'Armies' in the Bible

When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” So he named that place Mahanaim (double camps).

Then the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with all their armies, and they camped by Gibeon and fought against it.

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle and were assembled at Socoh, which belongs to Judah; and they camped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.

Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes the disgrace [of his taunting] from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God?”

Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God.”

But David’s men said to him, “Listen, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the battle lines of the Philistines?”

So Ben-hadad listened to king Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth [the region of the Sea of Galilee], along with all the land of Naphtali.

Now the mighty men of the armies were: Asahel the brother of Joab, Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem,

Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they attacked and conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali.

“Is there any number to His [vast celestial] armies?And upon whom does His light not rise?

But now You have rejected us and brought us to dishonor,And You do not go out with our armies [to lead us to victory].

Have You not rejected us, O God?And will You not go out with our armies?

“The kings of the [enemies’] armies flee, they flee,And the beautiful woman who remains at home divides the spoil [left behind].”

Have You not rejected us, O God?And will You not go out, O God, with our armies?

Let our cattle bearWithout mishap and without loss,And let there be no outcry in our streets!

(The Chorus)“Return, return, O Shulammite;Return, return, that we may gaze at you.”

“Then it will sweep on into Judah; it will overflow and pass through [the hills],Reaching even to the neck [of which Jerusalem is the head],And its outstretched wings (the armies of Assyria) will fill the width of Your land, O Immanuel.

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the Desert of the Sea (the seasonally flooded plains just south of Babylon):As windstorms in the Negev (the South) sweep through,So it (God’s judgment) comes from the desert, from [the hostile armies of] a terrifying land.

The overwhelming forces [of the invading armies of Egypt] will be flooded away before him and smashed; and also the prince of the covenant [will be smashed].

In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with panic and his rider with madness; but I will open My eyes and watch over the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the [opposing] nations with blindness.

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by [hostile] armies, then understand [with confident assurance] that her complete destruction is near.