First of all, it is necessary to clarify the origin of the phrase "God of hosts", often found in the Bible and denoting one of the names of our Lord - the Creator of the universe and all things. It came from Hebrew, or rather, from its oldest form - Aramit, the language in which most of the books of Holy Scripture were compiled. It is pronounced by the sons of Israel as “Zevaot” (צבאות), since it is the plural of the word “host”, which sounds like “tsava” (צבא) in Hebrew.
Lord of heavenly and earthly hosts
According to the Orthodox tradition, it is usually translated into Russian by the expression "Lord of the armies of Angels." Thus, unlike other names of the Almighty found in biblical texts, the word Sabaoth emphasizes his strength and omnipotence.
Because this name is derived from the word "army", there is an erroneous opinion that the God of hosts is the personification of the God of war. However, biblical scholars rightly point out that it is not found in texts corresponding to the period of the most active hostilities of the Jewish people, for example, the era of the conquest of Canaan. On the contrary, the very frequentthe use is noted in the books of the prophets and psalms relating to a later period, when the tribes of Israel began their peaceful development.
Thus, the expression Lord-God of Hosts is not limited to any narrow range of his understanding, but carries the meaning of the almighty lord and ruler of all earthly and heavenly forces. According to the biblical view, the stars and everything that fills the firmament of heaven are also part of His boundless army.
The Lord is infinite and omnipresent
Another name for the God of hosts is also widely known - Jehovah (יהוה), translated as "He will be" or "He is alive." It does not carry any semantic difference and is used only as an alternative. It is curious to note that this word, found in the original text of the Bible, like other names of God, is traditionally unpronounceable for Jews due to their reverence for the greatness of the Creator.
An example of how one of the names of the God of hosts is used in the Old Testament, we find in the 3rd chapter of the Book of Exodus, which is part of the Pentateuch of Moses. Those familiar with the text of the Holy Scriptures well remember the episode when the prophet Moses, when he was a shepherd of the priest of the land of Midian, Jethro, received from the Lord a command to lead his people out of Egyptian slavery.
This great event took place on Mount Hariv, where the Almighty spoke with his prophet from the flames that engulfed the bush bush. When asked by Moses about what to answer his fellow tribesmen when they ask about the name of God who sent him to them, He answered literally:"I am who I am." The original text uses the Hebrew word יהוה, meaning "Jehovah". It is not the name of God in the common sense of the word, but only indicates His infinite existence.
Here we note that in the Bible you can find other names of God. In addition to those mentioned above, there are such Old Testament ones as Elohim, Adonai, Yahweh and a number of others. In the New Testament, this name is Jesus, translated as Savior, and Christ is the Anointed One.
Inseparable and inseparable hypostases of God
It is noted that since the 16th century, on the Orthodox icons of the Holy Trinity, the image of God Sabaoth corresponds to one of Her three hypostases - God the Father. This is evidenced by the inscriptions made near His figure. However, this does not mean at all that, pronouncing the name of Hosts, we mean only God the Father.
As Holy Tradition teaches us, All three hypostases of the Most Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - do not exist together and not separately. They cannot be separated from each other, just as it is impossible to imagine the radiant disk of the sun without the light emitted by it and the heat it emits. All of them are three hypostases of one essence, called the Sun - one in all the diversity of its manifestations.
So is God. The divine energy that created the visible and invisible world is perceived by us as an image of God the Father. His will, embodied in the Word, took the form of the eternal Son of Jesus Christ. And the power by which the Lord acts in people and in the Church created by Him is the Holy Spirit. All these three hypostases arecomponents of the one God, and therefore, calling one of them, we mean the other two. That is why the expression God the Father Lord of hosts includes an indication of both the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Divine power embodied in a name
In Orthodox theology, Divine names reflect the totality of its manifestations in the world around us. For this reason He is multi-named. In the diversity of His relationship to the created (that is, created by Him) world, the Lord gives Himself to everything that exists, sending down His infinite Grace to it. Its manifestations in our lives are limitless.
It is important to keep in mind that the Divine names are not an independent rational concept, but only recreate His image in the world around us. For example, the expression God of hosts, as mentioned above, emphasizes His power over all earthly and heavenly powers, and Jehovah testifies to the infinity of being. As an outstanding theologian of the 3rd century, the first bishop of Paris, Saint Dionysius, pointed out in his writings, the names of God are “the created analogue of the uncreated Creator.”
The names of the Lord in the writings of St. Dionysius
Developing his teaching, as Divine names the theologian used a number of terms used in ordinary speech to denote purely positive concepts. For example, God Sabaoth is referred to by him as Goodness. He gives such a name to the Lord in view of the indescribable goodness that He generously exudes throughout the world He created.
The radiant radiance with which Godfills the earth, gives St. Dionysius reason to call Him Light, and the charm that He gives to His creations - Beauty. Combining these concepts with a single word, he gives God the name Love. In the writings of Dionysius we also come across such names of the Lord as Goodness, Unity, Life, Wisdom and many others, the justification of which follows from the very doctrine of the One and Eternal God.
Prayer born on the banks of the Neva
Similar naming of God with words characterizing His main qualities can also be found in the well-known prayer to the Lord, compiled by the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. In it, calling God Strength, the saint prays to support him, exhausted and falling. Calling the Almighty Light, he asks to enlighten the soul darkened in worldly passions, and giving Him the name Grace, he hopes for boundless mercy.
Laudatory hymns that came to Russia from Byzantium
In the very first years following the baptism of Russia, on the lands sanctified by the light of the true faith, an active process of translation from Greek into Russian of various liturgical texts that came to us from Byzantium began. A significant place among them was occupied by akathists belonging to the genre of Orthodox hymnography and representing songs of praise written in honor of the Lord God, His Most Pure Mother, as well as angels and saints.
The structural feature of the akathists is the presence of a short introduction, called kukulia, followed by 12 large stanzas, called ikos and ending with an invariable refrain,beginning with the words "Rejoice …", and the same number of small stanzas - kontakia, at the end of each of which is "Hallelujah!"
Akathist to the Eternal God
It is hardly possible to determine with certainty the historical period in which the "Akathist to God Sabaoth" was written, but, having got to Russia, he took a firm place in the national hymnography. From time immemorial, its text has been read both as part of certain festive prayers and during general services. The text of the akathist, both in the early printed tradition and in the handwritten version, was traditionally placed in such liturgical books as the Akafestnik, the Book of Hours, the Followed Ps alter, and the Lenten Triode.
It differs from the traditional writing of akathists only in that the words “Rejoice…” that complete each icos are replaced in it with more appropriate to the general content – “Lord God…”. From the first lines, in which the Lord is called the Chosen Governor of the Fiery and Heavenly Forces, the entire text of the akathist is imbued with the spirit of high reverence for the Creator of the universe, and therefore the generally accepted in Orthodoxy “have mercy on me!” sounds like a natural and logical appeal of a creature to its Creator.
Akathist containing the history of the world
After careful reading of the text, it is easy to make sure that the Akathist to God Sabaoth is a fairly complete presentation of the Christian doctrine of the Triune God. In addition, it presents the main events of Sacred History from the Creation of the world to the Sacrifice of Christ in an extremely compressed form, but deep in content. Thisits peculiarity, combined with the high artistry of the construction and transmission of the material, makes this akathist one of the most striking works of Christian hymnography.
