Word study
Battle
13 Hebrew and 1 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: battle, battles. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “battle” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- מִלְחָמָה milchâmâhbattle, wartranslated this way 150 times of its 298 uses · Strong’s H4421Noun · Translated: battle 135, war 96, fight 11, army 5Full study and all 289 verses →
Genesis 14:8 Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and arrayed themselves for battle in the Valley of Siddim
Numbers 10:9 When you enter into battle in your land against an adversary who attacks you, sound short blasts on the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the LORD your God and saved from your enemies.
- צָבָא tsâbâarmy, war, warfaretranslated this way 8 times of its 468 uses · Strong’s H6635Noun · Translated: Hosts 286, army 66, host 23, divisions 21Full study and all 448 verses →
Numbers 31:4 Send into battle a thousand men from each tribe of Israel.”
1 Chronicles 7:11 All these sons of Jediael were heads of their families, mighty men of valor; there were 17,200 fit for battle.
- מַעֲרָכָה maărâkâhrow, rank, battle-linetranslated this way 5 times of its 17 uses · Strong’s H4634Noun · Translated: armies 4, battle line 2, battle 2, ranks 2Full study and all 15 verses →
1 Samuel 4:12 That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.
1 Chronicles 12:38 All these men of war, arrayed for battle, came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. And all the rest of the Israelites were of one mind to make David king.
- קְרָב qerâbbattle, wartranslated this way 4 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H7128Noun · Translated: war 5, battle 4Full study and all 9 verses →
2 Samuel 17:11 Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba— a multitude like the sand on the seashore— be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle.
Psalm 55:18 He redeems my soul in peace from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.
- חָמֻשׁ châmushstaunch, soldierstranslated this way 3 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s H2571Verb · Translated: armed for battle 2, arrayed for battle 1, armed men 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Exodus 13:18 So God led the people around by the way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt arrayed for battle.
Joshua 1:14 Your wives, your young children, and your livestock may remain in the land that Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But all your mighty men of valor must be armed for battle to cross over ahead of your brothers and help them,
- רוּעַ rûaraise a shouttranslated this way 3 times of its 44 uses · Strong’s H7321Verb · Translated: shout 10, Make a joyful noise 5, shout in triumph 4, shouted 3Full study and all 40 verses →
Joshua 6:10 But Joshua had commanded the people: “Do not give a battle cry or let your voice be heard; do not let one word come out of your mouth until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout!”
2 Chronicles 13:15 and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. And when they raised the cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah.
- כִּידוֹן kîdôndart, javelintranslated this way 3 times of its 9 uses · Strong’s H3591Noun · Translated: battle lance 3, javelin 2, lance 2, spear 2Full study and all 8 verses →
Joshua 8:18 Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Hold out your battle lance toward Ai, for into your hand I will deliver the city.” So Joshua held out his battle lance toward Ai,
Joshua 8:26 Joshua did not draw back the hand that held his battle lance until he had devoted to destruction all who lived in Ai.
- מַחֲנֶה machănehencampment, camptranslated this way 3 times of its 206 uses · Strong’s H4264Noun · Translated: camp 146, army 21, camps 12, armies 3Full study and all 186 verses →
1 Samuel 28:1 Now in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for warfare against Israel. So Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men are to go out to battle with me.”
1 Kings 22:34 However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”
- לָחַם lâchamfight, do battletranslated this way 3 times of its 175 uses · Strong’s H3898Verb · Translated: fight 77, fought 45, fighting 16, waged war 6Full study and all 170 verses →
2 Kings 9:15 but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds he had suffered at the hands of the Arameans in the battle against Hazael their king.) So Jehu said, “If you commanders wish to make me king, then do not let anyone escape from the city to go and tell it in Jezreel.”
2 Chronicles 35:22 Josiah, however, did not turn away from him; instead, in order to engage him in battle, he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco’s words from the mouth of God, but went to fight him on the Plain of Megiddo.
- תְּרוּעָה terûâhshout or blast of war, alarm, or joytranslated this way 3 times of its 31 uses · Strong’s H8643Noun · Translated: shouting 4, short blasts 2, shout 2, shout of joy 2Full study and all 29 verses →
2 Chronicles 13:12 Now behold, God Himself is with us as our head, and His priests with their trumpets sound the battle call against you. O children of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.”
Jeremiah 20:16 May that man be like the cities that the LORD overthrew without compassion. May he hear an outcry in the morning and a battle cry at noon,
- אָזַר âzargird, encompass, equiptranslated this way 3 times of its 15 uses · Strong’s H247Verb · Translated: armed 3, brace 2, prepare for battle 2Full study and all 14 verses →
Isaiah 8:9 Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me,
- צָבָא tsâbâwage war, servetranslated this way 3 times of its 13 uses · Strong’s H6633Verb · Translated: served 2, enlisted 2Full study and all 12 verses →
Isaiah 29:7 All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel— even all who war against her, laying siege and attacking her— will be like a dream, like a vision in the night,
Isaiah 29:8 as when a hungry man dreams he is eating, then awakens still hungry; as when a thirsty man dreams he is drinking, then awakens faint and parched. So will it be for all the many nations who go to battle against Mount Zion.
- נֶשֶׁק nesheqequipment, weaponstranslated this way 2 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s H5402Noun · Translated: weapons 4, battle 2, weaponry 1, armory 1Full study and all 10 verses →
Job 39:21 He paws in the valley and rejoices in his strength; he charges into battle.
Psalm 140:7 O GOD the Lord, the strength of my salvation, You shield my head in the day of battle.
Greek words (New Testament)
- πόλεμος pólemosa war, battle, strifetranslated this way 6 times of its 18 uses · Strong’s G4171Noun · Translated: battle 6, wars 5, war 5, conflicts 1Full study and all 16 verses →
1 Corinthians 14:8 Again, if the trumpet sounds a muffled call, who will prepare for battle?
Hebrews 11:34 quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
What the Bible says about battle: passages by topic →
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.