Host Of Heaven

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Host Of Heaven . The phrase ‘host (or army) of heaven’ occurs in OT in two apparently different senses referring (1) to stars, (2) to angels.

1. The ‘host of heaven’ is mentioned as the object of idolatrous worship  ; it is frequently coupled with ‘sun and moon,’ the stars being obviously meant; where ‘sun and moon’ are not specifically mentioned, the phrase may be used as including them as well.   Deuteronomy 4:19 speaks of this worship as a special temptation to Israel; it has been appointed or allotted to all the peoples,’ i.e. the heathen, and is absolutely inconsistent with the worship of J″ [Note: Jahweh.]; the penalty is stoning (  Deuteronomy 17:3 ). The references to it suggest that it became prominent in Israel in the 7th cent. b.c., when Manasseh introduced it into the Temple (  2 Kings 21:5 ); its abolition was part of Josiah’s reform (  2 Kings 23:4-5;   2 Kings 23:12 ). The mention, in the last verse, of ‘the altars which were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz’ suggests that the worship was, in fact, older than the reign of Manasseh, and had been practised by Ahaz; it was carried on upon the roofs of houses (  Jeremiah 19:13 ,   Zephaniah 1:5 ), so that   2 Kings 23:12 may well refer to it.   Isaiah 17:8 mentions ‘sun-pillars’ as characteristic of the idolatry of the reign of Ahaz (unless the words are a later addition), and there are possible traces of nature-worship in earlier periods in   Amos 5:26 , and in the names Beth-shemesh, Jericho , which suggest sun- and moon-worship.   2 Kings 17:16 , which speaks of the worship of the host of heaven as prevalent in the Northern Kingdom, is a ‘Deuteronomic’ passage, which can hardly be pressed historically. Whilst, then, there are early traces of nature-worship, the systematized idolatry of ‘the host of heaven ‘belongs to the period of special Assyrian and Babylonian influence; astrology and kindred beliefs were characteristic of the religions of these countries.

The phrase is used in other contexts of the stars as the armies of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] , innumerable, ordered, and obedient (  Genesis 2:1 ,   Psalms 33:6 ,   Isaiah 34:4;   Isaiah 45:12 ,   Jeremiah 33:22 ).   Isaiah 40:26 (‘bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name’) comes very near to a personification. In   Daniel 8:10 we read of the assault of the ‘little horn’ on the ‘host of heaven’ and their ‘prince.’ This may be only a hyperbolical expression for blasphemous pride, but it strongly suggests the influence of the Babylonian ‘dragon myth,’ In which heaven itself was stormed; cf.   Revelation 12:4;   Revelation 13:6 , where the Beast blasphemes God, His tabernacles, and them that dwell in heaven; i.e. the angelic host (so Bousset), at least in the idea underlying the conception. Hence in   Daniel 8:10 we are probably right in seeing a reference to the stars regarded as animate warriors of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] , their ‘captain’; cf. the poetical passages   Judges 5:20 (the stars in their courses fighting against Sisera) and   Job 38:7 (the morning stars, coupled with the ‘sons of God,’ singing for joy); in these passages it remains a question how far the personification is merely a poetic figure, it is at least possible that a more literally conceived idea lies behind them. in is   Job 24:21 we read of the ‘host of the height’ (‘high ones on high’), whom J″ [Note: Jahweh.] shall punish in the Day of Judgment, together with the kings of the earth. The passage, the date of which is very doubtful, is strongly eschatological, and the phrase must refer to supramundane foes of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] , whether stars or angels; again, a reference to the dragon myth is very possible.

2. Passages such as these lead to the consideration of others where ‘host of heaven’=‘ angels .’ The chief is   1 Kings 22:19 (Micaiah’s vision); cf.   Psalms 103:21 ,   Luke 2:13 . Though this actual phrase is not often used, the attendant ministers of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] are often spoken of as an organized army (  Genesis 32:2 ,   Joshua 5:14 ,   2 Kings 6:17 ,   Job 25:3 ). Cf. in this connexion the title ‘Lord of hosts (Sabaoth),’ which, though it may have been used originally of J″ [Note: Jahweh.] as the leader of the armies of Israel, admittedly came to be used of Him as ruler of the celestial hosts (see Lord of Hosts). There are passages where the phrase ‘host of heaven’ is ambiguous, and may refer either to stars or to angels (  Daniel 4:35 ,   Nehemiah 9:6 ,   Psalms 148:2 [where it connects angels and sun, moon, and stars]).

3. It remains to consider the connexion between the two uses of the phrase . It has been supposed by some to be purely verbal, stars and angels being independently compared to an army; or it has been suggested that the stars were ‘the visible image’ of the host of angels. But a study of the passages quoted above will probably lead to the conclusion that the connexion is closer. The idolaters evidently regarded the stars as animate; prophets and poets seem to do so too. When this is done, it lies very near at hand to identify them with, or at least assimilate them to, the angels. In the ancient myths and folklore, the traces of which in the Bible are increasingly recognized, stars and angels play a large part, and the conception of the two is not kept distinct. Later thought tended to identify them (Enoch 18:12, 21:1 etc.,   Revelation 9:1;   Revelation 9:11; cf.   Isaiah 14:12 ,   Luke 10:18 ). Hence the one use of the phrase ‘host of heaven’ ran naturally into the other, and it seems impossible to draw a sharp line of distinction between the two. As we have seen, there are passages where it is ambiguous, or where it seems to imply the personification of the stars, i.e. their practical identification with angels. While there is no reason why the spiritual teachers of Israel should not have countenanced this belief at a certain stage and to a certain point, and should not have adopted in a modified form the eschatology in which it figured, it is of course clear that the conception was kept free from its grosser and superstitious features. Whatever it may have been in the popular mind, to them it is little more than a metaphor, and nothing either distantly resembling the fear or the worship of the stars receives any countenance in their teaching. It is, however, worth while insisting on the full force of their language as affording a key to the reconstruction of the popular beliefs which seem to lie behind it. It should be noted that Wis 13:2 protests against any idea that the heavenly bodies are animate, and it has been suggested that Ezekiel’s avoidance of the phrase ‘Lord of hosts’ may be due to a fear of seeming to lend any countenance to star-worship.

C. W. Emmet.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 1:1 Deuteronomy 26:15 1 Kings 8:30Heaven

“Host” is basically a military term connected with fighting or waging a war. The most frequent use of the word is to designate a group of men organized for war. In this sense, the Hebrew word often refers to a human army ( Genesis 21:22 ,Genesis 21:22, 21:32;  Judges 4:2 ,Judges 4:2, 4:7;  Judges 9:29;  1 Samuel 12:9;  2 Samuel 3:23;  Isaiah 34:2;  Jeremiah 51:3 ). The term can refer to an act of war, as in  Numbers 1:3 ,Numbers 1:3, 1:20;  Deuteronomy 24:5 , and  Joshua 22:12 . An extended meaning of “hosts” is that it designates a length of time of hard service ( Job 7:1;  Isaiah 40:2 ,  Daniel 10:1 ). The term is used in the Book of Numbers to refer to the service of the Levites in the sanctuary.

The phrase “Host of Heaven” came into use because of the close connection between the realms of earth and heaven in ancient thought. The celestial bodies were thought to be organized in the same way as earthly military bodies. The sun, moon, and stars were regarded as the “host of heaven” ( Genesis 2:1 ). The author of  Psalm 33:6 stated that God created this host by His breath. God preserved the existence of the host of heaven (  Isaiah 40:26 ).

Old Testament writers warned Israel about the danger of worshiping the heavenly bodies ( Deuteronomy 4:19 ) and prescribed the death penalty for the crime of worshiping the sun, or the moon, or any of the “host of heaven” ( Deuteronomy 17:2-7 ). Unfortunately, Israel and Judah yielded to the temptation to worship the heavenly bodies from time to time, especially during the period of Assyrian and Babylonian influence ( 2 Kings 17:16-23; 2Kings 21:3, 2 Kings 21:5 ).

Manasseh, king of Judah (697 to 642 B.C.), built altars in Jerusalem for all the “host of heaven” ( 2 Kings 21:5 ). He attempted to merge the worship of other gods with the worship of Yahweh. Manasseh's efforts were reversed when Josiah came to the throne ( 2 Kings 23:7 ).

Another concept of the “host of heaven” is presented in passages similar to  1 Kings 22:19 , in which the prophet Micaiah stated that he saw the Lord sitting on his throne “ and all the host of heaven standing by him .” The people of Israel drew comparisons between their God and the gods of Canaan and Babylonia. Yahweh came to be understood as a king who presided over a heavenly council, composed of angelic servants, sometimes called “sons of God.” This concept is reflected in the first two chapters of Job. See Angels; Heavenly Council; Sons Of God .

James Newell

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 2:1 Deuteronomy 4:19 2 Kings 17:16 21:3,5 23:5 Jeremiah 19:13 Zephaniah 1:5 Acts 7:42

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( צְבָא הִשָּׁמִיַם , Tseba' Hashssama'Yim, Army Of The Skies), in  Genesis 2:1, refers to the sun, moon, and stars, as the host of heaven under the symbol of an army, in which the sun is considered as the king, the moon as his vicegerent, the stars and planets as their attendants, and the constellations as the battalions and squadrons of the army drawn up in order, that they may come with their leaders to execute the designs and commands of the sovereign. According to this notion, it is said in the song of Deborah, "The stars in their courses fought against Sisera" ( Judges 5:20). The worship of the host of heaven was one of the earliest forms of idolatry (q.v.), and, from finding it frequently reprobated in the Scriptures, we may conclude that it was very common among the Jews in the days of their declension from the pure service of God ( Deuteronomy 4:19;  2 Kings 17:16;  2 Kings 21:3;  2 Kings 21:5;  2 Kings 23:5;  Jeremiah 19:13;  Zephaniah 1:5;  Acts 7:42). (See Heaven).

In the book of Daniel it is said, "And it (the little horn) waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them" ( Daniel 8:10-11). This doubtless points to the aspiring nature and usurping power of Antiochus Epiphanes, who in  2 Maccabees 9:10 is described as the man who thought he could reach to the stars of heaven; which, from  Isaiah 14:13;  Isaiah 24:21, may be understood to signify the rulers, both civil and ecclesiastical, among the Jews. The priests and Levites, like the angels, were continually Waiting on the service of the King of heaven in the Temple, as of old in the tabernacle ( Numbers 8:24), and these were that part of the host, or the holy people, that were thrown down and trampled upon; for Antiochus overthrew some of the most celebrated luminaries among the leaders of the Jewish people, and reduced them to the lowest degradation. Spencer, in his treatise De Legibus Heb. bk. 1, ch. 4 p. 202, takes notice that the Scripture often borrows expressions from military affairs to accommodate itself to the use of the tabernacle, and hence is the frequent use of the term "host." The host of heaven and the prince of the host he thinks must refer to the body of the priests, who exercised the offices of their warfare under the standards of the Deity. (See Little Horn).

A very frequent epithet of Jehovah is "Jehovah God of hosts," i.e. of the celestial armies; generally rendered "Lord God of hosts" ( Jeremiah 5:14;  Jeremiah 38:17;  Jeremiah 44:7;  Hosea 12:5;  Amos 3:13;  Psalms 59:5;  Psalms 80:4;  Psalms 80:7;  Psalms 80:14). This is a very usual appellation of the Most High God in some of the prophetical and other books, especially in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Malachi; but does not occur in the Pentateuch, in the books of Joshua and Judges, nor in Ezekiel, Job, and the writings of Solomon. The Hebrew word "Sabaoth," i.e. hosts, is used by the apostles Paul and James ( Romans 9:29;  James 5:4), and is retained untranslated in the English Version. As to the grammatical construction of Jehovah Of Hosts, some suppose it to be by ellipsis for Jehovah God Of Hosts; Gesenias says this is not necessary, and the Arabs, too, Subjoin in like manner a genitive of attribute to the proper names of persons, as Antara, Of The Horse, q. d. Antara, Chief Of The Horse. So, too, in the construction God Of-Hosts, the word Hosts may be taken as an attribute, which could be put in apposition with the names of God. The Hosts thus signified in Jehovah Of Hosts can hardly be doubtful if we compare the expressions host and hosts of Jehovah ( Joshua 5:14-15;  Psalms 103:21;  Psalms 148:2), which, again, do not differ from Host Of heaven, embracing both angels, and the sun, moon, and stars ( Genesis 32:1-2;  Deuteronomy 4:19). The phrase Jehovah Of Hosts, therefore, differs little from the latter form, God Of Heaven, and Jehovah God Of Heaven (  Genesis 24:7;  2 Chronicles 36:23;  Job 15:15;  Ezra 1:2;  Ezra 5:11-12;  Ezra 6:9-10;  Nehemiah 1:4-5;  Nehemiah 2:4;  Nehemiah 2:20;  Psalms 136:26;  John 1:9;  Daniel 2:18;  Daniel 2:37;  Revelation 11:13). (See Sabaoth).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

( צבא השּׁמים , cebhā' ha - shāmayı̄m ): The expression is employed in the Old Testament to denote (1) The stars, frequently as objects of idolatry (  Deuteronomy 4:19;  Deuteronomy 17:3;  2 Kings 17:16;  2 Kings 21:3 ,  2 Kings 21:1;  2 Kings 23:4 f;   Jeremiah 8:2;  Jeremiah 19:13;  Zephaniah 1:5 ), but also as witnesses in their number, order and splendor, to the majesty and providential rule and care of Yahweh ( Isaiah 34:4;  Isaiah 40:26 , "calleth them all by name";  Isaiah 45:12;  Jeremiah 33:22 ); and (2) The angels ( 1 Kings 22:19;  2 Chronicles 18:18;  Nehemiah 9:6; compare  Psalm 103:21 ).

(1) Star-worship seems to have been an enticement to Israel from the first ( Deuteronomy 4:19;  Deuteronomy 17:3;  Amos 5:26; compare  Acts 7:42 ,  Acts 7:43 ), but attained special prominence in the days of the later kings of Judah. The name of Manasseh is particularly connected with it. This king built altars for "all the host of heaven" in the courts of the temple ( 2 Kings 21:3 ,  2 Kings 21:5 ). Josiah destroyed these altars, and cleansed the temple from the idolatry by putting down the priests and burning the vessels associated with it ( 2 Kings 23:4 ,  2 Kings 23:5 ,  2 Kings 23:12 ).

(2) In the other meaning of the expression, the angels are regarded as forming Yahweh's "host" or army, and He himself is the leader of them - "Yahweh of hosts" ( Isaiah 31:4 , etc.) - though this designation has a much wider reference. See Angels; Astronomy; Lord Of Hosts; compare Oehler, Theol of Old Testament, II, 270ff (ET).