TheHeavenly host (Hebrew:צבאותṣəḇāʾōṯ, "armies") refers to the army (orhost) ofGod, as mentioned inAbrahamic texts; theHebrew andChristian Bibles, and theQuran in particular.
The Bible typically describes the Heavenly host as being made up ofangels, and gives several descriptions of angels in military terms, such as their encampment (Genesis 32:1–2), command structure (Psalms 91:11–12;Matt.13:41;Rev.7:2), and participation in combat (Job 19:12;Rev.12:7). Other passages indicate other entities make up the divine army, namelystars (Daniel 4:35,Judges 5:20,Isaiah 40:26).[1][full citation needed] In Christian theology, the heavenly host participate in thewar in Heaven.
In the Quran, the heavenly hosts aidMuslims in the battle against thepolytheistic enemies ofMuhammad.
In theHebrew Bible, the nameYahweh and the titleElohim (literally 'gods' or 'godhood', usually rendered as 'God' in English translations) frequently occur with the wordtzevaot orsabaoth ("hosts" or "armies", Hebrew: צבאות) as YHWH Elohe Tzevaot ("YHWH God of Hosts"), Elohe Tzevaot ("God of Hosts"),Adonai YHWH Tzevaot ("Lord YHWH of Hosts") or, most frequently, YHWH Tzevaot ("YHWH of Hosts"). This name is traditionally transliterated in Latin asSabaoth, a form that will be more familiar to many English readers, as it is used in the King James Version of the Bible.[2]
In theBook of Joshua 5:13–15,Joshua encounters a "captain of the host of the Lord" in the early days of his campaigns in the Promised Land. This unnamed heavenly messenger is sent by God to encourage Joshua in the upcoming claiming of the Promised Land:
Once when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you one of us or one of our adversaries?”
He replied, “Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and he said to him, “What do you command your servant, my lord?”
The commander of the army of the Lord said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.
— Joshua 5:13–15 (NRSV)
TheQuran mentionsGod's army (Arabic:جندالله,romanized: Jundallah) inQuran 9:40,Quran 33:9, andQuran 9:40; angels sent down by God to aid the believers in battle,[3] comparable to the heavenly host (Sabaoth) mentioned in theBooks of Samuel.[4][5]
The termjunud refers explicitly to hosts of spirits. The evils spirits too have their host called the "junudiblīs" (the invisible hosts of Satan).[6][7] The Quran describes the angelic host intervening on behalf of the Muslims during theBattle of Badr to fight against thešayāṭīn (devils)[8]
In Islamic theology and philosophy, the battle of these two hosts are reflected in the internal struggle of the "human heart" (qalb) (Ja'far ibn Sa'id andal-Ghazali).[9] Unlike Christianity, dualistic tendencies are usually minimized in Islamic tradition, and God is ultimately in control of both hosts; enabling a choice to side with either of these created beings.
The term "Lord of Hosts" is also used in theBaháʼí Faith as a title of God.[10]Bahá'u'lláh, claiming to be theManifestation of God, wrote tablets to many of the kings and rulers of the world inviting them to recognize him as thePromised One of all ages and faiths, some of which were compiled and published in English asThe Summons of the Lord of Hosts.[11]
Karel van der Toorn says theUgaritic texts put the council of heavens (DR DT ŠMM) in synonymous parallelism with the assembly of the stars (PḪR KKBM) and thesons of El (BN IL), meaning the gods.[12]
