War, the army.

Of war, arms, and warriors, mention is first made in the Book of Genesis (14:14, 15). Abraham, hearing that Lot, his kinsman, had been taken captive, armed his servants, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued the enemies as far as Dan. “And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night… and smote them,” so relates the Book of Genesis. From this it is evident that Abraham had at his disposal a detachment of men trained for military affairs, and that he himself displayed in this affair as much courage as military skill.

Among the Hebrews, every man over 20 years of age became a soldier (Num. 1:3). In the Second Book of Chronicles (13:3; 11:1; 17:14–18, and elsewhere) we read of the enormous numbers of troops maintained within the borders of Palestine in the days of the kings. Taking into account the quality of the weapons of war and the customs of the ancients, one can say without exaggeration that the wars of the Hebrews were truly fierce and deadly. The number of the slain in battles often reached an enormous figure, sometimes up to 500,000 men (2 Chron.

13:17), and the fallen heroes and commanders were mourned by the whole army and solemnly buried (2 Sam. 3:31). To meet the returning victor, the people, and especially the women, usually came out with singing, dancing in a round dance, and playing of musical instruments (Judg. 11:34; 1 Sam. 18:6). Although the military art among the Hebrews was comparatively simple, nevertheless various clever military stratagems and devices were invented and practiced by them. At a time when, for the most part, even at present, enemies were struck and terrified by unexpected division of forces, ambushes, and feigned retreats (Gen. 14:15; Josh. 8:12; Judg. 20:36–39; 2 Kings 7:12), before the invention of firearms it was found necessary to resort to the help of various light and heavy wall-battering engines, from which large stones and other destructive projectiles were hurled.

At the end of the ninth or the beginning of the eighth century B.C., Uzziah devised in Jerusalem special engines, which were placed on the towers and corners for hurling arrows and large stones (2 Chron. 26:15). These evidently resembled the wall-battering machines that were later used by the Greeks and Romans. Among these the first place was occupied by the so-called battering ram. It was nothing other than a long beam of hard wood, usually oak, and served for breaching walls; the end of it, with which the wall-battering blow was struck, was covered with a thick piece of iron or bronze, made in the likeness of a ram’s head; sometimes the very end of the ram was sharply pointed.

These enormous wall-battering engines were at first carried by soldiers on their shoulders, and then struck them against the walls; afterward they began to be carried on wagons, and finally they were attached to heavy iron chains, so that little effort was required on the part of the attackers to strike a blow. The soldiers who operated the battering ram were under cover, made in the form of a roof of raw and hard material, for protection from fire and weapons on the part of the besieged.

Often, too, a wall-battering machine was used in war, which was set in motion by means of ropes. It must be thought that Hushai points precisely to such a machine when he said to Absalom: “If he [that is, David] be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there” (2 Sam. 17:13). However, such a siege engine could only be formidable when the city walls proved to be poor and old and were weakly defended, thereby giving the besiegers the opportunity, by means of wall-battering engines, to open a breach in the wall, the necessary gap or passage into the besieged city, and to bring about the final destruction of the walls damaged by the breach.

But more terrible than the battering rams in times of war were the iron war chariots (Exod. 14:7; Deut. 20:1; Josh. 17:16; Judg. 4:3). They were usually used in war everywhere that horses and horsemen — cavalry — were found (2 Sam. 10:18; 1 Chron. 18:4; 2 Chron. 12:3; 14:9). In fortifications, attention was paid first of all to the walls and towers, which were guarded by so-called garrison troops (2 Sam. 8:6). During sieges, the Hebrew army was forbidden to damage or destroy fruit-bearing trees, except those that bore nothing edible, which, of course, could develop a spirit of plunder and demoralization in the army (Deut. 20:19).

As for military preparations before entering into battle, unfortunately we have little precise information about them, although the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah contains a few general indications on this subject (Jer. 46:3, 4). It was customary among all ancient peoples, before entering into battle, to fortify themselves with food, in order to give themselves vigor and strength. Soldiers, and especially commanders, drew up in ranks in their finest military armor, except in those cases when disguise proved necessary (1 Kings 22:30).

From many passages of Holy Scripture it is evident that the division of the army into detachments was considered customary, as it is at present (Gen. 14:15; Judg. 7:16; 1 Sam. 11:11). The most commonly used division of troops was into fifties, hundreds, and thousands, and each of these divisions had its own particular commander (Judg. 20:10; 1 Sam. 8:12; 2 Sam. 11:4 [as given]). Before the start of battle, the timid and fearful soldier was sent home, lest he “make the heart of his brethren to faint as well as his heart” (Deut. 20:8).

This ancient custom is still preserved intact in Persia to this day. Among the Hebrews, army detachments had some relation to particular tribes, and were under the command of the heads of tribes, acting as officers (2 Chron. 25:5; 26:12). Captains of thousands and captains of hundreds were admitted to participate in councils of war (1 Chron. 13:1). With the armies, besides commanders and other military officials, there were also scribes, chroniclers, and census-takers (1 Kings 4:4 [as given]; 1 Chron.

18:15, 16). In the words of the prophet Isaiah: “where is he that counted the towers?” (Isa. 33:18 [as given]), one can, not without reason, see an indication that in the Hebrew army there were also officers who would today ordinarily be called military engineers. Under David the army of 288,000 men was divided into 12 divisions, each of which contained 24,000 warriors, and each corps had its own commander (1 Chron. 27:14–19). Under Jehoshaphat this division was somewhat altered, and there remained only 5 unequal corps, with the same number of commanders (2 Chron.

17:14–19). A cohort numbered 500 or 600 men, and a legion 10 cohorts. The legion’s troops were equipped with light weapons: bow and arrows, which they used at some distance from the enemy, while the heavily armed had shield and spear (1 Chron. 12:24). Light troops were recruited chiefly from the tribe of Benjamin (2 Chron. 14:8). Kings and commanders had their own armor-bearers, chosen from among the bravest warriors, or from persons close to them, who not only carried their weapons but also stood behind them during battle, executing and conveying their orders (1 Sam. 31:4).

Troops were roused to bravery and courage by the exhortations of the priests, whose duty it was to address them with a speech before the start of battle. Such was the commandment of Moses: “And when ye approach unto the battle, then the priest shall approach and speak unto the people” (Deut. 20:2). In later times, kings themselves were accustomed to address the troops with an exhortation, as, for example, King Abijah (2 Chron. 13:4). Finally, perhaps after the offering of sacrifices, an alarm was sounded on the sacred silver trumpets (Num. 10:9, 10; 2 Chron.

13:12–14). Among the Greeks in later times it was customary, when they were at close quarters with the enemy, to strike up a war song, which was probably formerly also in use among the Hebrews, except that they sang not a war song but a doxology to the Lord. The singers appointed by Jehoshaphat, marching before the armed men in the beauty of holiness, before the start of battle sang praise and said: “Praise the Lord; for his mercy endureth for ever” (2 Chron. 20:21); then followed war cries, which among the Romans were accompanied by a loud clashing of helmets and shields struck one against another.

One thunderous war cry is undoubtedly well known to all readers of the Bible, namely: “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon” (Judg. 7:18). War cries before entering battle were common in the East, as we see, for example, among the Turks, even at present. This war alarm, or war cries, is repeatedly referred to in Holy Scripture (1 Sam. 17:52; 2 Chron. 13:15; Job 39:25; Jer. 4:19). The frequent figurative references in Holy Scripture to the arts and weapons of war are clear to everyone without explanation.