View source for Heavenly host

{{short description|Army of angels mentioned in the Bible}}
[[File:Blessed Be the Host of the King of Heaven… - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|400px|''[[Blessed Be the Host of the King of Heaven]]'', a Russian icon from the 1550s]]

The '''Heavenly host''' ({{langx|he|צבאות}} [[Names of God in Judaism#Tzevaot|''ṣəḇāʾōṯ'']], "armies") refers to the army (or [[wikt:host#Etymology_2|host]]) of [[God]], as mentioned in [[Abrahamic religion|Abrahamic texts]]; the [[Hebrew Bible|Hebrew]] and [[Bible#Christian Bibles|Christian]] Bibles, and the [[Quran]] in particular.

The Bible typically describes the Heavenly host as being made up of [[angel]]s, and gives several descriptions of angels in military terms, such as their encampment ({{Bibleref|Genesis|32:1–2}}), command structure ({{Bibleref|Psalms|91:11–12}}; [http://bible.org/netbible/mat13.htm Matt.13:41]; [http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm?rev7.htm Rev.7:2]), and participation in combat ({{Bibleref|Job|19:12}}; [http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm?rev12.htm Rev.12:7]). Other passages indicate other entities make up the divine army, namely [[star]]s ({{Bibleref|Daniel|4:35}},{{Bibleref|Judges|5:20}}, {{Bibleref|Isaiah|40:26}}).<ref> Dahood, Psalms II, 1968, p 141</ref>{{fcn|date=April 2024}}  In Christian theology, the heavenly host participate in the [[war in Heaven]].

In the Quran, the heavenly hosts aid [[Muslim]]s in the battle against the [[Mushrik|polytheistic enemies]] of [[Muhammad in Islam|Muhammad]].

==Hebrew Bible==
[[File:Ferdinand Bol "God's Messenger Appears to Joshu".jpg|thumb|right|220px|Depiction of the Commander of the Lord's Army in Joshua 5, by [[Ferdinand Bol]], 1642.]]

In the [[Hebrew Bible]], the name [[Yahweh]] and the title [[Elohim]] (literally 'gods' or 'godhood', usually rendered as 'God' in English translations) frequently occur with the word ''tzevaot'' or ''sabaoth'' ("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 as [[Sabaoth]], a form that will be more familiar to many English readers, as it is used in the King James Version of the Bible.<ref>[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=939&letter=H Jewish Encyclopedia: Host of Heaven] New York, May 1, 1901</ref>

In  the [[Book 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:

{{quote|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.|{{Bibleref|Joshua|5:13–15|NRSV}} ([[New Revised Standard Version|NRSV]])}}

== Quran ==
[[File:Muhammad at Badr.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Muhammad at the [[Battle of Badr]], advised by an angel. ([[Siyer-i Nebi]], 16th century)]]
The [[Quran]] mentions [[God in Islam|God's]] army ({{langx|ar| جندالله |Jundallah}}) in {{cite quran|9|40|s=ns}}, {{cite quran|33|9|s=ns}}, and {{cite quran|9|40|s=ns}}; angels sent down by God to aid the believers in battle,<ref>Reynolds, G. S. (2009). Angels. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23204</ref> comparable to the heavenly host ([[Sabaoth]]) mentioned in the [[Books of Samuel]].<ref>Reynolds, G. S. (2009). Angels. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23204</ref><ref>Serdar, Murat. "Hıristiyanlık ve İslâm’da Meleklerin Varlık ve Kısımları." Bilimname 2009.2 (2009).
</ref> 

The term ''junud'' refers explicitly to hosts of spirits. The evils spirits too have their host called the "''junud [[Iblis|iblīs]]''" (the invisible hosts of Satan).<ref>Reynolds, G. S. (2009). Angels. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23204</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Crow |first1=Douglas Sloan |title=The role of al-ʻAql in early Islamic wisdom with reference to Imam Jaʻfar al-Ṣādiq |date=1996 |publisher=McGill University |location=Institute of Islamic Studies |url=https://escholarship.mcgill.ca/concern/theses/k930bz83s}}</ref> The Quran describes the angelic host  intervening on behalf of the Muslims during the [[Battle of Badr]] to fight against the ''[[Shayatin|šayāṭīn]]'' (devils)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Halverson |first1=Jeffry R. |last2=Goodall |first2=H. Lloyd |last3=Corman |first3=Steven R. |title=Master Narratives of Islamist Extremism |date=January 2011 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-10896-7 |pages=49 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Master_Narratives_of_Islamist_Extremism/NkcqAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=battle%20of%20badr}}</ref>

In Islamic theology and philosophy, the battle of these two hosts are reflected in the internal struggle of the "[[qalb|human heart]]" (''qalb'') ([[Ja'far ibn Sa'id]] and [[al-Ghazali]]).<ref>Ateşçi, Cemre. Imam al-Ghazali’s understanding of human ontology and behavior. MS thesis. İbn Haldun Üniversitesi, Medeniyetler İttifakı Enstitüsü, 2019.</ref> 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.

== Baháʼí Faith ==
The term "Lord of Hosts" is also used in the [[Baháʼí Faith]] as a title of God.<ref>[http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/SLH/ The Summons of the Lord of Hosts] Baháʼí Reference Library</ref> [[Bahá'u'lláh]], claiming to be the [[Manifestation of God (Baháʼí Faith)|Manifestation of God]], wrote tablets to many of the kings and rulers of the world inviting them to recognize him as the [[Messiah|Promised One]] of all ages and faiths, some of which were compiled and published in English as ''The Summons of the Lord of Hosts''.<ref>[http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/SLH/slh-3.html The Summons of the Lord of Hosts, Page 1] Baháʼí Reference Library</ref>

== Ugarit ==
[[Karel van der Toorn]] says the [[Ugaritic texts]] put the council of heavens ({{sc|dr dt šmm}}) in synonymous parallelism with the assembly of the stars ({{sc|pḫr kkbm}}) and the [[Sons of God#Ugaritic text|sons of El]] ({{sc|bn il}}), meaning the gods.<ref name="Van Der Toorn 2017 pp. 633–649">{{cite journal | last=Van Der Toorn | first=Karel | title=Celebrating the New Year with the Israelites: Three Extrabiblical Psalms from Papyrus Amherst 63 | journal=Journal of Biblical Literature | volume=136 | issue=3 | date=2017 | issn=1934-3876 | doi=10.1353/jbl.2017.0040 | pages=633–649}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Astrotheology]]
* [[Divine Council]]
* [[Hierarchy of angels]]
* [[List of angels in theology]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}<!--added under references heading by script-assisted edit-->

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}

{{Angels in Abrahamic religions}}
{{Christian theology}}
{{Characters and Names in Quran}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heavenly Host}}
[[Category:Angels in Christianity]]
[[Category:Angels in Judaism]]
[[Category:Angels in Islam]]
[[Category:Biblical cosmology]]
[[Category:Biblical phrases]]
[[Category:Christian iconography]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Classes of angels]]
[[Category:Hebrew Bible words and phrases]]