1. Zephaniah 2:9 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What is the meaning of the title “LORD of hosts”?

Zephaniah 2:9 (ESV)

9 Therefore, as I live,” declares the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Moab shall become like Sodom, and the Ammonites like Gomorrah, a land possessed by nettles and salt pits, and a waste forever. The remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the survivors of my nation shall possess them.”

The title Lord of hosts or Lord of armies typically bears a militaristic connotation in Scripture, pointing to the Lord as a God of the armies, who fights on behalf of his people. The term also points to the Lord’s lordship over the entire cosmos.1