Battle Array

ARRAY, BATTLE (עָרַכְ, H6885). This expression appears some sixty times in the OT. Its primary meaning is to “place in order” or “arrange,” and secondarily to marshal “troops.” The word and concept are developed extensively in 1QM and tr. in the LXX by a variety of Gr. terms. From the archeological finds of ancient representations of armies in the fields and formations of miniatures, as from an Egyp. tomb of the twelfth dynasty at Assiût, it is known that ancient warriors were well-drilled and highly organized in mass movements and tactics. RSV uses “array” more consistently, and also uses it for the Gr. παριστημι, in Acts 4:26 (quoting Ps 2:2); KJV reads “gathered together against.” A number of words in both OT and NT referring to specific types of military groups, cavalry, archers, etc. may be broadly tr. in this sense.