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Bible Dictionaries
Arms
Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
or The Hebrews do not appear to have had any peculiar military habit. As the flowing dress which they ordinarily wore would have impeded their movements, they girt it closely around them when preparing for battle, and loosened it on their return, 2 Samuel 20:8; 1 Kings 20:11 . They used the same arms as the neighbouring nations, both defensive and offensive; and these were made either of iron or of brass, principally of the latter metal. Of the defensive arms of the Hebrews, the following were the most remarkable; namely,
1. The helmet, כובע , for covering and defending the head. This was a part of the military provision made by Uzziah for his vast army, 2 Chronicles 26:14; and long before the time of that king, the helmets of Saul and of the Philistine champion were of the same metal, 1 Samuel 17:38 .
This military cap was also worn by the Persians, Ethiopians, and Libyans, Ezekiel 38:5 , and by the troops which Antiochus sent against Judas Maccabaeus, 1Ma_6:35 .
2. The breastplate or corslet, שריון , was another piece of defensive armour. Goliath, and the soldiers of Antiochus, 1 Samuel 17:5; 1Ma_6:35 , were accoutred with this defence; which, in our authorized translation, is variously rendered habergeon, coat of mail, and brigandine, 1 Samuel 17:38; 2 Chronicles 26:14; Isaiah 59:17; Jeremiah 46:4 . Between the joints of this harness, as it is termed in 1 Kings 22:4 , the profligate Ahab was mortally wounded by an arrow, shot at a venture. From these various renderings of the original word, it should seem that this piece of armour covered both the back and breast, but principally the latter. The corslets were made of various materials: sometimes they were made of flax or cotton, woven very thick, or of a kind of woollen felt: others again were made of iron or brazen scales, or laminae, laid one over another, like the scales of a fish; others were properly what we call coats of mail; and others were composed of two pieces of iron or brass, which protected the back and breast. All these kinds of corslets are mentioned in the Scriptures. Goliath's coat of mail, 1 Samuel 17:5 , was literally a corslet of scales, that is, composed of numerous laminae of brass, crossing each other. It was called by Virgil, and other Latin writers, squama lorica. Similar corslets were worn by the Persians and other nations. The breastplate worn by the unhappy Saul, when he perished in battle, is supposed to have been of flax, or cotton, woven very close and thick, 2 Samuel 1:9 , marginal rendering.
3. The shield defended the whole body during the battle. It was of various forms, and made of wood covered with tough hides, or of brass, and sometimes was overlaid with gold, 1 Kings 10:16-17; 1 Kings 14:26-27 . Two sorts are mentioned in the Scriptures; namely, the נה , great shield or buckler, and the מגן , or smaller shield. It was much used by the Jews, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Egyptians. David, who was a great warrior, often mentions a shield and buckler in his divine poems, to signify that defence and protection of Heaven which he expected and experienced, and in which he reposed all his trust, Psalms 5:12; and when he says, "God will with favour compass the righteous as with a shield," he seem, to allude to the use of the great shield tsinnah, (which is the word he uses,) with which they covered and defended their whole bodies. King Solomon caused two different sorts of shields to be made; namely, the tsinnah, (which answers to clypeus among the Latins,) such a large shield as the infantry wore, and the maginnim, or scuta, which were used by the horsemen, and were of a much less size, 2 Chronicles 9:15-16 . The former of these are translated targets, and are double in weight to the other. The Philistines came into the field with this weapon: so we find their formidable champion was appointed, 1 Samuel 17:7 . One bearing a shield went before him, whose proper duty it was to carry this and some other weapons, with which to furnish his master upon occasion.
The loss of the shield in fight was excessively resented by the Jewish warriors, as well as lamented by them; for it was a signal aggravation of the public mourning, that "the shield of the mighty was vilely cast away," 2 Samuel 1:21 . David, a man of arms, who composed this beautiful elegy on the death of Saul, felt how disgraceful a thing it was for soldiers to quit their shields in the field.
These honourable sentiments were not confined to the Jews. We find them prevailing among most other ancient nations, who considered it infamous to cast away or lose their shield. With the Greeks it was a capital crime, and punished with death. The Lacedemonian women, it is well known, in order to excite the courage of their sons, used to deliver to them their fathers' shields, with this short address: "This shield thy father always preserved: do thou preserve it also, or perish." Alluding perhaps to these sentiments, St. Paul, when exhorting the Hebrew Christians to steadfastness in the faith of the Gospel, urges them not to cast away their confidence, which "hath great recompense of reward," Hebrews 10:35 .
4. Another defensive provision in war was the military girdle, which was for a double purpose: first, in order to hold the sword, which hung, as it does this day, at the soldier's girdle or belt, 1 Samuel 17:39 : secondly, it was necessary to gird the clothes and the armour together. To gird and to arm are synonymous words in Scripture; for those who are said to be able to put on armour are, according to the Hebrew and the Septuagint, girt with a girdle; and hence comes the expression of "girding to the battle," 1 Kings 20:11; Isaiah 8:9; 2 Samuel 22:40; 1 Samuel 18:4 . There is express mention of this military girdle, where it is recorded that Jonathan, to assure David of his entire love and friendship by some visible pledges, stripped himself not only of his usual garments, but of his military habiliments, his sword, bow, and girdle, and gave them to David.
5. Boots or greaves were part of the ancient defensive harness, because it was the custom to cast certain εμποδια , impediments, (so called, because they entangled the feet,) in the way before the enemy. The military boot or shoe was therefore necessary to guard the legs and feet from the iron stakes placed in the way to gall and wound them; and thus we are enabled to account for Goliath's greaves of brass which were upon his legs.
The offensive weapons were of two sorts; namely, such as were employed when they came to a close engagement, and those with which they annoyed the enemy at a distance. Of the former description were the sword and the battle-axe.
1. The sword is the most ancient weapon of offence mentioned in the Bible. With it Jacob's sons treacherously assassinated the Shechemites, Genesis 34:2 . It was worn on the thigh, Psalms 45:4; Exodus 32:27; and, it should seem, on the left thigh; for it is particularly mentioned that Ehud put a dagger or short sword under his garments on his right thigh, Judges 3:16 . There appear to have been two kinds of swords in use, a larger one with one edge, which is called in Hebrew the mouth of the sword, Joshua 6:21; and a shorter one with two edges, like that of Ehud. The modern Arabs, it is well known, wear a sabre on one side, and a cangiar or dagger in their girdles.
2. Of the battle-axe we have no description in the sacred volume: it seems to have been a most powerful weapon in the hands of cavalry, from the allusion made to it by Jeremiah: "Thou art my battle-axe and weapons of war; for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms: and with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider, and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider,"
Jeremiah 51:20-21 .
3. The spear and javelin (as the words רמח and הנית are variously rendered in Numbers 25:7; 1 Samuel 13:19 , and Jeremiah 46:4 ) were of different kinds, according to their length or make. Some of them might be thrown or darted, 1 Samuel 18:11; others were a kind of long swords, Numbers 25:8; and it appears from 2 Samuel 2:23 , that some of them were pointed at both ends. When armies were encamped, the spear of the general or commander-in-chief was stuck into the ground at his head.
4. Slings are enumerated among the military stores collected by Uzziah, 2 Chronicles 26:14 . In the use of the sling David eminently excelled, and he slew Goliath with a stone from one. The Benjaminites were celebrated in battle because they had attained to great skill and accuracy in handling this weapon; "they could sling stones to a hair's breadth, and not miss," Judges 20:16; and where it is said that they were left-handed, it should rather be rendered ambidexters; for we are told they could use "both the right hand and the left," 1 Chronicles 12:2; that is, they did not constantly use the right hand as others did, when they shot arrows or slung stones; but they were so expert in their military exercises, that they could perform them with their left hand as well as with their right.
5. Bows and arrows are of great antiquity; indeed, no weapon is mentioned so early. Thus Isaac said to Esau, "Take thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow," Genesis 27:3; though, it is true, these are not spoken of as used in war, but in hunting; and so they are supposed and implied before this, where it is said of Ishmael that he became an archer, he used bows and arrows in shooting of wild beasts, Genesis 21:20 . This afterward became so useful a weapon, that care was taken to train up the Hebrew youth to it betimes. When David had, in a solemn manner, lamented the death of King Saul, he gave orders for teaching the young men the use of the bow, 1 Samuel 1:18 , that they might be as expert as the Philistines, by whose bows and arrows Saul and his army were slain. These were part of the military ammunition; for in those times bows were used instead of guns, and arrows supplied the place of powder and ball. From the book of Job 20:24 , it may be collected, that the military bow was made of steel, and consequently was very stiff and hard to bend, on which account they used their foot in bending their bows; and therefore when the prophets speak of treading the bow and of bows trodden, they are to be understood of bows bent, as our translators rightly render it, Jeremiah 50:14; Isaiah 5:28; Isaiah 21:15; but the Hebrew word which is used in these places, signifies to tread upon. This weapon was thought so necessary in war, that it is there called, "the bow of war," or the "battle-bow," Zechariah 9:10; Zechariah 10:14.
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Watson, Richard. Entry for 'Arms'. Richard Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/wtd/a/arms.html. 1831-2.
