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στράτευμα

stráteuma

G4753 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

A body or assembly of military forces; a group of soldiers organized for warfare or military service. In wider contexts, can refer to a detachment, garrison, or the collective armed forces. Occasionally, more abstractly, it can denote forces or groups arrayed as if for military action, including metaphorical uses for spiritual beings considered as ordered hosts.

Semantic Range

army, troop, detachment of soldiers, garrison, armed forces, host (literal or celestial), military command, (rare) arrayed host (metaphorical)

Root / Etymology

Derived from the verb στρατεύομαι ('to serve as a soldier, to wage war'), itself built on the root στρατ- related to the concept of a military campaign or army.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, στράτευμα refers to an army or military expedition, generally emphasizing the group as an organized, purposeful body rather than the abstract institution of 'military.' In Hellenistic and Roman contexts, the term maintains its primary sense of a body of troops but can mean any size group, from a full army down to a garrison or cohort. In the Septuagint, στράτευμα often translates Hebrew terms for armies or hosts (such as צָבָא, tsavāʼ), including the celestial 'hosts of heaven.' In the New Testament (e.g., Luke 23:11; Acts 23:10), it typically refers to Roman or foreign military detachments or collectively to military forces. English translations often use 'army,' 'troops,' or 'soldiers,' but these may over-specify the size or organization of the group. The word can also have metaphorical applications for cosmic or spiritual 'hosts,' especially in apocalyptic or visionary literature. στράτευμα is distinct from στρατός (a less common term for 'army' as an institution) and στράτευσις (the act of serving as a soldier or a campaign).

Translation Consistency

primary "army" 1 occurrence

στράτευμα primarily denotes an organized military body or host. ‘‘Army’’ is the most natural, widely understood English equivalent that covers troops, garrison, host, and collective armed forces (including figurative/celestial uses) and will read naturally in all inflected forms.

Alternatives (7 occurrences):
"armies" (3x) "troops" (2x) "soldiers" (1x) "military forces" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from στρατεύομαι; an armament, i.e. (by implication) a body of troops (more or less extensive or systematic):--army, soldier, man of war.

Root Family

στρατ- (strateía) — to wage war, to make a campaign, to serve as a soldier

Root στρατ- to campaign, to serve as a soldier, to engage in warfare
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G4752 στρατεία military campaign
G4754 στρατεύομαι you may engage in warfare
G4756 στρατιά to an army

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G4753-03 στρατεύματα strateumata N ACC N PL armies military forces armies 3
G4753-01 στράτευμα strateuma N ACC N SG troops a military force troops 1
G4753-02 στρατεύμασιν strateumasin N DAT N PL soldiers to the armies soldiers 1
G4753-04 στρατεύματι strateumati N DAT N SG troops to a military force troops 1
G4753-05 στρατευμάτων strateumaton N GEN N PL armies of military forces military forces 1
G4753-06 στρατεύματος strateumatos N GEN N SG army of an army army 1

Occurrences in Scripture

8 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G4753-03 Matthew 22:7 στρατεύματα strateumata N ACC N PL troops military forces armies
G4753-02 Luke 23:11 στρατεύμασιν strateumasin N DAT N PL soldiers to the armies soldiers
G4753-01 Acts 23:10 στράτευμα strateuma N ACC N SG troops a military force troops
G4753-04 Acts 23:27 στρατεύματι strateumati N DAT N SG troops to a military force troops
G4753-05 Revelation 9:16 στρατευμάτων strateumaton N GEN N PL armies of military forces military forces
G4753-03 Revelation 19:14 στρατεύματα strateumata N NOM N PL armies military forces armies
G4753-03 Revelation 19:19 στρατεύματα strateumata N ACC N PL armies military forces armies
G4753-06 Revelation 19:19 στρατεύματος strateumatos N GEN N SG army of an army army
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