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Bible Dictionaries
Arms
People's Dictionary of the Bible
or Arms, Armor. There were: I. Offensive Weapons: arms. II. Defensive weapons: armor. I. Offensive weapons. 1. Apparently the earliest and most widely used was the Chereb or sword, a lighter and a shorter weapon than the modern sword. It was carried in a sheath, 1 Samuel 17:51; 2 Samuel 20:8; 1 Chronicles 21:27, slung by a girdle, 1 Samuel 25:13, and resting upon the thigh, Psalms 45:3; Judges 3:16, or upon the hips, 2 Samuel 20:8. 2. The spear; at least three distinct kinds. (a) The Chanith, a "spear" of the largest kind. It was the weapon of Goliath, 1 Samuel 17:7; 1 Samuel 17:45; 2 Samuel 21:19; 1 Chronicles 20:5, and also of other giants, 2 Samuel 23:21; 1 Chronicles 11:23, and mighty warriors, 2 Samuel 2:23; 2 Samuel 23:18; 1 Chronicles 11:11; 1 Chronicles 11:20. (b) Apparently lighter than the preceding was the Cîdôn or "javelin." When not in action the Cîdôn was carried on the back of the warrior, 1 Samuel 17:6, A. V. "target," (c) Another kind of spear was the Rômach, mentioned in Numbers 25:7 and 1 Kings 18:28, and frequently in the later books, as in 1 Chronicles 12:8 ("buckler"); 2 Chronicles 11:12. It varied much in length, weight and size, (d) The Shelach, probably a fighter missile or "dart." See 2 Chronicles 23:10; 2 Chronicles 32:5 ("darts"); some suppose darts are meant by the reading in the margin of A. V. of Nehemiah 4:17; Nehemiah 4:23; but the R. V. reads "weapon" in both cases, which makes it uncertain what kind of armor is meant. Job 33:18; Job 36:12; Joel 2:8. (e) Sheba, means a rod or staff, used once only to denote a weapon. 2 Samuel 18:14. 3. Of missile weapons of offence the chief was undoubtedly the bow (Hebrew, Kesheth). The arrows were carried in a quiver. Genesis 27:3; Isaiah 22:6; Isaiah 49:2; Psalms 127:5. From an allusion in Job 6:4 they would seem to have been sometimes poisoned; and Psalms 120:4 may point to a practice of using arrows with some burning material attached to them. 4. The sling is mentioned in Judges 20:16. This simple weapon, with which David killed the giant Philistine, was the natural attendant of a shepherd. Later in the monarchy, slingers formed part of the regular army. 2 Kings 3:1-27; 2 Kings 25:5. The battle-axe, Jeremiah 51:20, was a powerful weapon; its exact form is unknown. II. Armor. 1. The breastplate noticed in the arms of Goliath, a "coat of mail," literally a "breastplate of scales." 1 Samuel 17:5. 2. The habergeon is mentioned twice—in reference to the gown of the high priest. Translated coat of mail in R.V. Exodus 28:32; Exodus 39:23. It was probably a quilted shirt or doublet. 3. The helmet was a protection for the head. 1 Samuel 17:5; 2 Chronicles 26:14; Ezekiel 27:10. 4. Greaves were coverings for the feet, made of brass, named in 1 Samuel 17:6 only. 5. Two kinds of shield are distinguishable, (a) The large shield, encompassing the whole person. Psalms 5:12. It was carried before the warrior. 1 Samuel 17:7. (b) Of smaller size was the buckler or target, probably for use in hand-to-hand fight. 1 Kings 10:16; 2 Chronicles 9:15-16.
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Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'Arms'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/rpd/a/arms.html. 1893.
