Armies

Israel's armies are organized at Sinai, refined under Moses, regulated by Deuteronomy, professionalized under David and Solomon, tested against Assyrian and Babylonian invaders, and revived by the Maccabees. Across the same span the title "Yahweh of hosts" and the figure of the host of heaven name a military reality outside human reckoning, with its own prince and its own ministers.

The Census of the Host

The Israelite army is constituted by census. Twice in the wilderness Moses takes the count: at Sinai, "Take⁺ the sum of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' houses, according to the number of the names, every male, by their polls; from twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go forth to war in Israel, you and Aaron will number them by their hosts" (Num 1:2-3). The total is fixed at "six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty" (Num 1:46). On the plains of Moab the order is repeated to the second generation: "Take the sum of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all who are able to go forth to war in Israel" (Num 26:2), and the result is "six hundred thousand and a thousand seven hundred and thirty" (Num 26:51). The unit of muster is the tribal family; the threshold is twenty years; the purpose is war.

Officers and Captains

Moses receives the spoils of war from "the officers of the host, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who came from the service of the war" (Num 31:14), and they come near to him after Midian: "And the officers who were over the thousands of the host, the captains of thousands, and the captains of hundreds, came near to Moses" (Num 31:48). The same ladder of rank survives into the kingdom — "the captains of hundreds who were set over the host" (2 Kgs 11:15), Saul's captain Abner (1 Sam 14:50), Sisera "captain of whose host" under Jabin (Judg 4:2), Omri made "captain of the host" by acclamation (1 Kgs 16:16), Nebuzaradan "the captain of the guard" under Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kgs 25:8), and the petty officer who drew "ten cheeses to the captain of their thousand" in David's day (1 Sam 17:18). One of the Three is named "more honorable than the two, and was made their captain" (1 Chr 11:21), and Naphtali sends David "a thousand captains, and with them with shield and spear thirty and seven thousand" (1 Chr 12:34).

Conscription and Exemption

Deuteronomy regulates the muster. Before the host marches, the officers excuse the man with a new house, a new vineyard, a new wife, and the man whose courage has failed: "What man is there that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, or else if he dies in the battle, another will man dedicate it. And what man is there that has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, or else if he dies in the battle, another man will use its fruit. And what man is there that has betrothed a wife, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, or else if he dies in the battle, another man will take her. And the officers will speak further to the people, and they will say, What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest his brothers' heart melt as his heart" (Deut 20:5-8). Only after the dismissals does command settle: "And it will be, when the officers have made an end of speaking to the people, that they will appoint captains of hosts at the head of the people" (Deut 20:9).

David's Army

The chief captaincy under David is taken by valor: "Whoever strikes the Jebusites first will be chief and captain. And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, and was made chief" (1 Chr 11:6). The Gadites who cross to David in the wilderness are "mighty men of valor, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear; whose faces were like the faces of lions, and they were as swift as the roes on the mountains" (1 Chr 12:8); the Benjamite archers "were armed with bows, and could use both the right hand and the left in slinging stones and in shooting arrows from the bow" (1 Chr 12:2); and many such men "were all mighty men of valor, and were captains in the host" (1 Chr 12:21). David then organizes the kingdom's army on a rotating roster: "Now the sons of Israel after their number, [to wit,] the heads of fathers' [houses] and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and their officers that ministered to the king, in any matter of the courses which came in and went out month by month throughout all the months of the year--of every course were twenty and four thousand" (1 Chr 27:1). Garrisons follow the conquests: "And he put garrisons in Edom; and all the Edomites became slaves to David. And Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went" (1 Chr 18:13); "Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus; and the Syrians became slaves to David, and brought tribute. And Yahweh gave victory to David wherever he went" (2 Sam 8:6). The early footing was leaner — "And David was then in the stronghold; and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Beth-lehem" (2 Sam 23:14) — and the founding stronghold itself is named: "And David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the city of David. And David built round about from Millo and inward" (2 Sam 5:9).

Solomon's Chariotry

Under Solomon the army takes a chariot-and-cavalry shape, garrisoned in dedicated cities: "all the store-cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion" (1 Kgs 9:19); "And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, that he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem" (1 Kgs 10:26). The chariot is the visible instrument of state power throughout the monarchy — Pharaoh sets Joseph "in the second chariot which he had" (Gen 41:43), Pharaoh's host comes with "six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over all of them" (Ex 14:7), Sisera fields "nine hundred chariots of iron" (Judg 4:13), the Canaanites of the valley keep "chariots of iron" against Judah (Judg 1:19), and the Philistines mass "thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude" (1 Sam 13:5). The chariot is also the standing temptation: "Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses; But we will make mention of the name of Yahweh our God" (Ps 20:7); "Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but don't rely on the [Speech] of the Holy One of Israel, neither seek Yahweh!" (Isa 31:1).

Numbered Hosts of Judah and Israel

Judah's later kings keep the structure of captains and counted hosts. Asa fields "an army that bore bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bore shields and drew bows, 280,000: all these were mighty men of valor" (2 Chr 14:8). Jehoshaphat lists Jehozabad with "180,000 ready prepared for war" (2 Chr 17:18). Amaziah "gathered Judah together, and ordered them according to their fathers' houses, under captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, even all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and upward, and found them three hundred thousand chosen men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield" (2 Chr 25:5). Uzziah's force numbers "three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy" (2 Chr 26:13).

Foreign Armies: Egypt, Philistia, Syria, Assyria, Babylon

Israel's host fights through a long sequence of foreign armies. Egypt stands first, with its chariots and captains (Ex 14:7). The Philistines press from the west with garrisons inside the land — "And Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba" (1 Sam 13:3) — and with massed iron and horse (1 Sam 13:5). Syria fields "thirty and two kings with him, and horses and chariots" under Ben-hadad, who "went up and besieged Samaria, and fought against it" (1 Kgs 20:1), and again "Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria" (2 Kgs 6:24). Assyria is the next phase: "Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years" (2 Kgs 17:5); "Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them" (2 Kgs 18:13); "After these things, and this faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fortified cities, and thought to win them for himself" (2 Chr 32:1); and the Rabshakeh's challenge before the wall is preserved as the voice of the besieger: "Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, On what do you⁺ trust, that you⁺ remain in the siege in Jerusalem?" (2 Chr 32:10). The Assyrian camp is unmade not by counter-attack but by the angel: "And it came to pass that night, that the angel of Yahweh went forth, and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians: and when men arose early in the morning, look, these were all dead bodies" (2 Kgs 19:35). Babylon closes the cycle: "At that time the slaves of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged" (2 Kgs 24:10); "And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about. So the city was besieged to the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. On the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine was intense in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land" (2 Kgs 25:1-3); "In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it" (Jer 39:1).

Siegecraft and Engines

Siege is a technique with its own equipment. Uzziah "made in Jerusalem engines, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and on the battlements, with which to shoot arrows and great stones. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvelously helped, until he was strong" (2 Chr 26:15). Nebuchadnezzar's threat against Tyre is named in the same vocabulary: "And he will set his battering engines against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers" (Ezek 26:9). The besieger casts up a mound and batters: against Abel-beth-maacah "they came and besieged him in Abel of Beth-maacah, and they cast up a mound against the city, and it stood against the rampart; and all the people who were with Joab battered the wall, to throw it down" (2 Sam 20:15). Tactics include ambush, decoy, and night attack: Israel sets ambushers against Gibeah (Judg 20:29), Joshua hides "about five thousand men" between Beth-el and Ai (Josh 8:12), Jeroboam "caused an ambush to come about behind them" (2 Chr 13:13), and Yahweh himself "set ambushers against the sons of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who had come against Judah" (2 Chr 20:22). David's word from Yahweh against the Philistines is also a flanking maneuver: "You will not go up: make a circuit behind them, and come upon them across from the mulberry-trees" (2 Sam 5:23).

Fortresses and Strongholds

The military landscape is held by walls. Jerusalem is itself a stronghold (2 Sam 5:9). Damascus and Ephraim lose theirs under judgment: "And the fortress will cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria; they will be as the glory of the sons of Israel, says Yahweh of hosts" (Isa 17:3); "And the high fortress of your walls he has brought down, laid low, and brought to the ground, even to the dust" (Isa 25:12). Daniel's vision sees a king who "will come to the army, and will enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and will deal against them, and will prevail" (Dan 11:7). Sirach remembers the building of Jerusalem's wall: "In his days the wall was built, [With] turrets for strength like a king's palace. He considered how [to protect] his people from ruin, And fortified his city against the enemy" (Sir 50:3-4).

Yahweh of Hosts

Through the same span runs a divine military title. The seraphic acclamation names it: "Holy, holy, holy, is Yahweh of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isa 6:3). The psalm of ascent answers its own question with it: "Who is this King of glory? Yahweh of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah" (Ps 24:10). David binds the title to Israel's army on the ground at Elah: "You come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied" (1 Sam 17:45). The same title rules over the judgment of the nations: "Look, I am against you, says Yahweh of hosts, and I will burn your crowd in the smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions; and I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers will be heard no more" (Nah 2:13).

The Host of Heaven and Its Prince

The host is also a heavenly reality. The psalm calls them ministers: "Bless Yahweh, all you⁺ his hosts, You⁺ ministers of his, who do his pleasure" (Ps 103:21). Their numbers and their weapon are imagined as chariots: "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands on thousands; The Lord is among them, [as in] Sinai, in the sanctuary" (Ps 68:17); "Who lays the beams of his chambers in the waters; Who makes the clouds his chariot; Who walks on the wings of the wind" (Ps 104:3); "For, look, Yahweh will come with fire, and his chariots will be like the whirlwind; to render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire" (Isa 66:15); "Was Yahweh displeased with the rivers? Was your anger against the rivers, Or your wrath against the sea, That you rode on your horses, On your chariots of salvation?" (Hab 3:8). At Jericho the heavenly host has a captain. Joshua sees a man "across from him with his sword drawn in his hand" and challenges him: "Are you for us, or for our adversaries?" (Josh 5:13). The answer is neither: "No; but [as] prince of the host of Yahweh I have now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said to him, What does my lord say to his slave?" (Josh 5:14). Sirach's praise of Elijah remembers his ascent in the same key: "Who in the whirlwind was taken upwards, And with fiery troops to the heavens" (Sir 48:9), and Ezekiel's vision is summarized as a chariot vision: "Ezekiel saw a vision, And declared the different beings of the chariot" (Sir 49:8).

The Maccabean Army

The Maccabean revolt rebuilds Israel's army from the village level. Mattathias names his successor on his deathbed: "Judas Maccabeus Who is valiant and strong from his youth up, Let him be the leader of your⁺ army, And he will manage the war of the people" (1 Macc 2:66). Judas takes the field: "And he got his people great honor, And put on a breastplate as a giant, And girt his warlike armor about him in battles, And protected the camp with the sword" (1 Macc 3:3). Like Moses he organizes the host by rank: "And after this Judas appointed captains over the people, over thousands, and over hundreds, and over fifties, and over tens" (1 Macc 3:55). His pre-battle exhortation is preserved: "Gird yourselves, and be sons of valor, and be ready against the morning, that you⁺ may fight with these nations that are assembled against us to destroy us and our sanctuary. For it is better for us to die in battle, than to see the evils of our nation, and of the holies. Nevertheless as it shall be the will of God in heaven so be it done" (1 Macc 3:58-60). Before Emmaus he invokes the Red Sea: "Don't fear⁺ their multitude, neither be⁺ afraid of their assault. Remember in what manner our fathers were saved in the Red Sea, when Pharaoh pursued them with an army. And now let us cry to heaven: and he will have mercy on us, and will remember the covenant of our fathers, and will destroy this army before our face this day: And all nations will know that there is one who redeems and delivers Israel" (1 Macc 4:8-11).

The campaigns that follow are dense with the standard apparatus. Captains are appointed in turn — "And he left Joseph the [son] of Zacharias, and Azarias captains of the people with the remnant of the army in Judea to keep it" (1 Macc 5:18); "Joseph the [son] of Zacharias, and Azarias captain of the soldiers, heard of the good success, and the battles that were fought" (1 Macc 5:56); "Now therefore we have chosen you this day to be our prince, and captain in his place to fight our battles" (1 Macc 9:30). The enemy comes with chariots and elephants — "And he entered into Egypt with a great multitude, with chariots and elephants, and horsemen, and a great number of ships" (1 Macc 1:17) — and with elephant towers crewed for war: "And they distributed the beasts by the legions: and there stood by every elephant a thousand men in coats of mail, and with helmets of brass on their heads: and five hundred horsemen set in order were chosen for every beast" (1 Macc 6:35); "And on the beast, there were strong wooden towers, which covered every one of them: and engines on them: and on every one, thirty valiant men who fought from above; and an Indian to rule the beast" (1 Macc 6:37).

The Maccabean wars are a war of fortresses. The Seleucids hold the citadel — "And they built the city of David with a great and strong wall, and with strong towers, and made it a fortress for them" (1 Macc 1:33) — and the Hasmoneans answer in kind. Judas garrisons Beth-zur: "And he placed a garrison there to keep it, and he fortified it to secure Beth-zur, that the people might have a defense against Idumea" (1 Macc 4:61). Bacchides "built strong cities in Judea, the fortress that was in Jericho, and in Ammaus, and in Beth-horon, and in Bethel, and Thamnata, and Phara, and Thopo, with high walls, and gates, and bars" (1 Macc 9:50). Jonathan re-fortifies Zion: "And he ordered workmen to build the walls, and Mount Zion round about with square stones for fortification: and so they did" (1 Macc 10:11). Simon makes the program explicit: "And Simon built up the strongholds of Judea, fortifying them with high towers, and great walls, and gates, and bars: and he stored up victuals in the fortresses" (1 Macc 13:33), and again, "So gathering together all the men of war, he made haste to finish the walls of Jerusalem, and he fortified it round about" (1 Macc 13:10). The grant of the strongholds to the nation is recognized in writing: "For all that we have decreed in your⁺ favor, will stand in force. The strongholds that you⁺ have built, will be your⁺ own" (1 Macc 13:38).

The same wars supply a thick file of sieges. Judas besieges the tower at Beth-zur and the strangers prepare engines: "And they came together, and besieged them in the year one hundred and fifty, and they made battering slings and engines" (1 Macc 6:20); "And he turned his army against the sanctuary for many days: and he set up there battering slings, and engines and instruments to cast fire, and engines to cast stones and javelins, and pieces to shoot arrows, and slings" (1 Macc 6:51); "And they also made engines against their engines, and they fought for many days" (1 Macc 6:52). Judas resolves to take the citadel — "And Judas purposed to destroy them: and he called together all the people, to besiege them" (1 Macc 6:19) — and a hard siege follows: "We decay daily, and our provision of victuals is small, and the place that we lay siege to is strong, and it lies on us to take order for the affairs of the kingdom" (1 Macc 6:57). Jonathan brings up his own engines against the Jerusalem citadel: "In those days Jonathan gathered together those who were in Judea, to take the castle that was in Jerusalem: and they made many engines of war against it" (1 Macc 11:20). Simon's siege of Gazara breaks the wall: "In those days Simon besieged Gazara, and encamped round about it, and he made a siege engine, and set it against the city, and he struck one tower, and took it. And those who were within the engine leaped into the city: and there was a great uproar in the city" (1 Macc 13:43-44). The Jerusalem citadel finally yields by famine: "But those who were in the citadel of Jerusalem were hindered from going out and coming into the country, and from buying and selling: and they were greatly hungered, and many of them perished through famine" (1 Macc 13:49). Antiochus's later siege of Dora is fought with the same equipment: "But King Antiochus moved his camp to Dora the second time, assaulting it continually, and making engines: and he shut up Tryphon, that he could not go out" (1 Macc 15:25).

The Maccabean army keeps the older toolkit alive. Ambushes are set and broken: "And look, the army of the strangers met him in the plain, and they laid an ambush for him in the mountains: but he went out against them" (1 Macc 11:68); "And those who lay in ambush rose out of their places, and joined battle" (1 Macc 11:69). Garrisons are placed and repurposed — "And he placed garrisons in them, that they might wage war against Israel" (1 Macc 9:51); "Now when Ptolemy entered into the cities, he put garrisons of soldiers in every city" (1 Macc 11:3); "And he fortified the cities of Judea and Beth-zur that lies in the borders of Judea, where the armor of the enemies was before: and he placed there a garrison of Jews" (1 Macc 14:33). Simon's final office consolidates the structure: "And Simon saw that John his son was a valiant man for war: and he made him captain of all the forces: and he lived in Gazara" (1 Macc 13:53); "And Simon accepted it, and was well pleased to serve as high priest, and to be captain, and prince of the nation of the Jews, and of the priests, and to be chief over all" (1 Macc 14:47); "And that he should be captain over them, and that he should have charge of the sanctuary, and that he should appoint rulers over their works, and over the country, and over the armor, and over the strongholds" (1 Macc 14:42). On the Seleucid side a fresh captain is named at the end of the book — "And the king appointed Cendebaeus captain of the sea coast, and gave him an army of footmen and horsemen" (1 Macc 15:38) — and the household coup at Jericho is the work of another captain still: "Now Ptolemy the son of Abubus was appointed captain in the plain of Jericho, and he had abundance of silver and gold" (1 Macc 16:11). Against Cendebaeus, Simon's son John takes the field: "Then he chose out of the country twenty thousand fighting men and horsemen, and they went out against Cendebaeus: and they rested in Modin" (1 Macc 16:4).