– One of the attributes given to Yahweh in the AT was that of Lord of hosts, especially in the time of the kings:
1Ch 11,9 : David became more and more powerful and the God of hosts was with him.
1Chr 17:24 : Then your name will be exalted forever. They will say, “The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel.”
Ps 46,7 : Sing to the glory of God, sing; sing to the glory of our king, sing.
Is 14,27 : The Lord of hosts has decided, who will change his sentence? His hand is outstretched, who will make him withdraw it?
Zech 2,9 : I myself – oracle of the Lord – will be for her a wall of fire that will surround her; I will be her glory in her midst.
– From the promise of the Promised Land to its effective occupation, the struggles were constant:
Ex 6,7-8 : I will take you for my people and I will be your God, and you will know that I am the Lord your God.
Josh 3:10 : You shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will drive out the Canaanites from before you.
– The warlike thought attributed to Yahweh disappeared when the kingdoms of Judah and Israel were devastated and their inhabitants were deported:
2 Kings 17 :6 : The king of Assyria seized Samaria and deported the Israelites to Assyria.
2 Kings 24:12-13 : Joaquin, king of Judah, went to the king of Babylon […] And the king of Babylon arrested him.
2 Kings 25:11-12 : Nebuzaradan, chief of the guard, deported to Babylon what was left of the city’s population.
Jer 39,9-10 : Nebuzaradan, chief of the guards, deported to Babylon what was left of the city’s population.
Ez 1,1-2 : When I was among the deportees, on the banks of the Cobar river, the heavens were opened.
Am 5:27 : I sent you away from Damascus, says the Lord who is called the God of hosts.
– After the exile, the prophets made the people see that the cause of the destruction of their kingdoms had been their unfaithfulness to Yahweh, and thus
way, a more religious life began to grow among them:
Es 9,6 : My God; because our iniquities are heaped up over our heads, and our sin has reached to heaven.
Ne 1 :6 : For the children of Israel, your servants, confessing the sins that we Israelites have committed against you.
Ne 9,16-26 : But our fathers, in their pride, hardened their necks and did not observe your commandments.
Jr 31,19 : After making a mistake, I repented, and when I understood, I hurt my thigh. I feel ashamed.
Br 1,15–2,35 : The Lord our God is righteous. We, however, must, today, blush with shame.
Dan 9,5 : We have sinned […] we have deviated from your commandments and your laws.
– Hope was nurtured with the promise of messianic times, when there would be peace and justice for all:
Is 42,6 : I, the Lord, really called you […] I formed you and appointed you to be a covenant with the peoples.
Is 45:14 : The poor of Egypt […] the high stature of Sabaim will pass over to your land and they will be yours.
Is 49,6 : I will make you the light of the nations, to spread my salvation to the ends of the world.
