We meet with this word twice in the New testament. (Rom. ix. 29. and Jam. v. 4.) Perhaps the word might be more properly read Zabaoth, armies, from Tzaba, army, (Jer. xi. 20.) And when joined to the incommunicable name of JEHOVAH, it forms together that glorious title The Lord of hosts, or armies. And when we call to mind that the whole creation of God are his armies, what a sense of greatness and glory do such ideas awaken in the mind! It may serve in some measure to teach us the reverence Moses, the man of God, endeavoured to impress the children of Israel with when he proclaimed JEHOVAH under these characters - - "that thou mayest fear (said Moses) this glorious and fearful name, the Lord thy God." (Deut. 28. 58.)
or rather Zabaoth, a Hebrew word, signifying hosts or armies,
Or rather Tsabaoth, hosts or armies. JEHOVAH SABAOTH is the Lord of Hosts; and we are to understand the word hosts in the most comprehensive sense, as including the host of heaven, the angels and minister of the Lord; the stars and planets, which, as an army ranged in battle array, perform the will of God; the armies of earth, whose conflicts his providence overrules to the accomplishment of his own wise designs; the hordes of inferior creatures, as the locusts that plagued Egypt, the quails that fed Israel, and "the canker-worm and the palmer-worm, his great army," Joe 2:15 ; and lastly, the people of the Lord, both of the old and new covenants, a truly great army, of which God is the general and commander, 2Sa 6:2 Psa 24:10 1Ch 9:29 Jas 5:4 .\par
Sabaoth (săb’a-ŏth or sa-bâ’oth), hosts. The phrase "Lord of Sabaoth" occurs twice in the New Testament, in Rom 9:29 and Jas 5:4 It should not be mistaken as referring to the Sabbath. But it is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew Tsebaoth, "hosts" or "armies," so often recurring in the Old Testament, "the Lord of hosts," Isa 1:9, "the Lord God of hosts," i.e., the heavenly bodies, the angels, or the people of God.
[Saba’oth] See HOSTS, LORD OF.
SABAOTH.—See God, 2 (h), and Lord of Hosts.
(Hebrew: army, hosts)
Title of majesty applied chiefly to God, "the Lord of Hosts," hosts meaning whatever suggests strength or power; the armies of Israel; the angelic hosts of Heaven; the might and beauty of the universe.
(In Hebrew, plural form of "host" or "army"). The word is used almost exclusively in conjunction with the Divine name as a title of majesty: "the Lord of Hosts", or "the Lord God of Hosts". The origins and precise signification of the title are matters of more or less plausible conjecture. According to some scholars the "hosts" represent, at least primitively, the armies of Israel over whom Jehovah exercised a protecting influence. Others opine that the word refers to the hosts of heaven, the angels, and by metaphor to the stars and entire universe (cf. Genesis 2:1). In favour of the latter view is the fact that the title does not occur in the Pentateuch or Josue though the armies of Israel are often mentioned, while it is quite common in the prophetic writings where it would naturally have the more exalted and universal meaning.-----------------------------------JAMES F. DRISCOLL Transcribed by Eric W. Kieselhorst The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIIICopyright © 1912 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
‘Lord of Sabaoth’ (i.e. ‘Lord of Hosts,’ éְäֹåָä öְáָàֹåç) is a common title for Jahweh in the prophets, with the exception of Hosea and Ezekiel. The appellation may not have originated with them, but they invested it with a deeper significance. What was the original meaning of the title is still a subject of dispute. Some take the ‘Hosts’ in question as the armies of Israel which Jahweh leads on to victory (Jdg_4:14), while others find an allusion to the stars, the host of heaven, or to the armies of angels (but it is contended that in the plural öְáָàåֹú is used only of earthly warriors). Whatever the original meaning of the phrase, it came afterwards to denote the all-controlling power of God, as represented by the rendering of the Septuagint êýñéïò ðáíôïêñÜôùñ; cf. 2Co_6:18 (also êýñéïò ôῶí äõíÜìåùí). Sometimes, however, the Septuagint renders êýñéïò Óáâáþè as in Isa_1:9, which is reproduced verbatim from the Septuagint in Rom_9:29. The only other instance of the use of the phrase in the NT is Jam_5:4, where God is so named to suggest the awful majesty of the great Judge who will avenge the oppression of the poor. There are several instances in Rev. of the title made familiar by the Septuagint , êýñéïò ὁ èåὸò ὁ ðáíôïêñÜôùñ, ‘Lord God Almighty.’
G. Wauchope Stewart.