Lexical Summary
tsaba: Host, Army, Warfare, Service
Original Word:צָבָא
Part of Speech:Verb
Transliteration:tsaba'
Pronunciation:tsaw-BAW
Phonetic Spelling:(tsaw-baw')
KJV: assemble, fight, perform, muster, wait upon, war
NASB:wage war, gone to war, mustered, perform, made war, served, serving women served
Word Origin:[a primitive root]
1. to mass (an army or servants)
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
assemble, fight, perform, muster, wait upon, war
A primitive root; to mass (an army or servants) -- assemble, fight, perform, muster, wait upon, war.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. root
Definitionto wage war, serve
NASB Translationgone to war (2), made war (1), mustered (2), perform (2), served (1), serving women served (1), wage war (4), war (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
[] (Sabean
wage war with, also noun
army, campaign Hom
Chrest. 125 CIS
iv. 299, 1. 2 DHM
VOJ i.28; Ethiopic
( >
)
wage war; Assyrian
ƒâbu, man, soldier; Nö
ZMG xl (1886), 726 and others compare (on account of Sabean, Ethiopic
) Arabic
conceal oneself, hence
lie in wait; this is phonetically suitable, but better in meaning would be
go or
come forth (against one), etc., so Thes Lag
BN 21; Frä
232 compare
young man); —
Perfect3masculine pluralExodus 38:8;Zechariah 14:12;Imperfect3masculine pluralNumbers 31:7;Infinitive constructIsaiah 31:4;Numbers 4:23;Numbers 8:24;Participle pluralNumbers 31:42;Isaiah 29:7,8; suffixIsaiah 29:7 (Ges§ 75oo; Di ); feminine pluralExodus 38:8;1 Samuel 2:22; —
wage war, fight, withagainst,Numbers 31:7 (P)Isaiah 29:7,8;Isaiah 31:4;Zechariah 14:12, with suffixIsaiah 29:7 (?); absoluteNumbers 31:42(P).
serve at sacred tent, Levites, with accusativeNumbers 4:23;Numbers 8:24 (P); womenExodus 38:8 (twice in verse) (P)1 Samuel 2:22.
Participle2 Kings 25:19 =Jeremiah 52:25muster..
Topical Lexicon
Scope of Meaning and UsageThe verb צָבָא appears fourteen times and consistently conveys the idea of being mustered for an assigned duty. Two main spheres emerge: sacred ministry at the sanctuary and military engagement on the battlefield. In each sphere the word stresses ordered readiness under authority, whether divine or human.
Tabernacle and Temple Service
Exodus 38:8 twice describes “the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting”, indicating an organized band devoted to continual attendance before the LORD.Numbers 4:23 andNumbers 8:24 apply the term to Levites “to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting,” portraying a disciplined rotation beginning at age thirty and ending at fifty.1 Samuel 2:22 records that certain priests corrupted these women who “served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting,” highlighting the seriousness of faithfulness in holy service. In this priestly context צָבָא depicts orderly, on-call ministry that parallels military duty yet is directed toward worship.
Military Mustering and Combat
In the wilderness Israel’s men were literally “arrayed for battle” when Moses sent them against Midian: “They waged war against Midian, as the LORD had commanded Moses” (Numbers 31:7). Verse 42 repeats the term in summarizing the spoils taken by “the troops who had gone to war.” The same sense surfaces in2 Kings 25:19 and its parallelJeremiah 52:25, where the Babylonian captain arrests the official “in charge of mustering the people of the land,” underlining Judah’s final disarmament.
Zechariah 14:12 projects the word into eschatology: the plague strikes “all the peoples who have fought against Jerusalem,” assuring that every hostile force called up against God’s city will be divinely judged.
Prophetic Imagery of Hostile Nations
Isaiah clusters the verb to portray a coalition of enemies: “All the nations that fight against Ariel… all who wage war against her” (Isaiah 29:7). The repetition in verses 7–8 intensifies the picture of multitudes vainly mobilized against Zion.Isaiah 31:4 likens the same nations to shepherds summoned against a roaring lion, but the LORD’s unfaltering defense renders their effort futile. The verb thus underlines both the reality of opposition and the certainty of God’s supremacy.
Historical Perspective
From Sinai to the Exile, Israel understood צָבָא as a call to organized obedience under legitimate authority. In righteous contexts (Levitical service, divinely directed battles) the term reflects covenant loyalty. In unrighteous contexts (Eli’s corrupt sons, Babylon’s mustering of Judah’s remnant) it exposes disorder and judgment.
Ministry Significance
1. Ordered Service: צָבָא reminds believers that worship is not casual but disciplined, demanding readiness comparable to a soldier’s watch (cf.2 Timothy 2:4).
2. Spiritual Warfare: The same root behind “LORD of Hosts” reinforces that God commands both heavenly and earthly forces; cooperation with His purposes ensures victory.
3. Eschatological Assurance: Prophecies employing the verb guarantee that no coalition arrayed against God’s plan will prevail, encouraging steadfast hope amid opposition.
Key References
Exodus 38:8;Numbers 4:23;Numbers 8:24;Numbers 31:7;Numbers 31:42;1 Samuel 2:22;2 Kings 25:19;Isaiah 29:7-8;Isaiah 31:4;Jeremiah 52:25;Zechariah 14:12
Forms and Transliterations
הַמַּצְבִּ֖א הַצֹּ֣בְא֔וֹת הַצֹּ֣בְאֹ֔ת הַצֹּבְאִ֖ים הַצֹּבְאִֽים׃ המצבא הצבאות הצבאים הצבאים׃ הצבאת וַֽיִּצְבְּאוּ֙ ויצבאו לִצְבֹ֣א לִצְבֹּ֥א לצבא צָֽבְא֔וּ צָבְא֖וּ צֹבֶ֙יהָ֙ צבאו צביה ham·maṣ·bi hammaṣbi hammatzBi haṣ·ṣō·ḇə·’îm haṣ·ṣō·ḇə·’ō·wṯ haṣ·ṣō·ḇə·’ōṯ haṣṣōḇə’îm haṣṣōḇə’ōṯ haṣṣōḇə’ōwṯ hatztzoeIm hatzTzoeOt liṣ·bō liṣ·ḇō liṣbō liṣḇō litzBo litzVo ṣā·ḇə·’ū ṣāḇə’ū ṣō·ḇe·hā ṣōḇehā tzaveU tzoVeiha vaiyitzbeU way·yiṣ·bə·’ū wayyiṣbə’ū
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