RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
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forms (cf. Isa. i. 24, x. 23, 24; Hos. xii. 5; Amos, iii. 13, v. 16; II Sam. v. 10, and many times). In many of these combinations Adonai is Use and a reading in the margin intended to Distribution displace Yahweh; in other cases, particof the Term, ularly in the second and third books of Psalms, Elohim displaces an original Yahweh. The formula "Yahweh God of hosts" is comparatively rare, while " Yahweh of hosts " occurs 234 times, and the presupposition is that the latter is the original form, which may, however, have implied the fuller formula, unless it be supposed that Yahweh is a later substitution for an earlier "El," another form for "God." The distribution of the expression "of hosts" may be set forth something like this: in the books of Samuel, eleven times; in the books of Kings, five times; in I Chron., in parallels to Samuel, three times; in the prophetic books 247 (248) times, of which fifty-five occurrences are in Isa. i.-xxxix., and six times in Isa. xliv.-liv. ; while fifteen occurrences are in Psalms, of which fourteen are in the second and third books. It is omitted from the Hexateuch, Judges, Ezekiel, Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and the whole of the Hagiographa except Psalms and Chronicles. It often occurs in the text of the Septuagint where it is not in the Hebrew, and vice versa. In the books of Samuel in five of the eleven cases it is used in connection with the ark or with war, and this is to be remembered in relation with the fact that the root zaba' is broadly Semitic and deals with war. Whether the hosts of which Yahweh was God were those of heaven — the angels and stars — or of Israel seems to be decided by the fact that the use of the word in the plural is generally in connection with the armies of Israel (cf. Ex. vii. 4); in Ps. lxviii. 13; Jer. iii. 19 the reference is to the armies of the nations (when the heavenly hosts are meant, the singular is everywhere used, cf. Ps. ciii. 21, cxlviii. 2 Earlier amended text). This conclusion is Usage; supported by I Sam. xvii. 45, cf. verses Israel's 26, 36; by the fact that Israel's wars War Hosts, are Yahweh's (Num. xxi. 14; I Sam. xxv. 28) ; and by the fact that Yahweh is the leader of the Israelitic armies (II Sam. v. 24; Isa. xiii. 4; in Joel iv. 11 it is doubtful whether the reference is to heavenly armies). A question of interpretation is raised by Ps. xxiv. 10, cf. verse 8 and I Sam. xvii. 45; the fact that verses 7-10 were chanted on the occasion of the bringing of the ark into the sanctuary makes it preferable to construe "the Lord of hosts" of this passage also with reference to the Hebrew armies. A similar line of reasoning is reached in connection with I Sam. i. 3, iv. 3 sqq., where the ark is designated as belonging to "the Lord of hosts"; of especial weight in this relation is II Sam. vi. 2. In this last case the formula in the latter part of the verse simply shows that the person or thing mentioned is in a relation of subordination to the person bearing the name (cf. Isa. iv. 1, lxiii. 19), which subordination involves the claim to protection (Jer. xiv. 9). As the name of Yahweh is " called" over Jerusalem (Jer. xxv. 29) and the temple (I Kings viii. 43) to indicate the cldseness of relations with Yahweh, so the ark in II Sam. vi. 2 fe da'ITed bV Yatoweb'd flaJnfe to dbxiW
its close connection with him. The same relationship of the ark with Yahweh as the leader of the hosts of Israel appears in the early passage Num. x. 35-36; cf. xiv. 44; Josh. vi. 4 sqq.; II Sam. xi. 11, xv. 24 sqq. The general tenor of the passages considered is to show that the expression "Lord of hosts" recalled Yahweh as the leader of the Israelitic battle array.
While this is so and while it appears to be the consistent usage in the Old Testament, it is a question whether it represents the original usage. An examination is the more necessary in Objections, view of the absence of the article in some cases and of the use of the plural. It was advanced by Delitzsch as an objection to the view here stated that in this case the expression would have been expected in the Pentateuch inasmuch as in twenty cases the formula "hosts of Israel" is found. But it was pointed out by A. Klostermann (Geschichte des Volkes Israel, p. 76, Munich, 1896) that "Lord of hosts" was evidently cast out of Joshua in the process of editing (in Josh, vi. 17 the Septuagint still reads it, and Josh. xi. 11, 13 probably had it) at a time when the formula recalled the hosts of heaven (as objects of idolatry). Borchert attempted to show that zaba' did not designate "hosts of war" but mere population; in this he overlooked that in P at least (Num. ii.) the conception is that of a warlike host from which the Levites were excluded as not subject to warlike levies. A more difficult objection to meet is the one that if " Lord of hosts " originally designated the war god as the leader of Israel's hosts, this expression should be more frequent in this sense in the earlier prophecies. Passages which raise a doubt are Amos iii. 13, v. 16, 27, vi. 8, 14 where the "Lord of hosts" threatens Israel, and Isa. i. 24, ii. 1, 12, 15, and the like, where classes or individuals are under menace. Another class of passages is that in which the idea of world rulership is inherent, such as II Kings xix. 31; Isa. ix. 7, x. 16, 24, 26, 33, and similar passages. Sometimes the phrase denotes simply "the sublime" and is equivalent to "the Holy One" (Isa. vi. 5, viii. 13, xviii. 7, li. 15; Amos. iv. 13). But since the activities of the divine absoluteness or holiness are related to his plans for Israel, Yahweh zebaoth, "Yahweh of hosts," may designate without special emphasis Israel's God and king, as is shown by the numerous cases in which the expression is found either in apposition or parallelism with "God of Israel" or like expressions. The opposition between prophetic usage and the fundamental thought of the idea of God as leader in battle is by many commentators set aside by the conception of a transformation in the course of centuries; i.e., the earthly hosts give way in the enlarging conceptions to heavenly hosts, whether of stars or angels or other heavenly powers. The transformation of the idea of hosts from heaven to earth is evident; but the passages give ground for debate whether the heavenly hosts were angels or stars. For the former make such passages as Josh. v. 13 sqq.; II Kings vi. 17; Isa. xxiv. 21; I Kings xxii. 19; Dan. vii. 10. Yet frequently "host of heaven" represents in part the objects of idolatrous worship CSDetifc Ivi 19? II KJk^ xvis. lty jW; Vr». 2$
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