מִלְחָמָה319 H4421
War, battle — armed conflict between opposing forces, whether a single engagement or prolonged campaign
Milchamah is the Hebrew Bible's principal noun for armed conflict, covering everything from a single pitched battle (Gen 14:8; 1 Sam 17:1) to a protracted war (2 Sam 3:1, 'the war was long'). Derived from the root l-ch-m ('to fight'), it appears in formulas like 'the Book of the Wars of YHWH' (Num 21:14) and 'a man of war' (Exod 15:3). Spanish 'guerra,' French 'guerre,' and German 'Krieg' all capture its full range without needing separate terms for battle versus war, matching the Hebrew word's own semantic breadth across its 319 occurrences.
Senses
1. war, battle, armed conflict — Armed conflict or military engagement between opposing forces, encompassing both individual battles and sustained wars. The noun derives from the root l-ch-m and appears in theologically significant constructions like 'wars of YHWH' (Num 21:14; 1 Sam 18:17) and as a cognate accusative with nilcham ('to wage war,' 1 Sam 8:20). Its scope ranges from the coalition battle of Gen 14:2 to the cosmic warfare imagery of Isaiah 42:13. 319×
AR["الْحَرْبَ", "الْحَرْبِ", "حَربٍ", "حَرْباً", "حَرْبًا", "حَرْبٌ", "حَرْبٍ"]·ben["যুদ্ধ", "যুদ্ধে", "যুদ্ধের"]·DE["Krieg"]·EN["war"]·FR["guerre"]·heb["מלחמה"]·HI["युदध", "युदध-क", "युद्ध", "युद्ध-का", "युद्ध-के", "युद्ध-को", "लदै"]·ID["peperangan", "perang"]·IT["guerra"]·jav["peperangan", "perang"]·KO["전쟁", "전쟁-으로", "전쟁-을", "전쟁을", "전쟁의", "전쟁이", "전쟁이라"]·PT["guerra", "guerra,", "guerra;"]·RU["война", "войне", "войной", "войну", "войны", "на-войну"]·ES["en-guerra", "guerra"]·SW["kwa-vita", "vita", "vitani", "wa-vita", "ya-vita", "za-vita"]·TR["savaş", "savaşa", "savaşçı", "savaşı", "savaşın"]·urd["جنگ", "جنگ-میں", "جنگ-کا", "جنگ-کی", "جنگ-کے"]
Gen 14:2, Exod 1:10, Exod 13:17, Exod 15:3, Exod 17:16, Exod 32:17, Num 10:9, Deut 2:9, Deut 2:24, Deut 20:12, Deut 20:20, Josh 11:18 (+38 more)
Related Senses
H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)G2190 1. enemy / hostile one (32×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
מִלְחָמָה319 n.f. battle, war;—abs. מ׳ Gn 14:2, 8 Ex 1:10 +; cstr. מִלְחֶ֫מֶת 1 S 13:22 (מ׳ מִכְמָשׁ 𝔊 Th We Bu HPS Ew§ 188 c Köii 182 > abs. Thes al.); sf. מִלְחַמְתִּי 2 Ch 35:21; מִלְחַמְתְּךָ 2 S 11:25; מִלְחַמְתֶּ֑ךָ Is 41:12, etc.; pl. מִלְחָמוֹת Is 42:13 + 7 times Ch ψψ; cstr. מִלְחֲמוֹת Ju 3:1 +, etc.;—battle, Gn 14:8 1 S 17:1, 2, 8; 31:3 1 K 20:14, 18, 29, 39 + often; war, Gn 14:2 Ex…