Jehovah Sabaoth Meaning: What the Name Means in the Bible
Updated October 22, 2026. Counts from the full KJV and World English Bible text.
Jehovah Sabaoth (Hebrew יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת) means the LORD of hosts (armies). Strong's Hebrew dictionary lists it as H3068 (Yhwh) and H6635 (tsaba'). In the King James Version text, LORD of hosts appears 245 times in 235 verses.
The first verse in the King James Version text that matches is 1 Samuel 1:3.
What Jehovah Sabaoth means
The LORD of hosts is the name of God as commander of armies, human and heavenly. It first appears in 1 Samuel 1:3 and is common in the prophets. Sabaoth is the Hebrew word for hosts written in Greek letters: Paul quotes Isaiah with it in Romans 9:29, and James uses it in James 5:4.
| Hebrew | יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת |
|---|---|
| Transliteration | Yahweh Tsevaot (yĕhōvâ ṣĕḇāʼôṯ) |
| Literal meaning | the LORD of hosts (armies) |
| English Bibles print it as | LORD of hosts |
| Strong's | H3068 יְהֹוָה (Yhwh): (the) self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God H6635 צָבָא (tsaba'): a mass of persons, especially regularly organized for war (an army); hosts |
Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew dictionary, public domain. Every Hebrew form, transliteration and definition on these pages was read against the matching Strong's entry on Biblehub on 2026-10-22. Verse text is the King James Version and the World English Bible, both public domain.
Where Jehovah Sabaoth appears in the Bible
The KJV prints LORD of hosts, and the World English Bible prints Yahweh of Armies. Both are counted, and the different totals show how each translation words the same Hebrew phrase.
| English text searched | KJV | WEB |
|---|---|---|
| LORD of hosts (KJV) or Yahweh of Armies (WEB) | 245235 verses | 260248 verses |
| LORD God of hosts (KJV) or Yahweh God of Armies (WEB) | 2928 verses | 66 verses |
| Sabaoth (KJV) or Lord of Armies (WEB) | 22 verses | 22 verses |
Books with the most matches (KJV: LORD of hosts)
Found in 15 books in all.
First 40 of 235 verses (KJV, LORD of hosts): 1 Samuel 1:3, 1 Samuel 1:11, 1 Samuel 4:4, 1 Samuel 15:2, 1 Samuel 17:45, 2 Samuel 6:2, 2 Samuel 6:18, 2 Samuel 7:8, 2 Samuel 7:26, 2 Samuel 7:27, 1 Kings 18:15, 2 Kings 3:14, 2 Kings 19:31, 1 Chronicles 11:9, 1 Chronicles 17:7, 1 Chronicles 17:24, Psalm 24:10, Psalm 46:7, Psalm 46:11, Psalm 48:8, Psalm 84:1, Psalm 84:3, Psalm 84:12, Isaiah 1:9, Isaiah 1:24, Isaiah 2:12, Isaiah 3:1, Isaiah 5:7, Isaiah 5:9, Isaiah 5:16, Isaiah 5:24, Isaiah 6:3, Isaiah 6:5, Isaiah 8:13, Isaiah 8:18, Isaiah 9:7, Isaiah 9:13, Isaiah 9:19, Isaiah 10:16, Isaiah 10:26.
First use of Jehovah Sabaoth
And this man went up out of his city yearly to worship and to sacrifice unto the LORD of hosts in Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, the priests of the LORD, were there.
This man went up out of his city from year to year to worship and to sacrifice to Yahweh of Armies in Shiloh. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, priests to Yahweh, were there.
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
Names related to Jehovah Sabaoth
- Jehovahיְהוָה: LORD, the personal name of God
- Jehovah Nissiיְהוָה נִסִּי: the LORD is my banner
- Adonaiאֲדֹנָי: my Lord, a title of respect and rule
- Elohimאֱלֹהִים: God, the general Hebrew word for deity
See all names: the names of God and their meanings.
Common questions
What does Jehovah Sabaoth mean?
Jehovah Sabaoth means "the LORD of hosts", or "of armies". Tsaba (Strong's H6635) is an army or host, organized especially for war.
Where is Jehovah Sabaoth first used?
In 1 Samuel 1:3, where Elkanah goes up to worship "the LORD of hosts" at Shiloh.
How many times is Jehovah Sabaoth in the Bible?
Searching the full King James Version text for LORD of hosts finds 245 times in 235 verses. The World English Bible has 260 times. English Bibles translate Hebrew names, so a count in English counts the translation, not the Hebrew word.
Sources
Source: H3068, H6635 via biblehub.com/hebrew, read 2026-10-22. Hebrew meanings: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew dictionary, public domain. Verse text: King James Version and World English Bible, public domain. Counts: Bible Says About, 2026-10-22.
Verses on our topic pages: Bible verses about protection, Bible verses about courage, Bible verses about spiritual warfare. Word counts: God, Lord and Bible names and their meanings.
Counted by Bible Says About from the full public-domain text of the King James Version (1769 edition) and the World English Bible. Verse text only: headings and psalm titles are left out. A word is a run of letters: a hyphenated name like Beer-sheba counts as two, and an apostrophe stays inside its word (LORD'S is one). Matching ignores capital letters. Data compiled 2026-10-22.