times the case, that they were covered with thin plates of brass, and even of silver and gold, 1 Kings, x. 16, 17; xiv, 25—28. There was a boss in the centre of the shield; and the margin, in order to prevent its being injured by the moisture when placed upon the earth, was surrounded by a thin plate of iron. The handle with which the shield was furnished, was made in various ways. In times of peace shields were hung up in armouries, 2 Chron. xxvi. 14, and were sometimes suspended on the walls of towers as an ornament, 1 Kings, x. 16, 17; Cant. iv. 4; Ezek. xxvii. 10, 11. Shields were borne by soldiers when they went to war, and were attached to them by a thong, which went round the left arm and the neck, 1 Chron. v. 18; xii. 8, 24; 2 Chron. ix. 15; xiv. 8.

When about to attack an enemy, they held the shield by the handle in the left hand; and where there was a body of them together, they were able, by merely joining shield to shield, to oppose, as it were, a wall against the assaults of their foes. When about to scale the walls of a city, they placed them one against the other over their heads, and in this way formed for themselves an impenetrable defence against missile weapons, 2 Chron. xxv. 5; Job. xli. 7. The phrases,." to seize the shield, etc." are used metaphorically to denote preparation for war, 2 Chron. xxv. 5; Jer. xlvi. 9; li. 11; Ezek. xxxviii. 4, 5. To lose a shield in battle was ignominious; to take one from the enemy, on the contrary, was attended with honour, 1 Kings, xiv. 26; 2 Sam. i. 21; comp. Caryophilus de veterum clypeis.

§. 271. THE HELMET, V, V, Tepikepáλaιov.

περικεφάλαιον.

THE HELMET was a piece of armour, which covered the forehead, the top, and the hind part of the head; and was surmounted, for ornament, with the tail of a horse and a plume. Anciently, the spearmen alone appear to have worn the helmet. To this remark, however, the Chaldeans should be made an exception, inasmuch as all the soldiers of that people seem to have been furnished with this piece of armour, Jer. xlvi. 4; Ezek. xxiii. 24; compare the large German edition of this work, P. II. vol. ii. tab, xi. no. 5 and 7.

It appears from 2 Chron. Xxxvi. 14; that king Uzziah had furnished an armoury with helmets for the use of his soldiers.

The material, from which the helmet was made, was an ox

hide; but it was usually, especially in the more recent ages, covered with brass. This piece of armour, in allusion to the purposes which it answered in war, is used figuratively for defence and protection, Eph. vi. 16.

§. 272. THE CUIRASS, BREASTPLATE, OR COAt of Mail.

sometimes] סְרִיוֹן, שִׁרְיוֹן שִׁרְיָן שִׁרְיָה,THE BREASTPLATE

rendered in the English version a coat of mail, and sometimes habergeon,] and which was known to the Grecians under the word apa, consisted of two parts; the one of which covered the fore part of the body, the other the back; both pieces being united at the sides by clasps or buttons. The breastplate, or coat of mail, that was worn by Goliath, (1 Sam. xvii. 5, 38,) was made of brass and indeed it was not unfrequently the case, that other warriors also wore a breastplate, made of that metal.

This piece of armour was very common among the Hebrews after the reign of David; and we find that it had a place among other implements of war and pieces of armour in the armoury of king Uzziah, 2 Chron. xxvi. 14. As it was an efficient means of protection to the body, it occurs figuratively for defence, Isaiah, lix. 17; Eph. vi. 14; 1 Thess. v. 8; Rev. ix. 17.

§. 273. GREAVES AND MILITARY FROCK.

Although there is no mention in the Bible of the piece of armour which was used for the defence of the right arm, (armilla militaris,) it will be remembered that the right foot of Goliath was defended with greaves of brass, , 1 Sam. xvii. 6. In other instances, a sort of half greaves or boots, denominated ND, Isaiah, ix. 5; was worn. The practice of defending the feet and legs in this way, however, does not seem to have been very common among the Hebrews.

As the long robe, which was usually worn, was a hindrance to that celerity of movement, expected from men engaged in military life, the soldiers, therefore, laid it aside, and wore in its stead a

SHORT FROCK.

The girdle,, from which the sword was suspended, is frequently mentioned among the articles of military dress, Isaiah, v. 27; Eph. vi. 14.

a [See Translation of Isaiah, by Rev. J. Jones, chap. ix. verse 5.]

§. 274. ON FORtifications.

MILITARY FORTIFICATIONS were at first nothing more than a trench or ditch, dug round a few cottages on a hill or mountain, together with the mound, which was formed by the sand dug out of it. It is probable, however, that sometimes, even in the early ages, scaffolding was erected for the purpose of throwing stones with the greater effect against the enemy. It appears that a city was built and fortified by Cain; for to build a city and to fortify it, in the oriental idiom, are the same thing, Gen. iv. 17.

In the age of Moses and Joshua, the walls, which surrounded cities, were elevated to no inconsiderable height, and were furnished with towers; yet, since the Hebrews, who were unacquainted with the art of besieging cities, took so many of them on both sides of the Jordan in a very few years, the inference is, that the fortifications, which were at the first so terrible to them, (Numb. xiii. 28;) were of no great strength.

The art of fortification was encouraged and patronised by the Hebrew kings, and Jerusalem was always well defended, especially mount Zion. In later times the temple itself was used as a castle.

The appropriate names for fortifications in Hebrew are as

The . עָרֵי מִבְצָר and, מְצוּרָה, מָצוֹר, עָרוֹת, בְּצוּרוֹת,follows

words, nevertheless, which usually mean cities, viz.,,

, in some instances mean fortifications. In the time of the Hebrew monarchy, armouries, 2, and guards of soldiers, made a part of the military establishment, 2 Chron. xvii. 2, 19; xxvi. 14, 15; xxxii. 5; xxxiii. 14.

The principal parts of a fortification were, as follows:

I. THE WALL, . In some instances the wall, erected round cities, was double and even triple, 2 Chron. xxxii. 5. Walls were commonly made lofty and broad, so as to be neither readily passed over, nor broken through, Jer. li. 58. The main wall terminated at the top in a parapet for the accommodation of the soldiers, which opened at intervals in what may be termed embrasures; so as to give them an opportunity of fighting with missile weapons.

Lofty towers were .מִגְדָּל, מִגְדָּלוֹת, מִגְדָּלִים,II. ToWERS

erected at certain distances from each other on the top of walls. They had a flat roof, and were surrounded with a parapet, which

exhibited openings similar to those just mentioned which were formed in the parapet of the walls. Towers of this kind were erected likewise over the gates of cities. In these towers guards were kept constantly stationed. At least this was the case in the time of the kings. It was their business to make known whatever they discovered at a distance; and whenever they noticed an irruption from an enemy, they blew the trumpet, 2 Sam. xiii. 34. xviii. 26, 27; 2 Kings, ix. 17-19; 2 Chron. xvii. 2; Nahum, ii. 1. Towers likewise, which were somewhat larger in size, were erected in different parts of the country, particularly on places which were elevated; and were guarded by a military force, Judg. viii. 9, 17; ix. 46, 49, 51; Isaiah, xxi. 6; Jer. xxxi. 6; Hos. v. 8; Habak. ii. 1. The Hebrew word for structures of this kind, is; and we find that the circular edifices of this kind, which are still erected in the solitudes of Arabia Felix, bear their ancient name of castles or towers. The watch towers

are to be distinguished ,מִצְפָּה, טִירָה, טִירוֹת,of the shepherds

from those which have now been mentioned, although it was not unfrequently the case that they were converted into military towers, and eventually into fortified cities, 2 Chron. xxvi. 10. xxvii. 4. This accounts for the fact, that cities in many instances occur under the words, and ; and also for the following proverbial expressions, which are sometimes found, viz. "From a watch-tower even to a fortified city." Prophets are frequently compared to the guards that were stationed in towers, Ezek. iii. 17; xxvii. 11; xxxiii. 1-9; Hos. xii. 13. III. BASTIONS. [We render the Hebrew word by the modern military term, bastions, although it does not convey precisely its meaning, The following statement will give an idea of what is meant.] The walls were erected in such a manner as to curve inwardly; the extremities of them, consequently, projected outwards. The object of forming the walls, so as to present such projections, was to enable the inhabitants of the besieged city to attack the assailants in flank. We learn from the history of Tacitus, V. 11, that the walls of Jerusalem, at the time of its being attacked by the Romans, were built in this way. The projections above mentioned are meant to be designated by the Hebrew word. They were introduced by king Uzziah, 810 years before Christ, and are subsequently mentioned in the prophet Zephaniah, i. 16.

IV. THE FOSSE,, . The digging of a fosse enabled the inhabitants of a city to increase the elevation of the walls, and thus increased the difficulty of an enemy's approach, 2 Sam. xx. 15; Neh. iii. 8; Ps. xlviii. 13; Is. xxvi. 1. The fosse, if the situation of the place admitted it, was filled with water, This was the case at Babylon.

,

V. THE GATES, □,. They were at first made of wood and were small in size. They were constructed in the manner of valve doors, and were secured by means of wooden bars. Subsequently they were made larger and stronger; and in order to prevent their being burnt, were covered with plates of brass or iron, . The bars were covered in the same manner, in order to prevent their being cut asunder; but it was sometimes the case that they were made wholly of iron, The bars were secured by a sort of lock,

Ps. cvii. 16; Is. xlv. 2.

§. 275. ARMS, WITH WHICH THE SOLDIERS FOUGHT HAND

TO HAND.

The arms, used in fighting hand to hand, were originally a club and a battle hammer; but these weapons were but very rarely made use of by the Hebrews. Whether the expressions, , mean an iron club, Ps. ii. 9; cx. 2, and Vee, Prov. xxv. 18, means the battle-mallet or hammer, that was used in fighting, is a question which has not yet been determined.

Other sorts of weapons, used in close combat, were as follows:

I. THE SWORD, 7. Among the Hebrews it was fastened around the body by a girdle, 1 Sam. xvii. 39; 2 Sam. xx. 8. Hence the phrase, "to gird one's self" with a sword, means to commence war, and "to loose the sword," to finish it, 1 Kings, xx. 11. The swords in use among the Hebrews appear to have been short; some of them, however, were longer than others, and some were made with two edges,, . Judg. iii. 16; Ps. cxlix. 6; Is. xli. 15. The sword was kept in a sheath; which accounts for such expressions as to draw the sword, Ps. xxxv. 3. It was polished to such a degree as to render it exceedingly splendid, and in reference to this it is used figuratively for lightning, Gen. iii. 24; Ps. vii. 12. By a figure