'Troops' in the Bible

Then Jacob was greatly afraid, and was distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the sheep and the cattle and the camels, into two troops.

I am too small for all the loving-kindness and all the faithfulness that thou hast shewn unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two troops.

Gad troops will rush upon him; But he will rush upon the heel.

So he got his chariot ready and took his troops with him;

But Moses was angry toward the leaders of the troops, the commanders of the thousands and the commanders of the hundreds, who came from the battle of the war.

Then divide the captives between the troops who went out to war and the entire community.

When Sihon and all his troops emerged to encounter us in battle at Jahaz,

When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry and troops who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

{And then} when you approach the battle, then the priest shall come near and speak to the troops.

Moreover, the officers are to say to the troops, "Who among you has built a new house and not dedicated it? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else dedicate it.

In addition, the officers are to say to the troops, "Who among you is afraid and fainthearted? He may go home so that he will not make his fellow soldier's heart as fearful as his own."

"When the officials have finished speaking to the army, they must appoint officers to lead the troops."

About forty thousand battle-ready troops marched past the Lord to fight on the plains of Jericho.

He said to the people, “Move forward, march around the city, and have the armed troops go ahead of the ark of the Lord.”

While the trumpets were blowing, the armed troops went in front of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard went behind the ark.

and the seven priests carrying seven trumpets marched in front of the ark of the Lord. While the trumpets were blowing, the armed troops went in front of them, and the rear guard went behind the ark of the Lord.

I and all the troops who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them.

So Joshua sent them out, and they went to the ambush site and waited between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. But he spent that night with the troops.

Joshua started early the next morning and mobilized them. Then he and the elders of Israel led the troops up to Ai.

All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city. They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley.

Then all the troops of Ai were summoned to pursue them, and they pursued Joshua and were drawn away from the city.

As soon as he stretched out his hand, the troops in ambush quickly got up from their place of hiding and attacked. They entered the city, seized it, and immediately set it on fire.

The men of Ai turned and looked back, and smoke from the city was rising to the sky! They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers.

So the five Amorite kings (the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) and all their troops gathered together and advanced. They deployed their troops and fought against Gibeon.

When they brought the kings out to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the troops who accompanied him, "Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came up and put their feet on their necks.

Joshua and all Israel marched from Libnah to Lachish. He deployed his troops and fought against it.

Joshua and all Israel marched from Lachish to Eglon. They deployed troops and fought against it.

She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “Hasn’t the Lord, the God of Israel, commanded you: ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor, and take with you 10,000 men from the Naphtalites and Zebulunites?

I will draw out Sisera, the commanding officer of Jabin's army, along with his chariots and troops, to the Kishon River, where I will drop him right into your hands.'"

he ordered all his chariotry -- nine hundred chariots with iron-rimmed wheels -- and all the troops he had with him to go from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the River Kishon.

And Yahweh said to Gideon, "The troops that [are] with you [are] too many for me to give Midian into their hands; Israel will boast, saying, 'My hand has delivered me.'

So then, please proclaim in the {hearing} of the troops, saying, 'Whoever [is] fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from the Mount of Gilead.'" About twenty-two thousand troops returned, and ten thousand remained.

And Yahweh said to Gideon, "There [are] still too many troops; bring them down to the water, and I will sift through them for you there. For whomever I say to you, 'This [one] will go with you,' he will go with you; and for all whom I say to you, 'This [one] will not go with you,' he will not go."

So he brought down the troops to the water, and Yahweh said to Gideon, "You must separate everyone who laps up the water to drink with his tongue like a dog from those {who kneel}."

The number of those lapping up [the water] with their hand to their mouth was three hundred men; all the rest of the troops kneeled to drink the water.

And Yahweh said to Gideon, "I will deliver you with the three hundred men lapping up [the water]; I will give Midian into your hand, so let the [other] troops go, each to his own place.

Listen to what they say, and then you will be strengthened to go to the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant to the outpost of the troops who were in the camp.

And in the morning at sunrise, get up and rush the city; and look, when he and the troops who [are] with him come out to you, {you must act according to whatever opportunity offers itself}.

We will take ten men of one hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and one hundred of one thousand, and one thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions to the troops, to repay [them] when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin for all the disgraceful things they did in Israel."

From all these troops [were] seven hundred well-trained men {who were left-handed}; each one could sling with a stone at a hair and not miss.

But the troops, the men of Israel, {encouraged themselves}, and again they arranged [their] battle [lines] in the place where they had arranged themselves the first day.

And all the {Israelites} and all the troops went up and came to Bethel and wept; and they sat there before Yahweh and fasted on that day until evening; and they offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before Yahweh.

The descendants of Benjamin went out to meet the troops, and they lured [them] away from the city and began to inflict casualties on the troops as before, on the main road, one of which goes up [to] Bethel, the other to Gibeah; [and] in the field [there were] about thirty men of Israel.

And the congregation sent there twelve thousand men from the troops, and they commanded them, saying, "Go, strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with {the edge of the sword}, and the women and children.

When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let us be defeated today by the Philistines? Let’s bring the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh. Then it will go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

Then the messenger answered and said, "Israel has fled before [the] Philistines. There has been a great defeat among the troops. Also, your two sons have died, Hophni and Phinehas, and the ark of God has been captured."

And Saul also went to his house at Gibeah, and the troops whose hearts God had touched went with him.

The next day Saul organized the troops into three divisions. During the morning watch, they invaded the Ammonite camp and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. There were survivors, but they were so scattered that no two of them were left together.

He chose 3,000 men from Israel for himself: 2,000 were with Saul at Michmash and in Bethel’s hill country, and 1,000 were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. He sent the rest of the troops away, each to his own tent.

And all Israel heard the news, “Saul has attacked the Philistine garrison, and Israel is now repulsive to the Philistines.” Then the troops were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

The Philistines also gathered to fight against Israel: 3,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and troops as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They went up and camped at Michmash, east of Beth-aven.

The men of Israel saw that they were in trouble because the troops were in a difficult situation. They hid in caves, thickets, among rocks, and in holes and cisterns.

Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead.Saul, however, was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear.

He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him.

and Samuel asked, “What have you done?”Saul answered, “When I saw that the troops were deserting me and you didn’t come within the appointed days and the Philistines were gathering at Michmash,

Then Samuel went from Gilgal to Gibeah in Benjamin. Saul registered the troops who were with him, about 600 men.

Saul, his son Jonathan, and the troops who were with them were staying in Geba of Benjamin, and the Philistines were camped at Michmash.

So on the day of battle not a sword or spear could be found in the hand of any of the troops who were with Saul and Jonathan; only Saul and his son Jonathan had weapons.

Saul was staying under the pomegranate tree in Migron on the outskirts of Gibeah. The troops with him numbered about 600.

Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod, was also there. He was the son of Ahitub, the brother of Ichabod son of Phinehas, son of Eli the Lord’s priest at Shiloh. But the troops did not know that Jonathan had left.

Terror spread through the Philistine camp and the open fields to all the troops. Even the garrison and the raiding parties were terrified. The earth shook, and terror spread from God.

When Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, they saw the panicking troops scattering in every direction.

So Saul said to the troops with him, “Call the roll and determine who has left us.” They called the roll and saw that Jonathan and his armor-bearer were gone.

Saul and all the troops with him assembled and marched to the battle, and there, the Philistines were fighting against each other in great confusion!

and the men of Israel were worn out that day, for Saul had placed the troops under an oath: “The man who eats food before evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies is cursed.” So none of the troops tasted any food.

When the troops entered the forest, they saw the flow of honey, but none of them ate any of it because they feared the oath.

However, Jonathan had not heard his father make the troops swear the oath. He reached out with the end of the staff he was carrying and dipped it into the honeycomb. When he ate the honey, he had renewed energy.

Then, one of the troops said, “Your father made the troops solemnly swear, ‘The man who eats food today is cursed,’ and the troops are exhausted.”

How much better if the troops had eaten freely today from the plunder they took from their enemies! Then the slaughter of the Philistines would have been much greater.”

They defeated [the] Philistines that day from Micmash to Aijalon, and the troops were very weary.

Then the troops took the plunder: they took sheep and cattle and {calves} and slaughtered [them] on the ground and the troops ate [them all] with the blood.

Some reported to Saul: “Look, the troops are sinning against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.”Saul said, “You have been unfaithful. Roll a large stone over here at once.”

He then said, “Go among the troops and say to them, ‘Each man must bring me his ox or his sheep. Do the slaughtering here and then you can eat. Don’t sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood in it.’” So every one of the troops brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there.

Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines tonight and plunder them until morning. Don’t let even one remain!”“Do whatever you want,” the troops replied.But the priest said, “We must consult God here.”

Saul said, “All you leaders of the troops, come here. Let us investigate how this sin has occurred today.

As surely as the Lord lives who saves Israel, even if it is because of my son Jonathan, he must die!” Not one of the troops answered him.

So he said to all Israel, “You will be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side.”And the troops replied, “Do whatever you want.”

So Saul said to the Lord, “God of Israel, give us the right decision.” Jonathan and Saul were selected, and the troops were cleared of the charge.

Then Saul summoned the troops and counted them at Telaim: 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men from Judah.

Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, cattle, and choice animals, as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.

Saul answered, “The troops brought them from the Amalekites and spared the best sheep and cattle in order to offer a sacrifice to the Lord your God, but the rest we destroyed.”

The troops took sheep and cattle from the plunder—the best of what was set apart for destruction—to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”

Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned because I have transgressed {the commandment of Yahweh} and your words, for I feared the troops and I listened to their voice.

The Philistines gathered their troops for battle. They assembled at Socoh in Judah. They camped in Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and Azekah.

Goliath stood and called to Israel's troops, "Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man so he may come down to me!

Then the Philistine said, "I defy Israel's troops this day! Give me a man so we can fight each other!"

David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper, and he took [the provisions] and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment while the troops [were] going to the battle line, and they raised the war cry.

And the troops had spoken to him according to this word, saying, "So it will be done for the man who defeats him."

David went out and was successful everywhere Saul sent him, and Saul put him in charge of the troops. This pleased the entire army, as well as Saul's officials.

Therefore, Saul reassigned David and made him commander over 1,000 men. David led the troops

But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was leading their troops.

Then Saul summoned all the troops to go to war at Keilah and besiege David and his men.

Saul took 3,000 of his best troops from all over Israel, and he went to look for David and his men in the direction of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

Immediately, David went to the place where Saul had camped. He saw the place where Saul and Abner son of Ner, the general of his army, were lying down. Saul was lying inside the inner circle of the camp with the troops camped around him.

That night, David and Abishai came to the troops, and Saul was lying there asleep in the inner circle of the camp with his spear stuck in the ground by his head. Abner and the troops were lying around him.

Then David shouted to the troops and to Abner son of Ner: “Aren’t you going to answer, Abner?”“Who are you who calls to the king?” Abner asked.

In those days the Philistines gathered their troops for war in order to fight Israel. Achish said to David, "You should fully understand that you and your men must go with me into the battle."

The Philistines gathered all their troops at Aphek, while Israel was camped at the spring in Jezreel.

David and the troops with him wept loudly until they had no strength left to weep.

David was in a difficult position because the troops talked about stoning him, for they were all very bitter over the loss of their sons and daughters. But David found strength in the Lord his God.