An encampment (of travellers or troops); hence, an army , whether literal (of soldiers) or figurative (of dancers, angels, cattle, locusts, stars; or even the sacred courts)
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H4264 names an encampment and, by extension, the organized company or army gathered there. It may describe Israel arranged by tribes, an enemy force, the place where travelers or soldiers stay, or a figurative host.
Reader summary
Full entry for מַחֲנֶה (H4264) · Open the biblical lexicon
H4264 names an encampment and, by extension, the organized company or army gathered there. It may describe Israel arranged by tribes, an enemy force, the place where travelers or soldiers stay, or a figurative host.
The BSB source-word alignment has 215 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include the camp (81), in the camp (16), camp (14), of the camp (12), army (7).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Genesis 32:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Numbers (49), Judges (27), 1 Samuel (22), Exodus (19).
H4264 names an encampment and, by extension, the organized company or army gathered there. It may describe Israel arranged by tribes, an enemy force, the place where travelers or soldiers stay, or a figurative host. Because the word can point either to the location or the gathered body, readers should ask whether the passage emphasizes boundaries, order, threat, movement, holiness, or military strength.
In Exod. 14. 19, the angel of God and pillar of cloud move from before Israel’s camp to stand behind it as the Egyptians approach, displaying the Lord’s protective initiative. In 1Sam. 4. 3, Israel returns to camp after defeat and brings the ark as though its presence could guarantee rescue, exposing a superstitious use of a holy object. In Ps. 27. 3, David confesses trust even if an army encamps against him, locating courage in the Lord rather than in favorable numbers.
H4264 opens teaching on ordered community, guarded boundaries, spiritual presumption, and fear under threat. It corrects the idea that belonging to the right camp automatically makes a cause righteous or an outcome secure. A camp may be protected, judged, purified, mobilized, or defeated. Its theological significance depends on who gathers, why they gather, and how their posture relates to the Lord’s word and covenant.
Across Torah, history, poetry, and prophecy, H4264 describes Israel’s ordered encampment, military forces, enemy camps, sacred boundaries, and figurative hosts. The camp can display God’s ordered presence and protection, yet it can also harbor presumption, uncleanness, rebellion, or violence. Scripture never lets mere group identity replace covenant faithfulness.
And the angel of God, who had gone before the camp of Israel, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from before them and stood behind them,
As Egypt closes in, the angel of God and the pillar of cloud move from the front of Israel’s camp to the rear, placing divine protection between the two forces.
When the troops returned to the camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why has the Lord brought defeat on us before the Philistines today? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh, so that it may go with us to save us from the hand of our enemies.”
After military defeat, Israel’s elders bring the ark from Shiloh in the hope that it will save them, treating its arrival in camp as a guarantee they have not received from God.
Though an army encamps around me, my heart will not fear; though a war breaks out against me, I will keep my trust.
David imagines an army encamping against him and still declares confidence, because the psalm grounds safety and desire in the Lord’s presence.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Hebrew word. Ordered gathering of people or forces; ranges from literal military camp to figurative assembly of celestial or earthly hosts.
Ordered gathering of people or forces; ranges from literal military camp to figurative assembly of celestial or earthly hosts.
an encampment (of travellers or troops); hence, an army, whether literal (of soldiers) or figurative (of dancers, angels, cattle, locusts, stars; or even the sacred courts) BDB: encampment Usage: army, band, battle, camp, company, drove, host, tents.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 216 lexical occurrence verses.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
A camp gathers people into a visible order, but H4264 does not tell readers that the order is faithful. At the sea, Israel’s camp is vulnerable and the Lord places His own presence between the people and the pursuing Egyptians. At Ebenezer, Israel’s elders respond to defeat by moving the ark into camp as a strategy, but the sacred object does not protect an unrepentant people from judgment.
In Psalm 27, the camp belongs to the threatening army, yet its nearness does not displace the worshiper’s confidence in the Lord. These witnesses expose three different sources of confidence: God’s gracious protection, human religious presumption, and faith that endures visible threat. The word can name God’s people, their enemies, or simply the organized place where a company resides.
Therefore, no congregation, nation, denomination, or movement may claim divine approval from the label camp alone. Biblical community needs ordered life and appropriate boundaries, but its safety and holiness remain dependent on God’s character, revealed word, and correcting grace. H4264 helps teachers distinguish communal belonging from covenant faithfulness and disciplined readiness from militarized identity.
Exod.14.19
H4264 is a Hebrew noun for an encampment and can extend metonymically to the company, host, or army occupying it. Context determines whether English should emphasize the site, the assembled people, military organization, or a figurative host.
Israel’s camp traditions join divine presence, ordered community, holiness, and the danger of presumption. The New Testament gathers believers around Christ and calls them to faithful endurance, while refusing worldly domination as the church’s method. Later camp imagery can echo Israel’s story, but separate Greek terms and their contexts must retain their own lexical force.