Quick Definition
στρατεία, ας, ἡ n.f. warfare, military service
Strong's Definition
from 4754; military service, i.e. (figuratively) the apostolic career (as one of hardship and danger)
KJV Usage: warfare
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
noun, f. | -ας | στρατεύομαι
55.4 · Military Activities · To Fight
war, warfare act of engaging in war or battle as a soldier στρατεύω[a] and στρατεία in 1TI 1:18 and 2CO 10:4 are used figuratively, and it may be essential to mark this figurative usage as a type of simile. For example, in 1TI 1:18 στρατεύομαι may be rendered as ‘you may, so to speak, wage the good battle’ or ‘it is like you are fighting.’ Similarly, in 2CO 10:4 στρατεία may be rendered as ‘in what is like a battle for us.’
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
στρατεία, -as, ἡ, (στρατεύω), an expedition, campaign ; military service, warfare: Paul likens his contest with the difficulties that oppose him in the discharge of his apostolic duties to a warfare, 2 Co. x. 4 (where Tdf. στρατιᾶς, see his note); 1 Tim. i. 18. [(Hdt., Xen., al.)]
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
στρατεία strateia 2x
a military expedition, campaign; and genr. military service, warfare; met. the Christian warfare, 2 Cor. 10:4; fight, 1 Tim. 1:18*
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
στρατεία (on the orthogr., v. Deiss., BS, 181 f.), -ας, ἡ
(< στρατεύω), [in LXX chiefly for צָבָא ;]
an expedition, a campaign, warfare: metaph., II Co 10:4 (-τιά, T), I Ti 1:18.†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
στρατεία (for the spelling, see Deissmann BS Ρ. 181 f.) ‘‘ military service”: P Fay 914 (Α.Ὁ. 99) Avklor Βελλήνῳ Γεμέλλωι ἀπολυσ[ί)μωι ἀπὸ στρατείας, ‘to Lucius Bellenus Gemellus discharged from military service,” BGU I. 140! (time of Hadrian) ο[ὃ]ς οἱ γονεῖς αὐτῶν τῷ τῆς στρατείας ἀνείλα[ν]το χρόνῳ, Gnomon (= BGU V. 1) 34 (¢ A.D. 150) τοῖς ἐν στρατείᾳ καὶ ἀπὸ στρατείας οὖσι συνκεχώρηται διατίθεσθα[ι] καὶ κατὰ Ῥωμαϊκὰς καὶ “Ἑλληνικὰς διαθήκας, and 2. 62, and BGU II. 6251} (beg. iii/A.D.), as read by Olsson Papyrusbriefe p. 114, ὕδατε (= οἴδατε) τὴν ἀνάγκην τῆς στρατείας. In the inscr. Preisigke 293) (Ptol.) ὁμοῦ τὴν τιμὴν τῆι θεῶν στρατείαι "Apne συνμάχωι, Διὶ ᾿Ολυμπίωι κτλ., στρατείαι would seem ἰὼ have the meaning ‘‘army” like στρατιά (¢g.v.), and this meaning is also given by the editors to the word in P Oxy I. γι (A.D. 303) τῶν τε ἡμετέρων τέκνων ἐν στρατείᾳ ὄντων Kal ἀπασχολ[ο]υμένων ἐπὶ τῆς ἀλλοδαπῆς, “ my sons are in the army and absent upon foreign service,” but the translation ‘€on military service ” is equally possible. For the metaph. use of στρατεία, as in 2 Cor τοί, 1 Tim 118, 4 Macc 9%, cf. Epict. iii. 24. 34 στρατεία tls ἐστιν ὁ βίος ἑκάστου καὶ αὕτη μακρὰ καὶ ποικίλη, and Maxim. Tyr. xix. 4 στρατηγὸν μὲν τὸν θεόν, στρατείαν δὲ τὴν ζωήν, ὁπλίτην δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
στρατεία (strateia) — warfare. στρᾰτεία, Ionic dialect -ηΐη, ἡ, (στρατεύω) expedition, campaign, στρατηΐην ποιεῖσθαι ἐς.., ἐπὶ.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀπὸ στρατείας coming from war, after service done, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; κατὰ τὴν Σιτάλκου σ. about the time of his expedition, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐπὶ στρατείας εἶναι to be on foreign service, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; so ἐν στρατείᾳ ὄντας [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν τῇ σ. [Refs 3rd c.BC+]; παραγγέλλειν τινὶ σ. κατὰ γῆν [Refs 5th c.BC+]; στρατείαν ξυνεξελθεῖν[Refs 4th c.BC+]; τῆς σ. γιγνομένης ἐκ καταλόγου [Refs 4th c.BC+]; frequently in plural, military service, warfare, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; πρὸς ταῖς αὑτοῦ σ. in addition to the campaigns which he is bound to serve, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; στρατείας στρατεύεσθαι [Refs]; ἀφειμένος στρατείας, = Latin exauctoratus, [Refs 1st c.AD+]
2. σ. ἐν τοῖς ἐπωνύμοις levy of those liable to serve in the year of such and such archons, [Refs 4th c.BC+]
3. σ. ἡ ἐν τοῖς μέρεσιν expedition for special service, to train the young soldiers next after serving as περίπολοι, [Refs 4th c.BC+]
4. military discipline, ἡ ἀκριβὴς σ. [Refs 2nd c.AD+]
5. military appointment, ἐπώλησε στρατείας [Refs] —στρατιά is a constant variant, and is sometimes undoubtedly used= στρατεία (campaign), see at {στρατιά} [Refs 5th c.BC+]; but στρατεία= army, expeditionary force is very rare, [Refs 5th c.BC+] never = army, but both -εία [Refs 3rd c.BC+] = campaign.