ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE BIBLE

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WAR

Bible Study Resource

WHAT

INTERESTING WEBSITES                                          SCROLL DOWN FOR IMAGES 

THE ARMY

In the early part of Israel's history, each tribe provided a militia from its able-bodied men. This group was willing and able to fight, and had received some training. They were not a regular army as we understand the term, not full-time soldiers, but men who were called on to defend their clan whenever there was a need - somewhat like the men who fought for Scotland in the Battle of Culloden. 

In the battle scenes in the film 'Braveheart', William Wallace led a federation of clans/tribes. Each clan could leave or change sides if they wished. That was the pattern for the Israelite army. The tribes were often motivated by self-interest, which is fair enough if the men were going to face death in battle. But this could be a problem for a leader trying to muster a large force and hold it together.

The advantage of militia is that the men will fight passionately for their home and families. The disadvantage is that they cannot be held for long-term wars or fighting. At harvest time, for example, men often simply downed their weapons and returned home to bring in the harvest. 

Despite their undoubted courage, the tribal militias were not really successful. Their enemies, for example the Philistines, were well-organized - 1 Samuel 4:2 tells us that the Philistines were drawn up in lines when they attacked Israel, which suggests a disciplined, well-trained enemy. As well, the Israelites were poorly equipped, with little or no armor.

When King Saul, and then King David and his son King Solomon took the throne, there was a dramatic change. These kings began to copy the strategies of their enemies. They formed regular armies with full-time trained soldiers. They used new strategies and tactics, things that worked well for their enemies - for example, laying siege to a city. But they also held onto the tactics that had worked for them before: surprise attacks, psychological warfare, propaganda.
See BIBLE PEOPLE: DAVID for a short version of David's life.

Very little is known about the organization of the army under the Israelite kings. When the Bible speaks of soldiers in 'thousands', it does not mean numerically thousands, but is instead a term describing a unit of soldiers. Unfortunately, we do not know how many soldiers would have been in one of these units - but certainly it would have been much, much less than a numerical 'thousand'.

When David went forward to fight Goliath, he was armed 
with little besides a sling and his wits (read about David's use of lateral thinking at BIBLE TOP TEN: YOUNG PEOPLE.) 
Later, when he became king, 
he took care to organize and equip an army 
that would have a better chance of defeating its enemy.

    
(Left) No Israelite armor has been found, but this Greek armor gives an idea of the body protection for a soldier in the mid 1st millennium BC; (right) an elite soldier would have stronger and more efficient armor

This reconstruction of the gates of the town of Gezer shows the guard-rooms built into the wall. Guards stood here when they were on duty, and fighting equipment was kept here

BATTLES

There were no great set-piece battles like those of Alexander or Napoleon - of at least if there were, the Bible does not describe them. Very little is known about the deployment of troops during any  particular battle - the Bible describes the reasons for the battle, who was involved, and what the result was, but it tells us virtually nothing of the strategies used by the opposing generals.

Before the reign of David, fighting took the form of skirmishes or raids. In this early period, the Israelites were experts at guerilla fighting. They relied on surprise attacks that panicked their enemies.

These battles fall into the following two groups - roughly before the reign of David, and after it:

 *  the campaigns of Joshua, Book of Joshua
 *  the wars described in the Book of Judges: Ehud versus the Moabite king Eglon (Judges 3:12-30); Deborah and Barak versus Jabin of Hazor and his general Sisera (Judges 4 and 5); Gideon versus the Midianites (Judges 7:1-25); Samson versus the Philistines (Judges 13:1-16:31). These were all defensive battles fought with tribal militia. The battles were more like extended skirmishes, lasting minutes to hours - short, sharp, swift.

 *  Saul's war with the Philistines, and David's conquests
 *  Israel under two great military kings, Omri and Ahab; Battle of Qarqar
 *  the siege of Samaria, and conquest by Sargon II of Assyria after a three-year siege. Deportation of the Jewish population (the 'lost ten tribes')
 *  battle against the Egyptians at Megiddo, King Josiah killed - see BIBLE ARCHITECTURE: MEGIDDO for the extraordinary defense walls and gates of Megiddo
 * Judah's struggle for survival and eventual conquest by  Nebuchadnezzar

Mount Tabor, scene of the battle between Deborah/Barak's forces, and Sisera, the fearsome general of King Jabor of Hazor (see Judges 4 and 5)
For more information on Deborah and the battle, see
BIBLE WOMEN: DEBORAH AND JAEL


Plan of the first phase of the battle between Deborah's forces, and Sisera.
From 'Battles of the Bible', Chaim Herzog and Mordechai Gishon

 

           WEAPONS

There were four branches in the army: spearmen, swordsmen, archers, and slingers. Weapons used by these groups can be divided into two groups: those the soldier held and wielded at close quarters with the enemy, and those he projected, either with his arm or with the the help of some other centrifugal force, for example the sling.

There are few references to weapons in the period of the Judges, or in the battles that were fought then - no Israelite spears, bows, shields, javelins, axes or maces - or the protective body armor (see Judges 5:8). Their enemies, on the other hand, were well armed - Goliath had a full suit of armor.

After the introduction of monarchy by Saul, David and Solomon, weapons became much more common. The standing army was equipped with effective weapons, and when the Philistine control over the manufacture of metal was broken, the weapons industry of Israel came under the control of the king.

Hand held weapons included the sword, the mace or club, and spears and javelins. Projectile weapons using centrifugal force included the bow and arrow, and the sling. The slingers were probably more accurate at hitting their target than the archers.

BIBLE PLACES: LACHISH has a section on the different types of weapons used by both sides during the siege of Lachish.

A boy with a sling-shot

Canaanite sickle sword and swords

A replica of an Etrucan iron-wheeled chariot, probably of similar design to the chariots used by Sisera's forces

ENGINEERING

Sun Tzu, the great Chinese war tactician, said 'The worst policy is to attack cities. Attack them only when there is no alternative.' He knew that attacking, or even laying siege to a city, was expensive and time-consuming, so he did not favor it. 

But siege warfare was the method Joshua frequently used in the story of the infiltration of Canaan, since he lacked the numbers to face an enemy in an open battle. Siege warfare was practised by Abimelech at Shechem, and Jephtah also used it in Ammon.

It was expensive and time-consuming, but it was also effective. The great empires of the ancient Near East perfected this type of warfare. The Assyrians developed specialized storm troops who were able to take advantage of any breaches in the wall. Trained sappers built zig-zag trenches allowing their own soldiers to get closer to the walls of the besieged city, without being hit by missiles coming from the city. Their engineers developed new siege weapons such as covered battering rams and mining tools.

The attackers would seal off the city under attack by encircling it with their army. The soldiers would settle down to work, but it was a busy time for the engineers, who would begin building siege works.  An earthen wall might be built to encircle the city; it would have guard towers at regular intervals, to keep watch for breakouts. Siege ramps made of earth and wood would be built (see above right) as soon as the battering rams were ready for use. 

Unless relief came from outside, the inhabitants of the city were trapped. All they could look forward to was starvation, surrender, slavery or death - and probably a horrible death at that. Jeremiah describes some of the terrible things that happened during a siege: 'I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege (19:9). And Isaiah comments that 'their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets' (5:25)

See BIBLE ARCHITECTURE: LACHISH for the story of the siege.

An aerial view of the tel of Lachish. The siege ramp is clearly visible at the bottom right of the tel. The excavated remains of the royal palace are in the centre of the tel.

A siege machine used by Sennacherib against the walls of Lachish

INTERESTING WEBSITES - photographs, reconstructions, information

BIBLE TOP TEN: WARRIORS
The top ten fighting men in the Bible - see who they are

BIBLE ARCHITECTURE: LACHISH
The wall and fortifications of the city, its massive gateway, the terrible siege and the weapons the defenders used

BIBLE PEOPLE: DAVID
A brief version of the story of the warrior-king David

BIBLE ARCHITECTURE: MEGIDDO
The extraordinary defense walls and gates of Megiddo

BIBLE TOP TEN: YOUNG PEOPLE
See David's use of lateral thinking when he faced the giant Goliath

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War  - Old Testament  - Archaeology of The Bible - Bible  Study Resource
The Army, Battles, Weapons and Military Engineering in the Bible