First of all, it is necessary to clarify the origin of the phrase “God of hosts”, which is often found in the Bible and denotes one of the names of our Lord - the Creator of the universe and all that exists. It came from Hebrew, or rather, from its oldest form - Aramitic, the language in which most of the books of Scripture were composed. It is pronounced by the sons of Israel as “Zevaot” (צבאות), since it is the plural of the word “army”, which in Hebrew sounds as “tsava” (צבא).
Lord of the heavenly and earthly armies
According to the Orthodox tradition, it is usually translated into Russian with the expression "Lord of the armies of the Angels." Thus, in contrast to other names of the Almighty, which are found in biblical texts, the word of Sabaoth emphasizes his strength and omnipotence.
Since this name is derived from the word “host”, there is a mistaken belief that the God of hosts is the personification of the God of war. However, biblical scholars rightly point out that it does not occur in texts corresponding to the period of the most active military operations of the Jewish people, for example, the era of the conquest of Canaan. On the contrary, its very frequent use is noted in the books of the prophets and psalms dating back to the later period, when the tribes of Israel began their peaceful development.
Thus, the expression Lord God of hosts is not limited to any narrow spectrum of understanding, but carries the meaning of the almighty lord and master of all earthly and heavenly forces. According to the biblical view, the stars and everything that fills the vault of heaven is also part of His vast army.
The Lord is infinite and omnipresent
The other name of the God of hosts is also widely known - Jehovah (יהוה), translated as "He will be" or "He lives." It does not carry any semantic difference and is used only as an alternative. It is interesting to note that the word found in the original text of the Bible, like the other names of God, is traditionally unpronounceable for Jews because of their worship of the greatness of the Creator.
An example of how the Old Testament uses one of the names of the God of hosts, we find in chapter 3 of the Book of Exodus, which is part of the Pentateuch of Moses. Those who are familiar with the text of the Holy Scripture remember well the episode when the prophet Moses , when he was a shepherd at the priest of the land of Midian, Jethro, received from the Lord the command to withdraw his people from Egyptian slavery.
This great event took place on Mount Hariv, where the Almighty spoke to his prophet from the flame that engulfed the bush of the dome. To the question of Moses about what to answer to the fellow tribesmen, when they ask about the name of God who sent him to them, He literally answered: “I am Jehovah”. The original text uses the Hebrew word יהוה, that is, "Jehovah." It is not the name of God in the commonly used meaning of this word, but merely indicates His infinite being.
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 as Elohim, Adonai, Yahweh and several others. In the New Testament, this name is Jesus, translated as the Savior, and Christ is the Anointed.
The unbroken and inseparable hypostases of God
It is noted that starting from the 16th century, on the Orthodox icons of the Holy Trinity, the image of the God of Hosts corresponds to one of Her three incarnations - God the Father. The inscriptions made near His figure testify to this. However, this does not mean at all that when we pronounce the name of hosts, we mean only God the Father.
As the Holy Tradition teaches us, All three hypostases of the Holy Trinity - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - do not exist together and not separately. They cannot be separated from each other, as it is impossible to imagine the shining disk of the sun without the light emitted by it and the heat generated. All of them are three hypostases of one essence, called the Sun - one with all its manifold manifestations.
So is the Almighty. The divine energy that created the visible and invisible world is perceived by us as the image of God the Father. His will, embodied in the Word, took the form of the eternal Son of Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit is the power by which the Lord acts in people and the Church He created. All these three hypostases are the components of one God, and therefore, when we call one of them, we mean the other two. That is why the expression God the Father, the Lord of hosts, refers to both the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Divine power embodied in the name
In Orthodox theology, divine names reflect the totality of its manifestations in the world around us. For this reason, He is of the same name. In the diversity of His attitude to the created (that is, created by Him) world, the Lord gives Himself to all things, sending him His infinite Grace. Its manifestations in our life are endless.
It is important to keep in mind that 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 authority over all earthly and heavenly forces, and Jehovah testifies to the infinity of being. As the distinguished theologian of the 3rd century, the first bishop of Paris, Saint Dionysius, pointed out in his writings, the names of God are "the created creature of the uncreated Creator."
The names of the Lord in the writings of St. Dionysius
Developing his doctrine, as a divine name, the theologian used a number of terms used in ordinary speech to refer to purely positive concepts. For example, God of hosts is referred to as Goodness. He gives such a name to the Lord in view of the indescribable goodness that He generously exudes to the whole world He created.
The radiant radiance with which God fills the earth gives the foundation to Saint Dionysius to call Him Light, and the charm given to Him by His creations - Beauty. Combining these concepts with a single word, he gives God the name Love. In the writings of Dionysius, we find such names of the Lord as Good, Unity, Life, Wisdom and many others, the justification of which follows from the very doctrine of the One and All-Owning God.
Prayer born on the banks of the Neva
A similar naming of God with words characterizing His basic qualities can be found in the well-known prayer to the Lord, composed by the holy righteous John of Kronstadt. In it, calling God Strength, the saint prays to support him, exhausting and falling. Calling the Most High the Light, he asks to enlighten the soul clouded in worldly passions, and giving Him the name Grace, hopes for boundless mercy.
Laudatory hymns that came to Russia from Byzantium
In the very first years following the baptism of Russia, in the lands consecrated 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 laudatory songs written in honor of the Lord God, His Most Holy Mother, as well as angels and saints.
The structural feature of the akathists is the presence of a short introduction called kukulia, and 12 large stanzas that follow, called ikos and ending with an unchanging refrain, starting with the words “Rejoice ...”, and the same number of small stanzas - kondakas, at the end of each of which stands “ Hallelujah!"
Akathist to the Eternal God
It is hardly possible to reliably determine the historical period in which "Akathist to God of Hosts" was written, but, once in Russia, he took a strong place in the national anthem. Since time immemorial, its text has been read both as part of certain holiday prayers, and during general divine services. The text of the akathist, both in the old-printed tradition and in the manuscript version, was traditionally placed in such liturgical books as Akafestnik, The Hourglass, Psalter Pledovannaya, as well as the Lenten Triode.
It differs from the traditional spelling of akathists only in that the words “Rejoice ...” that complete each question are replaced in it with more appropriate general content - “Lord God ...”. From the first lines in which the Lord is called the Climbed Governor of the Fiery and Heavenly Forces, the whole 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 regular appeal of the creature to its Creator.
Akathist, containing the history of the world
A careful reading of the text makes it easy to see that the Akathist to God of hosts is a fairly complete exposition of the Christian doctrine of the Triune God. In addition, in an extremely compressed, but deep in content form, it presents the main events of the Sacred History from the Creation of the World to the Sacrifice of Christ. This feature of it, combined with the high artistry of constructing and transmitting the material, makes this akathist one of the most striking works of Christian hymnography.