"Lord of Hosts": What does it mean?

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Hey everyone. I have heard this title before of the Lord which is “Lord of Hosts”. What does it mean? Is it a reference to the angelic host of Heaven?
 
It is the translation of the Hebrew “Tzva’ot”, which we normally transliterate to Sabbaoth.

According to this: jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/name.html

Another significant Name of God is YHVH Tzva’ot. This Name is normally translated as “Lord of Hosts.” The word “tzva’ot” means “hosts” in the sense of a military grouping or an organized array. The Name refers to God’s leadership and sovereignty. Interestingly, this Name is rarely used in scripture. It never appears in the Torah(i.e., the first five books). It appears primarily in the prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, as well as many times in the Psalms.
 
Holly3278 said:
Hey everyone. I have heard this title before of the Lord which is “Lord of Hosts”. What does it mean? Is it a reference to the angelic host of Heaven?
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Yahweh started as a war god, “Lord of Hosts” means “Lord of Armies”.

rossum
 
The Catholic Encyclopedia proposes as the meaning either the armies of Israel, the angels, or by metaphor the stars and the universe. It is noted that the title does not occur in the Pentateuch or the Book of Joshua where the armies are often mentioned.
 
ConstantineTG said:
It is the translation of the Hebrew “Tzva’ot”, which we normally transliterate to Sabbaoth.

According to this: jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/name.html

Another significant Name of God is YHVH Tzva’ot. This Name is normally translated as “Lord of Hosts.” The word “tzva’ot” means “hosts” in the sense of a military grouping or an organized array. The Name refers to God’s leadership and sovereignty. Interestingly, this Name is rarely used in scripture. It never appears in the Torah(i.e., the first five books). It appears primarily in the prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, as well as many times in the Psalms.
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I counted 220 occurences. That’s “rarely?”
 
DaveBj said:
I counted 220 occurences. That’s “rarely?”
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Note that what I quoted from is a Jewish source, not Christian. I don’t know what the Jewish canon is today. Though “rarely” could mean the number of books it was mentioned, instead of how many times it is mentioned throughout the canon.
 
I thought it basically means Lord of everything.
rossum said:
Yahweh started as a war god, “Lord of Hosts” means “Lord of Armies”.

rossum
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Where did you come up with this? It sounds like you are just trying to imply something negative.
 
Kontrak said:
I thought it basically means Lord of everything.

Where did you come up with this? It sounds like you are just trying to imply something negative.
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I think he means the Yahweh of the Canaanite Religion, who was a war god. I’m not sure if he’s the same as our God though.
 
We notice that it is usually the plural which we are defining : “hosts”.

I remember asking my dad years ago what the singular “host” would mean in that same sense - armies of God. He replied that (non metaphorically) it would imply any creature with a will and an intellect.

When we refer to a “host” today, outside the expression “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord God of Hosts” , Fr. John Hardon S.J. says it can also imply a victim of sacrifice :

From: Modern Catholic Dictionary , Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
HOST.
A victim of sacrifice, and therefore the consecrated Bread of the Eucharist considered as the sacrifice of the Body of Christ. The word is also used of the round wafers used for consecration. (Etym. Latin hostia, sacrificial offering.)
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NeedImprovement said:
We notice that it is usually the plural which we are defining : “hosts”.

I remember asking my dad years ago what the singular “host” would mean in that same sense - armies of God. He replied that (non metaphorically) it would imply any creature with a will and an intellect.

When we refer to a “host” today, outside the expression “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord God of Hosts” , Fr. John Hardon S.J. says it can also imply a victim of sacrifice :

From: Modern Catholic Dictionary , Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
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Those are two completely different words, just as “ball” (something you throw) and “ball” (a fancy dance party) are two completely different words. “Host” in the sense of a bunch of soldiers comes from the Latin “hostis” = “enemy.” The Communion “host” comes from the Latin “hostia” = “victim.” The “hosts” that JHWH is Lord of are not victims, by any means.
 
The original sense is “God of the Battalions/Armies of Israel” or “God of Israel’s Chivalry (Armed Forces, modern language)”, – the ethereal, angelic meaning is not contradictory, but historically clearly secondary and derivative.

Modern liberal-humanist cognitive dissonance is implicitly inflamed by the matter, however, and straight talk about the subject you shall rarely encounter…

Cf. the meaning of Exodus 17:15-16: – Yahweh-Nissi! No possible translation exists except: “The Lord YHWH is my War-Banner!”

Cf. El Shaddai…root Semitic, shadad…signifying “to destroy”, “to overthrow”…
 
DaveBj said:
Those are two completely different words, just as “ball” (something you throw) and “ball” (a fancy dance party) are two completely different words. “Host” in the sense of a bunch of soldiers comes from the Latin “hostis” = “enemy.” The Communion “host” comes from the Latin “hostia” = “victim.” The “hosts” that JHWH is Lord of are not victims, by any means.
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I thought I made the difference between the two clear enough with this wording :
NeedImprovement said:
When we refer to a “host” today, outside the expression “Lord of Hosts” or “Lord God of Hosts” , Fr. John Hardon S.J. says it can also imply a victim of sacrifice : . . .
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Perhaps it still wasn’t clear enough for some . Certainly, following your post ,it will be.

The reasoning wasn’t questioning the etymological, but rather a consideration of contemporary usage : My entire purpose for mentioning it was that the OP’s question could’ve easily led some members to further wonder about the consecrated Host at the Mass - given that during the celebration of every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we conjointly pray “Lord God of hosts” , during the sanctus now .

🙂
 
rossum said:
Yahweh started as a war god, “Lord of Hosts” means “Lord of Armies”.

rossum
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Interesting insight, Rossum. I’m curious about Buddhism. Do Buddhists see the struggle between good and evil as a kind of war–or are good and evil seen as something other than having a conflict?

🙂
 
Now, I am confused. So does it mean something in the sense of a war god or does it mean something else?
 
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