God has many titles/names. One of those is Yahweh Tzavot, which occurs 240 times in the Hebrew Bible along with other variations. What does this title mean?
You and What Army?
The word tzavot is the plural of tzava (צָבָא), which means an army or a large host/horde. While it often is attached to God, it also commonly describes earthly armies. For example, Abner was the commander of Saul’s army/tzava (1 Samuel 14:50, 26:5), and Joab was over David’s army (2 Samuel 8:16). Those serving at the tabernacle were considered to be in a tzava (Numbers 4:3), i.e. in God’s service.
When Israel came out of Egypt, they came out by their “hosts” (Exodus 7:4, 12:17). God assembled the people into armed units in the book of Numbers. “From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war (tzava), you and Aaron shall list them, company by company (literally ‘by their tzavot‘)” (Numbers 1:3).
With this in mind, what does Yahweh Tzavot mean? Translations handle it differently. More literal translations like ESV and NASB translate it as “LORD of hosts”. The Message says “GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies”. The NET Bible similarly translates it as “LORD of Heaven’s Armies”.
The NIV takes a different approach with “LORD Almighty,” which draws on the Septuagint (ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible). One of the ways it was translated in Greek was Kyrios Pantokrator (LORD of All Strength). Sometimes they said Kyrios ho dynamis (Lord of the power/might). At other times, they simply transliterated the Hebrew: Kyrios Sabaoth.
A Heavenly Army
What does this title say about God?
Tzava first appears during creation: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host (tzava) of them” (Genesis 2:1). Moses is more explicit in his farewell speech when he commands not to worship “the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host (tzava) of heaven” (Deuteronomy 4:19). On a simple view, we could understand it as a reference to the multitude of stars hanging in the night sky. On the other hand, the ancients believed that the stars were the gods or angels up in the sky.
We see this imagery of heavenly hosts popping up throughout Scripture. Joshua encountered the “commander of the LORD’s tzava” (Joshua 5:14-15) before marching against Jericho. The prophet Micaiah saw a vision of the Lord on his throne surrounded by the hosts of heaven, i.e. the angels (1 Kings 22:19).
2 Kings 6 illustrates this well. The Arameans surround the city where the prophet Elisha and his servant live. Elisha consoles his terrified servant by telling him, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16). He prays, and then the servant can see horses and chariots of fire all around them. God’s army was with them, whether they saw it or not!
God’s Army Comes Down
One of the ways Revelation describes Jesus is “the Almighty (pantokrator)” (Revelation 1:8). The four living creatures around God’s throne always say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty (Kyrios theos pantokrator) / who was and is and is to come” (Revelation 4:8; see also Revelation 11:17, 19:6). He is a mighty God!
Jesus alludes to his Father’s army. When he was arrested in the garden, his disciples tried to defend him, but he rebuked them, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matthew 26:53). While Jesus has legions of angels at his disposal, he does not use them. Instead, he humbly submits to the will of the Father.
The night Jesus was born, a group of shepherds slept under the stars with their flock when they were awakened by an angel declaring Messiah’s birth. “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God” (Luke 2:13). God’s angelic army showed up to declare his arrival! Usually, we picture a large group in choir robes. What if instead, we imagined them decked out in full battle gear, weapons at their side? Heaven had invaded earth!
To Ponder…
As terrifying as our weapons of war may be, God’s army is vastly more powerful. He has an army as vast as the stars. We serve the Almighty God. Yet this powerful God set aside his army to come down from heaven and rest humbly in a manger.
May we live in confidence of God’s strength and provision while humbly serving one another.
What a great post and vivid picture of the angelic powers around us. Thank you for sharing this!