with our armies, God.
- Psalms 103:21 צְבָאָ֑י/ו n c bp cs + sfx pers 3ms Praise Yahweh, all you hosts of his, You servants of his, who do his pleasure.
- Psalms 108:11 בְּ/צִבְאֹתֵֽי/נוּ prep + n c bp cs + sfx pers 1cp Haven't you rejected us, God? You don't go forth, God, with our armies.
- Psalms 148:2 צבא/ו צְבָאָֽי/ו n c bs cs + sfx pers 3ms n c bp cs + sfx pers 3ms Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all his host!
Isaiah 7 verses
- 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 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 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 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 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.
Jeremiah 5 verses
- 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 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 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 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 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.
Daniel 1 verse
Zephaniah 1 verse
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.
