Armies
Armies
SEE ARMY.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Armies
The church is called so, and said to be terrible. (Son 6:10) And in allusion to the same, the Lord himself is called the Lord of hosts. And hence, that expression in the hymn, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, or rather Zebaoth, which signifies, hosts or armies. Beautifully the Lord takes this title to himself; not only to indicate the greatness of his power, but the greatness of his security to his church and people, in his care and government over them. And it is a blessed thing to have this Lord God of Zebaoth for our stay.
See Sabaoth
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Armies
Who of the Israelites were subject to service in
Num 1:2-3; Num 26:2; 2Ch 25:5
Who were exempt from service in
Num 1:47-50; Num 2:33; Deu 20:5-9; Jdg 7:3
Enumeration of Israel’s military forces
Num 1:2-3; Num 26:2; 1Sa 11:8; 2Sa 18:1-2; 2Sa 24:1-9; 1Ki 20:15; 2Ch 25:5
Levies for
Num 31:4; Jdg 20:10
Compulsory service in
1Sa 14:52 Cowardice
How officered:
– Commander-in-chief
1Sa 14:50; 2Sa 2:8; 2Sa 8:16; 2Sa 17:25; 2Sa 19:13; 2Sa 20:23
– Generals of corps and divisions
Num 2:3-31; 1Ch 27:1-22; 2Ch 17:12-19
– Captains of thousands
Num 31:14; Num 31:48; 1Sa 17:18; 1Ch 28:1; 2Ch 25:5
– Captains of hundreds
Num 31:14; Num 31:48; 2Ki 11:15; 1Ch 28:1; 2Ch 25:5
– Captains of fifties
2Ki 1:9; Isa 3:3 Cavalry; Chariot
Rendezvous of
– Methods employed in effecting:
b Sounding a trumpet
Num 10:9; Jdg 3:27; Jdg 6:34; 1Sa 13:3-4
b Cutting oxen in pieces, and sending the pieces throughout Israel
1Sa 11:7
– Refusal to obey the summons, instance of
Jdg 21:5-11; Jud 1:20
Tactics:
– Camp and march
Num 2
– March in ranks
Exo 13:18; 1Ch 12:33; Joe 2:7
– Move, in attack, in three divisions
Jdg 7:16; Jdg 9:43; 1Sa 11:11; 1Sa 13:17-18; 2Sa 18:2; Job 1:17
– Flanks called wings
Isa 8:8 Strategy in War
Orders delivered with trumpets
2Sa 2:28; 2Sa 18:16; 2Sa 20:1; 2Sa 20:22; Neh 4:18; Neh 4:20
Stratagems:
– Ambushes:
b At Ai
Jos 8:2-22
b At Shechem
Jdg 9:25; Jdg 9:34
b At Gibeah
Jdg 20:29-43
b At Zemaraim
2Ch 13:13
b By Jehoshaphat
2Ch 20:22
– Reconnaissances:
b Of Jericho
Jos 2:1-24
b Of Ai
Jos 7:2-3
b Of Beth-El
Jdg 1:23-24
b Of Laish
Jdg 18:2-10
– Night attacks
Gen 14:15; Jdg 7:16-22
– Decoy
Jos 8:4-22; Jdg 20:29-43; Neh 6
– Unusual winter campaign
2Sa 11:1; 1Ch 20:1
– Delay
2Sa 17:7-14
– Celerity of action:
b Abraham, in pursuit of Chedorlaomer
Gen 14:14-15
b Joshua, against the Amorites
Jos 10:6; Jos 10:9
b The confederated kings
Jos 11:7
b David’s attack upon the Philistines
2Sa 5:23-25
– Forced marches
Isa 5:26-27
– Sieges:
b General references
Jer 39:1
b Of Jericho
Jos 6
b Of Samaria
2Ki 6:24-33; 2Ki 7
b Of Jerusalem
2Ki 25:1-3
– »Engines« used
2Ch 26:15; Jer 6:6; Eze 26:9
– Fortifications
Jdg 9:31; 2Sa 5:9; 2Ki 25:1; 2Ch 11:11; 2Ch 26:9; Neh 3:8; Neh 4:2; Isa 22:10; Isa 25:12; Isa 29:3; Isa 32:14; Jer 6:6; Jer 32:24; Jer 33:4; Jer 51:53; Eze 4:2; Eze 17:17; Eze 21:22; Eze 26:8; Eze 33:27; Dan 11:15; Dan 11:19; Nah 2:1; Nah 3:14
Standards
Num 2:2-3; Num 2:10; Num 2:17-18; Num 2:25; Num 2:31; Num 2:34; Num 10:14; Num 10:18; Num 10:22; Num 10:25
Uniforms of
Eze 23:6; Eze 23:12; Nah 2:3
Standing armies
1Sa 13:2; 1Ch 27; 2Ch 1:14; 2Ch 17:12-19; 2Ch 26:11-15
Religious ceremonies attending:
– Seeking counsel from God before battle
Num 27:21; Jdg 1:1; 1Sa 14:19; 1Sa 14:37-41; 1Sa 23:2-12; 1Sa 30:8; 2Sa 2:1; 2Sa 5:19; 2Sa 5:23; 1Ki 22:7-28; 2Ki 3:11-19; 1Ch 14:10; 1Ch 14:14; Jer 37:7-10
– Sacrifices
1Sa 13:11-12
– Purifications
Num 31:19-24
– Prophets prophesy before
2Ch 20:14-17
– Holiness enjoined
Deu 23:9
Officers consecrate themselves to God
2Ch 17:16
– Army choir and songs
2Ch 20:21-22
– Ark taken to battle
Jos 6:6-7; Jos 6:13; 1Sa 4:4-11
Divine assistance to:
– When Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands
Exo 17:11-12
– In siege of Jericho
Jos 6
– Sun stands still
Jos 10:11-14
– Gideon’s victory
Jud 1:7
– Samaria’s deliverances
1Ki 20; 2Ki 7
– Jehoshaphat’s victories
2Ki 3; 2Ch 20
– Angel of the Lord smites the Assyrians
2Ki 19:35
Determine royal succession
2Sa 2:8-10; 1Ki 16:16; 2Ki 11:4-12
Composed of insurgents
1Sa 22:1-2
Composed of mercenaries
2Sa 10:6; 1Ch 19:6-7; 2Ch 25:5-6
Confederated
Jos 10:1-5; Jos 11:1-5; Jdg 1:3; 2Sa 10:6; 2Sa 10:15-16; 2Sa 10:19; 1Ki 15:20; 1Ki 22:1-4; 2Ki 16:9; 2Ki 18:19-21; 1Ch 19:6-7; 2Ch 16:2-9; 2Ch 18:1; 2Ch 18:3; 2Ch 20:1; 2Ch 22:5; 2Ch 28:16; 2Ch 28:20; Psa 83:1-12; Isa 7:1-9; Isa 8:9-12; Isa 54:15
Exhorted before battle
Deu 20:1-9
Battle shouts
Jdg 7:18; 1Sa 17:20; 1Sa 17:52
Triumphs of, celebrated:
– With songs
Jud 1:5; 1Sa 18:6-7
– With music
2Ch 20:28
– With dancing
1Sa 18:6-7
Rewards for meritorious conduct:
– The general offers his daughter in marriage
Jos 15:16-17
– King offers his daughter
1Sa 17:25; 1Sa 18:17-28
– Promotion
2Sa 23:8-39; 1Ch 11:6; 1Ch 11:10-47
– Share the spoils
Num 31:25-47
Children instructed in military arts
2Sa 1:18
Insubordination in, punished, Achan
Jos 7
Check roll-call
1Sa 14:17; Num 31:48-49
Panics:
– General references
Isa 30:17
– Among the Midianites
Jdg 7:21
– Among the Philistines
1Sa 14:15-19
– Among the Syrians
2Ki 7:7-15
Soldiers destroy each other to escape captivity
1Sa 14:20; 1Sa 31:4-6
Champions fight instead of
1Sa 17:8-53; 2Sa 2:14-17; 2Sa 21:15-22
Confidence in, vain
Psa 33:16; Psa 44:6
Escort duty performed by
2Ki 1:9; Act 23:23-24; Act 23:31-33
Roman army:
– Captains
Act 22:24-29
– Centurions
Mat 8:5; Mat 8:8; Mat 27:54; Luk 7:2; Luk 23:47; Act 10:1; Act 10:7; Act 10:22; Act 21:32; Act 22:26; Act 23:17; Act 23:23; Act 24:23; Act 27:1; Act 27:11; Act 27:43; Act 28:16
– Divided into »bands«
Act 10:1; Act 27:1 Amalekites; Assyria; Babylon; Egyptians; Midianites; Persia; Syria; Commissary; Armor; Ambush; Cavalry; Fort; Garrison; Herald; Hostage; Navy; Reconnaissance; Siege; Soldiers; Spies; Standard; Strategy in War; Truce; War
Figurative
Deu 33:2; 2Ki 6:17; Psa 34:7; Psa 68:17; Rev 9:16
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Armies
In the reign of David, the Hebrews acquired such skill in the military art, together with such strength, as gave them a decided superiority over their competitors on the field of battle. David increased the standing army, which Saul had introduced. Solomon introduced cavalry into the military force of the nation, also chariots. Both cavalry and chariots were retained in the subsequent age; an age, in which military arms were improved in their construction, the science of fortification made advances, and large armies were mustered. From this period, till the time when the Hebrews became subject to the Assyrians and Chaldeans, but little improvement was made in the arts of war. The Maccabees, after the return of the Hebrews from the captivity, gave a new existence to the military art among them. But their descendants were under the necessity of submitting to the superior power of the Romans.
Whenever there was an immediate prospect of war, a levy was made by the genealogists, Deu 20:5-9. In the time of the kings, there was a head or ruler of the persons, that made the levy, denominated , who kept an account of the number of the soldiers, but who is, nevertheless, to be distinguished from the generalissimo, , 2Ch 26:11. Compare 2Sa 8:17; 2Sa 20:25; 2Ch 18:16. After the levy was fully made out, the genealogists gave public notice, that the following persons might be excused, from military service, Deu 20:5-8 :
1. Those who had built a house, and had not yet inhabited it.
2. Those who had planted a , that is, an olive or vine garden, and had not as yet tasted the fruit of it; an exemption, consequently, which extended through the first five years after such planting.
3. Those who had bargained for a spouse, but had not celebrated the nuptials; also those who had not as yet lived with their wife, for a year.
4. The faint-hearted, who would be likely to discourage others, and who, if they had gone into battle, where, in those early times, every thing depended on personal prowess, would only have fallen victims.
At the head of each rank or file of fifty, was the captain of fifty. The other divisions consisted of a hundred, a thousand, and ten thousand men, each one of which was headed by its appropriate commander. These divisions ranked in respect to each other according to their families, and were subject to the authority of the heads of those families, 2Ch 25:5; 2Ch 26:12-13. The centurions, and chiliarchs or captains of thousands, were admitted into the councils of war, 1Ch 13:1-3; 1Sa 18:13. The leader of the whole army was denominated , the captain of the host. The genealogists, (in the English version, officers,) according to a law in Deu 20:9, had the right of appointing the persons who were to act as officers in the army; and they, undoubtedly, made it a point, in their selections, to choose those who are called heads of families. The practice of thus selecting military officers ceased under the kings. Some of them were then chosen by the king, and in other instances the office became permanent and hereditary in the heads of families. Both kings and generals had armour bearers, . They were chosen from the bravest of the soldiery, and not only bore the arms of their masters, but were employed to give his commands to the subordinate captains, and were present at his side in the hour of peril, 1Sa 14:6; 1Sa 17:7. The infantry, the cavalry, and the chariots of war were so arranged, as to make separate divisions of an army, Exo 14:6-7. The infantry were divided likewise into light-armed troops, , and into spearmen, Gen 49:19; 1Sa 30:8; 1Sa 30:15; 1Sa 30:23; 2Sa 3:22; 2Sa 4:2; 2Sa 22:30; Psa 18:30; 2Ki 5:2; Hos 7:1. The light-armed infantry were furnished with a sling and javelin, with a bow, arrows, and quiver, and also, at least in latter times, with a buckler. They fought the enemy at a distance. The spearmen, on the contrary, who were armed with spears, swords, and shields, fought hand to hand, 1Ch 12:24; 1Ch 12:34; 2Ch 14:8; 2Ch 17:17. The light-armed troops were commonly taken from the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin, 2Ch 14:8; 2Ch 17:17. Compare Gen 49:27; Psa 78:9.
The art of laying out an encampment appears to have been well understood in Egypt, long before the departure of the Hebrews from that country. It was there that Moses became acquainted with that mode of encamping, which, in the second chapter of Numbers, is prescribed to the Hebrews. In the encampment of the Israelites, it appears that the holy tabernacle occupied the centre. In reference to this circumstance, it may be remarked, that it is the common practice in the east, for the prince or leader of a tribe to have his tent pitched in the centre of the others; and it ought not to be forgotten, that God, whose tent or palace was the holy tabernacle, was the prince, the leader of the Hebrews. The tents nearest to the tabernacle were those of the Levites, whose business it was to watch it, in the manner of a Pretorian guard. The family of Gershom pitched to the west, that of Kehath to the south, that of Merari to the north. The priests occupied a position to the east, opposite to the entrance of the tabernacle, Num 1:53; Num 3:21-38. At some distance to the east, were the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulon; on the south were those of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad; to the west were Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin; to the north, Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. The people were thus divided into four bodies, three tribes to a division; each of which divisions had its separate standard, . Each of the large family associations likewise, of which the different tribes were composed, had a separate standard, termed, in contradistinction from the other, ; and every Hebrew was obliged to number himself with his particular division, and follow his appropriate standard. Of military standards, there were,
1. The standard, denominated ; one of which pertained to each of the four general divisions. The four standards of this name were large, and ornamented with colours in white, purple, crimson, and dark blue. The Jewish Rabbins assert, (rounding their statement on Gen 49:3; Gen 49:9; Gen 49:17; Gen 49:22, which in this case is very doubtful authority,) that the first of these standards, namely, that of Judah, bore a lion; the second, or that of Reuben, bore a man; that of Ephraim, which was the third, displayed the figure of a bull; while that of Dan, which was the fourth, exhibited the representation of cherubim. They were wrought into the standards with embroidered work.
2. The standard, called . The ensign of this name belonged to the separate classes of families.
3. The standard, called . This standard was not, like the others, borne from place to place. It appears from Num 21:8-9, that it was a long pole, fixed into the earth. A flag was fastened to its top, which was agitated by the wind, and seen at a great distance, Jer 4:6; Jer 4:21; Jer 51:2; Jer 51:12; Jer 51:27; Eze 27:7. In order to render it visible, as far as possible, it was erected on lofty mountains, and was in this way used as a signal, to assemble soldiers. It no sooner made its appearance on such an elevated position, than the war-cry was uttered, and the trumpets were blown, Isa 5:26; Isa 13:2; Isa 18:3; Isa 30:17; Isa 49:22; Isa 62:10-12.
Before battle the various kinds of arms were put into the best order; the shields were anointed, and the soldiers refreshed themselves by taking food, lest they should become weary and faint under the pressure of their labours, Jer 46:3-4; Isa 21:5. The soldiers, more especially the generals and king, except when they wished to remain unknown, 1Ki 22:30-34, were clothed in splendid habiliments, which are denominated, , the sacred dress, Psa 110:3. It was the duty of the priests, before the commencement of the battle, to exhort the Hebrews to exhibit that courage which was required by the exigency of the occasion. The words which they used were as follows: Hear, O Israel; ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies; let not your hearts faint; fear not, and do not tremble; neither be ye terrified, because of them. For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you,
Deu 20:2, &c. The last ceremony, previous to an engagement, was the sounding of the sacred trumpets by the priests, Num 10:9-10; 2Ch 13:12-14; 1Ma 3:54.