The British Orthodox Church

within the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate

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09-03-2011, 01:05 AM,
What/where is sabaoth?

In the liturgy we refer to God as "Lord God of Sabaoth". I was just wondering, what does this term mean and what are the origins?

In Christ,
15-03-2011, 03:26 PM,
Sabaoth is the transliteration of a Hebrew word which denotes hosts or armies. To the Jews Sabaoth meant the stars, as in Genesis II:1 and Psalm XXXII: 6. It is an old Semitic term and some scholars suggest it may originally have designated the moon-god. Some scholars feel it is simply employed as designating the army, the host of fighting men, and that the Jews used it for God leading them to certain victory over the worshippers of the pagan gods Baal, Chemosh, Molech and Ashtaroth. However, whatever its origins, it later came to refer to the angels, so the 'Lord of Sabaoth' is the One who is supreme over all the innumerable hosts of spiritual agencies or the "armies of heaven." Its link with angels is clearly made in its association with the Tersanctus (Holy, Holy, Holy) in most ancient liturgies. Some modern liturgies use the term 'Lord of Hosts' but Casimir Kucharek, writing on the Byzantine Liturgy, suggests that it may have been left untranslated to be even more inclusive and refer not only to the hosts of angels but to the whole multitude of being created by God in the six biblical days. It is found in the Authorised version of the Bible only in Romans IX: 29 and James V: 4)
